Gambit: March 21, 2021

March 23-29 2021 Volume 42 Number 12

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WINTER STORM WARNING CLIMATE CHANGE HAS BROUGHT WINTER STORMS TO OUR DOOR. ARE WE PREPARED FOR WHEN THEY KICK IT IN?

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Gambit (ISSN 1089-3520) is published weekly by Capital City Press, LLC, 840 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130. (504) 4865900. We cannot be held responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts even if accompanied by a SASE. All material published in Gambit is copyrighted: Copyright 2021 Capital City Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

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CONTENTS

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT A virtual menagerie

Folsom Prison blues ZOE BOEKBINDER, Ani DiFranco and others collaborated on the Prison Music Project, in which they recorded songs written by prisoners at New Folsom Prison in California for the album “Long Time Gone.” The CAC presents a Prison Music Project concert hosted by Boekbinder and featuring DiFranco, Princess Shaw and BL Shirelle. The viewing link is available Friday, March 26, through Sunday, March 28, via cacno.org.

Movie stars and writers headline the Tennessee Williams Festival

BY WILL COVIELLO THOUGH TENNESSEE WILLIAMS REACHED THE HEIGHT OF HIS SUCCESS relatively early in his career with

Broadway and film success in the 1940s and ’50s, he still casts a long shadow.

That’s reflected in the lineup of stars who are participating in the tribute reading of Williams’ works at the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival this week. Alan Cumming, Blair Underwood and Ann Magnuson are contributing pieces from his better-known and more obscure works.

This year’s festival is a virtual event split into a weekend of workshops on March 19-21 and a slate of events including the tribute reading, author panels, recorded interviews, archival footage, performances and more March 24-28.

The tribute reading typically spans Williams’ plays, poetry, essays, letters and more. This year, several actors are performing monologues from his plays, and many of the scenes are from works set in New Orleans. Alan Cumming has had a prolific career on screen and stage, winning a Tony award for “The Threepenny Opera” to appearing in a James Bond film and Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut.” For the festival, he performs a monologue from “And Tell Sad Stories of the Death of Queens.”

In the one-act play set in the French Quarter, Candy Delaney is an interior designer who in lives her private life in drag and has brought home a sailor.

Ann Magnuson was the singer for psychedelic rock band Bongwater and appeared in films including “The Hunger,” “Making Mr. Right” and “Clear and Present Danger.” She’ll do a piece from “Suddenly, Last Summer,” which is set primarily in a home in the Garden District.

Blair Underwood is a familiar face from movies and runs on TV series including “L.A. Law,” “Dirty Sexy Money” and “Quantico.” In 2012, he became the first Black actor to play Stanley Kowalski in a Broadway production of “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

He contributes scenes from the show.

Mink Stole, who appeared in most of John Waters cult-favorite films, including a leading role in “Serial Mom,” is a fan of Williams. She played Trinket in a local production of “The Mutilated,” in which two women’s friendship falls

Pro tips

apart during the holidays. She performs one of Trinket’s monologues for the tribute.

The show is hosted by Brenda Currin, a veteran New York actress who has performed in several local Williams productions. Tribute participants also include Amy Ryan, Rodney Hicks and others. The event is at 8:30 p.m.

Friday, March 26.

John Cameron Mitchell is the creator and star of theatrical and film versions of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” A couple of years before the 1998 premiere of “Hedwig,” he was part of the New York-based Drama Department Theater Co., for which he directed Cynthia Nixon and Peter Sarsgaard in a production of Williams’ bleak Mississippi-set drama about sibling rivalry, “Kingdom of Heaven.” Mitchell is interviewed by local theater writer Brian Sands at Beauregard-Keyes House for the festival, and it covers that production, his latest work and his time in New Orleans, which he visits frequently. His session being interviewed by Sands is at 6 p.m.

Saturday, March 27.

The long second weekend of events kicks off Wednesday night with a cabaret show with a theme from Williams’ “Vieux Carre,” which features eccentric characters co-mingling in a French Quarter rooming house. Vinsantos hosts the event and sings, channeling the character of Nightingale, an older artist who lives at the rooming house.

The rest of the cast features circus arts performer LadyBEAST, dancer Franky and aerialist Sam Aquatic.

The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans (TWTCNO) has produced many of the playwrights’ lesser-known works and one acts. The pandemic postponed its productions of Christopher Durang’s Williams parodies “For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls” and “Desire, Desire, Desire.” For this

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Alan Cumming performs in New Orleans in 2015.

festival, the company has created its own parody, “The Felt Menagerie.” It’s a puppet show that draws on some of Williams’ most popular plays and characters, so Blanche Dubious stands in for Blanche Dubois. The show also sends up the conventions of pandemic-spawned Zoom play readings. The show is available to view March 26 through April 5.

TWTCNO co-founder and artistic director Augustin Correro recently published “Tennessee Williams 101,” a project derived from talks he’s given at the festival about Williams and his works.

The talk is being offered this year, and Correro will be hosting it virtually from the parlor of Williams’ childhood home in Columbus, Mississippi. He says the session will be Q&A-driven. It’s at 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 27.

There are several interview sessions, including with John Patrick Shanley, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Doubt: A Parable.” Bryan Batt talks about his solo show “Dear Mr. Williams.”

The festival also broadcasts archived interviews, including one with Williams

by WWL-TV anchor Eric Paulsen.

The lineup of authors participating in panels includes Ladee Hubbard, who recently published “The Rib King,” humorist and “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me” quiz show panelist Mo Rocca, local novelist M.O. Walsh and many more.

Bon Bon Vivant contributes a musical performance filmed on the rooftop of the Monteleone Hotel. The NOLA Project presents three short plays.

There are culinary events with Poppy Tooker and others, and more. Visit tennesseewilliams.net for a full schedule and links to virtual events.

CALIFORNIA-BASED ACTIVIST AND THEATER PROFESSOR LARRY M. BOGAD is the director of the Center for Tactical Performance and co-founder of the Clown Army. His show, “COINTELSHOW: A PATRIOT ACT” exposes government security operations that spied on Americans, such as the COINTELPRO, which spied on Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others. Mondo Bizarro presents an online presentation of the work-inprogress at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 25, through Saturday, March 27.

Find links to view the performance on mondobizarro.org.

Club Rebirth A WEEK AFTER HEADLINING THE REOPENING OF THE HOWLIN WOLF, the Rebirth Brass Band returns for two shows on Friday, March 26. The Hot 8 Brass Band, a longtime regular at the Wolf, is in the house for an early show Sunday, March 28. Find tickets at thehowlinwolf.com.

Wild world THE MIKEY B3 BAND IS JOINED

BY BO DOLLIS JR., Big Chief of the Wild Magnolias, for a funky set at Zony Mash Beer Project at 7 p.m. Friday, March 26. Find tickets at zonymashbeer.com.

Got Soul PERCUSSIONIST DERRICK FREEMAN’S SOUL BRASS BAND plays an afternoon set at the Broadside at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 27. Find tickets at broadsidenola.com.

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New Orleans Nightcrawlers

won a Grammy Award for best regional roots music album at this year’s ceremony on March 14. The brass band’s excellent 2020 release “Atmosphere” earned them their first nomination and win. Another New Orleans group, Cameron Dupuy and the Cajun Troubadours, were also nominated in the same category, and musician PJ Morton won his third Grammy for “Gospel According to PJ.”

The number of endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles rehabbed by the Audubon Coastal Wildlife Network which were released along the Grand Isle shoreline last week.

S TA F F P H OTO B Y S O P H I A G E R M E R / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Ivan Neville was scheduled to perform at Tipitina’s on March 19, 2021, marking a slow return of live music in New Orleans.

City Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer

sent a letter to Mayor LaToya Cantrell last week requesting that part of the $375 million in aid coming to the city from the recently passed federal Covid relief package be used to help bars and music venues. Palmer says the money could be used to pay for those businesses’ permit renewal fees, including Alcoholic Beverage Outlet permits, mayoralty permits and occupational licenses.

Attorney General Jeff Landry

has won a national journalism award — for being terrible. The Society of Professional Journalists last week gave Landry its annual “Black Hole Award” for his lawsuit against The Advocate reporter Andrea Gallo in an obvious attempt to block a Freedom of Information Act request. Gallo sought copies of sexual harassment complaints against Pat Magee, a top Landry aide. The Black Hole Award memorializes bad actors “for acts of outright contempt of the public’s right to know,” the SPJ says.

The beginnings of live music emerge LIVE MUSIC IS SLOWLY RETURNING TO NEW ORLEANS, after the city’s loosened COVID-19 restrictions took effect March 12.

The new guidelines allow for live entertainment at bars, music halls and other live performance venue under limited capacity and strict conditions. Venues looking to host live entertainment must have a special event permit or certificate of registration, which the city will only give if their HVAC systems meet certain qualifications. Indoor events are capped at 75 people.

Singing and wind-blown instruments are allowed in performances but must have at least one of the city-approved mitigation measures, which include Plexiglass, fitted masks and an independent HVAC system.

As of press time, Tipitina’s and the Howlin’ Wolf both were scheduled to host limited capacity shows Friday, March 19. Ivan Neville was set to perform two seated-only “Piano Session” shows at Tipitina’s, and the Rebirth Brass Brand was set to perform two shows at the Howlin’ Wolf. Tickets for the events sold quickly.

The shows are expected to be more subdued affairs than New Orleans is traditionally used to. Dancing is still not permitted, and venues will have to stop selling alcohol by 11 p.m.

And under the guidelines, there’s still a long way to go before music clubs and venues can make enough money to support themselves and stay open.

“We really only make money on the big shows, which we can’t do right now,” Howlin’ Wolf owner Howie Kaplan said. “This is to get the bands working again.

“The venues are in agreement: You have to start somewhere,” he said. “This is a good first step. I’m cautiously optimistic about moving forward.”

Meanwhile, the city is continuing to crack down on venues that aren’t complying with its Covid restrictions. It shut down Kermit Ruffins’ Treme Mother-in-Law Lounge last week for allegedly serving drinks after 11 p.m., which Ruffins acknowledged may have happened.

It was the second time the city closed the lounge in the past six months for violations.

Keith Spera contributed to this report. — KAYLEE POCHE PAGE 8

More than 1,100 sea turtles were coldstunned in November off the New England coast and brought to wildlife rescue organizations. Audubon took in 30, though two died. The remaining 15 turtles still receiving care locally are expected to be released in the coming weeks. Scientists say climate change is contributing to this phenomenon; in February, thousands more were coldstunned off the coast of Texas during the winter storms.

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Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry defended his handling of sexual harassment complaints against one of his top aides, encouraging staffers to report misconduct but complaining that “a hostile media environment” has affected the office.

One of Landry’s top aides, criminal division director Pat Magee, resigned from his job March 11 as The Advocate | The Times-Picayune was preparing to publish a story about a second sexual harassment complaint surfacing against him. Magee was the subject of an earlier complaint last year, and Landry’s office filed a lawsuit against the reporter who sought a copy of it.

Nineteenth Judicial District Judge Tim Kelley ruled the complaint should be released to the public after Landry sought to have it sealed. Kelley issued redactions to protect the names of potential victims of witnesses, and the complaint described Magee’s interactions with and comments about several women. The complaint said that he would not promote one because her good looks made him worried about controlling himself around her sexually; while he requested for another to enroll as co-counsel on a case because “male jurors would want to have sex with her.”

An investigation into Magee from the law firm Taylor Porter found some of his comments unprofessional but said they did not rise to the level of sexual harassment.

Landry’s office has yet to release that investigation.

Magee said upon his resignation that the allegations against him were “false and unjust.” he defended the investigation that concluded he did not sexually harass employees and said he does not condone sexual harassment.

In his letter to staff, Landry wrote that he has an “open door” policy and that employees should feel free to make their concerns directly known to him if they have concerns about how they are being treated. And though Landry did not fire Magee, he said anyone engaging in sexual harassment would lose their job.

“First and foremost, sexual harassment is wrong and it will not be tolerated in this office,” Landry wrote. “It does not matter your division, your job title, or your length of service; if you found to be engaging in this type conduct you will no longer be employed. Actions have consequences, and no one is above reproach.”

Landry also defended his recent lawsuit against an Advocate reporter, saying he felt that revealing information about sexual harassment in his office would be “counterproductive to protecting the rights of those who may wish to express concerns.” Kelley disagreed, however, saying that redacting names of employees and in some cases their titles would be sufficient — remedies this newspaper had proposed before Landry filed suit.

A former Attorney General’s Office employee, who filed the second complaint against Magee last week, alleged that his harassment prevented her from pursuing the types of cases she was interested in. She alleged that Magee gave women assignments like traffic tickets, while he encouraged men to take serious criminal cases.

But Landry wrote that he has tried to shield his employees from attempts to distract from their great work.

“We believe in transparency, that light is the best source of disinfectant,” Landry wrote. “That is why we provided, to the media, upfront not only the findings of the investigation but also the discipline applied in this most recent case at hand. It was not hidden.” his comments notwithstanding, Landry received a “Black hole Award” Monday from the Society of Professional Journalists, a national organization. The annual award, given to an American public official for an act of “outright contempt of the public’s right to know,” is bestowed during Sunshine Week, which runs this week.

Landry wrote that his staff made no attempt to hide any information. he accused the media of using hyperbole to “sell newspapers and gain eyeballs” on TV news.

“It is unfortunate; and, as they say, no good deed goes unpunished,” Landry wrote.

The journalists’ group, however, said that Landry’s lawsuit could create a chilling effect on any future efforts to get records from the Attorney General’s Office, especially when they come from smaller newsrooms, freelancers or others who fear the monetary burden of being sued.

“Open — truly open — records are crucial to maintaining our fragile democracy, and all citizens benefit from transparency in government,” said SPJ Freedom of Information committee chair haisten Willis.

“Attempting to bully someone out of holding government officials accountable has earned the Louisiana attorney general a well-deserved Black hole Award.” — ANDrEA GALLO / ThE ADVOcATE | ThE TIMES-PIcAYUNE

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COMMENTARY

MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL LAST WEEK ANNOUNCED the city

will receive $375 million in federal relief funding under the American rescue Plan, which President Joe Biden recently signed into law. It’s an eye-popping — and much needed — amount of aid, and the mayor deserves credit for working hard to secure so much for our city.

Unsurprisingly, there’s no shortage of ideas for how to spend that money. One we support is councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer’s proposal to offset the looming round of permit renewal fees facing bars and music venues. These businesses face a host of renewal fees every year including Alcoholic Beverage Outlet permits, mayoralty permits and occupational licenses, among others. Individually those fees may not seem like much, but they add up quickly. Although the city smartly postponed the ABO permit deadline from April to August, more help is needed.

Moreover, these businesses had already paid some state renewal fees just before the city shut down last year. That means they paid a year’s worth of permit fees with little or no opportunity to recoup those expenses. After losing an entire year of revenue, another round of fees poses a potentially insurmountable roadblock to reopening, or even staying open.

Equally important, too many bartenders and other staff remain either unemployed or significantly underemployed. Our city’s transition out of the pandemic is just beginning, and it is sure to be rocky. Doing anything possible to relieve the economic burden on these critical businesses, their employees and vital cultural institutions makes sense.

We are pleased that Gov. John Bel Edwards March 18th expanded vaccine eligibility to hospitality and service industry workers, as the District of columbia has already done with bar and restaurant workers. We hope this will be interpreted to include not only those on the job, but also workers who have been unable to work because of the

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Economic help for bars and restaurants critical to city reopening

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pandemic, so that they are protected once they do return to work, and we urge the city and state to give these workers priority status along with other critical workers. As more venues reopen and more visitors come to town, these workers will interact with many thousands of people every day. Protecting them — and the people they serve — should be a priority.

Finally, a special thanks to the National Independent Venue Association — and local members like The howlin’ Wolf and Tipitina’s — for their hard work in securing federal aid for music venues. In addition to passing the crucial Save our Stages Act, which provides millions in much needed assistance to small and medium-sized music venues, congress also allowed entertainment venues to apply for the new round of Paycheck Protection Program loans under the recently enacted cOVID19 relief bill. That’s crucial, because SOS funds likely won’t be available for more than a month, whereas businesses will be able to access PPP loans much sooner.

We encourage all hospitality industry venues to apply for those loans and we urge city hall to give them immediate help on permit renewal fees. Any and all steps that will help hospitality and service industry workers, no matter how small, are critical as New Orleans moves into the next phase.

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CLANCY DUBOS @clancygambit

Over 40 years, N.O. Council turns the tables on Entergy THROUGH THE 1970S, New Orleans Public Service Inc. (NOPSI), the forerunner to Entergy New Orleans (ENO), routinely ran circles around the city council on regulatory matters, thanks to cozy relationships the utility enjoyed with its regulators.

That began to change in the early 1980s, in no small measure due to the advent of Gambit and the Alliance for Affordable Energy. Gambit took a jaundiced view of NOPSI, and the paper gave voice to the Alliance’s campaign against the burgeoning costs of the Grand Gulf nuclear power plant in Mississippi.

In their campaign to rein in the utility’s excesses, Gambit and the Alliance got a game-changing boost from an unlikely source: NOPSI itself.

The company’s arrogance led the council to embrace calls to “get NOPSI back” from regulation by the state Public Service commission (PSc), which was even more in utilities’ thrall than previous New Orleans councils.

The PSc temporarily gained regulatory jurisdiction over NOPSI in the early 1980s as the result of a citywide referendum that was literally paid for by the utility. When the PSc tried to stick city ratepayers with an outsized share of Grand Gulf’s skyrocketing cost overruns, the city council finally learned its lesson.

It backed a successful referendum to return regulatory jurisdiction to the council, then took NOPSI to court, alleging that the utility and its parent company, Middle South Utilities, had imprudently overspent on

P h OTO B Y G r E G L A r O S E / NOL A .cOM

Entergy’s Grand Gulf Nuclear Station in Port Gibson, Mississippi

Grand Gulf. In a heavy-handed response, NOPSI sued the council — and council members individually — for $1 billion.

NOPSI’s shock-and-awe strategy failed on a grand scale that still resonates. The council won that round and many others since. Future councils steadily took an increasingly aggressive approach to utility regulation. Now things have come full circle in Dante-esque fashion: The council has sued ENO and its affiliates again for alleged “imprudent” spending on Grand Gulf — to the tune of $1 billion.

The council’s case appears so compelling — independent

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records show Grand Gulf may be the worst-run nuclear plant in America — that the generally pro-utility PSc has joined the effort, along with Arkansas utility regulators.

Meanwhile, ENO’s blunders continue unabated. The company drew a $5 million fine for its astroturfing debacle in support of a gas-fired generating station in New Orleans East, and another $1 million assessment for failing to maintain its distribution system and causing numerous power outages on fair, sunny days.

More recently, ENO caused thousands of New Orleanians

to lose power unnecessarily during a hard freeze on Mardi Gras night. The rolling blackouts were required under a multi-state power distribution agreement, but ENO made city ratepayers shoulder nearly four times their allocated burden. A city council investigation into that and a recent phone scam that tried to bilk ENO customers has the utility reeling. ENO maintains that its security systems were not to blame for the scam, and so far there’s no evidence that they were.

But council members, aware of the company’s penchant for making wrong moves, aren’t taking the utility’s word for it.

Nor should they. Successive councils have learned a lot in the last four decades. Entergy, not so much.

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BLAKEVIEW

Hey Blake, Whatever happened to the Civil War submarine that I remember seeing in Jackson Square as a kid? How did it end up there anyway?

Dear reader,

That unique piece of Louisiana history you remember sat in Jackson Square and outside The Presbytere for nearly 60 years.

The history of the unnamed submarine is murky, but we do know when it first surfaced.

It was discovered near the mouth of Bayou St. John in 1878.

Some historians surmise that the 20-footlong iron submarine may have been one of 20 such crafts built by Union and confederate forces during the civil War. In Louisiana, confederate leaders likely hoped the subs could help them defeat the Union Navy blockade of the mouth of the Mississippi river. For many years, the Jackson Square sub was misidentified as the Pioneer, another confederate submarine which was sold for scrap after the war.

Whether or how this sub was ever used — as well as how it ended up in the lake — remain mysteries. “At this point we don’t know anything,” said Louisiana State Museum curator Greg Lambousy in a 2001 Times-Picayune article. “We don’t know if it was built here or built in another city and brought here by rail.”

BLAKE PONTchArTrAIN™

P h OTO c O U r T E S Y LO U I S I A N A S TAG E M U S E U M

Regardless of its shrouded origins, the submarine, shown here on display in Baton Rouge, is a unique marine vessel. Only a few Civil War submarines have ever been recovered.

In 1895, the sub was moved to the lakeshore resort area of Spanish Fort. In 1909, it was installed at camp Nicholls, a confederate soldiers’ home on Bayou St. John.

In 1942, the Louisiana State Museum acquired the sub and moved it to Jackson Square. In the 1950s it was part of a World War II display in the Lower Pontalba building.

In 1957, the sub was staged in the breezeway outside the Presbytere and it remained there until 1999.

The state museum restored the submarine and relocated it to Baton rouge’s capitol Park Museum, where it is now on display.

THIS WEEK MARKS THE REOPENING of the Pitot house, the historic house museum on Bayou St. John which dates to 1799 and is one of the few West Indies-style houses remaining in Louisiana. It is named for a mayor of New Orleans, James Pitot, who owned the home for nine years.

Located on the area’s oldest European settlement, the house was built during the Spanish colonial period by merchant and ship owner Don Bartholome Bosque. The house changed hands several times before it was purchased in 1810

by Pitot, the third mayor of New Orleans. he and his family lived in the home until 1819.

In 1904, Mother Frances Xavier cabrini and her order, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred heart, purchased the house and other surrounding properties including what is now cabrini high School. The home was used as a convent, but by the 1960s it had fallen into disrepair.

It was slated for demolition when the sisters agreed to sell both the Pitot house and an adjacent building to the Louisiana Landmarks Society, assuming the structures could be moved. In 1964, the organization, led by its president harnett T. Kane, raised the money to move the building on flatbed trucks 220 feet down Moss Street to its current location.

The house was restored and reopened to the public in 1973. It is furnished with Louisiana and American antiques dating from the early to mid-19th century. In 1971, the Pitot house was placed on the National register of historic Places. After being closed because of the pandemic, the home and its gardens will reopen by appointment only beginning Wednesday, March 24. For more information visit pitothouse.org.

WE CARRY EACH OTHER It’s how we do things in Louisiana during times of challenge. We’re stronger together and we know our strength lies in the helping hands of our neighbors.

So let’s wear a mask and protect one another. And protect the life we love.

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P H OTO B Y S C OT T T H R E L K E L D / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

In Louisiana, bridges are among the critical infrastructure that is often first to freeze, says Department of Transportation spokesman Rodney Mallett.

WINTER STORM CLIMATE CHANGE IS MAKING CATASTROPHIC WINTER STORMS INCREASINGLY COMMON, AND IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE ONE HITS THE CRESCENT CITY

BY SARAH RAVITS

R

odney Mallett politely excused himself from a Zoom discussion

on March 16 about the aftermath of the winter storms that had wreaked havoc on Texas and parts of Louisiana just four weeks earlier.

As spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, he needed to switch gears and prepare his office for the latest looming crisis: tornadoes, high winds and unseasonal hail expected to hit Louisiana the next day.

Jessica Kayuha, who specializes in utility oversight for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) half-jokingly put her head down in defeat on her desk, reminding the group not to forget “hurricane season is coming up.”

Disasters on top of disasters have Louisianans reeling — and constant-

ly bracing for the next ones while trying to keep up with the learning curve.

This month, state and municipal officials are still analyzing what’s to be learned from the recent spate of cold-weather storms and figuring out how to better prepare for cold-weather catastrophes that may have once seemed hypothetical or rare, but are now practically inevitable, ushered in by the acceleration of climate change.

In February, while swaths of the state continued their ongoing recovery from a record-breaking hurricane season, others were losing electricity and shivering in the dark — all against the backdrop of COVID-19.

“People have been hit nonstop the past year, starting with the pandemic, but we need people to know

P H OTO B Y DAV I D J . P H I L L I P / A S S O C I AT E D P R E S S

Winter storms in Texas caused power outages and shortages of water, food and heat. More than 4.5 million homes and businesses were impacted and the death toll was at least 57.

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they can’t let their guard down in Louisiana,” Mike Steele, communications director of GOHSEP, says. “We deal with a lot of worstcase scenarios.”

In the normally sun-drenched state of Texas, widespread, long-lasting power outages, nightmarish water supply problems and at least 57 people who died of hypothermia might have left neighboring states like Louisiana to wonder just how high up “winter storms” should be on the ever-expanding list of Things To Be Anxious About.

Coupled with the fact that thousands in Jackson, Mississippi, went without water for weeks because the city’s pipes were too old and brittle to withstand cold weather (sound familiar?), residents across the South are now bracing themselves for major problems stemming from previously rare wintertime events. Winter’s behind us for now — we hope — but leaders need to think about the future.

Utility companies also need to adapt, experts say. What happened in Texas was a “perfect storm” of largely deregulated power companies, increased demand, price gouging and a lack of backup electricity, which other states typically have on standby, says Jesse Keenan, an associate professor of real estate and a social scientist who teaches courses on sustainable real estate at Tulane University.

In Louisiana, there is more oversight of utilities, but Keenan

still thinks the state Public Service Commission is mostly “ineffective” and says he would like to see it invest in more reliability measures.

That’s not just a local problem, he says, it’s national.

“You are going to pay for it either as a consumer, as a taxpayer or both,” says Keenan. “The public utility commission doesn’t really advance the best interest, which is generation [of power] and supply.”

“Texas tried to make their own little island of electricity,” says Kayuha, a utilities specialist at GOHSEP. “Obviously it didn’t work. The demand was insane, it was super cold, everyone had their heater on. And they aren’t winterized because we [in the South] don’t expect these temperatures to be like that down here.”

Julie McNamara, an energy analyst with the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote that the Texas storms and the state’s utter lack of preparedness should serve as a wakeup call for the whole country.

“The proximate cause, however, was not, in fact, unique to Texas at all,” she wrote. “It was, as it has been time and again, the abject failure of policymakers and the energy industry to heed countless warnings and countless disasters, allowing our energy system to remain completely unprepared for the challenges coming its way and the staggering and deeply inequitable toll on the people left bearing those costs.”

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The Sewerage and Water Board’s infrastructure is especially vulnerable in extreme weather events.

COVER STORY

Entergy fixes power outages earlier this year.

Winterizing infrastructure is a complicated process, Keenan says, and it’s also expensive.

It can involve greater insulation, burying pipes and having the ability to de-ice infrastructure — but it also involves logistics of “making sure you can get people and equipment up and moving when things get iced over.”

But the most important element of winterizing, in his mind, is making sure power suppliers have the capacity for peak loading — industry terminology for the highest power demand on an electrical grid.

Louisiana power provider Entergy dealt with the peak load last month by controversially launch-

ing rolling blackouts, a type of load shedding that is intentionally engineered and stops electricity delivery for periods of time over different parts of distribution regions.

But in doing so, it mistakenly cut off power to a Sewerage and Water Board pumping station, and Entergy New Orleans is now under scrutiny from the New Orleans City Council, which has oversight of the agency at the municipal level. (In the rest of the state, Entergy is overseen by the Public Service Commission.) The utility company is also facing criticism for lagging communications with its customers and for cutting off three times more power than it needed to.

“I think the worst-case scenario is that they don’t adequately man-

age critical facilities,” Keenan says.

“Things like pumping stations and hospitals and fire stations need to be adequately managed in the scenarios when they have to do rolling blackouts.”

Kayuha of GOHSEP says even though it was an obvious inconvenience, “most people [in Louisiana] were only out for an hour as opposed to millions [in Texas] being without power for days.

That’s the biggest difference.”

Like Texas and other Southern states, much of Louisiana’s vulnerable infrastructure was designed decades if not a century ago, perhaps to withstand summertime hurricanes and high heat — but not always the inverse.

Power lines can snap from the weight of snow, old pipes burst during hard freezes and historic houses that characterize many Southern cities including New Orleans are often not energy-efficient or properly insulated.

To put it simply, New Orleans far prefers its snowballs man-made and covered in sticky syrup during the summertime — not apocalyptically falling from the sky in the winter.

“Here in the South, we just don’t have the infrastructure to handle super cold outbreaks,” says WWLTV meteorologist Payton Malone.

“Our pipes are often not insulated and can be above ground because we typically don’t have to worry about freezing temperatures.”

Furthermore, “predicting the weather is not easy,” Mallett of the Department of Transportation says. “[Last month] we were not supposed to get three or four days [of the freeze] … We knew it was going to get cold, but we didn’t know it was going to be below freezing for that long.”

The lack of preparation and adequate infrastructure can be deadly. In March 1993, a massive blizzard hit Atlanta and northern Georgia, dumping as much as three feet of heavy, wet snow on the region. Powerlines went down, leaving 10 million people without electricity for days. Pipes burst and roads were unpassable for days, making it impossible for emergency responders to move around the region.

With homes and businesses not built to withstand the heavy wet snow the storm dumped on the region, roofs soon began collaps-

“We need people to know they can’t let their guard down in Louisiana. We deal with a lot of worstcase scenarios.”

— Mike Steele, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR OF THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

ing — which in addition to the short-term damage would also have long-term ramifications for the carpet industry, one of the biggest employers in rural parts of northern Georgia at the time.

That storm was incredibly deadly. Days after the storm passed motorists were still stuck in their cars on frozen-over highways, forcing the national guard to use four-wheel drive vehicles to deliver food and water to the stranded. In the end, at least 15 people died in the state as a result of the blizzard.

It’s easy to think that can’t happen here. But keep in mind, a few days before the ‘93 storm, it was 75 degrees and sunny in Atlanta.

Though huge storms like that remain rare in northern Georgia, big snowstorms and prolonged cold snaps have become increasingly common.

In North Louisiana, which faced the brunt of the February storms, de-icing efforts were complicated.

“Just like when you take a turkey out of your freezer, it doesn’t automatically thaw out,” says Mallett. “[After a freeze] when the temperature gets back above 33 degrees, it doesn’t thaw right away. We can put salt out, and that’ll help” he says, but it still can take several days for the roads to clear.

Louisiana has elevated highways, and Mallett says bridges are often the first to freeze over.

DODT has a supply of brine and salt to pre-treat them in anticipation of freezes, but the office has to be careful with deploying it. Salt the roads too early, and the salt will blow away and go to waste before the snow falls or the bridges ice up, says Mallett.

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And some infrastructure, like the Bonnet Carre Spillway, the Atchafalaya Bridge, and the Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge are pretty much lost causes before winter freezes even begin. “They are going to freeze,” he says, “and no amount of salt is going to help with that.”

During last month’s storm, he says, 1,500 DODT employees took 12-hour shifts to spread 5 million pounds of salt and 200,000 gallons of brine to keep roads open as much as possible. After the storms passed, the agency got back to work removing fallen trees and debris and had to stay in constant communication about road closures.

Anjali Sheffrin, a professor of energy and environmental economics at Tulane who previously served as the chief economist for the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) says once-in a-lifetime storms are now much more than once in a lifetime, and she wants to see leaders and utility agencies becoming more vigilant in how they prepare and respond to them.

Power lines can snap from the weight of snow and ice, old pipes can burst, and historic houses that characterize many Southern cities, including New Orleans, are often not energy-efficient or properly insulated.

What happened in Texas was “a long time in the making,” she says.

“This didn’t happen overnight, and that’s what makes it such a disastrous event.”

She continues, “We should always be vigilant and ask, are we vulnerable to the same type of events? Or a special combination of events? Being a citizen of New Orleans, I see special vulnerability around the crumbling infrastructure that we haven’t invested in, and the lack of coordination

among key agencies surprises me.”

When a massive storm like what hit our neighbors this year comes to town, it could be catastrophic. Land access to the city could be effectively cut off if bridges freeze over. Roofs across the city would collapse under the weight of the heavy, wet snow, which could potentially result in injuries or deaths. A long-term collapse of our drinking water system could mean a rise in illnesses. And even a lack of power for a day could prove deadly in a city with poorly insulated homes.

Like Keenan, Sheffrin was also particularly shocked by Entergy’s rolling blackouts impacting the Sewerage and Water Board facilities.

“The Sewerage and Water Board is dependent on reliable electricity,” she says, “and it’s surprising these two agencies haven’t been able to work together to solve these problems. Entergy is private; Sewerage and Water Board is public. We should still have good coordination — and have our regulators require it.”

Courtney Barnes, communications director at the Sewerage and Water Board, says the agency is now “taking a hard look at how Texas responded to the recent severe weather” and that the company is “increasing coordination with Entergy to ensure that they are aware of each and every piece of critical infrastructure that we have.”

Rebecca Rouse, associate director of Tulane’s Emergency and Security Studies — and a former FEMA employee — says there are plenty of challenges in getting support for “just in case” scenarios. It’s difficult to get support and funding to prepare or weatherize infrastructure, for one.

“It’s hard to get a political leader to spend a lot of money on some system they may not need in their tenure,” she says.

“This is one of the reasons you find emergencies often result in action going forward while it’s too late for that particular crisis. Preventing [disasters] costs money, and you have to get the political will behind it. It’s a tough thing for political leaders — whether they’re right or wrong — to envision something that hasn’t happened.”

That sort of institutional reluctance to spend money on the

COVER STORY

Blayze Blanchard, 3, bundles up from the cold weather along the Mississippi River after visiting the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in February.

future is exacerbated by regional bias. The South is, well, the South.

It’s warm most of the year, and we don’t have a history of cold weather events. Most residents can count the number of times they’ve seen snow on one or two hands, after all.

So it reasons politicians would brush off any proposal to harden infrastructure against a massive winter event. If we lived in a static world, that could almost make sense. But weather-related disasters are clearly happening at greater frequency.

“We can’t continue to ignore [climate change],” Rouse says.

“Mother Nature is having her way with us and the whole world.

Everyone should learn lessons from their neighbors — because anything can happen anywhere.”

Malone, the meteorologist who has covered a slew of storms and other unpredictable weather events, also points out how expensive it is to winterize systems.

“It costs more money to do all this, so most will gamble they won’t need to protect their pipes often enough and choose to save the money. It’s the same reason houses in cooler climates don’t have air conditioning...they might only need it once a year. Can you imagine life without air conditioning? It’s not worth the money until you need it,” he says.

But he also argues, like other experts, that it’s worth the investment. “Sometimes you must choose to spend the money and protect things even if the threat of serious impact is so small,” he says. “Some things are so important you have to plan for even the most unlikely scenario.”

While Rouse and Malone point to some reluctance to weatherize for worst-case scenarios, the New Orleans City Council seems determined to prepare for a storm of February’s caliber — especially for a city that has experienced its fair share of unpredictable events.

Councilman Joe Giarrusso last week said the council has demanded a “post-mortem report” from Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the reliability coordinator for Entergy, to get a deeper analysis of how the region fared and what they need to do to weatherize and prepare for future winter events.

They are also asking Entergy New Orleans to audit its equipment for winter storms.

And Giarrusso says the Sewerage and Water Board is in the process of weatherizing one of its turbines — Turbine 6 — which previously could not operate if temperatures dropped below 45 degrees.

He also hopes the city will allocate funding from a recent FEMA stimulus package to make updates to infrastructure to make it stronger for extreme weather.

“What happened in Texas is unacceptable,” Giarrusso says.

“If it snows in New Orleans, we’re shut down for days. Who expects New Orleans to have a snowstorm on a regular basis? But there are lessons to be learned, and we need to make sure we’re adjusting our systems accordingly.”

He also said part of Texas’s failure was in regulatory agencies not holding power suppliers accountable. In New Orleans, because the Council oversees Entergy, they have the power to “investigate

and implement changes that need to happen” within the agency.

Keenan says it’s time to accept the reality of winter storms, too.

“After storms and disasters, the cost gets put back onto the rate base,” he says. “There’s not a lot of incentive to make pre-disaster mitigation investments, but the momentum and intensity of extreme events suggest it’s time to go ahead and make these investments today.”

Sheffrin points out power reserves are fickle during winter storms.

“If there’s just a Southern storm, MISO could help [distribute more power], but I think our interconnections are pretty small in that regard,” she says.

“That could be beefed up. In this case [of February storms], it was the entire Midwest coming down to New Orleans, and Texas was already suffering … Does each utility have sufficient reserves? It’s clear in Texas’s case they didn’t. They were going into the season with very low reserves. I don’t think our public utilities Commission would allow that. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t vulnerabilities we could face.”

Though winter storms present their own set of challenges,

state officials who work in disaster response year-round say preparing for winter storms follows the same model as other disaster preparedness plans.

“Our state emergency plan is written as an all-hazards plan,” says Chris Guillbeaux, the state’s assistant deputy director of emergency management. “Regardless of what the emergency may be, we need preparedness 365 days a year.”

Louisianans should have their important papers, extra medicine, food and water in a box and have it “ready to go” in case of an event that requires evacuation.

“You’ll find that nationwide. Every state emergency management pushes out the same thing.”

Guillbeaux of GOHSEP says communication before disasters is also beneficial for all residents.

“The more folks understand vulnerabilities — the more you understand your surroundings and your environment and what a storm can do to you — it makes all the difference in the world. It’s unfortunate, because every two weeks we are pushing the message to be prepared for something different.

But the more prepared you are, the easier it will be to recover.”

It’s bittersweet that Louisiana is so skilled at response and to such a wide variety of disasters, because as GOHSEP and other emergency responding officials point out, they’ve learned more and more from each one to strike the state.

Rouse says, “We certainly have a lot of practice at bouncing back.”

P H OTO B Y DAV I D G R U N F E L D/ T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Issuing warnings and coordinating road closures are part of an effort by state and local leaders to prepare Louisianans for extreme weather events.

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by Latter Hospitality, the company that runs Claret and the Bower in the same Lower Garden District development at 1320 Magazine St.

A new eatery in the recently opened ONE11 Hotel

BY B E T H D ’A D D O N O YOU’D NEVER GUESS THE SIZE of chef Drue Vitter’s kitchen by the dishes he serves at Batture Bistro + Bar, the new restaurant in the recently opened ONE11 Hotel at the edge of the French Quarter. But when a plate of shrimp, prosciutto and eggs on sourdough bread or a ramekin of crab au gratin shows up at the table, the savory goodness accomplished by the chef’s sleight of hand is all that matters.

Vitter says Batture was “uniquely challenged” from the outset.

“We were concepted as primarily a lounge and bar, so we don’t have a full-sized kitchen,” he says. “We weren’t going to be serving elaborate meals or full dinner entrees.”

So Vitter is working with a small prep area equipped with a compact Rational smart oven that has plenty of features, but the usual hood system that allows for the high heat of grilling isn’t one of them. “This oven can do so much — just not all at the same time,” he says.

Because the hotel’s owner, Wayne Ducote, never intended to run a restaurant, he contracted with Messina’s Events & Catering, a fourth-generation local family business run by Stacey and George Messina, to handle the lobby cafe and bar.

The Messinas hired Vitter, a New Orleans native with decades of hotel experience, to fill Batture’s chef de cuisine role. Vitter started his career at the Royal Sonesta before hitting the road working for Marriott and the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts chain. He and his family now live in St. Bernard Parish.

Vitter was charged with giving guests breakfast options and an all-day menu of small plates to be served in the lobby/bar area as well

as on the indoor-outdoor patio called The Loading Dock, named for the function it served when the circa 1893 building was a sugar house for the Louisiana Sugar Refining Company.

Vitter, with the help of Messina executive chef Mark Daniels, has designed a modern Creole menu that speaks to the city’s past. “My thought was to illuminate Louisiana’s history through food — to create a menu that prompts questions,” he says.

Brunch is served Saturdays and Sundays, and the menu includes a range of Benedicts that highlight many locally sourced ingredients such as Steen’s cured ham, Crystal-infused hollandaise and Lake Pontchartrain crabmeat. There also are takes on iconic New Orleans dishes like the bananas Foster Belgian waffles.

A menu of savory small plates is offered every afternoon, starting at 3 p.m. during the week and 2 p.m. on the weekends, and running until 9 p.m. Options include boudin egg rolls, a Gulf shrimp martini and artisan flatbreads including a muffuletta version. Charcuterie platters give culinary nods to the city’s Spanish and French roots. Happy hour is from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily, with half-price flatbreads and $4 beer, $5 well cocktails and $6 house wine.

“We were excited about the location, since we’d never run a restaurant

P H OTO B Y C H E R Y L G E R B E R

Drue Vitter serves a barbecue chicken flatbread at Batture Bistro + Bar

in the French Quarter before,” says Stacey Messina. The company, based out of Kenner, is known for its off-site catering and running a few restaurant and event spaces. It operates the second-floor event space above the visitor’s welcome center at Basin Street Station just outside the French Quarter. It also runs event spaces and a restaurant at the vintage Art Decodesigned Lakefront Airport. The cafe, Messina’s at the Terminal, reopens April 6, after being closed during the pandemic.

At Batture, the restaurant is finding its groove.

“We’re finding that guests want a drink and a snack in the afternoon, before they go out exploring and sometimes after dinner,” Vitter says.

The inviting lobby area has an adjacent climate-controlled patio area, so it’s easy to linger over food.

The hotel sits in the middle of the owner’s parking lot business, so parking is relatively easy. Guests can bring their $20 ticket from one of the 400 self-park spots to Batture for a $10 credit towards the first cocktail.

?

WHAT

Batture Bistro + Bar

WHERE

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

ONE11 Hotel, 111 Iberville St., (504) 699-8021; one11hotel.com/batture

WHEN

3 p.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

HOW

Dine-in

CHECK IT OUT

Creative small plates and brunch in a new hotel spot

P H OTO B Y I A N M C N U LT Y/ T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Birdy’s Behind the Bower officially opened last week in the space that had previously been a location of Satsuma (Satsuma’s original Bywater cafe and its Maple Street location remain open).

It’s a place for fresh, health-conscious bowls, hearty sandwiches, smoothies and fresh juice blends or cocktails and bottomless mimosas. The indoor/outdoor space is designed to be just as flexible throughout the day.

Framework comprises a pair of modern buildings with offices above and stores, studios and restaurants below, all centered on a central arcade ending in a courtyard of tropical plants and artificial turf.

The Bower had the distinction of being the last new restaurant to open in New Orleans before the statewide order closing all dining rooms last March. To reopen, it essentially merged with Claret.

Today, the two function as one restaurant serving bistro-style dishes, cheese and charcuterie boards, and wine and cocktails.

With Birdy’s Behind the Bower adding breakfast, lunch and brunch services, the three coordinated spots cover the day from coffee to nightcap.

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EATDRINK

FORK CENTER

EAT+DRINK

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PAGE 19

RIDGEWOOD PREPARATORY SCHOOL

The Ridgewood Preparatory School in Metairie is pleased to announce the selection of Mr. Rob Newman as its new Development Coordinator.

Mr. Newman brings over 12 years of business management experience within the field of logistics along with a natural teaching ability honed while studying at The University of Memphis, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Literature.

OPEN HOUSE DAILY 201 Pasadena Avenue Metairie, LA 70001 504-835-2545 rps@ridgewoodprep.com

chef Marcus Woodham oversees the multifaceted whole. The chef de cuisine at Birdy’s is Marie Guevara, who was chef/owner of the downtown deli Aglio. her menus include house-made pastries and thick, stacked toasts topped with avocado, beet hummus and smoked salmon.

There are breakfast plates, biscuit sandwiches and riffs on familiar fare.

The bubble waffle contrasts crisp and puffy textures, and a fried chicken biscuit pulses with chili oil and garlic. The Sugar roots bowl (named for a local produce supplier) combines black rice, greens and fresh herbs in an apple cider vinaigrette for breakfast.

Many of these dishes continue through lunch when the menu adds a burger, sandwiches and salads topped with salmon or steak. Brunch further blends the offerings. There’s always gluten-free bread. There’s also always a bottomless mimosa offer, and a full bar. Birdy’s also can serve anything from the claret and Bower wine lists.

The restaurant has both a counter for fast casual service with juice and smoothies and pastries, and full-service tables to spend a bit more time with the menu and drinks.

Birdy’s is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. — IAN McNULTY/ThE TIMES-PIcAYUNE | ThE NEW OrLEANS ADVOcATE

made a splash nationally thanks to Kamara’s growing presence in NAScAr circles.

In February, the Big Squeezy became a sponsor of NAScAr driver ryan Vargas’ No. 6 car at the Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway. The company’s logo, a fruit-themed play on the old fashioned New Orleans water meter covers, adorned the race car.

P h OTO B Y I A N M c N U LT Y/ T h E T I M E S - P I c AY U N E | T h E N E W O r L E A N S A DVO c AT E

Big Squeezy

Squeeze play

Other pro athletes have gotten into the juice and smoothie game, including others from the Saints.

Thomas Morstead, the punter who recently was released from the team after 12 seasons, is a partner in another Louisiana-based juice brand, the Main Squeeze Juice co., along with former Saints wide receiver Marques colston. — IAN McNULTY/ ThE TIMES-PIcAYUNE | ThE NEW OrLEANS ADVOcATE

SAINTS RUNNING BACK ALVIN KAMARA is a master of the gridiron.

Big EZ

Now, New Orleans can see how he does with juice.

Kamara is co-owner of Louisianabased juice and smoothie brand the Big Squeezy, and on March 12, he opened its latest location in downtown New Orleans, at 303 St. charles Ave. The counter-service shop mixes fresh juices, whips up acai bowls and smoothies and has “grab and geaux” cases for health-minded snacks and bottled juice blends with names like “skinny greens,” “root awakenings” and “24 karrots.”

Kamara said he wanted to bring another healthy option to New Orleans with nutritious juices and bowls. The name behind the brand brings some local flair and a sense of fun.

“It gives you that New Orleans feel, Big Easy, Big Squeezy, it just flows,” Kamara said while chatting with fans who turned out for the opening.

Kamara is a co-owner of the overall brand, which has locations in Baton rouge, hammond and Mandeville. The downtown shop is a special one for Kamara because this one is his own — he owns the franchise here himself. he said the concept is poised for growth through more franchising.

In fact, Big Squeezy already has

FROM A SMALL SEAFOOD MARKET IN GRETNA , Big EZ Seafood made

a name with garlic butter-coated crawfish. In Kenner, its latest location is out to make a statement. rooms are painted like a parade of Mardi Gras floats, and the sprawling menu follows threads of fusion and a cross-cultural cocktail program.

The new restaurant, dubbed Big EZ Seafood & Oyster, opened in February at 2121 25th St., off a busy stretch of Williams Boulevard.

It’s the latest from Thien Nguyen and Nhu Nguyen, cousins who opened the first Big EZ Seafood as a counter service market and po-boy shop in Gretna in 2015. They also run Mr. crabhouse Seafood, a similar operation in harvey. At both spots, the specialty is Viet-cajun crawfish and other seafood doused with garlic butter and custom sauces.

That anchors the menu in Kenner, too, but this version is a full-service restaurant that puts much more flavor, style and hospitality in play.

“This is a combination of things we’ve wanted to do for a long time,” said Thien Nguyen.

The restaurant is a joyful, colorful tableau of two Louisiana passions — seafood and football. Anthony Nguyen, a veteran Mardi Gras float

artist, has filled the interior with a series of murals. The central dining room shows the New Orleans skyline and landmarks. There are four semi-private rooms, dedicated to crawfish, crabs, LSU football and Saints football. There are TVs in each, and the rooms can be reserved for game days and other occasions.

The boiling pots here turn out crawfish, blue crab and shrimp, and an array of crabs, lobster and mussels from other waters. The flavors start with classic crawfish seasonings and run through three different buttery flavors applied after the boil, and diners can choose the level of spicy heat.

Big EZ takes in a broad sweep of Louisiana-style dishes, sometimes with subtle references to the founders’ Vietnamese culinary customs.

Etouffee has a strong spice level, the barbecue shrimp is buttery and velvety, and both dishes are finished with fine-grained jasmine rice. Next to the raw oysters, chargrilled oysters and crab cakes, the appetizer list has salt-and-pepper calamari, based on a Southeast Asian seasoning standard. The five styles of wings include lemon-pepper, garlic-Parmesan and also “Saigon wings” with a faint funk of fish sauce, lime and ginger.

Po-boys are traditional, though built on crusty banh mi loaves from hi-Do Bakery, the longtime FrenchVietnamese bakery in Terrytown.

The same loaves go into the bread pudding, finished with slivered almonds and bourbon praline sauce.

Bartender cong Vu blends elements of boba tea for refreshing cocktails. They arrive in sealed plastic cups strung with fresh herbs and bits of fruit. The mango madness or the “mint-to-be lychee” make clean-tasting palate cleansers with a kick, cutting through the buttery, seasoned seafood.

When the Nguyens started serving Viet-cajun crawfish a few years ago in Gretna, the style turned heads and raised some eyebrows.

“We took some heat for it,” Thien Nguyen says. “Not everyone knew what it was about or why we were doing it. But I think there’s more curiosity for what you can do with traditional flavors now.”

They’ve since seen interest in this style of seafood soar, and the family landed an appearance on the Gordon ramsay food show “Louisiana Uncharted.”

While business has been down through the pandemic at the first locations, they kept pushing for the new restaurant.

“We thought that we would keep it simple, but things just kept developing,” Nguyen says. — IAN McNULTY/ ThE TIMES-PIcAYUNE | ThE NEW OrLEANS ADVOcATE

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PRESENTS

FELICITY TO FRENCHMEN A NOLA THEMED FAMILY ADVENTURE! Grab your krewe and hit the streets of New Orleans with your family this spring.

On SATURDAY • APRIL 17TH, Gambit will host a

CITYWIDE SCAVENGER HUNT WITH PRIZES!

REGISTER YOUR POD NOW: $20 for a party of (4) at bestofneworleans.com/hunt SPONSORED BY

For sponsorship information call or email Sandy (504) 483-3150 • sandys@gambitweekly.com

TO

Contact Will Coviello wcoviello@gambitweekly.com 504-483-3106 | FAX: 504-483-3159 c O M P L E T E L I S T I N G S AT W W W. B E S T O F N E W O R L E A N S . C O M Out 2 Eat is an index of Gambit contract advertisers.

Unless noted, addresses are in New Orleans and all accept credit cards. Updates: email willc@gambitweekly.com or call (504) 483-3106.

Notice: Due to COVID-19, dining at restaurants is impacted, with limited indoor seating and other recommended restrictions. All information is subject to change. Contact the restaurant to confirm service options.

BYWATER Luna Libre — 3600 St. Claude Ave., (504) 237-1284 — roasted chicken enchiladas verde are filled with cheese and served with house-made cheese dip. The menu combines Tex-Mex and dishes from Louisiana and Arkansas. curbside pickup is available. Breakfast Sat.-Sun., dinner Wed.-Sun. $

CARROLLTON Mid City Pizza — 6307 S. Miro St., (504) 509-6224; midcitypizza.com — See Midcity section for restaurant description.

Takeout and delivery available. Lunch Thu.-Sun., dinner Thu.-Mon. $$ Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; mikimotosushi.com — The South carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado and snow crab. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch Sun.-Fri., dinner daily. $$ Pyramids Cafe — 3151 Calhoun St., (504) 861-9602 — Diners will find Mediterranean cuisine featuring such favorites as shawarma prepared on a rotisserie.

Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $$

CITYWIDE Breaux Mart — Citywide; breauxmart.com — The deli counter’s changing specials include dishes such as baked catfish and red beans and rice. Lunch and dinner daily. $

FAUBOURG MARIGNY Kebab — 2315 St. Claude Ave., (504) 3834328; kebabnola.com — The sandwich shop offers doner kebabs and Belgian fries. A falafel sandwich comes with pickled cucumbers, arugula, spinach, red onions, beets, hummus and Spanish garlic sauce. No reservations. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Wed.-Mon. $

FRENCH QUARTER Desire Oyster Bar — Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 5860300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — The menu features Gulf seafood in traditional and contemporary creole dishes, po-boys and more. char-grilled oysters are topped with Parmesan, herbs and butter. reservations recommended.

Takeout available. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$

$ — average dinner entrée under $10 $$ — $11 to $20 $$$ — $21 or more

HARAHAN/JEFFERSON/ RIVER RIDGE The Rivershack Tavern — 3449 River Road, (504) 834-4938; therivershacktavern.com — This bar and music spot offers a menu of burgers, sandwiches and changing lunch specials. curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 1212 S. Clearview Parkway, Elmwood, (504) 7333803; theospizza.com — There is a wide variety of specialty pies and toppings to build your own pizza. The menu also includes salads and sandwiches. curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $

LAKEVIEW Lakeview Brew Coffee Cafe — 5606 Canal Blvd., (504) 483-7001; lakeviewbrew. com — This casual cafe offers coffee, pastries, desserts, sandwiches and salads.

Tuna salad or chicken salad avocado melts are topped with Monterey Jack and Parmesan. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. Breakfast and lunch daily. $ Lotus Bistro — 203 W. Harrison Ave., (504) 533-9879; lotusbistronola.com — A Mineko Iwasaki roll includes spicy snow crab, tuna, avocado and cucumber topped with salmon, chef’s sauce, masago, green onion and tempura crunchy flakes. The menu also includes bento box lunches, teriyaki dishes, fried rice and more. Takeout and delivery are available.

Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$

METAIRIE Andrea’s Restaurant — 3100 N. 19th St., Metairie, (504) 834-8583; andreasrestaurant.com — chef Andrea Apuzzo’s speckled trout royale is topped with crabmeat and lemon-cream sauce. capelli D’Andrea combines house-made angel hair pasta and smoked salmon in cream sauce. curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily, brunch Sun. $$$ Kosher Cajun New York Deli & Grocery — 3519 Severn Ave., Metairie, (504) 888-2010; koshercajun.com — This New York-style deli specializes in sandwiches, including corned beef and pastrami that come from the Bronx. Takeout available.

Lunch Sun.-Thu., dinner Mon.-Thu. $ Mark Twain’s Pizza Landing — 2035 Metairie Road, Metairie, (504) 832-8032; marktwainpizza.com — Mark Twain’s serves salads, po-boys and pies like the Italian pizza with salami, tomato, artichoke, sausage and basil. Takeout and curbside pickup are available. Lunch Tue.Sat., dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; theospizza.com — See

MID-CITY/TREME Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; angelobrocatoicecream.com — This sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ice, cannolis, fig cookies and other treats. Window and curbside pickup. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Brown Butter Southern Kitchen & Bar — 231 N. Carrollton Ave., Suite C, (504) 609-3871; brownbutterrestaurant.com — Sample items include smoked brisket served with smoked apple barbecue sauce, smoked heirloom beans and vinegar slaw. A Brunch burger features a brisket and short rib patty topped with bacon, brie, a fried egg, onion jam and arugula on a brioche bun. Dine-in, takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Wed.-Sat., brunch Sat.-Sun. $$ Doson Noodle House — 135 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 309-7283; facebook.com/dosonnoodlehouse — Bun thit is Vietnamese-style grilled pork with cucumber, onions, lettuce, mint, cilantro and fish sauce served over rice or vermicelli.

The menu includes pho, spring rolls and more. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. $$ Five Happiness — 3511 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 482-3935; fivehappiness. com — The large menu of chinese dishes includes wonton soup, sizzling seafood combinations served on a hot plate, sizzling Go-Ba and lo mein dishes. Takeout and delivery available. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity.com — Favorites include the cajun cuban with roasted pork, grilled ham, cheese and pickles pressed on buttered bread. The Boudreaux pizza is topped with cochon de lait, spinach, red onions, roasted garlic and scallions. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Mid City Pizza — 4400 Banks St., (504) 483-8609; midcitypizza.com — The neighborhood pizza joint serves New York-style pies, plus calzones, sandwiches and salads. Signature shrimp remoulade pizza includes spinach, red onion, garlic, basil and green onion on an garlic-olive oil brushed curst. Dine-in, takeout and delivery available. Lunch Thu.-Sun., dinner Thu.-Mon. $$ Neyow’s Creole Cafe — 3332 Bienville St., (504) 827-5474; neyows.com — The menu includes New Orleans favorites such as red beans with fried chicken or pork chops, as well as grilled or fried seafood plates, po-boys, raw or char-grilled oysters, pasta, salads and more. Dine-in and takeout available. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Nonna Mia — 3125 Esplanade Ave., (504) 948-1717; nonnamianola.com — A Divine Portobello appetizer features chicken breast, spinach in red pepper sauce and crostini. The menu includes salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza and more. curbside pickup and delivery are available. Dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; theospizza.com — See harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

NORTHSHORE Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 70488 Highway 21, Covington, (985) 234-9420; theospizza.com — See harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

UPTOWN CR Coffee Shop — 3618 Magazine St., (504) 354-9422; crcoffeenola.com — The selection includes coast roast coffees

made with beans roasted in antique roasters, and the sweet vanilla cream cold brew is a signature item. There also are pastries and snacks. Indoor and outdoor seating, online ordering and delivery available. Open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. $ Joey K’s — 3001 Magazine St., (504) 8910997; joeyksrestaurant.com — The menu includes fried seafood platters, salads, sandwiches and red beans and rice.

Sauteed trout Tchoupitoulas is topped with shrimp and crabmeat and served with vegetables and potatoes. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Red Gravy — 4206 Magazine St., (504) 561-8844; redgravycafe.com — Thin cannoli pancakes are filled with cannoli cream and topped with chocolate. The menu includes brunch items, pasta dishes, sandwiches, baked goods and more.

Takeout available. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; theospizza. com — See harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco — 5015 Magazine St., (504) 267-7612; titoscevichepisco.com — The Peruvian menu includes a version of the traditional dish lomo saltado, featuring beef tenderloin tips sauteed with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, soy sauce and pisco, and served with fried potatoes and rice. Dine-in, outdoor seating and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$$

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT Annunciation — 1016 Annunciation St., (504) 568-0245; annunciationrestaurant. com — The menu highlights Gulf seafood in creole, cajun and Southern dishes.

Fried oysters and skewered bacon are served with meuniere sauce and toasted French bread. reservations required.

Dinner Thu.-Sun. $$$ Carmo — 527 Julia St., (504) 875-4132; cafecarmo.com — carmo salad includes smoked ham, avocado, pineapple, almonds, cashews, raisins, cucumber, green pepper, rice, lettuce, cilantro and citrus mango vinaigrette. The menu includes dishes inspired by tropical cuisines. Takeout and delivery are available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ NOLA Caye — 898 Baronne St., (504) 302-1302; nolacaye.com — The menu features caribbean-inspired dishes and Gulf seafood. Seared ahi tuna is served with mango, avocado, mixed greens, citrus vinaigrette and sesame seeds. Takeout, delivery and outdoor seating available.

D daily, brunch Sat.-Sun. $$$ Provisions Grab-n-Go Marketplace — Higgins Hotel, 500 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higgingshotelnola.com — The coffeeshop serves salads, sandwiches, pastries and more. Takeout available.

Service daily. $

WEST BANK Mosca’s — 4137 Highway 90 West, Westwego, (504) 436-8950; moscasrestaurant.com — This family-style eatery serves shrimp Mosca, chicken a la grande and baked oysters Mosca, made with breadcrumbs and Italian seasonings. curbside pickup available. Dinner Wed.-Sat. cash only. $$$ Specialty Italian Bistro — 2330 Belle Chasse Hwy., Gretna, (504) 391-1090; specialtyitalianbistro.com — The menu combines Old World Italian favorites and pizza. Paneed chicken piccata is topped with lemon-caper piccata sauce served with angel hair pasta, salad and garlic cheese bread. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $$

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OUT EAT

harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

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MUSIC

WIN A

BY JAKE CLAPP

ONCE IN A BLUE MOON

ALTHOUGH DRUMMER AND COMPOSER JOE DYSON had recorded

the title track to his ethereal new album “Look Within” well before the pandemic, he found the song’s lyrics spoke perfectly to the needs of 2020.

“Look within, that’s where you’ll find hope and joy and peace, within,” guest vocalist L.E. (Dyson’s sister Joel Dyson) sings with encouraging kindness. “Look within, even when life looks like it’s dark and full of grim.”

“Even though the lyrics had been written before the pandemic, it was like, this is perfect for what’s happening right now,” Joe Dyson says.

“I couldn’t have made that happen.

It was beautiful serendipity. The way that it worked out — it was almost a divine order that invited itself to happen.”

Spirituality is a major theme on the full-length album, released in early March, as the drummer explores personal strength, universal connectedness and faith and doubt — in oneself and in a higher power.

The New Orleans native has accompanied, recorded with and learned from a range of luminary musicians, including saxophonist Donald Harrison, trumpeters Nicholas Payton and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, and organist Dr. Lonnie Smith. Dyson also has recorded two albums with The Bridge Trio, which he co-leads.

But “Look Within” is the drummer’s first album under his own name.

The songwriting on “Look Within” came from Dyson taking a moment and giving himself permission to explore his spirit and emotional self, he says. He wanted to express himself “via melodic and harmonic score and not have to be concerned about if things were right,” he adds.

“I wanted to document what I was feeling in the moment. It came out to be something special.”

As he would let go, look within and develop a song, whether behind the drums or another instrument, like the piano, a title might pop out. The aspects of spirituality are reflected in titles like “Fleeting Faith,” “Pious Walk” and “Great Spirit.” With the beautiful, haunting song “Lost Trails for the Infidel” — which has an opening reminiscent of a common New Orleans piano line — Dyson wanted to humanize and identify with the person who exists outside the traditional boundaries of religion.

STAYCATION P H OTO B Y S C OT T T HR E L K E L D / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Joe Dyson performs at the WWOZ Jazz Tent during the 2018 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

The drummer and composer recently released his new album ‘Look Within.’

The spirituality on “Look Within” isn’t connected to a particular religion or even bounded by the idea of manmade religions. It’s more abstract and introspective. Although as a personal piece of art, Dyson’s experiences growing up in the Christian church are naturally an influence — the song “Naysayers,” for example, samples a sermon by his father, Rev. Dr. J.C. Dyson Sr. at Holy Faith Temple Baptist Church in Treme.

Outside of the title track, “Look Within” is mostly instrumental originals and features Stephen Gladney on tenor sax, trumpeter Steven Lands, pianist Oscar Rossignoli and bassist Jasen Weaver incorporating a range of styles.

The only track on the album not written by Dyson is Thelonious Monk’s “Rhythm-a-Ning,” which Dyson and his players adapt with second-line rhythms. But, Dyson says, he also wanted to turn around and use the song to push people outside of what they think about New Orleans music.

“I wanted to show that it has way more than the surface image we allot to the music itself,” Dyson says. “It has the capabilities of existing in far larger contexts, and who better to do that with than Thelonious Monk?

A lot of his melodies were already far ahead when he was writing the music and it was being presented.”

Dyson’s “Look Within” can be found at joedyson.bandcamp.com. A new music video for the title track was released last week on YouTube.

Submit a photo of YOUR favorite Blue Moon moments to enter to win a night at select hotels, a gift card to Kayak-iti-Yat AND a $1,000 gift card to use at your favorite New Orleans bars and restaurants.

ENTER TO WIN:

bestofneworleans.com/bluemoon2021

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FILM

French connection

BY WILL COVIELLO QUENTIN DUPIEUX IS GETTING A MOMENT

2021

SCHOOL GUIDE AD SPACE

APR

9

ISSUE DATE

In-depth School Profiles Important Dates & Open Houses Pre-school to College Ad Director Sandy Stein 504.483.3150 or sstein@gambitweekly.com

APR

20

in the local spotlight.

The French electronic musician and filmmaker has carved out a niche with a host of offbeat and comedic films, many of them ripe for cult fandom. “Keep an Eye Out,” a deadpan comedy about a blasé policeman and murder suspect, just ran at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge.

And now his most recently released film, 2020’s absurd comedy “Mandibules,” is a highlight of the French Film Festival.

The New Orleans Film Society presents the festival March 23-31 at Broadside and online. The lineup includes more than 20 features and short films in French with English subtitles exploring francophone culture from Vietnam to Africa. There are documentaries and features on subjects ranging from picking grapes for Champagne to coming of age dramas. The festival’s hybrid schedule includes five movies and one slate of short films that are available online only. All films can be streamed except “Mandibules,” which runs at 7:45 p.m.

Tuesday, March 30, at Broadside.

Dupieux broke out in the film world with “Rubber,” a 2010 conceptual horror comedy in which a malevolent tire goes on a killing spree, rolling through the highways and roadside motels of the American Southwest. Dupieux’s “Deerskin” follows a man whose life is falling apart when he buys a ridiculous jacket and tries to live up to his imagined new self-image.

“Mandibules” picks up elements of those films, but it resembles a “Dumb and Dumber” set on the coast of France. Two bumbling friends, Jean-Gab (David Marsais) and Manu (Gregoire Ludig), come into possession of a giant fly, and their plan to monetize its attributes leads them on a string of misunderstandings and misadventures. The comedy involves harmless absurdity and slapstick and some Farrelly brothers-style humor with a character whose brain injury has left her with awkward social habits.

Canadian director Sophie Deraspe’s “Antigone” was the nation’s official selection for the 2020 Academy Awards. In a retelling of the Greek tragedy, Antigone is a high school girl from an Algerian family that has immigrated to Montreal. When her brother is arrested, she tries to keep him out of jail. But matters are complicated when he doesn’t cooperate,

P H OTO B Y N E W O R L E A N S FILM SOCIET Y

Quentin Dupieux’s ‘Mandibules’ screens in the French Film Festival.

and public resentment of immigrants politicizes their plight. It’s available online during the run of the festival.

Belgian/Cameroonian filmmaker Rosine Mfetgo Mbakam’s “Chez Jolie Coiffure” is a documentary shot in an underground hair salon in Brussels. Sabine, an immigrant from Cameroon, runs the salon as a hub for immigrant women from West Africa and the film explores diaspora issues and people living with ties to two continents. It’s available online during the festival run.

The festival screens Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene’s 1968 film “Mandabi.” The writer and filmmaker worked to build up African cinema, and “Mandabi” is the first film made in the Wolof language.

In a more-money, more-problems story, Ibrahima Dieng receives a large money order from a family member living in Paris. As word of his windfall spreads, his neighbors come looking for financial assistance, but he has enough problems cashing the money order. It screens online and at 7:45 p.m. Monday, March 29, at Broadside.

Festival films address a wide array of topics. Food documentaries include “A Chef’s Voyage,” about David Kinch’s pilgrimage to cook in restaurants in France, and “Wine Crush,” about a community of French grape pickers. “Fabulous” is a 46-minute documentary about dancer Lasseindra Ninja, who builds her career in New York, France and Brazil and tries to introduce vogue performance in her home of French Guiana, confronting homophobia there. “Mafia Inc.” is a drama about a crime boss trying to legitimize his operations. For information about these and other films, visit neworleansfilmsociety.org.

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