Gambit: The Saints Issue 2021

September 28 - October 4 2021 Volume 42 Number 38

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Fall flowers

FA L L I N G F O R

SEPTEMBER 28 — OCTOBER 4, 2021 VOLUME 42 || NUMBER 38

CONTENTS

ALL THIS HAPPENED BEFORE: THE ‘67 SEASON 22 THE GAMBIT TASTE TEST: KAMARA’S KING CRUNCH 23

NEWS OPENING GAMBIT

7

COMMENTARY

11

CLANCY DUBOS

BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN 13

CURRENT HOURS

MONDAY - FRIDAY 7AM TILL 1PM AND SATURDAY 7AM - NOON

FEATURES ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EAT + DRINK

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The long shadow of empire

After 15 years under Brees, the Saints must forge a new destiny

S TA F F EDITORIAL (504) 483-3105// response@ gambitweekly.com Editor | JOHN STANTON

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@gambitneworleans @GambitNewOrleans COVER PHOTOS BY NELL REDMOND / T H E A P, B I L L F E I G / T H E A D V O C AT E COVER DESIGN BY DOR A SISON

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[sstein@gambitweekly.com]

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DORA SISON

Traffic Manager |

JASON WHITTAKER

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Sales Representatives SAM BLACKWOOD (504) 262-9519

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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) 486-5900. 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.

5

Simply the Best

Thomas documentary premieres on WYES | by Will Coviello

Lost Bayou Ramblers

LOST BAYOU RAMBLERS’ LEAD SINGER AND FIDDLE PLAYER LOUIS MICHOT has

IRMA THOMAS IS ONE OF THE FEW MUSICIANS who annually headlines two

shows at Jazz Fest: one mainstage show focused more on her R&B and soul favorites and a session in the Gospel Tent, often in tribute to Mahalia Jackson. And while the October edition of Jazz Fest was canceled, locals can get a fresh look at Thomas’ hits and her reign as the Soul Queen of New Orleans in a new documentary premiering on WYES on Monday, Oct. 4.

“Irma: My Life in Music” debuts on the local public TV station at the beginning of a month’s worth of programming inspired by Jazz Fest. The 90-minute documentary, directed by Michael Murphy and Cilista Eberle, features Thomas singing at the Fair Grounds in festivals dating back to the early 1990s and expands on aspects of her life and career, including new interview material on touring during the era of segregation and the early civil rights movement.

Some of the film’s musical highlights include full versions of songs, and clips range from the gospel standard “Precious Lord” to “Hip-Shakin’ Mama” and “Stone Survivor.” Tina Turner may have delivered the best-known version of “The Best” (also titled “Simply the Best”), but Thomas’ version at Jazz Fest is worthy of the title (and the live album it appeared on, “Live!

Simply the Best,” drew Thomas’ first Grammy nomination).

The Jazz Fest footage was shot

by Murphy and his production company over the course of more than 25 years. He sold that archive (of more than 6,000 hours of performances and interviews) to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation several years ago, but still draws on it for his documentary work. In 2005, he released “Make it Funky,” about New Orleans’ wealth of musical talent and distinct sounds.

Terence Blanchard hosts Murphy’s more recent film, “Up From the Streets,” which looks at New Orleans’ culture through its music.

The only concert footage in the documentary not shot by Murphy was a Bonnie Raitt concert. For that event, Raitt had invited Thomas to join her onstage to sing “Time is on My Side.” Thomas had released her version in 1964, but the Rolling Stones, who heard her record, released their version soon after.

Thomas got tired of being asked

P H O T O B Y O W E N M U R P H Y/ PROVIDED BY MICHAEL MURPHY

Irma Thomas performs at Jazz Fest.

if she was covering their song and stopped singing it — until 20 years later when Raitt asked her to sing it.

The documentary digs into many of Thomas’ early recordings, and particularly the work she did with Allen Toussaint, who wrote and produced songs for her at different labels. They worked together on some of her best-known early songs, including “It’s Raining” and “Ruler of My Heart.”

Thomas’ first record was the single “Don’t Mess With My Man,” recorded after bandleader Tommy Ridgely met her in a club where she was working as a waitress. She lost the job for singing, but Ridgely connected her with a label. The song’s original title was “You can have my husband, but don’t mess with my man.” It’s not in the documentary, but though the record climbed the charts, Thomas reportedly didn’t hear it on local radio stations, which deemed the content too suggestive. But Thomas’ talents were quickly recognized by many, and she performed at clubs including the Dew Drop Inn. Thomas also went on tour, and in the documentary, she talks about touring and dealing with clubs that would hire Black performers but wouldn’t allow them to use dressing rooms or restrooms.

Accommodations along the way were also often similarly racially restrictive. The documentary also includes footage of an FBI interview, in which she discusses the climate faced by Black musicians.

Murphy covers some of the racial issues in a recent interview shot for

the documentary.

Thomas also talks about her personal life. She had children at a young age, and when she moved to California in 1970, she worked at the department store Montgomery Ward in addition to performing in order to support her children.

Hurricane Katrina hit Thomas hard. Her home in New Orleans flooded and she and her husband Emile Jackson lost their music club, The Lion’s Den. Flooding also destroyed the studio where she was set to record a new album.

She had already chosen the songs for it, and she recorded “After the Rain” at Dockside Studios. It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

“Irma: My Life in Music” premieres at 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 4, and also airs at 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, and 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17. Other shows in WYES’ “Jazz Fest in Your Living Room” series include Murphy’s “Make It Funky,” “Deacon John’s Jump Blues,” “Legends of New Orleans: The Music of Fats Domino,” “Satchmo in New Orleans,” “Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes,” a Jazz Fest performance by BeauSoleil, Ken Burns’ series “Jazz” and more.

The Thomas documentary is the result of a collaboration between Murphy, the Jazz & Heritage Foundation and WYES. It will be offered to public television stations across the country, and Murphy expects to submit it to film festivals.

made local and national headlines for his efforts to help Houma and other areas of Southeast Louisiana hit hard by Hurricane Ida. Opening is the 79rs Gang, which fuses Mardi Gras Indian culture and hip-hop. At 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1, at Tipitina’s.

Tickets are $18 at tipitinas.com.

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Lost Bayou Ramblers fiddler Louis Michot

Mahmoud Chouki Premiere

MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST AND COMPOSER MAHMOUD CHOUKI premieres

“Oud Concerto for New Orleans” and a piece from the film “Ma Belle, My Beauty” in a chamber concert at the Marigny Opera House, which commissioned the new work. Radio Bird Quartet performs “Nightshade.” Performances are at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29, and Thursday, Sept. 30, and 8 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 1. Tickets $20-$35 on Eventbrite.

Animal Sun

THE L.A.-BASED INDIE POP BAND RELEASED THEIR LATEST ALBUM,

“echoes of a dream,” in June. They play a show with Cannibal Kids at Gasa Gasa at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at ticketweb.com.

Bad Operation

BAD OPERATION, THE NEW ORLEANS SKA BAND FEATURING VOCALIST DOMINIC MINIX , bassist Greg

Rodrigue, trombonist and keyboardist Daniel Ray, drummer Rob Landry and guitarist Brian Pretus, PAGE 40

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A R T S + E N T E R TA I N M E N T

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NEW ORLEANS NEWS + VIEWS

The only thing that smells worse than the giant piles of trash are the stinkin’ NFL refs

#

T H U M B S U P/ THUMBS DOWN

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GW Fins, the French Quarter

seafood restaurant, paid it back last week by serving free meals in the towns from where it normally sources its fish. Chef Michael Nelson and a number of employees went down to the Terrebonne Parish towns of Dulac and Dularge to serve meals, including distributing 750 shrimp po-boys and 1,000 red beans and rice meal kits.

THE APPROXIMATE PERCENTAGE OF NEW ORLEANS TRAFFIC LIGHTS THAT ARE STILL BROKEN MORE THAN THREE WEEKS AFTER HURRICANE IDA. As of Sept. 23, about one in five of the city’s 463 traffic signals remain damaged, and The Times-Picayune reports that half of the signals will need to be repaired by an outside contractor. The storm knocked out 255 traffic signals, mostly in the Central Business District — though, all over the city, residents are still being left to their own devices.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ALLEN KELLER

Allen Keller and a group of Saints fans have been organizing mutual aid relief following Hurricane Ida.

Bayoufund.org, which is orga-

Saints Fans #TailgateTogether and Rally Up Mutual Aid

More than 1/3 of Louisiana health care workers do not believe the

ending its slog through southeast Louisiana, Allen Keller and his tailgate crew were organizing help. Keller put out a call for donations and supplies on social media with the hashtag #TailgateTogether, rallying Saints fans and anyone wanting to do what they could after seeing the destruction in Louisiana.

People could donate directly to Keller or purchase items from an Amazon wishlist. Funds were given directly to people in need of gas money, hotels and food.

Purchased items — things like paper towels, portable fans, diapers and clean socks — were shipped to his house on the outskirts of Baton Rouge and taken to contacts in LaPlace, New Orleans and Hammond for distribution.

Normally during Saints home games, Keller and his friends can be found with a grill, speakers, TV, “the whole nine yards,” he says, at the corner of Loyola and Perdido streets —and feeding the unhoused community around Claiborne Avenue. Three weeks after Ida, #TailgateTogether has helped 108 families with supplies and given out $12,800 in direct aid, Keller says.

nized by Mosquito Supper Club chef and owner Melissa Martin, has raised more than $500,000 for Hurricane Ida relief efforts for towns down the bayou, including Martin’s hometown of Chauvin. Those funds are going directly to the Houma-based Helio Foundation for ongoing relief work. Many small New Orleans restaurants, shops and community groups have helped raise funds for and promote the fundraiser.

vaccine is necessary to end the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study by the Louisiana Department of Health and reported on by the Louisiana Illuminator. LDH surveyed about 10,000 medical workers about COVID-19 and the vaccine and shared preliminary findings with the Illuminator.

When asked to rate from 0-10 how strongly they agreed that vaccines are necessary to end the pandemic, 35% responded between 0-5 while 48% rated 8-10 and 17% with 6-7.

THE COUNT

WITHIN DAYS OF HURRICANE IDA

“We just feel there’s an obligation to help others who need help,” he says. Along with Keller, Chris Bonneé, Donna Dawson, Ryne Hancock, Kateria Lee, Marilyn Sauls, Katherine Seals and El Williams have been organizing #TailgateTogether relief efforts.

Back in 2014 or so, Keller and his friends quietly started feeding the unhoused downtown around Saints games —and that quickly grew to also preparing and serving meals during the offseason.

“Then I was like, OK I need just a little more help,” Keller says, and by 2018 things really started to expand. The next year, for the 2019 home game against the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 10 — two days after celebrating his 38th birthday — Keller took to social media to ask for supplies to help give out. People stepped up, donating coats, gloves and blankets. Similarly, Keller says, it’s been everyday people donating to #TailgateTogether hurricane relief efforts.

Last year, the group organized help for southwest Louisiana following Hurricane Laura, sending supplies, direct aid and even a few Christmas presents for evacuees who still couldn’t return home PAGE 9

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OPENING GAMBIT PAGE 7

months after the devastating storm.

“I know just how slow [federal response] can be,” says Keller, who worked for FEMA for several years.

“People need help and they don’t have time to wait and wait for eight days or nine days. I know how frustrating that can be.”

The New Orleans Saints organization and players have also been active in relief efforts. On Aug. 30, owner Gayle Benson launched the Saints and Pelicans Gulf Coast Renewal Fund and contributed $1 million. Her donation to the fund was matched by the National Football League Foundation, and the owners of the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Carolina Panthers each made their own $1 million donations to organizations like The Greater New Orleans Foundation, the United Way of Southeast Louisiana and the Red Cross.

Cam Jordan pledged $40,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank.

Alvin Kamara and Jameis Winston both directly contacted Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s office to offer whatever help they could. And a number of players cut a promo with WWL-TV to help raise donations for the United Way’s hurricane relief fund. #TailgateTogether relief efforts are ongoing. Donations can be made via CashApp, $AKeller1981; PayPal, akellerjr81@hotmail.com; and Venmo, @akellerjr81.

— JAKE CLAPP

Team Gleason Ramps Up Ida-Related Help for People with ALS

WHEN HURRICANE IDA LEFT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITHOUT POWER and access to clean water

and medical assistance, it meant special challenges for Louisianans living with chronic illnesses like Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease can impair speech, restrict breathing and swallowing and cause severe muscle weakness — making technology such as speech generating devices and other day-to-day technology vital. The access to electricity can make the difference between life or death for people with ALS. Following the storm, Team Gleason — founded by former Saints safety Steve Gleason, who has ALS — quickly mobilized to help people across the region, including a St. Bernard Parish woman who needed generator fluid for her mother.

“These people living with ALS use electricity to power life-saving medical equipment,” said Kacie

Banegas, a staffer with Team Gleason. “The lack of resources with fuel and having a generator was hard. So Team Gleason stepped in.”

Before Ida struck, St. Margaret’s, a skilled nursing facility that houses Team Gleason grant and service recipients known as “pALS” seamlessly evacuated five people who required constant care and ventilators, according to Banegas.

“The staff at St. Margaret’s did an incredible job of, first off transporting them, but also acting as our advocates throughout this entire hurricane,” Banegas said. “They made sure there was no lapse in their treatment.”

With much of Southeastern Louisiana in the dark, Team Gleason struggled to communicate with people with ALS after Hurricane Ida. Nevertheless, Banegas said the team contacted over 120 people with ALS in Ida’s path of destruction to confirm their safety and ask if they needed assistance.

“We really pulled together to make sure that we got into contact with them in any way possible,” Banegas said.

Despite spotty cell service, Team Gleason delivered life-saving resources such as water, tarps and fuel for generators to people with ALS. For those who needed harder-to-find supplies, the organization reached out to state and local officials to arrange deliveries.

“Ensuring the safety of all of our pALS is the biggest priority for Team Gleason during the storm,” Banegas said.

Gleason has also launched the Hurricane Ida Relief Grant to provide monetary assistance to people with ALS who are recovering from the storm.

This isn’t the first time the group has stepped in to help following a hurricane. In the wake of other storms like Hurricanes Maria and Irma, Team Gleason mobilized relief efforts for those with ALS. Now, the group is planning for the future, marketing director Suzanne Alford told Gambit, and will build a “hurricane preparedness closet” to store storm recovery supplies.

In addition to helping people with ALS, Gleason hoped to uplift other communities affected by the hurricane. Earlier this month, Gleason, his family and members of his organization joined relief workers in handing out supplies in the hard-hit town of Jean Lafitte and sharing words of encouragement to the community.

“They enjoyed it so much, they went back the next day to help,” Alford said. — RAE WALBERG

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Jefferson Parish School Board Needs a Lesson on Freedom of Speech LAST WEEK THE JEFFERSON PARISH SCHOOL BOARD TOOK THE EXTRAORDINARY STEP of severely limiting the ability of citizens to exercise their freedom of speech during board meetings — a move adopted at the urging of parish schools Superintendent Dr. James Gray. The 6-3 vote eliminating general public comment periods came despite vocal opposition from teachers, the Jefferson Federation of Teachers, and members of the public.

Now, the public’s only opportunity to be heard will come during comment periods on specific agenda items. In other words, citizens may only address board members about matters the board has decided to bring up — rather than about anything parents consider important to their children’s education.

That’s a huge change in policy, and the fact that it occurred in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ida — while huge swaths of parish residents remain in tatters and the public’s (and the media’s) attention was diverted elsewhere — makes it even more disturbing. Placing any limits on the public’s ability to seek redress from elected officials is an extraordinary step to take, particularly when it happens without giving the public sufficient time to consider all its ramifications.

Unfortunately, not having much public comment about public education in Jefferson is precisely the point.

The general public comment segment of the board’s meetings have long been used by teachers, parents and concerned citizens to raise vitally important issues, including matters that board members may not want to discuss in public.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the general public comment period has been one of the only ways for teachers to draw attention to their concerns for their safety and that of the children they teach. Gambit and other news outlets have drawn on testimony that teachers have provided to highlight questionable public health decisions by school administrators.

Ending g eneral comment also shields board members from blowback over unpopular decisions.

Take, for instance, the decision not

PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

Photo by: K. Maher

James Gray, Superintendent of Jefferson Parish Schools. to remove segregationist Senator Allen Ellender’s name from a Marrero school which serves predominantly Black and brown students.

Unless the board decides to revisit this issue, parents will no longer have an opportunity to express their concerns at board meetings.

Limiting the ability of citizens to communicate with elected officials also strikes at the core of what it means to be a public servant — and to be held accountable.

Jefferson Parish social studies teacher John Guzda summed this up perfectly in an email to Gambit after the vote.

“As educators, we are public servants. We serve the people and the community. One of the most basic parts of this service is a very simple trait — listening,” Guzda wrote. The board’s vote, he added, “showed precisely how uninterested our Superintendent and our school board are in hearing out their constituents and community members.”

The vote shows that some board members understand the gravity of the situation. We urge those members to teach the children — and adults — of Jefferson Parish a valuable lesson about the importance of free speech by forcing a vote to restore the general comment period.

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12 CL ANCY DUBOS @clancygambit

Council Grandstanding In Latest Entergy Moves THE NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL HAS ENTERED DANGEROUS TERRITORY in its breathless zeal to make Entergy New Orleans (ENO) its election-season whipping boy. I say this with much regret.

In the 41 years I’ve covered utility regulation in New Orleans, I’ve never hesitated to criticize ENO, which often deserved an ass-kicking. I’ve also called out the council when it failed to regulate responsibly, even though it put me in the uncomfortable position of agreeing, at least in part, with ENO. Sadly, this is one of those uncomfortable moments.

Led by Council President and utilities committee chair Helena Moreno, the council took steps to, among other things, audit ENO’s management, unilaterally (and very likely illegally) cancel ENO’s previously approved rate hike, and explore the potential municipalization of ENO. That, on top of demagogic talk about not letting ENO recover the costs of storm-related damages — something every utility routinely gets to do.

What makes those moves so dangerous is the financial peril they pose to ENO, whose bond rating has now fallen for the third time in a year.

Every downgrading jacks up the utility’s borrowing costs, which we ratepayers ultimately bear. Worse than that, a financially weakened utility cannot deliver safe, reliable, affordable energy — which ultimately is the council’s responsibility, as regulator.

That dangerous scenario began unfolding at the utilities committee’s meeting of Sept. 22. Herewith my takeaways: • Rushing to Judgment. In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Moreno proposed exploring alternatives to ENO’s monopoly.

Entergy Corp. VP Rod West then called her bluff in a Sept. 21 letter that essentially said, “Okay, let’s dance.” Now what? It’s absolutely proper to examine how ENO performed before and during Ida, but it’s way too early for that right now— and it’s never appropriate to make regulation an election-season prop.

• Municipalization is a NonStarter. The council voted to spend potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire new consultants to tell them what they already know — that municipalization of ENO ain’t gonna happen. This is a scrim to give the council political cover until

after the election, when they’ll have to admit publicly what they now whisper privately, to the consternation of those who are cheering them on right now.

• The Unspoken 5th Option.

Moreno has proposed three alternatives to ENO’s monopoly: a standalone spin-off; selling ENO to another utility; and municipalization. West suggested a fourth in his letter to her: merging ENO with Entergy Louisiana, which is regulated by the state Public Service Commission. All are D.O.A. There’s a fifth option: keeping things as they are. After the council’s latest moves, that won’t be easy.

• The Alliance’s Low Blow. The Alliance for Affordable Energy portrayed the council’s longtime utilities attorney Clint Vince (who apparently was not asked to attend the meeting) as tainted because the firm he works for has represented fossil fuel companies. Vince himself only represents regulators and consumer-owned utilities, and he’s one of the best regulatory lawyers in the country.

Over the years, he has literally saved local ratepayers billions in costs and routinely beaten Entergy (and, on occasion, the Alliance) like a drum in court — yet Moreno seems determined to sideline him. Ultimately, we’ll pay for that decision as well.

• Entergy’s Self-Tacklization.

Entergy also often finds a way to look wrong. Exhibit A: the astroturfing scandal. Exhibit B: ENO’s bungled communications during Ida. Exhibit C: ENO executives left the utilities committee meeting after making a solid presentation.

They returned later, but they never should have left.

• The Isle of Orleans is Just That.

On a normal day, New Orleans gets 100% of its power from elsewhere.

That’s the benefit of belonging to a “system.” So it’s seriously obtuse for a council member to ask if any power from the New Orleans East generating station went to other parishes. News Flash: Electrons are not FedEx packages you send to particular addresses. They go into a stream to be shared by others in the system — and we are at the tail end of the stream. We should be the LAST folks to get parochial about electrical power.

Bottom Line: The council is painting itself — and all of us with it — into a dangerous corner.

13

@GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com

2021

Hey Blake,

There is a World War II memorial on the neutral ground at Tulane Avenue & S. Norman C. Francis Parkway. It says it was erected by the Banks Social and Carnival Club. What do you know about the club?

Council at-Large DEBATE

Dear reader,

THE WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL on Tulane Avenue was erected by the Banks Social and Carnival Club in 1946, some 10 years after the organization was founded.

The neighborhood social club took its name from Banks Street, with its clubhouse located at Banks and S. Lopez.

The club was chartered in 1938 with Charles P. Collins as its first president. Collins was a deputy tax collector who ran for assessor in 1950. He lost to longtime incumbent and Third Ward political boss James E. “Big Jim” Comiskey.

Collins was later named manager of Lakefront Airport.

The club had a ladies auxiliary and sponsored athletic teams, hosted vaudeville shows, dances, a bazaar and women’s beauty contest. In our research, we could find no connection to any Carnival activities or parading krewes, despite the club’s name.

In 1946, the club raised $10,000 to erect the World War II memorial.

Standing 30 feet tall and weighing 30 tons, the granite monument features the names of 72 Mid-City men who died in World War II. Etched

October 20 | 6:00 PM

Streamed on Gambit’s Facebook page and on NOLA.com PHOTO BY TERRY FRIEDMAN / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E A R C H I V E

The dedication of the Tulane Ave. memorial. into its base is a tribute “in honor of the men and women of the Third Ward who served in World War II and in memory of those who made the supreme sacrifice.”

It was dedicated on Dec. 8, 1946, at a ceremony featuring remarks from Louisiana Congressman F. Edward Hebert, Lt. Gov. J. Emile Verret, and Julia Malarcher and E.L. Stieffel, the mother and father of two fallen servicemen.

For many years, the club organized a memorial ceremony at the monument each December. In 1975, a flagpole was added to the monument in memory of Comiskey.

The club remained active into the 1980s. Secretary of State records show it dissolved in 1994.

BL AKEVIE W THE ROLE OF THE MICHOUD ASSEMBLY FACILITY in American space exploration is well-known, but this week we recall the equally significant role of NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center. Located just across the state line in Hancock County, Mississippi, the facility opened 60 years ago this October.

The Pearl River site was chosen as a rocket testing facility because of its location between New Orleans East (where NASA rockets were produced) and Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where they were launched.

The site was also chosen because of its proximity to water — barges would have to transport the huge rockets — and its remote location, which provided the required noise buffer zone.

On Oct. 25, 1961, NASA announced plans for construction of the Mississippi Test Facility (the simple name by which it was originally known). In 1988, it was renamed in honor of f ormer U.S. Sen. John C. Stennis, D-Mississippi, a key proponent of the space program.

The Saturn V rockets which powered the Apollo missions were tested at Stennis, including those which transported Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon in 1969. In the 1970s, Space Shuttle engines were also tested there.

Although the shuttle program ended in 2011, testing on the next generation of spacecraft continues at Stennis. It employs more than 5,000 people from 30 different agencies.

The nearby Infinity Science Center is a nonprofit museum which houses the Stennis visitor center and features exhibits on space exploration.

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15

OF EMPIRE

After 15 years u under Brees, the Saints must forge a neew destiny

BY BRADLEY HANNDWERGER

THE CURRENT REALITY

P H OTO B Y B I L L F E I G / T H E A DVO C AT E DESIG N BY EM MA VEITH

IT HASN’T TAKEN LONG TO DISCOVER what the Saints will begin the post-Brees world with.

In Week 1, New Orleans boat raced two-time defending conference runners up Green Bay. It did so behind the smart play-calling of Payton and the equally impressive, smart play of

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The Long Shadow

F

OR NEW ORLEANS SAINTS FANS, the past few seasons have ended in furor, followed by sadness, followed by a bit more furor and, finally, followed by short moments of reflection on a generation of winning.

The combination of quarterback Drew Brees and head coach Sean Payton had turned a moribund franchise into an empire of success unseen professionally in this boot-shaped state for, well, ever.

In that reflection, though, there likely was a sense that it would come to an end, that Brees was going to eventually retire and that it could happen soon.

And that his retirement would lead to the crumbling of the Dome of the Rising Son. Though New Orleans, and to an extent the Saints, is known for its eccentricities, this falling would be less Bluth Company failure and more the sun setting on an empire — the happiest, most glorious run in the team’s 54 years.

After all, never in its history had the franchise won three straight division titles, let alone the four straight the team is currently streaking on.

In the 39 seasons prior to Brees and Payton, the Saints won 10 games five times and won just two division titles. The franchise had been to the playoffs just five times and were 1-5 in those games.

In the 15 seasons of Brees and Payton, nine have ended in postseason bids and New Orleans is 9-8 with one Super Bowl win in that run.

“Before them, the Saints were the Aints,” said Robin Burck, who grew up a fan in Metairie. “No one had any expectations of anything. People enjoyed it but it was like, ‘Great.

They won. OK, they lost.’ But then you have Drew Brees and Sean Payton and they elevated it to the whole next level of now people are accustomed to winning and this culture. It transcended the football team.”

“You have Saints dress days, Black and Gold Fridays,” she added. “It just spread throughout the city and the culture. It has led up to this: Now who is going to succeed Drew Brees? No one because he is one of a kind.”

Now, we finally get to see the succession plan. On March 14, 2021, Brees’ retirement finally came, via an Instagram post of his children on a couch in one of their homes.

So is it time to pull down the Saints Nation Fleur de Lis flag, fold it into a tidy triangle, place it into a shiny glass case and display it for generations to recall over pitchers of their grandad’s favorite beer?

“I kid with Drew a little bit, but he was in that kitchen a long time,” Payton said during training camp. “He started boiling the water a long time ago. When all of a sudden he leaves, you now have to figure out who is now doing all these different things. He handled so much.”

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THE LONG SHADOW OF EMPIRE P H OTO B Y NELL REDMOND / THE AP

Jameis Winston may be the starting quarterback, but questions remain over whether he’ll lead the team out of Drew Brees’ shadow.

quarterback Jameis Winston.

In Week 2, everything fell apart as Winston made Winstonian mistakes against an aggressive Carolina defense. The defense that all but shut down reigning league MVP Aaron Rodgers was strafed by Sam Darnold.

For those buying all the stock after the opener, they’re likely thinking to themselves, “I’ve made a huge mistake.”

Reality is much more likely to be somewhere in between what happened against the Packers and what happened against the Panthers.

It can’t be ignored that New Orleans was down a bevy of staff members against Carolina due to COVID-19 and was without many of its mainline players because of injury.

Not that those in the Black and Gold would ever use that as an excuse.

“Yes, there are going to be curveballs, there are going to be setbacks,” Payton said. “That’s all going to be part of a long season.”

Winston may end up being the biggest curveball of all, what with his highest of highs followed by lowest of lows. And the retirement

of Brees may ultimately be what most thought it could be — the end of an NFC South empire.

NFL EMPIRES HISTORY IS LITTERED WITH FALLEN FOOTBALL KINGDOMS, left in the dustbin of the past when great quarterbacks have left.

There’s Dallas post Troy Aikman.

Indianapolis post Peyton Manning.

Denver after John Elway.

More recently, in fact, there’s New England following Tom Brady.

Only one prospered immediately after, the 49ers continuing a second decade of success with Steve Young at the helm when Joe Montana left.

But after Young, San Francisco turned out to be just like the others, a team struggling to find footing after an eventual Hall of Fame quarterback left.

The Cowboys went 5-11 the season after Aikman, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006. Dallas hasn’t really recovered, posting only six 10-plus win seasons since 2001.

Denver went 6-10 after Elway

vacated the Mile High playing field and spent the next 10 seasons bouncing about a .500 record mixed with four double-digit win campaigns. It wasn’t until Manning signed in 2012 for a four-season run that the Broncos returned to their Elway glory days.

And even that run was short-lived.

“Peyton Manning’s arm had severely diminished at the end but he still knew how to manage a game, and the Broncos are still looking for a viable replacement and haven’t been to the playoffs since that Super Bowl win in 2016,” said ESPN’s Seth Wickersham.

While the 49ers succeeded after Montana, they have mostly floundered since Young’s retirement.

Only two years ended with a record better than 7-9 in the decade after the legendary southpaw left the game and it took them 12 seasons to get back to an NFC Championship game.

The Colts may be New Orleans’ best hope for a model of postBrees success. Indianapolis went 2-14 in 2011 when Manning sat out following neck surgery.

A season later, Andrew Luck

came via the team’s first round pick. He went 11-5 that year, took the Colts to the playoffs and in the six seasons he played in Indianapolis after his rookie season when not injured, never went worse than 8-8.

Those aren’t the only examples, either, Wickersham said.

“The fact is, unless you have a Steve Young or Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings, your team is going to have a hangover when you lose a transcendent quarterback,” he said.

Though just one year has gone by after Brady left New England, things don’t look rosy in Boston.

The Patriots went 7-9 last season with Cam Newton at the helm during a season impacted

by Covid.

“Football fans, even the most studied and smart ones, can’t appreciate just how many holes a truly great quarterback can cover up, how many problems they fix,” said Wickersham, whose book chronicling the Patriots’ dynasty is set to publish on Oct. 12. “Tom Brady was able to cover up for years of mistakes at the wide receiver position and many average draft classes until he couldn’t.”

EMPIRES FALL. But the NFL also has shown that they can be rebuilt with the right vision and personnel.

Enter Payton, one of the league’s great minds. A wunderkind of the offensive game, he’s trying to bring along Winston and Taysom Hill to follow in Brees’ footsteps.

They’re tasked with a blue whale-sized assignment.

Brees left the game owning seven NFL records outright, including most yards gained passing (80,358), most games with 400-plus yards passing (16), most games with more than 300 yards passing (123) and most games straight with a touchdown pass (54). His 571 career touchdown passes are second only to Brady (581).

His career completion percentage of 67.69% is second-best ever in the NFL and he set an NFL single-season record for completion percentage in 2018 at 74.44%.

And in 2019 at 74.34%. And in 2017 at 72.01%.

His 7,142 completions are the most in NFL history and his 10,551 attempts are second-most in the league’s history.

So Winston will have big shoes to fill.

Wickersham said having Winston in the fold prior to this year could ultimately be one of Payton’s smartest moves.

“I think the Saints seemed to

P H OTO B Y J AC O B K U P F E R M A N / T H E A P

New Orleans Saints fans look on before the game against the Carolina Panthers.

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MAINTAINING THE LEGACY

plan a little better (than New England), bringing in Winston a year ago so that he could learn the offense — and so that the team could learn about him — before he took over,” he said.

“And there’s the benefit of a full offseason of work.”

Winston will have to lead a team that will look vastly different than the one that lost to eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay in the NFC playoffs.

Five starters are for sure gone from that playoff team — lost to either retirement or signing with another team. Another (defensive tackle David Onyemata) is suspended for violating league policy on performance enhancing drugs.

A total of 17 players on that playoff roster are no longer with the team.

But Winston won’t try to be the empire builder. Instead, he’ll try to be more Marcus Aurelius than Commodus — a new leader, not the one whose ways bring the team crashing down.

“You don’t have to be Drew Brees, right?” Winston said early in training camp. “So that’s what it is. I feel that it’s a tremendous amount of responsibility, following up behind a guy like Drew Brees ... I know that that is a challenging responsibility, but I really embraced that.”

“And I would love to carry that torch from him,” he added. “I would love to be able to provide the excitement and joy and re-

17

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THE LONG SHADOW OF EMPIRE silience that he provided for this city just like that.”

In terms of keeping the Saints on pace to win their fifth division title in a row, Winston will likely hope his history with Tampa Bay is not a harbinger of what’s to come. His final year with the Bucs was the ultimate boom or bust season in NFL history.

He threw 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions, seven of which were returned for touchdowns by the defense. The seven pick-sixes were an NFL record for a season.

Winston’s possible redemption will be aided in part by Payton, who is known around the league for creating matchup nightmares by utilizing players’ strengths well.

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Hopefully, we’ll never be back in this situation again.

“My objective is to get better every single day and I know what the great head coach (can help with),” Winston said. “His resume speaks for itself.”

The earliest of signs point to many tachycardia-inducing Sundays for Saints fans.

Against Green Bay, Winston was marvelous. He threw five touchdown passes, including a rarely-seen deep pass that Saints fans aren’t used to seeing from Brees. He generally made good decisions with the football and protected it well.

A week later, against Carolina, Winston was irregular heartbeat-causing decision maker of old. He consistently made poor decisions with the football and

19

We’ll never be rid of those meddling refs.

P H OTO B Y S T E P H E N B . M O R TO N / T H E A P

Ida tried, and failed, to delay the season.

struggled with protecting it.

It likely didn’t help that he didn’t have the team’s best receiver on the field. Michael Thomas, in the midst of a fiveyear contract for nearly $96 million in 2019, had ankle surgery late this offseason and isn’t ready to return to the field yet.

New Orleans’ receivers otherwise are a rag-tag group of the oft-injured or little experienced.

A CHANGING EMPIRE INSTEAD? THEN AGAIN, THIS MAY BE THE SEASON that the Saints don’t have to rely on a revolutionary offense to carry the team.

New Orleans boasts what could end up being one of the top defenses in the league, Carolina game not-withstanding.

The defensive line is filled with redwoods while the linebacking corps is big and speedy.

The only possible hiccup would be in the defensive backfield, where the team is looking for a replacement for Janoris Jenkins, who departed in the offseason, and Marshon Lattimore, who had surgery after Week 1 for a thumb injury.

Nevertheless, the defense is coming off a season in which it once again held up nicely.

The Saints finished 2020 with the NFL’s fourth-best total defense. They were eighth in the league in sacks with 45 and return players who contributed 28 of those sacks.

This includes veteran end Cam Jordan (7.5), the aforementioned Onyemata (6.5), Carl Granderson (5) and emotional locker room leader DeMario Davis (4).

They also led the NFC with 26

“THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS TEAM AND MAKE THE SUPERDOME THE HOMEFIELD THAT IT IS COULD USE SOMETHING TO CHEER FOR THIS YEAR.”

takeaways, which was tied for third-best in the league.

Payton believes the turnover difference may be the key to the Saints’ future success.

“It’s the one statistic, regardless of how you play, if you win that statistic but don’t play your best game, it can be the spaghetti sauce to make the game taste good,” Payton said. “It generally ends up predicting the winner.”

This being New Orleans, Payton might have been better off using a roux as his metaphor, but his point is taken.

The 26 takeaways were the most in a season for the team since 2012 and was a key part in allowing the fewest points in a season since 2017.

How an empire falls Still, while the Saints didn’t have the league success the Patriots did over the past 16 years, they had an equally prolific

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F I L E P H OTO B Y B R AD BOWI E

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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

Sean Payton

quarterback-coach combo as New England.

Payton and Brees were every bit the yin and yang that Brady and Bill Belichick were.

“Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, for all their differences as human beings, had a few essential things in common: They valued winning above all else,” Wickersham said.

The same could be said about Brees and Payton. The likely future Hall of Fame quarterback could dissect what went right or what went wrong on every single series almost instantly. His ability to recall even the most minute detail was eerie, almost like a Jackson Square seer.

Payton remains at his saltiest following losses, a not-sogentle tsar when answering for what went wrong.

Brees, meanwhile, showed his wounds during those moments on the field rather than off it.

“In Brees’ prime, you’d watch him coming off the field after the team had to settle for a field goal, and sometimes he would look physically ill,” Wickersham said. “Some guys are happy if the team scores a field goal.

Brees approached his job with a biological imperative to score a touchdown on every possession. That’s rare.”

Meanwhile, it’s ultimately not surprising in the modern NFL that dynasties fall. The league is set up for turnover, for losers to become winners and vice versa.

In hindsight, it’s surprising teams like New England and

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New Orleans were able to last as long as they did.

“They pushed the boundaries of what a team could accomplish and challenged the basic understandings of how a group of high achievers could escape the pulls of ego and pride,” Wickersham said.

HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE TO KEEP IT GOING? A SEASON AGO THE SAINTS HAD TO PLY THEIR TRADE without the normally raucous home environment of the newly renamed Caesar’s Superdome, which maybe should be updated to be called the Den of Doom or the Bet Palace.

Those who have been following this team and make the Superdome the homefield that it is could use something to cheer for this year.

Covid has put a strain on the community over the past 18 months, and the city and state are still coming down from a pandemic high in cases and a near-high in average deaths. Then there’s Hurricane Ida, which landed a strong uppercut 16 years to the day life-altering Hurricane Katrina landed.

They could use a positive story, a feel-good nightcap to this story.

At the very least, Saints fan Stephen McNair has an idea on how to not just extend the empire, but to keep everyone’s focus in a positive way.

“Bring back Fetch Monster!” he said.

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THE LONG SHADOW OF EMPIRE

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22 A R C H I V E P H OTO / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

All This Has Happened Before And It Will Happen Again

Then as now, there were those that saw the signs of misfortune, and those who just don’t care! WHO DAT!

A R C H I V E P H OTO / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

Saints free safety Obert Logan apparently was also a body guard for Camp Fire Girls selling boxes of mint truffles. ‘Cause it’s always been rough in the streets.

A R C H I V E P H OTO / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

Not since the Saints’ first season way back in ‘67 has the team faced such an uncertain future. Back then, there was a big question about quarterback — and who’d end up playing the position at the end of the season ... SPOILER ALERT: it wasn’t him.

A R C H I V E P H OTO / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

A R C H I V E P H OTO / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

Our head coaches then and nowhad this “look of apprehension” on lock.

Even in our first year, the freakin’ refs and Falcons were our mortal enemies!

A R C H I V E P H OTO / T H E T I M E S P I C AY U N E

Everyone in town was super excited for, and more than a little awkward about, the season.

23 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > S E P T E M B E R 2 8 - O C TO B E R 4 > 2 02 1

THE GAMBIT

TASTE TEST

Kamara’s King Crunch

JUST BEFORE THE SEASON KICKED OFF, back in the before times when the city wasn’t full of trash and milk was easily available, Saints running back Alvin Kamara debuted his latest venture: the Kamara’s King Crunch breakfast cereal.

Available online and at Rouses, the cereal will be around through the fall, and part of the proceeds go to the Children’s Bureau of New Orleans, a local nonprofit focused on children’s mental health.

We asked a couple of cereal experts — 12-year-old Emy and nine-year-old Georgia — to take Kamara’s King Crunch for a test drive and let us know about its full breakfast cereal experience.

Emy describes herself as more of a Cheerios for breakfast type, while Georgia says her favorite cereal is Lucky Charms but mostly she eats Toaster Strudels or waffles with Nutella for breakfast.

PACKAGING GEORGIA: “I like its aesthetic.”

EMY: “The sides don’t look very appealing, but the front and the back are pretty cool.”

GEORGIA: “They should have put

more beads.”

EMY: “It’d be cool if they made them for different people, like Taysom Hill.”

THE CEREAL GEORGIA: REDACTED EMY: “It’s the right number of clusters” compared to the number of flakes.

P H OTO S B Y J O H N S TA N TO N

FIRST BITES GEORGIA: “Mmmm! Pretty good!””

EMY: “Kind of flavorless for the first few seconds and then it kicks in.”

AFTER A FEW MINUTES WE ICHECKED BACK IN. EMY: “They’re kinda getting soggy now, but they didn’t have much flavor to start so they taste about the same.”

GEORGIA: “This might just beat Toaster Strudels, I’m not gonna lie.”

SO, WOULD YOU EAT IT AGAIN? GEORGIA: “Yes, I would!”

EMY: “Mmmhmm” (as she pounds down her second full bowl).

FINAL THOUGHTS? EMY: “Maybe they can make some more merch … like ‘I tried Kamara’s King Crunch’ T-shirts.”

GEORGIA: “People are probably going to call me out for this and call me a psychopath, but sometimes I pour my milk first and then my cereal.”

P H OTO S B Y S A R A H R AV I T S

YOUR NEW GAMEDAY SNACK HAS ARRIVED. all-natural, gluten-free plantain strip ps

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29

Colombian connections

Golden Gate serves traditional Colombian dishes | CHEF BLEIDYS LOBELO DIDN’T HESITATE

when her business partner Angelica Rivera asked her what they should name their new Colombian restaurant.

“I’m from Barranquilla,” says the chef. “My city is such a pretty place on the coast, full of beautiful customs, cultures and great food. It’s called the Golden Gate of Colombia, a gateway to all that’s beautiful in our country.”

After dealing with some pandemic delays, the co-owners opened Golden Gate Bistro on July 20, which also is Colombia’s Independence Day. The restaurant is located in an industrial swath at 4334 Earhart Blvd. in a building Rivera owns with her husband Roman Lopez. It’s the headquarters for their co-owned Colmex Construction Company, a name that pays homage to their Colombian and Mexican heritages.

Rivera never intended to own a restaurant. The couple and their four children used to live in Orlando, Florida, where she was a mortgage broker and her husband worked as a handyman. After Hurricane Katrina, he came to New Orleans to hang sheet rock. When the bottom fell out of the mortgage business in 2008, the couple decided to relocate their family to New Orleans and they now live in Gentilly. “New Orleans reminded me of home right away,” Rivera says.

“When we bought the building, I immediately saw a restaurant on the first floor, which has lots of windows and natural light,” she says. “At first I was thinking a coffeeshop, but since I was missing real Colombian food and fresh juices, I thought maybe a Colombian restaurant could work. But I couldn’t find a chef.”

Rivera hails from Bogota, where the signature dish is ajiaco, a soup made with chicken, potatoes, corn, avocado and herbs, served over rice.

“It gets chilly there, since we are very high up,” she says. “Ajiaco is like our gumbo. I missed it.”

After the space sat empty for two years, she finally met her chef. Lobelo catered an event at

one of the six small incubator businesses that lease space in the building. “One taste of her empanadas and I knew she cooked like my family back home. I set up a meeting and here we are.”

Lobelo was living on the West Bank, cooking out of her home and selling beautifully presented plate lunches at a stand at Nawlins Market, a flea market in Harvey. She always dreamed of opening a restaurant.

Golden Gate’s menu reflects Lobelo’s deep knowledge of Colombian cuisine, which is divided into regions and reflects the country’s indigenous, Spanish and African roots.

Appetizers include empanadas filled with shredded beef, chicken or cheese. Colombianstyle arepas are dense corn cakes chewy with cheese and crispy from the grill. They are split and stuffed with meats and vegetables like a sandwich and served with a range of fresh salsas. Bandeja paisa is a hugely popular dish all across Colombia. The platter includes a robust assortment of sausages, fried plantains, eggs, beans, pork belly and rice. Pork is a staple of Colombian cuisine and used in many of Lobelo’s hearty dishes.

Pescatarians and vegetarians also have plenty of options. Salads feature greens and vegetables from the family’s small farm in Pearl River and can be topped with grilled shrimp. Patacon Gloria is a dish of fried plantains served with avocado and corn and topped with hogoa, a Colombian tomato sauce.

Shrimp or salmon are available with a buttery sauce pungent with garlic.

Those and other platters come with salad, rice and fried plantains

FORK + CENTER

by Beth D’Addono

Restaurants Provide Ida Relief

THE UPSCALE FRENCH QUARTER SEAFOOD RESTAURANT GW FINS normally

PHOTO BY CHERYL GERBER

WHAT

WHERE

4334 Earhart Blvd., (504) 503-1049; goldengatebistro.com

WHEN

Lunch and dinner daily

HOW

sources much of its fish from towns in some of the areas hardest-hit by Hurricane Ida. So last week, chef Michael Nelson and a dozen employees from the restaurant headed to Dulac and Dularge in Terrebonne Parish to dish out meals for the community.

The chef worked with other suppliers to marshal the effort.

Their plan called for distribution of 750 shrimp po-boy lunches each day, along with a total of 1,000 red beans and rice meal kits.

GW Fins reopens Sept. 28.

It was one of a growing number of outreach efforts from New Orleansarea hospitality businesses, which are themselves still dealing with the financial tumult of the pandemic and losses from Ida’s impact here.

Golden Gate Bistro owner Angelica Rivera and chef Bleidys Lobelo serve Colombian cuisine. on the side. Most dishes are in the $12-$25 range and feature generous portions of beautifully composed Colombian cuisine.

The fresh juice menu has helpful drawings and descriptions and includes soursop, passion fruit and avocado. Lulo, which means “little orange” in Spanish, is a member of the nightshade family and tastes creamy and bright with citrus notes.

Golden Gate has a full bar and a tropical drinks list with specials like a mango margarita and a raspberry mojito. The patio has plenty of seating and is equipped with a grill and there is salsa music and dancing on the weekends.

“We love that all kinds of people are trying Colombian food, besides the many Colombians who come to eat here,” says Rivera, who finally can savor the flavors of home anytime she wants.

?

Golden Gate Bistro

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

Dine-in and outdoor seating available

CHECK IT OUT

Traditional Colombian cuisine

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

GW Fins chef Michael Nelson

Over the previous weekend, Galatoire’s Restaurant served 1,000 meals in Raceland.

Chef Melissa Martin, of Mosquito Supper Club, has been orchestrating a community-wide fundraiser to keep grassroots disaster aid flowing to bayou country residents, including her hometown of Chauvin. Many small restaurants have been instrumental in that effort, marshaled through bayoufund.org, which has raised nearly $500,000 in direct aid so far. — IAN McNULTY/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE PAGE 31

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E AT + D R I N K

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BLACK GOLD BLACK GOLD BLACK & GOLD

FORK & CENTER PAGE 29

‘Back From the Dead’

Nobu New Orleans

mer, local food festival Top Taco announced it would return in the fall, with a new Metairie location and its own coronavirus safety protocols. Hurricane Ida forced a delay to those plans, but festival organizers now confirm the event will be Oct. 28.

Expect a slew of tacos and tequila drinks as usual, and, with its new date, a Day of the Dead costume contest, inspired by the Mexican holiday that falls that weekend. The festival’s theme this year is “Back from the Dead.”

As Top Taco previously announced, all attendees, including vendors and volunteers, will need to verify that they’ve been vaccinated or show a negative test result from the last 72 hours.

Top Taco was among the first events that had to be called off in March 2020. Event producer Shane Finkelstein decided to move the 2021 edition from its usual spot along the New Orleans riverfront to Lafreniere Park in Metairie.

With no mask mandate or restrictions on event sizes in Jefferson Parish, the vaccination requirement was a voluntary move. Finkelstein says he wants to show a way to continue with events during the pandemic.

“I’m doing this because I love festivals and I don’t want them to go away,” he says. “I think there is a way forward through this if we do it safely.”

The event is out to raise money for the PLEASE Foundation, a nonprofit that serves young people with mentoring and scholarships to attain a college education. The group had already enrolled new students this year, banking in part on proceeds from Top Taco. That provided another impetus for Top Taco to find a way forward.

The event will cap attendance at 3,500 people, and the grounds will be laid out to encourage an open flow of foot traffic and less congregation. The event has live bands, and tickets include all food and drinks. Attendees and official judges vote on awards across a range of taco and cocktail categories, and there’s live Latin music by Otra and Muevelo.

Tickets are $75 for general admission, $95 for early admission and $125 for the VIP level. Top Taco says ticket holders with 2020 tickets will be issued new tickets for 2021. Visit toptaconola.com for information. — IAN McNULTY/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

world has a New Orleans project in the works.

Nobu Matsuhisa and his partners, including actor Robert De Niro, are developing a restaurant and hotel within the forthcoming Caesars New Orleans casino, the name of the planned transformation of Harrah’s Casino at the foot of Canal Street. This Nobu hotel and restaurant is slated to debut in 2024.

It will be part of the previously announced $325 million overhaul to turn Harrah’s into Caesars, which is scheduled to be completed the same year. That plan includes a new 340-room hotel tower above the existing casino.

The Nobu hotel and restaurant will function as a boutique hotel within the casino. Details, including the number of rooms and the location of the restaurant within the casino, have not been released.

News of the plans were announced Sept. 21 by Nobu and Caesars Entertainment, which have been in partnership in different projects for years. At the same time, the companies announced plans for a new Nobu hotel and restaurant in Caesars Atlantic City, a new Nobu restaurant and lounge in Caesars’ Paris Las Vegas casino and a revamp of the first Nobu hotel at Caesars Palace, also in Las Vegas.

In earlier projects with Caesars, Nobu has essentially revamped entire floors or sections of hotels under its brand, adding its own style and amenities. A spokesperson for Caesars said the New Orleans plans will follow that format.

The Nobu name has become a byword for luxury as it has grown into a high-end lifestyle brand. But it all started at the sushi bar at a pivotal time for American cuisine.

Chef Matsuhisa opened his first restaurant in Beverly Hills in 1987, drawing on training in his native Japan and experience working in Peru. He pioneered his own fusion approach to the sushi bar, combining Latin elements with Japanese techniques.

He propelled the idea of the traditional Japanese omakase dining (a sushi chef’s menu). Many of the hallmarks of his style have become commonplace in other sushi restaurants.

The original Matsuhisa was a magnet for celebrities, including De Niro and film producer Meir Teper, who would become the chef’s business partners. Now their Nobu brand has some 50 restaurants around the globe, from Dubai to Dallas.— IAN McNULTY/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

AMID A CASCADE OF EVENT CANCELLATIONS that came down this sum-

4308 WAVERLY ST. | METAIRIE | 504.354.2248 VISIT US ONLINE

WWW.GORDONSHOMEDECOR.COM

A SUSHI MASTER WHO RANKS AMONG THE MOST INFLUENTIAL CHEFS in the

The 2021 Official Gambit Tailgate Party Guide IT FEELS LIKE IT’S BEEN ONE MILLION YEARS since we were able to really kick it on a Sunday and enjoy ourselves with some football, friends and food. And even though Ida had to come along and mess everything up, Saints season is here and we’ll be damned if we’re gonna miss a chance to party and holla “WHO DAT” at random times.

Tailgating is, of course, a personal thing, and everybody has their own way of doing it. But here’s some of our tips for a great way to spend a Sunday.

First, given our malodorous trash pile reality, we suggest buying some Egyptian Musk or other type of incense in bulk to burn throughout the party.

Now to the good stuff. Ya got to get your drink situation straight.

Plenty of cold drinks for the youngins, of course. And water for hydration purposes. Can’t skimp on hydratin’, y’all.

For the adults, we suggest at least a couple of cases of cold ones — we’re a Miller Lite type crew, but whatever your favorite

brew is, stock up!

And make sure to have a bottle or two of the hard stuff (Jameson is an excellent choice) for celebratory shots after touchdowns or the rare occasion the refs get a call right.

You’re also gonna need tunes. What would a New Orleans party be without ’em? We’ve put together a playlist featuring loads of Saints related songs — “Choppa Style,” “Black and Gold — Saints Anthem” and “Hit the Sean Payton” to name a few — as well as tracks to get everyone hype from the likes of DJ Jubilee, Mannie Fresh, Soul Rebels, Hot 8 Brass Band and Mia X. Head over to bestofneworleans.com to find the entire Spotify playlist.

Speaking of Madame X, she’s also the creator of our menu’s signature dish: Mama Mia’s Pepperoni

OF THE

WEEK PHOTO BY SCOT T THRELKELD / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

Eleanor Charlesworth, 1, dances with her dad, Bradley.

Pillows. Think pigs in a blanket but even better. The recipe is below so you can get some of that deliciousness in your mouth STAT. Combine that with at least a 50-piece order of wings from Manchu, beans and rice, your mama’s gumbo recipe and plenty of CheeWees and other snacks, and you’re good to go!

AIX Rose

MAMA MIA’S PEPPERONI PILLOWS My Gameday Twist on Pigs in a Blanket Make Your Groceries: • 1/2 Cup of soft cheese (I use Longley Farm) • 1/2 Cup of grated Parmesan cheese • 1 Garlic clove (chopped) • 1 Cup of mozzarella cheese • 20 Thin slices of pepperoni • 1 Cup of pizza sauce • 10 Flaky biscuits (Yields 20 total)

PHOTO BY CHRIS GR ANGER / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

Mia X and her motherDirections: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix your garlic and in-law, Theresa Elloie. all of your cheeses together. Split your biscuits in half. Using a spoon, gently flatten each biscuit. Spread pizza sauce on each biscuit. Add a slice of pepperoni to each. Add a spoon of cheese and garlic mixture on top of the pepperoni. Gently fold over and seal the edges.

You can use the edge of your spoon to secure the biscuits to ensure full closure.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove.

Put on ya favorite Saints jersey, yell “Who Dat” and serve!!

Recipe can also be found in Mia X’s cookbook “Things My Grandma Told Me, Things My Grandma Showed Me,” which can be purchased on her website at teamwhipdempots.com or on Amazon.

AIX is a well-balanced premium Provence rosé with a typical hypnotising pink colour.

The nose is fresh and fragrant, delicate yet youthful with sophisticated notes of fresh red fruits, peach and subtle flower hints.

DISTRIBUTED BY

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WINE

TA I L G AT I N G

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Saturday November 13 Early Voting Oct. 30 - Nov. 6

VOTE 2021 My Agenda Priorities: • Crime/Community Policing To promote the hiring of new and trained officers, promoting community policing.

• Infrastructure

To fight and advocate for funding for streets, better utilities structures and changing from monopolies to choices and working with State and Federal Representatives to deliver the financial capital addressing our needs.

• Economic Development

(A) Work with Education Institutions and AFL-CIO to offer Career, Vo-Tech and Apprenticeship Programs, training Students & Parents for higher paying employment.

(B) Streamline the Permitting processes to make it easier for Businesses/Developers and Small Entrepreneurs to do business with the City of New Orleans

• Accountability

Holding the Companies doing business in the City of New Orleans, using taxpayers' monies.

ACCOUNTABLE. NO EXCUSES.

“Lawes For The Cause...”

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C O M P L E T E L I S T I N G S A T 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.

B — breakfast L — lunch D — dinner late — late 24H — 24 hours

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

NOTICE: Due to COVID-19 and Hurricane Ida, dining at restaurants is impacted. Information is subject to change. Contact the restaurant to confirm service options.

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) 586-0300; 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. $$

GENTILLY NOLA Crawfish King Seafood & Barbecue — 5321 Franklin Ave., (504) 571-5038 ; crawfishking.com — The restaurant specializes in boiled seafood and barbecue. The Gentilly Reuben features house-smoked brisket pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and house sauce on marbled rye. No reservations. Takeout and outdoor seating available. Lunch and early dinner Wed.-Sun. $$

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 The Blue Crab Restaurant and Oyster Bar — 7900 Lakeshore Drive, (504) 284-2898; thebluecrabnola.com — The menu includes sandwiches, fried seafood platters, boiled seafood and more. The Blue Crab platter has fried shrimp, oysters, catfish and crab claws and either fried stuffed crab or soft-shell crab. Outdoor seating available.

Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ 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. $

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. $$$ Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop — 2309 N. Causeway Blvd., Metairie, (504) 8352022; gumbostop.com — The Seafood Platter comes with fried catfish, shrimp, oysters and crab balls and is accompanied by fries and choice of side. Delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ 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. $ Nephew’s Ristorante — 4445 W. Metairie Ave., Metairie, (504) 533-9998; nephewsristorante.com — Chef Frank Catalanotto is the namesake “nephew” who ran the kitchen at his late uncle Tony Angello’s restaurant. The Creole-Italian menu features dishes like veal, eggplant or chicken parmigiana, and Mama’s Eggplant with red gravy and Romano cheese. Reservations required. Dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; theospizza.com — See

Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Short Stop Po-Boys — 119 Transcontinental Drive, Metairie, (504) 885-4572; shortstoppoboysno.com — The menu includes more than 30 po-boys along with other Louisiana staples. Fried Louisiana oysters and Gulf shrimp are served on a Leidenheimer loaf with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles. No reservations.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $

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. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity.com — Favorites include the Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, grilled ham, cheese and pickles pressed on buttered bread. The Boudreaux pizza is topped with cochon de lait, spinach, red onions, roasted garlic and scallions. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ 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 chargrilled 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. $$$ 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. $$$

WEST BANK Asia — Boomtown Casino & Hotel, 4132 Peters Road, Harvey, (504) 364- 8812; boomtownneworleans.com — Restaurateur Tri La’s menu serves Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. The Lau Hot Pot for two comes with choice of scallops, snow crab or shrimp. Reservations accepted.

Dinner Fri.-Sun. $$ Mosca’s — 4137 Highway 90 West, Westwego, (504) 436-8950; moscasrestaurant.com — This family-style eatery serves shrimp Mosca, chicken a la grande and baked oysters Mosca, made with breadcrumbs and Italian seasonings. Curbside pickup available. Dinner Wed.-Sat. Cash only. $$$ 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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SCHOOL TOURS

1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month 10:00 AM beginning October 6

New Orleans JCC Nursery School and Pre-K

As you tour the facility, see our teachers in action and watch our curriculum come to life, you’ll understand what makes the JCC Nursery School and Pre-K so very special.

nojcc.org

New Orleans JCC - Uptown 5342 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70115

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A GAMBIT ADVERTISER DIRECTORY

PRE-SCHOOL, ELEMENTARY, HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS AREA Arden Cahill Academy

504-835-9964 Website: Thelittleschoolmetairie.com Open House: October 7, 2021 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm in person Masks required.

Grades: (Infant to HS) 3101 Wall Blvd.

Gretna, LA 70056 (504) 392-0902 Website: ardencahillacademy.com Open House: September 30, 2021 In person or virtual

University Montessori School

Ages: 20 Months-Kindergarten 7508 Burthe St. New Orleans, LA 70118 (504) 865-1659 Website: umsnola.org

Benjamin Franklin High School

Grades: (9-12) 2001 Leon C. Simon Dr., New Orleans, LA 70122 (504) 286-2600 Website: www.bfhsla.org Email: info@bfhsla.org Open House (virtual) bfhsla.org November 2, 5:30-8pm

University View Academy

Grades: (K-12 online Charter School) 3113 Valley Creek Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70808 (225) 421-2900 Website: universityview.academy Open House: Virtual Information sessions for prospective families September 28 and September 30. Go to universityview.academy to sign up.

Educators for Quality Alternatives

The NET Charter High School: Central City Grades: 9th - 12th 161 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

New Orleans, LA 70113 (504) 267-9060 Eqaschools.org

Ursuline Academy

The NET Charter High School: Gentilly Grades: 9th – 12th 6601 Franklin Ave. New Orleans, LA 70122 (504) 267-9765 Eqaschools.org

programs are held the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month, 10:00 am, beginning October 6, 2021.

The Bridge Middle School 2405 Jackson Ave. New Orleans, LA 70113 (504) 931-7929 Eqaschools.org

Grades: (Infants – Grade 6) 3747 W. Esplanade Ave. Metairie, LA 70002 (504) 887-4091 Website: jcdsnola.org Open House: Sunday, October 24th 12 pm; virtual. RSVP at jcdsnola.org

New Orleans Accelerated High School 3649 Laurel St. New Orleans, LA 70115 (504) 267-3882 Eqaschools.org

Jewish Community Day School

Louise S. McGehee School

Grades: (9-12) 727 Carondelet St., New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 613-5703 Website: www.ihsnola.org Open House: October 21, 5:30-7:30 pm. (in-person).

Grades: (Pre K-12) 2343 Prytania St. New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 561-1224 Website: mcgeheeschool.com PK-12 Open House October 7 - 8:30-10 a.m.

Little Gate Open House October 11 - 8:30-10:30 a.m.

PK-12 Virtual Open House October 13 - 12-1:00 p.m.

PK-12 Open House October 21 - 8:30-10 a.m.

JCC Nursery School & PreK

Mount Carmel Academy

International High School of New Orleans

Ages: 13 Mos. to 5 years 5342 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, La 70115 504-897-0143 Website: Nojcc.org Open House for Daycare and Pre-K

OPEN HOUSES AT A GLANCE

Grades: (8-12) 7027 Milne Blvd.

New Orleans, LA 70124 (504) 288-7626 Website: mcacubs.com Open House: October 14, 2021

Arden Cahill Academy

Thursday, September 30, 2021 ardencahillacademy.com In person or virtual

Mount Carmel Academy

Thursday, October 14, 2021 mcacubs.com

International High School of New Orleans

Morris Jeff Community School

Grades: (PK-11) Lopez Campus (PK-8th) 211 S. Lopez, New Orleans, LA 70119 (504) 373-6258 Clark Campus (9-11th) 1301 N. Derbigny, New Orleans, LA 70116 (504) 355-0210 Email: info@morrisjeffschool.org Website: www.morrisjeffschool.org

Ridgewood Preparatory School

Grades: (PK-12) 201 Pasadina Ave. Metairie, LA 70001 (504) 835-2545 Website: ridgewoodprep.com Open House Daily. Call or email rps@ridegwoodprep.com for an appointment.

St. Catherine of Siena

Grades: PK through 7th 400 Codifer Blvd.

Metairie, LA 70005 (504) 831-1166 www.scsgators.org Private Tours will resume in September, 2021. Sign up at scsgators.org.

St. Edward the Confessor School

Grades: (PK1-7) 4921 West Metairie Ave. Metairie, LA 70001 (504) 888-6353

In person Thursday,October 21, 2021 www.ihsnola.org

Louise S. McGehee School mcgeheeschool.com PK-12 Open House Thursday, October 7, 2021 Little Gate Open House October 11, 2021

Website: steddyschool.com Open House: November 18, 2021 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

St. John Lutheran

3937 Canal Street New Orleans, LA 70119 (504) 482-2118 Website: stjohnlutherannola.com Please call the office at 504-488-6641 to schedule a personal tour of our campus.

St. Michael Special School

1522 Chippewa St, New Orleans, LA 70130 Phone: (504) 524-7285 Website: stmichaelspecialschool.com Open House: Thursday October 14, 2021 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Continuous Tours

Stuart Hall School for Boys

Grades: (1 YO – Grade 12) 2635 State Street New Orleans, LA 70118 (504) 866-5292 Website: go.uanola.org Email: admissions@uanola.org High School Open House Grades: 8 - 12 Thursday, October 28, 2021 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Visit the website for more information.

Victory Christian

Grades: (K3-8) 5708 Airline Dr. Metairie, LA 70003 (504) 733-5087 Website: vcagators.net Email: info@vcagators.net Open House: Private Tours available October 25 – 29, 2021.

Tours by appointment. Call the school to schedule, 504-733-5087.

Young Audiences Charter Schools

Ages: 2 to PK4 2216 Metairie Rd. Metairie, LA 70001

Little YACS Jefferson Parish PK-Kindergarten Kate Middleton Jefferson Parish 1st-5th Burmaster Jefferson Parish 6th-11th Lawrence D. Crocker Orleans Parish PK4th-8th (Virtual Open House): yacs.org Young Audiences Charter - Orleans Campus: November 3, February 2 and March 30 Young Audiences Charter - Jefferson Campus: November 10, January 26 and March 23

PK-12 Virtual Open House October 13, 2021 PK-12 Open House Thursday, October 21, 2021

https://scsgators.org Private Tours will resume in September, 2021. Sign up at scsgators.org.

Grades: PreK 3 through 7th 2032 S Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118 (504) 861-1954 Website: Stuarthall.org Application deadlines: PreK 3 - December 10, 2021 PreK 4 through 7th – January 3, 2022

The Little School

The Little School

Thelittleschoolmetairie.com Thursday,October 7, 2021 In person - Masks required.

St. Catherine of Siena

Ursuline Academy

go.uanola.org Thursday, October 28, 2021 Visit the website for more information.

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SCHOOL OPEN ULE open HOUSE house SCHED schedule

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Creating a Love for Learning

TOMORROW IS A GIRL

AGES 2-5 YEARS OLD PRE-K4 PROGRAM

OCTOBER OPEN HOUSES OPEN HOUSE 2216 Metairie Road METAIRIE

(504) 835-9964

Thursday, October 7th

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm In person, masks required

www.thelittleschoolmetairie.com

NOW OFFERING

1/2 DAY PRESCHOOL Personal tours available upon request.

ST. JOHN OFFERS CLASSES FOR PRESCHOOL THRU GRADE EIGHT.

3937 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70119 504 488-6641 | www.stjohnlutherannola.com

Open House | PK-12 October 7th & 21st, 8:30 AM - 10 AM Virtual Open House | PK-12 October 17th, 12 PM Little Gate Open House | 8 weeks to 3 years October 11th, 8:30 AM - 10 AM The Louise S. McGehee School is open to all qualified girls regardless of race, religion, national or ethnic origin.

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SPONSORED CONTENT

SCHOOL PROFILES Mount Carmel Academy 7027 Milne Boulevard | New Orleans, LA 70124 504-288-7626 | www.mcacubs.com

Jewish Community Day School 3747 West Esplanade Avenue North Metairie,LA70002|504-887-4091 |www.jcdsnola.org Jewish Community Day School of Greater New Orleans is a coeducational independent school for students ages two months through 6th Grade. Balancing challenging academics with an enriching Jewish Studiesprogram,aJCDSeducationisinterdisciplinary, project-based, and holistic. Our small class size and differentiated instruction ensure each child is valued for their individual strengths. Students bring what they’ve learned here beyond the school’s boundaries, too, using their education to fulfill the Jewish value of Tikkun Olum, repairing the world. JCDS is a nurturing school where families of all backgrounds are welcomed and children are prepared to be engaged, compassionate leaders.

The Mount Carmel Academy experience is filled with opportunities for each student to pursue her passions, uncover new talents, grow spiritually, and discover the person God created her to become. Students collaborate with peers, view failures as opportunities for growth, and approach our ever-changing and complex world with an inquisitive mind. Small class sizes (average of 9) ensure an interactive and inclusive learning environment. Students are encouraged to expand their interests and become active participants in the community. Explore our campus, meet our students and teachers, and learn more at Open House on October 14 from 2-7:30 p.m. RSVP on mcacubs.com.

The Little School 2216 Metairie Rd. | Metairie, LA 504-835-9964 | Thelittleschoolmetairie.com The Little School program began over 45 years ago as a ministry of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. We are a co-educational, play-based preschool serving children ages two to five years old, including a Pre-K4 program.

We are licensed by the state of Louisiana and are members of the National Association of Episcopal Schools.

Our approach to learning aims to teach the “whole child” expanding not only perceptual abilities, communication skills and gross and fine motor skills but also helps them to become more independent and responsible. Our primary goal is to nurture your children and create a love of learning so they become more intellectually and emotionally prepared for future academic success.

Louise S. McGehee School 2343 Prytania Street | New Orleans, LA 70130 504-561-1224 | mcgeheeschool.com At McGehee, girls come first. With our focus on leadership and deep learning, McGehee offers students the opportunity to become creative and critical thinkers.

Our advanced curriculum, and the deep expertise of our teachers who guide it, along with a student experience empowering girls and young women, make McGehee a truly remarkable place—a school that creates transformation. Meet McGehee.

Visit us online at mcgeheeschool.com The Louise S. McGehee School is a non-denominational all girls school serving students in PK through 12th grade, as well as children between the ages of 8 weeks old and three years old at Little Gate. Contact admissions@mcgeheeschool.com for more information!

University View Academy 225-421-2900 | Universityview.academy University View Academy is a Louisiana-based K-12 tuition-free online public charter school available to all students statewide from any parish.

Understanding, engaging, and empowering each unique student for college and beyond: this is University View Academy’s mission. University View Academy is dedicated to providing a flexible and innovative learning environment that accommodates the needs of all learners. We also provide students with ongoing social activities, clubs and field trips to stay connected with friends.

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AREA

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ST. MICHAEL SPECIAL SCHOOL

OPEN HOUSE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2021

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM | Continuous Tours SIGN UP: stmichaelspecialschool.com 1522 Chippewa St. New Orleans, LA 70130 504-524-7285 St. Michael does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in administration of their educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

NewOrleans

HOME + STYLE + DESIGN

DON’T MISS THE NOVEMBER ISSUE RESERVE SPACE

OCTOBER 23

ISSUE DATE

NOVEMBER 3

Contact Ad Director Sandy Stein 504.483.3150 or sstein@gambitweekly.com

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SPONSORED CONTENT

SCHOOL PROFILES Ridgewood Preparatory School St John Lutheran School 3937 Canal Street | New Orleans, LA 504-488-6641

Arden Cahill Academy 3101 Wall Blvd, Gretna, LA 70056 | (504) 392-0902 ardencahillacademy.com Arden Cahill Academy combines a strong education with the unique qualities of an outdoor country environment, minutes from downtown. Nestled along Bayou Fatma in Gretna, the 12-acre campus currently serves students from six weeks in its Infant Center through 11th grade in its High School. Arden Cahill Academy enrolled its first class of high school freshmen in August 2019 and is proud to continue its tradition of academic excellence and cultural enrichment through its college preparatory curriculum. Arden Cahill Academy will be graduating its first class of high school seniors next year. Horse stables, a petting farm, a STEAM Lab, art studios, band and music rooms, and a 300-seat theater make the Arden Cahill Academy campus unique. The academy also hosts Camp Corral, a 10-week summer camp that has been voted the #1 summer camp In the New Orleans area by Gambit readers for the past two years.

For more information on availability for the 2021/2022 school year, please call 504-392-0902 or visit ardencahillacademy.com. Prospective families are encouraged to attend an Open House on September 30th from 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Tours scheduled online by appointment. Spaces are limited.

St. John Lutheran School endeavors to assist parents in securing their child’s future in this world as well as the next. We challenge our students intellectually, nourish them spiritually, guide them in developing individual accountability and social competence, and lead them to an understanding of personal responsibility to God, family and community.

We invite you to visit our campus and learn more about St. John Lutheran School. Please call the office at 504-488-6641 to schedule a personal tour.

St. Michael Special School 1522 Chippewa St | New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 524-7285 | www.stmichaelspecialschool.com St. Michael Special School provides a Catholic environment where students with special educational needs are able to grow in faith and reach their full potential – academically, socially, and physically. St. Michael has been educating students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities since 1965. stmichaelspecialschool.com Lower School ages 6 – 15 | Upper School ages 16 – 21 | Two Adult Programs

201 Pasadena Ave | Metairie, LA 70001 504-835-2545 | www.ridgewoodprep.com Ridgewood is an independent, PK-12, college preparatory, unit school in the New Orleans metro area. We are approved by the State Department of Education and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS CASI). Ridgewood Prep School is dedicated to a single mission: preparing students for higher education. We accomplish this with enthusiastic professionals, a comfortable and private campus environment, and a traditional, well-grounded approach to education. Ridgewood attracts students from the entire New Orleans metropolitan area, six parishes, and many nations around the world. Our diverse cultural setting promotes awareness, respect and enhances the social development of our students.

We focus on several key goals: Growth in intellectual skills, Preparation for occupational choice, usually at the professional level, Awareness of physical and social environments, Deepened appreciation of aesthetics, philosophy, and religion, Responsible participation in home, school, and community. Our graduates attend public and private colleges and universities throughout the nation and world and become members of a wide range of professions.

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A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T PAGE 5

released their well-received debut album in late 2020 through Community Records and ska punk label Bad Time Records. Drawing influence from the Two-Tone era of ska, Bad Operation goes its own way with a forward-looking style its calling New Tone. The band is finally playing its first in-person show at 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2, at Banks St. Bar. Joystick and Stuck Lucky also share the bill. Free admission. Find more information at facebook.com/ badoperation.

‘God of Carnage’

RIDGEWOOD

AFTER TWO 11-YEAR-OLD BOYS GET INTO A PLAYGROUND FIGHT AT SCHOOL , their parents get together

PREPARATORY SCHOOL Knowledge • Wisdom • Discipline

We are currently open and accepting applications for this year OPEN HOUSE DAILY

RECEPTION SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2ND 5PM-8PM

THE LAST SUPPER & OTHER PAINTINGS ARTIST: SARAH BRECHT

Please call 504.835.2545 or email rps@ridgewoodprep.com for more information.

Sullivan | Gallery

201 Pasadena Avenue Metairie, LA 70001 ridgewoodprep.com

3 8 2 7 M A G A Z I N E ST 5 0 4 . 8 9 5 . 6 72 0 O P E N W E D - S AT 12 - 5 P M

EXHIBITION OCT 2 - NOV 20

to try to address the matter like adults. But what starts with petty squabbling deteriorates into airing of all sorts of grievances between couples and spouses and an escalating conflict. Yasmina Reza’s drama won Best Play and other Tony Awards when it debuted on Broadway in 2008. Donald Jones Jr. directs Michael Haydel Jr., Reagan Lincoln, Jennifer Schemke and Jake Wynne-Wilson for Jefferson Performing Arts Society’s production at Teatro Wego! on Oct. 1-3 and 8 and 10.

Opening weekend has shows at 7:30 p.m. all three days plus a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee. Tickets $20-$35 at jpas.org.

The Nite Tripper Guitar

MUSICIAN AND ARTIST DON MOSER AND MASTER LUTHIER BILL ASHER

worked together to build The Nite Tripper Guitar, an instrument inspired by and dedicated to Dr. John. On Thursday, Sept. 30, the guitar will be showcased in concert at Tipitina’s, with performances by former Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli, Dave Malone, June Yamagishi, Renard Poche and more. The show starts at 9 p.m.

Tickets are $30 at tipitinas.com.

Poet Laureate Mona Lisa Saloy

NEW ORLEANS POET AND DILLARD UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR AND FOLKLORIST MONA LISA SALOY delivers

her first reading as Louisiana’s Poet Laureate in a virtual event at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29. Saloy won the 2005 T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry for her collection “Red Beans & Ricely Yours,” as well as the PEN-Oakland-Josephine Miles National Literary Award in 2006. She will serve as the state’s poet laureate through 2023. The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities presents the read-

ing, which is viewable on Zoom through a link on leh.org and via facebook.com/lahumanities.

Fleurt X 2.0

GRRLSPOT, WHICH PUTS ON NIGHTLIFE EVENTS SPECIFICALLY FOR LESBIANS,

is hosting its fall event Saturday, Oct. 2 at The Howlin’ Wolf.

The event features DJs, acrobats, go-go dancers, burlesque performers Jeez Loueez, Dawn DrapeHer, Acrodite and Synamin Vixon and more. Tickets are $10 on Eventbrite.

New Orleans Nightmare

THE HAUNTED HOUSE OPENS A SEASON OF HORROR ON FRIDAY, OCT. 1. The

Jefferson attraction tucked near the Huey P. Long Bridge has boogeymen creeping in hallways and hiding in closets and under beds, hallucinatory frights and Halloween classics. Attendees must wear masks. It’s open through Nov. 6, but dates vary. Find tickets on neworleansnightmare.com.

Rick Bragg

MEMOIRIST AND FORMER JOURNALIST RICK BRAGG’S LATEST BOOK , “The

Speckled Beauty,” reflects on a stubborn, ill-behaved, stray dog that wandered into his life while the writer was battling cancer.

Bragg’s work includes “All Over But the Shoutin’,” “Where I Come From — Stories from the Deep South,” books on Jerry Lee Lewis and Jessica Lynch and more.

Bragg reads from the book and participates in a Q&A at the Garden District Book Shop at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30. Tickets are $30-$36 on Eventbrite and include a copy of the book.

New Orleans Jazz Vipers

THE NEW ORLEANS JAZZ VIPERS BRING THEIR SWINGING STYLE OF JAZZ to

the New Orleans Jazz Museum for a live show in the courtyard at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28. The performance also is available online at facebook.com/ nolajazzmuseum/live.

Loose Cattle with Lilli Lewis

MICHAEL CERVERIS AND KIMBERLY KAYE’S AMERICANA OUTFIT LOOSE CATTLE performs an outdoor show

with keyboardist and folk and roots rocker Lilli Lewis as a guest.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30. Find tickets at broadsidenola.com.

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Home of the

“Bow Wow”

3332 Bienville Street | 504-827-5474 | neyows.com Sun 11am - 7pm - Brunch til 2pm Mon-Thursday -11am -9pm • Fri & Sat 11am-11pm

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MONDAY 3:00PM - 10:30PM THURSDAY - SUNDAY 11:00AM - 10:30PM

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F O R C O M P L E T E M U S I C L I S T I N G S A N D M O R E E V E N T S TA K I N G P L AC E I N T H E N E W O R L E A N S A R E A , V I S I T C A L E N D A R . G A M B I T W E E K LY. C O M To learn more about adding your event to the music calendar, please email listingsedit@gambitweekly.com Note: Due to COVID-19, events may have certain restrictions or may be postponed; we recommend checking out a venues social media sites or call before you go for the most up to dateinformation.

TUESDAY 28 BLUE CYPRESS BOOKS — Emily Hingle, 6 pm SIDNEY'S SALOON — Steve Detroy, 8 pm THE STARLIGHT LOUNGE — Pete Roze, 10 pm ; Daniel Beaudoin, 6 pm ZONY MASH BEER PROJECT — Rebirth Brass Band, 7 pm

WEDNESDAY 29 BAYOU BAR AT THE PONTCHARTRAIN HOTEL — Peter Harris Trio, 7 pm BROADSIDE NOLA — Tatsuya Nakatani, James Singleton and Rob Cambre, 7 pm D.B.A. AT PALACE MARKET — Oskar & Julia, 7 pm; Walter "Wolfman" Washington + The Roadmasters, 10 pm GASA GASA — Tattered Rabbit with Acid Carousel, 9 pm MADAME VIC'S — Marty Peters and the Party Meters, 7 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Funkin' It Up with Big Sam, 7:30 pm THE STARLIGHT LOUNGE — ESP, 9 pm; Piano Parlor Night, 6 pm

THURSDAY 30 BAMBOULAS — Christopher Johnson Jazz, 3 pm; Marty Peters & the Party Meters, 6:30 pm; Tree House Band, 10 pm; Andy J. Forest Treeaux, 12 pm BAYOU BAR AT THE PONTCHARTRAIN HOTEL — Peter Harris Quartet, 7 pm BOURREE — Sam Cammarata, 6 pm BROADSIDE NOLA — Loose Cattle with Lilli Lewis, 7 pm

BUFFA'S — Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand, 7 and 9 pm D.B.A. AT PALACE MARKET — Tin Men, 6 pm; Dave Jordan & The NIA, 10 pm GASA GASA — Future Cowboys with Soul Brass, 9 pm MADAME VIC'S — Cristina Kaminis and the Mix, 7 pm PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation All-Stars feat. Wendell Brunious, 5, 6:15 pm and 7:30 pm SIDNEY'S SALOON — Mason Trail, 9 pm SNUG HARBOR JAZZ BISTRO — James Singleton Quartet, 8 and 10 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Brass-AHolics, 7:30 pm THE STARLIGHT LOUNGE — Jonathan Freilich & Joe Cabral, 7 pm; Eric Merchant, 10 pm TIPITINA'S — Don Moser Presents: The Nite Tripper Guitar Comes Home, 9 pm

FRIDAY 1 CARNAVAL LOUNGE — Margie Perez Funky Groovy Dance Party, 6 pm D.B.A. AT PALACE MARKET — Jack Sledge, 7 pm; Kristin Diable + Andrew Duhon, 10 pm GASA GASA — Animal Sun with Cannibal Kids, 8 pm JAZZ @ THE BLUE DOG — DUKES of Dixieland, 8 pm LIVE OAK CAFE — Valerie Sassyfras, 6 pm MORNING CALL — Valerie Sassyfras, 8 am NEW ORLEANS FRENCH MARKET — Patrice Fisher and Arpa with Alejandro Junco Romero and Juan Soto Bown, 12:30 pm SOUTHPORT HALL LIVE MUSIC &

PHOTO BY BRET T DUKE / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

PARTY HALL — Superunknown does the '90s, 8 pm TERRABELLA VILLAGE — Jukebox NOLA, 5:30 pm TIPITINA'S — Lost Bayou Ramblers & 79rs Gang, 9 pm

SATURDAY 2 BROADSIDE NOLA — Beausoleil avec Michael Ducet, 7 pm CARNAVAL LOUNGE — Loose Cattle, 9 pm D.B.A. AT PALACE MARKET — Tuba Skinny, 6 pm; New Orleans Nightcrawlers Brass Band, 10 pm GASA GASA — People Museum, 9 pm JAZZ @ THE BLUE DOG — DUKES of Dixieland, 8 pm THE HOWLIN' WOLF — GrrlSpot FLEURT X 2.0, 8 pm TIPITINA'S — Sweet Crude & Cha Wa, 10 pm ZONY MASH BEER PROJECT — Walter Wolfman Washington & the Roadmasters, 7 pm

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SUNDAY 3 BROADSIDE NOLA — Will Bernard, Simon Lott & Will Thompson, 5 pm CARNAVAL LOUNGE — Ever More Nest, 6 pm; Meschiya and the Machetes, 9 pm GASA GASA — Native Sons & New Age, 8 pm MONKEY MONKEY COFFEE AND TEA — Valerie Sassyfras, 8 am SOUTHPORT HALL LIVE MUSIC & PARTY HALL — Nonpoint, 7 pm THE HOWLIN' WOLF — Hot 8 Brass Band, 9 pm

MONDAY 4 GASA GASA — Ohmme & Deeper, 8 pm;

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MUSIC CALENDAR

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MUSIC

October 8-14 2019 Volume 40 Number 41

Carrying on

by Jake Clapp

Fall

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RESERVE SPACE: OCTOBER 8 ISSUE DATE: OCTOBER 19 To advertise call Sandy Stein at 504.483.3150 or email sstein@gambitweekly.com

“VESSELS,” THE NEW, POSTHUMOUS ALBUM by Joe Tullos, opens with the sweetly mesmerizing “And Anna So Blew,” a song Tullos wrote years ago about a Florida bartender he befriended. Tullos quietly sings, “She mixes alcohol and methadone for pest control in her dome” and unravels a portrait of a woman, with ups, downs and complexities. By the end, you feel like you’ve met her.

That was just the kind of songwriter Tullos was, his friends say — he never met a stranger and could put your life’s story into an affectionate tune with ease.

“I think he always listened to people in everyday life,” says Kevin Aucoin, who helped produce “Vessels.” The woman in “And Anna So Blew” “was a real person. Joe basically put all that stuff aside to talk to the person no matter what their problem was in life. If they were a drug abuser, an alcoholic, homeless, a millionaire, whatever the case may be, he found the silver lining in them and found them as a person.”

“Vessels” is filled with examples of Tullos capturing the world going on around us in songs written over the last 30-plus years but recorded in the final weeks of his life. The album will be released Friday, Oct. 1, and friends and musicians who helped Tullos make “Vessels” host a release party from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Louisiana Music Factory.

Tullos died on Nov. 10, 2020, at the age of 56, from Stage IV pancreatic cancer. A singer-songwriter, he grew up in the River Parishes before moving to New Orleans in the late-’80s. He became a wellliked part of the music community, and in 1989 formed Big Sun with Aucoin — a drummer and longtime friend — and other players, including guitarists Randy Ellis and Brian Stoltz, bassist James Slaughter, multi-instrumentalist Steven Montz and singer Melanie Scott, all of whom appear on “Vessels.”

Big Sun released its debut album in 1993, and a few years later, Tullos signed a deal with Dinosaur Entertainment to release his debut solo album, “The Scoundrel’s Waltz,” recorded with members of Blind Melon and Squirrel Nut Zippers. Photographer Michael Benson mentions in the “Vessels” liner notes that Tullos “wrote music

PHOTO PROVIDED BY BIG SUN RECORDS

Joe Tullos for Jimmy Buffett, cooked for John Grisham and toured with Carl Perkins, but those moments were just the tip of the iceberg in the legend of Joe Tullos.”

Tullos and his wife, Andrea, eventually decamped from Louisiana to Hillsborough, North Carolina, making a home there for 20 years.

But missing his home state, Joe and Andrea decided to move back in 2018.

Tullos cleared a bout with cancer in 2015. But in the summer of 2020, it returned, and Tullos wasn’t given much time. He decided to forgo radical treatments and instead spent his time making music.

“What he really wanted to do was make music as long as he could,” says Michael Paz, co-producer of “Vessels.”

Tullos called his longtime friends Paz, Aucoin and Mark Dillon, a keyboardist and singer, to record songs that would eventually make up “Vessels.” They gathered at Aucoin’s home studio in the French Quarter and recorded for 17 days. Tullos didn’t set out to make an album, Paz says. Tullos just wanted to put to tape songs he had been working on for years.

But he realized there was an album there after all.

Months later, after Tullos passed, Paz came up with the title and art concept of “Vessels” — inspired by Tullos’ wish that part of his ashes be placed into a glass sphere to be dropped into the Gulf Stream so that “we’ll see where I wash up,” as he sings in the song “Next Town.”

“I’ve been a Joe fan for a long time,” Aucoin says. “From the first time I’ve heard his original material, I feel in love with his music. Before I was even playing with him, I knew this guy was a great songwriter.”

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Quarterback drama

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Charlton Heston (17) stars as a New Orleans Saints quarterback in the “Number One.” Omni Royal Orleans, and drives down Bourbon Street. He goes to Al Hirt’s club and visits with the trumpeter during a set break.

He’s not thrilled about the next chapter in his life. Richie Fowler (played by Bruce Dern), his former top receiver, has started a lucrative business leasing cars. Fowler hosts parties with strippers, but Catlan isn’t impressed. Another friend explains computers to him, as punch cards buzz through a massive mainframe. He offers a job and says Catlan would have to act fast because the opportunity won’t be there in a year — the current generation of youth are voracious about their careers. Everything reminds Catlan that he’s becoming obsolete.

The film gets a realistic look from plenty of NFL file footage shot at Tulane Stadium. Catlan and his teammates are not the physical marvels of today’s professional sports. Baggy uniforms hang on thick and sagging bodies.

Off the field, turtlenecks, sports jackets and horn-rimmed glasses are the style.

The cast has many familiar faces.

Catlan’s wife is played by Jessica Walter, who starred in “Play Misty for Me” and numerous TV shows, including many seasons of “Arrested Development” as Lucille Bluth. Catlan’s new friend Ann Marley is played by Diana Maldaur, who is familiar from many TV roles, including the original and a later franchise of “Star Trek” and “Born Free.” The Saints coach is played

by John Randolph, who’s had a prolific career on stage and screen.

For all the talent, it’s a pretty good effort, and it imagined a winning franchise back in the team’s tough early years.

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THIS STORY MAY SOUND FAMILIAR: A Superbowl-winning New Orleans Saints quarterback hitting 40 years old struggles with whether it’s time to retire, while two young quarterbacks vie to succeed him — one is slowly learning the system, and the other is a newcomer gunning to play now.

Some Saints fans and movie buffs may recognize that plotline from “Number One,” starring Charlton Heston. It was filmed in New Orleans and released in 1969, when the Saints were starting their third season. The film is available online, including on Amazon and Vudu.

For all the movies about New Orleans and filmed here, “Number One” doesn’t come up very often.

It’s a decently acted drama loaded with talented actors, but it has some gender and social stereotypes that should be retired.

Heston’s Ron “Cat” Catlan has lived his life as a football hero — physically tough, shrewd, attractive to women, rich. The film takes seriously those concepts of manliness, but now it looks more like fodder for an Austin Powers romp, and a couple of ascots in “Number One” are over the top.

Heston was in the midst of his “Planet of the Apes” movies when he made the film. A quarterback comeback could be heroic, but not on the scale of leading the Israelites out of Egypt or motley humans against sentient apes. Heston, however, is solid in the role of Catlan.

Catlan enjoys his stardom, wearing stylish clothes and driving an Italian-racing-red convertible, but he senses his playing days are going to run out. He is injured in a preseason game against the Cleveland Browns and watches as a young quarterback steals the spotlight in his absence. The fans may be ready to move on, and one heckles him, “Go file for Medicare.”

Catlan’s marriage is falling apart.

He has ignored his wife, who runs her own fashion business, and the story detours in a creaky way into the gender-role debate about whether her having a career translates into not supporting her husband. Also, plenty of women are eager to be with him.

The settings are familiar as Catlan drinks at French Quarter spots, including what is now the

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NEW CONSTRUCTION NEAR BAYOU & CITY PARK

PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE TAKEN IN

By Frank A. Longo 33 Common seabird with black wingtips 36 Doc wielding a penlight 38 Chou En- — 40 “— la vista!”

41 — Aviv 42 Chess piece four squares from the king at the start of the game 47 Alternatives to inns 49 Wife’s father, e.g.

50 Left on the dinner table 52 Arid African expanse 56 Small drinks 57 Keep — profile 58 Egypt’s Anwar 61 Experts 62 Mooing herd

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ACROSS 1 Alabama city 6 Change to fit 11 Kind of port on a PC 14 Seizes the attention of 19 Follow behind 20 First half of an album 21 Salada drink 22 Roll back to 0 23 “Hitchin’ —” (1970 hit) 24 U.S. version of a cue sport 27 Argonauts’ quest 29 Screening airport gp.

30 Lead-in for Rooter or tiller 31 Israel’s main airline 32 Motorist’s 180, slangily

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64 Cars move up and down in it 68 Fleur-de- — 69 “Yes, yes!,” in Spain 71 Land in the ocean, to Yvette 72 Iraq’s locale 73 Group of two 74 Certain injury from an arachnid 78 Gives 10% to the church 80 See 96-Down 81 Dragster fuel 82 Guesses at JFK or SFO 84 Iowa city 86 Printed notice with no pictures

26 French edict city of old 28 Granola bits 34 “Help Me, —” (1965 hit) 35 Fancy party 37 Boise-to-Spokane dir.

38 Lerner’s collaborator in musicals 39 Wanted-poster abbr.

42 Grafton’s “— for Quarry” 43 Single-wheeled circus prop 44 U.S.-Mex. border city 45 Gives a judgment about 46 “Dogtown” singer Yoko 47 Paradise 48 Persian king 51 “The Hollow Men” poet 53 Scholastic 54 Simply won’t 55 Apropos of 57 Et — (and others) 59 Week- — -glance 60 Mexican dish 63 Baking qty.

65 Petrol quantities 66 Jacob of social reform 67 Roosted 68 Exam for future attys.

70 “Here Comes the Hotstepper” singer — Kamoze

ABR, CRS, GRI, SFR, SRS

75 Campus mil. group 76 Hair highlight 77 Gaggle birds 79 Like direct combat 83 Sea- — Airport 85 IRS form info 87 Iraqi, for one 88 Back fish fin 90 Singer Des’— 91 Jeong of “The Hangover” 93 Liselotte of the LPGA 94 Revenues 96 With 80-Across, Silicon Valley city 97 PIN money?

98 Hucksters’ helpers 99 Stickler 101 The “g” of e.g.

104 Ike’s wife 105 Screw up 106 Glossy fabric 107 Bewildered 109 Concerto part 110 Actor Ed 111 Get versed in 115 Sup stylishly 116 Lacks being 117 Emu relative 119 Slangy suffix with “two” 120 Gp. for tooth drillers

DOWN 1 Rocket part 2 Flynn of old Hollywood 3 Boxer Ali 4 Iraq’s locale 5 Sheltered from the wind 6 “Have — trip” 7 How faint memories are recalled 8 “Zip- — -Doo-Dah” 9 Father, in French 10 Chinese calisthenics system 11 Thespian great Hagen 12 Popular Nissans 13 Certain guitar player 14 Miracle- — 15 Corporate shake-up, for short 16 Invite on a date 17 Scarab, e.g.

18 Leisurely walk 25 2.0 grade

ANSWERS FOR LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE: P 2

PUZZLES

89 Newly capped tire 91 Makes a sock, say 92 Old buddies 95 Inmate who’s broken out 97 African cobra 100 Staples Center, e.g.

101 “Aw, shucks!”

102 Pantry pest 103 Baby who doesn’t need a pacifier, perhaps 106 Actor Mineo 108 Spoken 112 Sorvino of “Mimic” 113 I love, to Livia 114 It connects to a car engine’s water pump 118 People who do what’s at the ends of nine answers in this puzzle 121 Barbera’s collaborator in cartoons 122 Borden’s “spokescow” 123 Actor Romero 124 Common bellybutton 125 Rear- — (car accident) 126 Banana oil or benzoate 127 Secret U.S. govt. group 128 Big name in insurance 129 Deck out

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