June-July 2016 Issue of Inside New Orleans

450

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YVONNE BLOUNT • CALABASH • POPPY TOOKER • BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP

JUNE-JULY 2016 VOL. 3, NO. 3

June-July 2016 3

June-July 2016

Vol. 3, No. 3

Publisher Lori Murphy –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Editor-in-Chief Anne Honeywell

Senior Editor Jan Murphy

Associate Editor Maggie Murphy

Managing Editor Leah Draffen

Contributors are featured on page 16.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Art Director Brad Growden

Graphic Designer Jennifer Starkey

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Business Manager Jane Quillin

Senior Account Executives Poki Hampton

Candice Laizer Barbara Roscoe

Account Executives Barbara Bossier

Kim Camet Amy Taylor

Advertising Coordinator Margaret Rivera –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– For advertising information phone (504) 934-9684 fax (504) 934-7721 email sales@insidepub.com –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Please send items for Inside Scoop to scoop@insidepub.com.

Photos for Inside Peek, with captions, should be sent to peek@insidepub.com. Submit items for editorial consideration to editor@insidepub.com.

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Contact Inside New Orleans P.O. Box 6048

Metairie, LA 70009 phone (504) 934-9684 fax (504) 934-7721 website www.insideneworleans.net

Subscriptions 1 Year $18 2 Years $30 email subscriptions@insidepub.com ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

On the cover

Artist Aron Belka

Grand Isle Shrimper

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– INSIDE NEW ORLEANS is published bi-monthly (February, April, June, August, October, December) by M and L Publishing, LLC, PO Box 6048, Metairie, LA 70009 as a means of communication and information for greater New Orleans, Louisiana. Bulk Postage paid - New Olreans, LA. Copy­right ©2016 by M & L Publishing, LLC. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written consent of publisher. Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and artwork. Inside New Orleans Magazine is created using the Adobe Creative Suite on Apple Macintosh computers.

contents table of

page 82

page 34

Features 18 Bold Gestures Cover Artist Aron Belka 34 Watercolor Rendezvous The Peterson Home 40 Visiting a Vieux CarrĂŠ Legend Yvonne Alciatore Blount 48 Calabash Paradise in Grenada 52 Poppy Tooker Local Food Guru

62 Steel Wolves U-boats Prowl the Gulf in WWII page 40

72 A Moving Experience Confessions of a Joyful Hoarder 74 Registering for an Elegant Future 80 Edward Wilkerson

The Creative Force of Lafayette 148 New York

page 48 8

Inside New Orleans

Business & Leadership Follows page 86.

contents table of

Departments 12 Publisher’s Note 14 Editor’s Note 14 Reader Resources 16 Contributors 24 INside Scoop 33 INside Story The June Bug

page 75

101 INside Peek

Featuring: Sippin’ in Seersucker 58 At the Table Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré Cool Eats Centennial Season Announcement 70 IN the Bookcase Women IN Business Luncheon Junk by Alison Stewart Nissan Engel Solo Show 74 IN Love and Marriage

Art in Bloom Growden-LaPorte McGehee’s All Jazzed Up 75 Flourishes Country Day’s City Nights 82 INside Look St. Martin’s Episcopal School Spring Gala Summer Daze Newman Parties at the Popp 95 IN Great Taste Amazing Grapes Brunch, Easy Like Sunday Morning 134 Last Bite Cava 97 INside Dining 39 Wine Cellar Tuesday Night Wines

page 95

Summer Bucket List

by Lori Murphy This is the first time since 1994 that we don’t have anyone on summer break! We have officially wrapped up the “educating our daughters” phase, so the school calendar is obsolete. It takes adjustment, because there was a natural window for fun; we had to get great things in before school started. Family parties and getaways had a spot to fill, which they have done very well over the years.

Now that we are empty nesters, I think we will replace that void with a Summer Bucket List. Things that must be done before Labor Day. I know I am showing my age, since it has been years since the school calendar and Labor Day had anything in common! But, so what. r I have already crossed the first thing off the list: get new white sandals. I have done that every summer since I was 2, and I am not going to stop now! r My girlfriend Margaret is a member of the Orchid Society, which has an incredible show in Lakeside June 3-5 where you can buy plants from the experts. Even I can keep an orchid alive! Count me in for that! r Like Winnie suggests in her story on page 72, I plan to lighten my load of stuff this summer. I read somewhere that trying to make your daughters want everything in your attic is not the loving, generous act you want to believe it is. And since Lauren lives in an efficiency apartment in D.C. and Maggie is heading to a tiny flat in Paris, it could be time to get OK with letting all but the most important treasures go. A big attic is no excuse to be a hoarder! r We spent the first year of our courtship going to festivals, and there are so many to choose from this summer. I have put the French Market Creole Tomato and the Cajun-Zydeco festivals on the emptynester Bucket List. I might add more! r To satisfy a yen for learning something valuable, I am thinking the Historic New Orleans Collection’s symposium on rum is a good idea, don’t you? Maybe we can complement that with something from the Tales of the Cocktail calendar!

The rest of my summer will be spent celebrating important milestones with family and friends, I hope that is on your list, too!

ps … Check the Scoop calendar on page 24 if you need help filling up your Bucket List!

12

Inside New Orleans

Editor’s Note

by Anne Honeywell

celebrations and vacations.

June is filled with graduations, weddings and, of course, Father’s Day. Though

photo: JENNIF ER WHITE MA XWELL

The summer months bring

Reader Resources

I lost my dad over four years ago, it still feels like yesterday. Nineteen years ago,

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just as he was beginning to really enjoy his role as grandfather, I needed my father

You are on our mailing list, and you will continue

again—and in a big way. With the unexpected death of my husband, my dad’s

to receive Inside New Orleans every other month

importance in both mine and my children’s lives had just become ten-fold. He

at no charge. Please join us in thanking our advertisers, who make this possible.

did not disappoint, and we all miss him dearly. So, if you are celebrating a father in your life this summer, count yourself among the very lucky.

Everyone loves a good wedding! Michael Harold tells us of some memorable ones (page 33) as only he can. Michael was at my wedding. I’m glad he does not

Pick Up a Copy: At one of our advertisers’ locations, or at Barnes & Noble, 3721 Veterans Blvd., Metairie.

have fodder from that night … wait, maybe he does? It’s a good thing I’m his editor!

July beach vacations are my favorite! But not just any beach—or so I thought for many years. My friends have a camp on the beach on Grand Isle (well, two camps and a camper, to be exact!), and I was invited there many summers. Grand Isle? Really? Nah. Eventually, I went for a weekend. Why did I wait so long? It

Subscribe: To subscribe to Inside New Orleans, or if you have a question about your subscription, please contact us by telephone or e-mail us at subscriptions@insidepub.com. Subscriptions

is about so much more than the beach; it’s the whole experience! Grand Isle is

are $18 for one year, or $30 for two years. To

quintessential Louisiana. Shrimp boats, pelicans, crab lines, folding chairs on

change your address, please send both your old

brown sand, fishing camps up and down the beach and oil rigs in the distant

address and new address. The post office does not forward magazines.

Gulf. This issue’s cover painting is Grand Isle Shrimper by Aron Belka, and I just love it. I hope you enjoy reading about this enormous talent. Linda Dautreuil shares his story on page 18.

And there’s a lot more in this issue. Learn about the German U-boats that

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roamed the Gulf in WWII, meet Yvonne Blount and Poppy Tooker and travel to Calabash and a home in Watercolor—two fabulous beach destinations!

So, if you are headed to the beach this summer like me, be sure to put Inside New Orleans in your bag. You’ll have plenty to read while you relax in your paradise!

14

Inside New Orleans

Inquire and Share Ideas: Do you know a person, organization or endeavor we might consider featuring in our pages? Or a great storyteller who may want to write for us?

Please contact the editor at editor@insidepub.com.

Contributors Our contributors give Inside New Orleans its voice, its personality and its feel. Here we are proud to highlight a few of them so that you can put a face with a name and get to know them.

Other Voices: Gretchen Armbruster, Brenda Breck, Linda Trappey Dautreuil, Leah Draffen, Candra George, Poki Hampton, Michael Harold, Yvette Jemison, Sandra Scalise Juneau, Rick Murphy and Terri Schlichenmeyer.

Winnie Brown Self-described as ADD++, Baton Rouge native and LSU graduate Winnie Brown says there is rarely a topic she is not interested in or can’t write about. On page 72, she shares “A Moving Experience.” Newlywed for almost 11 years, she and her husband, Mark, have a blended family of five 20-somethings. When not working as a business development consultant or on community endeavors, Winnie likes to spend time at their Pass Christian house, on their boat or cooking and eating.

Tom Fitzmorris

Ann Gilbert

Bill Kearney

Mimi Greenwood Knight

Tom Fitzmorris grew up in Treme, ate red beans every Monday from his CreoleFrench mother until he left home. Not long after that, he began writing a weekly restaurant review column that has continued 42 years.

In 1975, he began a daily radio feature, which grew into his current three-hour daily talk show on 1350, 3WL. He is the author of several cookbooks, more than a dozen restaurant guidebooks, a daily online newsletter (nomenu.com), and joins us At the Table on page 58.

Ann Gilbert is a longtime contributor for Inside Publications. Her career as a lifestyle, arts and entertainment editor for 30 years has been recognized with awards in writing, editing and design, but it is her passion for history that has graced our pages most often. In this issue, she tells the story of U-Boats in the Gulf in WWII (page 62).

Ann and her husband, Gene, enjoy summer vacations at their log cabin in the North Carolina mountains.

Bill Kearney believes if you like a wine, it’s a great wine—and the best wine is shared with friends. For more than 20 years, he has added wines from many regions, grapes and friends to his private collection. Recently certified as a sommelier, he serves as the wine director for Galatoire’s Restaurant, Galatoire’s Bistro and 33 Bar and Steak, where he is also a partner. A graduate of Tulane, Bill is president of Yenraek, a governmental affairs firm. On page 39, Bill helps you find the perfect “Tuesday Night Wines.”

Mimi Greenwood Knight is a mother of four and freelance writer with more than 500 article and essays in print in national and regional magazines, devotionals and 50 anthologies, including two dozen Chicken Soup for the Soul books. She lives in Folsom with her husband, David, where she enjoys martial arts, gardening, Bible study and knitting. In this issue, Mimi writes about Poppy Tooker on page 52.

16

Inside New Orleans

Bold Gestures

Cover Artist Aron Belka

THE YEAR 2015 WAS AN IMPORTANT YEAR for New Orleans-based artist Aron Belka. It was a year when his monumental oil portraits appeared before audiences with a taste for the drama and expressiveness that a larger-than-life image provides. The paintings are boldly gestural in the application of paint and expertly balance subtle, non-verbal qualities in the expression of his subjects. The Altruist, a portrait of the artist’s wife, Lina Moses, is an example of what is possible in the hands of an artist working on a surface 80 inches square—one who knows his subject well and who is capable of translating what he knows into visual terms 18

Inside New Orleans

resonant with a larger audience.

I first saw the painting at the St. Tammany Art Association in Covington on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of The Summer Show, a national juried exhibition. The Art House on Columbia Street is large and exerts a quirky and appealing vibe between exhibitions. I heard that the first of the 60 selections by juror Don Marshall, director of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, had arrived. I was anxious for a sneak peek. Quite simply, the painting commanded the space. As other excellent paintings and sculptures appeared, The Altruist held its own.

Despite the scale, there was an intimacy about the painting, allowing fine works on a smaller scale to hang

photo: CANDRA GEORGE mycreativereality.com

by Linda Trappey Dautreuil

harmoniously. Belka received the Best in Show Award and a monetary prize for the portrait, only one of many accolades he received shortly before and after the exhibition. At the end of the evening, the most-asked question was, “Who is Aron Belka?�

Raised in Salt Lake City, Aron Belka earned a bachelor of fine arts from Utah State University with a focus on illustration. His background training was solid in classical training, but it did not allow enough free time for exploring self-expression, an area of interest for Belka. Equipped with an ability to compose space and render realistic subject matter, Belka took up his camera, headed for New York and then Portland, Oregon. He began to use photography as a resource for his paintings. Eleven years ago, he moved to New Orleans, right before Hurricane Katrina roared through and the monumental human tragedy of the rising water. By then, he had already experienced the particular allure of the city, so deep in the South, but so different from the stereotypes, truly unique and precariously positioned, considering its many resources. Belka, like many others, was compelled to document the aftermath of the storm and extended his research to include the Gulf Coast.

When Belka first arrived in New Orleans, he had been making abstract paintings for some time. His desire to explore more expressive means in the years after leaving school propelled him in this direction. The freedom of a variety of materials and applications appealed and enriched his process and the surfaces of his paintings. The assortment of tools he frequently uses include ink brayers, squeegees and all sizes and shapes of brushes. Of these preferences he says, “I make marks >> June-July 2016 19

20

Inside New Orleans

soon be the scene of immense and dramatic change requiring extraordinary resiliency. He was forced to consider reality differently, and he realized that it was not only the impact of disasters but the ensuing consequences that mattered. Armed with his camera, he spent time documenting the people and the places along the eastern Gulf Coast moving forward in the process of recovery. The idea expanded as he turned his attention southwest. He visited areas in Plaquemines Parish where Isaac inundated Pointe á la Hache and went further west to areas affected by Hurricane Rita, small fishing communities such as Delcambre, Louisiana, where the livelihood of people is dependent on the viability of bodies of water adjacent to wetlands.

For nine months, Belka’s photographic expeditions included images of people engaged in a struggle to restore their way of life. Most >>

photo: CANDRA GEORGE mycreativereality.com

that offer a minimal amount of information to suggest an idea. I enjoy this method particularly on larger canvases because it promotes more physical participation and expression.”

Belka is particularly interested in the colorfilled, large-scale, gestural abstract paintings of Joan Mitchell. On one of his trips to New York, he also discovered the fleshy, monumental figurative works of contemporary British painter Jenny Saville. The strong graphic skills of both artists combined with visceral applications of paint influence Belka’s abstract paintings and figurative works, both large and small.

Belka notes creative people evolve constantly.

He considers the possibility that moving south for the first time gave him time to explore options for his work during the long drive—a return to figurative work in a different way might be possible in the future. Little did he know that his destination would

interesting to him was his growing understanding of the fishing industry and the important place it holds in Louisiana culture. His images included people born in Louisiana whose families had fished for years and Vietnamese communities who came to Louisiana because of opportunities to use their expertise as fishermen. Most shared an understanding of French.

When he returned to New Orleans, he began a new series of paintings, Working the Wetlands, which included large-scale portraits of many of the people he met and came to know. He began to vary his scale to include images of the land, water, boats and animals inhabiting the wetlands. “What resonated from my research was the resilience of those whose livelihoods are rooted in the surrounding wetlands. The paintings are a frame of reference that combines the measureable with the abstract.�

Belka uses photography as source material in his process. He has a large monitor in his studio that expands his images. His process includes drawings, first close and then distant. He walks back and forth, constantly integrating the background and figure with brushwork.

Sometimes he starts the painting using only abstract shapes. Next, he draws into the shapes to allow the image to evolve. He recognizes the differences between abstraction and representation but skillfully uses both to create strong presence. Where photography is limited, paint is more pliable and expressive for achieving the nuanced details on the visage of his subjects. The use of underpainting is new to Belka’s process. His backgrounds are very gestural, and the surface is built in layers. He prepares several canvases at once, begins drawing and eventually applies the paint wet on wet. Careful consideration of the elements of value, color, edges and movement of 22

Inside New Orleans

photo: CANDRA GEORGE mycreativereality.com

lines and shapes are important skills. Belka’s attention to such details in dialogue with the subject of the figure give his paintings an expressive edge.

The series Working the Wetlands, exhibited at Lemieux Gallery on Julia Street in New Orleans from December 2015 to February 2016, included large portraits of people Belka came to know well. His wish was to actually take part in at least one of the actual expeditions conducted by a fisherman named Jessie and his son, Toby, who owned large fishing boats. Both advised that the journey was rigorous and required several consecutive days on the water.

Belka turned to T-Rod, a fisherman whose father built shrimp boats all of his life. He was also the subject of a Belka portrait bearing his name. Belka took a step closer to his goal when he was invited to be present on the shrimping boat during the Blessing of the Fleet, which traditionally opens the Delcambre Shrimp Festival. Though not successful in convincing any of the expert fisherman and shrimpers to allow him to participate in an actual fishing expedition, he plans to return when time allows him to go out for several days and perhaps weeks.

The time for such an adventure may not be easy to find. Belka has flourished in his own area of

expertise, participating in Louisiana Contemporary presented by the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Bywater Biennial at the New Orleans Art Center. In December 2015, he received national recognition for The Altruist, winning the prestigious Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series. In addition to the honor, he was invited to present a solo exhibition of his paintings at SCOPE New York, an international contemporary art show, in March.

June-July 2016 23

French Market Creole Tomato Festival

INSIDE a handy guide to events and entertainment in and around New Orleans

June 2 Summer of Sustainability at Audubon

Watercolor Paintings by Louisiana

letters, diaries and personal effects,

Zoo. Benefiting G.U.L.F., Audubon’s

Artists, 1789–1989. From the

the exhibition highlights 19th- and

sustainable seafood program. Four-

permanent holdings of The Historic

20th-century New Orleanians, including

course dinner with beer pairing,

New Orleans Collection. Laura Simon

Henriette Delille, Oretha Castle Haley,

provided by NOLA Brewing. Louisiana

Nelson Galleries for Louisiana Art, 400

Eliza Jane Nicholson and Sophie B.

Swamp Exhibit, Audubon Zoo, 6500

Chartres St. Tues-Sat, 9:30am-4:30pm.

Wright. The Historic New Orleans

Magazine St. 6:30-9:30 p.m. $100.

Free. 523-4662. hnoc.org.

Collection, 533 Royal St. Tues-Sat,

audubongulf.org.

1-September 11 Voices of Progress: Twenty Women Who Changed 24

New Orleans. Through photographs,

Inside New Orleans

9:30am-4:30pm; Sun, 10:30am-4:30pm.

Free. 523-4662. hnoc.org.

2 Thursdays at Twilight with John Boutté. Live performance. Pavilion of

photo: CHAD BOUTTE

1-4 Awash with Color: Seldom-Seen

June 11-12 30th French Market Creole Tomato Festival. Live music, cooking demonstrations, kid’s activities, tomato-eating contest.

Dutch Alley to Crescent Park; activities in the Farmers Market and Old U.S. Mint. French Market, 1235 N Peters St. 10am-7pm. Free. frenchmarket.org.

Two Sisters in the Botanical Garden at City Park. Gates open, 5pm; music begins, 6pm. $10. 483-9488. neworleanscitypark.com.

3-5 A Walk in Paradise. The New Orleans Orchid Society spring show and plant sale. Lakeside Shopping Center, 3301 Veterans Memorial Blvd.

Fri- Sat, 10am-9pm; Sun, 12-4:30pm. neworleansorchidsociety.org.

>>

June-July 2016 25

Inside Scoop 3-5 Walker Percy Weekend. Three-day literary festival in St. Francisville with

techniques to strengthen knowledge of

food, craft beer, bourbon and live

basic fundamentals. Franco’s, 100 Bon

music; proceeds support the Julius

Temp Roulé, Mandeville. Sat, 10:15am.

Freyhan Foundation. (225) 635-4224.

792-0200. francosmandeville.com.

walkerpercyweekend.org.

3, 5 An American Tribute. Celebration

Championship. 64th annual races for pirogues and canoes. St. Genevieve

the Northlake Performing Arts Society.

Landing, 58203 Hwy 433, Slidell.

Christwood Blvd, Covington. Fri, 7:30-

12-7pm. Free. 643-2581.

6-10 FCB Escola Soccer Camp. 2016

9:30pm; Sun, 3-5pm. Adults, $20;

New Orleans Soccer Camp. FCB’s

children under 10, free. npas.info.

methodology has produced world-

3-11 Jade and Jade Couture Trunk

class players. Pelican Park, 63350

Show. Mother-of-the-occasion Fall

Pelican Dr, Mandeville. Ages 6-18; all

2016 collection. Bustles & Bows Bridal

skill levels welcomed. $425. 9am-3pm.

Boutique, 3230 Severn Ave, Metairie.

fcbarcelonasoccer.camp.

780-7090. bustlesandbowsbridal.com.

3-11 Jasmine Bridesmaid Trunk

6-10 Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra Summer Music Festival.

Show. Fall 2016 collection. Bustles

Young musicians at all levels of

& Bows Bridal Boutique, 3230

proficiency collaborate with the

Severn Ave, Metairie. 780-7090.

O’Connor Family Band featuring Mark

bustlesandbowsbridal.com.

O’Connor. Loyola University, 6363 St.

4 Super Saturday Volunteer Day at City Park. New Orleans City Park Volunteer Center, 1009 Harrison Ave. 8:45am.

Charles Ave. $340. gnoyo.org/summerfest-app.

6-25 Little Lyric Summer Musical

483-9459. neworleanscitypark.com.

Theater Workshop. Workshop and

4 New Orleans Botanical Gardens Plant

performance of Seussical Jr. for ages

Sale. The Pelican Greenhouse, New

8-12. Summer Lyric Theater, Dixon

Orleans City Park. 9am-12pm. Free.

Hall, Tulane University. Mon-

483-9464. neworleanscitypark.com.

Fri, 9am-3pm. $475. 865-5269.

4-5 New Orleans Oyster Festival.

Celebration of the Louisiana

summerlyric.tulane.edu.

9-11 30th Annual Louisiana Corn

Gulf oyster. Woldenberg Park, 1

Festival. Festival Grounds, 208

Canal St. 10am-6:30pm. Free.

Pershing Ave, Bunkie. Gate entrance fee

neworleansoysterfestival.org.

21 and up, $3; 20 and below, $1; Thurs

4-5 Etiquette Tea at Windsor Court.

night, free. Ride bracelets Thurs-Fri,

How-to of everything tea for any age or

$20; Sat, $25. Citywide parade, 10am

experience level. Traditional afternoon

Sat. (318) 346-2575.

tea service with a brief history of tea. Le

bunkiechamber.net/lacornfest.

Salon at Windsor Court, 300 Gravier St.

10-12 Southern Sportsman’s Festival

11am-2pm. $37 per person, plus tax

and Expo. Greater New Orleans

and gratuity.

premier event for outdoorsmen. Festival

grillroomneworleans.com/le-salon.

atmosphere includes live music,

4-July 16 Stroke Improvement for Inside New Orleans

5 Bayou Liberty Pirogue

of American composers and music by

Christ Episcopal School Theater, 80

26

Children. Ages 5 and up learn stroke

drinks, food, hands-on activities and

demonstrations by hundreds of experts.

The Alario Center, 2000 Segnette Blvd, Westwego. Fri, 2-8pm; Sat, 10am-2pm; Sun, 10am-6pm. Advanced singleday ticket, $8; advanced weekend pass, $15; kids 6 and under free every day; Friday, all kids free. 835-6383. southernsportsmansfestival.com.

10-12 Yat’s Entertainment. Cabaret show about All Things Yat! Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts, 325 Minor St, Kenner. $26 general admission. 4619475. rivertowntheaters.com.

11 3rd Annual Magnolia Ball. Benefiting the Center for Southern Craft and Design at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Honoree: Top Mob, the New Orleans graffiti collective. Ogden Museum of Southern Art, 925 Camp St. Patron party, 8-9pm; general admission, 9pm-12am. ogdenmuseum.org/event/ magnolia-ball.

11 A Run to Remember. 5k benefiting Wounded War Heroes. Terrabella Village, 100 Terra Bella Blvd, Covington.

Registration, 6:30am; race, 7:30am. $35. woundedwarheroes.org.

11 Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue at Jazz’n the Vines. Food, wine and music. Pontchartrain Vineyards, 81250 Old Military Rd. (Hwy. 1082), Bush. 6:309pm; gates open 5pm. $10/person at gate; children 17 and under, free. (985) 892-9742. pontchartrainvineyards.com/ jazzn-the-vines.

11-12 5th Annual 24 in 24 Fundraiser for Fighting Cancer. CrossFit NoSurrender’s fundraiser for breast cancer benefiting the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center of Covington. CrossFit NoSurrender, 625 Plaza Dr, Covington.

10am. $25 pledge per workout.

(985) 509-7033. crossfitnosurrender. com/24in24.

11-12 30th French Market Creole

>>

June-July 2016 27

Inside Scoop Tomato Festival. Live music, cooking

Burkhart explores and samples some

St, Kenner. Fri-Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm.

demonstrations, kid’s activities, tomato-

of Austria’s important wines. The Grill

$15. 461-9475. rivertowntheaters.com.

eating contest. Dutch Alley to Crescent

Room at Windsor Court, 300 Gravier

18-19 Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival.

Park; activities in the Farmers Market

St. 6pm. $45 per person, plus tax and

Armstrong Park, 701 N Rampart St.

and Old U.S. Mint. French Market,

gratuity. grillroomneworleans.com/

11:30am-6:30pm. Free.

1235 N Peters St. 10am-7pm. Free.

le-salon.

jazzandheritage.org/cajun-zydeco.

frenchmarket.org.

16-19 Joseph and the Technicolor

20-26 Patchwork Players Snow White.

12 Crabs, Crabs, Crabs. Everything you

Dreamcoat. Summer Lyric Theater

Rivertown Theaters for the Performing

always wanted to know about blue

at Tulane University ,104 Dixon Hall.

Arts, 325 Minor St, Kenner. Mon-

crabs. The Bayou Lacombe Museum.

8pm; Sunday matinee, 2pm. 865-5269.

Fri, 10am and 11:30am; Sat-Sun,

summerlyric.tulane.edu.

11am and 2pm. $8.50. 461-9475.

VFW Hall, 28000 Main St, Lacombe. bayoulacombemuseum@gmail.com.

12 Family Equality Day at Longue Vue.

17 Concerts in the Courtyard.

Performance by Sweet Crude presented

rivertowntheaters.com.

24 Beyond A Company Man: Traveling

Pack a picnic basket for Longue Vue’s

by the Historic New Orleans Collection

the French Atlantic with Marc-

first Family Equality Day celebrating the

with AOS Interior Environments. The

Antoine Caillot. Curator-historian Erin

LGBT parenting and family community.

Historic New Orleans Collection, 533

M. Greenwald discusses and signs her

Activities for kids; complementary

Royal St. Doors open, 5:30pm; concert,

new book. The Historic New Orleans

snowballs. Longue Vue House and

6–8pm. Admission, $10; free for THNOC

Collection Williams Research Center,

Gardens, 7 Bamboo Rd. Free with

members; includes three free beverages.

410 Chartres St. 6pm. Free. 523-4662.

online RSVP. 10am-1pm. 293-4724.

523-4662. hnoc.org.

hnoc.org.

longuevue.com.

14 The Wines of Austria. Sommelier Bill

17-19 Shrek Jr. The Musical. Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts, 325 Minor

25 Culinary Symposium: Rum. Hosted by the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres

Wheels that has serviced the hungry for

St. Registration required. 523-4662 or

over 60 years, helping nearly 2.4 million

July

wrc@hnoc.org. hnoc.org.

seniors annually. Arbor Room, City Park,

2 Super Saturday Volunteer Day at City

25 The Iguanas at Jazz’n the Vines.

12 Magnolia Dr, New Orleans. 6-9pm.

Park. New Orleans City Park Volunteer

Pontchartrain Vineyards. Food, wine,

Single ticket, $100. 821-4121.

Center, 1009 Harrison Ave. 8:45am.

music, fireworks. 81250 Old Military Rd

nocoa.org.

483-9459. neworleanscitypark.com.

(Hwy 1082), Bush. 6:30-9pm; gates

27-July 2 Summer Lyric Theater’s

4 Go 4th on the River. Dueling barges

open, 5pm. $10/person at gate; children

High School Intensive. For students

fireworks show on the historic

17 and under, free. (985) 892-9742.

ages 15-18. Summer Lyric Theater,

downtown New Orleans riverfront. 9pm.

pontchartrainvineyards.com/jazzn-the-

Dixon Hall, Tulane University. Mon-

Free. go4thontheriver.com.

vines.

Fri, 9am-2pm. $150. 865-5269.

25-26 St. Tammany Crab Festival.

summerlyric.tulane.edu.

5-10 Patchwork Players Rumpelstiltskin. Rivertown Theaters

Live music by Angela Winbush,

30-July 3 2016 Essence Festival. Daytime

for the Performing Arts, 325 Minor St,

Cowboy Mouth, Bag of Donuts,

activities; evening musical performances.

Kenner. Mon-Fri, 10am and 11:30am;

Tucka and Rockin’ Dopsie and more;

Main Stage and Superlounge inside

Sat-Sun, 11am and 2pm. $8.50. 461-

local crab dishes; classic car exhibit.

Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Doors

9475. rivertowntheaters.com.

Heritage Park, 1701 Bayou Ln, Slidell.

open, 6pm; ticket required. Daytime

6-23 Junior Lyric Summer Musical

12-9:30pm.

events including seminars, musical

Theater Workshop. Workshop and

sttammanycrabfestival.com.

tributes and an art expo are free at

performance of Into the Woods Jr

the New Orleans Convention Center.

for kids ages 12-16. Summer Lyric

on Wheels Fundraising Event. Food,

Doors open, 9am. 582-3023. 587-3663.

Theater, Dixon Hall, Tulane University.

dancing and more to benefit Meals on

essence.com.

Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm. $475. 865-5269.

26 “Don’t Forget to Feed Mama” Meals

>>

June-July 2016 29

Inside Scoop summerlyric.tulane.edu.

7 Fourteenth Les Comédiens Français Lecture: “Rediscovering Victor Séjour.” Lecture by Williams Research Center Director Alfred E. Lemmon, with readings from the author’s works. The Historic New Orleans Collection, Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres St. 6:30pm. Free. For reservations, 523-4662 or wrc@hnoc.org. hnoc.org.

7-10 Thoroughly Modern Millie. Presented

by Summer Lyric Theater at Tulane University 104 Dixon Hall. 8pm; Sun, 2pm.

865-5269. summerlyric.tulane.edu.

8-10 San Fermin in Nueva Orleans.

Running of the Bulls in New Orleans.

Thousands of runners roam the streets evading the Rollerbulls, roller derby skaters with horns. nolabulls.com.

9 16th Annual Mr. Legs. Beauty pageant parody featuring male contestants. Live music, a silent auction and a raffle, all proceeds to benefit Bridge House and Grace House. Generations Hall, 310 Andrew Higgins. 6-10pm. Tickets: $40 in advance; $45 at door. bridgehouse.org.

9 New Orleans Botanical Gardens Plant Sale. The Pelican Greenhouse, New Orleans City Park. 9am-12pm.

Free. 483-9464 or plants@nocp.org. neworleanscitypark.com.

9 Summer of Sustainability at the Audubon Clubhouse. All-inclusive five-course dinner with wine pairings; proceeds benefiting G.U.L.F., Audubon’s sustainable seafood program. Audubon Clubhouse Cafe, 6500 Magazine St. 6:309:30pm. $100. audubongulf.org.

9 Thursdays at Twilight with Bon Operatit!. Pavilion of Two Sisters in the Botanical Garden at City Park. Gates open, 5pm; music begins, 6pm. $10.

483-9488. neworleanscitypark.com.

9-10 Royal Tea at Windsor Court. Lavish afternoon tea experience for all ages with caviar sandwiches and sweets. Le 30

Inside New Orleans

Salon at Windsor Court, 300 Gravier St. 11am-2pm. $37 per person, plus tax and gratuity. grillroomneworleans.com/le-salon.

12 The Wines of the Northern Rhône.

Join Sommelier Bill Burkhart to sample Viognier from Condrieu and Syrah blends from the Côte-Rôtie, Crozes Hermitage and Saint Joseph. The Grill Room at Windsor Court, 300 Gravier St. 6pm. $45 per person plus tax and gratuity. grillroomneworleans.com.

14-24 The Wizard of Oz. Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts, 325 Minor St, Kenner. Thurs-Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. Tickets starting at $36. 4619475. rivertowntheaters.com.

16 Outdoor Living Center Grand Opening. Celebrating the new location with grill demos, giveaways and sales.

1331 N Hwy 190, Covington. (985) 8938008. outdoorlivingcenter.com.

16 Thursdays at Twilight with New Orleans Mystics. Pavilion of Two Sisters in the Botanical Garden at City Park. Gates open, 5pm; music begins, 6pm. $10. 483-9488 or plants@nocp. org. neworleanscitypark.com.

17 Summer Third Sunday Concert Series. Performance by John Rankin. Christ Episcopal Church, 100 Christwood Blvd, Covington. 5-6pm.

Free. 892-3177.

19-24 Tales of the Cocktail. The industry’s original nonprofit cocktail festival.

Various New Orleans venues. 948-0511. talesofthecocktail.com.

20 Friends’ Fest. Friends of City Park membership appreciation party.

Carousel Gardens Amusement Park and Storyland. 6-9pm. Free for friends members or raffle ticket holders. $75 per chance. 483-9376. friendsofcitypark.com.

22-23 Prohibition Tea. Experience a variety of cocktails enjoyed in tea cups, prohibition style. Le Salon at Windsor Court, 300 Gravier St. 11am-2pm. $47 >> June-July 2016 31

Inside Scoop per person, plus tax and gratuity. grillroomneworleans.com.

23 Bourbon through Bluegrass Event.

Cocktail event with Whiskey Professor Bernie Lubbers. Bourbon House, 144 Bourbon St. $50 plus tax and gratuity.

522-0111. bourbonhouse.com.

23 Thursdays at Twilight with Symphony Chorus of New Orleans. Pavilion of Two Sisters in the Botanical Garden at City Park.

Gates open, 5pm; music begins, 6pm. $10. 483-9488 or plants@ nocp.org.neworleanscitypark.com.

27 Book Signing and Lecture with Pamela Tyler. Author of New Orleans Women and the Poydras Home: More Durable than Marble. In conjunction with “Voices of Progress: Twenty Women Who Changed New Orleans.� The Historic New Orleans Collection. 533 Royal St. Exhibition viewing, 5:30-6pm; program, 7-8pm.

Free. 523-4662. hnoc.org.

28-30 FestiGals. FestiGals Girlfriend Getaway Weekend women-centric festival offering a verity of events, seminars and experiences. JW Marriott Hotel, 614 Canal St. 5241227. festigals.org.

28-31 Big River. Presented by Summer Lyric Theater at Tulane University,104 Dixon Hall.

8pm; Sunday, 2pm. 865-5269. summerlyric.tulane.edu.

28-31 The Wizard of Oz, Young Performers Edition. Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts, 325 Minor St, Kenner. Thursday through Saturday, 7:30pm; Sundays, 2pm. $15. 461-9475. rivertowntheaters.com.

Send your event information to scoop@insidepub.com to have it featured in an upcoming issue of Inside New Orleans.

32

Inside New Orleans

INside Story

by Michael Harold WE ALL KNOW THE EXPRESSION “April showers bring May flowers,” but according to the riddle, what do Mayflowers bring?

The corny answer is Pilgrims! (Insert sit-com laugh track.) The optimist would answer “June weddings,” and the pessimist might say “June bugs,” but in New Orleans, people call ’em “weddn’s”— and we never refer to those nasty creatures as anything but roaches. Palmetto bugs? Are you kidding? At least the wedding guest receives an invitation, whereas the cockroach always crashes the party. And, brag all you want about keeping the most impeccably clean house in Orleans Parish, the roach will sooner or later find its way inside. With the arrival of June, it’s just a matter of days before the first uninvited guest arrives.

I wonder why it is that the cockroach always decides to visit at bedtime when you’re exhausted from a long, hot day? As if you’ll get a good night’s sleep knowing there’s a flying roach on the ceiling just waiting to flutter its wings once you turn off the lights. You might try throwing a shoe, which only angers it and forces it to either fly in your direction or scurry behind the TV. By the time you’ve wasted half a can of roach spray, the little bastard’s already escaped into the back of your closet, never to be seen again. At least, you hope that’s the case.

I once had a house guest from Connecticut who had never been to the South, much less Louisiana. One evening, I heard

As for June weddings, my all-time favorite story took place while I was staying at a hotel in Edinburgh. A large tartan-clad wedding was being held at the hotel the afternoon we arrived.

By the time we returned from dinner, the lobby was mayhem, with a strange combination of police in uniform and drunk men in colorful kilts, some dripping blood and a few in handcuffs.

The hotel bartender was more than happy to share the story. Apparently, while wearing his kilt according to Scottish custom, i.e. commando style, and after consuming a river of whiskey, the sweaty groom posed for the customary family photo by sitting on his plus-sized bride’s lap. Moments later, after he stood up, the bride started screaming obscenities at the groom for having left an obvious stain on the front of her dress. The groom’s sister came to his defense, and an all-out brawl ensued. I still wonder what happened to that marriage. Years before, I met a Scot during a carnival parade who mentioned that Mardi Gras would never work in a place like Glasgow because of to the inevitable violence that occurs when crowds mix with alcohol. Now I believe him!

Coincidentally, I ran into my friend Amy last week who had just stood in her cousin’s wedding. I would have never expected to hear a story of the two June worlds colliding, but sure enough, the June bug and the June wedding shared the same church. As the bride and groom knelt before the priest, Amy suddenly heard gasps coming from the congregation.

a blood-curdling scream from the guest room and ran to see what it was, imagining the worst-case New Orleans scenario.

There she was, glaring at two dark brown antennae on top of her pillow. Poor sweet Yankee. I was empathetic because I grew up with a mother who was so petrified of cockroaches that she would think nothing of calling me at a friend’s house to come and kill one. She refused to even plant ivy or banana trees in our garden after someone told her they attracted roaches. I assumed as a child that all households had Raid in at least one drawer in every room.

She looked up and saw one woman blocking her gaping mouth with the back of her hand, while others squirmed in discomfort. Suddenly, in the corner of her eye, she saw it. A cockroach walking along the bride’s veil. No one was audacious enough to shoo it away, and clearly my mother never worked at the church or there would have been bug spray at the altar. So, all remained motionless until fortunately, the roach decided to move on to greener pastures. Amy thinks it’s a sign of good luck, like rain on your wedding day. To me, it’s just another June day, New Orleans style.

The June Bug

June-July 2016 33

THERE IS NO OTHER PLACE LIKE the beach.

Whatever the time of year or weather, there is something that draws the human soul to return to the sea. The beach is the perfect escape from our hectic everyday lives, a place where we are revived and refreshed.

Watercolor brings the best of what beach communities around the country have in the way of a neighborhood feeling to the Gulf’s sugary white beaches and shimmering seafoam water. The community of quality constructed homes is designed with large front porches and painted in soft pastel colors that emote a feeling that is tranquil, Southern and coastal. Exterior upkeep is minimal through the planting of native >> plants and durable hardscapes.

34

Inside New Orleans

Watercolor

Rendezvous The Peterson Home

by Poki Hampton

Woven wood shades keep with the wood tones used throughout

photos: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

the house, including the cypress fireplace mantel and beams.

The built-in seats under the windows provide extra storage.

June-July 2016 35

Susan and John Peterson chose Watercolor for their summer house because they fell in love with the community and lifestyle. “We really like the unique topography, extraordinary amenities and many activities in the area,” says Susan. “Our favorite part is the family atmosphere— this is the perfect place to relax and spend quality time with family and friends.”

As you walk into the 5,000-square-foot home, your eye is drawn through the house, through the Nano Wall, to the pool area in the back. There is continuity within the house, but each room has its own unique charm. A casual atmosphere accented with texture and ease-of-care fabrics was the goal of interior designer Connie Seitz and design assistant Christine Diggs. “All of the materials used in the home and furnishings, mainly soft linens and cottons, have to stand up to years of saltwater, sand and wet swimsuits,” says Seitz. Oversized windows allow plenty

Clockwise: A large limedwood table anchors the dining area; a drop-leaf table with two parsons chairs provide extra seating; the upstairs gathering room with full-sized bunk beds and storage drawers.

36

Inside New Orleans

of sunshine to drench the house and the sea breezes to flow. Throughout the house, the walls of 8-inch tongue-and-groove shiplap and the furnishings are in neutral colors highlighted by touches of sea glass.

In the foyer, limed white-oak floors are in a herringbone pattern. From the striking pecky cypress ceiling, with its white cross beams, hangs a faux-bois chandelier with a gold patina finish. Above the Swedish-style sideboard, which has painted legs and a limed-wood top, is a contemporary painting. A protea in a clear vase adds to the island vibe.

In the large living room, which opens into the dining area and kitchen, the contemporary high-arm sofa is upholstered in soft blue chenille, while the chairs are slipcovered for easy care. Soapstone tops the limed-wood cocktail table, and round velum-topped end tables with metal bases are between the chairs. In a traditional twist on a Swedish style, the sofa table has a painted fabric-textured finish; it holds two white ceramic lamps.

The large limed-wood trestle table

Above: The screened back porch with a painted wood floor and all-weather wicker chairs with cream Sunbrella cushions.

photos: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

Below: The front porch lined with white rocking chairs.

anchors the dining area, surrounded by six slipcovered parsons-style chairs and two continental-style arm chairs. A custom-designed built-in cabinet holding a wine cooler, an ice maker and a hammered stainless bar sink with goose-neck faucet provides storage and also a serving area on the White Rhino marble top; glass Cabochon knobs offer a bit of sparkle. Over the table hang two abstract paintings by Jim Seitz titled Liquid Ice I and 2. The pinch-pleat draperies are in white linen, with the leading edge stripe in sea glass linen. The chandelier, a contemporary take-off on Empire style, is made of tiny white rocks strung together.

The custom cabinets in the kitchen are painted in the lightest of sea glass color “Sea Salt� by Benjamin Moore, a blue that echoes the softest pallet of the sea. The European tubular hardware gives a >> contemporary edge to the kitchen. White Rhino marble covers the June-July 2016 37

countertop of the large peninsula; with its sea grass counter stools, this becomes the perfect place for a quick snack. The dishwasher and refrigerator are integrated to match the cabinetry.

One of two master bedrooms is on the first floor, just off the entrance.

Driftwood linen is used for the bed’s

Top: The second master bedroom boasts a white upholstered headboard with white linens and soft blue accents.

Above: The contemporary kitchen in the Petersons’ guest quarters.

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Inside New Orleans

tub has polished nickel hardware.

Upstairs are four more bedrooms—another master with sitting area and three bedrooms for children and guests—with enough bathrooms for all. In the middle of the upstairs is a gathering room for the children to watch television or play board games. Four fullsized bunk beds, with storage drawers, are built into the room for overflow sleeping. A custom wall unit, complete with microwave for popcorn and a beverage cooler, makes it the perfect kids’ hang-out. The sectional sofa is slipcovered in durable oatmeal linen with vibrant coral accents. This opens onto an upstairs terrace, allowing for great views of the neighborhood.

The light-filled sitting room of the second master bedroom sports a large drum pendant light trimmed with a raffia cap amid two rows of the tiniest dark blue seashells. Two comfortable slipcovered chairs in neutral fabric are accented with blue pillows in a beaded coral pattern. The king-sized white upholstered headboard, with nail-head trim, is dressed in white linens with soft blue pillows and coverlet; a white starburst mirror hangs over the bed.

A place to spend time with family and friends. Isn’t that what living at the beach is all about?

photos: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

upholstered headboard. Two night tables are in a white textured finish.

Through the pecky cypress barn door is the master bath. The brushed nickel sconces reflect in the custom tall mirrors framed in block paneling over the double vanity. Floor-toceiling storage shelves hold fluffy white towels and other essentials.

An oversized shower has white handmade subway tile walls with glass inset banding; the contemporary

Wine Cellar

by Bill Kearney I AM OFTEN ASKED to recommend wines that will not break the bank. Were it financially possible, I am sure we all would enjoy drinking Grand Cru Burgundy, Classified Growth Bordeaux or high-end Napa Valley cabernet all the time.

Regrettably, the price of these continues to escalate, and drinking them consistently would drive even the most financially secure to early withdrawals from our 401(k) plans.

In my house, we have “Tuesday Night Wines.” These drink very well but are at a price point that will not make you feel guilty about pulling the cork and not finishing every last drop.

It has become necessary to segment these wines in my

exclusive, but alas, common sense has even entered the minds of the Bordelaise. Château La Graviere offers a dry and crisp white wine that Southerners would find quite delicious during the oppressive heat of summer months. Similarly, Prestige des Thibeaud has a Bordeaux that aficionados of red wine would find pleasurable. I have often remarked on the quality of certain Côtes-du-Rhône producers, and I encourage you to seek out the Perrin wines at either the Villages level or above.

In particular, I think Spain leads the category of wines that are both fun, financially pleasurable.

Tuesday Night Wines

humble abode so as to prevent any notion of confusion.

It can be quite alarming to return from a meeting and learn your loved one enjoyed a bottle of wine not realizing it was a 2000-vintage Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Labels can be very confusing. Creating a Tuesday Night section makes everybody happy—it allows for continuous and unfettered cork pulling without any sense of remorse.

These wines also come in quite handy when entertaining large groups. The temptation to have friends over and open nice bottles of vino is often alluring and invariably becomes problematic as one good bottle leads to another. This can result in both your head and your wallet feeling awful the next day.

While I cannot medically prognosticate that Tuesday Night wines will not give a headache, I can attest to the fact that they will not hurt your child’s college fund.

You might be somewhat surprised to learn that there is actually a fair amount of choices when looking for these wines.

The wine cognoscenti would rather you not know that there is a plethora of choices from a variety of countries and styles that can suit your wine-drinking needs. I encourage you to converse with your local wine store consultants as they can be quite helpful in sorting through the multitude of options.

It will surprise many to learn that both France and Spain

A variety of styles and

offerings from some well-known producers can give amazing and different experiences. El Chaparral and Juan Gil from the famous house of Clio do fascinating blends of Grenache and Mourvèdre that will go very well with grilled meats from the barbecue pit during summer outings.

My two favorite Tuesday Night wines are remarkable in both their style and affordability.

They are crowd pleaders in almost any environment, but by no means ubiquitous in availability. In the white-wine category, Henri Bourgeois does a sauvignon blanc called “Petit Bourgeois” that truly is reminiscent of Sancerre, though with a much friendlier price point. Michael Mondavi has a Napa Valley cabernet called “Oberon” that is not just another fruit-bomb cabernet from California.

This is a wonderful wine that in many cases

actually offer wines that are both pleasing to the palate and not offensive to the national debt. While it requires some degree of perusal on the part of the consumer, there are some really good wines from these countries that are quite affordable.

Renowned Burgundy house Joseph Drouhin makes a Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge that are certainly Burgundian-like; you would be happy to serve them to wineloving guests. Even more surprising is that wines from Bordeaux that are both good to drink and affordable can now be found in America. One would think that that these factors were mutually

is equal to or superior to other like-minded wines at twice the price. Remarkably, all of these wines can be found for under $20 and in some cases under $15.

Noticeably absent from this conversation is the fastest-growing segment of wine in America. Fear not! Our next column will explore rosé again. Americans are finding out what many of us have known for years—rosé is a great summer experience.

June-July 2016 39

by Sandra Scalise Juneau A VISIT WITH YVONNE ALCIATORE BLOUNT is like a delectable banquet enjoyed at her family’s fabled restaurant—flavored with her effervescent zest for living, spiced with her marvelous wit and sweetened by fascinating reminiscences shared with elegant panache.

Recounting the succession: from her greatgrandfather, Antoine Alciatore, who arrived from France with classical culinary training and fulfilled his dreams of creating a fine restaurant by establishing Antoine’s in New Orleans; to her grandfather, Jules Alciatore, who was sent to France for studying culinary arts; to her father, Roy Alciatore, who ran the restaurant through most of the 20th century.

Foremost among her family’s traditions is a deep heritage of Catholic spirituality. As Yvonne affirms, “Both my mother’s and my father’s families were from a tradition of staunch Catholicism. Our faith was nurtured in our home and within our extended family. My Aunt Marie Louise, whose two sons became priests, was a great influence on our Catholic spirituality.” Faced with the responsibilities of being a single parent following divorce, Yvonne had no idea how she would sustain her family, but held firm to her faith, attesting, “God has His reasons for everything.”

Like her father, Yvonne had a love for international travel, so for the next 30 years, she planned group tours while working for a local travel agency. Best of all, just like her father, Yvonne was able to taste the best of international cuisines while exploring the world’s great capitals. As a true New Orleanian, Yvonne

Visiting a Vieux Carré Legend

laments, “Nowhere in the world has good food like New Orleans. In Paris, I once ordered Truite Amandine.

I was served a whole fish complete with tail attached.

Yvonne Alciatore Blount Yvonne says, “Initially, my father was very shy, but he took over on a moment’s notice when his father died. My father traveled the world making friends in the restaurant business. He truly was the one who brought both the national and international acclaim that established Antoine’s as a world-famous restaurant. He was gifted with genuine charm.”

It was Roy Alciatore who, from the early 1930s, steered Antoine’s through lingering desolation from the Great Depression through World War II and the destructive forces of hurricanes into the late 1960s.

With remembrance and a prayer, “Thank you Lord,” Yvonne recalls having learned the art of French cooking at the knee of her father, a skill she has relished—and one that has been greatly enjoyed by her seven children, seven grandchildren and now, two great-grandchildren.

40

Inside New Orleans

It was only embellished by three small almonds.”

Having traveled the world, Yvonne is now at home in her Vieux Carré apartment, where from her gallery overlooking St. Louis and Royal streets, she says with delight, “The Quarter walks by me.” The rooms above the restaurant, which through the years have served as a residential rental unit and intermittently as assorted storage space and the law office for brothers Roy and Billy Guste, were repurposed after >>

June-July 2016 41

photos: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

42

Inside New Orleans

photo: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

photos courtesy: YVONNE BLOUNT

Katrina to create Yvonne’s stunningly chic living space. Customized to suit her charming personality, her home reflects both New Orleans traditions and resilience, mirrored from legacies established at Antoine’s since its 1840s founding.

Views of 1800s-era wrought-iron scrollwork give a mystical vision to the space within, but walking through the full-length windows opening onto the wrap-around gallery affirms the sense of history that abides there, poised above the vibrant pulse of rhythm right in the heart of the French Quarter. Filled with light from every angle, each room flows with easy elegance, welcoming with an unruffled sense of calm.

For Yvonne, surrounded by her collections of favorite memorabilia, each piece evokes a memory.

Aside treasured antiques, as a testament to her droll sense of humor, is her collection of frog figurines, lovingly placed on a sideboard, each with its own story to tell. Her striking coffee-table display of beaded and>>

Left: Yvonne with her late husband, David.

June-July 2016 43

photo: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

glass zebras brought Yvonne back to fond memories of her deceased husband, David Davis. She regaled the story of their romance. “It was on bike ride around the Quarter. I often enjoyed riding along, window shopping on Royal Street and visiting friends in their shops. That day, David was helping out, minding a friend’s store, and as I passed by the open door, he said, ‘Hello, would you like to come in for coffee?’”

After a nine-year friendship, during which David repeatedly declared, “I’ll never get married,” fate intervened. While at a convention for travel agents, Yvonne’s name was pulled as the winner of two tickets to Paris, after which she insisted to David, “OK, it’s now or never.” In 1988, they were married in Paris at L’église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine.

About her affinity for zebras, Yvonne says, “Passing a shop while in Spain, there, prominently displayed among the other rugs, was a gorgeous zebra skin. It just seemed to beckon to me, but not being prone to snap decisions, I went into a nearby restaurant, ordered a bottle of wine, ate some fish and then returned to that shop. Zebra came home with me, rolled up like a rug. After we settled zebra into our Lakeview home,

David said, ‘We’ll just have to stay married; it would be a sin to cut that gorgeous zebra in half!’ It became the signature piece for David and me.”

But, as Yvonne recalls, “Katrina changed everything.” As the hurricane approached, and with no thought that it might become their permanent home, Yvonne and David left for Florida. When David returned to Lakeview, he found their prized zebra, in shreds among the molded remnants of their floodedout possessions. Yvonne and David decided to stay in Florida, which although pleasant, was bereft of the traditions, the food, the people they both loved most.

As Yvonne describes, “Each day, we would wake up and look out at the water and say, ‘Isn’t this beautiful!’

But then, there was nothing more to do.”

It was just months before Katrina’s ruthless devastation that the baton at Antoine’s had been passed into the hands of Yvonne’s son, Rick Blount. This fifthgeneration proprietor determined to maintain stability by following those principles which have sustained Antoine’s tradition of excellence—always being true to the family legacy, continuing the standards of hard work and keeping to the ethic of his predecessors by

treating employees fairly. Those attributes paid off, especially in the months of rebuilding after Katrina’s destruction. The outer wall of Antoine’s had fallen into the street, but within a mere few months, Rick was successful in rallying forces for repairing and restoring. He reunited his staff with a grand reopening of Antoine’s on December 29, 2005.

With Antoine’s fully functioning, Yvonne began the process of building out the 2,300-square-foot apartment upstairs. Original wood flooring and the antique lace ironwork around the gallery were restored under the supervision of the Vieux Carré Commission.

At Yvonne’s direction, a master suite was created and guest bedroom and bath were added. Even with the realization that the world’s greatest restaurant was just downstairs, Yvonne insisted on installing a fully equipped gourmet kitchen, complete with a butler’s pantry that would be the envy of any master chef, and the coziest little nook for sharing coffee and conversation with friends.

“We moved in to the apartment in 2007.” But for Yvonne and David, the work of customizing continued—collecting just the right furnishings and

>>

June-July 2016 45

photo: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

having them exactly tooled to fit, adapting antique doors into decorative wall niches for sheltering family mementos and vintage crystal. With Yvonne’s eye for elegance coalescing traditional and eclectic styles that seem to have been created just for her and the soft muted palette that sets the stage for her amazing collection of art, each element establishes her ambiance of style with the softest impression of graceful comfort.

Once completed, Yvonne looked around and felt something was still missing. In the central room above the massive dining room table was a perfectly serviceable antique brass fixture that somehow lacked the sparkle that Yvonne envisioned. Her search was on for just the right crystal chandelier, which she found, and had delivered on the Friday before hosting a Monday ladies group to her home. When the package arrived, she realized to her dismay that it was a kit that came in pieces, each piece inside separate boxes numbered and labeled.

With typical determination, she worked through the weekend to fit together and hang each piece. By Monday, just in time for her guests’ arrival, it was fully assembled and in its place of honor. From 46

Inside New Orleans

the comfort of her demi-sofa facing into the dining room, and with a twinkle in her eye, Yvonne pointed to the chandelier and said to me, “You see that largest crystal dangling beneath the prisms?

That’s the one that was labeled #1,157!”

Our conversation continued downstairs at lunch when Miss Yvonne, as she is affectionately known by all at Antoine’s, was greeted by friends and staff who stopped by her table to pay respects, as to the Queen Mother. Throughout our lunch, Yvonne regaled us with more delightful stories. When a mystified waiter brought over an unsigned, rough pencil-sketch of a camel that a diner had scribbled onto a cocktail napkin for Yvonne, she immediately chuckled, knowing exactly who it was from. She explained, “This is a reminder from one of my traveling friends. On one of our trips down the Nile, a sheik stood on the bar of the hotel where we were staying and offered 200 camels for me!”

She told of the recent family reunion, the 175 Years Founding Celebration. “Our cousin, Henri Alciatore, who was interested in genealogy, began to explore with Ancestry.com the history of Antoine’s

children and their descendents. He spent two years contacting and tracking down most of the living descendents.

We had 298 people, representing four generations, who gathered here at Antoine’s for the reunion. They traveled from all over the United States and internationally from Brazil and London.”

She spoke of family traditions enjoyed here at Antoine’s and at home— of weddings and birthdays, of cooking greens for New Year’s Day, of their tradition of burning trees on Twelfth Night. She spoke of how her life was formed around a tradition of service to community, first instilled by family heritage, reinforced by her education by the Ursuline Sisters of New Orleans and practiced daily with spirituality and prayer as a professed lay member of the Dominican Sisters, known as the Third Order or the Dominican Laity.

She spoke of the legacy established by her great-grandparents and passed along to each successive generation, beyond the classic French-Creole restaurant that is celebrated internationally as a hallmark of excellence to their consistency in support of all the things that make New Orleans special—the arts, music, theatre—and of education, amenities to secure and enhance traditions going into our future. On the day we were there, a group of local school children were touring the restaurant, learning of the lore and legacy of Antoine’s.

We finished our delicious lunch with Yvonne in Antoine’s style, with Meringue Glacée au Chocolat followed by a luscious cup of steaming Creole Café Noir.

I asked Yvonne, “What is your favorite spot in your home?”

She replied without hesitation.

“On my gallery, the best place to people watch. It’s where I say my prayers in the morning, and it’s where I have a cocktail in the evening!”

June-July 2016 47

Calabash Paradise in Grenada

by Rick Murphy

48

THE POINT OF THE VACATION was a six-day barefoot cruise, island hopping in the West Indies.

It was a blast, but hoisting sails and operating roller furlings were sometimes more grueling than relaxing.

Out of shape at 55, I ate a lot of Advil and drank a lot of rum. When we came into port, we needed a vacation from our vacation.

Little did we know what a treat we were in for. I had forgotten to book our hotel for the two nights in Grenada, but found Calabash online. It was full, but I noticed a link to a French travel company. Voila!

Inside New Orleans

We were in. A bit expensive, but what the hell—we were worth it! My expectations were fairly low. I’m thinking Key West-type rates—not much bang for the buck. I’ve never been so wrong in my life.

We walked into paradise. Everything open air—the bar, the restaurant, etc. Our “room” was more like a townhouse—four to a building. The suite was enormous, with a plush bed and linens, a sitting area with some type of rum drink in a bottle and a special spot for tea time.

We had fallen into a tropical Downton Abbey nirvana.

My wife needed suntan lotion, and we had forgotten half

photos courtesy: CALABASH

our toiletries. Mr. Bates fetches them for you. “Right away, ma’am.”

Actually, it was a gentleman named Rhondi. There are over 100 staff members at Calabash, but it feels like there are five or six, and I mean that in a good way. It seemed like Rhondi never left the hotel. He carried your suitcase in the morning, he got you beer at the beach bar in the afternoon >> and he tended bar at night. Always June-July 2016 49

photos courtesy: CALABASH

remembering exactly what you ordered before and calling you by name every time he saw you.

Our crew came for dinner, and the talk turned to politics. After three bottles of wine and the best food we had eaten in some time, we got a bit raucous. My kinda dinner. However, as we had learned, most of the guests were older British couples, and I got the feeling they were tiring of the Trump vs. Cruz debate.

No problem. Everyone was completely hospitable, and the service was perfect—but “when in Rome” kept sneaking into my head.

Well-fed and a little drunk, we “retired” to our room. We filled out the two-page menu for breakfast, which, complete with silver trays, was served on

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Inside New Orleans

our balcony overlooking the bay’s blue water. A beautiful dove sat on the banister while we ate. A server said it was a Grenadian dove, one of the most endangered species on the planet. I’m thinking, “Yea, right…whatever,” but I checked, and sure enough, there he was, Leptotila wellsi. Only found on Grenada.

We told the manager we would be writing a story about the hotel and asked to meet the owner. Sure—no problem. She can meet you for cocktails at 5 o’clock. Promptly at 5, a beautiful young woman approached our table and introduced herself as Adele. She is co-owner of the hotel with her father. At this point, I’m thinking, “No big shock here. The place is owned by a super model.” Not so. She has worked in the family business her whole life. Her father, who is British, bought the hotel 25 years earlier and married a Grenadian woman.

The staff feels like a family, and most of them have worked at Calabash for years.

The second day, we fell into the spell of the place and relaxed much more.

Drinks brought to you without having to order them. Everyone anticipating your every desire. Paradise.

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Inside New Orleans

photo: DARK ROUX PHOTOGRAPHY

I’M A BIT OF A POPPY TOOKER GROUPIE. After years of listening to this bundle of energy interview everyone from celebrity chefs and Hollywood starlets to bashful f armers and unsung heroes of the farmer’s market scene, it was more than a little exciting for me to interview her in her Central City studio. This larger-than-life high priestess of the Slow Food movement did not disappoint.

For decades, Tooker has talked and laughed her way into the hearts of listeners of her popular radio show, Louisiana Eats, and viewers of the weekly arts and entertainment program, Steppin’ Out. Her uber-upbeat, never-met-a-stranger attitude and her passion for all things culinary have made her a fixture in the Louisiana food scene and have seen her sharing the TV screen with celebrities such as

tossed in for good measure.

As she tells it, Tooker’s love of food began at a young age, thanks to a great-grandmother who “loved me with food.” She says, “My early years were all about food. My great-grandmother laid a beautiful table and served fabulous, five-course Sunday dinners with me at her elbow.” When Tooker was ten, her great-grandmother died. Another woman who’d been central to her early years was a beloved housekeeper, an astounding and generous cook who also left the family that year. “She’d been my great-grandmother’s housekeeper. When my mother married and moved out, she went with her, knowing my mother knew nothing about cooking or running a house. That year my parents moved into a larger home, and she decided it was time for her to retire,

Poppy Tooker Local Food Guru

Extreme Cuisine’s Jeff Corwin, Foodography’s Mo Rocca and restaurateur Bobby Flay. Her advocacy work to preserve and revive endangered local foods has garnered a Community Service Award from The International Association of Culinary Professionals and a Hero of the New South award from Southern Living magazine. And her unrelenting work to help local restaurants return after Hurricane Katrina earned her a Hero of the Storm award from the Times Picayune.

But who exactly is Poppy Tooker? She’s a chef, a cookbook author and a dynamic cooking teacher. She’s a socialite, a raconteur, a Southern food historian, a culinary preservationist and a force to be reckoned with behind the microphone. She’s Ellen meets Julia Child, with a bit of Joann Worley

by Mimi Greenwood Knight

so I lost them both at the same time.”

There she was with these two dynamic women gone and a mother who didn’t know anything about cooking. “When you hate to cook the way my mother did, the things you make aren’t worth eating,” says Tooker. So by age 12, Poppy was cooking for the household. “My mama would throw grand parties, and I’d do all the cooking. When her friends found out I was the one responsible for the food, they asked me to do the same for them; by high school, I had a catering business.”

Tooker had another love—theatre. After graduating from Ursuline Academy, she headed off to the California Institute of the Arts to study acting. She needed a part-time job while in school, and before she knew it, she was running her >> June-July 2016 53

54

Inside New Orleans

photo: DARK ROUX PHOTOGRAPHY

dorm’s café, where she fed 60 people a day and instituted the school’s first Sunday champagne brunch. It didn’t take her long to figure out she wanted to devote her life to food, not theatre.

“I discovered I got the same charge from cooking that I did from acting,” she says. But fans of her radio and TV shows would agree that she’s integrated the two passions quite nicely.

After school, she went to work in a few local restaurants but quickly found her way to working alongside locally renowned culinarian Lee Barnes at her Lee Barnes Cooking School on Oak Street. “Once I proved myself, she started turning classes entirely over to me,” says Tooker. “Then I was lucky enough to meet Madeleine Kamman, who took over my classical training.”

After obtaining her chef’s and cooking teacher’s diplomas, she made a lifeaffirming trip to France, where she studied classical French cooking. And the rest is history.

Through her radio show, Louisiana Eats, Tooker introduces her half-amillion weekly listeners to the people and personalities behind Louisiana’s restaurants, bars, farms, fisheries, bakeries, cafes, distilleries and breweries.

Over the years, she’s chewed the fat with chefs and owners of five-star restaurants, greasy spoons, holes in the wall and even food trucks, offering them a forum to share their passion and advocate their causes. This week, she might be throwing down with Wynton Marsalis.

Next week, it might be Brennan, Besh or Folse—or just as likely a fourthgeneration farmer or fisherman who hasn’t left the farm or waterways in weeks. But she affirms them all equally for the part they play in the Louisiana food culture. “I always try to keep a thin thread of food running through each show, but I like to let the stories

go where they want, so you never know who might show up,” she says. “Because the radio show is archived and available on pod cast, it creates an oral history and preserves the stories of these culinary heroes, making them permanent.”

Her four cookbooks are so much more than collections of recipes. In them, Tooker weaves the back stories of classic Louisiana dishes and biographies of the people who loved them into existence—some well-known, some forgotten and some previously unrecognized. Each story unfolds with her signature passion and respect for the people and the tradition. Her first book, The Crescent City Farmers Market Cookbook, received a Tabasco Cookbook award. This mélange of recipe, biography and local lore was no doubt born of Tooker’s love for the market she helped rise in record time after Hurricane Katrina. It includes introductions of local farmers, fishermen, artisans, chefs and customers, a chronicle of the journey back after the storm and recipes that run from classic Creole dishes to innovative culinary creations.

Her second cookbook, Louisiana Eats!: The People, the Food, and Their Stories, received the Literary Award of the Year in 2014 from the Louisiana Library Association and was recently named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon. It, too, is the delightful blend of homage to the past and innovation for the future, as seen in recipes such as Fried Red Beans and Rice. Then there are heart-wrenching stories about world-renowned New Orleans restaurateurs scrabbling and clawing their way back after Katrina, many with the help and encouragement of Tooker, and delightfully quirky stories such as the vignette about President Obama being scolded by Leah Chase, owner of Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, for adding salt before tasting his meal at her restaurant. Poppy’s optimism, creativity and energy are the true essence of everything that draws so many to New Orleans foods and New Orleans people.

Tooker contributed updated recipes and wrote the foreword for a new edition of the historic Mme. Bégué’s Recipes of Old New Orleans Creole Cookery, originally published in 1900 from Madame Bégué’s handwritten notes and then reprinted in 1937. And that project introduced her to her latest book, Tujague’s Cookbook: Creole Recipes and Lore in the New Orleans Grand Tradition, which was published in October 2015. “I spent my summer taking cooking classes from a 19th century ghost,” Tooker laughs. “Pelican Publishing originally contacted me to ask me to write a forward to the book. But when I got a look at the recipes, I realized they needed to be updated for modern cooks, who might not>> June-July 2016 55

56

Inside New Orleans

photo: DARK ROUX PHOTOGRAPHY

be used to selecting, killing and plucking their own chicken.”

Tooker approached this project like she does any other—with every molecule of her being. “In 2016, Tujague’s is 160 years old,” she says. “It’s the second-longest continually running restaurant in this country, with America’s oldest stand-up bar. They didn’t even have a menu until the 1980s. Diners just ate what was prepared each day.” Get her talking about this iconic New Orleans landmark, and all time stands still. It’s obvious that the people and time have become very much present to her over the two years she researched, wrote, updated and preserved.

“This great woman, Madame Bégué, was about to be forgotten,” says Tooker. “I don’t think she liked that idea, so she and other spirits of Tujague’s worked with me to put together the photos, recipes and information I needed to tell their stories.” In fact, Tooker firmly believes the reason she survived a heart attack that saw her “dead on the table twice” is that these spirits weren’t about to let her go until their story was told.

“I now know more about these people than they knew about themselves,” she says. “I spent hours digging through the attic at Tujague’s, but there were just some pictures I couldn’t find.” Then, through a series of extraordinary circumstances, she found herself back up in the attic with everything she needed laid out before her. “The dining room was being painted, and it turns out the very photographs I still needed to find—the ones I’d given up on ever finding— had been hanging up high out of sight in the dining room. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they appeared at the very moment I needed them. They wanted their stories told, and I was determined that everyone’s story would be told.”

To say any more would be to say too much, except for this—if Poppy Tooker has her hand in the telling, the stories will be rich and will be told as only this native New Orleanian can tell them: with heart, with an open mind and with deep respect for the people of this place she has loved for six decades.

Here’s a sneak peek at Poppy Tooker’s Tujague’s Cookbook: Creole Recipes and Lore in the New Orleans Grand Tradition.

The literal translation of “bonne femme” is “good woman,” but it is usually meant as “good wife.” Any good French housewife would have this simple dish in her repertoire. This garlicky favorite has always been an offmenu special request at Tujague’s since it was introduced by Madame Clemence Castet.

Persil is French for parsley. The finely chopped combination of garlic and parsley known as persillade is the most important ingredient in Tujague’s repertoire, where it doesn’t just crown the Bonne Femme, but also finds its way into vegetables, sauces and stuffings. Once you begin to experiment with it, you’ll always have a jar at the ready in the refrigerator.

CHICKEN BONNE FEMME Serves 4 to 6 1 fryer chicken cut into 10 pieces (cut the breasts in half) Salt, pepper and granulated garlic to taste Vegetable oil for frying 2 large Idaho potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices, preferably on a mandoline Persillade (recipe follows)

Dry the chicken thoroughly, then season liberally with salt, pepper and granulated garlic.

Add 2 1/2 inches of oil to a large, heavy skillet, preferably cast iron. Heat the oil until smoking. Carefully add the chicken pieces. Just as the chicken begins to color, add the potatoes and cook until both the chicken and the potatoes are golden, about 15 minutes, turning and moving as necessary.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and the potatoes from the oil to drain on paper towels. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.

Immediately arrange the chicken and potatoes on a platter and sprinkle the persillade generously on top.

Persillade Makes about 1 cup Leaves from one large bunch flat leaf parsley—take care to discard all stems 3 heads (about 40 cloves) fresh garlic, peeled

Combine the parsley and the garlic in a food processor.

Using the pulse button, chop the mixture until fully blended, but do not purée. Cover well, and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

June-July 2016 57

by Tom Fitzmorris

Cool Eats

ABOUT A YEAR AGO, I noticed how often I was eating large salads and other platters of cold food in lieu of the crisp, buttery, meaty, saucy food that my palate usually demands. My appetites have clearly shifted—and not just because I’m on a long weight-loss regimen. I really do find myself imagining the platters of baby greens with poached vegetables, sprinklings of cheese and herbs, vinaigrettes, remoulade derivatives, scatterings 58

Inside New Orleans

of shrimp and crabmeat.

Perhaps with a seared scallop at the top of this green hill.

And then I thought about how strange it is that in our hot climate we don’t eat more cold dishes. We just keep on going with our thick, steaming gumbos and seafood platters. To say nothing of the many cuisines we find whose spice levels make our heads radiate pepper heat.

The obvious place to start this survey is with

illustration: GRETCHEN ARMBRUSTER

At the Table

oysters. But we covered that pretty thoroughly in these pages a few months ago. So we pause for a moment to consider the nonpareil pleasure in gulping down a dozen ice-cold oysters when it’s in the nineties outside. The only person who works up a sweat from that is the oyster shucker.

Instead, let’s note the best and most obvious place to eat chilly food: your friendly neighborhood sushi bar. Sushi shouldn’t be really cold—that would put a damper on its flavor.

But a light chill is cool in every way from its arrangement on the plate (there’s no missing the visual aspect of Japanese food) to the light, soothing cubes and apostrophes of fish.

Let’s dilate on sushi and sashimi for a moment. If ordered and prepared well, it’s a study in contrasts. That begins at the beginning, when you get the cup of warm (but not often hot) clear soup. Then comes a bite of the fish, and you can’t help but notice the smoothness of the transition. Unless, that is, you dunk the fish like a doughnut into a cup of soy sauce and wasabi. My Japanese friends tsk-tsk this practice, and say that the right way to do it is to wet only a corner of the fish morsel in the salty, powerful sauce. “Otherwise, it all tastes the same,” they say.

The most popular form of sushi in recent times is the chef’s special roll. These involve using three or four main ingredients to create a foot-long (well, almost) roll that’s largely about jamming in a lot of ingredients to justify the over-$10 price. It also allows the use of other wrappers and stick-ums in lieu of just rice. Some chef’s sushi rolls are indeed good. My own favorite is the Burning Man Roll, which involves salmon and tuna with some avocado— all of which work well together in both color and flavor. The best Burning Man rolls I’ve had came from the Little Tokyo’s several locations on both sides of the lake.

Here’s how to choose other good rolls: ignore all the ones made with crabstick or crab salad, both of which are usually made with fake crabmeat. That said, I find that the best sushi combination is called chirashi. It means “scattered.” It involves three or four kinds of fish and shrimp and that funny, sweet, cool Japanese omelette. The rice is on the bottom of the dish, with the fish scattered atop. You have all the variety you want, but the elements don’t get in each other’s way. The best vendors of chirashi sushi are Shogun and Megumi. In the latter, the presentation is particularly stunning.

The reason I begin this examination of the scene so far from home is to note how many very-New Orleans, veryAmerican restaurants are adopting sushi-like dishes into their menus. A good case in point is the local chain Zea. A few years ago, Zea decided to keep one of its cool seafood summer dishes on the menu year round. The Tuna Stack is exactly that, with layers of sashimi-style tuna piled up atop >> June-July 2016 59

avocados, with an Asian-style vinaigrette. It’s one of the best eats there.

After this exotica, let’s return closer to home.

In the days when everyone in the New Orleans area shopped on Canal Street, Galatoire’s menu included several salads that were named for the more prominent department stores. There was a Maison Blanche salad, a Holmes salad and others. Only one of these has come down to modern times. The Godchaux salad—named for a great clothing store on Baronne at Canal, the first place I ever bought my own menswear—is a large pile of iceberg greens topped with a stupendous quantity of shrimp and crabmeat, plus boiled eggs and anchovies. At any

lunch at Galatoire’s, you are very likely to see many people working away at this cold plate of choice local shellfish. It’s so popular that it has turned up widely on other menus around town, from Clancy’s uptown to Jacmel Inn in Hammond.

But we needn’t leave Galatoire’s for another Creole-French chiller. The Galatoire goute (French for “tasting”) is a no-brainer: shrimp remoulade, crabmeat maison (with its light, mayonnaise-and-caper sauce) and a third cold item that depends on the condition of crawfish. If they’re around, the tails come out with an ivory-colored sauce. If not, that sauce winds up on more shrimp. All of these are quite enough to make a filling meal, or an appetizer for two.

Throughout the New Orleans area but particularly on the northshore, we are seeing an efflorescence of Mexican cantinas. Although we are still far away from the Mexican food of central Texas (or Mexico City, for that matter), the quality of the Tex-Mex places has improved tremendously in recent times. Almost all of them offer some variation on ceviche, the marinated, cold seafood appetizer. It’s not usually cooked, but the high-acid (lemons, mostly) marinade effectively performs the cooking.

Ceviche, grilled fish or chicken and even steak have found themselves atop big salads in the new Mexican places. Coming along for the ride is a new

salad dressing: cilantro vinaigrette. The first place I found this was at La Carreta in Mandeville and Covington. Remember where you heard it: cilantro vinaigrette.

I wish I could wrap this survey with a few excellent restaurants for gazpacho, the potentially wonderful cold soup made of tomatoes and vegetables. Or of the other famous cold soup, vichyssoise. But no matter how hot it gets, New Orleans diners never get around to those two potages. If you want some, call Franklin in the Bywater, and ask when they will make gazpacho the soup of the day. And go. I’ve never had better than that one.

by Ann Gilbert

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Inside New Orleans

A DEADLY SEA BATTLE exploded in the Gulf of Mexico during the summer of 1942, but few U.S. citizens were aware, except for coastal residents who watched the smoke and fiery glows on the horizon.

German submarines sank 57 ships in the Gulf from May through August and damaged another 18. Some 400 steamship passengers and merchant marines lost their lives. The attacks on local shipping destroyed millions of dollars in cargo—fuel, food and arms—destined for the Allies. Not only was there devastation in the Gulf, but U-boats were just as active on the U.S. eastern seaboard. World War II had come to America, but the horror was kept from the national media. The Defense Department thought releasing information would unnecessarily scare citizens.

“The U-boats were fighting machines that caught our defenses unprepared,” said historian and U-boat researcher Charles J. Christ of Houma, Louisiana, at a lecture in the Madisonville Library. “They were twice as fast as the freighters and tankers they were taking out. They had two formidable weapons—guns on the surface and torpedoes under the sea.”

Because it was “the war which did not exist,” coastal cities had a blackout of news but not of lights.

Commander Horst Degen of U-701 remembered thinking at the time, “These Americans don’t seem to know there is a war.” On-shore illumination silhouetted the freighters and oil tankers traveling between the coastline and the U-boats, which were waiting with torpedoes primed. When Galveston finally ordered a blackout, it included streetlights, stadium lights and signs—all exterior illumination, even beach bonfires.

The captains and crews of those “steel sharks” were experienced and efficient, as they had been attacking British shipping for two and a half years.

On May 5, 1942, they entered new territory in their deadly mission—the Gulf of Mexico. Sometimes three or four ships would go down in a 24-hour period.

Fishermen and shrimpers rescued burned men from the water and hauled lifeboats filled with the injured to docks, calling ahead to order ambulances. In her book, Torpedoes in the Gulf, Melanie Wiggins, a fisherman’s wife, says, “My husband is bringing in more survivors than shrimp.” >>

Locations of U-boat casualties off the coast of Louisiana, along with the resting place of the recently discovered German U-166.

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German U-boats on display.

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As a Lend Lease partner, America supplied oil and gas to Britain. Scores of ships left the Gulf every day heading up the east coast and over to Europe.

Because “abandon ship” was cried all too often that summer, freighters received additional life boats.

Guns were installed on merchant ships and tankers, with Navy gunners assigned to man them. WWI cannons were even “borrowed” from parks and

Inside New Orleans

museums for this temporary use. The mariners petitioned the Navy to stop using cork vests, as they caused broken necks when jumping 30 feet to the water.

From Grand Isle to Galveston, citizens not qualified for the draft who owned fishing boats or yachts formed the “Coast Guard Axillary.” The courageous volunteers were called the “Swamp Angels” in the Cameron area, but others labeled them the “Hooligan Navy” or the “Splinter Fleet.” By the end of May ’42, this amateur military sailed out of Galveston, New Orleans and Miami with depth charges and 50-caliber machine guns, says Wiggins.

Civil Air Patrol pilots—men and women who owned their planes—flew over the Gulf, spotting subs and survivors, and reporting mines and vessels in distress. Grand Isle had a 900-foot shell runway for CAP pilots, but one pilot said cattle on the island were eating the fabric off the fuselages of the planes.

Two ships sunk by U-boats off the coast of Louisiana, the Benjamin Brewster (above) and the Robert E. Lee (right).

photos courtesy: REGIONAL MILITARY MUSEUM

These volunteers suffered great losses because of inexperience and lack of parts for their planes, said Christ. The pilots also had to face taunts about being draft dodgers, 4-F or “rich boys with big toys.”

To provide further protection for ships in the Gulf, blimp bases were constructed in Houma and Galveston. These elephants in the sky were largely useless. Christ writes that one dropped a bomb on a golf course, and one fell into the Gulf, with the loss of nine lives. When a stiff wind tore through the prodigious Houma hanger, three blimps tumbled out and were destroyed.

Because they were coming so close to shore, the Pentagon was worried about invasions from U-boats.

One sub commander even expressed surprise after the war that they were not told to attack America’s coastal cities. Indeed, Galveston was preparing for an attack. Testing their Civil Defense sirens one day, city officials were shocked to hear the sound of canon fire from the fort. The soldiers had begun firing at the unseen sub in the Gulf, Wiggins writes.

Another event caused fear of invasion by the enemy. A driver near Lake Charles picked up two >>

Depth charge launched from U.S. Coast Guard cutter.

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hitchhikers speaking with German accents. They were two of 24 men who had fled their country, boarded a ship to Cuba and then sailed to the Louisiana coast. People panicked, and Cameron beaches (and Grand Isle) were then patrolled 24 hours a day by men with dogs and guns.

Wayland Whipple, an employee at Port Texaco south of Houma, told his boss he saw a sub in the Gulf with his binoculars. Fellow workers labeled him “Submarine Whipple.” A few days later, fishing boats came to the port to unload the burned victims of a torpedoed ship.

Fishermen Ira Pete, his father and two brothers were in three boats, drifting and sorting their catch at dusk, when they spotted a sub drifting nearby. Its engine suddenly revved up, and it sped away at high speed. Ira recalled how the family was soon picking up burn victims from a torpedoed tanker. He never used that boat to fish again.

The tanker Benjamin Brewster burned for nine days off Grand Isle. Survivors were mostly the Navy gunners who were on board to provide protection.

They had learned how to swim underwater and come up for air, swishing flaming water away. They were able to do this, of course, by not wearing a life vest, Christ points out.

Sometimes the military’s defensive action backfired, as when hundreds of mines were laid off

Inside New Orleans

the east coast of Florida, and not one U-boat was sunk, but three freighters and a destroyer were blown up. A government official said, “They did not let us know they wanted to enter the mined area.”

In the midst of all the horror, acts of mercy were performed by U-boat commanders, such as firing a warning shot over a bow, giving officers and crew time to abandon ship. After the sinking, the sub sometimes would surface near the lifeboats, and the captain or an officer would shout, “Do you have water? Do you have a compass?” If the answer was no, supplies were tossed to them. Crewmen on U-507 gave some survivors cigarettes, matches, cookies and gallons of lime pulp, says Wiggins. Then the U-boat captain called, “Sorry, I can’t help you.

Hope you get to shore okay.” Christ explains this offer of aid from an enemy: On the sea, the rule is you help survivors of a sinking ship.

When word reached New Orleans that a U-boat commander spoke beautiful English, a rumor circulated that Baron Edgar von Spiegel, the German consul-general in New Orleans for four years, was now captain of a U-boat in the Gulf, where he had often fished. President Roosevelt had ordered all Italian and German consul generals to leave. They were put on a troop transport in New York. But at age 57, Wiggins says, “Von Spiegel was much too old to command another sub. Commanders were usually about 25.”

Americans also displayed humanity in the submarine war. Harry Kane, who took out U-701 off the coast of North Carolina, circled his plane back over the German survivors and ordered his crew to take off their life jackets and toss them out the window, as the plane dipped low. The story of Kane and U-701 Commander Horst Degen is told in The Burning Shore by Ed Offley.

Yet another rumor circulating in New Orleans was that U-boats were coming up the Mississippi River. Christ got the facts when he interviewed Admiral Karl Donitz, who headed the U-boat arm of the German military force. Donitz said the current was too swift, and the river was too shallow and full of floating logs. Most importantly, all ships emerged at the mouth of the river, so there was no need to enter it.

River pilot Albro Michelle was approaching the tanker Virginia at the mouth of the Mississippi when, amazingly, he saw a torpedo pass under his boat and hit the jetties. Christ explains that U-boats often miscalculated the buoyancy of the waters around the mouth of the Mississippi when firing a torpedo. In other enemy action in that area, U-166 laid nine mines near Southwest Pass, but they did no damage to Allied ships. Later, U-166 would sink the Robert E. Lee. (See Sidebar.)

“Americans are aiding the U-boats crews, providing fuel and food,” was another rumor. Donitz told Christ that he would have never let his boats take a chance on the possibility of bad fuel or poisoned food. The Germans had supply ships, called “milk cows,” which made runs between France and the mid-Atlantic, providing diesel fuel, lubricating oil, water and groceries, including fresh bread. The supply ships also had torpedoes, replacement crew and even a physician. >> June-July 2016 67

Houma Historian Solves U-boat Mystery Charles J. Christ, an avid yacht racer, was taking a celestial navigation class in 1967 when a door opened to his 50-year study of U-boats (“Untersea Boot”), the German submarines.

A friend in the class asked him if he knew U-166 had been sunk south of Houma in the summer of 1942. Christ and two scuba diving friends spent three years searching for the German sub on weekends, “to take home the periscope as a souvenir,” he says with

a U-boat; 40,000 men served on German subs and 28,000 lost their lives. However, as Douglas Botting of Time-Life wrote, “They had come astonishingly close to defeating the British and altering the outcome of the war.”

As the battle in the Gulf continued during 1942, the United States military tightened defenses with convoys, air patrols, and fishermen organized with sailors. Christ writes, “The hunters soon became the hunted, and Admiral Donitz called his wolves home.” In September 1942, the U-boats were sent south to the Caribbean and Latin America.

In 1945, when Hitler committed suicide, Donitz replaced him. Realizing all was hopeless, the admiral began the process for surrender, which occurred

a chuckle. His buddies lost interest, but the idea of German subs in his own backyard took hold of the Houma resident, an Air Force veteran who flew a B-29 bomber over North Korea. He researched the U-boats’ history and published two books—collections of 200 newspaper columns he had written for the Houma Courier.

Christ met a handful of other amateur historians involved in this theater of WWII, including E.B. “Libby” Gasaway. Her 1970 U-boat history, Grey Wolf, Grey Sea, sent Christ flying, literally, to her north Louisiana town. The German U-boat Admiral Karl Donitz wrote the foreword for Gasaway’s book; she, in turn, asked him to allow Christ to attend the 1978 conference of U-boat veterans in Hamburg, Germany. The group welcomed Christ as a full-fledged member, and at one of the veterans’ reunions, the dogged researcher interviewed Donitz. (Donitz’s slogan in his war on Allied shipping was Operation Paukenschlag, or Operation Drumbeat; the name was the inspiration for the Paukenschlag Society, in which Christ gathered the small group of like-minded historians.)

The highlight of Christ’s historian career was being honored by the U.S. Navy for helping to solve the mystery of where U-166 was sunk and who had really sunk her. It is the only U-boat the United States destroyed

20 days later. Donitz spent 10 years in Spandau Prison in Berlin after being convicted at Nuremburg—not for his sub warfare, but for helping Hitler to rebuild Germany’s military machine after WWI.

in the Gulf of Mexico.

The story begins July 30, 1942, when U-166 torpedoed the Robert E. Lee, a cargo-passenger ship packed with 270 passengers traveling from Trinidad to New Orleans. Conditions were deplorable on board, with stifling heat and a lack of food, sanitary facilities, and water. Passengers included merchant marines from two freighters torpedoed in the Caribbean.

Herbert G. Claudius commanded the PC566, which was the escort for the Lee. He twice broke radio silence using the frequency monitored by the Germans. The Lee was going too fast to zig-zag, which was the method for avoiding torpedoes. After the Lee was torpedoed, the PC566 dropped several depth charges on the sub, frightening the Lee’s survivors floating in the water. Commander Claudius did take out U-166, but this could not be

The following books were used in preparing this article: Grey Wolf, Grey Sea

by E.B. Gasaway; Torpedoes in the Gulf

by Melanie Wiggins; The Burning Shore

by Ed Offley; The U-boats by Time-Life Books; and WWII in the Gulf of Mexico

by Charles J. Christ.

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Inside New Orleans

photo courtesy: REGIONAL MILITARY MUSEUM

Life on a U-boat, however, was one of extreme deprivation. The claustrophobic and unsanitary air was rank with mold, diesel fumes and body odor—the men never bathed, so their underwear was dyed black. Food was often moldy, and when summer storms rocked the boat, the men held on as they gobbled cheese and crackers. In Gulf waters, heat and humidity were high, and the men were allowed only one cup of water per day. Despite the hardships, crewmen interviewed after the war said tempers never flared, because “we were well trained and prepared.”

Death was a constant companion on

photo courtesy: REGIONAL MILITARY MUSEUM

photo courtesy: OCEAN EXPLORATION TRUST photo courtesy: REGIONAL MILITARY MUSEUM

confirmed, and he was stripped of his command.

Later, the Coast Guard pilot of the amphibious Wigeon 54FL was incorrectly decorated for sinking U-166 south of Houma. When the German U-boat logs were released by the U.S. Military Archives in 1975, Christ began to read them methodically. He found the location of U-166 as reported to U-boat headquarters, and he learned the ship never reported the sinking of the Lee as was required immediately.

According to the logs, Christ also discovered that U-171 was the sub actually attacked by the Coast Guard pilot south of Houma, but it was not damaged.

The historian had a strong hunch that PC-566 did indeed take out U-166, but he had no proof.

In May 2001, an exploratory vessel hired by Shell/BP found U-166 broken in two at the bottom of the Gulf. (The oil companies were required to survey the sea bed before laying a natural gas pipe line.) The Lee rested two miles away from the U-boat, 45 miles southeast of mouth of the Mississippi.

Christ attended the ceremony in Washington when Herbert G. Claudius Jr., son of the PC-566 commander, received his father’s Navy medal for sinking the U-166. Also, as requested by the U-boat Veterans’ Association, the Houma historian tossed the wreath on the water during the memorial service for U-166.

Twenty-five passengers and crew died on the Lee and 52 sailors are entombed on the U-boat. Both vessels are covered with coral, and surrounded by undersea creatures. As they are maritime graves, these sites are not allowed to be disturbed.

Christ is founder and president of the Regional Military Museum in Houma. As a teen, the U-boat researcher worked at his father’s rice farm beside German servicemen from the nearby POW camp. (Some 20,000 Axis POWs were in Louisiana camps.) Today, this energetic 87-year-old historian is found at his museum Monday through Friday—when he is not giving a lecture on U-boats. Contact him at rmmuseum@gmail.com.

From top: The conning tower of the U-166 as she rests on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico; The first sonar image of the U-166; Sonar equipment.

June-July 2016 69

IN the Bookcase

by Terri Schlichenmeyer

Junk

by Alison Stewart

YOU KNOW EXACTLY where you put your glasses. Well, kind of. You remember that you put them down in the kitchen, but then you piled mail, a plastic fork, a magazine and a pair of gloves on them. Your glasses are right where you left them: under other things. And once you read Junk, by Alison Stewart, you’ll see those things differently.

Five decades of stuff. That’s what Stewart and her sister faced when it came time to clear their parents’ home—a mess, the result of “fifty years of life” that filled the entire basement, packed to the ceiling. Why, she wondered, do we hang on to the things we keep? How come we collect some items and toss away others? Why do folks often happily accept other people’s cast-offs? Stewart decided to find out.

To begin, she defines junk as “worthlessness.” Stuff is something you don’t want anymore but someone else might find useful, and treasures “are any stuff or junk that appeals to you.”

A third of us collect something, Stewart says, though professionals “make a 70

Inside New Orleans

distinction between collectors and clutterers.” Then there are packrats, while hoarders fall under a newly created psychiatric category all their own.

At “a giant 250-mile-long, junka-palooza” rummage sale in the South, Stewart promised herself that she wasn’t going to buy anything, but, of course, she couldn’t resist. In Austin, Texas, she visited The Cathedral of Junk and spoke with the man who created the “creative, chaotic colossus.”

She learned that humans weren’t the only creatures to be inveterate collectors.

In several different cities, Stewart rode shotgun with junk collectors, clean-up crews, and haulers, to get a feel for the kind of things people throw out and what’s done with it. She met the World’s First Official Spammer; she learned why we get so much “junk mail”; she asked about space junk; spoke with professional clutterfighters and “freecyclers”; talked with TV producers about pawn stores and picking; and she learned some good

news: if you have just too much stuff, there’s plenty of help available.

When it comes to possessions, are you downsizing—or oversized?

Whichever direction you’re heading, Junk can help you spot the bigger picture. It’s hard not to look around with a critical eye when you see what author Alison Stewart discovered; why you’ve saved tchotchkes from high school, broken tools, plastic silverware, and unfinished projects will never seem so puzzling. And then, turning things around, we get a serious (yet lighthearted) look at other people’s junk, how it’s tossed and where it goes once it’s gone.

In that, Stewart is respectful and doesn’t pick on anyone, but who can resist peeking? Who doesn’t want to see a happy ending to still-useful things?

Yes, this is interesting … um, stuff.

This is not a self-help book. It won’t tell you how to empty your crammed closets, busting basements, glutted garages or stuffed sheds, but it’s engaging and plenty fun to read— which makes Junk a great book to put in your hands.

June-July 2016 71

Moving Experience

A

Confessions of a Joyful Hoarder

by Winnie Brown

“Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset your life and embark on a new lifestyle.”

- Marie Kondo RHAPSODICALLY EMBRACING THE WORDS of organization guru Marie Kondo, I embarked on a major move and a new lifestyle. It is said that moving is the third-most-stressful thing in life apart from death and divorce; it’s something most of us experience at some point, whether relocating, upsizing, downsizing—or in our case, undergoing a major renovation.

Aided by Ms. Kondo, who teaches that an organized life creates joy, I was determined to “spark joy” in every step of this daunting task.

Our renovation required us to relocate for a year or more and to take everything out of the house. Equipped with boxes of all sizes, plastic tubs, packing material and color-coded stickers for move, store or give away, I began the task of purging, Kondo-style. I dreamed endlessly of a clutter-free life; of sparse, color-coded closets; drawers of perfectly folded clothes; and a tranquil, 72

Inside New Orleans

minimally appointed home.

The underlying tenet of Ms. Kondo’s decluttering theory is to discard everything that does not “spark joy,” giving them the heave-ho after dutifully thanking them for their service. She also recommends hugging your possessions and keeping only those that speak to your heart. I was ready to “take the plunge,” facing the herculean job of moving 4,800 square feet filled to the brim. Ms. Kondo says organization is a dialogue with

oneself—and I was ready to talk!

It soon became apparent that Ms. Kondo and I had a serious communication problem. My self-dialog unearthed that I was clearly a Sybil of sorts—my split personalities of preparer, hoarder and sentimentalist clashed with her streamlined methods. Our situation was obviously far better suited for the intervention team on Hoarders than the gentle methods of Ms. Kondo.

I should be clear. I do not suffer from compulsive hoarding disorder—I like to think of myself as prepared, “just in case.” Maybe because my parents were children of the Great Depression, or I still have a Katrina hangover or I’m simply neurotic. Faced with my mother’s vintage Christian Dior peignoir and authentic lederhosen, what was I to do? I might not need them now, but what about the next old Hollywood party or Oktoberfest? And my books—everyone knows you can never have too many books. I did reluctantly pitch drawers of expired medicine. I must confess I feel ill-prepared for any looming apocalyptic events.

For days, I poured over my childhood doll collection, a half century of birthday cards, two generations of letters to and from camp, love letters from my husband and photos of friends and family, many no longer with us. Each object that was a gift exuded a sense of joy as the memories of when it was given came back. Each piece of my children’s “art” brought visions of fingers dipped in finger paint. The sweet smell of baby blankets took me to a time long gone. Simply put, all of my things sparked joy. I hugged, and almost everything hugged back.

I eventually lost Ms. Kondo’s book in the layers of boxes.

I also lost very valuable time. I had resisted professional packers; they couldn’t hug and thank, and as a self-professed control freak, I couldn’t let go. Salvation came in the form of my dedicated housekeeper of 17 years and her family visiting from Honduras. She knew every inch of the house and my preferences and proclivities. A minor glitch was the language barrier—only she spoke English.

After three days of moving, we were finally in the new house. We are in, but not necessarily settled. I’ve resumed the Kondo method, albeit halfheartedly, and although still surrounded by boxes, it’s a lot easier to thank and pitch. The Salvation Army comes weekly.

My moving experience has made me realize that maybe true joy isn’t about being tidy and minimalistic. Maybe the things we’ve collected over the years spark the memories of the people and events that have shaped us. I may not have succeeded in being organized “Kondo style,” but the opportunity to revisit a lifetime of memories has definitely sparked joy. I’m going to keep on hugging, and I hope I continue to get hugged back.

June-July 2016 73

I N

L O V E

A N D

M A R R I A G E

Registering for an Elegant Future

Brittany Growden and Joshua LaPorte exchanged their vows at St. John Lutheran Church, where three generations of the bride’s family had been married before her. Brittany’s Yvonne LaFleur gown featured a strapless sweetheart neckline with buttons down the back. The cathedral-length train made a grand statement as the bride and her father walked down the aisle festooned with hydrangeas and calla lilies. The bridesmaids dressed in emerald green and the groomsmen in classic black tuxedos.

Music filled the air at the garden reception at Compass Point in Algiers where guests celebrated in the fun and lively atmosphere. Under the embrace of the large oak tree strung with Italian lights, the couple enjoyed their first dance. The Haydel’s cake was accented with dainty fleur de lis, and the ribbons pulled by gathered family and friends were adorned with New Orleans-themed charms. As the evening came to a close, the party second-lined to the ferry landing for the crossing back to the city under the glow of the evening skyline.

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Inside New Orleans

photos: DARRYL SCHMIDT PHOTOGRAPHY

Growden-LaPorte

For couples planning a wedding and a new home, building their gift registry is an opportunity to bring their future to life. In the South, that often means combining a contemporary lifestyle with beloved traditions of more formal entertaining.

Nina Friend of Friend & Company offers these registry tips especially for New Orleans brides— and grooms.

Make the registry process an enjoyable and stress-free occasion—not just one item on a to-do list. Carefully choose an appropriate source with consultants who are passionate about china, crystal, silver and educating you about options. Make a personal appointment—and consider including a few friends or family members to help with decision making. You want to leave feeling good about your choices and confident that you have made the right selections.

One thing that makes us unique here is that we are excited about entertaining with fine things.

Don’t be afraid of choosing delicate china, gleaming silver and shimmering crystal—and plan to use them often! Not just for sit-down dinner in the dining room. I love it when brides use their fine china for baby showers or just having friends over.

Plan for 10-12 everyday place settings and 12 of your formal choice. If you have family pieces, or have started a collection, take a sample with you to register to coordinate with your new selections.

Consider simple but elegant white dinner plates and choose different salad or dessert plates. This way, flowers and table accents can be flexible.

Don’t forget serving pieces. Many can be both casual and formal. Annieglass is a perfect example, in either gold or silver.

Register things for the groom—such as steak knives, cutting boards, barware and barbecue equipment.

Consider asking for gift cards informing you of gifts instead of receiving the actual merchandise.

This is convenient and gives you more flexibility, including the opportunity to change your selections.

Above all, just relax and enjoy this special time in your lives.

Flourishes 1. Original painting, Shotgun #3,

by Beth Stire, 16” x 40” $325. mélange by KP, Mandeville, 985-807-7652. 2.Textured azure 2

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and smoke 24” Medea vase, $125. Fur.Nish, Metairie, 7028514. 3. Chilewich satin glass placemats, $20 each. Friend & Company, 866-5433. 4. Wine bottle holder, cheese board, and magnetic knife holder all in one; wood is purple heart, $45.

NOLA Boards, 516-2601.

5. Tin Medallion trays in watercolor blue; 18.5”, $60; 20.7”, $74. The Villa, Mandeville,

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985-626-9797.

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Flourishes 1

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1. Precious Threads 16” x 24” lumbar cushion in 100% cotton; 18” x 18” Mujer Perico floor pillow. Hazelnut, 891-2424.

2. 30-piece BBQ tool set with aluminum case, $129. Outdoor Living Center, Covington, 985893-8008. 3. Greek key-inspired 32” gold leaf lamp, $295.00.

Shades of Blue, 891-1575.

4. Premium leather accent chair

by Bernhardt with nail-head trim and wooden legs. American Factory Direct, Mandeville, 985871-0300, afd-furniture.com.

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Inside New Orleans

June-July 2016 77

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Inside New Orleans

Flourishes 2

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3

1. Stunning poker set in lacquered, inlaid wooden box,

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$350. Arabella Fine Gifts and Home DĂŠcor, Mandeville, 985727-9787. 2. Live Thankfully flour sack pillow, $120. Little Miss Muffin, 482-8200.

3. Build your own custom chair—choose frame, fabric and finishes. Custom Zebra wood arm chair hand painted with gold accent, $2,250. The French Mix, Covington, 985809-3152. 4. For All My Days framed acrylic on canvas by Ashton Shaw Despot, $3200.

Susan Currie Design, 237-6112.

June-July 2016 79

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Inside New Orleans

Edward

Wilkerson

The Creative Force of Lafayette 148 New York

photos courtesy: LAFAYETTE 148 NEW YORK

by Brenda Breck EDWARD WILKERSON, the creative genius of Lafayette 148 New York’s International Design Team, returned to New Orleans to reveal the Lafayette Spring Fashion Line at Saks Fifth Avenue. I met with him to find out more about this extraordinary designer.

Edward loves his trips to New Orleans. “When I walk down Royal Street and hear all the street musicians, I am reminded of my Brooklyn neighborhood where I grew up, with live music playing in the streets. You walk around this city and it is like being in a movie. I am inspired by the many different interpretations, images of the city, interiors, and street scenes.”

“Art and Fashion” go hand-in-hand in all of Edward’s designs. Lafayette represents timeless style and sophistication with elegant cuts and fabric combinations from Italy.

According to Edward, “The challenge of the new creation is what makes us. The only way we can stand out and be individual in our creations is that it has to come from the soul. The creative process is a metamorphosis of natural instinct and constant expression. I can spend a week

painting, and suddenly I hit it and know it’s right and what direction to go. I present my vision to the design team and encourage them to go forward and communicate their interpretation through art.”

Edward expresses his concept of the quintessential Lafayette 148 New York woman this way: “I have a customer, Kelly, that I met in New Orleans last year at Saks. She is a businesswoman, smart and stylish with a great sense of family. She knows who she is and is confident enough in her body to know what looks good on her. Kelly looks to Lafayette because she knows we are thinking about her and have her in mind when designing our line. Our look fits various body types and ages.

“We’re about taking what you have today and building on it. The real key is ‘ageless,’ not ‘trendy.’ If you want to look old, wear something trendy. We strive not to reinvent the wheel but to make our clients comfortable.”

When we finished our visit, Edward wanted me to see how he incorporated his feathered abstract art into a dress. I fell for it and bought it on the spot. He really does know his customer!

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INside Look 1

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Summer Daze 1. 14kt yellow gold, Baroque freshwater pearls and aquamarine necklace, $8,850; 14kt yellow gold, white gold, pearl, aquamarine and diamond earrings, $4,750. Adler’s, 523-5292. 2. Ice blue chiffon dress by Haley Paige Occasions, $240. Bustle & Bows, Metairie, 780-7090. 3. Yonka Excellence Code Global Youth Cream for day and night anti-aging benefits, $185. Le Visage Day Spa, 265-8018. 4. Take Care dress by C/meo Collective, shown in slate, $175. Angelique, 304-9050. 5. Ippolita bronze turquoise and clear quartz ring, $550.

Lee Michaels Fine Jewlery, Metairie, 832-0000.

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June-July 2016 83

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Inside New Orleans

INside Look 1

Summer Daze 1. Callie Shift in Pool Blue, “For the Shell of It”; $178. Palm Village—a Lilly Pulitzer store, Mandeville, 985-7782547. 2. Boho meets classic beach chic in this Z & L Europe embroidered V-neck cover up with handmade detail, $70; Valentina Tangerine Dream Tote

by Consuela with wrap-around Mexican embroidery, glossy fabric, exotic prints and natural dye-free Italian leather straps, $235; Z & L turquoise and gold beaded sandal, $68. Little Miss Muffin, 482-8200. 3. Joseph Abboud Heritage shirt, $59.50; Joseph Abboud 100 percent linen pant, $99.50. Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, 528-9491. 4. Tacori “Something Blue Collection” rings in sterling silver with 18kt gold accents,

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starting at $250. Boudreaux’s Fine Jewelers, Metairie, 831-2602.

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INside Look 3

1 2

Summer Daze 1. City of New Orleans Button Necklace by Heather Elizabeth Designs; $58. The Shop at The Collection, The Historic New Orleans Collection, 5987147. 2. Alice & Trixie Fallon Dress, $275; Nanette Lepore Rendevous Shift Dress, $428.

FeBe, Metairie, 835-5250.

3. Konstantino turquoise and rock crystal earrings, $665.

Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry, Metairie, 832-0000. 4. Blue Snake from Kevan Hall Sport’s Fall 2016 Fearless collection available in September.

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Montecito zip-front top, $108; mock scuba dress, $190; swing jacket, $180; long skirt—call for price. Kevan Hall Sport, kevanhallsport or 844-547-7678. 5. Schutz Leona Light Wood Ankle Wrap Thong T-strap sandal with metallic heel, slim leather 5

laces and leather sole, $160. Emma’s Shoes and Accessories, Metairie, 407-0668.

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Inside New Orleans

Table of Contents 2 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty 3 St. Martin’s Episcopal School 3 Mullin Landscape Associates 4 New Orleans Museum of Art 4 YSR Search 5 Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts 6 Murphy Appraisal Services, LLC 7 Outdoor Living Center

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty Royce Mitchell

“With direct flights from all around the country into the Florida Panhandle, more and more people have access to our beautiful white beaches and reasonable prices,” says Royce Mitchell, of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty in Watercolor.

Royce’s knowledge and commitment to his local market, coupled with the benefits of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty, allows him to offer his clients advantages that no other local firm or international company can hope to match. While enjoying the relaxing living of Florida, Royce is also enjoying the healthy real estate market. “There is an uptick in interest on the coast, because many investors are transferring their money out of the stock market and into real estate. There is a thin ribbon of very desirable real estate that runs from Pensacola to Panama City,” says Royce.

With properties in this area selling from $495 per square foot up to $2,000 on the beach, the market is rising—much like the daily emerald tide. A few properties like Alys Beach can go for as much as $2,500 per square foot. However, prices are still reasonable and a good value compared to other coastal areas of the country, where multi-million dollar properties are the norm.

“People who are looking for vacation homes are often making this their full-time residence, because with the computer, they can work from anywhere. And people who can afford to live anywhere choose to live here.”

2 Inside New Orleans

The success Royce has seen in the market helped him to be voted 2016 Best Male Real Estate Professional by “Best in Destin” VIP Destin Magazine. Royce has also helped develop Costa Blanca, a new condo development in Watercolor, which is due for completion in late 2017. The project only has 14 luxury condos, and 12 are already under contract. “That’s how incredible this market is right now,” smiles Royce. “The Emerald Coast welcomes visitors, and many choose to make it home.”

Royce is proud to be affiliated with a real estate brokerage that has the resources and support of two very well admired and highly respected companies: PenFed Realty, a wholly owned subsidiary of PenFed Credit Union (PenFed) that has $18B in assets, and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, which has the marketing power of a world-renowned brand. This unique combination has contributed to his company’s phenomenal growth, allowing it to earn recognition as one of the top one percent of all real estate brokerages in the country.

For more info on the new development, visit costablanca30a.com.

Reach Royce at royce.mitchell@penfedrealty.com or 850-737-0567. His offices are located at: 7684 W. County Highway 30A in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.; 1073 John Sims Parkway in Niceville, Fla.; and 17 W. Cedar Street in Pensacola, Fla.

St. Martin's Episcopal School Sue Bower

Pat LaForge

St. Martin’s Episcopal School has tapped veteran athletic

Mullin Landscape Associates Chase Mullin

of the University of New Orleans, Pat has spent the previous 18 years as Middle School Athletic Director at Stuart Hall and brings over 20 years of coaching and physical education experience to his new role.

Head of School Merry Sorrells says, “It’s a new era of athletics at St. Martin’s as we welcome Sue Bower and Pat LaForge to lead our sports programs. I look forward to working with them both and to watching our sports programs grow and thrive! Go Saints!”

“Delivering quality is what provides our clients an exceptional experience,” says Chase Mullin, owner of Mullin Landscape Associates.

An essential part of delivering that quality is having effective, open communication, which is a priority at Mullin. Chase guides his team to “walk the talk” and communicate with residential and commercial clients throughout the design-build process. “Even seemingly small things like responding to phone calls promptly and arriving at meetings on time are important to us.”

Chase grew up with a family history in construction, but he founded Mullin Landscape Associates after Hurricane Katrina. “I rebuilt homes after the storm,” he explains, “but I found myself at Perino’s Garden Center reading plant tags. The lightbulb went off - I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in landscaping.”

Mullin doubled in size after one year and has continued to grow. The full-service company offers landscape architecture and construction; planting and maintenance; and irrigation design and contracting. Outdoor construction, including outdoor kitchens and turn-key outdoor living spaces, is a growing service.

With the help of over 60 skilled employees, Chase serves metro New Orleans, the northshore and beyond. “We may not be the largest company, but we hope to be the best. As a designbuild company, we are better able to estimate costs and provide plans to fit budgets and assemble a cohesive outcome.

“As a leader, I enjoy working as part of a team and watching our members excel. It’s very rewarding to see them give clients the exceptional experience we are founded on.”

St. Martin’s Episcopal School is located at 225 Green Acres Road in Metairie. 733-0353.

Mullin Landscape Associates is located at 621 Distributors Row, Ste. F, in Harahan. 275-6671. mullinlandscape.com.

administration professional Sue Bower as Director of Athletics.

Bower brings an impressive array of experience from her 20-year tenure with Tulane athletics. She was Head Women’s Golf Coach from 1992-2006, and since then has served in various departmental leadership capacities, most recently as Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator.

Bower is a graduate of Dartmouth College and a native of Hanover, New Hampshire. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including Coach of the Year awards from the National Golf Coaches Association, the LPGA and the Louisiana Sportswriters Association. In 2011, the Tulane Greenbackers awarded her its first ever Distinguished Service Award.

At St. Martin’s, Bower will be responsible for all athletic programs and facilities, as well as the physical education curriculum for grades Pre-K through 12.

Martin’s simultaneously announced the hiring of Pat LaForge as Middle and Lower School Athletics/P.E. Coordinator. A graduate

Business & Leadership 2016 3

New Orleans Museum of Art

The New Orleans Museum of Art is dedicated to serving as a cultural convening space that unites the experience of its permanent collections and special exhibitions with programming that responds to the educational, re-development and social needs of its community.

Since the appointment of Susan Taylor as the museum’s new director in 2010, NOMA has launched a spectrum of programs that engage the distinctly diverse New Orleans audience and serve as an integral aspect of the city’s cultural fabric. From educational programs that use the visual arts to teach verbal literacy, to partnerships with local cultural and community organizations, to collaborations with contemporary artists who have been inspired

by New Orleans, NOMA is making a tangible, positive impact in its community.

The five-acre Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at NOMA is one of the most important sculpture installations in the United States, with over 65 works situated on a beautifully landscaped site with meandering footpaths, reflecting lagoons, Spanish moss-laden 200-year-old live oaks, magnolias, camellias, and pedestrian bridges. The collection includes works by some of the great sculptors of the 20th century, including Antoine Bourdelle, Henry Moore and Louise Bourgeois, as well as younger, contemporary sculptors Anish Kapoor, Do-Ho Suh, Allison Saar and Joel Shapiro.

Serving nearly 250,000 visitors a year, NOMA is committed to examining and interpreting art through both traditional and contemporary perspectives. NOMA offers weekly educational and public programs for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Susan Taylor

NOMA is located at One Collins C. Diboll Circle in City Park, 658.4100. noma.org.

4 Inside New Orleans

YSR Search Michael Harold

A legal recruiting company, YSR Search provides the most individual attention possible to both lawyers and firms. Michael Harold, YSR owner and principal, started the firm in November 2014 after successfully practicing law in New Orleans for 23 years.

“Although I enjoyed the work and the lawyers with whom I practiced, I came to realize that this was not a passion,” says Michael. “I resigned at the end of 2013 and started recruiting for a firm based in Los Angeles, concentrating on the southern United States and Texas. I quickly came to the conclusion that doing this on my own would be a better option. I have complete freedom now—I can work in any state and make placements anywhere in the world.”

Born and reared in New Orleans, Michael graduated from St. Martin’s Episcopal High School, earned degrees from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. and LSU law school. He enjoys studying and playing classical piano music, writing for Inside New Orleans and The Local Palate, a national publication, and serving on a number of boards.

Michael says, “The world of recruiting is a joy to me. Now, rather than arguing with lawyers, I get to work with them. I represent firms looking for lawyers and lawyers wanting to change firms. The tough part of the job is not being able to place every lawyer who comes my way—supply and demand dictate most of the framework—but I do my best.”

Michael can be reached at www.ysrsearch.com.

Zeid Ammari

Marv Ammari

Richy Ammari

creole cuisine restaurant concepts Marviani Ammari introduced his first hospitality concept in 1989 as a restaurant and daiquiri bar offering a fun atmosphere and great New Orleans cuisine. He added a second location before breaking into the French Quarter in 1991. Marviani continued to grow the business, adding more locations, before partnering with brothers Zeid and Richy. Together, they opened their first restaurant, the Chartres House, in 2003.

When Hurricane Katrina came and went, the Ammaris knew they had to help the city rebuild. With that commitment at heart, they expanded their restaurant business, offering places for people to meet and gather and share stories and experiences. They have since weathered other storms—Hurricane Gustav, the BP oil spill, the rising cost of goods—yet continue to find solutions because they have a restaurant family counting on them. It is that commitment to family that drives them to achieve success. “Our employees are like family to us, and when you treat someone like family, they respond in a positive way,” states Zeid Ammari, Chief Operating Officer, Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts. “Our employees are what make us successful. Without a strong

team, from the bottom up, we would not be the company we have become.”

Today, Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts’ repertoire is ever-expanding, and it now owns and operates 12 restaurants and half a dozen daiquiri cafes throughout New Orleans. They include Broussard’s, Kingfish, The Bombay Club, Royal House Oyster Bar, Cafe Maseru, The Original Pierre Maspero’s, Bayou Burger & Sports Company, Chartres House, Le Bayou Restaurant, Pier 424 Seafood Market, Boulevard American Bistro, Creole House Restaurant & Oyster Bar, Daiquiri Paradise and all of the Big Easy Daiquiri and Big Easy Daiquiri Café locations. They are also home to two premier special event venues, Bourbon Vieux, above Bayou Burger & Sports Company, and Marché, located above the historic French Market.

“Consistency is the cornerstone of our business,” states Ammari. “Together, with

a dedication to excellence, we are able to provide a unique offering of restaurants in a city that is known for its great food and culture. And that is something to be proud of.”

As part of the New Orleans community, Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts recognizes that it is important to be involved with organizations who foster continued growth and prosperity for the entire community. Creole Cuisine is currently involved with more than 15 local organizations, including Susan G. Komen for the Cure, New Orleans Mission, Second Harvest Food Bank, No Kid Hungry-Share our Strength, Toys for Tots, Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans, American Heart Association, Louisiana Hospitality Foundation and CASA New Orleans. Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts were named the Restaurateurs of the Year in 2015.

Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concept’s home office is located at 311 Decatur St. in New Orleans. 586-2074. creolecuisine.com.

Business & Leadership 2016 5

The staff of the New Orleans office of Murphy Appraisal Services, LLC.

Murphy Appraisal Services, LLC Murphy Appraisal Services, LLC, is a comprehensive and full-service real estate appraisal and consulting firm with extensive experience throughout Louisiana and Mississippi. While based and focused in the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area, we historically have covered the length of the Interstate 10 and Interstate 12 corridors from Lake Charles and Lafayette to Baton Rouge through New Orleans and the Florida Parishes and into the Mississippi Gulf Coast from Waveland to Pascagoula and onto Mobile.

Since 1990, we have provided high-quality commercial and residential real estate appraisal services for a wide-ranging client base that includes both national and locally based institutional lenders, private individuals, estate planning professionals, attorneys, and real estate development companies. We perform literally thousands of appraisals annually. In fact, we are the largest appraisal firm in Louisiana.

Founder Rick Murphy, who has over 30 years of experience in real estate appraisal, brokerage and development, leads a staff of 30 individuals, including seven state-certified general appraisers, six state-certified residential appraisers and other professionals in real estate sales and brokerage.

Two of Murphy’s partners in Murphy Appraisal, Neal Meyer and William Summerour, manage the New Orleans office located in the Warehouse District, which consists of eight full-time appraisers. Outside of appraisal work, the New Orleans office remains committed to giving back to the community by involvement in a variety of organizations, both professionally and socially.

Summerour is on the board of directors of the Regional Loan Corporation, a private non-profit organization that manages several government-sponsored financing programs focused on small business growth. Meyer recently participated in a St. Bernard Project house build, and sits on the board as treasurer of the Louisiana Chapter of the International Right of Way Association. Tom Hancock is involved in several organizations, including New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors, New Orleans Young Leadership Council, American Cancer Society Belles and Beaus Committee, National World War II Young Benefactors Committee and Audubon Nature Institute’s Sales and 6 Inside New Orleans

Ales Committee. Jeremy Loescher is treasurer of the Clemson University New Orleans Alumni Club and a member of the board of Swine Krewe Too, LLC. Katherine Harang Bourgeois, who splits her time between New Orleans and her native Thibodaux, is an ambassador for the Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce.

Murphy recently participated in the Men in Kilts event to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities. He has previously served as head of the New Orleans Sub Chapter of the Appraisal Institute as well as a member of the Regional Ethics and Counseling Panel and the board of directors of the Louisiana Chapter of the Appraisal Institute.

At Murphy Appraisal, we take pride in giving back to the community wherever possible. In addition to individual community involvement, the company often contributes to local charity-based organizations such as Julia Jump, Hogs for the Cause, WRBH Golf Tournament and the Bobby Hebert Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Murphy Appraisal Services, LLC Main Office: 757 St. Charles Ave, Suite 202, New Orleans; 504-274-2682.

Operations Center: 19411 Helenberg Rd., Suite 204, Covington; 985-626-4115.

Other locations in Metairie, Hammond, Thibodaux, Baton Rouge and Monroe.

employees make every attempt to provide top-notch service to their clients. “We are constantly trying to give what people want and need. If it is something we cannot get, we suggest a place to find it. We don’t want to leave our customers hanging,” she says. “We have a lot of repeat customers who recommend us to others because they have received good service. That’s hard to find these days.”

Along with having the right customer service plan, Anna is no stranger to hard work.

“I don’t expect my employees to do anything that I don’t do.

When I come into work, I never know what the day is going to bring. Owning a business is always fun, but it is not easy.”

Anna is especially grateful for her loyal employee Tammy Bacon, who has worked at the store for 18 years. The duo has been through ups and downs together, and they are ecstatic to see the new showroom flourish in its new location at 1331 N. Highway 190 in Covington. “With the new location, we will continue to keep up with the latest technology and high-quality products.”

While Anna’s main focus is outdoor furniture and barbeque grills, she sells much more. Year-round, she offers fireplace accessories, gift items, wall art, hammocks, flags and many other products. Anna and Tammy can even help their customers design an entire outdoor living room.

Anna’s favorite part of owning Outdoor Living Center is going home at the end of the day knowing that she has satisfied her customers. “We do this by providing quality customer service and quality merchandise that lasts a long time.”

outdoor living center Anna Papp

When recently forced to make a decision to either relocate or close her business, owner Anna Papp made the right choice. As Outdoor Living Center celebrates its 28th year of business, Anna beams with pride over her new and much larger showroom. “The fact that we have been in business for 28 years speaks for itself.

We have been through good times and bad times and survived,” says Anna.

Previous owners opened the store in 1988. When they contemplated closing the business in 1993, Anna jumped at the chance to call the place her own. “I truly enjoyed working with the products and customers, so I asked the owner if he would sell the business to me. That was the beginning of my entrepreneurial career,” she says.

Before Outdoor Living Center, Anna worked as a kitchen designer and also showroom manager for a large plumbing wholesaler. She credits some of her success to her experience working in those fields. “At my age, I have had several different jobs. I majored in home economics in college, which gave me a good background as far as doing the design work,” says Anna.

“Running a business wasn’t my initial intention. It seems like you never know where the road is going to lead you.”

What has kept the store open for all of these years? Quality products and customer service are her main focus. Anna and her

Outdoor Living Center’s NEW location is 1331 N. Hwy. 190 in Covington. 985-893-8008. outdoorlivingcenter.com.

Business & Leadership 2016 7

8

Inside New Orleans

IN Great Taste

by Yvette Jemison

Brunch, Easy Like Sunday Morning THERE’S ALMOST NOTHING more gratifying than a long brunch with family and friends on a summer holiday weekend. Baked egg cups that are layered with sautéed vegetables and accompanied by flavorful crostini are a lovely treat for brunch. Individual jars are great for a brunch buffet, but simply layer the ingredients into an ovensafe dish for a family style meal.

Breakfast for dinner? It’s as easy as adding a leafy green salad, and this recipe can double as dinner.

PARMESAN CROSTINI Servings: 16-20 crostini 1 baguette, ¼-inch slices 3 Tablespoons olive oil ½ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon freshly ground

photos: YVETTE JEMISON

black pepper 1/3 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese 1 teaspoon parsley, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. 2. Lightly brush each side of bread with olive oil and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and bake until the slices are golden brown, 8-12 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, combine cheese and parsley. When the crostini are cool enough to handle (2-3 minutes), dust each slice with the Parmesan mixture and place on a cooling rack. >>

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OVEN-BAKED EGG CUPS Servings: 8 3 Tablespoons olive oil 8 cups onions, sliced 3 cups zucchini, sliced 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning eggs ½ teaspoon black pepper, plus extra for seasoning eggs 2 dry pints cherry tomatoes, cut in half 2 cups green onions, chopped Eight 8-ounce jars Non-stick cooking spray 8 jumbo eggs

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened, 10-12 minutes.

3. Add zucchini, thyme, salt, pepper. Stir and cook until zucchini begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until zucchini is tender and tomatoes are wilted, about 5 minutes.

4. Spray jars with non-stick spray. Divide vegetables among jars, and gently press down with a spoon. Crack an egg into each jar and season with salt and pepper.

5. Transfer jars to a 9x13-inch baking pan. Fill pan with water about 1-inch up the sides of jars. Bake in preheated oven until whites are set and yolks are still runny, 15-20 minutes. Serve with Parmesan crostini.

Do Ahead: Vegetable mixture can be cooked one day ahead. Let cool, cover and refrigerate.

For additional recipes, visit Delicacies.com. For the latest behind the scenes scoop, visit y_delicacies on Instagram.

96

Inside New Orleans

INside Dining New Orleans is home to more great restauruants than we could hope to list here. For a comprehensive listing of restaurants in the New Orleans metro area, please refer to Tom Fizmorris’ nomenu.com. In this guide, you will find some of the best bets around town.

Tom’s fleur de lis ratings are shown.

CARROLLTON, RIVERBEND AND BROADMOOR Babylon Café aaa Middle Eastern, 7724 Maple St., 504-314-0010 Barcelona Tapas aaa Spanish, 720 Dublin St., 504-861-9696 Basil Leaf aaa Thai, 1438 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-862-9001 Boucherie aaaa Southern Barbecue, 1506 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-862-5514 Brigtsen’s aaaa Contemporary Creole, 723 Dante St., 504-861-7610 Cooter Brown’s Tavern aaa Sandwiches, 509 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-866-9104 Cowbell aa Hamburgers, 8801 Oak St., 504-866-4222 Dante’s Kitchen aaaa Eclectic, 736 Dante St., 504-861-3121 Dat Dog a Craft Hot Dogs,

5030 Freret St., 504-899-6883

Hana aaa Japanese, 8116 Hampson, 504-865-1634 Jacques-Imo’s aaa Cajun, 8324 Oak St., 504-861-0886 Lebanon’s Café aaa Middle Eastern, 1500 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-862-6200 Louisiana Pizza Kitchen aaa Pizza, 615 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-866-5900 Maple Street Café aaa Creole Italian, 7623 Maple St., 504-314-9003 Mat & Naddie’s aaaa Eclectic, 937 Leonidas St., 504-861-9600 Mikimoto aaaa Japanese, 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-488-1881 Mona’s Café aa Middle Eastern, 1120 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-861-8174 Panchita’s aaa Central American, 1434 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-281-4127 Pupuseria La Macarena aaa Central American, 8120 Hampson St., 504-862-5252 Riccobono’s Panola Street Café aa Breakfast, 7801 Panola St., 504-314-1810 Vincent’s aaaa Italian, 7839 St. Charles Ave., 504-866-9313 Ye Olde College Inn aaa

Neighborhood Café, 3000 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-866-3683

Lopez St., 504-218-7888 Lola’s aaa Spanish, 3312 Esplanade Ave., 504-488-6946

CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT Blue Room aaa American, 123 Baronne, Roosevelt Hotel. 504-648-1200 Bon Ton Café aaa Cajun, 401 Magazine St., 504-524-3386

Sammy’s Food Service aaa Neighborhood Café, 3000 Elysian Fields Ave., 504-947-0675 Santa Fe aaa Mexican, 3201 Esplanade Ave., 504-948-0077

Borgne aaa Seafood, 601 Loyola Ave. (Hyatt Regency Hotel), 504-613-3860 Café Adelaide aaaa Contemporary Creole, 300 Poydras St., 504-595-3305 Chophouse aaa Steak, 322 Magazine St., 504-522-7902 Desi Vega’s aaaa Steak, 628 St. Charles Ave., 504-523-7600 Domenica aaaa Italian, 123

Acme Oyster House aaa Seafood, 724 Iberville St., 504-522-5973 Antoine’s aaaa Creole French, 713 St. Louis St., 504-581-4422 Arnaud’s aaaa Creole French, 813 Bienville St., 504-523-5433 Bayona aaaa Eclectic, 430 Dauphine St., 504-525-4455 Bombay Club aaa Contemporary Creole, 830 Conti St.,

504-648-6020

504-577-2237

St., 504-584-3911 Herbsaint aaaa Creole French, 701 St. Charles Ave., 504-524-4114 Horinoya aaa Japanese, 920 Poydras St., 504-561-8914 Liborio aaa Cuban, 321 Magazine St., 504-581-9680 Lucky Rooster aaa Pan-Asian, 515 Baronne St., 504-529-5825 Lüke aaa French, 333 St. Charles Ave., 504-378-2840 MiLa aaaa Eclectic, 817 Common St., 504-412-2580 Morton’s The Steakhouse aaa Steak, 365 Canal St. (Canal Place Mall), 504-566-0221 Mother’s aaa Sandwiches, 401

Bourbon House aaa Seafood, 144 Bourbon St., 504-522-0111 Brennan’s Contemporary Creole, 417 Royal St., 504-525-9711 Broussard’s aaaa Creole French, 819 Conti St., 504-581-3866 Café Giovanni aaaa Creole Italian, 117 Decatur St., 504-529-2154 Court of Two Sisters aaa Creole French, 613 Royal St., 504-522-7261 Crescent City Brewhouse aaa Pub Food, 527 Decatur St., 504-522-0571 Criollo aaa Creole French, 214 Royal St., 504-681-4444 Dat Dog a Craft Hot Dogs, 601 Frenchmen St., 505-309-3362 The Davenport Lounge Small bites

Poydras St., 504-523-9656

and cocktails, 921 Canal Street

Poppy’s Crazy Lobster Bar & Grill

(The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans)

a Seafood, 500 Port of New Orelans Pl., Suite 83. 504-5693380

504-670-2828 Deanie’s Seafood Seafood, 841 Iberville St., 504-581-1316

Poppy’s Time Out Sports Bar & Grill. Hamburgers. 1 Poydras St. (Riverfront). 504-247-9265 Restaurant August aaaaa Eclectic, 301 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-299-9777 Ruby Slipper Café aaa Breakfast, Neighborhood Café, 200 Magazine St., 504-525-9355 Ruth’s Chris Steak House aaa Steak, 525 Fulton St., 504-587-7099 Windsor Court Grill Room aaa American, 300 Gravier St., 504-522-1994

596-2530 Kingfish aaaa Cajun, 337 Chartres St., 504-598-5005 Louisiana Bistro aaa Contemporary Creole, 337 Dauphine St., 504-525-3335 Louisiana Pizza Kitchen aaa Pizza, 95 French Market Place,

FRENCH QUARTER

Baronne St. (Roosevelt Hotel), Drago’s aaaa Seafood, 2 Poydras

Cajun, 416 Chartres St., 504-

Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse aaa Steak, 716 Iberville St., 504-5222467

504-522-9500 M Bistro aaaFarm to Table Restaurant 921 Canal Street (The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans) 504-670-2828 Mr. B’s Bistro aaaa Contemporary Creole, 201 Royal St., 504-523-2078 Muriel’s aaaa Contemporary Creole, 801 Chartres St., 504-568-1885 Napoleon House aa Sandwiches, 500 Chartres St., 504-524-9752 New Orleans Creole Cookery Classic Creole, 510 Toulouse St., 504-524-9632 Nola aaaa Contemporary Creole, 534 St. Louis St., 504-522-6652 Palace Café aaa Contemporary Creole, 605 Canal St., 504-523-1661 Pelican Club aaaaa Contemporary Creole, 312 Exchange Place, 504-523-1504 Port of Call aaa Hamburgers, 838 Esplanade Ave., 504-523-0120 R’evolution aaaa Creole French, 777 Bienville (in the Royal Sonesta Hotel), 504-553-2277 Red Fish Grill aaa Seafood, 115 Bourbon St., 504-598-1200 Rib Room aaa American, 621 St. Louis St., 504-529-7045 SoBou aaa Contemporary Creole, 310 Chartres St., 504-552-4095 Stanley aa Breakfast, 547 St. Ann St., 504-587-0093 Tujague’s aaa Creole, 823 Decatur St., 504-525-8676

El Gato Negro aaa Mexican, 81 French Market Place, 504-525-9752 Frank’s aaa Creole Italian, 933 Decatur St., 504-525-1602 Galatoire’s aaaa Creole French, 209 Bourbon St., 504-525-2021 Galatoire’s 33 Bar & Steak aaa Steak, 215 Bourbon St., 504-335-3932 Gumbo Shop aaa Creole, 630 St. Peter St., 504-525-1486

GARDEN DISTRICT Commander’s Palace aaaaa Contemporary Creole, 1403 Washington Ave., 504-899-8221 Coquette aaaa Creole French, 2800 Magazine St., 504-265-0421 Delmonico aaaa Contemporary Creole, 1300 St. Charles Ave., 504-525-4937 Juan’s Flying Burrito aaa Mexican, 2018 Magazine St., 504-569-0000

GW Fins aaaa Seafood, 808

Mr. John’s Steakhouse aaaa

ESPLANADE RIDGE

Bienville St., 504-581-3467

Steak, 2111 St. Charles Ave.,

AND GENTILLY

Irene’s Cuisine aaaa Italian, 539

Liuzza’s By The Track aaa Neighborhood Café, 1518 N.

St. Philip St., 504-529-8811 K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen aaaa

504-679-7697 Sushi Brothers aaa Japanese, 1612

St. Charles Ave., 504-581-4449 >>

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714 Elmeer Ave., 504-896-7300

Tracey’s aaa Sandwiches, 2604 Magazine St., 504-897-5413

Mellow Mushroom aa Pizza, 30 craft beers on tap, 3131 Veterans Memorial Blvd., 504-644-4155

LAKEVIEW Café Navarre aa Sandwiches, 800

Mr. Ed’s aaa Neighborhood Café, 1001 Live Oak St., 504-838-0022

Navarre Ave., 504-483-8828 Cava aaaa New Orleans Style, 785

Mr. Ed’s Oyster Bar & Fish House

Harrison Ave, New Orleans LA

aaa Seafood, 3117 21St. Street, 504-833-6310

70124, 504-304-9034 El Gato Negro aaa Mexican, 300

Parran’s Po-Boys aaa Sandwiches, 3939 Veterans Blvd.,

Harrison Ave., 504-488-0107

504-885-3416

Lakeview Harbor aaa Hamburgers, 911 Harrison Ave.,

Peppermill aaa Creole Italian, 3524 Severn Ave., 504-455-2266

504-486-4887 Mondo aaa Eclectic, 900 Harrison

Pho Orchid aaa Vietnamese, 3117 Houma Blvd., 504-457-4188

Ave., 504-224-2633 Munch Factory aaa Contemporary

Ristorante Filippo aaa Creole Italian, 1917 Ridgelake Dr.,

Creole, 6325 Elysian Fields Ave.,

504-835-4008

504-324-5372 Ralph’s On The Park aaaa

Ruth’s Chris Steak House aaaa Steak, 3633 Veterans Blvd.,

Contemporary Creole, 900 City

504-888-3600

Park Ave., 504-488-1000 Steak Knife aaa Contemporary

Sandro’s Trattoria aaa Creole Italian, 6601 Veterans Blvd.,

Creole, 888 Harrison Ave.,

504-888-7784

504-488-8981 Tony Angello’s aaa Creole Italian,

Shogun aaaa Japanese, 2325 Veterans Blvd., 504-833-7477

6262 Fleur de Lis Dr., 504-488-0888

Taqueria Corona aaa Mexican, 3535 Severn Ave., 504-885-5088

METAIRIE Acme Oyster House aaa Seafood,

Vincent’s aaaa Creole Italian, 4411 Chastant St., 504-885-2984

3000 Veterans Blvd., 504-309-4056 Andrea’s aa Italian, 3100 19th St.,

Zea aaa American, 4450 Veterans Blvd. (Clearview Mall),

504-834-8583

504-780-9090; 1655 Hickory Ave.,

Austin’s aaaa Creole, 5101 West

Harahan, 504-738-0799

Esplanade Ave., 504-888-5533 Café East aaa Pan-Asian, 4628

MID-CITY

Rye St., 504-888-0078 Carreta’s Grill a Mexican, 2320

Angelo Brocato aaa Dessert and Coffee, 214 N. Carrollton Ave.,

Veterans Blvd., 504-837-6696;

504-486-0078

1821 Hickory Ave., Harahan, 504-305-4833

Café Degas aaa French, 3127 Esplanade Ave., 504-945-5635

Casablanca aaa Mediterranean, 3030 Severn Ave., 504-888-2209

Café Minh aaaa Vietnamese, 4139 Canal St., 504-482-6266

China Rose aaa Chinese, 3501 N. Arnoult St., 504-887-3295 Crabby Jack’s aaa Sandwiches, 428 Jefferson Hwy., Jefferson, 504-833-2722 Cypress aaa Contemporary Creole, 4426 Transcontinental Blvd., 504-885-6885 Dat Dog a Craft Hot Dogs, 3301 Veterans Memorial Blvd. (Lakeside Mall), 504-304-7005 Drago’s aaaa Seafood, 3232 N. Arnoult Rd., 504-888-9254 Heritage Grill Contemporary Creole, 111 Veterans Blvd., 504-934-4900 Impastato’s aaaa Creole Italian, 3400 16th St., 504-455-1545 Little Tokyo aaa Japanese, 2300 N. Causeway Blvd., 504-831-6788 Martin Wine Cellar Deli aaa Deli,

98

Inside New Orleans

Cafe NOMA Contemporary Creole,

1 Collins Diboll Circle, 504-482-1264

Canal Street Bistro aaa Mexican, 3903 Canal St., 504-482-1225 Crescent City Steak House aaa Steak, 1001 N. Broad St., 504-821-3271 Dooky Chase aaa Creole, 2301 Orleans Ave., 504-821-0600 Five Happiness aaa Chinese, 3605 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-482-3935 Juan’s Flying Burrito aaa Mexican, 4724 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-486-9950 Katie’s aaa Neighborhood Café, 3701 Iberville St., 504-488-6582 Little Tokyo aaa Japanese, 310 N. Carrollton Ave., 504-485-5658

i

Liuzza’s aaa Neighborhood Café, 3636 Bienville St., 504-482-9120 Mandina’s aaa Italian, Seafood, 3800 Canal St., 504-482-9179 Mona’s Café aa Middle Eastern, 3901 Banks St., 504-482-7743 Parkway Poor Boys aaa Sandwiches, 538 Hagan Ave., 504-482-3047 Ruby Slipper Café aaa Breakfast, Neighborhood Café, 139 S. Cortez St., 504-309-5531 Rue 127 aaaa Contemporary Creole, 127 N. Carrollton Ave., 504-483-1571 Toups’ Meatery aaa Cajun, 845 N. Carrollton Ave., 504-252-4999 Venezia aaa Italian, 134 N. Carrollton Ave., 504-488-7991

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Mandeville, 985-624-2990 La Provence aaaa French, 25020 US 190, Lacombe, 985-626-7662 Lakehouse aaa Contemporary Creole, 2025 Lakeshore Dr., Mandeville, 985-626-3006 Mandina’s aaa Italian, Seafood, 4240 La 22, Mandeville, 985-674-9883 Mattina Bella aaa Breakfast, 421 E. Gibson St., Covington, 985-892-0708 Mellow Mushroom aa Pizza, 30 craft beers on tap, 1645 N. Hwy. 190, Covington, 985-327-5407 N’Tini’s aaa Creole, 2891 US 190, Mandeville, 985-626-5566 Nathan’s aaaa Contemporary Creole, 36440 Old Bayou Liberty

Willie Mae’s Scotch House aaa

Rd., Slidell, 985-643-0443

Chicken, 2401 St. Ann St.,

New Orleans Food & Spiritsaaa

504-822-9503

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Seafood, 208 Lee Lane, Covington, 985-875-0432

NORTHSHORE Acme Oyster House aaa Seafood, 1202 US 190, Covington, 985-246-6155 Café Lynn aaaa Contemporary Creole, 2600 Florida St., Mandeville, 985-624-9007 Camellia Café aaa Neighborhood Café, 69455 LA 59, Abita Springs, 985-809-6313; 525 190 Hwy. W., Slidell, 985-649-6211 Carreta’s Grill a Mexican, 1340 Lindberg Dr., Slidell, 985-8470020; 70380 LA Hwy. 21, Covington, 985-871-6674 The Chimes aaa Cajun, 19130 W. Front St., Covington, 985-892-5396 Dakota aaaa Contemporary Creole, 629 N. US 190, Covington, 985-892-3712 DiCristina’s aaa Italian, 810 N. Columbia St., Covington, 985-875-0160 DiMartino’s aaa Italian, 700 S. Tyler St., Covington, 985-276-6460 Fazzio’saa Italian,1841 N.

Nuvolari’s aaaa Creole Italian, 246 Girod St., Mandeville, 985-626-5619 Ox Lot 9 aaa Contemporary, 428 E Boston St., Covington, 985-400-5663 Pardo’s aaaa Contemporary Creole, 69305 Hwy 21, Covington, 985-893-3603 Ristorante Del Porto aaaa Italian, 501 E. Boston St., Covington, 985-875-1006 Sal and Judy’s aaaa Italian, 27491 Highway 190, Lacombe, 985-882-9443 Trey Yuen aaa Chinese, 600 Causeway Blvd., Mandeville, 985-626-4476 Young’s aaa Steak, 850 Robert Blvd., Slidell, 985-643-9331 Yujin aaa Japanese, 323 N. New Hampshire St., Covington, 985-809-3840 Zea aaa American, 110 Lake Dr., Covington, 985-327-0520; 173 Northshore Blvd., Slidell, 985-3270520

Causeway Blvd., Mandeville, 985-624-9704 Gallagher’s Grill aaaa Contemporary Creole, 509 S. Tyler St., Covington, 985-892-9992 George’s aaa Mexican, 1461 N. Causeway Blvd., Mandeville, 985-626-4342 Keith Young’s Steak House aaaa Steak, 165 LA 21, Madisonville, 985-845-9940 La Carreta aaa Mexican, 812 Hyw

OLD METAIRIE Byblos aaa Middle Eastern, 1501 Metairie Rd., 504-834-9773 Café B aaa Contemporary Creole, 2700 Metairie Rd., 504-934-4700 Chateau Du Lac aaaa French, 2037 Metairie Rd., 504-831-3773 Galley Seafood aaa Seafood, 2535 Metairie Rd., 504-832-0955 Porter & Luke’s aaa Creole Homestyle, 1517 Metairie Rd.,

190, Covington, 985-400-5202;

504-875-4555

1200 W. Causeway Approach,

Vega Tapas Café aaa

>>

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St., 504-371-5809 Slice aaa Pizza, 5538 Magazine St., 504-897-4800

UPTOWN Amici aaa Italian, 3218 Magazine St., 504-300-1250 Ancora Pizzeria aaa Pizza, 4508 Freret St., 504-324-1636 Apolline aaaa American Gourmet, 4729 Magazine St., 504-894-8881

Sukho Thai aaa Thai, 4519 Magazine St., 504-373-6471 Taqueria Corona aaa Mexican, 5932 Magazine St., 504-897-3974 Upperline aaaa Contemporary Creole, 1413 Upperline St., 504-891-9822

Atchafalaya aaaa Contemporary Creole, 901 Louisiana Ave., 504-891-9626 Baru Bistro & Tapas aaa Caribbean, 3700 Magazine St., 504-895-2225 Bistro Daisy aaaa Creole French, 5831 Magazine St., 504-899-6987 Casamento’s aaa Seafood, 4330 Magazine St., 504-895-9761 Charlie’s Steak House aaa Steak, 4510 Dryades St., 504-895-9323 Clancy’s aaaa Contemporary Creole, 6100 Annunciation St., 504-895-1111 Dat Dog aa Sandwiches, 3336 Magazine St., 504-894-8885; 5030 Freret St., 504-899-6883 Dick & Jenny’s aaaa Contemporary Creole, 4501 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-894-9880 Flaming Torch aaa French, 737 Octavia St., 504-895-0900 Gautreau’s aaaa American, 1728 Soniat St., 504-899-7397 High Hat Café aa Creole Homestyle, 4500 Freret St., 504-754-1336 Joey K’s aaa Neighborhood Café, 3001 Magazine St., 504-891-0997 Kyoto aaa Japanese, 4920 Prytania St., 504-891-3644 La Crepe Nanou aaaa French, 1410 Robert St., 504-899-2670 La Petite Grocery aaaa French, 4238 Magazine St., 504-891-3377 La Thai Cuisine aaaa Thai, 4938

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT AND CENTRAL CITY American Sector aa American, 945 Magazine St., 504-528-1940 Annunciation aaaa Contemporary Creole, 1016 Annunciation St., 504-568-0245 Café Reconcile aaa Lunch Café, 1631 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 504-568-1157 Cochon aaa Cajun, 930 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-588-2123 Emeril’s aaaaa Contemporary Creole, 800 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-528-9393 Grand Isle aaa Seafood, 575 Convention Center Blvd., 504-520-8530 La Boca aaaa Steak, 870 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-525-8205 Mais Arepas aaaa South American, 1200 Carondelet St., 504-523-6247 Pêche Seafood Grill aaa Seafood, 800 Magazine St., 504-522-1744 Rock-n-Sake aaa Japanese, 823 Fulton St., 504-581-7253 Root aaaa Eclectic, 200 Julia St., 504-252-9480 Tomas Bistro aaaa Creole French, 755 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-5270942 Tommy’s Cuisine aaaa Creole Italian, 746 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-581-1103

Prytania St., 504-899-8886 Lilette aaaa French, 3637 Magazine St., 504-895-1636 Mahony’s aaa Neighborhood Café, 3454 Magazine St., 504-899-3374 Martinique aaa French, 5908 Magazine St., 504-891-8495 Midway Pizza aaa Pizza, 4725 Freret St., 504-322-2815 Mona’s Café aa Middle Eastern, 4126 Magazine St., 504-894-9800 Pascal’s Manale aaa Creole Italian, 1838 Napoleon Ave., 504-895-4877 Patois aaaa Creole French, 6078 Laurel St., 504-895-9441 Rum House aaa Caribbean, 3128 Magazine St., 504-941-7560 Salú aaa Eclectic, 3226 Magazine

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WEST END AND BUCKTOWN Blue Crab aaa Seafood, 7900 Lakeshore Dr., 504-284-2898 Brisbi’s aaa Seafood, 7400 Lakeshore Dr., 504-555-5555 Deanie’s Seafood aa Seafood, 1713 Lake Ave., 504-831-4141 New Orleans Food & Spirits aaa Seafood, 210 Hammond Hwy., 504-828-2220 R&O’s aaa Seafood, 216 Old Hammond Hwy., 504-831-1248 Two Tony’s aaa Creole Italian, 8536 Pontchartrain Blvd., 504-282-0801 Wasabi aaa Japanese, 8550 Pontchartrain Blvd., 504-267-3263

INside Peek Sippin’ in Seersucker The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, in partnership with The Shops at Canal Place, hosted its 12th annual Sippin’ in Seersucker. To ring in the summer social season, guests clad in seersucker enjoyed Southern cocktails, local restaurants, shopping specials and live music.

The evening featured performances by the Luke Winslow-King String Band and the Smoking Time Jazz Club and a raffle.

Attendees participated in a seersucker sartorial contest judged by local artist L. Kasimu Harris and New Orleans Fashion Week’s Tracee Dundas. WDSU newscaster Charles D. Divins emceed the event.

Sippin’ in Seersucker 2016 co-chairs were Jolie Bensen Hamilton and Sarah Elizabeth Dewey of Jolie & Elizabeth, L. Kasimu Harris and Ariel Wilson.

photos :

RYAN HODGSON-RIGSBEE

Le Petit Théâtre Centennial Season Announcement Patrons gathered at the home of Le Petit advisory board member Dana Hansel and her husband, Steve, to celebrate the centennial season of Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré. Over 100 guests browsed historical photos of theatrical highlights, including a visit by Tennessee Williams in 1977. With artisan breads, cheeses, roasted meats and more, partygoers noshed and sipped after the announcement of Le Petit’s season, which will open with Pippin on September 16. Bryan Batt and Leslie Castay performed four selections from Pippin as Jefferson Turner of NOCCA accompanied them on the Hansels’ grand piano.

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INside Peek

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1 1. Phoebe McClintock, Daren Sumrow, Mandy Simpson, Elijah Sumrow and Kaleb Conger at the NOLA Boards grand opening on Magazine St. 2. Ray Faugeaux, George Pivach, John Combes, Jack Eumont, Greg Hoffman, Warren Montgomery and Elwood Cahill, members of the Jesuit High

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School Class of 1973, get together at the Blue Crab. 3. Team Collins (Andrew, Julianne, Jennifer, Analiese) at the St. Catherine Crawfish Cook-off. 4. David Comeaux, Chip and Joanna Gaines from HGTV’s Fixer Upper, Billie Comeaux and Grace Comeaux-Piro at High Point Market in North Carolina. 5. Pat Vaccari, Julie Moreau, Caroline Mitchell, Debbie Bowie,

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Lisa Barnett and Lesslee Fitzmorris Mitchell at Barnett home celebrating Caroline’s upcoming nuptials. 6. Tommy Mitchell, 2016 Allen J. Ellender Brother Martin Alumnus of the Year Award recipient Rod West, and Kenny Spellman at the New Orleans Marriott Hotel. 7. NCIS New Orleans producer Joseph Zolfo with Amy Taylor at NCIS New Orleans’ St. Joseph’s Day Party at Chartres House Café. 8. Susan and Jerry

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Grossman with Brenda and Bob Breck after Bob received the Women & Men of Fashion Hall of Fame award. 9. Patti Palmer and Brenda Breck celebrating Bob’s award after the ceremony. 10. Robert Leblanc, Tom Drummond and Kirk Coco at the Hogs for the Cause Gala. 11. Jennifer Bond, Mark Romig and Mary Perrin.

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photos: CANDRA GEORGE mycreativereality.com

Women IN Business Luncheon The Inside New Orleans 2016 Women IN Business gathered to celebrate their accomplishments with a luncheon at Ralph’s on the Park.

The women and their guests browsed the dining room and balcony of Ralph’s while enjoying afternoon drinks, conversation and cover artist Rhenda Saporito’s works displayed throughout the room. Publisher Lori Murphy welcomed everyone as the luncheon began. Editorin-chief Anne Honeywell invited each Woman IN Business to speak about her business. After the first course, Woman IN Business Beth DePass presented a powerful talk about her journey to co-launching the Kevan Hall Sport women’s golf and leisurewear collection. Ending with dessert and coffee, the luncheon left all guests inspired and excited about what’s next for the many New Orleans Women IN Business.

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Nissan Engel Solo Show World-renowned printmaker, painter, sculptor and collage artist Nissan Engel made his first visit to New Orleans from Paris to attend his opening reception at Elliott Gallery. Guests were able to meet Nissan and view his one-ofa-kind jazz works.

Having been represented by Elliott Gallery since the 1980s, Nissan was thrilled to attend the event. His jazzthemed collages were inspired by our incredible city and the music we are known for. Gallery owner Catherine Martens Betz sent Nissan materials including original New Orleans sheet music and architectural drawings to incorporate into his collages for the show.

This was Elliott Gallery’s first show in 18 years—and it was a grand success!

Art in Bloom One of the most anticipated springtime events in New Orleans, Art in Bloom, showcased spectacular floral designs created by over 100 exhibitors. The exhibits at the New Orleans Museum of Art well represented this year’s theme— Artful Entertaining. Inside New Orleans participated in the Movers and Shakers Division presented by The New Orleans Advocate. The five-day exhibit kicked off with a preview party, where more than 800 guests admired the displays. Live entertainment, a silent auction and culinary delicacies added to the festive floral evening.

Others events throughout the week included lectures, a luncheon and a fashion show produced by Saks Fifth Avenue.

Proceeds from Art in Bloom benefitted education projects and exhibitions at NOMA and community projects of The Garden Study Club of New Orleans.

INside Peek McGehee’s All Jazzed Up McGehee was All Jazzed Up for its spring gala. Fun was had by all, with food

by Chef Todd Pulisnelli of Restaurant August and music by Jeremy Davenport.

The Parents’ League puts on this annual fundraiser and auction for McGehee.

Among those enjoying the evening were Patron Party Chairs Sweet Dupuy and Holly Gordon and their spouses, Ben Dupuy and Dr. John Gordon; Gala Chair Megan and Dr. Todd Layman; Parents’ League President Tara and Ken Weiss; Ginger and John Schwartz; Mathilde and Richard Currence; Headmistress Eileen Powers; artist and former faculty member Tim Trapolin; and Board Chair Gene Dry.

Country Day’s City Nights It was a Palm Springs Fling for Country Day’s City Nights. Prior to the auction party, patrons gathered at the home of Tina and Barry Kern for poolside cocktails and other tasty treats donated by café b, Emeril’s Restaurant, Frankie and Johnny’s, Langenstein’s, Galatoire’s Restaurant, Patti Constantin Designs in Catering and Sucre.

Presented by the Country Day Parents’ Association, the fling’s auction party was held at Country Day’s Front Circle, where partygoers enjoyed bidding and street-style fare. Haydel’s Bakery, Drago’s Seafood Restaurant, La Cocinita Food Trunk and District StreatCar served up fantastic food as the crowd shimmied to the sounds of DJ Wood.

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St. Martin’s Episcopal School Spring Gala

photos: WALLY PORTER

Alumni, parents, and friends of St. Martin’s Episcopal School came out by the hundreds to support St. Martin’s at its annual spring gala presented by Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Company. This year’s Innovation Celebration theme was chosen in recognition of the school’s emphasis on creativity and critical thinking in 21st century learning.

Head of School Merry Sorrells, Board Chairman Stephen Huber, and Event Co-Chairs Amy Lawler and Marissa Norton welcomed partygoers as they arrived for the patron party hosted by the Board of Trustees.

Following the patron party, supporters danced to the beat provided by On Fire Entertainment and enjoyed an impressive array of gourmet fare from Drago’s, Court of Two Sisters, The Crossing, Chez Pierre, Café du Monde, and the New Orleans Ice Cream Company.

Newman Parties at the Popp The City Park Popp Fountain and Arbor Room welcomed over 400 guests dressed in Palm Beach casual to the Newman Parents Association’s spring party. Tiki torches lined the way to food, music and drinks. The night’s specialty drink, the Louisville Slugger, was provided by Kenton’s owners, Newman parents Sean Josephs and Mani Dawes. Ray’s Island Sounds played during the patron party leading into the main event, during which The Wise Guys jammed through the night.

INside Peek 1. Joe and Tiffany Caldarera at the Parkway Promenade. 2. Dr. Henry and Kay Andressen with Henry and Pat Shane. 3. Tiffanie Linn, Lisa Kirsch, Nancy Dolly, and Yvette Tassin at the Brother Martin Ladies of the Shield

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celebration. 4. Joel Hänschen with LHS alumni Chip DarrÊ at the Lutheran High School Gryphon Gala. 5. Kim and Christian Camet. 6. Cindy Caruso, Sandy Starnes Hicks (participant), Marianne Morgan and Sandi Gumpert at the You Night Cancer Survivors Runway Show in New Orleans.

7. Dina McCarty, David Laballe and Chris

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Smiroldo accept First Place award for the Murphy Appraisal Services team at the NAPMW Annual Crawfish Cook-off. 8. Liz Healy, Scott Slatten, Bob Pettit, Becky Slatten and Alma Pettit at the Julia Jump.

9. Larry Dauterive, Carolyn Elder, Edward Wilkerson and Steven Putt at Saks Fifth Avenue following the Mad Hatters luncheon.

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10. Dominique Giordano and Melanie Manzella at the Mad Hatters luncheon.

11. Constance Cowart and Penny Baumer at an appreciation luncheon for the Mad Hatters committee.

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photos: FRANK STANSBURY

Amazing Grapes Celebrated annually, Amazing Grapes wine auction saw another year of festive fundraising. Chaired by Tricia King and Stephanie November, the 2016 Amazing Grapes was held at the historic Hermann-Grima House, built in 1831. To revel in fine wines, inspired cuisine and elegant homes, HermannGrima House partnered with Bizou Wines and Broussard’s Restaurant & Courtyard. The novel food and wine tasting experience gathered many guests to support the educational programs at the Hermann-Grima + Gallier Historic Houses, which reaped $90,000 in proceeds this year. Auction items included rare and hard-to-find wines, luxurious vacations and breathtaking art. This year’s sponsors also included Deveney, Willamette Valley Moises Vineyard & Wines, Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company and First NBC. June-July 2016 109

Cava

AFTER VISITING CAVA’S elegant— but warm—atmosphere, you’re sure to be a return customer. Owner Danny Millan loves that his Lakeview restaurant is a regular routine for many locals. “Our customers become our family,” says Danny. “We have enjoyed our first two years here and can’t imagine having a restaurant anywhere else!”

Cava’s floor-to-ceiling windows showcase the Harrison Avenue district where families and businessmen alike stroll the sidewalks for coffee, dinner and grocery shopping. The strong sense of community welcomes everyone in to see what Cava has to offer. The simple menu has contemporary takes on New Orleans classics and other Southern cuisines.

Regulars often request Cava’s Roasted Pork Osso Buco with garlic mashed potatoes. Topped with smoking rosemary, the hearty comfort food gives a taste that’s hard not to love.

Any seafood dish at Cava is made with fresh seafood. “We’re a local restaurant and strive to keep everything that we use local. I personally make a trip to Jean Lafitte Boulevard every other day to gather fresh oysters, fish, crab, shrimp, soft-shell shrimp and more,” says Danny. Yes, Cava does indeed prepare soft-shell shrimp. The dish comes with lightly battered softshell shrimp, rich remoulade, tomatoes and a bed of spring mix. “It’s the perfect summer dinner when you add a cold and crisp beer.”

by Leah Draffen

Danny has been in the New Orleans restaurant industry for over 33 years. His

Reservations are recommended; private dining is available. Cava is located at 789 Harrison Ave. 304-9043. cavanola.com.

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talented staff and sous chefs have been with him since Cava’s opening in April 2014.

photos: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

Last Bite