New Orleans Magazine January 2025

NEW ORLEANS MAGAZINE JANUARY 2025

ABSINTHE IN NEW ORLEANS

TOPS OF THE TOWN

ELLA BRENNAN AWARD

$9.95

MYNEWORLEANS.COM

JANUARY 2025

MYNEWORLEANS.COM / JANUARY 2025

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Contents JA N UA RY 2025 / VO LUME 5 9 / NUMBER 4

34

STANDARDS

FEATURE

4

From the Editor

Elizabeth Pearce

6

Book Club

Tops of the Town Reader favorites 2025

8

Marquee

10

Bar Tab

12

The Dish

14

Style

16

Persona

18

Modine

20

The Beat

22

Vintage

60

Travel

62

Home Inspiration

64

Growing Pains

66

Table Talk

68

Nosh

On the cover: Tatlo's absinthe service.

70

Cheers

Photographed by Sam Hanna

88

Insincerely Yours

34

38

46

Follow the Green Fairy Absinthe in New Orleans

Ella Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Dickie Brennan Jay Forman

Dial 12, D1

Harvard professor Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. continues his quest to "get into the DNA of American culture” with Season 11 of FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR premiering on WYES/PBS on Tuesday, January 7 at 7pm.

In each episode, celebrities view their ancestral histories, discover secrets and share emotional experiences with viewers. For all WYES program and event details, go to wyes.org.

12

38

60

Starting Fresh

Best Reads, Events and More Top Things to Do Best Bars, Drinks and More News from NOLA Kitchens Faux Frenzy Benny Anderson Double Take

La Reezy 1867

The Roots of Country Music Turning Over a New Leaf The Midnight Kiss I Din't Get Heritage in Every Bite Hoppin' John Serving History Super Bowl City

New Orleans Magazine, (ISSN 0897 8174) is published monthly by Renaissance Publishing, LLC., 110 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005; (504) 828-1380. Subscription rate: one year $24; no foreign subscriptions. An associate subscription to New Orleans Magazine is available by a contribution to WYES-TV/Channel 12. Periodicals postage paid at Metairie, LA, and additional entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to New Orleans Magazine, 110 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005. Copyright © 2025 New Orleans Magazine, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. The trademark New Orleans and New Orleans Magazine are registered. New Orleans Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos, and artwork even if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. The opinions expressed in New Orleans Magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the magazine managers or owners. Official digital reprint and framed content is only available from Renaissance Publishing, LLC by calling (504) 828-1380.

2 JANUARY 2025 / MYNEWORLEANS.COM

FROM THE EDITOR

SUBSCRIPTION

Start the New Year Right!

GET 10% OFF

new subscription. appy New Year! As we move into

H

* Must order online, new subscribers only expires January 31, 2025.

2025, we are looking forward to continuing to bring you, our readers, all the best that New Orleans has to offer. From dining to music, literature, festivals and

the unique cultural touchstones that make this our special home, we hope to highlight all that the city

ONLINE

has to offer, as well as the personalities behind them.

Talk about colorful tradition, our cover feature is a deep dive into the history of one of the more mysterious aspects; one that combines cocktail culture and artistic

Editors’ Pick

expression: absinthe. New Orleans has long been tied

This month our editors weigh in on their favorite place to pick up a king cake and other Carnivalseason bests in our weekly poll.

See if your favorite made their list.

to the “green fairy” (as it is sometimes known), along with the bohemian writers and artists that came to prominence during its heyday. Today, that elixir is rebounding in popularity with local bars, both new and historic, creating innovative cocktails and expanding its history into a new era.

Our January issue is also when we reveal our new Tops of the Town list,

5@4

as voted on by our readers. It’s a celebration of all of the local businesses

Sign up for our daily news round up with 5@4. Get up to date links to the news and stories that are buzzing about New Orleans, tailored to your likes.

that provide New Orleanians with the best service, support, style, flavor and flair throughout the year.

Speaking of celebrations, each year the Ella Brennan Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Award recognizes an outstanding chef, restaurateur or hospitality expert that has contributed to the fabric of New Orleans. This year’s recipient, Dickie Brennan, embodies that tradition. Learn more about Brennan’s career with this month’s profile and how he continues to bring southern hospitality at its finest to the table.

Finally, we are turning the page for a refresh. We welcome some exciting new columns and have shuffled our pages to spruce things up for a new start to the new year. We can’t wait for you to take a look!

Have something you want to share with us? Email ashley@ myneworleans.com.

4 JANUARY 2025 / MYNEWORLEANS.COM

Julia and Poydras are planning to fly the coop in January for some much-needed R&R and some globe-trotting adventures.

Maybe you’ll catch them on the next flight to St. Tropez, on board a cruise bound for Fiji, or maybe a mysterious train ride on the Orient Express.

No telling where the intrepid duo will land next!

Send us a line!

@neworleansmagazine

FOND FAREWELL

@neworleansmag

@neworleansmag

The Latest

Stay informed on all the top events, happenings and goings on in and around New Orleans throughout the day at MyNewOrleans.com. From exclusive menus, concert premieres, ticket sales, shopping deals and more, we’re the best one-stop spot to stay in the know.

Podcast Highlight

Carnival season is right around the corner. Catch up on the history, tradition and modern celebration of all things Mardi Gras with all five seasons of our exclusive podcast “Beyond the Beads.” Myneworleans.com/ mardi-gras-beyond-the-beads/ and on Apple podcasts.

B OOK C L UB

Local Indie Bookshops We love Blue Cypress Books Located on Oak Street, Blue Cypress Books specializes in new and used books, an enthusiastic staff, gift items for book worms, a return buyer card, lots of author events and book club fun, and, of course, Kitty Meow, the shop’s official book cat. 8123 Oak St., 504-352-0096, bluecypressbooks.com.

The Garden District Book Shop The Garden District Book Shop is tucked into the historic The Rink on Prytania Street and features a wide array of books, a large collection of local and regional finds, and hosts a full calendar of events, book signings, author appearances and much more.

2727 Prytania St., Suite 8, 504-895-2266, gardendistrictbookshop.com.

A New World We are kicking off the new year by taking a historic adventure with “Pelican Girls: A Novel” by Julia Malye. The novel, inspired by a true story, brings readers to some of the earliest days of the Louisiana territory. The French colony of New Orleans is teeming with male adventurers, sailors and settlers, but in order to sustain the new city, families are needed to foster its growth. Enter the Baleine Brides, a group of women of childbearing age (mainly orphans, prisoners and the mentally ill) to be shipped abroad. The story follows these women who form unlikely friendships as they encounter a new world, love, loss and survival, in a tale that Publishers Weekly called, “Epic and nuanced…a well-crafted story of women finding ways to survive against forbidding odds.”

Celebrating the Seasons

Octavia Books Uptown book worms flock to Octavia Books for its cozy vibe, shelves filled with curated selections, reading groups, author events and more. Be sure to sign up for “The Octavian,” the shop’s newsletter for book lovers.

513 Octavia St., 504-899-READ, octaviabooks.com.

Baldwin & Co. Baldwin & Co. coffee + bookstore embraces the power of the community through its carefully selected collection of empowering fiction, non-fiction, poetry, art and design, cookbooks and much more.

Located in the historic Marigny, the shop hosts frequent events and acts as a hub for artists, readers, and local leaders and activists. 1030 Elysian Fields Avenue, 504-354-1741, baldwinandcobooks.com.

Celebrating 2025 with a full year of food and community gathering.

From New Year’s Day through Carnival, summer festivals, and back around again to the autumn holidays, life in Louisiana is all about celebration. Chef, restaurateur, James Beard Award-recognized cookbook author Melissa Martin’s latest “Bayou: Feasting Through the Seasons of a Cajun Life” guides readers and food lovers through a year of traditions, customs and foods that highlight the unique culture of south Louisiana. Whether its crawfish boils, boucheries, king cake, fried turkey, hearty stews and more, Martin includes the history and step by step instructions for incorporating these dishes into your own celebrations with family and friends. The book, featuring 100 recipes and beautiful full color photography, was named “one of the Best Books of 2024 by Publishers Weekly and one of the Best Cookbooks of Fall 2024 by Food & Wine, Eater, and The Week.”

6 JANUARY 2025 / MYNEWORLEANS.COM

Associate Publisher Kate Henry Editorial Editor Ashley McLellan Creative Director Tiffani Reding Amedeo Digital Media Editor Kelly Massicot Style Editor Andy Myer Contributing Writers Jyl Benson, Cheré Coen, Lee Cutrone, Fritz Esker, Scott Gold, John Kemp, Misty Milioto, Liz Scott Monaghan, Elizabeth Pearce, Eve Crawford Peyton, Mike Scott Advertising Vice President of Sales and Marketing Kate Henry, Kate@MyNewOrleans.com Account Director Meggie Schmidt Senior Account Executives Erin Chiartano, Brooke Genusa Account Executive Lauren McCanse Sponsored Content Coordinator Jeremy Marshall Marketing Marketing Manager Greer Stewart Video Media Producer Mallary Wolfe

Renaissance Publishing Production Manager Rosa Balaguer Arostegui Designer Ashley Pemberton, Czarlyn Ria Trinidad Circulation Distribution John Holzer Administration Office Manager Emily Ruiz Chief Executive Officer Todd Matherne

WYES DIAL 12 Staff (504) 486-5511 Executive Editor Aislinn Hinyup Associate Editor Dominic Massa Art Director Tiffani R. Amedeo New Orleans Magazine Printed in USA A Publication of Renaissance Publishing 110 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005 MyNewOrleans.com

Subscription information 504-830-7231

MYNEWORLEANS.COM / JANUARY 2025

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MARQ UEE

VALERIE CISNEROS PHOTO

CHERYL GERBER PHOTO

BY FRITZ ESKER

Fan Expo

Jan. 10-12 Fan Expo returns to the Ernest N. Morial Convention with a host of iconic celebrities from the world of sci-fi and fantasy.

Highlights will include an evening with “Back to the Future” cast members Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson.

FanExpoHQ.com

Allstate Sugar Bowl

Jan. 1 This year’s Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome doubles as a quarterfinal game for this year’s College Football Playoff. The pre-game Tailgate Town, accessible to ticket holders only, features food, interactive games and live entertainment. allstatesugarbowl.org

Funky Uptown Krewe

Jan. 6 The Twelfth Night fun continues on the streetcar route with the Funky Uptown Krewe following Phunny Phorty Phellows.

This year’s theme will be “Studio 504.” funkyuptownkrewe.com

Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc Jan. 6 This medieval-themed theatrical procession celebrates its 17th year of honoring Joan of Arc. The route travels through the French Quarter, stopping to sing “Happy Birthday” at the Joan of Arc statue. joanofarcparade.org

Pink Martini: Featuring China Forbes 30th Anniversary Tour Jan. 8 The Orpheum Theater hosts the quirky orchestra Pink Martini, which crosses genres from jazz to pop to classical. orpheumnola.net

The Black Jacket Symphony

Jan. 9 The Black Jacket Symphony performs Led Zeppelin’s album “Houses of the Holy” live at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center. jeffersonpac.com

“Good Night, Oscar”

Jan. 9-26 This humorous and heartbreaking play takes viewers back to 1958 when actor and musician Oscar Levant appeared regularly on America’s most popular late-night talk show. lepetittheatre.com

“Xanadu”

Jan. 10-26 The 1980s cult classic rollerdisco movie starring Olivia Newton-John receives a stage adaptation at Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts. rivertowntheaters.com

“And Juliet”

Jan. 14-19 This hilarious new musical at the Saenger Theater asks, “What would Juliet’s life have been like if she did not end it all over Romeo?”

SaengerNOLA.com

8 JANUARY 2025 / MYNEWORLEANS.COM

Phunny Phorty Phellows

Jan. 6 Have a slice of king cake then celebrate Twelfth Night, the official start of Mardi Gras season, by watching the Phunny Phorty Phellows make their streetcar ride from Willow Street down St. Charles to Canal and back again. phunnyphortyphellows.com

LPO: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Jan. 16 The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra pays tribute to classic films, including “West Side Story,” at the Orpheum Theater.

Orpheumnola.net

New Orleans Cigar Box Guitar Festival

Jan. 16-18 The Historic New Orleans Jazz Museum hosts the 9th annual New Orleans Cigar Box Guitar Festival, a celebration of homemade string instruments. The festival will feature a wide variety of musical performers from around the world. neworleanscbg.com

LPO: A Tale of God’s Will: A Requiem for Katrina

Jan. 18 Renowned New Orleans film composer Terence Blanchard joins the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra for this landmark concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Still photographs from the storm’s aftermath will accompany the music at the Orpheum Theater. orpheumnola.net

“Dog Man: The Musical”

Jan. 18-19 The Mahalia Jackson Theater hosts “Dog Man: The Musical,” based on the worldwide bestselling comic series, and is fun for the whole family. mahaliajacksontheater.com

The Temptations and The Four Tops Jan. 28 Motown legends The Temptations and The Four Tops will perform for one night only at the Saenger Theater. saengernola.com

2025 Harlem Globetrotters World Tour Jan. 18 The Harlem Globetrotters hit the court at the Lakefront Arena with their joyous, mischievous, and dazzling brand of basketball. arena.uno.edu

Check all event websites for the most up-to-date information.

MYNEWORLEANS.COM / JANUARY 2025

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B AR T A B

BY MISTY MILIOTO

Dry January Alma Cafe’s mocktail selection includes Creamy Coconut Margarita with pineapple, coconut and Ritual and Lyre’s N/A spirits; Spiced Pear Sour with spiced syrup, lemon juice, pear puree, Drink Monday Whisky and egg white; Floral Aperfall Spritz with thyme syrup, lemon juice, dry vermouth and Lyre’s apple cider prosecco. 800 Louisa St., 504-381-5877, eatalmanola.com Kitten Club is the non-alcoholic menu at Palm&Pine. Sip on the Tropical Solution, a refreshing

mix of Seedlip Notas de Agave, spiced pineapple shrub, lime, and coconut water, or try the bold and complex Hard Wired, blending Hey Coffee Co. cold brew with Lyre’s non-alcoholic aperitif rosso, Lyre’s non-alcoholic Italian orange, grapefruit, and Fever Tree tonic.

308 N Rampart St., 504-814-6200, palmandpinenola.com Compère Lapin’s spirit-free menu offers vibrant, refreshing drinks like the Sorrel Tea, a housemade blend of spiced hibiscus, ginger, lavender and lime. For

an herbal twist, the Garden Party combines Seedlip Garden with cucumber, lemongrass, basil, lemon, and soda. Those with adventurous taste buds will love the Rockhouse Cliff, featuring BARE Zero Proof “Tequila,” rosemary, sage, lime, pineapple and a kick of jerk salt. 535 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-599-2119, comperelapin. com Commons Club’s zero proof menu features The Garden Party Martini, offers a sophisticated blend of Seedlip Garden 108, olive brine, celery bitters, and giardiniera oil.

For something bright and uplifting, enjoy the Hibiscus Ginger Tea, a tangy mix of ginger ale and lemon. 550 Baronne St., virginhotels.com Northern Italian restaurant, Osteria Lupo offers visitors Menta Mora with blackberry, mint, and lemon; Giardino with pear, hibiscus and lavender; Spruzzo with grapefruit and lime. 4609 Magazine St., 504-273-1268, osterialupo.co The Bower’s zero-proof menu includes Moody Judy, featuring vanilla bean lemonade and butterfly pea flower; No-Loma, a refreshing blend of grapefruit, lime, and soda; Sugar Roots Spritz, a sparkling creation with hibiscus syrup, lime and soda.

1320 Magazine St., 504-5829738, thebowernola.com

Golden Age of Carnival at Loa

Twelfth Night Toast

Abigail Gullo, Creative Director of Loa at the International House has launched a cocktail menu inspired by the Golden Age of Carnival and the floats created by Carolotta Bonnecaze, the first woman and first Creole float designer. The menu includes the Italian Stallion, an Italian take on a mule and Carlotta’s Cup, a heady mix of rum and spice. Guests are encouraged to don festive animal attire and raise a glass to the season.

221 Camp St.,504-553-9550, ihhotel.com/loa-bar

Looking for a lovely beverage to sip with that first bite of king cake? Stop by Antoine’s for La Vie en Rose, which features Gruet Sparkling Rosé and Glendalough Rose Gin whose rosy hues inspired the drink’s name. 713 St. Louis St., 504-581-4422, antoines.com

10 JANUARY 2025 / MYNEWORLEANS.COM

Welcoming Winter

Cure has officially rolled out their “Cold Weather” cocktail menu featuring eleven cocktails developed by the bar team alongside owner Neal Bodenheimer.

Highlights include The Speed of the Sound of Loneliness, an untraditional appletini variation; Single Entendre, a bourbon smash featuring black tea, honey, and grapefruit; Don’t Call it A Julep, a whiskey-based drink with layers of dark chocolate and coconut. 4905 Freret St., 504-302-2357, curenola.com

EMILY FERRETTI PHOTO

Floral Aperfall Spritz at Alma Cafe

Happy Hours

New Orleans restaurants are offering well priced libations to fill your glass without emptying your wallet. Metairie Road’s TANA has happy hour specials in their bar and lounge daily from 4:30-6 p.m. Try wines by the glass and handmade pizza, or enjoy bar manager Amber Garcia’s cocktails like the Hu-Go Girl with St. Germaine, Belle de Brillet pear liqueur, prosecco, and mint. 2919 Metairie Rd. 504-533-8262, tanaitalian.com Join Copper Vine Wine Pub & Inn for Happy Hour “Flights and Bites” Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m.! Enjoy $6 glasses of house wines or a refreshing seasonal cocktail like the Peach Tea Punch, made with spiced rum, stone fruit, cinnamon, and lime, alongside small plates. 1001 Poydras St., 504-208-9535, coppervine.com

MYNEWORLEANS.COM / JANUARY 2025

11

TH E DI S H

The Elvis king cake from La Boulangerie

BY MELANIE WARNER SPENCER

Drinks Before Dinner Just when the dust finally settled for the well-heeled and loyal patrons of Uptown’s decadesold, hidden fine-dining grand dame Gautreau’s — who were faced with acclimating to new ownership and a new chef in 2023 — plans were announced for a new lounge.

Avegno is slated to open next door to Gautreau’s early this year in a renovated space that used to be home to an exotic pet store. The bar will feature wine, cocktails and a dedicated menu from the Gautreau’s kitchen.

Avegno, 1724 Soniat St.

Food History

Hail to the King Cakes Twelfth Night is on Jan. 5, so bring on the onslaught of office king cake, home king cake, party king cake, Mardi Gras route king cake and any other place to eat it that we can dream up until Mardi Gras Day. A highlight of the season for many includes grabbing one of Maggie Scales’ infamous “The Elvis” cakes at La Boulangerie. The confection has peanut butter, banana and bacon, as well as marshmallows, and purple, green and gold sprinkles — thankyouverymuch. Or perhaps you’d fancy a French galette des rois with its buttery layers of puff pastry and elegant almond cream from La Boulangerie, one of the Gracious Bakery locations, Croissant D’Or Patisserie in the French Quarter or Celtica French Bakery in Lakeview? If you need a reminder, save yourself some running around at King Cake Hub, located in the Zony Mash Beer Project at 1464 S Broad St. The hub opens on Epiphany (and not a moment sooner) and stocks cakes from your favorite local restaurants and bakeries all in one spot. Last year’s bakery partners included Gambino’s, Hi-Do, NOCCA and Brennan’s. Be sure to check kingcakehub.com for the 2025 partners, unless you are feeling adventuresome.

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On Jan. 9, have your dinner with a hearty and heartfelt history lesson during the National WWII Museum’s dinner with a curator: “Recipes as a Legacy: Cookbooks Created during the Holocaust.”

Historian Jennifer Putnam, PhD, will share the legacy of Jewish women who used recipes during the Holocaust to survive and stay linked to their community against all odds.

Buy tickets on the museum’s website for the event, which runs from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at BB’s Stage Door Canteen.

The National WWII Museum, 945 Magazine St., nationalww2museum.org.

Mambo Italiano

Look for a new offering in January from Reno de Ranieri and Brian Burns, the team behind the Uptown eateries Costera and Osteria Lupo. Dubbed Brutto Americano, a cheeky riff on the term “ugly American,” the concept is located at The Hyatt’s Barnett Hotel property (formerly the Ace Hotel) in the Central Business District and will take over the space formerly occupied

by Josephine Estelle. The venture is a partnership with the Domain Companies, a real estate investment and development firm. According to a company spokesperson, the Brutto Americano menu will feature classic Italian dishes and new creations with a focus on “local flavors with respect for traditional techniques.” Brutto Americano, 600 Carondelet St.

A Jolt of Fresh Energy

Devotees of HiVOLT in the Lower Garden District rejoiced when in 2023, the neighborhood specialty coffee shop with sometimes unpredictable hours (no shade intended, self-care is not selfish) rolled out its extended 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. fixed daily schedule, plus a new alcohol and THC beverage menu. Another menu revamp is in the works for 2025, but this time the focus is on the food. Don’t worry, the refresh will include a selection of gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options the popular spot has always kept in its repertoire. HiVOLT, 1829 Sophie Wright Place, hivoltcoffeepickup.com

MYNEWORLEANS.COM / JANUARY 2025

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Style

BY ANDY MYER

2

1 3

4

5

Faux Frenzy

Fake fur is everywhere this season, and this fuzzy no-guilt trend is one we fully support.

1. Kids can jump on this trend via a precious backpack by Abel & Lula. With several fun compartments for storing important items, this soft bag will take your little one from the zoo to Commander’s.

Available in cream and navy at Little Miss Muffin, shoplittlemissmuffin.com.

2. Stylishly swaddle yourself in winter’s go-to material with this fabulous, oversized Gratis coat from Essentiel. The singlebreasted silhouette, framed by wide lapels, oozes vintage charm.

Available at Angelique Boutique, shopangeliqueboutique.com.

14 JANUARY 2025 / MYNEWORLEANS.COM

3. Envelop yourself in warmth covered in this rich brown faux Mink throw. With a soft velvet lining, you won’t be able to resist running your fingers over each side of this snug blanket. Available at Eclectic Home, eclectichome.net.

4. Add an instant touch of luxe with West Elm’s Ombre Faux Fur pillow in Mocha. Variegating colors provide a natural look, while the sumptuous material offers an irresistible perch. Available at West Elm, westelm.com.

5. When chilly, your body limits blood flow to your hands in an effort to preserve heat for vital organs. Keep your digits well insulated in these cozy-chic mittens (shown here in Honey). Available at Anthropologie, anthropologie.com.

MYNEWORLEANS.COM / JANUARY 2025

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PE RSO NA

BY KELLY MASSICOT / PHOTO BY JEFFREY JOHNSTON

Q A Q: How did you start making sculptures for Carnival parades? A family friend told me about jobs in New Orleans creating Mardi Gras floats, and it felt like a really fun experience to do out of college. I did an internship with Royal Artists the summer before my senior year and moved to New Orleans to continue working with them after graduation.

Q: What is the process for creating for these floats? I sculpt the figureheads at the front of the floats. I start with a wooden armature as the base, or an old prop from last year, and cover it in layers of cardboard and contact glue (similar to rubber cement) to build up the shapes, then there’s two layers of paper and a water-based glue to soften the shapes, followed by a waterresistant white paint to prime it for painting.

Q: What’s your favorite part about creating for Carnival? I love working with such a large scale, it feels surreal to go to work surrounded by giants and being part of the process that brings them to life. It’s a lot like being a child again. Every day is different too, it’s fun to be in the warehouse with all the changing backdrops.

Q: Do you have any favorite floats from over the years? Yes! Last year’s Proteus parade was themed after the commedia ell’arte, filled with caricatures from early Italian comedy plays. I sculpted a woman in rococo-era dress leaning

Benny Anderson Carnival artist and sculptor

T

of fun to add detail to. My favorite, though, has to be two huge “Punch and Judy” hand puppets with moving limbs that rested in a giant theater box. I loved making them both so much and got to keep them after the season.

he Carnival season officialy

the best part about his job ahead of the “Biggest

starts on January 6, and while

Free Show on Earth.”

Mardi Gras day might not be until March this year, that just

Q: How did you get into an art career? I’ve

means we have much more

always loved art! I elected for more art classes

time to celebrate in the revelry of the season.

in high school and had a lot of support from

Benny Anderson is among the artists that are

my parents and teachers to keep perusing it. I

tasked with bringing Carnival to life. The artist is

went to college for sculpture at [the Rhode Island

responsible for some of the most eye-catching

School of Design] up in Providence, Rhode Island,

sculptures at the front of your favorite floats. We

and started making work around performances,

ask the artist about his favorite creations and

costumes, masks and puppetry.

16 JANUARY 2025 / MYNEWORLEANS.COM

over a balcony to her lover below, that was a lot

Lagniappe:

Favorite Carnival Parade?

Muses! Great throws, great riders, great energy every time.

Favorite medium outside of sculpting? Sewing/ embroidery, especially to make clothes.

Favorite thing to do in the city? I love walking around in costume downtown!

MYNEWORLEANS.COM / JANUARY 2025

17

MODINE G UNC H

ART BY LORI OSIECKI

Double Take What’s in a name?

I know there’s this rumor going around about my motherin-law Ms. Larda, but it absolutely ain’t true.

Ms. Larda does a fair amount of socializing, with the Parish Altar Society and her Book Club, not to mention all the Gunches and mini-Gunches in the family.

She also happens to belong to a different kind of ladies’ group named the “LaDeDahs.” Most of the members are also in the Altar Society but LaDeDahs are for less churchy activities. Like getting together for lunch downtown and then strutting down Bourbon Street, giggling, or drinking hot toddies and daring each other to swing from somebody’s chandelier. Stuff like that.

My gentleman friend Lust calls it the “Out-With-the-Old Ladies Club.”

Anyway, last year, they got the school gym for their Twelfth Day of Christmas party — which is always an all-you-can-eat event. They don’t just got king cake; they got everything left over in their freezers from Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year’s. Or most of them do. The Gunches happen to be a family with very hearty appetites, so Ms. Larda got no leftovers. She has to make something fresh.

She decides to make her delicious “Lively Bells.” These are chocolate cookies with chopped M&Ms in the middle which she takes out the oven halfway through baking and rolls into little balls, with the M&Ms in the middle. When they’re done, she rolls them into colored sugar — purple, green and gold,

and puts another M&M on top for the top of the bell. It looks more like the bell on a teacher’s desk with a button to push for order than a church bell, but it tastes so good nobody gets persnickety.

Well, when she is taking them out the oven, the cat suddenly scoots between her ankles. She loses her balance, staggers around a little, and manages to get the cookies on the counter before she trips over a kitchen chair behind her.

Her ankle hurts like crazy. Luckily, her sons, Leech and Lurch, live on the

18 JANUARY 2025 / MYNEWORLEANS.COM

other side of her double house, and they rush over. They help her to the car and drive her to the emergency room — where they get stuck waiting, next to some teenager who keeps gagging like he’s about to throw up. God only knows what he tried to swallow.

Finally, they call me and ask if I will come over and wait with her while the boys go home to get the goodies she baked and bring them to the gym. At least somebody will get to appreciate them.

Ms. Larda says “Forget about the purple sugar. Just take them off the cookie sheet and arrange them nicely on that green plastic tray I

left on the kitchen table. There’s a fancy label and a purple marker there too. The name is on a piece of paper, just copy it, Lurch, in that fancy handwriting you do…”

Just then, the teenager gags again and the boys hustle out of there.

They get home, and real careful, with their pinkies lifted, arrange the chocolates on the plastic platter and they find the label and find the marker, and look around for the name of whatever she cooked.

It’s on the table, but the paper is a little wet and the ink is smeared.

Lurch squints at it, and carefully writes, in curlicue letters, “LIVER BALLS by Larda Gunch.”

“Yeccch,” says Leech. But they cover the tray with Saranwrap and bring it over to the gym.

Well, can you believe, the ladies have actually named three judges — none of which they happen to be married to, just regular old tubby guys — and are holding a leftovers competition.

The judges don’t get to see the name of the food or who made it — just a bite of each dish. Turns out, they are the only ones who actually taste the liver balls. She is the unanimous winner.

Of course, certain people think she must have somehow bribed the judges. But other, nicer people, say, well, if anybody could make liver balls that are actually edible, not to mention delicious, it would be Larda Gunch.

That tells you a lot.

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TH E B EA T

BY CYNTHEA CORFAH

La Reezy

Meet the 20-year-old socially conscious rapper whose wisdom and talent surpasses his age

In Khayree Salahuddin’s world, he was always destined to become a music star. At 8 years old, he would get dressed up to perform in the mirror and rap on top of his mother’s car. When he was 14, he started recording songs with a $50 microphone and dove head-first into making music.

Salahuddin, most known by his artist name La Reezy, is still rapping on top of cars, but now the cars are featured in music videos with more than 200,000 views on Instagram. La Reezy is a 20-year-old self-taught New Orleans-based music artist, producer and composer. His old soul permeates through the wisdom embedded in his lyrics, the nostalgic boom-bap beats and his self-assuredness and reverence for life. He has the confidence of, one of his musical influences, Kanye West and the stage presence of, another of his influences, Tyler the Creator.

“I can’t afford to waste a song,” La Reezy said. “Every song might be the last song someone hears. I don’t know what that person is going through. This song needs to be the song that could help change something.”

The title of his 2024 album “We All Need Help,” co-produced

by New York producer and rapper JBoogz, was inspired by a conversation with a friend about people needing and accepting help. The vulnerable and inspiring 8-track album radiates themes of mental health, self-improvement, acceptance, healing, seeking help and breaking generational cycles.

The Gen-Z artist has built a growing fanbase on social media with vibrant and authentic storytelling music videos that have gained more than two million views on Instagram.

He has performed at the Essence Festival and shared the stage with chart-topping artists like Wale and LaRussell.

La Reezy declares 2025 will be his year.

He is working on another album and plans to perform at more shows. He also wants to document his life more, giving his audience a closer look at his process.

“It was projected for me to just be a regular kid,” he said. “I decided I didn’t

want to do that. Why settle for mediocrity when you can be extravagant? There’s a 14-year-old kid that’s on the path to being regular. And that’s why they need to see me so they can make a detour.

It’s bigger than rap music, rap music is just the outlet.” lareezy.com

Must-see performances this month Jan. 18

Jan. 19

Jan. 25

Jan. 25

Jan. 27

Jan. 28

Joanna Serenko with Tyler Dale and Indys Blu at

Highly Suspect: As Above So Below Tour at Orpheum

Kyle Roussel’s Church of New Orleans Album Release with special guests at Tipitina’s at

Lost Bayou Ramblers at

Phantogram: Running Through Colors Tour at

The Temptations & The Four Tops at Saenger

The Howlin’ Wolf at 7 p.m. thehowlingwolf.com

Theater at 8 p.m. orpheumnola.net

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9 p.m. tipitinas.com

Maple Leaf Bar at 10 p.m. mapleleafbar.com

House of Blues New Orleans at 7 p.m. houseofblues.com

Theatre at 8 p.m. saengernola.com

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VINT A G E

BY JOHN R. KEMP

1867 ew Orleans has always had popular locally-owned grocery chains. Remember Schwegmann’s? But back in the 19th century, most New Orleans markets, such as the Poydras Market seen in this 1867 photograph by German-born New Orleans photographer Theodore Lilienthal, were all owned by the city.

According to UNO Professor Robert Sauder’s history of city markets, New Orleans during the 19th and early 20th centuries had more city-owned markets than any other place in the nation. And, he continued, they operated here longer than in most other cities. Here’s the way it worked: the city built and managed the markets and then, to better centralize and “protect consumers from high prices and food of poor quality,” rented retail space and stalls to various merchants.

Looking back, the earliest public market in town was the French Market.

But as the city’s population grew, public markets popped up in practically every neighborhood. Between 1784 and 1911, the city constructed 34 of them, and as late as 1918, 28 were still in business. By 1920, however, the system was in sharp decline due in part to commercial refrigeration and poor administration.

“Adequate supervision of the markets by the city had lapsed,” wrote Sauder, “and in 1920 an injunction was issued against the operation of several public markets by the State Board of Health, claiming that they were unsanitary and dangerous to public health. Many of the markets were unscreened, exposing the food to flies, and refuse scattered throughout the markets, in the gutters, and on the streets.”

The Poydras Market exemplified the ups and downs of the city’s market system. Built in 1837 and early 1838 on Poydras between South Rampart and Baronne streets, it suffered many of the same sanitary problems

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throughout its history.

On Nov. 11, 1858, The New Orleans Daily Picayune (forerunner to the Times-Picayune), described the market on Poydras as “intolerably filthy from the want of facilities for obtaining water…The public are often disgusted at the uncleanliness which is the inevitable result.”

By the late 1920s, city officials had decided to widen Poydras to develop its commercial potential. That expansion, however, didn’t actually happen until the mid-1960s. Meanwhile, in June 1932 the city demolished the century-old Poydras Market using Depression-era unemployed labor.

On June 16, 1932, the Times-Picayune gave only slight attention to the demolition. According to the paper, the long-vacant market, “for generations a landmark at Poydras and South Rampart streets,” had been become a traffic hazard. The paper went on to say salvaged materials would be used to repair police and fire stations and the land “shelled” for a parking lot.

Today, only a few former public market buildings remain — the French Market, St. Bernard Poydras Market,

By Theodore Market at Claiborne and St. Bernard avenues, Lilienthal, 1867. and St. Roch Market on St. Roch at St. Claude.

Courtesy of the Napoleon Museum, As to this photograph, it too has an interesting Arenenberg, back story. According to Gary Van Zante’s biography Switzerland of Lilienthal, city officials commissioned him in 1867 to photograph a series of New Orleans street-scenes to exhibit at the 1867 World Exposition in Paris and to present to Emperor Napoleon III. Within a few months, Lilienthal completed 150 images, including this one of the Poydras Market now in the collection of the Napoleon Museum in Arenenberg, Switzerland.

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FOL

GT N I W LO

HE GREEN

FA I R

Y

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Absinthe has its fanatics and its victims—Noble minds drowned in this dark and sickening liquid.

We have seen them pass by with despairing glance and trembling steps—the shadows of their former selves—still unconscious of their misfortune.

- Daily Picayune, October 31, 1858

Despite the warning inherent in this description, during the 19th century New Orleans imbibed more absinthe than any other American city. How did this drink become so popular here? How did it acquire such a tawdry reputation? What caused its demise and what were the forces that brought absinthe back to the Crescent City? Let’s follow the Green Fairy and find out.

A

bsinthe is a licorice-flavored spirit derived from a variety of plants including fennel and anise.

Its defining ingredient, though, is wormwood, a silvery green herb with white flowers used for centuries to eliminate intestinal disorders.

Wormwood’s earliest usage dates back to Egypt in 1600 B.C. and was a favorite medicine of the Greeks and Romans, who often macerated the plant’s leaves in wine to mask its bitter taste. In the early 19th century, Pierre Ordinaire, a French expatriate living in Switzerland, eliminated wormwood’s bitterness through distillation and, in doing so, invented what we now call absinthe. If legend is to be

believed (and why shouldn't it not), Oridnaire administered his tonic to a traveling French military man, Major Dubied, who then returned to France with the recipe and partnered with his son-in-law, Henri-Louis Pernod (yes, that Pernod) to open the Maison Pernod Fils distillery in 1805, in Pontarlier, France. By the 1850s, their factory produced 20,000 liters a day, and absinthe appeared in cafés across the country.

In the mid-19th century, natural disaster struck the wine industry, production plummeted and prices soared. People looked for an alternative beverage—and there sat inexpensive absinthe, offering sweet oblivion for thirsty Frenchmen. Among these imbibers was a new class of citizens: Bohemians, who repudiated cultural norms and values of the time, which they found stifling and bourgeoisie.

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Bohemian Rhapsody Bohemians created their own culture focused on art, literature and inspiration—especially inspiration found at the bottom of an absinthe glass. Poets Charles Baudelaire (who died of an STD and substance addiction) and Paul Verlaine (who died in hospital while sipping absinthe smuggled in by his friend) used absinthe to channel their poetic muse, dubbed the “Green Fairy.”

Artists like Edouard Manet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Edgar Degas and Vincent Van Gogh sipped absinthe to enhance their creativity and featured its drinkers in their paintings. By the early 20th century, absinthe had completely surpassed both wine and brandy consumption in France. It also made inroads to other cities like London, where Oscar Wilde was a devotee, Barcelona where Hemingway and Picasso communed with the Green Fairy and, of course, New Orleans.

Absinthe in New Orleans At the time, New Orleanians considered themselves as French as any Parisian and lapped up the emerald potion. An early 1853 absinthe ad in the Daily Picayune “Absynthe (sic) Swiss and French” for sale. By 1876, merchants like the Marks Brothers, importers of foreign goods, announced they had “200 boxes of absinthe from E. Pernod” for sale.

In 1858, the Daily Picayune went on to caution readers that, “Artists, and especially literary men, have in, but a few past years become addicted to its use and abuse… the effects of the poison are terrible, crushing. A feverish ecstasy… is followed by an overwhelming debility. No work can be done, unless preceded by a dram of absinthe, and a fatal day comes when...The poet is dead within him, and the drunkard alone remains.”

Clearly, New Orleanians ignored these dire warnings, and absinthe imports only increased further through the 19th century.

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The Absinthe House Just as Parisians frequented cafés for a glass (or more) of absinthe, New Orleanians visited local establishments to enjoy this libation.

One of the best-known purveyors was the Old Absinthe House, or as it was known in the mid-19th century, simply the Absinthe House or the Absinthe Room. Drinks historian David Wondrich penned a sweeping chronicle of the bar’s murky history for the Daily Beast in February 2019. In it, he observed the significance of the bar proclaiming its absinthe affections as late as the 1860s, just when the drink “was becoming an identifier for Bohemian tendencies and worse; when it was singled out as foreign and un-American.”

It was a savvy strategy. Visitors came to the French Quarter looking for an “authentic” Creole experience as the country became more and more homogenized and a bar pouring absinthe instead of cocktails cemented its “foreign” allure. By 1871, the Old Absinthe House acquired the beautiful marble fountains which bartenders still use today to drip water into their customer’s glass.

Madness and Wormwood All was fine for absinthe until the early 1900s, when a combination of moral outrage and greed caused its downfall.

In 1905, two different Swiss men, in separate towns, just days apart, each got appallingly drunk and killed their entire families during booze-soaked rages. While the killers had consumed a variety of liquors, key to the story was that they had both drunk absinthe. Outraged citizens, spurred on by winemakers, labeled these deaths “absinthe murders,” and called for action. Switzerland banned absinthe in 1910, the United States in 1912, followed

by France in 1915.

In response to these bans, several companies, including Pernod, changed their recipes and removed the wormwood, reassuring the public that their product was safe. Here in New Orleans, absinthe maker Marion Legendre followed the same tack and labeled his new product “Herbsaint.” But the damage was done, and absinthe production moved underground, where it would stay for decades to come.

By the late 1990s, science triumphed over propaganda and absinthe was legalized in several European countries, occasionally making a covert appearance in the luggage of sneaky Americans.

Finally, in 2007, almost 100 years after it was banned, absinthe was legal again in the United States.

Absinthe has long played a part in New Orleans’ lore, and the sign outside of The Old Absinthe House is a reminder to all that we were once an absinthe town. Now, thanks to the efforts of both makers and shakers, we can confidently say we are again.

“Classic Corpse Reviver” A classic sour cocktail with hints of orange, lemon and licorice.

By Christoph Dornemann Arnaud’s French 75 813 Bienville St. 504-523-5433 arnaudsrestaurant.com

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Tatlo

Cristina Quackenbush opened Tatlo as more than just a restaurant. The self-described witch told Scott Gold in the November 2024 issue of “New Orleans Magazine” that she has used her space to “come out” to the world. “I’m a practicing witch,” she said and wondered if people would be open to it. “Witches have had a very bad rap, but a witch is just a woman who knows her power, and who knows how to use it.” ¶ Tatlo’s decor includes ornate absinthe fountains at the bar, and a robust absinthe selection. There seems to be an overlap with the creative energy of 19th century absinthe cafes and Tatlo’s ambience. “We just really want to give a really good, positive, body, soul, and mind experience,” Quackenbush said. “There’s really nothing out there like that, which, of course, New Orleanians love.”

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ARTHUR NEAD ILLUSTRATION

Atelier Vie Jedd Haas opened his distillery, Atelier Vie, on Dec. 5, 2012—an auspicious date, as it is also Repeal Day of Prohibition. “Absinthe’s long presence in New Orleans made it a good signature product,” he said. ¶ He consulted English translations of French distilling manuals from the 1800s for recipe ideas and began his experiments from there. He also found a local farmer who could grow wormwood and currently has his “own little wormwood farm” at the distillery. “I have around 60 wormwood plants and am looking to add more all the time,” he said. ¶ Haas has recently launched a new product, Absinthe Blau or blue absinthe.

“When absinthe was banned in Europe, Swiss moonshiners realized, ‘Hey, if we don't color our absinthe green, no one will figure out what it is and we can get away with it.,” he said. “However, sometimes these Swiss absinthes are called blues because they have a slight tinge of blue.”

Absinthe Blau is actually blue in color, a nod to this bit of history. ¶ Haas is optimistic about absinthe’s continued popularity.

“I think that's helped by a lot of locations, particularly in the French Quarter, leaning into this association of New Orleans and absinthe.” He also credits an educated public with that growth. “More and more people have learned about absinthe, tried it, and realized it›s not going to make you hallucinate.

That whole aspect of it seems to have eased up a bit.”

“Lovesick Fool” A complex, citrus forward cocktail with an herbal aroma from the absinthe and rosemary.

By Jeri Guilford The Original Nite Cap 1300 St. Bernard Avenue 2nd Floor, 504-224-2854 @originalnitecap

Pirate’s Alley Cafe Tony Seveille never planned on running a bar. “I’m a musician by trade,” he said. But life intervened and, in 2003, he and his wife, Thais Solerno, bought the Pirate’s Alley Café. ¶ “Before we got it, it was a Gothic bar,” he said. “They had no lights in here...black cloth all over the bricks…it was a black hole.” The bar served Absente (a not-quite-absinthe, made from a different, legal form of wormwood) to a clientele that Tony describes as “vampires and Gothic people.” ¶ Then he and Thais took over. “We took all that black stuff down, opened up the windows, and turned it into a nice place.” It was Thais’ idea to lean into the pirate theme. “It’s in Pirate’s Alley. Why wouldn't it be a pirate bar,” Seveille said. ¶ It’s also still an absinthe bar, and though the absinthe selection is small due to the tiny size of the back bar, the bartenders are knowledgeable and happily educate their guests on its lore and consumption. Thais has a slogan for the bar: “We are dripping history into a glass.” ¶ On a recent visit, a pirate-togged bartender was dripping water into an absinthe glass and explaining its history to a group of visitors. While absinthe’s reputation may still need rehabilitation, it’s hard to feel its tawdry past when sipping on an absinthe at Pirate’s Alley. Tucked just behind the St. Louis Cathedral, it is a little oasis. “We’ve got all this great seating here. It›s not on the street...with cars going by,” Seveille said. “When I first came here many, many years ago, I didn›t even know I was going to end up with it. I said, ‘Wow, that's a great place.’”

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“The Green Fairy” A class sour with Poir Eau de Vis pear brandy and features absinthe, lemon, egg whites and honey.

By Renee Ford Chemin à la Mer, Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans 2 Canal St. cheminalamer.com

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“Dawn Treader” A variation on the Absinthe Suissesse, topped with coffee.

By T. Cole Newton Twelve Mile Limit 500 S. Telemachus 504-488-8114 twelvemilelimit.com

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Loa Bar

at the International House Hotel

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One’s first sip of absinthe may occur in absinthe-focused spaces and bars, but to truly enjoy all absinthe offers, Loa Bar bartender Abigail Gullo suggests you have it in a cocktail. ¶ “I sometimes feel bad when we serve an absinthe drip. That’s a lot of absinthe for someone not used to its flavor.” In contrast, a cocktail is the perfect way to appreciate absinthe’s charms, even for people who don’t like absinthe’s licorice flavor. “Most of those classic cocktails use absinthe by the dash. It's rare to find a cocktail that has a good old glug of absinthe.” ¶ According to Gullo, “Those of us that are really nerdy about classic cocktails are very comfortable with using absinthe.” At her bar, they keep absinthe in a little spray bottle and use it constantly. “I love a daiquiri just misted with absinthe, a Manhattan misted with absinthe, a dry Martini misted with absinthe.” She encourages home bartenders to keep a sprayer bottle of absinthe handy because a little bit of absinthe can really elevate and change a cocktail and make it quite lovely. ¶ Another way to incorporate absinthe outside of its traditional form is to treat it like a spirit. “Sub it in a sour and that's an amazing cocktail. You've got sugar, lemon juice, egg white to balance it.” One of her favorite absinthe subs is an absinthe piña colada. “The sweetness of the pineapple and the creaminess of the coconut really cut through the absinthe,” she said. “But the absinthe is also strong enough to cut through the coconut and the pineapple.” ¶ Finally, she has advice for all interested parties of absinthe, drinkers, makers or shakers: “New Orleans is a town that›s known for stretching the truth a little bit. But we know the truth now about absinthe. We know it doesn't cause hallucinations…We know that there's absinthe from places other than France.” ¶ She feels that because of the city’s deep history, New Orleans should lead the charge and promote the truth. And we should do so, presumably, while following the green fairy.

Absinthia

“Absinthe Carnival” A riff on the Absinthe Frappe

By Abigail Gullo

ARTHUR NEAD ILLUSTRATION

Loa Bar at the International Hotel 221 Camp St. 504-553-9550 ihhotel.com/loa-bar

Absinthia Vermut vividly recalls her first taste of absinthe at a party in San Francisco in 1996. “I was terrified of it,” she said. “It was a scary word... then I got up my nerve, and I tried it, and I loved it.” She chuckles, remembering that first taste.

“Now we would call it ‘crapsinthe,’ but what did we know? It had been illegal for 85 years at that point.” Inspired, she began experimenting and, on April Fool's Day, 1997, served her first batch of absinthe. Her friends started calling her “Absinthia.” “I was already wearing green all the time. I kept making absinthe and used my friends as guinea pigs,” she said. ¶ After absinthe was legalized in 2007, Vermut spent several years on recipe development and had her first sale in 2017. “It was 20 years past the point where I served my first bottles,” she said. “And 21 years past my first taste.” ¶ Vermut produces a variety of absinthes including blanche, vert, barrel aged and blue absinthe. “I also very carefully make my absinthe so that it does not need sugar to taste good,” she said. She speaks expertly about which variety works best in which cocktails, recommending the blanche’s subtle flavors for newbies to absinthe and the barrel aged for Negronis and Bloody Mary's. ¶ Abinsthia’s surname, Vermut, has its own interesting history. “I did not originally know, but it's German for wormwood.

Everyone always asks me about the name ‘Absinthia,’ but the real story is my last name,” she said. ¶ Although her absinthe is still made in California, New Orleans is now her home. “It's easier to sell it here than in California.” Vermut is excited to “be in a town that appreciates and understands absinthe.” A young woman recently told her “’Oh yeah, I forgot about that whole illegal part.’ That was the first time I'd ever heard that. Hopefully the younger generation is forgetting about that whole 100 years of nonsense.”

TOPS

OF THE A S A L W A Y S , N E W OR L E A N S H A S S O MAN Y G R EAT TH IN G S TO SH OUT OUT L OUD AB OUT .

TOWN HERE IS OUR LIST OF THE TOPS OF THE TOWN AS SELECTED BY OUR READERS

Top Antiques Store Winner: M.S. Rau Finalists: Lucullus, Moss Antiques Top Bakery Winner: Ayu Bakehouse Finalists: Bywater Bakery, Gracious Bakery, La Boulangerie Top Bed and Breakfast Winner: The Grand Victorian Finalists: The Canal Street Inn, The Degas House Top Burgers Winner: Bub’s Burgers Finalists: Company Burger, Port of Call Top Children’s Boutique Winner: Mignon Finalists: Little Miss Muffin, Pippen Lane

TOP CRAFT BREWERY

URBAN SOUTH

Top Coffee House Winner: French Truck Finalists: Cherry Coffee, Mojo, The Station Top Craft Brewery Winner: Urban South Finalists: Port Orleans, Second Line Brewing, Zony Mash Top Craft Cocktail Bar Winner: Cure Finalists: Arnaud’s French 75, Jewel of the South, Pigeon and Whale Top Dessert Menu Winner: Pigeon and Whale Finalists: Arnaud’s, Commander’s Palace, GW Fins Top Dive Bar Winner: Pal’s Lounge Finalists: Pete’s Out in the Cold, Snake and Jakes Christmas Club Lounge

While Urban South’s “flagship” brews Paradise Park and Holy Roller have become mainstays at its homebase brewery and across local bars and restaurants, the company is constantly experimenting with new beers, seltzers and THC beverages. Its colorful Tchoupitoulas Street taproom hosts events almost every evening and has quickly become a community hub for watching sports, arts and crafts markets, bingo and trivia night, and more. 1645 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-267-4852, urbansouth.com

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JANUARY 2025

Top Local Drug Store Winner: Castellon Pharmacy Finalists: Majoria Drugs, NOLA Discount Pharmacy Top Dry Cleaner Winner: Young’s Dry Cleaning Finalists: Liberto Cleaners

Top Florist Winner: The Judy Garlands Finalists: Kim Starr Wise, Villere’s Florist Top Event Planning and Parties Winner: Sparkle and Swag Finalists: Accent New Orleans, Blue Gardenia Top French Bread Winner: Leidenheimer Finalists: Dong Phuong, La Boulangerie Top Furniture Store Winner: Doerr Furniture Finalists: Eclectic Home, Hurwitz-Mintz Top Garden Supply Winner: Perino’s Home and Garden Center Finalists: Harold’s Plants, Jefferson Feed, Pet and Garden Center Top Golf Course Winner: TPC Louisiana Finalists: Audubon Golf Course, Bayou Oaks at City Park Top Gulf Coast Hotel Winner: Beau Rivage Resort and Casino (Biloxi, MS) Finalists: The Grand Hotel (Point Clear, AL), White House Hotel (Biloxi, MS) Top Gym Winner: Hype Haus Fitness Finalists: New Orleans Athletic Club, New Orleans JCC Top Happy Hour Winner: Domenica Finalists: Barracuda, The Bower, Pigeon and Whale Top Home Accessories Winner: Eclectic Home Finalists: Home Malone, Sotre Collection Top Hot Dogs Winner: Dat Dog Finalists: Bratz Y’all, Lucky Dog

TOP PET DAYCARE

CAMP BOW WOW Camp Bow Wow offers doggie day care, boarding, grooming and training at its four locations in the greater New Orleans area. Camp counselors are specially trained to care for pups of all sizes and shapes, with live web cams available on site, designated play groups, room to romp and much more available for day, overnight and longer stays. campbowwow.com

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JANUARY 2025

TOP COFFEE HOUSE

FRENCH TRUCK

Top Hotel Bar Winner: The Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone Finalists: Chandelier Bar at The Four Seasons, The Chloe, Columns Top Ice Cream/Gelato Winner: Lucy Boone Ice Cream Finalists: Angelo Brocato, Creole Creamery Top Jeweler Winner: Aucoin Hart Finalists: Adler’s, Boudreaux’s Jewelers, Wellington & Co. Top King Cakes Winner: Dong Phuong Bakery Finalists: Haydel’s Bakery, Manny Randazzo King Cakes Top Local Grocery Winner: Rouses Supermarkets Finalists: Dorignac’s Food Center, Canseco’s Market Top Local Radio Station Winner: WWOZ Finalists: WWNO, WWL Top Local Sandwich Shop Winner: Francolini’s Italian Deli Finalists: Stein’s Deli, Turkey & the Wolf Top Local Shoe Store Winner: Orleans Shoe Co. Finalists: Feet First Top Men’s Clothing Store Winner: Rubensteins Finalists: Perlis

French Truck brews up small-batch, fresh-roasted beans for both the bleary-eyed and bright-eyed looking for a superior cup of coffee. The company now has eight locations in the New Orleans area, one in Baton Rouge and three in Memphis, Tennessee. Can’t make it to one of the cafés? No problem. French Truck coffee is also available for order online, for purchase at local grocery stores and has collabs with restaurants such as Commander’s Palace and Ruby Slipper/Ruby Sunshine. frenchtruckcoffee.com

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JANUARY 2025

Top Museum Winner: National WWII Museum Finalists: New Orleans Museum of Art, Ogden Museum of Southern Art Top Neighborhood Restaurant Winner: Katie’s Restaurant Finalists: The Bower, Joey K’s, Mandina’s

Top New Orleans Festival Winner: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Finalists: French Quarter Fest, Oak Street Po-Boy Fest Top Pet Daycare Winner: Camp Bow Wow Finalists: Pawlins, Zeus’ Place

TOP FLORIST

THE JUDY GARLANDS

Top Pilates Studio Winner: Romney Studios Finalists: Good Moves, Sculpt Top Pizza Winner: Zee’s Pizza Finalists: Pizza Delicious, St. Pizza, Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza Top Place for a Margarita Winner: Barracuda Finalists: El Gato Negro, Superior Grill, Val’s Top Place for a Power Lunch Winner: Galatoire’s Finalists: Bywater American Bistro (BABs), Herbsaint Top Place for Barbecue Shrimp Winner: Mr. B’s Bistro Finalists: GW Fins, Pascal’s Manale

JACQUELINE MARQUE PHOTO

Top Place for Brunch Winner: Commander’s Palace Finalists: Arnaud’s Restaurant, Elizabeth’s Restaurant Top Place for Cajun Winner: (tie) Cochon, Toups Meatery Finalists: Mulate’s Top Place for Casual Breakfast Winner: Molly’s Rise and Shine Finalists: Bearcat Café, Birdy’s Behind the Bower, Flour Moon Bagel Top Place for Chinese Winner: Miss Shirley’s Finalists: Dian Xin, Five Happiness, Nine Roses

Friends Grant Sutton and Ben Miller co-founded The Judy Garlands with the aim of bringing high quality, innovative event and floral design to New Orleans. Since then, the duo has brought their magic to venues both large and small across the city, including private installations, holiday décor (including luxury wreaths and Christmas trees), and Carnival soirées.

Located at The Merchant House, 1159 Magazine St., thejudygarlans.com

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JANUARY 2025

Top Place for Creole Winner: Arnaud’s Finalists: Commander’s Palace, Dooky Chase, Galatoire’s Top Place for Doughnuts Winner: District Donuts Finalists: Bakers Dozen, Paw Paw’s Donuts Top Place for Fine Dining Winner: GW Fins Finalists: Clancy’s Restaurant, Commander’s Palace Top Place for Fried Chicken Winner: Popeye’s Finalists: Chicken’s Kitchen, Dooky Chase Top Place for Gumbo Winner: Gumbo Shop Finalists: Dooky Chase, Gris-Gris, Mr. B’s Bistro Top Place for Indian Winner: Saffron Finalists: Lufu, Plume Top Place for Italian Winner: Vincent’s Finalists: Mosca’s, Paladar 511, Venezia

SAM HANNA PHOTO

Top Place for Japanese Winner: (tie) Sukeban, Yakuza House Finalists: Shogun, Yo Nashi Top Place for Local Gifts Winner: Fleurty Girl Finalists: Dirty Coast, Hazelnut, Home Malone

TOP BAKERY

AYU BAKEHOUSE Ayu Bakehouse, located on Frenchman Street, truly reflects the sounds and style of the neighborhood streets of New Orleans. Its lively open kitchen, classic baked goods and innovative pastries, baking classes and occasional pop-ups (as part of its Ayu Schoolhouse program) make it truly a stand-out with both local and national acclaim. From bread to breakfast, lunch and dessert, it’s a top spot for all things delicious. 801 Frenchman St., 504-302-7985, ayubakhouse.com

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JANUARY 2025

Top Place for Mexican/ Southwest Winner: El Gato Negro Finalists: Barracuda, Felipe’s Tacqueria, Superior Grill Top Place for Middle Eastern Winner: Lebanon Cafe Finalists: Byblos, Mona’s Cafe, Saba Top Place for Raw Oysters Winner: Casamento’s Finalists: Creole House, Fives, Pêche

Top Place for Seafood Winner: GW Fins Finalists: Pêche, Seither’s Seafood Top Place for Steaks Winner: Doris Metropolitan Finalists: Charlie’s Steakhouse, Crescent City Steakhouse, Desi Vegas Top Place for Sushi Winner: Rock ‘n Sake Finalists: Sukeban, Yakuza House Top Place for Tacos Winner: Barracuda Finalists: Felipe’s Taqueria, Juan’s Flying Burrito Top Place for Tapas Winner: Costera Finalists: Baru, Besame, Origen Top Place for Turtle Soup Winner: Commander’s Palace Finalists: Palace Café, Ralph’s on the Park

Top Place for Women’s Clothing Winner: Lucy Rose Finalists: Angelique Boutique, Hemline Top Place to Buy a Wedding Dress Winner: Bliss Bridal Finalists: Town & Country Bridal, Wedding Belles Top Place to Buy Eyewear Winner: Krewe Finalists: Art & Eyes, Eye Wares Top Place to Buy Liquor and Wine Winner: Martin’s Wine & Spirits Finalists: Dorignac’s Food Center, Elios Wine Warehouse, Total Wine

TOP DIVE BAR

PAL’S LOUNGE

Neighborhood favorite Pal’s Lounge serves up Mid-City-area regulars with a laid-back friendly vibe, great beer and drinks, relaxed pop-up food options. It even got a shout-out from British icon Dame Helen Mirren who dubbed it her favorite place to drink in New Orleans on a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Cheers! 949 N. Rendon St., @palsloungenola

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JANUARY 2025

JEFFERY JOHNSTON PHOTO

Top Place for Vietnamese Winner: Lily’s Café Finalists: Pho Bang, Pho Tau Bay

Top Place to Buy Saints Accessories Winner: Fleurty Girl Finalists: Black and Gold Shop Top Place to Get a Blowout Winner: Dry Bar Finalists: Bleu, H2O

TOP PLACE FOR WOMEN’S CLOTHING

LUCY ROSE

Top Place to Get a Mani/Pedi Winner: Lab & Lounge Finalists: Magazine Nails Top Po-Boys Winner: Parkway Bakery and Tavern Finalists: Bear's, Domilise’s, Mahoney’s Top Salon Winner: Paris Parker Finalists: H2O, Keith Noonan Salon, Lab & Lounge Top Sno-Balls Winner: Sal’s Sno-Balls Finalists: Hansen’s Sno-Bliz, Plum Street Snoballs Top Spa Winner: Woodhouse Day Spa Finalists: Earthsavers, Waldorf Astoria Spa

JEFFERY JOHNSTON PHOTO

Top Sports Bar Winner: Cooter Brown’s Finalists: Bayou Beer Garden, The Bulldog, Finn McCool’s Top Wine Bar Winner: Really Really Nice Wines Finalists: Bayou Wine Garden, Copper Vine, Tell Me Bar Top Yoga Studio Winner: Wild Lotus Yoga Finalists: Romney Studios, Spyre Center

Lucy Rose has become the go-to shop for many looking for that perfect outfit, special occasion dress, accessories, home décor items, and gifts for almost everyone on your list throughout the year. Two locations, on Magazine Street and Metairie Road, plus a curated Instagram “shop that look” guide, makes shopping easy. 3312 Magazine St., 504-8950444; 600 Metairie Road, Ste. A, 504-218-7368; shoplucyrose.com

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JANUARY 2025

Note: to make the list, a choice had to have a significant number of votes; places without enough votes were eliminated. Categories without enough voters were also removed. We know that there are some significant places that didn’t make the list, nevertheless we’re confident that those that are listed are all worthy and are among the tops in their field.

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E L L A B R E N N A N L I F E T I M E AC H I E V E M E N T I N H O S P I TA L I T Y AWA R D

Dickie Brennan

By Jay Forman Photograph by Theresa Cassagne

I

t’s a name synonymous with culinary excellence. And a certain award as well. The apple didn’t land far from the tree this year when the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience honored Dickie Brennan with the 2025 Ella Brennan Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Award. “It was a unanimous choice,” explained NOWFE Executive Director Aimee Brown.

“Our board of directors selected Dickie for his extraordinary contributions to our culinary culture and heritage, and for carrying on the legacy of hospitality that his Aunt Ella embodied and inspired.”

In keeping with the award’s namesake, the announcement was made in true New Orleans style. Dickie was lured to the Audubon Clubhouse for a routine photo shoot when a second line marched into the dining room.

Friends and colleagues were on hand as writer Ian McNulty shared the good news. “They set me up real good,” Dickie laughed. “They caught me hook, line and sinker.”

Few families are as steeped in hospitality as the sprawling Brennan’s clan, who are to restaurateurship what the Mannings are to football. Dickie himself was a kid when his family purchased a neighborhood salon in the Garden District in 1969. A few years later Ella, Dottie, Dick and John Brennan took the reins and guided Commander’s Palace into the institution it now is today. “If your dad is a basketball coach, you grow up in a gym,” Dickie points out. “Well, I grew up in Commander’s Palace. I spent countless hours there with my dad, Aunt Ella, and Uncle John.” It gave him a front row seat not just from an operational standpoint (“Our business is the kind where even a young kid can pitch in,” Dickie said) but also from a philosophical one. Ella helped codify the approach of not just hiring people but educating them as well. “They’d take a chef – whoever really – on the plane with them to explore new places to expose and educate them,” Dickie said. “I sat in the catbird seat for all of that.” Some memorable names that restaurant later turned out include Paul Prudhomme, Emeril Lagasse and Meg Bickford, their current star.

Mentored in this way, Dickie embodied it when he struck out on his own.

In 1991 he formed Dickie Brennan & Company. Its collection of establishments now includes Palace Café, Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse, Tableau and Bourbon House, among others. In 2023 Pascale’s Manale was welcomed into the fold as Dickie become the caretaker of one of the city’s most storied

Creole Italian institutions. “And to give this to my kids eventually – I can’t wait to see how they are going to evolve Pascale’s.”

But it’s not just this portfolio of fine dining restaurants that defines him as an entrepreneur. Dicky was quick to recognize how the pandemic would reshape the foodservice landscape. In a business with notoriously slim margins, increased labor and food costs eroded these even further.

Dickie therefore set out to diversity. In 2020 he opened his Commissary to consolidate production costs while also bringing in retail revenue from a prepared food section. Then in 2023 he struck a 10-year deal with the Audubon Institute to handle all their restaurant and catering operations.

“The catering business is something where, before COVID, I’d let someone talk me into just one off-premise catering event a year to remind me why I don’t do it. It’s hard work logistically,” he said. “But with Audubon The 2025 Ella Brennan and a setup like they could offer with the on-site Lifetime Achievement facilities -- it was just a great opportunity for in Hospitality will honor our business to evolve.” In one big swoop he Dickie Brennan on diversified his business while increasing his Thursday, January 9 at The Four Seasons Hotel gross revenue with a sales model offering a New Orleans, with a VIP variation on the traditional margins, giving reception, 6 to 7 p.m., him new levers to play with. and Award Gala, 7 to This, coupled with the expanding role of his 10 p.m. at The Four Seasfamily in these enterprises, gives Dickie a lot to ons New Orleans. Visit nowfe.com for more look forward to. But in looking forward, Dickie information. points out it is important to look back. It is this cycle that gives hospitality its deepest meaning.

“These days you have so much information at your fingertips. You can look anything up in an instant. But wisdom? I don’t believe anyone is born with wisdom. That comes from living life. If you are 20 years old, you only have so much of that. But someone who is 70 years old? There is just so much there,” he said. “I’d therefore encourage people — and not just those in hospitality — to reach out to their older generation to hear what they have to say.” A successful multi-generational business is no accident. This approach worked for Ella, it works for Dickie, and history shows it will work for the next generation if they follow it as well.

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NEW ORLEANS KINGFISH PROMOTIONAL SECTION

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enerous, durable and unflinching in character – the men of New Orleans who fit this archetype are known as Kingfish. They are the very essence of power and compassion and give more to others than to themselves. Whether sipping a sazarac or a beer;

conducting a meeting or jumping into a secondline; spending time with his family or serving on the board of a favorite charity, a Kingfish does it all with that special brand of savoir faire perfected in New Orleans.

New Orleans Magazine would like to thank Rubensteins for providing the clothing and styling and The Roosevelt New Orleans for providing the venue for our 2025 Kingfish photo shoot.

NEW ORLEANS KINGFISH PROMOTIONAL SECTION

RIGHT TO LEFT: SCOTT MCKEARN: CANALI SUIT, ETON DRESS SHIRT, BRIONI TIE, EDWARD ARMAH POCKET SQUARE; ERIC SANTANA: CANALI SUIT, ETON DRESS SHIRT, EDWARD ARMAH POCKET SQUARE, DION TIE; CHIP GARDNER: CANALI SUIT, ETON DRESS SHIRT, ZEGNA TIE, SIMONNOT-GODDARD; NEEL SUS: ELEVENTY SPORT COAT, RAVAZZOLO DRESS PANT; STEVEN LANE: MUNRO CUSTOM MADE SUIT, MUNRO CUSTOM MADE SHIRT, ROBERT JENSEN TIE, ANDERSON BELT; OTIS TUCKER: BYRON SUIT, ETON DRESS SHIRT, GEOFF NICHOLSON TIE, SANTONI SHOE, TORINO BELT; COLBY TERRY: STILE LATINO SUIT, ETON DRESS SHIRT, ETON POCKET SQUARE, CARROT & GIBBS BOW TIE, MAGNANNI SHOES

NEW ORLEANS KINGFISH PROMOTIONAL SECTION

NEW ORLEANS KINGFISH PROMOTIONAL SECTION

Eric Santana Santana & Blanchard

A dedicated advocate for justice, Eric Santana is a seasoned trial attorney with a deep-rooted commitment to the people of Louisiana.

As a lifelong resident, Eric brings a unique understanding of the state’s legal landscape and cultural nuances acquired through his representation of Louisiana residents and government bodies in several class-action and high-profile cases.

Santana & Blanchard is ever committed to providing exceptional legal representation while making a positive impact in their community. Beyond the courtroom, Eric is a proud supporter of the Preservation Hall Foundation, dedicated to preserving New Orleans’ rich musical heritage.

Additionally, he contributes to Telemundo’s Annual Back-To-Giveaway, ensuring children in need have the tools they need to succeed.

NEW ORLEANS KINGFISH PROMOTIONAL SECTION

Dr. Colby Terry Terry Dental Aesthetics

Dr. Colby Terry, a graduate of LSU, is recognized as a leader in his field as a faculty instructor for The American Academy of Facial Esthetics and the founder of Terry Dental Aesthetics, a newly opened private dental practice specializing in cosmetic and general dentistry with routine hygiene treatments, Invisalign, porcelain veneers, along with facial aesthetic procedures including botox, dermal fillers, and skin-resurfacing laser treatments.

Working tirelessly to change the game of dentistry in New Orleans, Dr. Terry and his team offer tailored, concierge service with patient comfort being of the utmost importance, offering patients a custom beverage service, cashmere blankets, noisecanceling headphones, and streaming entertainment selections of their choice in a sleek, modern office.

CLOTHING BY RUBENSTEINS: BRIONI SPORTCOAT, JACOB COHEN JEAN, ETON DRESS SHIRT, DION POCKET SQUARE

NEW ORLEANS KINGFISH PROMOTIONAL SECTION

Chip Gardner Fourth-Generation Real Estate Broker Glenn “Chip” Gardner is a Fourth-Generation Real Estate Broker devoted to his Christian faith, beloved family, and esteemed clients.

After his family’s 77-year-old business, Gardner Realtors, merged via acquisition, Chip transitioned from executive leadership to client service with Latter & Blum - now Compass - where he is utilizing his unique skillset, vast industry experience, and in-depth market knowledge to provide top-notch residential & commercial services with Herbert Dubuisson. For fun, Chip enjoys unwinding with a few libations and a nice meal, busting out stellar dance moves, and traveling. Chip serves as a board member of the New Orleans Mission Properties Foundation and the Gertrude Gardner Foundation, along with numerous other philanthropic activities to help build “God’s Kingdom”.

CLOTHING BY RUBENSTEINS: RAVAZZOLO SPORTCOAT, BRAX COTTON PANT, PATRICK ASSARAF SHIRT

NEW ORLEANS KINGFISH PROMOTIONAL SECTION

Neel Sus Susco Solutions Neel Sus founded Susco in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, driven to contribute to the rebirth of New Orleans.

Today, Susco is a national leader in claims management software, guided by a purpose: Building Systems to Unleash Human Potential. One of the extremely rare birds who is built for tech but loves people, Neel is dedicated to continuous development – professional, mental, spiritual, and physical.

Neel’s leadership fosters a culture that empowers & holistically develops employees, liberates clients from outdated systems, and invests in organizations helping disadvantaged individuals achieve the American Dream.

By aligning business with purpose, Neel has proven that profit and impact go hand in hand, driving both growth and transformation – as evidenced

by Susco being nationally ranked in Best Workplaces and Fasting Growing Companies

by Inc Magazine.

NEW ORLEANS KINGFISH PROMOTIONAL SECTION

Steven Lane Bey & Associates

Considered one of the premier divorce attorneys in the United States, Steven Lane now serves as “Of Counsel” to the law firm of Bey and Associates, LLC, with offices in New Orleans, Atlanta & Macon, Georgia, Cincinnati, and Florence, Kentucky.

Practicing as a Special Master, a political strategist for many local politicians and judges, and past counsel for the New Orleans City Council, Mr. Lane is the only four-time recipient of the Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” Award for family lawyers in New Orleans. Most recently, Mr. Lane donated to the New Orleans Bar Association his 45-year collection of legal articles and other papers for the benefit of younger attorneys to use in their own education of the law.

CLOTHING BY RUBENSTEINS: CORNELIANI SWEATER JACKET, PANTS, PATRICK ASSARAF TURTLENECK

NEW ORLEANS KINGFISH PROMOTIONAL SECTION

Otis Tucker TI Contracting/Trucking Innovation

Otis Tucker’s fingerprints can be found practically anywhere you look around New Orleans.

A proud native of New Orleans, raised by a single mother and a graduate of the public school system, Otis clawed his way into every space. With inc5000 & Gambit 40 under 40 marks, a Member of United Way of Southeast Louisiana’s Board & An Economic Development Commissioner, he’s an entrepreneur extraordinaire, Otis is using his newly found access to bring important conversation and policy change that may help uplift others from his community.

“The work I do and the way I treat others have a direct implication on the value of my existence and my eternal destination,” says Otis. “This is my moral compass!”

CLOTHING BY RUBENSTEINS: ELEVENTY JACKET, JOHNNIE-O PANT, PATRICK ASSARAF SHIRT, MAGNANNI SHOE

NEW ORLEANS KINGFISH PROMOTIONAL SECTION

Scott McKearn Banana Manor A lifelong entrepreneur Scott McKearn of Banana Manor found his calling in the rug world with his business managers in India for his Discoveries Furniture & Finds stores.

McKearn partnered with the rug factory owners to offer “We Are the Factory Prices”.

Banana Manor is “Not Your Typical Rug Store,”.

Voted the #1 Rug Store in New Orleans by Gambit and Inside New Orleans and named a Top 25 Retail Star in the US by Home Accents Today, McKearn decided to make this brand an extension of himself, with “Ridiculous” as a core component. So his billboards parodying the infamous Burt Reynolds Cosmo centerfold come as no surprise.

Learn even more at bananamanor.com.

CLOTHING BY RUBENSTEINS: MUNRO CUSTOM MADE VELVET TUXEDO JACKET, STENSTROMS SPORT SHIRT, JACOB COHEN 5-POCKET PANT, SIMONNOTGODDARD BLUE SUEDE BELT

TRAVEL

BY CHERÉ COEN

stage access and visits to the Opry’s themed dressing rooms and the artist entrance where the stars will arrive that night. For information on tickets and performances, visit opry.com.

Where to Stay The Gaylord Opryland Resort is closest to the venue and offers a host of amenities, from the SoundWaves year-round indoor and seasonal aquatic attractions, an 18-hole golf course, nightly light shows in the massive atrium, riverboat rides in the atrium’s river (yes, it’s that big; the atrium is 9 acres with extensive gardens), spa treatments at the Relache Spa and special events, among many more.

The Roots of Country Music Nashville for the Grand Ole Opry’s centennial his year marks the 100th anniversary of Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, a barn dance radio show inside a downtown church that morphed into a show of international stars that today attracts thousands.

All year long the Opry will host country music’s rising stars as well as superstars and legends in honor of this milestone.

After all, it is the “Mother Church of Country Music.”

Brad Paisley once said, “Pilgrims travel to Jerusalem to see the Holy Land, and the foundations of their faith. People go to Washington, D.C., to see the workings of government, and the foundation of our country. And fans flock to Nashville to see the foundation of country music, the Grand Ole Opry.”

T

Grand Ole Opry History The famous country music show began humbly as “The WSM Barn Dance” on Nov. 28, 1925, with fiddle player Uncle Jimmy Thompson performing for the radio show. The Opry took off from there, performed from an 1892 downtown church that eventually became the Ryman Auditorium. Musicians who have performed at

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the National Historic Landmark include Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline and Bill Monroe, not to mention Opry regulars Minnie Pearl (Sarah Cannon), who performed more than 50 years, and Little Jimmy Dickens, who performed 60-plus years.

The Opry Today Over the years, the Grand Ole Opry became so popular it outgrew the Ryman. Today, the show is performed at the 4,000-seat Grand Ole Opry House at Opryland a short drive from downtown Nashville. The twohour show, offered Fridays and Saturdays, includes musical numbers, comedians, and special guests.

Occasionally, the Grand Ole Opry moves back to the historic Ryman, which seats 2,300. The Opry will be offered at the Ryman Jan. 3-4, 10-11 and 17. It’s an ideal time to witness the show in its original home.

How to See the Opry Visitors may purchase tickets for general admission online and at the box office, but the Premium Pass Lounge and Post Show Tour allows participants exclusive access to the lounge one hour before the show through the end of intermission. The pass also allows for

What’s New in 2025 In addition to the Grand Ole Opry’s anniversary, new venues are popping up all over Nashville. Bon Jovi’s venue on Broadway will feature five floors with two outdoor rooftop decks. Garth Brooks opened his Friends in Low Places last year, a 40,000-square-foot venue with nonstop live music. The newly renovated Cannery Hall will be one of the largest independent music venues in Nashville, featuring three stages.

Eric Church opened “Chief’s” on Broadway, a six-story property with live events, a broadcasting studio that will include Church’s Outsiders Radio SiriusXM channel and James Beard Award-winning pitmaster and BBQ Chef Rodney Scott.

Nashville Yards, the city’s new gateway to downtown, opens a 19-acre mixed-use area anchored

by The Pinnacle, a 4,500 seat music venue which will host its first event in March. Nashville Yards offers retail, restaurant and entertainment space, including an upscale 12-screen cinema and a 1.31-acre green space with a dog park, pickleball courts, courtyard seating and urban farming.

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H OME I NS PI RAT IO N

BY AMY MARIE GABRIEL

Turning Over A New Leaf Inspired by nature

Cast a lovely light with a Calypso Short six bulb chandelier from the Julie Neill Bespoke Collection. Shown in Hollywood gold leaf over plaster, this fixture can be done in several signature finishes. Julie Neill Designs, 2032 Adams St., 504-8994201, julieneill.com.

Add a touch of elegance to your wall with a handcrafted wisteria mirror. Using eglomise, the art of painting and then applying silver leaf detailing, this lovely piece will hang easily with back-mounted French cleats. Arhaus, 3301 Veterans Memorial Blvd., 504-581-6684, arhaus.com.

Sip to your health from a set of four modern conical tumblers.

With a base in a leaf colorway, these 10 oz stackable glasses are sure to make your green juice tastier. Judy at the Rink, 2727 Prytania St., 504-891-7018, judyattherink.com.

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A few strokes of Chervil Leaves paint, in a lively herbal green, will instantly energize any room. behr.com.

Revitalize your veranda with cast iron palm leaf vintage chairs.

Sold in a set of 6, the sculptural palm leaf design on the back and detailing on the legs make this design artistically inspired. chairish.com/shop/ perrierdesigns.

Freshen up your home office with a naturalistic wallpaper like A Thousand Leaves : Light, from Carmine Lake. Made in the UK, the mix of leaves and the pop of dragonflies and ladybirds will add a touch of whimsy to your workspace. The Pattern Collective, thepatterncollective.com.

Delightfully dish out a brunch service of leafy greens with a pair of song bird salad servers from Vagabond House. The detailed handles are crafted from pewter and feature sparrows perched in a spray of leaves. Friend & Company Fine Jewelers, 7713 Maple St., 504866-5433, friendandcompany.com.

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GROW I NG PA I NS

BY EVE CRAWFORD PEYTON / ART BY JANE SANDERS

The Midnight Kiss I Didn’t Get And how it influenced the rest of my life

I still remember New Year’s Eve 1997, my senior year in high school. My boyfriend was in a band, and so we headed to a small all-ages club for a gig he had to play. I was crazy in love with him and already dreading the prospect of having to break up for college, but I was so excited to spend such a momentous evening in a sparkly dress pretending to be a grown-up and watching him perform.

But as we counted down to midnight, I realized (belatedly) that my boyfriend was on stage and I had no one to kiss. As I started to sulk, looking around at all of the embracing couples, a much-older gay man in the crowd took pity on me and, after kissing his own partner, planted a big smooch on my cheek and whispered some sage advice in my ear, “Honey, if you’re the type who expects a kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve, don’t date the guys in the band.”

His words had a huge impact on me, reminding me that you

need to know yourself, know your needs, and adjust your expectations. I had expected that my senior year New Year’s Eve would look like something out of a movie – a perfect kiss, a perfect night, a perfect love, something to cling to in the terrifying uncertainty of college and beyond. And instead, I got a lesson in reality and a reminder that life can’t be scripted, that people have their own paths (and sometimes their own stage to perform on), and that I can accept things as they are or work to change them – but that I can’t change other people.

In my case, I realized well before high school graduation that I was not meant to date a boy in a band – although more than 25 years later, we are still close friends and have supported each other through two weddings, a divorce, the births of four children, and deaths of three parents. He is still a professional musician who almost certainly works every single New Year’s Eve – luckily, his wife of 17 years is also a professional musician.

And this month, I celebrate my

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13th wedding anniversary with a lawyer who plays guitar and has a wonderful singing voice but has never been in a band and wants nothing more on New Year’s Eve than to eat fancy cheese and drink champagne with me at home in sweatpants. And of course we kiss at midnight – if we manage to stay awake that long.

Despite my inherent cynicism, I genuinely believe that things usually work out the way they are supposed to, even they don’t always align with the way you think they will or the way you want them to in the moment.

If my New Year’s Eve kiss hadn’t taught me this lesson when I was 17, the process of raising my own teenagers certainly would’ve. Obviously it’s not exactly the same – you don’t choose your children, and you can’t break up with them but stay friends – but I definitely had ideas about who my kids would be, what they would achieve, how they would behave. Now, with kids 18 and 12, I acknowledged long ago that they will be their own people,

achieve their own goals, behave according to their own internal standards. Their passions are not necessarily my passions; their choices are sometimes inexplicable to me. I hate public speaking; my older kid is the president of Speech & Debate. I can barely manage to update the software on my iPhone when prompted; my younger kid is on the robotics team.

My job, though, is to love them as they are and support them as they grow. I can set boundaries and offer guidance, but I’m not going to change the personalities that came pre-loaded – and I would never, ever want to.

When I reflect on that New Year’s Eve – which was somehow 27 years ago! – I’m grateful that I learned a lesson about letting go of expectations and accepting reality so early in life. Accept the things you cannot change, the saying goes, and change the things you can. And I’d add: Don’t be too stubborn to listen to advice doled out by strangers you meet along the way.

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TAB LE TA L K

BY MISTY MILIOTO / PHOTOS BY JEFFERY JOHNSTON

Pollo Chuco

Heritage in Every Bite

Alma Cafe celebrates Honduran cuisine with a new location opening in Mid-City. orn in La Ceiba, Honduras, Melissa Araujo grew up enjoying her grandmother’s cooking. In fact, it was in her grandmother’s kitchen that she first learned that food equals love. In 2020, Araujo opened Alma Café in the Bywater, serving bold and authentic Honduran cuisine, as a tribute to her grandmother and her heritage. Now, she is taking her culinary career to new heights with the opening of a second Alma Café in Mid-City.

It all started at the age of 14, when Araujo’s family moved to New Orleans in order to be close to other family members who had immigrated from Honduras. As a young teen, she began working in restaurants throughout New Orleans, and, while pursuing a degree in architecture (while simultaneously working in restaurants), she realized that her dream was to become a chef.

After a three-month internship in Milan, Italy — and years of working under top chefs in New Orleans, such as Susan Spicer, John Folse, Rick Tramonto and Alon Shaya — Araujo continued to hone her culinary craft.

During this time, she opened Saveur Catering to serve events throughout New Orleans, and she later founded Oscar at PWB (a small kitchen in Arabi, Louisiana, that also offers full catering services).

Her crowning achievement—to date, anyway—has been the opening of Alma Café. This small but mighty restaurant landed Araujo as a

B

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semifinalist for a James Beard Award for Best Chef South in 2024.

One of her most popular dishes, the pollo chuco, is a deeply personal dish for Araujo. “[It is] inspired by my Honduran heritage, particularly the street food culture of San Pedro Sula,” she said. “It’s a fried chicken dish served with crispy green bananas (tajadas), a rich tomato sauce and tangy pickled onions. The taste is a perfect balance of crispy, savory and tangy, with layers of flavor in every bite.”

While pollo chuco is a traditional dish, Araujo has made it her own by marinating the chicken with a special blend of spices, frying it to perfection and pairing it with house-made sauces using fresh, local ingredients.

The addition of tajadas fried to a golden crisp ensures a truly authentic experience. “Guests love Pollo Chuco because it’s flavorful, nostalgic and comforting,” Araujo said. “It’s a dish that tells a story, offering both a cultural experience and a hearty, satisfying meal.”

Other popular dishes include the huevos rancheros from the brunch menu, featuring scratch-made tortillas, fresh eggs and roasted tomato salsa. Another guest favorite is the “Lola Gray,” a unique brunch dish featuring a cathead biscuit, fried chicken, crawfish tails and chorizo-sage gravy. The old-fashioned burger — a double-patty burger topped with sharp cheddar, caramelized onions and house-made pickles served on a Dong Phuong brioche bun — also is popular among guests thanks to

its balance of classic and bold flavors.

Of course, the menu also boasts desserts and cocktails. For something sweet, try the tres leches cake. “[It’s] moist, flavorful and topped with fresh whipped cream,” Araujo said. “It’s a nod to my Latin American roots. Meanwhile, the Chocolate Flourless Cake is decadent and rich, and it’s perfect for gluten-free guests seeking indulgence.”

On the cocktail menu, Aruajo suggests trying the smoky bourbon sour with a rosemary honey twist. “It combines depth and sweetness with a subtle smoky finish,” she said. “[Or,] the hibiscus margarita is a refreshing take on a classic margarita with vibrant floral notes.”

While all of these menu items are popular, Araujo changes her offerings seasonally in order to reflect the best of what local farmers and purveyors have to offer. “Local sourcing ensures the

freshest ingredients, while supporting the community and sustainable farming practices,” she said. “It’s about creating a connection between our guests, and the people who grow and produce their food. We also create specials and introduce new items frequently to keep our offerings exciting for returning guests.”

As her culinary journey continues to unfold, Araujo is excited about Alma Cafe’s second location, which is opening in the former Mr. Ed’s space (301 N. Carrollton Ave.) in Mid-City. In addition to offering indoor and outdoor seating for 200 guests (including cozy corners and a central bar for casual dining), the restaurant will feature an oyster bar, a tortillera (dedicated tortilla-making station), a full-service cocktail bar and a specialty coffee bar.

While the interiors will carry Alma Cafe’s signature warmth and inviting charm, the Mid-City location will have unique design elements (such as natural wood finishes, tropical

About the Chef

Melissa Araujo’s culinary career began to take off in northern Italy, where she worked in a number of top restaurants, but her craft has truly taken shape in New Orleans. After working under top chefs such as Susan Spicer, John Folse, Rick Tramonto and Alon Shaya, she opened Alma Cafe in 2020. She is now opening the second Alma Cafe in Mid-City.

plants, handcrafted Honduran art, and a mix of vintage and modern touches) reflecting the neighborhood’s character. “Mid-City is a vibrant, diverse neighborhood that reflects the ethos of Alma Cafe,” Araujo said. “It’s the perfect spot to bring our food closer to more guests who appreciate our focus on locally sourced ingredients and cultural authenticity. I designed the space to ensure the space feels fresh yet familiar.”

The core menu at both locations will remain consistent—focusing on traditional dishes with a modern twist — but the Mid-City location will introduce unique specials like oysters and dishes that highlight the tortillera. Additionally, both locations will have an expanded offering of vegan and gluten-free options.

These dishes include roasted vegetable tacos on corn tortillas and avocado toast with gluten-free bread.

“When I opened Alma in Bywater, my goal was to share the warmth and soul of Honduran cuisine,” Araujo said. “We’ve had such an incredible journey. Opening a second location in Mid-City allows me to introduce even more people to the heart of Honduran cooking — simple, soulful and filled with flavor. I want guests to feel welcomed, relaxed and connected.

Alma is designed to feel like home — a place where everyone belongs and can share meaningful moments over great food.”

The Birth of Alma Café Melissa Araujo opened Alma Café as a tribute to her Honduran roots and the strong women in her family. “The restaurant was born out of my desire to share the vibrant flavors of my heritage and create a space where food, culture and community intersect,” she says.

“The name ‘Alma’ means ‘soul’ [in Spanish], which perfectly encapsulates the heart we pour into every dish.”

Since opening, Araujo has expanded the menu, added new dishes inspired by guest feedback, and embraced the restaurant’s role as being a cultural and culinary hub for the community. She admits that she has surpassed even her own expectations by building a loyal community and becoming a go-to spot for locals and visitors.

“Alma has become more than a restaurant—it’s a gathering place,” she said.

Tortillas with a Story Alma Café makes tortillas from scratch, using coconut milk—a technique taught by Hilissa Venegas, one of the cooks at Alma who also hails from La Ceiba, Honduras. “Coconut milk makes the tortilla softer and gives it a unique, subtle, nutty flavor,” Araujo said.

“Her expertise brings an authentic taste of the Caribbean coast to every bite.”

At Alma Café, guests can try the tortillas in a number of dishes. For example, the baleada sencilla features eggs, refried beans, homemade crema, queso fresco and avocado atop a homemade flour tortilla. The carne asada, meanwhile, features ribeye steak, torched cherry tomatoes and encurtido served with homemade corn tortillas.

The fritas Hondureñas includes fried tortillas with refried beans, homemade crema and queso fresco, and the totopos are tortilla chips that Aruajo uses in multiple dishes, including the chilaquiles.

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NOSH

BY JYL BENSON / PHOTO BY SAM HANNA

Hoppin’ John A Southern favorite any time of year

Who doesn’t hope for a new year of good fortune and prosperity? In most cultures, foods prepared on New Year’s Day are said to bring good luck. In the American South, green foods signify life and health, and foods resembling gold and coins, such as blackeye peas, signify money and wealth.

Pork products are consumed because pigs root forward as they eat, embracing challenges.

Seventeenth-century Dutch immigrants in the Hudson River valley welcomed the New Year by “opening the house” to family and friends. The custom was adapted by English colonists, who used Jan. 1 social calls for gentlemen to renew bonds or repair frayed relationships. As the men went about their visits, the ladies remained at home, offering the gentlemen’s guests food and libations.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, colonists of French and English backgrounds celebrated the 12 days of Christmas with food gifts and festive dinners on the first days of the year.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, enslaved African Americans also made one of the most enduring contributions to the modern holiday. Starting in the Carolinas but extending throughout the South, “Hoppin’ John” (blackeyed peas and rice) and greens (collard, mustard, turnip) became traditional New Year’s fare. Black-eyed peas bring luck, and make for a great meal any time of year. This recipe from Louisiana’s Camelia Brand is a family favorite.

Cook With us!

Join us each third Tuesday of the month and cook along with New Orleans Magazine and our featured chef on Instagram. @neworleansmagazine

Hoppin’ John Chef Jamie Warrick of L.H. Hayward & Company/Camellia Brand Serves 10 1 pound Camellia Brand Blackeye Peas 2 tablespoons fat, butter, or olive oil 2 cups chopped onion (any variety), shallot, or a mixture 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1 large ripe tomato, diced 8 cups broth, such as vegetable, chicken, beef, or pork 2 smoked ham hocks 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 2 teaspoons fresh 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed 3 cups chopped greens such as kale, collard, spinach, Swiss chard, cabbage] 2 tablespoons vinegar such as red wine, cider, sherry Hot cooked rice for serving Kosher salt and black pepper to taste Very thinly sliced green onions for garnish and serving 1. Rinse and sort the peas.

Set aside.

1

This cooking method works well for any beans. Eliminate the greens if cooking red, pinto, or black beans.

2

Play with the flavor profile by changing up the vinegar. I like aged sherry vinegar for its vaguely sweetsmoky flavor.

3

Try this for brunch.

Cook the beans and greens to be a little watery rather than tight and serve them over creamy grits with hot biscuits.

2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the garlic and tomato and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.

4. Add the broth, ham hocks, bay leaves, and oregano. Bring to a boil. Add the blackeye peas; stir well. Return to a low boil; cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer until the peas are tender, 1.5 -2 hours, stirring occasionally.

5. Add the greens and the vinegar.

6. Remove the ham hocks, pick the meat from bones, chop and return to the pot.

Discard the skin and bones.

7. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Simmer for an additional 25 minutes.

8. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Garnish with green onions.

CH EER S

BY ELIZABETH PEARCE / PHOTO BY EUGENIA UHL

Serving History A classic establishment

Decatur Sour 2 ounces Buffalo Trace bourbon 1 ½ ounces cranberry juice 1 ounce simple syrup ½ ounce lemon juice

Although Tujague’s Bar Manager Ariana Blakely is a local, she’d never heard of its signature drink, the Grasshopper.

“Now I know everything about the Grasshopper,” she laughed.

“People come in who haven’t tried the Grasshopper since the 1960s... and they expect it to be the same.”

She reports, “It’s crazy, but they know if it’s different.” Ariana respects the expectations tied up in the restaurant’s history. “This place has been around since 1856, and people expect you to know everything.”

On her off days, you can find her there, sipping a cocktail. “If you wouldn’t drink in the bar that you work at,” she asked, “why would you serve at it?” Her dedication to Tujague’s is evident. “I take pride in the bar. I get on my hands and knees and scrub this thing every Monday,” she said. “I am a 22-year-old female Mexican, running one of the oldest bars in the world, and I feel like I do a pretty good job.”

1

Make sure to use fresh lemon juice.

Freshly squeezed lemon juice can last up to five days in the refrigerator.

To keep it longer, pour into ice cube trays and freeze for up to six months.

2

This drink is a crowd pleaser and batches easily for a party. Because of its ratio of juice to liquor, this drink can freeze into a slush.

3

The cranberry/ lemon mixture plays well with other spirits like rum or vodka.

Podcast

Listen to Elizabeth’s podcast “Drink & Learn;” visit elizabeth-pearce.com

70 JANUARY 2025 / MYNEWORLEANS.COM

Garnish: Lemon twist Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake until chilled.

Strain into a rocks glass over ice.

SPONSORED

Education

It’s never too early to plan for your child’s educational future. Find their new scholastic home, or get them outfitted for the new year, at one of our fine New Orleans educational institutions.

Arden Cahill Academy and High School Arden Cahill Academy, voted #1 Grammar school by Gambit Weekly readers, combines a strong education with the unique qualities of an outdoor country environment minutes from downtown. Nestled along Bayou Fatma in Gretna, the 12-acre campus currently serves students from six weeks in its Infant Center through 12th grade in its High School. Arden Cahill Academy graduated its first class of high school seniors in May of 2023 and is proud to continue its tradition of academic excellence and cultural enrichment through its college preparatory curriculum.

Horse stables, a petting farm, a STEAM Lab, art studios, band, music rooms, and a 300-seat theater make the Arden Cahill Academy campus unique. The academy also hosts Cahill Camp Corral, a 10-week summer camp that has been voted the #1 summer camp for FIVE consecutive years in a row by readers of Gambit Weekly.

Families are invited to schedule a private tour to experience the Cahill Way. Interested High School students are encouraged to come be a Whale-For-A-Day. Cahill Camp Corral summer 2025 registration begins in January. Visit us at ardencahillacademy.com to find out more.

Kehoe-France Schools Kehoe-France Schools, with campuses in Metairie and Covington, offer a nurturing educational experience for children from 8 weeks to 7th grade. Our small class sizes, dedicated faculty, and comprehensive International Baccalaureate® (IB) curriculum create a dynamic

environment where students explore their passions, develop critical thinking skills, and become compassionate, globally minded leaders.

At Kehoe-France, we blend tradition with innovation, ensuring a well-rounded education that prepares each child for future success.

Join our community and experience the legacy that has made KehoeFrance Schools a cornerstone of education for over 60 years.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has over 19,000 students and is the state’s second-largest institution of higher education.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education has designated UL Lafayette as R1, its top tier. It is one of just two public universities in Louisiana to have this status.

According to an independent study, UL Lafayette has a statewide economic impact of $2.7 billion and supports one out of every 78 jobs in Louisiana.

Its student-athletes compete in 16 NCAA Division I sports as the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, a distinctive moniker that captures the University’s spirit and its pride of place.

UL Lafayette is known internationally for its promotion and preservation of Louisiana’s distinct culture, music and history. It offers more than 240 majors, minors and concentrations, and is dedicated to excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, public impact research and community service.

Visit louisiana.edu for more.

MYNEWORLEANS.COM / JANUARY 2025

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SPONSORED

Cathedral Montessori School Celebrating fifteen years of educating New Orleans students, Cathedral Montessori School (CMS) utilizes Montessori equipment and materials designed to inspire self-directed learning. A non-profit, co-educational, certified Montessori School, CMS now serves students ages three through twelve and changes the educational landscape of the city by providing a preschool through sixth-grade private school Montessori education in New Orleans.

CMS provides an education of hope, self-motivation, and discovery to a greater population of students who will go on to contribute and problem-solve creatively in both the local community and across the world. Growth, transformation, and change are celebrated at CMS, but the curriculum and culture remain constant to support independent academic inquiry and discovery, emotional confidence and empathy, and social justice and collective responsibility.

CMS welcomes you to visit campus for an Open House on January 18th from 10 am - 12 pm. Please call the office at 504-252-4871 to secure your appointment on that day. To learn more information, please visit cathedralmontessori.org.

Stuart Hall School for Boys Stuart Hall immerses boys in a supportive, characterbased culture in which they can thrive inside and outside the classroom. From our boy-centered curriculum to our supportive atmosphere to the breadth of extracurricular, athletic, and after-school activities, Stuart Hall’s focus on formation produces young men of character, integrity, and boundless capability.

Founded in 1984 and named for Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ, a well-known religious of the Sacred Heart, Stuart Hall focuses on upholding her philosophy through a modern, robust curriculum based around the belief that “education is formation, not just information”.

Faculty and staff are dedicated to working with parents to help each child build a foundation for a life centered on a love for learning, a desire to help others, and a commitment to Faith, Scholarship, Leadership, and Honor.

Private tours of the campus are given daily by appointment. To schedule a tour or for more information, visit stuarthall.org/private-tours.

Jewish Community Day School Jewish Community Day School of Greater New Orleans (JCDS) is a coeducational independent school for students ages two months through sixth grade, with plans to eventually expand through eighth grade. Balancing challenging academics with an enriching Jewish Studies program, a JCDS education is interdisciplinary, project-based, and holistic.

The school’s small class sizes and differentiated instruction ensure each child is valued for their individual strengths.

Students take what they have learned at JCDS beyond the school’s boundaries, too, using their education to fulfill the Jewish value of tikkun olam, repairing the world.

JCDS is a nurturing school where families of all backgrounds are welcomed and children are prepared to be engaged, compassionate leaders. To learn more or schedule a tour, please contact us at admissions@jcdsnola.org or call 504-887-4091. •

MYNEWORLEANS.COM / JANUARY 2025

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SPONSORED

Senior Living Care

When you want your loved ones cared for by the best, these New Orleans Senior Living Care facilities are here to offer the expertise, amenities, and community they deserve.

The Carrollton New Orleans: A Masterpiece in Assisted Living and Memory Care The Carrollton is more than an Assisted Living and Memory Care Community. Their philosophy promotes independence while offering a supportive environment with as much or as little help as residents may need. Additionally, families have the assurance that their loved one receives exceptional care, and social opportunities, and can participate in life-enrichment and wellness activities - just a few of the many benefits of calling The Carrollton “home”.

The community features studio and one-bedroom apartments, restaurant-style dining with chef-inspired menus, a variety of amenity spaces, and The Carrollton Collection which includes a selection of art from local artists that celebrates the history and culture of New Orleans.

The Carrollton is a masterpiece in Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Memory Care, providing residents with a vibrant life and their loved ones with peace of mind.

Schedule a visit today to experience all that The Carrollton has to offer.

Visit TheCarrollton.com to learn more.

Aesthetics

Whether recovering from injury or simply seeking a renewed sense of self-confidence, these aesthetic enhancement specialists can help get you looking, and feeling, your best.

Sean R. Weiss, MD Facial Plastic Surgery A New Orleans plastic surgeon who specializes in procedures of the face, head, and neck, Dr. Sean Weiss brings world-renowned expertise and unique attentiveness to his patients. By focusing exclusively on surgery of the face, head, and neck, Dr. Weiss has become one of the select few surgeons in the world who is double board certified in Facial Plastic Surgery and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. The winter months are the perfect time for taking care of your skin.

A chemical peel or laser resurfacing is ideal this time of year for correcting fine lines and pigment irregularities. With less sun exposure and shorter days, now is the time to optimize the benefits of resurfacing. The office of Dr. Sean Weiss – Facial Plastic Surgery offers the full spectrum of resurfacing procedures from mild chemical peels to aggressive CO2 laser resurfacing. As a specialist in facial rejuvenation, Dr. Sean Weiss can help guide you to the treatment that is ideal for your specific concerns.

To see before and after photos of Facial plastic surgery performed by Dr Sean Weiss, visit seanweissmd.com.•

74 JANUARY 2025 / MYNEWORLEANS.COM

Lambeth House In the heart of Uptown, with stunning views of the Mississippi River, is Lambeth House.

For over twenty-five years, this distinguished retirement community has been an integral part of the local fabric. Lambeth House caters to active, independent individuals aged 62 and older, fostering an environment that nurtures the mind, body, and spirit.

The allure of Lambeth House lies in its array of amenities. From an indoor saltwater pool and a cutting-edge fitness center to an art studio, meditation room, and interfaith chapel, the community provides a truly holistic experience. Social activities, off-site outings, and lifelong learning opportunities ensure a dynamic and engaging lifestyle.

As a not-for-profit Life Plan Community, Lambeth House empowers older adults to savor maintenance-free living with the assurance of assisted living and 24-hour nursing care, conveniently available onsite if ever needed.

Currently, Lambeth House is embarking upon an expansion project featuring exquisite independent living residences, complete with spacious sunlit floorplans with breathtaking views. Anticipated for completion by fall 2025, this expansion marks another chapter in Lambeth House’s commitment to providing a fulfilling retirement experience.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (Louisiana Blue) is devoted to its mission to improve the health and lives of Louisianians. It’s important to stay on top of your health needs, especially if you’re over 65 or have a long-term condition like diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure. That’s why it’s never too soon to plan your annual wellness visit for 2025! Everyone should have at least one checkup each year, and people with certain health conditions may need more frequent checkups. This is a great opportunity to talk with your healthcare provider about your overall health and well-being and address any concerns you have. Find out which screenings, vaccines, or tests you should have based on your age and health history, and start getting those scheduled while it’s early in the year. Call your healthcare provider’s office today to make an appointment for your annual wellness visit.

Jacob Schoen & Son Funeral Home The team at Jacob Schoen & Son try to offer you a home—a comforting and inviting place to gather in remembrance and celebration of lives lived well. Their experienced staff is committed to this vision and passionate about making your time with them as memorable and uplifting as possible. Compassion and consideration for New Orleans area families has been the guiding principle for the Schoen family and its many dedicated employees since 1874. Attentive personal concern and direct Schoen family involvement was a hallmark then and still is today. Bringing decades of experience caring for families of all cultural backgrounds and diverse walks of life, the Jacob Schoen & Son team pledges to treat you and your loved ones just like family, and we guarantee to offer services that meet all of your specifications while exceeding all of your expectations.

To learn more, please visit schoenfh.com. •

JANUARY 2025

A Special Section of New Orleans Magazine WYES-TV/Channel 12 Program & Events Guide

NEW SEASON TUESDAY, JANUARY 7 7PM

PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS WYES-TV/CHANNEL 12 PROGRAM GUIDE | JANUARY 2025

Watch all WYES programs on WYES-TV and stream on wyes.org/live and on the free WYES and PBS Apps

VIENNA BLOOD, SEASON 4 Sundays, January 5-26 at 9pm The gripping crime drama set in 1900s Vienna returns for its fourth season with a new four-part mystery. Oskar (Juergen Maurer) and Max (Matthew Beard) uncover a conspiracy that leads to the heart of the government. Can they stop the seditious mole known as “Mephisto” from destroying the Austro-Hungarian Empire? And will their lives ever be the same? Photo Credit: Petro Domenigg © 2024 Endor Productions / MR Film FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., SEASON 11 Tuesday, January 7 - April 8 at 7pm; Repeats on Saturdays at 8pm In addition to revealing the solution to a mystery that has haunted the Gates family for generations, new episodes will feature an all-star line-up with guests José Andrés, Joy Behar, Kristen Bell, Rubén Blades, Lonnie Bunch, Rita Dove, Laurence Fishburne (pictured), Debra Messing, Natalie Morales, Michael Imperioli, Melanie Lynskey, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lea Salonga, Amanda Seyfried, Dax Shepard, Sean Sherman, Sharon Stone, Amy Tan and Chrissy Teigen.

MASTERPIECE “Miss Scarlet, Season 5” Sundays, January 12 – February 16 at 7pm Eliza’s agency is thriving, and her professional life is on a successful path – on the personal side however, Duke has now been away in New York for several months and Eliza is forced to make a difficult decision.

Meanwhile, a new Detective Inspector starts at Scotland Yard and Eliza must fight to prove herself all over again. Photo Credit: Sever Zolak; Miss Scarlet Limited and MASTERPIECE

MASTERPIECE “All Creatures Great and Small, Season 5” Sundays, January 12 – February 23 at 7pm It’s Spring 1941, and with World War II fully underway, we return to Darrowby, where baby Jimmy is keeping everyone at Skeldale House on their toes. Meanwhile, Tristan’s surprise return turns out to be more complicated than Siegfried hoped. Photo Credit: Helen Williams; Playground Entertainment and MASTERPIECE

GREAT MIGRATIONS: A PEOPLE ON THE MOVE Tuesdays, January 28 - February 18 at 8pm From Emmy-nominated executive producer, host and writer Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., GREAT MIGRATIONS tells the story of African American movement over the 20th and 21st centuries, and how it has shaped our nation by exploring the meaning behind those movements. Gates interviews dozens of journalists, scholars, professors and experts. The series includes notable figures including political leader Stacey Abrams, artist George F. Baker III, journalist Charles Blow and more.

D2

WYES’ Events Support Quality PBS Programming, Award-Winning Local Documentaries and Cooking Series Tickets & Details at wyes.org/events.

FREE SCREENING Season 5 of MASTERPIECE "All Creatures Great & Small” Wednesday, January 8 at 6pm SPONSORED BY

Saturday, January 25 Sample king cakes and enjoy seminars in celebration of all things Carnival.

Friday, March 21 Home of Vince Liuzza & Frank Stuart 2047 Lakeshore Drive Mandeville Co-Chairs: Shelley & Guy Winstead

WYES WINE TASTING WITH RICK STEVES (VIA ZOOM) Tuesday, February 11 from 7-9pm $150

*Ticket sales end: Friday, January 17 at 4pm

Join renowned world traveler Rick Steves, via Zoom. Sip a flight of Italian wine and enjoy an unforgettable evening of wine education with Rick and a sommelier.

Thursday, May 8 Join us for a hootin’ good time at our biggest fundraiser of the year.

Andrea Bocelli Ticket Offer

The iconic Italian tenor returns to New Orleans with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra live in concert on Tuesday, June 10 at the Smoothie King Center.

The show will be conducted by Maestro Steven Mercurio. Your ticket purchase through WYES helps support our quality, award-winning local and PBS programming.

Call 504-486-5511 or visit wyes.org/donate and click ʻTicket Formʼ at the top of the page.

Seats go on sale February 6, 2025 at 8am at wyes.org for wine pairing dinners at the following outstanding local restaurants:

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

WYES-TV gratefully acknowledges memorial gifts received during this past year in loving memory or in honor of the following individuals: In memory of Mary Lou Conroy Bette Marks

In memory of Warren J. Milan, Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Cooper

In memory of Steve Hansel Anonymous Paula Kelly Meiners

In memory of Sharon Perlis & in honor of David G. Perlis and Debb Almeida Michael Patison

In memory of Roan Hausman Elsa Schneider

In memory of Alan Philipson Dr. Lesley and Mr. Jon Philipson

In Memory of Coleman Schneider, M.D. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Davis Mr. and Mrs. George Denegre, Jr. Robert Garon Mr. and Mrs. William L. Kohlmann Janie and Billy Rippner Michael R. Schneider Pam White Wendy and Scott Whittaker

WYES gratefully acknowledges these special gifts and respectfully honors the memory of or celebration of the named individuals.

For more information on making a memorial or celebration gift or a planned gift to WYES through your estate, contact Robin Cooper at (504) 486-5511 or rcooper@wyes.org.

Memorial contributions as of 12/5/2024

3 FRIDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm INFORMED SOURCES

1 WEDNESDAY 9:30am NEW ORLEANS: THE FIRST 300 YEARS 11am LOST RESTAURANTS OF NEW ORLEANS Noon NEW ORLEANS FOOD MEMORIES 1pm NEW ORLEANS RESTAURANTS WITH A PAST 2pm ALONG LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN

7pm GREAT PERFORMANCES “From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration” Experience this annual beloved concert from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Strauss. Conducted by Riccardo Muti for the seventh time, PBS favorite Hugh Bonneville returns to host.

Photo Credit: Dieter Nagl 8:30pm GREAT PERFORMANCES “From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration” 10pm BEST OF ROME NEW YEAR'S DAY PARADE takes viewers through the historic streets of one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In addition, there will be celebratory performances from bands and more on the Piazza Spagna.

9pm INDEPENDENT LENS “Dallas, 2019” (Pts. 1-5/5) The five-part series follows the harried lives of city workers, community organizers, and diverse citizens as they confront natural and human-made disasters, a struggling school system, and cycles of incarceration.

4 SATURDAY 6pm THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW “We Believe in Music” 7pm ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Let’s Celebrate!”

2 THURSDAY

8pm FINDING YOUR ROOTS “Hold the Laughter” The premiere of Season 11 begins on Tuesday, January 7 at 7pm.

7pm STEPPIN’ OUT 7:30pm BRITISH ANTIQUES ROADSHOW

4pm THE NEW DIVAS: LIVE IN VIENNA Enjoy five captivating young singers from around the world in a concert taped in Vienna in June 2023. Juliana Grigoryan, Lily Kerhoas, Larisa Martinez, Serena Sáenz and Sheléa perform classical, jazz, pop, opera and musical theatre selections.

8pm AGATHA CHRISTIE’S POIROT, SEASON 3 “How Does Your Garden Grow?”

(Pt. 1/10)

5pm LANG LANG: FAVORITE MELODIES Pianist Lang Lang journeys through his favorite melodies, including classical works and movie soundtracks.

10pm LUNA AND SOPHIE, SEASON 3 “It’s Your Fault” (Pt. 9/13)

6pm PBS NEWS HOUR

8:30pm FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER

11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 3pm LITERARY NEW ORLEANS Get a closeup look at the locally written word over a more than three-century history.

Produced and hosted by Peggy Scott Laborde.

8pm WASHINGTON WEEK WITH THE ATLANTIC

WYES-TV/CHANNEL 12 PROGRAM GUIDE | JANUARY 2025

7:30pm LOUISIANA: THE STATE WE’RE IN

9pm AMERICAN MASTERS “Roberta Flack” Discover music icon Roberta Flack’s rise to stardom and triumphs over racism and sexism.

9pm MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES, SEASON 3 “Murder and Mozzarella” (Pt. 3/8)

11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

10:30pm MY MUSIC WITH RHIANNON GIDDENS Grammy winner and MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Rhiannon Giddens hosts a new series of musical performance and conversation with outstanding guest artists.

11pm AUSTIN CITY LIMITS “Lyle Lovett and His Large Band”

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WYES-TV/CHANNEL 12 PROGRAM GUIDE | JANUARY 2025

WEEKDAYS ON

3pm MASTERPIECE “Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Season 4” (Pts. 4-6/6) MASTERPIECE “Miss Scarlet, Season 5” premieres next Sunday, January 12 at 7pm.

6pm AGATHA CHRISTIE’S POIROT, SEASON 3 “How Does Your Garden Grow?” (Pt. 1/10) 7pm DREAM OF ITALY: BOCELLI’S TUSCANY 7:30pm MASTERPIECE “All Creatures Great and Small, Season 4” (Pt. 7/7) Season 5 premieres next Sunday, January 12 at 8pm.

A six-time Emmy Award-winner, this daily half-hour animated series, based on Marc Brown's best-selling Arthur adventure books, shows how Arthur and his friends use effective, ageappropriate problem-solving skills.

5am ARTHUR

10am DONKEY HODIE

5:30am ODD SQUAD

10:30am PINKALICIOUS & PETERRIFIC

6:30am ALMA’S WAY 7am LYLA IN THE LOOP 7:30am CARL THE COLLECTOR 8am DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD

11am ELINOR WONDERS WHY 11:30am NATURE CAT NOON MOLLY OF DENALI 12:30pm XAVIER RIDDLE AND THE SECRET MUSEUM

8:30am ROSIE’S RULES

1pm DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD

9am SESAME STREET

1:30pm ARTHUR

9:30am WORK IT OUT WOMBATS!

trophy, and Winslow Homer watercolors, ca. 1879. One is between $180,000 to $320,000!

8pm ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Filoli” (Hour 1/3) 9pm MARDI GRAS: THE PASSING PARADE 10pm INDEPENDENT LENS “Minted” Explore the rise and fall of the NFT phenomenon that transformed the art world.

11:30pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

7 TUESDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR

ARTHUR 5am & 1:30pm

6am WILD KRATTS

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5 SUNDAY

PREMIERE 9pm VIENNA BLOOD, SEASON 4 “Mephisto Waltz” (Pt. 1/4) Season 4 finds the unlikely detective duo in Vienna in 1909, where the double murder of a senior public official and an arms dealer in police custody has shaken the city to its core. Freudian psychoanalyst Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard) has only just returned from a lecture tour in America when Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt (Juergen Maurer) asks for help in what could be the most dangerous case of their careers. Photo Credit: Petro Domenigg © 2024 Endor Productions / MR Film 10pm MASTERPIECE “Sherlock, Season 3” ‘His Last Vow’ (Pt. 3/3) 11:30pm SEASIDE HOTEL, SEASON 9 “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” in Danish with English subtitles.

6 MONDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art” (Hour 1/3) Kick off ROADSHOW’s all-new Season 29 with treasures that include a 1976 Marvel UK Super Spider-Man #175 cover art, a 1926 Rogers Hornsby sterling

NEW SEASON 7pm FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. “Larger Than Life” In addition to revealing the solution to a mystery that has haunted Gates’ family for generations, new episodes will feature an all-star line-up with 19 celebrity guests. In the first episode of Season 11, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces actors Lea Salonga and Amanda Seyfried to ancestors who are every bit as dramatic as the characters they’ve played on stage and screen, telling stories of relatives who survived heart-wrenching ordeals. Pictured: Tony winner for the original production of Miss Saigon, Lea Salonga 8pm LUCY WORSLEY INVESTIGATES “Jack the Ripper” (Pt. 1/4) In the first episode of the new series, Lucy Worsley asks, “How did the Jack the Ripper case shape the way true crime is covered today?”

Lucy investigates how these shocking killings created a world of entertainment based on murder.

9pm FRONTLINE “Maui’s Deadly Firestorm” 10pm WEST IS BURNING 11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

8 WEDNESDAY

side however, Duke has now been away in New York. Meanwhile, a new Detective Inspector comes to Scotland Yard and Eliza must navigate building a relationship with him if she’s going to continue having access to police resources. Photo Credit: Sever Zolak; Miss Scarlet Limited and MASTERPIECE

6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm NATURE “Attenborough and the Jurassic Sea Monster”

11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

9pm BEHIND THE SCENES OF LEONARDO DA VINCI WITH KEN BURNS Explore the making of the groundbreaking documentary about the artist’s towering achievements. Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon discuss their creative process and reveal the challenges of telling this 500-year-old story for today’s viewers. Photo Credit: Evan Barlow

9 THURSDAY

10:30pm STEPPIN’ OUT

6pm PBS NEWS HOUR

11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

7pm STEPPIN’ OUT

11 SATURDAY

9pm SECRETS OF THE DEAD “Abandoning the Titanic” 10pm THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS: A MEANINGFUL VICTORY

7:30pm BRITISH ANTIQUES ROADSHOW 8pm AGATHA CHRISTIE’S POIROT, SEASON 3 “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery” (Pt. 2/10) 9pm MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES, SEASON 3 “Blood & Money” (Pt. 4/8) 10pm LUNA AND SOPHIE, SEASON 3 “Loss” (Pt. 10/13) 11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

10 FRIDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR

6pm THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW “A Pretty Girl” 7pm ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art” (Hour 1/3) 8pm FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. “Larger Than Life” 9pm AMERICAN EXPERIENCE “The Busing Battleground” 11pm AUSTIN CITY LIMITS “Norah Jones/ Hurray for the Riff Raff”

12 SUNDAY

7pm INFORMED SOURCES

8:30pm FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER

8pm MASTERPIECE “All Creatures Great and Small, Season 5” ‘To All Our Boys’ (Pts. 1/7) It’s Spring 1941, and with World War II fully underway, we return to Darrowby, where baby Jimmy is keeping everyone at Skeldale House on their toes. Meanwhile, Tristan’s surprise return turns out to be more complicated than Siegfried hoped. Photo Credit: Helen Williams; Playground Entertainment and MASTERPIECE 9pm VIENNA BLOOD, SEASON 4 “A Winning Hand” (Pt. 2/4) A murder takes Oskar and Max’s investigation into a world of underground gambling.

10pm MASTERPIECE “Sherlock” ‘The Abominable Bride’ Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigate the case of Emilia Ricoletti, a woman who appears in the morgue the day after trying to shoot her husband on their anniversary.

11:30pm SEASIDE HOTEL, SEASON 9 “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” Danish with English subtitles.

13 MONDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art” (Hour 2/3)

7:30pm LOUISIANA: THE STATE WE’RE IN 8pm WASHINGTON WEEK WITH THE ATLANTIC

NEW SEASON

WYES-TV/CHANNEL 12 PROGRAM GUIDE | JANUARY 2025

8pm NOVA “Black Hole Apocalypse” (Pt. 1/2)

NEW SEASON 7pm MASTERPIECE “Miss Scarlet, Season 5” ‘The Rival’ (Pt. 1/6) Eliza’s agency is thriving, and her professional life is on a successful path – on the personal

8pm ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Filoli” (Hour 2/3)

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SATURDAYS ON

WYES-TV/CHANNEL 12 PROGRAM GUIDE | JANUARY 2025

HIGHLIGHT

10am THE DOOKY CHASE KITCHEN: LEAH’S LEGACY Meet members of the Chase family that are carrying on the legacy of Leah Chase, the “Queen of Creole Cuisine.” Each 30-minute episode explores a new take on Creole classics and a different chapter of the restaurant’s history. Pictured: Edgar “Dook” Chase IV and Cleo Robinson Photo Credit: Laura Combel

5am MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD 5:30am ARTHUR 6am WILD KRATTS 6:30am ALMA’S WAY 7am J. SCHWANKE’S LIFE IN BLOOM

10:30am CHEF PAUL PRUDHOMME'S ALWAYS COOKING 11am LIDIA’S KITCHEN 11:30am AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN FROM COOK’S ILLUSTRATED NOON COOK’S COUNTRY

7:30am 12:30pm WOODSMITH SHOP CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL'S MILK 8am STREET TELEVISION THIS OLD HOUSE 1pm 8:30am GREAT CHEFS ASK THIS OLD 1:30pm HOUSE SARA’S WEEKNIGHT MEALS 9am KITCHEN QUEENS: 2pm NEW ORLEANS THE KEY INGREDIENT WITH 9:30am SHERI CASTLE KEVIN BELTON’S COOKIN’ LOUISIANA 2:30pm MILK STREET'S MY 10am THE DOOKY CHASE FAMILY RECIPE KITCHEN: LEAH’S 3pm LEGACY VARIOUS PROGRAMMING 4pm NOVA

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DIAL 12 | January 2019

9pm RHYTHM KITCHEN explores the fusion of New Orleans food and music through the senses of chefs and musicians complemented with commentary from scholars, food critics and restaurateurs. Featuring chef Christopher Lynch, musician/ producer/educator Delfeayo Marsalis, culinary historian/author Zella Palmer and restaurateur Tony Tocco, the program spotlights the similarities in the creative process of chefs and musicians and how music brings an additional immersive sense to the food experience when one hears the music and tastes the food. Produced

by Michael Murphy Productions.

9:30pm A PLACE OF HOPE: THE NATIONAL SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR 10pm INDEPENDENT LENS “Without Arrows” 11:30pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

14 TUESDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. “La Famiglia” explores the Italian roots of talk show host Joy Behar and actor Michael Imperioli.

8pm LUCY WORSLEY INVESTIGATES “William the Conqueror” (Pt. 2/4)

individuals from diverse backgrounds who pursued the American dream and contributed to the fabric of our nation—from Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (pictured), who arrived from Italy in 1889, to Maria Daume, who was adopted from a Russian orphanage in 2002 and became the first female Marine to earn a traditional infantry title. Features commentary from New Orleans native Walter Isaacson.

10:30pm 89TH ANNUAL ANISFIELD-WOLF BOOK AWARDS 11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

15 WEDNESDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm NATURE “Patrick and the Whale” 8pm NOVA “Black Hole Universe” (Pt.2/2) 9pm SECRETS OF THE DEAD “Death in Britannia” 10pm AUDUBON PARK MEMORIES 11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

16 THURSDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm STEPPIN’ OUT 7:30pm BRITISH ANTIQUES ROADSHOW 8pm AGATHA CHRISTIE’S POIROT, SEASON 3 “The Plymouth Express” (Pt. 3/10) 9pm MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES, SEASON 3 “Death & Hysteria” (Pt. 5/8)

HIGHLIGHT

10pm LUNA AND SOPHIE, SEASON 3 “False Shame” (Pt. 11/13)

9pm JOURNEY TO AMERICA: WITH NEWT AND CALLISTA GINGRICH celebrates the achievements of nine

11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

17 FRIDAY

19 SUNDAY

6pm PBS NEWS HOUR

7pm MASTERPIECE “Miss Scarlet, Season 5” ‘The Guild’ (Pt. 2/6) Eliza is tasked with solving the murder of a high-profile private detective with a closet full of skeletons.

7:30pm LOUISIANA: THE STATE WE’RE IN

9pm VIENNA BLOOD, SEASON 4 “The Enemy Within” (Pt. 3/4)

8pm WASHINGTON WEEK WITH THE ATLANTIC

10pm THE STONE OF HOPE: MOVING THE DREAM FORWARD

8:30pm FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER 9pm LEONARDO DA VINCI “The Disciple of Experience” (Pt. 1/2) explores the life and work of the 15th century polymath.

Directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon.

11pm STEPPIN’ OUT 11:30pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

18 SATURDAY 6pm THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW “Country Hoedown” 7pm ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art” (Hour 2/3) 8pm FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. “La Famiglia” 9pm THE BLACK CHURCH: THIS IS OUR STORY, THIS IS OUR SONG (Pt. 1/2) 11pm AUSTIN CITY LIMITS “The Avett Brothers” The band takes the stage for their third headlining appearance on ACL. Hear songs from their first album in five years, produced by longtime collaborator Rick Rubin.

9pm LOUISIANA INVENTORS AND INNOVATORS Producer, writer, editor and narrator of the film, Dennis Woltering, profiles six inventors and innovators including David Oreck, Ruth Fertel, J.M. Lapeyre, Alden “Doc” Laborde, Jerome Goldman and Madam C.J. Walker. The documentary shares their stories of success and celebrates the power of creativity and the human spirit.

11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

WYES-TV/CHANNEL 12 PROGRAM GUIDE | JANUARY 2025

7pm INFORMED SOURCES WYES’ longest running series, now in its 40th year, continues to share the top news stories in our area. Marcia Kavanaugh is host. Errol Laborde is producer and panelist.

8pm MASTERPIECE “All Creatures Great and Small, Season 5” ‘Holding the Baby’ (Pts. 2/7) Baby Jimmy joins James and Carmody on their rounds.

Helen is surprised to find Jenny with a new best friend. Mrs. Hall starts her job as an ARP Warden and tries to keep the peace between Siegfried and the overly assertive Mr. Bosworth when tragedy strikes.

21 TUESDAY 10pm MASTERPIECE “Sherlock, Season 4” ‘The Six Thatchers’ (Pt. 1/3) Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) waits to see where Moriarty (Toby Jones) will make his posthumous move. One mysterious case in particular baffles Scotland Yard, but Sherlock is more interested in a seemingly trivial detail.

Why is someone destroying images of the late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher?

Photo Credit: Hartswood Films 2016 11:30pm SEASIDE HOTEL, SEASON 9 “A Lady Tour” Danish with English subtitles.

20 MONDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art” (Hour 3/3) 8pm ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Filoli” (Hour 3/3)

6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. “Stranger Than Fiction” Revelations revealed in the ancestry of novelist Amy Tan and poet Rita Dove.

8pm LUCY WORSLEY INVESTIGATES “The Gunpowder Plot” (Pt. 3/4) 9pm FRONTLINE "Trump's Comeback" 10pm JESSE VENTURA SHOCKS THE WORLD 11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

22 WEDNESDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm NATURE “Big Cats, Small World: Landlords” (Pt. 1/2)

D9

WYES-TV/CHANNEL 12 PROGRAM GUIDE | JANUARY 2025

SUNDAYS ON

9pm SECRETS OF THE DEAD “World War Speed” 10pm RHYTHM KITCHEN explores the fusion of New Orleans food and music through the senses of chefs and musicians.

1:30pm SAMANTHA BROWN'S PLACES TO LOVE On Sunday, January 12th’s episode, Samantha heads to New Orleans. On her journey highlights include: City Park, beignets at Cafe Du Monde, the National WWII Museum, Hansen's Sno-Bliz, jazz at Dew Drop Inn and more. She even makes her way to Covington and Abita springs.

5am MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD 5:30am ARTHUR 6am WILD KRATTS 6:30am ALMA’S WAY 7am LYLA IN THE LOOP 7:30am CARL THE COLLECTOR 8am WASHINGTON WEEK WITH THE ATLANTIC 8:30am LOUISIANA: THE STATE WE’RE IN 9am FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER

D10

8pm NOVA “What are UFOs?” In an allnew season of NOVA, Unidentified Flying Objects have long captivated the imagination of the public, but for decades most scientists treated the subject as taboo. Now, these mysterious phenomena are moving out of the shadows and into the light, as NASA pledges to study them scientifically.

10:30pm THE BIG CHIEFS OF CARNIVAL: SPIRIT LEADS MY NEEDLE 11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

23 THURSDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm STEPPIN’ OUT

8pm WASHINGTON WEEK WITH THE ATLANTIC 8:30pm FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER 9pm LEONARDO DA VINCI “Painter-God” (Pt. 2/2) Leonardo designs fanciful flying machines, studies light and shadow, investigates gravity, dissects cadavers, and pours the sum of his scientific and artistic knowledge into a portrait that would become the most famous painting on earth.

11pm STEPPIN’ OUT 11:30pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

25 SATURDAY 6pm THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW “Salute to the Big Bands” 7pm ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art” (Hour 3/3)

9:30am INFORMED SOURCES

7:30pm BRITISH ANTIQUES ROADSHOW

8pm FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. “Stranger Than Fiction”

10am VARIOUS PROGRAMMING

8pm AGATHA CHRISTIE’S POIROT, SEASON 3 “Wasps’ Nest” (Pt. 4/10)

9pm THE BLACK CHURCH: THIS IS OUR STORY, THIS IS OUR SONG (Pt. 2/2)

11am KEVIN BELTON’S COOKIN’ LOUISIANA

9pm MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES, SEASON 3 “Death at the Grand” (Pt. 6/8)

11:30am THE DOOKY CHASE KITCHEN: LEAH’S LEGACY

10pm LUNA AND SOPHIE, SEASON 3 “Hatred is My Hobby” (Pt. 12/13)

11pm AUSTIN CITY LIMITS “Mickey Guyton/ Carin Leon” Country artist Mickey Guyton performs hits and highlights from “House on Fire”; global Latin performer Carín León presents songs from “Boca Cueca Vol. 1.”

NOON ANTIQUES ROADSHOW 1pm RICK STEVES’ EUROPE 1:30pm SAMANTHA BROWN'S PLACES TO LOVE

11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

24 FRIDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm INFORMED SOURCES 7:30pm LOUISIANA: THE STATE WE’RE IN

26 SUNDAY 7pm MASTERPIECE “Miss Scarlet, Season 5” ‘The Thames Reaper’ (Pt. 3/6) With a notorious serial killer on the loose Eliza is caught in the middle of a clash between Fleet Street and Scotland Yard.

8pm MASTERPIECE “All Creatures Great and Small, Season 5” ‘Homecoming’ (Pts. 3/7) Jimmy’s Christening Day is interrupted by a surprise visitor, and Siegfried struggles to keep a promise.

HIGHLIGHT

SEASON FINALE

10pm MASTERPIECE “Sherlock, Season 4” ‘The Lying Detective’ (Pt. 2/3) 11:30pm SEASIDE HOTEL, SEASON 9 Danish with English subtitles.

27 MONDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Springs Preserve” (Hour 1/3) 8pm ANTIQUES ROADSHOW “Sante Fe’s Museum Hill” (Hour 2/3) 9pm RESISTANCE: THEY FOUGHT BACK provides a much-needed corrective to this myth of Jewish passivity. There were uprisings in ghettos large and small, rebellions in death camps, and thousands of Jews fought Nazis in the forests. Everywhere in Eastern Europe, Jews waged campaigns of non-violent resistance against the Nazis.

10:30pm JEWISH NEW ORLEANS 11:30pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

28 TUESDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. “Dreamers One and All”

8pm GREAT MIGRATIONS: A PEOPLE ON THE MOVE “Exodus” (Pt. 1/4) is a new fourpart docuseries from Emmy nominated executive producer, host, and writer Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The series tells the story of African American movement over the 20th and 21st centuries, and how it has shaped our nation by exploring the meaning behind those movements. The first episode explores the initial wave of the Great Migration (1910–1940), when more than a million Black Americans fled the Jim Crow South for the promised lands of the North, forever changing the country and themselves. Pictured: cotton pickers standing outside of a shed Photo Credit: Library of Congress 9pm ICONIC AMERICA: OUR SYMBOLS AND STORIES WITH DAVID RUBENTEIN “The Statue of Liberty” 10pm SECRETS OF THE DEAD “Ben Franklin’s Bones” 11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

29 WEDNESDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm NATURE “Big Cats, Small World: Outlanders” (Pt. 2/2)

7pm STEPPIN’ OUT Host and producer Peggy Scott Laborde welcomes regular guests Poppy Tooker, Alan Smason, plus new roundtable visitors every week to discuss New Orleans restaurants, arts and entertainment. Never miss an episode.

Watch every episode on WYES’ YouTube channel. Pictured: Peggy Scott Laborde talks with one of the founding members of the Meters, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, and his band.

7:30pm BRITISH ANTIQUES ROADSHOW 8pm AGATHA CHRISTIE’S POIROT, SEASON 3 “The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor” (Pt. 5/10) 9pm MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES, SEASON 3 “Game, Set & Murder” (Pt. 7/8) 10pm LUNA AND SOPHIE, SEASON 3 “Kisses in St. Tropez” (Pt. 13/13) 11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

31 FRIDAY 6pm PBS NEWS HOUR 7pm INFORMED SOURCES

8pm NOVA “Extreme Airport Engineering”

7:30pm LOUISIANA: THE STATE WE’RE IN

9pm SECRETS OF THE DEAD

8pm WASHINGTON WEEK WITH THE ATLANTIC

10pm BLAINE KERN: THEY CALL HIM MR. MARDI GRAS Chronicles the life story of the legendary float builder.

WYES-TV/CHANNEL 12 PROGRAM GUIDE | JANUARY 2025

9pm VIENNA BLOOD, SEASON 4 “The Face of Mephisto” (Pt. 4/4) Still in hiding, Oskar identifies high-powered suspects but can’t connect them to Mephisto.

When Oskar arranges a rendezvous with Mephisto, he finds himself in the middle of an assassination attempt that could precipitate a world war. Photo Credit: Petro Domenigg © 2024 Endor Productions / MR Film

8:30pm FIRING LINE WITH MARGARET HOOVER

11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

9pm THOMAS JEFFERSON “Life/Liberty: Our Sacred Honor” (Pt. 1 of 2)

30 THURSDAY

10:30pm STEPPIN’ OUT

6pm PBS NEWSHOUR

11pm AMANPOUR AND COMPANY

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D12

Insincerely Yours

Dear NFL Headquarters, New York City, So? Are you ready for some football? Some world-class, championship-caliber, Super Bowl football?

Us, too. The last time we in New Orleans were this starved for sustained gridiron excellence, we were being led by that Ditka fellow – perhaps the only man who could make Saints fans reflect on the Bum Phillips years with wistful nostalgia.

But while we would certainly rather see the home team playing in Super Bowl LIX, we are nonetheless atingle about the opportunity to welcome you and your fans to what is undeniably the greatest of Super Bowl host cities.

When toe meets leather on Feb. 9, it will mark the 11th time the city has hosted the Super Bowl, tied for the most with Miami. It will also widen the Superdome’s lead as the most frequent single host venue, with eight games to its credit.

(Miami’s current stadium is second, with six.)

So, yes, we own but one Lombardi Trophy (for now), but we know a thing or two about the big game. We also know how to throw a humdinger of a tailgate,

Ask Mike

Have a question or a thought to share about New Orleans etiquette or tradition? I’d love to hear it. Email it to mike@ myneworleans.com

BY MIKE SCOTT/ ART BY AMBER DAY

Super Bowl City Hosting the big game

as you and your legion of fans are about to find out.

But before they pack their carpetbags and head to the airport, there are a few eccentricities about our fair city they should know about. Here are 10: When someone inevitably approaches you on the street and bets you they can tell you “where you got your shoes at,” the best response is to keep moving while offering a knowing smile and the words, “I’m local.”

Take a lesson from the Swiftie invasion of the city during Tay Tay’s three-night stand at the Superdome last October and be friendly. Be gracious. Be joyful. You will be rewarded in-kind.

That was not a cockroach. It was a palmetto bug.

That probably was a rat, though.

At some point, someone may call you “baby.” It might be the cashier at the mini-mart. It might be your waiter.

It might be the “I know where you got them shoes at” guy. Do not be offended.

Be flattered. Here, “baby” – particularly with the first syllable drawn out an

88 JANUARY 2025 / MYNEWORLEANS.COM

extra beat – is a non-gender-specific term of endearment. You just made a friend.

Do not disparage, deride or otherwise denigrate the Saints. Not even playfully.

You might hear us doing it, but you are no more allowed to trash-talk the black and gold than we are to bring up how ugly your sister is.

Your most graceful tactic when the Saints’ maddening futility is broached is to shake your head sympathetically and pivot to adulation for Drew Brees, Archie Manning or Steve Gleason.

You might offer a “just wait until next year,” although don’t expect universal agreement. We live on faith and hope, but we are not delusional.

Feel free to troll the Falcons any chance you get, though. (#28-3.)

We eschew compass directions here. Instead, we use river side, lake side, upriver and downriver.

Mind you, the actual direction of each changes depending on where you’re standing at any given moment (and, to a lesser degree, how many

hurricanes you have imbibed).

You won’t figure it out before you leave. Trust us. Some of us haven’t figured it out in a lifetime.

Tip your bartender.

And finally, if you heed only one tip from this list, let it be this: Extend your stay an extra day or two.

Make no mistake, the big game will be a spectacle. The French Quarter and Central Business District will be crackling with good cheer and craziness. You will see (and probably smell) things you will never forget.

But the rest of the city awaits.

If you do not stick around to see it after the game, you will miss the real New Orleans.

So, take a spin on the St. Charles Avenue streetcar. Sip a cocktail on the porch at The Columns.

Climb aboard the Creole Queen for a ride down the Mississippi to Chalmette Battlefield.

Go shopping on Magazine Street. Check out Audubon Zoo. Do Dooky’s.

Stroll through the City Park sculpture garden. Get lost in the National World War II Museum.

Appreciate the skyline from the Pontchartrain Hotel’s rooftop bar.

Above all: Enjoy yourself.

Always for pleasure, that’s our ethos.

We look forward to bringing it to Santa Clara when the Saints play in next year’s Super Bowl.

OK, so maybe we are a little delusional.

Insincerely yours, New Orleans