New Orleans Magazine October 2015

OCTOBER 2015

myneworleans.com $4.95 m h t fro wi ” t ve ic a i “L Bo on m ntshow ar : S ilh rese p ter Ph V k n T S- Ce Yor YE n W col New Lin the

OCTOBER 2015 / VOLUME 50 / NUMBER 1 Editor-in-Chief Errol Laborde Managing Editor Morgan Packard Art Director Tiffani Reding Amedeo Contributing Editor Liz Scott Monaghan Food Edit­or Dale Curry Dining Edit­or Jay Forman Wine and Spirits Edit­or Tim McNally Restaurant Reporter Robert Peyton Home Editor Bonnie Warren web Editor Kelly Massicot Staff Writer Melanie Warner Spencer Interns Lani Griffith SALES MANAGER Kate Sanders (504) 830-7216 / Kate@MyNewOrleans.com Senior Account Executive Jonée Daigle Ferrand, Lisa Picone Love Account Executives Sarah Daigle, Brittany Gilbert

Production Manager Staci McCarty Production Designers Monique DiPietro, Claire Geary, Antoine Passelac, Ali Sullivan traffic coordinator Jessica DeBold Chief Executive Officer Todd Matherne President Alan Campell Executive VICE PRESIDENT Errol Laborde Vice President of Sales Colleen Monaghan DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND EVENTS Cheryl Lemoine Distribution Manager John Holzer Administrative Assistant Denise Dean SUBSCRIPTIONS Sara Kelemencky WYES DIAL 12 STAFF (504) 486-5511 Executive Editor Beth Arroyo Utterback Managing Editor Aislinn Hinyup Associate Editor Robin Cooper Art Director Jenny Hronek

NEW ORLEANS MAGAZINE Printed in USA A Publication of Renaissance Publishing 110 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Suite 123 Metairie, LA 70005 Subscriptions: (504) 830-7231

MyNewOrleans.com

New Orleans Magazine (ISSN 0897 8174) is published monthly by Renaissance Publishing, LLC., 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005; (504) 828-1380.

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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.

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contents

Special thanks to Stanton Murray at Murray Yacht Sales, who captained our crew on this Beneteau Sense 55 on the perfect Lake Pontchartrain sunset cruise. Model Kirsten Rinck for Wilhelmina Miami; Stylist, Lisa Tudor; Hair by Niki Walker for Niki Walker Salon; Makeup by Meggan Dupre Ory. Wardrobe at Stonefree. On the cover, Kirsten tops black bikini bottoms by Frankie’s Bikinis with a Free People tweed pullover.

58 FEATURES

IN EVERY ISSUE

ON THE COVER

58

Making Waves

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INSIDE

A guide to the lake and its shores

By Lauren LaBorde

“Salt On a Melon”

66

Family Matters

Local businesses that keep close to home

By Judi Russell

From flyboarding and sailing to crabbing and fishing, and where to go and what to eat along the way, if you’re looking to spend some time on and along Lake Pontchartrain, begin with our guide starting on pg. 58.

76

Black Vs. Blue

Forty-five years ago the Black Panthers and New Orleans Police had a tense standoff; amazingly, it ended non-violently

By Orissa Arend

18 speaking out

Editorial, plus a Mike Luckovich cartoon 20

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Questions and answers about our city

167 Try This

“A Walk Among Saints & Sinners”

168 STREETCAR

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JULIA STREET

“Whispers From the Gods”

Photographed by Marianna Massey

contents

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54

96

THE BEAT

LOCAL COLOR

THE MENU

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MARQUEE

42

IN TUNE

96

table talk

Entertainment calendar

“A Flush Fall”

“Small Hotels; Big Flavors”

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PERSONA

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98 restaurant insider

Susan Larson: Host, “The Reading Life”

Read & Spin

A look at the latest albums and books

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Biz “Water: Can’t live with it, can’t live without it”

46

JAZZ LIFE

100 FOOD

“Henry Butler: One who got away”

30

education

48

MODINE’S NEW ORLEANS

102 LAST CALL

“A meditation on E. L. Doctorow”

“Troubles With Trackers”

32

HEALTH

50

Joie d’Eve

104 DINING GUIDE

“A Fish Tale”

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HEALTHBEAT

The latest news in health from New Orleans and beyond

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HOME

34

crime fighting

“Vincent Saia and Glynn Stephens enjoy a dream come true.”

“The Mayor’s Unfinished ‘Portrait’”

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CHRONICLES

“Good to the Last Bite”

“Halloween Sugar Rush”

52

me again

“In the Bushes”

El Pavo Real, Palms and Jack and Jake’s

“Falling Into Soup”

A new Manhattan

DIAL 12 D1 The 2015 PBS Arts Fall Festival returns for its fifth season on Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. on WYES-TV/Channel 12 with “Unity – The Latin Tribute to

Michael Jackson,” hosted by Sheila E. “Live from Lincoln Center: Kern & Hammerstein’s Show Boat in Concert with the New York Philharmonic” airs Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. and features an all-star cast led by Vanessa Williams and “Downton Abbey’s” Julian Ovenden, as well as Norm Lewis, Jane Alexander, Fred Willard and Lauren Worsham. Billy Elliot the Musical comes to “Great Performances” from London’s West End on Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. Audiences will be put in the Halloween spirit on Oct. 30 at 9 p.m., when Live from Lincoln Center presents “Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton” featuring scores from Batman, Beetlejuice, Alice in Wonderland and more.

WYES will begin taking reservations for the 24th annual WYES Season of Good Tastes on Thurs., Oct. 8 (call 840-4886). Restaurants participating (now through January) are: Brown Butter Southern Kitchen & Bar, Pelican Bar, Sac-A-Lait, Feelings Cafe & Patio Bar, Dickie Brennan’s Tableau, Restaurant R’evolution and Avo. Menus available at WYES.org.

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inside

Salt On a Melon

O

ne if my earliest sensory memories from the lakefront is of salt – not from the saltwater, but from the watermelon. When I was a kid, a thing for the family to do on warm summer evenings was to take a ride along the shore. There was always a sense of adventure as we drove past the seawall, where the sights included groups of people dangling nets for crabs. I thought all crabs had blue tips – not knowing how prized the lake’s “Louisiana blues” were. While the crabbers hoped that some unsuspecting crustacean would fall for the raw chicken necks pinned in their net, an occasional blast of heat lightening in the distance added drama to the night. On the far side of our ocean was Mandeville, which always seemed vulnerable to the strobe lights in the sky.

Our side was much more passive. Along the winding way was a shelter house where watermelon was sold by the slice. Picnic tables provided an encampment. For us growing kids, a rite of passage was graduating from half-slices to full slices. I do not remember how we handled the seeds, but being kids I suspect many became projectiles shot through our lips into the night. Perhaps in some levee crevice an aged watermelon vine still spreads.

Most unusual, at least to me, about the act of watermelon eating was the practice of sprinkling salt on the slices – everybody did it.

Salt on a watermelon was like powdered sugar on a beignet – an accepted norm. I never understood why.

In those pre-Internet days we had to accept abridged answers from adults, such as “Just because …” Now there are pages of discussion on such topics: The reason for salt we are told is that it makes the watermelon taste sweeter by drawing moisture from the melon, thus allowing more of the sweet taste.

(My own observation is that salt makes the watermelon taste saltier by providing more salt on the watermelon, but then again I am no scientist.)

These days, when we know more about hardened arteries and high blood pressure, watermelon has become more salt-free.

(Think about it – if water quenches thirst, what is the purpose of putting something on it that cause more thirst?) Melons have also become more slice-free. Now they can be bought at the supermarket chopped in cubes and packed in plastic containers. Somehow that just doesn’t seem right at a lakefront picnic table.

Our lakeshore drive always ended alongside Pontchartrain Beach amusement park, where traffic would slow to watch the Zephyr roller coaster gradually climb to its highest point and then suddenly lunge downward at a speed seemingly faster than any human had ever travelled. We could hear the people on board scream, except when we were screaming, too.

Between the crabbers and the Zephyr riders and the salt on the melon, this was a lot to experience for one night – and the lightening gave warning that there might be more adventure to come.

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on the web New Orleans Magazine’s Biggest Saints Fan Photo Contest The New Orleans Magazine’s Biggest Saints Fan contest ran in conjunction with the New Orleans Saints preseason football schedule during the month of August. Many participants “liked” the New Orleans Magazine Facebook page and sent in their fan photos.

THE WINNER IS: Suzette Flores and her pictured grandsons.

Flores believes she’s the biggest Saints fan. She began watching games as a child along with her mother. She says she “raised her children right” and now they represent New Orleans from Virginia to Florida. Her family now has a new generation following in her fan footsteps.

facebook.com/NewOrleansMagazine | twitter.com/neworleansmag | pinterest.com/neworleansmag 14

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meet our sales team

Colleen Monaghan Vice President of Sales (504) 830-7215 Colleen@myneworleans.com

Kate Sanders Sales Manager (504) 830-7216 Kate@myneworleans.com

Jonee Daigle-Ferrand Senior Account Executive (504) 830-7257 Jonee@myneworleans.com

Lisa Picone Love Senior Account Executive (504) 830-7263 Lisa@myneworleans.com

Sarah Favret Daigle Account Executive (504) 830-7220 SarahD@myneworleans.com

Brittany Gilbert Account Executive (504) 830-7298 BrittanyG@myneworleans.com

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SPEAKING OUT

Monumental Judgements Keep Lee and Beauregard; Lose Davis and Liberty Place

W

e have a proposal for the current controversy about removing monuments linked to the Civil War: Keep the Lee and Beauregard statues. If something must be done – and once these types of issues start it is hard to reverse them, if for no other reason than media coverage – remove the monuments of Jeff Davis and Liberty Place.

Lee is a complex figure who, it is well documented, opposed slavery. He was in the war because he would not take up arms against his native Virginia at a time when states were given higher status than their nation. (Hence the name “United States.”) After the war he worked diligently to get Confederate soldiers to lay down their arms and to restore the Union. His life represents the changes from an old world agricultural economy to the emerging industrial

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age. To dismiss him because of stereotypes is unfair; to understand him in the context of the times is enlightened.

P.G.T. Beauregard, the one person represented among the endangered monuments who was a native of the New Orleans area, proved to be a good citizen after the war. He worked diligently for unification, including desegregation of schools and transportation. He helped build streetcar lines and railroads.

He was selected to be a supervisor of the Louisiana lottery partially because his name evoked so much trust. Later in his career, he was appointed Adjutant General of the Louisiana National Guard.

Beauregard’s equestrian statue at the entrance of City Park is among the most handsome of all local monuments.

Esteemed New York artist Alexander Doyle agreed to create the statue. (According to a newly formed group trying

the save the statue, Doyle accepted a low fee because of his acquaintance with the general.)

To generations of New Orleanians, the statues of Lee and Beauregard are not about a war fought long ago; rather they are part of the backdrop of two grand vistas in the city: St. Charles Avenue as seen from Lee Circle and the gateway to City Park as seen from Beauregard Circle.

Less can be said about Jeff Davis, the President of the Confederacy. He did spend his last days in New Orleans, where he died and was entombed briefly at the Metairie Cemetery. General Beauregard, we suspect, would have been fully supportive of removing Davis’ monument because the two men despised each other, each blaming the other for losing the war. Beauregard, as the ranking former Confederate general in town was asked to lead Davis’ funeral procession, but he refused by pointing to their mutual dislike. Other than his having purchased the Beauvoir mansion in Biloxi, there is little about him that speaks of the history or culture of the city.

By contrast, the monument of the Battle of Liberty Place does speak of an historic showdown, which was really about locals trying to regain control from the rule of carpetbaggers and northern Republicans, some of whom were black, thus giving the incident a racial edge. Through the years, some unfortunate language about white superiority was etched in, though later removed. The monument, which was originally on Canal Street, has already been punished for its mixed message and removed to a spot between Canal Place and the railroad track. At that time more politically correct language was added, but the monument cannot escape its past. Sooner or later, it is doomed.

Finally, we question the use of the word “nuisance” when applied to this debate.

That word has been given legal standing from previous discussions involving the Liberty Place monument. Merriam-Webster defines the word as “harm, injury : one that is annoying, unpleasant, or obnoxious : pest.” A true nuisance is an expanding pothole; an over-eager parking ticket writer; a missing street sign. The monuments might be controversial, but they are not nuisances.

We urge that the debate be reopened. n

AN ORIGINAL ©MIKE LUCKOVICH CARTOON FOR NEW ORLEANS MAGAZINE

myneworleans.com / OCTOBER 2015

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JULIA STREET /

WITH POYDRAS THE PARROT

TH E PUR S UIT TO AN S W E R E T E RNA L Q U E S TION S

Dickey’s Potato Chip Factory , 501 Elysian Fields Ave. November 1956

Dear Julia, I fondly remember Dickey’s potato chips but know nothing about the company itself. When and where did they begin? Did they make anything other than potato chips?

Richard Hayeed New Orleans In 1922, Mississippi native William W. Dickey (1899-1972) founded the Dickey’s Potato Chip Company and began selling its Vita-Seald™ chips from a shop at 131 South Rampart St. By the early ’40s, the little potato chip company had grown in popularity and set up business at 1523 Canal St., before moving

into a manufacturing plant and retail store at 1407 Canal St. In ’45, Dickey’s built a new factory, moving its headquarters to the corner of Elysian Fields Avenue and Decatur Street.

Although most often remembered for their potato chips, Dickey’s also produced other products. These included corn chips, Julienne potatoes and Krun-Cheez™ brand cheese snacks.

In 1956, Dickey’s Potato Chip Company became the Dickey Foods Division of the Sunshine Biscuit Company. Although Dickey Foods continued operating following its founder’s retirement and death, the brand appears to have gone out of existence in the ’80s.

Dear Julia, My friends and I greatly enjoy the YLC’s Wednesday at the Square series, unfortunately now over for the year. Lafayette Square is only a block Uptown from the street named for our favorite parrot.

We are used to the trick question, “Where is the statue of Lafayette in Lafayette Square?” Of course there is none. There is a statue of the great statesman and inventor Benjamin Franklin, the statue of Henry Clay, which many years ago used to be on Canal Street, and a charming bust of John McDonogh surrounded by children, but no Lafayette statue.

I got to wondering, in a city where the memory of the Marquis de Lafayette is so highly revered that a street and a charming park (square) are named for him, why not a statue? There is also alleged to be a city somewhere in Louisiana named for him, but where’s the statue to this man? Lafayette should always be remembered for the aid he brought to our infant nation in its most desperate time, in our war for independence from the British. But is there

Win a restaurant gift certificate

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Here is a chance to eat, drink and have your curiosity satiated all at once. Send Julia a question. If we use it, you’ll be eligible for a monthly drawing for a tour and Creole breakfast for two at Degas House or a Jazz Brunch for two at The Court of Two Sisters. To take part, send your question to: Julia Street, c/o New Orleans Magazine, 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005 or email: Errol@MyNewOrleans.com. This month’s winners are Rosie Agee, Harvey; and Richard Hayeed, New Orleans.

OCTOBER 2015 / myneworleans.com

photo courtesy of the Charles L. Franck Studio Collection at The Historic New Orleans Collection

a statue? I know pigeons are more expert when it comes to statues, but Poydras surely can help find this statue if it exists.

Rosie Agee Harvey There were, in fact, two Louisiana cities named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette.

One, of course, is the Acadiana city that was originally known as Vermilionville. The other was around for only about 19 years. Incorporated in 1833 as a Jefferson Parish city lying between Felicity Road and Toledano Street on the outskirts of New Orleans, the City of Lafayette was annexed to the City of New Orleans in 1852, becoming the city’s 4th Municipal District.

The Marquis de Lafayette may not be depicted in local outdoor sculpture, but he has been memorialized in a piece of publicly owned art. A sculpture showing the uppermost part of his body has been state property for more than half a century. In February 1964, Freemasons from the Sesquicentennial Committee of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana donated to the Louisiana State Museum a bronze bust honoring the Marquis de Lafayette. But a bronze bust in a museum isn’t quite the same as a bigger-than-life statue in a public square.

Dear Julia and Poydras, I remember reading somewhere that the neutral ground in front of Gretna City Hall was once called Logical Point Park, but nobody can tell me why such a peculiar name was chosen for a public park. I can’t think of any logical reason why “Logical Point” might be a catchy and appropriate name. I hope you can shed some light on this mystery.

Sharon Kitsell Harvey

The name referred to a pre-World War I promotional campaign. Beginning around 1910, the New Orleans area lobbied very hard in an effort to be selected as the host city for the ’15 Panama Exposition, a world’s fair which would celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. There was a Logical Point monthly magazine, a Logical Point Pleasure Club in Algiers and Logical Point Park in Gretna as groups all over the metropolitan area jumped on the promotional bandwagon and proclaimed the hot new “Logical Point” slogan.

New Orleans, its neighbors and supporters proclaimed, was the “Logical Point” to host the 1915 world’s fair. It was felt that the city’s proximity to the Panama Canal, then under construction, was a key selling point. Moreover, promoters praised New Orleans’ central location, port facilities and rail connections as factors that placed the Crescent City in an ideal position as a preferred travel, trade and distribution hub to serve new trade routes and markets expected to emerge upon the opening of the Panama Canal. In other words, it was hoped that anyone crossing the Gulf to Mexico to conduct business would find New Orleans to be the “Logical Point” to make travel and trade connections.

Gretna officials formally dedicated Logical Point Park on Sept. 5, 1910. It was located on the Copernicus Avenue neutral ground in front of Gretna City Hall. Copernicus Avenue was later renamed Huey P. Long Avenue.

Despite strong efforts to lure the Panama Exposition to New Orleans, the 1915 expo was instead awarded to rival bidder San Francisco, which hosted the Panama-Pacific International Exposition from Feb. 20 through Dec. 4 of that year. n myneworleans.com / OCTOBER 2015

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the beat MARQUEE / PERSONA / BIZ / EDUCATION / HEALTH / CRIME FIGHTING / CHRONICLES

persona pg. 26

“Usually I can read one (book) in the morning and one in the afternoon. I was the judge for the Putlizers for a few years, and I had to read 300 books in six months. You get really focused and you learn to read like it’s your religion.” – Susan Larson

GREG MILES PHOTOGRAPH

THE BEAT / MARQUEE

OUR TOP PICKS FOR OCTOBER EVENTS

BY LAUREN LABORDE

Beauty and the Beasts

Celluloid Celebration

Start the Ignition

Even amid the Hollywood South boom, the 2012 film Beasts of the Southern Wild was a rarity: It’s a movie made in Louisiana, about Louisiana, featuring Louisiana actors. Nominated for four Academy Awards, the magical realist drama centers on a fictitious Louisiana bayou community called “Bathtub” and a strong-willed 6-year-old named Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) and her father Wink (Dwight Henry, of buttermilk Drop fame).

Propelling the film is an exuberant score by Lafayette band Lost Bayou Ramblers. On Oct. 10, the Saenger Theater is hosting the New York-based Wordless Music Orchestra’s screening of the film, accompanied by a live performance of director’s Benh Zeitlin’s score by that group and the Lost Bayou Ramblers. It promises to be a wild experience. Information, SaengerNOLA.com

The New Orleans Film Festival typically opens with a bang, screening the big-ticket film of the fest. But this year the opening night promises even more glitz, as it will be held at the newly restored Orpheum Theater. This year’s fest (Oct. 14-22) also has another first: This year’s documentary short category is Oscar-qualifying. Featuring 24 films selected for competition, the 26th annual fest will take place in venues across the city. Information, NewOrleansFilmSociety.org

The creators of the sci-fi Carnival parade Chewbacchus are creating a Burning Man in New Orleans, except here, the “desert” is New Orleans East, it’s only two days long and you don’t have to rely on the barter system (there will be food trucks). Ignition Festival (Oct. 15-17) promises “collaborative art and camping” and a Wookie effigy that will be burned. Information, IgnitionFestival.com

CALENDAR Oct. 1-11. Hell Yes Fest comedy festival, various locations.

Information, HellYesFest.com Oct. 3. Art for Art’s Sake, Warehouse Arts District and Magazine Street. Information, NewOrleansArtsDistrict.com Oct. 9-11. Gentilly Fest, Pontchartrain Park. Information, GentillyFest.com Oct. 9-10, 16-17 & 23-24. Oktoberfest, Rivertown. Information,

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OktoberfestNola.com Oct. 10. Japan Fest, New Orleans Museum of Art. Information, NOMA.org Oct. 10-11. Carnaval Latino, various locations. Information, CarnavaLatinoLa.com Oct. 11. Celebracion Latina, Audubon Zoo. Information, AudubonInstitute.org

nics and costumes. When news that the haunted house would close after 22 years broke in 2014, an anonymous investor quickly swooped in to save the Halloween tradition. The “resurrected” iteration of the haunted playground, starting up Oct. 2, includes Bordello of Freaks, a Louisiana-flavored roadside freak show and Laff in the Dark, a Pontchartrain Beach inspired funhouse featuring a “3-D Clown Assault.”

We talked to co-founder Ross Karpelman about House of Shock’s second chance.

Why did you all ultimately decide to bring House of Shock back? It was the outcry from

Do you think haunted house goers are a little more openminded now? More like more

desensitized! Today, we all have the Internet. We live in a world where everyone has access to video cameras, at all times, and are able to catch the gritty things that happen daily.

Everything can be broadcasted to the world in seconds. We have lived through Katrina. We live in a world where ISIS can operate and broadcast their atrocities, and it seems there’s little we can do about it. All of this is on your TV or on your phone and available for kids to see mostly without supervision. So with all this reality, it would seem that a bunch of grown-ups, with scary makeup on, acting Satanic, should be taken in context for what it is: Halloween fun.

or horror fanatics, an unassuming spot near the foot of the Huey P. Long bridge morphs into Mecca around Halloween time. House of Shock turns a warehouse and the surrounding area into a horror Carnival complete with freak shows, live heavy metal and of course the haunted house that has gotten national press for its Hollywood-caliber pyrotech-

the public and the emotional last night with our cast that had us considering a comeback. A ton of people didn’t want the tradition to end.

However, a lot of things had to fall into place in order for us to feel right about it. It would take a lot of funds to pull off – way more than we had. We weren’t sure how to go about raising the money needed to rebuild. Some of our volunteers suggested Kickstarter, so we threw that together and ended up taking it down when a local attorney saw our campaign, loved us, saw we were struggling and threw us a rope – which we quickly used to strangle ourselves!

Oct. 16-17 & 23-24. Boo at the Zoo, Audubon Zoo. Information, AudubonInstitute.org

Oct. 24. O What a Night! Gala, Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Information, OgdenMuseum.org

Oct. 16-18. Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, Lafayette Square Park. Information, JazzAndHeritage.org/Blues-Fest

Oct. 28-Nov. 1. Words & Music festival, Hotel Monteleone.

Information, WordsAndMusic.Org

Oct. 17. Anba Dlo Halloween Festival, New Orleans Healing Center.

Information, AnbaDloFestival.org

Oct. 29-Nov. 1. Halloween New Orleans: A benefit for Project Lazarus, various locations. Information, HalloweenNewOrleans.com

Oct. 23-34. Ghosts in the Oaks, City Park. Information, FriendsOfCityPark.com

Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Voodoo Music + Arts Experience, City Park.

Information, WorshipTheMusic.com

SPOTLIGHT

Back from the Dead House of Shock co-founder Ross Karpelman talks about “resurrecting” the 2015 season

F

Craig Mulcahy PHOTOGRAPH

Someone got married at House of Shock in 2013. Do you have any favorite crazy or romantic moments in the house’s history? For me, it would have

to be marrying my wife of 15 years, Melissa Karpelman. We had the service and reception in House of Shock. There were over 400 people there. One of our favorite bands played, and it wouldn’t have been House of Shock if we didn’t have a ton of pyrotechnics.

For more information, visit HouseOfShock.comn

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THE BEAT / PERSONA

Q: Were you always a big reader? Yes, from

the very beginning of my life. I thought I’d never have enough books, and now I have too many.

Q: Do you still read a book every day? I do.

I have to, really, because it’s my job. When I read in my house I don’t listen to music, I don’t watch TV, I don’t answer the phone, I don’t look online until I’ve finished the book. That’s really all I do. Because that’s the only way I can concentrate – except for the dog.

Usually I can read one (book) in the morning and one in the afternoon. I was the judge for the Putlizers for a few years, and I had to read 300 books in six months. You get really focused and you learn to read like it’s your religion.

Q: Do you still keep up with what’s going

Susan Larson Host, “The Reading Life”

BY LAUREN LABORDE

I

t may seem obvious, but it’s worth emphasizing: Susan Larson loves books.

The host of WWNO’s “The Reading Life,” the nearly five-year-old radio show detailing all aspects of New Orleans’ literary scene, loves them both as objects and for what they contain. Her Uptown home is famously filled with them. But she also keeps up with the times – after once denouncing the Kindle; she now owns two of the e-readers – and loves a good Scandinavian crime novel. She is a writer herself, having penned two editions of the Booklover’s Guide to New Orleans – not to mention her past life as a romance novelist. We met at a coffee shop where naturally, she had just finished a book.

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on nationally in books? I know what’s going on nationally because you have to. And so many national authors are coming to New Orleans, which is great for us. But locally, it’s so interesting to me you can do 52 shows a year with local authors. It’s that big a scene.

Of course one of the things I like is to do more than just authors. I talk to the people who are making the festivals happen, or there’s a whole new wave of book artists coming to town.

I’m so interested in (book artists). My son jokes: “Mom, you’re fetishizing books!” I am – so what’s wrong with that? I literally love them as objects. So I’ve started taking book-binding classes at Baskerville in the Marigny, which is this wonderful printing arts and letterpress studio.

It’s a lot of fun talking to them, people who approach books in different ways. “The Reading Life” is more than just writing and reading; it’s going out and going to book signings. I’m lucky. We’re all lucky!

Q: You once wrote romance novels. In the

very beginning. When I had kids I thought, I want to stay home and write. So my best friend and I wrote 10 romance novels together in two years. And it was a very useful discipline and a way to learn how to write, because there’s a GREG MILES photograph

Age: 64 Born/raised: Salina, Kansas/Texas City, Texas Education: Rice University, University of Houston Family members names: Daughter Casey, son Dash, dog Wilson Pickett Favorite movie: “All time? Harvey. This summer? Mr. Holmes and The End of the Tour.”

Favorite TV show: “Game of Thrones,” “Masters of Sex,” “Masterpiece Mystery” Favorite hobby: Glittering Muses shoes, studying bookbinding Favorite restaurant: High Hat, Upperline Favorite food: Pie, oysters, Champagne Favorite book: “All time?

Jane Eyre! Right now?

Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels!” Favorite vacation spot: Grayton Beach, Florida

formula. You follow the formula, and you knew you had to write so many pages. If we were working on a book and it took us longer than six weeks to write, we knew we were in big trouble. They weren’t very hard books to write, but I have no desire to write them again.

Q: Since you’ve inter-

viewed so many writers, what advice have you picked up about how to be a successful writer? It’s hard these days because things are changing so quickly. The writers who write successfully know what to do. They know they have to read a lot. They know they have to have a distinctive voice. They know they have to write every day.

It’s hard to start out now

because there are so many books being published, and there are so many ways to publish them. And I think a lot of writers underestimate the value of good editing, especially in some of the selfpublished books or e-books.

But it all remains the same: Read, find your voice and write every day.

Q: Do you have any guilty

pleasure books? I’m a junkie for Scandinavian crime fiction – like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo books. I collect antique gardening books and antique books about tattoos, because tattoos fascinate me. So those are kind of my guilty pleasures. But I used to have that as a question when I wrote for (The Times-Picayune), and I’d ask people what their guilty pleasure was. And people would write me the most horrible things: “Why should there be any kind of guilty pleasure? Why should anyone feel guilty?” But you know what I mean. There are some things you should read just for fun.

Q: There are a lot

of books that become popular, like Fifty Shades of Grey, that I’m judgemental of; but I think, “Well, at least people are reading...”

Exactly. Better to read a cereal box than nothing. n

True confession Oh, I’m pretty much an open book. But Halloween – my favorite holiday – is on the way, and I do love popping up here and there as my truly witchy self. I have an impressive collection of seasonal hats. And brooms. myneworleans.com / OCTOBER 2015

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THE BEAT / BIZ

Water Can’t live with it, can’t live without it

By Kathy Finn

N

ew Orleans is well acquainted with the challenges of living with water.

But as is true of governmental authorities that deal with emergency planning, many of us came late to the realization that this crucial component of life should not be feared, but managed.

The post-Hurricane Katrina flooding of New Orleans gets much of the credit for a growing national awareness of the need not just for better flood protection around the country, but also for policies and systems that enable the conservation and management of water that can inundate communities as a result of big storms.

A cadre of urban planners, engineers and climate-change experts who descended on New Orleans after the 2005 flood helped open local and national eyes to the fact that rising sea levels could imperil millions of people unless steps are taken to harness storm water and treat it as the precious resource it is.

Many government and business groups

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in the local area have worked in the years since to hatch and nurture innovative ways of dealing with water, and the results of their efforts are taking shape in a variety of ways.

Last April, the American Planning Association bestowed its Environmental Planning Award on New Orleans in recognition of the city’s work to “create greener communities,” minimize manmade impacts on the natural environment “and improve environmental quality.”

The honor recognized the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, which was developed under commission from the business group Greater New Orleans Inc. using funding provided by the state.

The plan contains sweeping recommendations for capturing excess water from rain and storm events, channeling it safely into areas where it will do little harm and using it for public benefit.

It aims to tackle flooding, subsidence and infrastructure problems by means of

improved management of storm water, surface waters and groundwater, and it focuses primarily on urban areas and protected wetlands in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes.

The city put the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority in charge of implementing a series of pilot projects in connection with the plan, and NORA director Jeffrey Hebert has overseen projects in the Lower 9th Ward, Algiers and Hollygrove.

In their simplest form, the projects work like rain barrels, collecting and holding water in places and ways that help alleviate stress on the city’s drainage system and open the possibility of putting the water to good use.

A vacant tract in the Gentilly neighborhood, for instance, was made into a “rain garden” planted with bald cypress trees and dwarf palmettos.

Workers removed a sidewalk and sculpted the land to allow rainwater to flow into and collect on the site, which can hold nearly 90,000 gallons that will flow gradually into the city’s drainage system.

The land used for the project was among hundreds of properties handed over to NORA by the state Road Home program, and the $38,000 cost of carrying out the project was paid for with a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Neighborhood Initiatives grant.

Fully implementing the urban water plan would include many variations on the rain garden concept, including subsurface water storage and greenways, and could cost billions of dollars if the city actually undertook a revamp of its aging underground drainage system.

Props to Propeller During a visit to New Orleans associated with the city’s commemoration of the Katrina-10 anniversary in August, a top U.S. Commerce Department official, Matt Erskine, announced the awarding of a $300,000 grant to Propeller to support startups tackling coastal and urban water issues.

The grant will support Propeller’s 12-week fall accelerator for earlystage startups in water management, including Coastal Rewards, which directs credit card rewards to fund coastal restoration, and Connected Earth Sciences, a vesselbased device measuring real-time data on wetland water quality.

For the time being, NORA and other groups likely will continue to seek funding to put some of the plan’s more manageable recommendations into action.

Meanwhile, local entrepreneurial support groups are using incentives to spark innovative ideas for tackling water issues.

For several years, Propeller: A Force for Social Innovation, has partnered with the Idea Village and the Greater New Orleans Foundation in sponsoring an annual “water challenge” competition that features a $10,000 prize for the winning idea.

This year’s finalists were selected from 13 water entrepreneurs in Propeller’s social venture accelerator and from participants in its 12-week

mentorship program.

Propeller supports the selected ventures by helping them develop market-based solutions to improve urban water quality, water retention and wetland restoration. The organization has incubated 15 water ventures since 2012.

Here are the winning enterprises from Propeller’s 2015 challenge:

Magnolia Land Partners (Mark Bernstein) Developing

critical wetland restoration projects in Louisiana through the sale of mitigation credits; the project secured 1,330 acres of Louisiana wetlands for restoration and permanent protection.

Greenman Dan Inc. (Dan Johnson) An underground

rainwater containment system that solves various water runoff problems while reducing landscape irrigation costs; current contracts in place will keep as much as 900,000 gallons of water annually on-site and out of storm drains.

Wetland Resources, LLC (Gary Shaffer and Demetra Kandalepas) Providing storm

protection to coastal Louisiana through massive planting of hurricane-resistant trees, the project has planted some 100,000 cypress and tupelo trees as a means of storm protection, with plans to plant tens of thousands annually.

Riverbottom Tech (John Tesvich) Innovative technolo-

gy for restoring and maintaining coastal areas intelligently and on a sustainable basis; developed a working sediment harvesting prototype installed in South Plaquemines Parish to divert river sediment and restore wetlands.

The Riffle This project by Public Lab raised $50,000 for evaluating water quality using low-cost, do-it-yourself tools that collect, interpret and share valuable data such as oil contamination and water conductivity. n

myneworleans.com / OCTOBER 2015

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THE BEAT / EDUCATION

The Outlaw Writer Teaches

A meditation on E. L. Doctorow

By Dawn Wilson

“A

master can act without doing anything, teach without a word.” – Chinese fortune cookie These words are an extraction from section two of the Tao Te Ching, an ancient Chinese text for religious and philosophical Taoism, but I didn’t know that when I pasted the inside of a fortune cookie to my computer. I simply thought that since I earn most of my daily bread by teaching

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that maybe someday I’d figure out how to practice the concept of conveying knowledge “without doing anything.”

The idea seemed subversive, if not lazy, but my reflections on the matter didn’t reach clarity until writer and Professor E. L. Doctorow died recently at the age of 84. Doctorow is best known for his literary achievements, a dozen novels and a host of literary prizes.

His work, such as The Book of Daniel, Ragtime and The March, is frequently assigned in classes of literature, especially in pricey East Coast universities, Doctorow’s own region of expertise and residency.

When he died from complications brought on by lung cancer, his praises were sung by every major publication written in English.

For me, he’s the master who taught “without a word.” But I must admit that when I took his Craft of Fiction course at New York University in the

mid-1990s, I didn’t quite “get” his nonteaching method.

I was puzzled at the time about how the course content fit the title. I expected instruction on how to write artful fiction, the actual process of constructing it, but that wasn’t his approach.

We read a book each week and talked about what we read, but he didn’t offer much in the way of advice.

I remember feeling relieved that he didn’t subscribe to the writing strategy of those who dash off an entire novel in a few weeks and then go back to salvage what works and discard the rest.

My own writing was slow and tortuous, so when he said that he never moved on to write a new sentence until he was satisfied with the one before it, he gave me license to continue the turtlelike process.

Another time he told us to not pull the gun until the character was ready to use it.

I remembered that comment a few years

Gasper Tringale photograph

later when I was writing a novel that included a gun and a threat of murder. The original draft included a reference to the gun in advance of the threat, but when I was editing it, I remembered his words and took it out. I discovered how correct he was on that point.

There wasn’t much else in the way of writing instruction. By the end of the course, however, I realized that his reading list contained a common thread – darkness, insanity, all kinds of feverish passions, some written by writers with suicidal tendencies. We read early Gothic literature, Edgar Allen Poe, Jack Kerouac, Jayne Anne Phillips, Virginia Woolf and Franz Kafka, who identified himself with a giant bug. We also wrote an analytical paper and a creative parody of one of the assigned writers’ style.

I chose to mimic Kafka.

My character battled a monstrous, flying cockroach – in New Orleans, of course – with an atomic cloud of bug spray. I had hoped for helpful comments when the story was returned, wise words I could carry into the future, but none was there. Along with a grade of A-, someone wrote a single sentence in red that faulted the story’s lack of true parody style.

That experience led me to ponder his teaching strategy. I realized that good fiction from his view is intense, but a complete understanding of his perfect subversion didn’t come to me until he died. His death prompted me to read every interview that he gave, and finally eureka struck: He didn’t believe that the craft of fiction could be taught.

He apparently didn’t think

much of graduate writing programs either, even though he taught in them for much of his career.

A blog called Rebecca’s Reviews, written by another former Doctorow student, said it all. When asked what textbook he would suggest, she quotes him as saying: “I have not read a craft of fiction book that does not make me want to vomit.

Tell them to go read Chekov.

Especially Chekov.”

I doubt that Doctorow, who spoke so eloquently, used the word “vomit,” but otherwise the quote captures the essence of his beliefs about how to learn the craft of fiction. A student of the craft must read all the best writers, especially the experimental ones. Passion, originality and deep reflection drive memorable fiction, he might have said, not plot, not structure, not contrived outlines.

A 2008 interview posted on FORA.tv offers insights about such views. Doctorow and his interviewer discussed “outlaw” writers, those whose work took divergent paths, such as Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, a novel without a plot. At one point, the interviewer asked Doctorow if he was himself an “outlaw” writer.

Doctorow hesitated, apparently disinclined to seem boastful, but when pressed finally answered: “I like the idea of being an outlaw, so, yes.”

He taught the outlaws, identified with them and adapted the same kind of non-conventional methods in his classes. He also consulted the Tao Te Ching he told other interviewers, so maybe teaching “without a word” came straight from The Tao. n myneworleans.com / OCTOBER 2015

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THE BEAT / HEALTH

Halloween Sugar Rush food changes for cardiovascular health

by Brobson Lutz M.D.

H

alloween is an annual Category 5 sugar storm followed by an upsurge of confectionery consumption associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas. King Cakes and Valentines Day keep the drive alive until the last chocolate bunny of Easter takes that roller coaster ride down the esophagus into the alimentary canal.

No single day is associated with more candy sales than Halloween, a high holy day for the sugar and processed junk food cartel. Just as the oil industry has been a major player in destroying our Louisiana coast, mass food processors play havoc with our metabolism. Coastal erosion costs us land and hurricane protection; sweetened processed foods are costing us our health.

The sugar industry has even had its own levee failures.

Molasses flooded Uptown New Orleans back in 1911. According to press reports of the day, the Sugar Planters’ Storage and Distributing Company stored blackstrap molasses in a 20-foot tall brick vat, the world’s largest molasses holding tank, covering more than a city block. Its steel

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and concrete reinforcement was just as ineffective as whatever supported the London Avenue Canal walls 94 years later.

A loud roar signaled the collapse of the retaining wall. A 15-foot tall rush of dark molasses flooded houses and businesses as it rolled down St. Thomas Street. People were trapped in their houses; animals were stuck in the muck. Ten inches of the goo covered Magazine Street, a third of a mile away. The evening saw a new invasion: “It seemed like every fly in prolific Louisiana had gathered in this inundated section and had decided to stay there.”

“Don’t be too hard on the Louisiana sugar industry,” says Dr. Keith Perrin, a seasoned pediatrician who recently traded in his stethoscope for an administrative office. “Yes, we do have a childhood obesity epidemic, but I think it’s less related to the sugar cane industry than to corn producers. The federal government supports corn growing with expensive subsidies, allowing the food industry to buy corn at a discount.

They supplement all sorts of food products with cheap and sweet corn syrup.”

In Louisiana the road to crystalized white sugar or sucrose begins with crushing sugar cane stalks to extract the juices. With successive boilings and extractions, out comes molasses, which is further refined to yield granulated sugar. The same type of process works with beets.

Corn syrup, on the other hand, starts with cornstarch, a single chemical reaction away from sugar.

High fructose corn syrup has essentially replaced cane sugar as the sweetener used in processed foods and candies. Cheap corn syrup as a food additive enhances flavor and gives low quality food products a longer shelf life. Coca-Cola made the switch to high fructose corn syrup about 30 years ago, while its bottling plants in Mexico mostly still use real sugar.

“The childhood obesity problem is multifaceted. You can’t blame Louisiana-made sugar. And since Katrina, local school recreational programs have suffered. I hear ‘We don’t have time for all that physical activity during the school day anymore,’” says Perrin, adding that some school children drink up to 10 soda drinks a day fueled by machines selling corn syrup beverages at schools as a profit center.

Is there a way to consume all that Halloween candy and stay trim? The Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge recently published self-described “cutting-edge research” findings on childhood obesity. They studied some 6,000 children from all over the world to tease out three major behavioral risk factors related to excess weight: lack of moderate to vigorous physical activity, too much time in front of the boob tube and insufficient sleep. The Nobel Prize nominating committee is unlikely to be pouring over these discoveries. Small print at the end said the Coca-Cola Company paid LSU for this research.

For decades food police dittoheads have preached low calorie diets, reduced fat and exercise. The

Simple dietary changes for a fast cardiovascular makeover “Dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids led to a clinically and statistically significant reduction in fatal cardiovascular events in another group of heart attack survivors.

Adding Vitamin E did not help.” (Italy, 1999) “Heart attack survivors randomly told to eat fatty fish had 29% fewer deaths than a control group after two years. These changes first became apparent within months, not years.”

(England, 2007) “A Mediterranean diet with added extra-virgin olive oil or mixed nuts reduced heart attacks and stroke occurrences beginning at three months and reaching a 30 percent reduction by five years. The study participants, 55 years or older, had diabetes or multiple cardiac risk factors such as hypertension, obesity and smoking. Exercise and caloric restrictions were not a part of this study.” (Spain, 2013) Source: “It is time to stop counting calories, and time instead to promote dietary changes that substantially and rapidly reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.” (British Medical Journal, August 2015)

pendulum swings. An editorial in the British Medical Journal, published the same month

as the Pennington Coca-Cola piece, debunks these hallowed testimonials. Caloric restrictions and exercise recommendations rarely have any longterm effect on obesity.

Ignore calorie and fat content calculations. Simply eat healthier foods.

Avoid carbohydrate-laden food products, refined grains and giant-sized soda drinks spiked with corn sweeteners that induce insulin surges, a more important causative factor in body fat accumulation.

Simply decreasing carbohydrates and other overly processed foods give the pancreas a stay at home vacation that helps ward off both cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

Gobble down a handful of walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts, or indulge in four Tablespoons of olive oil each day. At the expense of insulting Californians and Mediterraneans, pecans are my favorite nuts, but I’m a big fan of olive oil from across the pond. Even my dogs get a Tablespoon a day mixed with their food to keep their summer hot spots at bay.

We may well see a hunk of cheese or a handful of pecans displacing grits and toast as standard breakfast fare.

So, back to those witches and goblins ringing your doorbell on trick or treat night. Give them a really heart healthy food snack; a handful of roasted pecans. Tell them about the Mediterranean diet.

Ask them what variety olive oil their mother uses. And fear not, the childhood brain doesn’t forget such offerings.

Next year you’ll not have returning treat seekers. You might as well post one of those old Board of Health signs: “This premises is infected with smallpox and no person shall leave or enter under penalty of $25 fine.” Meaningful food intake changes will take decades to develop. n

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THE BEAT / HEALTHBEAT

New studies suggest a person’s sleeping habit or lack of sleep is linked to a higher risk of catching colds. The Washington Post’s “To Your Health” blog published research that stated a person who sleeps six or less hours a night is four times more likely to catch a cold than those who sleep for more than seven hours. The researchers studied 164 healthy participants around the age of 30 to sleep with a wrist actigraph to establish their baseline sleep habits. CBS News reported on their website that “the investigators found that participants who had slept less than six hours a night the week before were 4.2 times more likely to catch the cold when compared to those who slept for more than seven hours a night.

Those who slept less than five hours were 4.5 times more likely to get sick.”

A recent report from the CDC stated that: “the smoking rate dropped to 17 percent last year, down from 18 percent in 2013.” The decline is attributed to “anti-smoking advertising campaigns, cigarette taxes, smoking bans and the growing popularity of electronic cigarettes.”

Additional research linking mid-life obesity and Alzheimer’s Disease has been announced by the National Institutes of Health. The research stated that the onset of Alzheimer’s came six and a half months earlier for every point higher on the BMI scale a person was at age 50. In addition, “autopsies and scans found people with higher midlife BMIs also had more of the brainclogging hallmarks of Alzheimer’s years later, even if they didn’t develop dementia.” The study included data from 1,400 patients over 14 years. Even though a direct casual link is not posited by the study, the Alzheimer’s Association cautioned, “What’s good for your heart is good for your brain.”

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THE BEAT / CRIME FIGHTING

The Mayor’s Unfinished “Portrait” Sketching a view of history

By Allen Johnson Jr.

M

ayor Mitch Landrieu is said to favor Gallier Hall for special occasions. The latest is the ceremonial signing of police reforms recommended by the mayor’s task force on sexual violence. The mayor hasn’t arrived yet, so let’s take some time to look around.

Built in 1850, Gallier Hall (543 St. Charles Ave.) is the white marble Greek Revival building facing Lafayette Square. Formerly City Hall, it stands three-stories high including the basement that, like the front steps, was made of granite.

The WPA Guide to New Orleans (1938) tells us among the notables who lay in state at Gallier Hall “before being carried to their final resting place” were: the defeated president of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis, Confederate General P.G.T Beauregard and David Hennessy, who at age 31 became the

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first chief of the organized NOPD; he was assassinated in 1891.

Ever since then, the NOPD has been characterized by a cyclical history of scandal and mayhem, punctuated by episodes of reform.

Mayor Landrieu is the latest mayor to promise reduced crime and a law-abiding police force.

In the hallway, a federal court-appointed monitor of the NOPD Consent Decree reform plan browses large portraits of the city’s modern mayors. Each has a history with the NOPD. Facing the red room that Mitch Landrieu will soon enter is a portrait of the mayor’s father, Mayor “Moon” Landrieu. His racially progressive politics notwithstanding, a 1970 survey by the Regional Planning Commission found police harassment as the top priority of black voters. The elder Landrieu presided over an NOPD that rousted the Black Panther Party under

Chief Joseph I. Giarrusso. Under brother Chief Clarence Giarrusso in ’73, the NOPD shot and killed a self-styled black militant sniper atop the Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge. The gun battle paralyzed downtown, exposed deficiencies in police tactics and training and left 10 people dead – including five NOPD officers and the gunman.

Mayor Dutch Morial, the city’s first black elected mayor, also lay in state at Gallier Hall. He famously broke the 1979 police strike that cancelled Mardi Gras parades.

Morial later appointed Warren Woodfork as the city’s first black police chief. Under Mayor Sidney Barthelemy, Woodfork is remembered for failing to discipline any officers in connection with the police killing of accused cop-killer Adolph Archie in ’90.

There is a portrait of Dutch’s mayoral son, Marc Morial. In October 1994, Marc Morial swore in Richard Pennington as top cop here at Gallier Hall. Pennington enjoyed unprecedented resources and support from the pubic, the business community and the feds. His job: To stop the violence and clean up the NOPD. In his years as chief, “600 police officers were arrested, fired disciplined or resigned under investigation,” Marc Morial later wrote. Dozens of cops went to prison; two remain on Death Row today. Pennington famously kept his vow to cut the city’s murder rate in half. The hard-won reforms of the Pennington era began to unravel before the chief left office in 2002.

It is easy to miss the official city portrait of former Mayor Ray Nagin, who’s presently serving a 10-year federal prison term for a corruption conviction. Nagin’s imJoseph Daniel Fiedler illustration

age hangs alone on an opposite wall, largely obscured from view by a door that opens into the hallway. Under Nagin’s two police chiefs, crime rebounded and police discipline collapsed. The feds returned en masse. The prosecutions of the Danziger Bridge cops and other misconduct cases of the Katrina Era followed.

In 2010, Mayor Landrieu appointed Pennington protégé Ronal Serpas as his “reform” Chief.

In 2011, Landrieu and Serpas hosted top U.S. Department of Justice officials at Gallier Hall for the feds’ release of a damning report. Among the findings: “We find the NOPD has systematically misclassified large numbers of possible sexual assaults, resulting in a sweeping failure to properly investigate many potential cases of rape, attempted rape and other crimes. NOPD has recently acknowledged its serious deficits in responding to sex crimes and has taken some significant remedial steps. NOPD and the City will need to build on these efforts to bring about some of the extensive and sustained change necessary to effectively and appropriately respond to these serious violent crimes.”

In 2012, the Landrieu Administration and the DOJ entered into the Consent Decree to reform NOPD. Serpas retired in 2014 amid mixed reviews – without attaining the superstar status Landrieu promised.

In a little-noticed 2012 interview published last year by the Police Executive Research Forum, a national police group, Serpas said the NOPD he found in 2010 was in far worse shape than the department he helped Pennington to reform in the 1990s. “In each era, we were up against significant problems. But the problems back then were not nearly as endemic as they are

in this 2010 era. In the 1990s, we had a handful of officers in the department who just ran amok,” Serpas said, naming as examples convicted killer-cops Antoinette Frank and Len Davis and bank robber Michael Thames. “But these people were lone wolves. In 2010, we had much more systemic problems to deal with.”

“We had people purposefully creating conspiracies and engaging others up the chain of command to cover up the [Henry] Glover and Danziger killings. How does that change so fast? It was only in 2004 that the Justice Department had finally closed the file on its 1994 investigation and given the department its OK. And then in 2005 Katrina hit and we had these murders and conspiracies and cover-ups.”

Serpas admitted he did a poor scouting job before taking the helm of the NOPD: “I didn’t know how badly the discipline system had fallen apart, the policy and procedures system, the training systems, promotional practices – every system that you need to hold a police department together had completely disintegrated,” he said. “The DOJ report recognized this – that every system that you would expect to see in a well-running police department had completely come off the tracks.”

Unable to right the ship, Serpas passed the torch to current Chief Michael Harrison, a former lieutenant who has yet to suffer from high public expectations. Chief Harrison now enters the red room of Gallier Hall with Mayor Landrieu. They are greeted with applause from Task Force Chair Tania Tetlow, among others. Unlike other second-term mayors, Landrieu still appears energetic and focused on the task of murder reduction and police reform. The mayor’s work with NOPD remains an unfinished “portrait.” n

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THE BEAT / Chronicles

Good to the Last Bite Dentistry in New Orleans

BY CAROLYN KOLB

“D

entistry has a lot of immediate gratification,” says Dr. Edward Ireland, professor emeritus of Comprehensive Dentistry at LSU Dental School in New Orleans.

“A person can walk in, get treated and then walk out with a smile on their face. It happens right then and there!”

An ad in the Picayune from Jan. 25, 1837 (the earliest issue available) noted: “A.L. Plough, Dentist” offered “Surgical and Mechanical Dentistry, at No. 68 Tchoupitoulas Street” daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Obviously, dentistry has been available in New Orleans consistently through those 178 years. In fact, all was running smoothly at LSU Dental School until Hurricane Katrina hit.

The storm devastated the campus and meant big changes. Faculty and students relocated to Baton Rouge and only returned to New Orleans in 2007 (keeping a clinic in Baton Rouge).

Dean Henry Gremillion, a graduate of the school’s 1977 class, became head of the school in 2008. Now he’s

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eagerly awaiting a new 54,000 square foot addition to the school’s main building (funding courtesy of FEMA), which he describes as “a metamorphosis of our campus.”

The new building, according to Gremillion, will have four faculty practice areas in all disciplines, two operating rooms and recovery rooms, plus more space to train students in modern techniques. In the current building, a new laboratory will allow students to develop their skills on simulators.

Dental training in New Orleans has come a long way from the New Orleans Dental College, which opened in the 1860s and closed in 1877. The New Orleans College of Dentistry began in 1899, and New Orleans’ first woman dentist, Marie-Blanche Fassy, graduated from there in 1903.

When that school closed, Tulane University offered dental training from 1909 to ’28. Loyola University’s School of Dentistry began in ’14 and was phased out when LSU opened its school.

The last Loyola graduating class

(including Ireland) was in 1971, but students had been smoothly transitioning to the LSU school, which graduated its first class in ’72 (and even took their first dean, Edmond Jeansonne, directly from Loyola).

Since it opened, LSU Dental School has graduated over 5,000 dentists, hygienists and lab technicians. Competition to enroll has become more intense. For the 65 positions in the freshman class, there are close to 750 applicants this year.

Besides being interested in health care, dentists need special skills. Both Ireland and Gremillion considered pharmacy (and both had relatives in that field). Dentistry, however, had a special appeal. As Ireland says, “It suited my personality. I love fixing things, putting things back together, and I like minutiae type of work.”

Enjoying working with patients is another plus – Gremillion was a dentist in his home town of Cottonport, Louisiana, before interest in research led him to spend 19 years at the University of Florida before being called back to New Orleans as Dean.

Dental care for the overall population is another important facet of LSU Dental School’s work. A new LSU Health Interprofessional Primary Care Clinic will open across the street from the school, with dental students and nurse practitioners offering care for residents of the neighborhood.

In other outreach programs: there’s a dental bus with two chairs traveling and offering care; there’s a program at Ozanam Inn; “Give Kids a Smile Day”: NFL “Play 60” day; and a Mission of Mercy program treating 1,351 patients with 8,500 procedures at no cost in a two-day period.

A program, Pre-Dental 101, began in 2011 to allow students interested in dentistry to have a day of introduction to the school. “We expected maybe 25 students, we had 225 show up!” Gremillion says proudly.

The program continues to draw interest.

Students learn about applying, what entrance exams they must take, and – in an unusual but relevant test – are shown how to carefully carve a piece of chalk following exact directions. “It’s not a test you pass or fail, but there’s a grading formula,” Gremillion says.

The test can evaluate dexterity, the ability to work under stress and time constraints and even interacting with other students.

Think you might want to be a dentist?

Watch this video of Ireland demonstrating: LSUSD. LSUHSC.edu/Video/DDSChalk.html Try it yourself: You can chalk it up to experience! n

myneworleans.com / OCTOBER 2015

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LOCAL COLOR in tune / READ+SPIN / JAZZ LIFE / JOIE D’EVE / MODINE GUNCH / ME AGAIN / HOME

in tune pg. 42

In September 2012, Django Django’s selftitle debut album appeared on the shortlist for the Mercury Prize ... This May, Django Django released their sophomore record to excellent reviews. This month the band will visit New Orleans for the first time with an appearance at Voodoo.

Fiona Garden photograph

LOCAL COLOR / IN TUNE

Alt-J

A Flush Fall something for everyone BY mike griffith

O

ctober has become one of the great months for music in New Orleans.

This time of year we’ve always had the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience to look forward to at the end of the month. Over the last couple of years, the expansion of Austin City Limits to two weeks has given a lot of

national tours the downtime to jaunt over either between the festival weekends or immediately after. This year we’ll be treated to visits by darlings of the indie folk set Houndmouth Oct. 1 at Tipitina’s, hip-hop all-stars Run The Jewels Oct. 3 at Republic, pop dreamers In The Valley Below at the

Halloween Happening With the arrival of Halloween, many of us will converge on City Park for the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience. This year the Ritual has put together an eclectic group of fantastic performers. The one that everyone is talking about has to be Ozzy with original Black Sabbath bandmate Geezer Butler, Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello and Slash. This is the supergroup you want to see; hopefully the setlist will range across their diverse careers. Additional perfomances will include Florence + the Machine, Jane’s Addiction, Chance the Rapper, Metric and the legendary Giorgio Moroder. I will have daily updates and photos on the blog, so stay tuned.

Learning the Path: Talking with Django Django drummer and producer Dave Maclean In September 2012, Django Django’s self-titled debut album appeared on the shortlist for the Mercury Prize (the annual award for the best album from the UK and Ireland). This nomination and a relentless touring ethic served to launch the band to international acclaim. This May, Django Django released their sophomore record Born Under Saturn to excellent reviews. This month the band will visit New Orleans for the first time with an appearance at Voodoo. I was able to chat with drummer and producer Dave Maclean about their recent record, his new record label and the beauty of a gut reflex to music.

For Maclean it seems that an important part of his role is to balance the creative processes of himself and his bandmates with the need to construct what will ultimately be a complete record. “With us … things can go off in any direction. So in the morning we could

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be making what sounds like techno and in the afternoon it’s a kind of folk song,” he says. “By the evening we’re kind of making a rockabilly thing. Things just kind of twist and turn, so I guess it’s my job to try and find some kind of linear path through it all.” On this new record there’s a dense layering of harmonies that plots a very clear path through the tracks. When I asked Maclean about this, he talked about his production inspiration. “I was listening to a lot of 1970s music for production ideas, like Fleetwood Mac and Gerry Rafferty, Cat Stevens and Supertramp – trying to emulate some of the vocal sounds on there … We like to get carried away and layer and layer and layer … ultimately its the harmonies gluing it together as an album.”

Ultimately, this density of production is what creates the mood of Born Under Saturn. The record has the effect of lifting the listener

Giles Borg photograph

Hi-Ho Lounge Oct. 5, electro wunderkind Disclosure Oct. 6 at Mardi Gras World, indie rock masters Alt-J and San Fermin Oct. 7 at Bold Sphere Music at Champions Square, and indie prog rockers Moon Taxi Oct. 10 at the Civic.

In addition to these excellent headlining performances, this month will also see visits from some of the more interesting experimental groups currently on tour.

On Oct. 13, Toro y Moi will be at One Eyed Jacks. Toro y Moi released his excellent new record in January and has been on a rather extensive tour this summer. His touring band is in great form.

Expect a wide-ranging night of genres from chillwave to electropop. If you miss Toro y Moi, make sure to check out Battles at Republic on the 15th. Another New York band, Battles are closer to the progressive/math rock end of the spectrum.

Battles released their new record La Di Da Di Sept. 18, so expect to see a set heavy on the new tunes.

On Oct. 21, Matt Pond PA

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will be at Big Mama’s Lounge attached to the House of Blues. This will be an ideally intimate space to see the indie rocker bring his new record to New Orleans.

If you want to see what the current New Orleans sound is like after being read through the Brooklyn music scene, check out Rubblebucket Oct. 7 at One Eye Jacks. There is something irrepressible about the band, and it centers on their excellent use of brass.

Finally, this month Gang of Four will be at Tipitina’s on the 25th. This is a big one for me. You can’t talk about the history of post-punk without mentioning Gang of Four.

Cited by folks like Michael Stipe, Flea and Kurt Cobain as a major influence, shows don’t get much bigger than this. Keep an eye on my blog, as I’ll be interviewing Andy Gill later in the month. n Note: Dates are subject to change. Playlist of mentioned bands available at: bit.ly/ InTune10-15.

To contact Mike about music news, upcoming performances and recordings, email Mike@MyNewOrleans.com or contact him through Twitter @Minima.

outside of himself, which is something that Maclean prizes in music himself. “I think it’s setting a mood,” he says. “I think I’ve always done that thing where I zone out and whatever is passing me by I see it as a little film in my head … I quite like to be transported somewhere else when I listen to music.” This sense of transportation can be seen both in his music with Django Django and the performers he has recruited for his label, Kick + Clap. In his words, one just knows when something is right. “I don’t have an ethos or a genre for this label. I just know – I just get a gut feeling when I hear things.” We are fortunate to have him listening for us.

You can find Born Under Saturn in music stores now. Django Django will be playing Voodoo Fest on Sat., Oct 31.

myneworleans.com / OCTOBER 2015

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LOCAL COLOR / READ+SPIN

A STUNNING COLLECTION OF 50 TRADITIONAL (AND SOME NON-TRADITIONAL) LOUISIANA RECIPES. AN ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE FOR YOUR KITCHEN,OR THE PERFECT GIFT FOR A LOUISIANA FOOD LOVER.

$16.95

COOKBOOK: Essential Emeril: Favorite Recipes and Hard-Won Wisdom from My Life in the Kitchen, is the latest tome in the Emeril Lagasse cookbook cannon. More than 100 updated and refined recipes are included in the book, which Lagasse deems his most personal, and it also includes instructions on technique, a list of basic cookware for every kitchen, what to have in the pantry and step-by-step photo tutorials, making it the perfect starter cookbook or gift for a more experienced home cook. Personal stories and anecdotes are peppered throughout the book, including the story of being lured to New Orleans by Dick and Ella Brennan to take the helm at Commander’s Palace as a successor to Paul Prudhomme. Not only is the book a glimpse into the life and cooking of this famed chef, but it’s also perhaps the one you should buy if you’re only going to own only one, as evidenced

by Lagasse’s own words in the forward where he writes, “I am very proud of this book – it’s my ultimate collection, curated over a lifetime of cooking.”

TRAVELOGUE: Lovers of Southern literature, its authors and their hometowns, which often wind up as central locations and characters in their novels, will want to read and plan trips based on Margaret Eby’s, South Toward Home: Travels in Southern Literature. Eudora Welty’s garden in Jackson, Mississippi, William Faulkner’s Rowan Oak and Flannery O’Connor’s peacocks are but a few points of interest in the journey. As luck would have it, fans of John Kennedy Toole’s posthumously published, Pulitzer Prize-winning Confederacy of Dunces now can enjoy a tour of the hot dog carts frequented by the book’s slovenly, eccentric Ignatius J. Reilly.

With considerable biographical and historical background included, Eby’s prose plays to an audience who likely has already embarked upon more than one pilgrimage to a literarily significant locale and gives the fans what they crave and perhaps inspiration for a few new vacation destinations.

TO ORDER VISIT

LOUISIANACOOKBOOK.COM

ELECTRONIC POP: You don’t have to be a “day one” fan of New Orleans’ Mutemath to appreciate their newest album, Vitals. Set for release this fall, the synthpop packed album grabs your attention from the first note. While most of the album is uplifting and sounds like something you would play on a road trip, the seventh track, “Composed,” allows the listener to focus on the vulnerability and emotion of lead singer Paul Meany.

Meet Stanley Dry at the Louisiana Book Festival October 31st in downtown Baton Rouge.

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Book reviews by Melanie Warner Spencer, CD review by Johnny Heatrock Please send submissions for consideration, attention: Melanie Spencer, 110 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005.

myneworleans.com / OCTOBER 2015

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LOCAL COLOR / JAZZ LIFE

Henry Butler One who got away

BY JASON BERRY

I

n all of the media coverage and events on the 10th anniversary of Katrina, Henry Butler, the piano genius whose Gentilly home filled with floodwaters, was largely invisible.

We have seen many accounts of musicians who took huge losses but managed to come back and rebuild. Butler was not in that number. He landed in Colorado for a long stretch after Katrina and eventually relocated to New York, where he teamed up with Steven Bernstein, a trumpeter, composer and bandleader of long and varied experience, particularly as an arranger for Levon Helm. Losing his base in New Orleans was hard for Butler, but finding his way to the city of cities was a fortunate career move.

Viper’s Drag, the 2014 Butler-Bernstein collaboration with the Hot 9, builds off downhome ragtime, as in “Henry’s Boogie,” ranging into more melodically complex pieces with an orchestral feel, like “Wolverine Blues,” a Jelly Roll Morton composition with sleek arrangements by Bernstein.

Butler covers the keyboard with a talent as relentless as James Booker, as deft as Allen Toussaint; yet to know Butler is to appreciate the rigorous intellectual standards that set him apart

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from most of the other players in the line of New Orleans piano maestros going back to Morton. Toussaint the composer is more naturally poetic. Tom McDermott can play anything and make the keyboard sing. Butler has a style of deep blues layering that colors his jazz work with magical surprises.

“So why does the music of New Orleans sound so different?” Butler asks in a blog post on his website. He then gives his answer: “The difference is the employment of the rhythmic scheme. The rhythmic variance – what some people call syncopation – can make the harmonies sound and feel different; it can alter how one receives and perceives melody. The texture of a composition can become more noticeable and of course the beat makes you want to move, keeps you excited and interested in the music you’re listening to.”

A prime example of that texture and the elastic use of rhythm and harmony is Butler’s version of “You Are My Sunshine” on The Game Has Just Begun. The ballad made famous by Jimmie Davis (who purchased the song and from its rights made a fortune) has timeless lyrics as adaptable to countrywestern as R&B stylizations.

Butler sings with a trembling blues power, spacing out the phrases to surging piano strokes, packing the lyrics, “You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you / please don’t take my sunshine away,” with the passion of a

man pleading for the return of the woman he lost.

In performance Butler draws liberally from Professor Longhair standards such as “Big Chief” and “Tipitina.”

Viper’s Drag features a different Indian tune, “Some Iko,” a reworking the “Iko Iko” standard, dropping pieces of the lyrics, substituting his own fragments with a rhythmic variance, to quote the artist.

It may yet be obligatory to explain that Butler, who has a Masters in music from the University of Michigan, is also blind. At some point he’ll reach a status, as Ray Charles did, where the fact is so tangential to the talent as to not need mention. The careful wording on his blog is a sign of his highly articulate sense of craft.

The precision of Butler’s musical expression fits hand to glove with Bernstein’s arrangements. They approach the works of Morton and other composers of early jazz as a canon, much in the manner of Wynton Marsalis, Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand, using the classics of the flowering, nearly a century past, as material to play in new, inventive ways.

Butler can play across the map from traditional jazz to bebop with any number of side excursions into soul or even classical compositions. Viper’s Drag is jazz at its finest and further proof that New Orleans Style has a melodic foundation which, in the right hands, will yield music as rich as any being played these days. n

TIM ELLIS PHOTOGRAPH

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LOCAL COLOR / MODINE’S NEW ORLEANS

Troubles With Trackers When you need to zinc instead of sync

BY MODINE GUNCH

M

y mother-in-law, Ms. Larda, got a fitness tracker for her birthday. Her daughter, Gloriosa, decided it would be good for her.

She straps it on Ms. Larda’s wrist, and goes into a long explanation about how it tracks your heart rate, and sleeping hours, every step you take. And you can sync it ...

“Zinc it? asks Ms. Larda. (She’s says “zinc” for “sink,” like lots of people in New Orleans.) “In the bathtub?”

“No! Not sink. (She says “sssink.”) It’s not waterproof. Sync it.

Synchronize with my computer. So I can keep track of everything ...”

“Humph, “ says Ms. Larda. “ they should call it The Stalker.”

Gloriosa also gives trackers to her brothers, Leech and Lurch, even though they burn all their calories warming barstools.

There is a reason for all this generosity. Gloriosa’s rich husband’s daddy owns a company that issued fitness trackers to all their employees to improve performance. They were supposed to challenge each other to see who was the fittest.

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Naturally, they all started thinking of ways to fool this thing.

Some of them strapped the trackers on their dogs. The problem with doing that is, you never know what the dog will do while he’s wearing it, if you know what I mean Gloriosa says the fitness trackers even sense when you’re engaged in energetic private activities. Now a normal person would naturally take the tracker off before they engage in energetic private activities, but dogs don’t care.

So Old Mr. Proteus kept getting reports that his workers were performing energetic private activities on the corner of Carrollton and Plum streets, or under the house at 4201 Fern St., and like that.

He lost some sleep over it, so he stopped giving the trackers out, and Gloriosa got the leftover ones.

This turns into a windfall for me.

I got to explain. I walk the streets for a living, but not like you think. I am a walking tour guide, which means I lead groups around the French Quarter and point out the sights – and there’s a lot of them.

So last week, my brother-inlaw Leech is sitting at the Sloth Lounge, brooding over how he’s losing a challenge with his girlfriend Trinket, who wears a tracker and does aerobic dancing, for God’s sake. Then I pass by on my way to lead a tour, and he gets an idea. He yells “Modine!” and whips off his tracker and says, “Wear this.”

I say, “You losing a bet? How much?” He says “Ten bucks for you if you wear it – and I’ll get you some more customers.”

Immediately, four more Sloth regulars who have got themselves into fitness challenges they can’t win hold out their

trackers. By the time I leave, I got two bands on each arm and one on my ankle.

Well. Ms. Larda hears about this and decides I need to wear her tracker, too. Gloriosa is following Ms. Larda’s every move on her computer and calling every day and telling her to walk more. This will shut her up.

I get into a routine. Every day I stop at the Sloth, collect trackers, do my two-hour tour and return them. I wear Ms. Larda’s all the time, since I don’t want to run out to Chalmette every day.

It works fine, until I get the trackers mixed up.

It would be the night Leech has a romantic evening with Trinket. And he got no more sense than a Chihuahua and don’t bother to take off the tracker, which unfortunately is Ms. Larda’s.

Next morning, Gloriosa calls me up and tells me her mama burned 762 calories on Bourbon Street last night, and then wound up at the Monteleone Hotel and burned some more calories. And now she’s evidently asleep.

At her age. And her a graduate of Celibacy Academy.

And then I realize I ain’t wearing Ms. Larda’s tracker no more.

I tell Gloriosa that I think she got a malfunctioning tracker, and she should call the manufacturer. That should keep her on the phone for a couple hours yelling at somebody in India, while I hightail it over to the Monteleone, snatch that tracker off Leech and hit “reset.”

Then I bring it to Ms. Larda, tell her I saved her reputation and hint that maybe she should wear this tracker next time she gets in the bathtub.

“I’ll zinc it,” says Ms. Larda.

And that solves that. n LORI OSIECKI ILLUSTRATION

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LOCAL COLOR / JOIE D’EVE

A Fish Tale When to talk and when to flush

BY EVE CRAWFORD PEYTON

G

eorgia has a vivid imagination, like most 3-year-olds, and so we gain “family members” on a very rapid basis. For a few months this summer we had a new baby in the family, Baby Udon, whom Georgia would occasionally diaper and nurse and tenderly care for and occasionally forget in the closet or under her bed for weeks at a stretch. (She isn’t the most responsible mother, but when she’s on, she’s on.)

Then, a couple of weeks ago, she brought home a stuffed soccer-playing monkey from camp and named him Daddy Ruth.

Daddy Ruth went everywhere with us for several days – to camp, to the grocery, to bed. Georgia was much chagrined to learn that Daddy Ruth could not join her in the bath, but she was agreeable to the idea of setting him on the sink to keep her company. And then, just as suddenly, Daddy Ruth was left forgotten, and she’d moved on to another beloved friend.

One thing that has remained constant, however, has been her attachment to her blue betta fish, who she got for Christmas and immediately christened Benny the Bull after her favorite Dora the Explorer character. We feed Benny together every night, and Georgia loves to watch him swim.

Last week on Thursday, the first of Ruby and my Mommy and Ruby days, Ruby suggested getting a new tank for Benny since the light and pump filter had stopped working on his. We went to Petco and dropped an alarming amount of money on equipment for a $2 fish. I followed all the instructions to the letter: rinsed everything with warm water, added special betta-specific water dechlorinator, let the water sit next to his tank for an hour so they would be the

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same temperature.

But Friday morning brought a sad discovery. Benny was very still and very upsidedown and very very dead. Ruby and I were the first to wake up and the first to discover it. Before we could even really wrap our brains around it, Georgia woke up.

“Does Benny love his new house?” Georgia asked immediately after opening her eyes and seeing Ruby and me gathered by the tank.

“Oh,” I stammered. “Um. Yes. He does. He’s just … resting now.

Come on; let’s eat breakfast and get dressed for camp.”

“Mom,” Ruby hissed at me in the kitchen as I started to make breakfast for Georgia.

“You lied.”

“Just go with it, Ruby,” I hissed back.

And so Friday morning found us, after dropping Georgia off at camp and getting bagels at Panera, browsing the betta selection at Jefferson Feed.

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“That one is the right color but too small,” I said, pointing at a tank.

“Maybe we could tell her Benny got hit by a shrink ray?”

Ruby offered. “Or that he went back in time and became a baby again?”

“Let’s try another store,” I said.

We finally ended up back at the same Petco as the day before, where we bought a replacement Benny and got a receipt that we can bring back to the store, accompanied by a fish corpse, any time in the next 15 days for a full refund.

“They don’t have a lot of confidence in their fish, do they?”

Ruby asked, eyeing the receipt.

But we went home with New Benny and gave Old Benny a burial at sea (Flush!) and rinsed and re-filled the tank and installed New Benny in it.

A week later (with eight days to go on the receipt) and New Benny seems to be thriving. Georgia is none the wiser.

But Ruby keeps shooting me these looks.

“I think we need to tell her,” she says at least once a day.

“You’re not the kind of mom who lies about things, are you?

You don’t want to be that kind of mom, do you?”

I keep hedging. “Look, I don’t want to tell her, and then this fish dies, too! Let’s wait until New Benny is for sure going to survive before we say anything, OK?” I know I can’t protect Georgia from everything. I know she’ll one day know true grief and loss, although I wish that weren’t true. But right now, at barely 3, she’s still so innocent and I can’t quite make myself take that away from her. n

Excerpted from Eve Crawford Peyton’s blog, Joie d’Eve, which appears each Friday on MyNewOrleans.com.

jane sanders ILLUSTRATION

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LOCAL COLOR / ME AGAIN

in the Bushes What they ask and what we tell

BY CHRIS ROSE

I

recently wrote an article for this magazine about making the difficult decision to move my family out of the French Quarter (August 2015 issue).

In my effort to focus on the nostalgic aspects of our move, I left out one crucial incident that helped drive our decision, and it’s an omission that has bothered me.

The story begins nicely enough: With the observation that, although Armstrong Park had been a dirty, desolate embarrassment to the city of New Orleans for my first 25 years in this city, over the past five years it has blossomed into a truly lovely, placid, meticulously landscaped urban oasis.

While we lived in the French Quarter, my kids and I spent many joyful afternoons at play there. I cherished our time run-

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ning up and over the bridges and kicking balls across the little hills and just chilling out.

And I never ceased to marvel at the change in the park’s appearance and ambiance from the decades before. No litter.

No skeez. No crud floating in the lagoons. And most importantly: No sense of danger.

Unfortunately, a random discovery one afternoon dashed my personal reverie and shattered my kids’ sense of comfort and safety there. It was a random discovery on what would be our last day of play in Armstrong Park.

On this particular day, we were playing our latest sporting obsession, bocce. (OK, go ahead and roll your eyes. Yes, we’re – eclectic, cosmopolitan even; after all, we were living in the French Quarter!)

Anyway, one of my sons – 12 at the time – overthrew his target and the ball rolled into a cover of shrubs and elephant ears. He crouched down and disappeared into the thicket to retrieve it and, after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, he called out to me, “Daddy?”

I could tell right away something was amiss, in the innate and uncanny way a parent knows from the sound of their kids’ voice that something is wrong. His voice was unsure.

Unsteady. But before I could process it, wrap my head around it, he said, “I found a gun.”

All I could think was: Dammit.

Dammit to hell.

“Don’t touch it!” I said a little too fast and a little too loud. His brother and sister both jumped at the sound of my voice. They pulled close to each other and we all stared at the space in the bushes where we couldn’t see him.

I moved over to the bushes and crouched down to take a look and, sure enough, there between my son and his bocce ball was a gun.

“Is it a toy?” he asked me.

Odd as that sounds, it was a reasonable question; we’ve found lots of lost and discarded toys in parks and playgrounds over the years. But we’ve never found a gun.

The handle was wrapped with back electrical tape.

The exposed black steel was scratched and dented, so I was thinking: Maybe it’s a toy.

I was thinking: Please let it be a toy.

I picked up a stick and pushed at it. It was solid. It was heavy. And it was no toy. It was a very real .9-millimeter. And here was one of those teaching moments you never want to experience as a parent.

My kids, they know what goes on around here. They know about the crime and the murder and everything else in this town. It is inescapable on TV news and on the radio in the car on the way to school in the morning. In fact, even before this happened, they had petitioned me successfully to stop watching the news at home in the morning or listening to it in the car on the way to school because – more often than not – it upset them.

We quietly packed up our bocce set and water bottles and walked home. Then my son and I walked to the nearby 1st District police station to report what we had found.

That evening, the kids peppered me with questions. How did it get there? Who put it there? Had it ever been used to shoot somebody?

I had no answers then. I have no answers still.

The only good news from it all is that there’s now one less gun on the streets of New Orleans. Problem is, that gun has been removed from the park but lodged firmly into the active imaginations of my kids.

They haven’t spoken about it for a while now; at least, not to me. So I’m left to wonder, as I do about so many things they see, hear and experience: What do they say to each other?

What do they know? n jason raish illustration

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LOCAL COLOR / HOME

LEFT: A wooden tray filled with fresh rosemary creates and interesting centerpiece on the dining room table.

Two Become One Vincent Saia and Glynn Stephens enjoy a dream come true

BY BONNIE WARREN PHOTOGRAPHED BY CHERYL GERBER

I

n a picturesque setting overlooking Audubon Park, Vincent Saia and Glynn Stephens enjoy an amazing compound of two homes, with an adjoining courtyard, pool and garden. “The original home was built in 1905,” says Saia, as he relaxes in the courtyard featuring a water curtain flowing into the pool from an architectural structure that mimics the posts on the front of the house. “Architect and interior designer John Chrestia is responsible for the complete remodeling we did after we purchased the home in 2000, and when the house next door became available in 2006, we purchased it as our guest house and once again called in John to remodel it to fit our needs.”

“We feel fortunate to have both houses,” Stephens says. The couple agrees that having the opportunity to purchase the second house was a positive result of Katrina. “When our neighbor decided to move out of town after the hurricane, he asked if we knew anybody who would be interested in purchasing it,” he says. “We immediately told him we wanted the house.”

Not that the couple needed more space, since their main three-story residence has 4,600 square feet, with a living room,

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atrium, media room, dining room, den, kitchen and half-bathroom on the first level, a lavish master suite and two additional bedrooms and another bathroom on the second floor, with a media room and office, plus a bathroom on the top floor. For lagniappe there’s a rooftop deck overlooking the treetops of the historic oaks in the park.

“We love having a separate guest house, especially for entertaining when we open both houses and utilize both kitchens, although the guest house kitchen is an abbreviated version that includes a smaller stove and island, thus serving as more of an additional bar and space to gather,” Stephens says. “Our guests love having a complete bar in both houses.” Built in the 1930s, the guest house has 2,000 square feet, featuring an open floor plan on the first level that incorporates the living room, kitchen and half-bath, with two master suites upstairs.

Chrestia is credited with the interior design of both spaces, and he went all-out to execute the couple’s classic contemporary style. “We wanted comfort most of all,” Saia says. “We don’t have a chair or sofa in either house that isn’t comfortable, and we

both enjoy the neutral colors of all of the walls.” Chrestia says, “We were all on the same page with all the changes made to both house and the selection of the furnishings. It was a unique, once in a lifetime project of marrying the two houses. Both Vincent and Glynn were a pleasure to have as clients.”

Both houses are contemporary art galleries, with art by some of the best-known local and national artists on display, including two pieces by the famous glass artist Chihuly; a kinetic piece by Lin Emery named “Currents” is featured in the courtyard nearby the imposing granite sculpture of a hand by Jesus Moroles; a pair of nude photographs named “Tumbleweed” by photographer Herb Ritts flank the bed in the master bedroom; the nearby “Circle Dance,” a metal sculpture by the late John Scott, has a place of honor in the master bathroom; and “Day Tripper,” large work of art depicting Snow White by Blake Boyd, hangs on the living room wall in the guest house. And that’s just a partial list. “Gallery owner Arthur Roger guided us with most of our purchases, and we love living with everything he recommended,” Saia says.

Landscape architect Rene J.L. Fransen gets credit for the terraced courtyard, plantings, the pool and its 10-foot high water curtain. “The essential design goal was to provide a seamless Facing page: Built in 1905, the three-story home was completely remodeled by architect-interior designer John Chrestia, of Chrestia Staub Pierce, who also did the interior design.

Top: The large kitchen has a wall of windows to allow maximum light to flood the room. Right: Glynn Stephens and Vincent Saia

transition from inside the main residence to the courtyard, pool and guest house,” Fransen says. “To achieve a smooth flow, the terrace was elevated to the house level, which helped maximize the use of the space. Blue Jay Arizona flagstone was chose for its neutral color and hard sharp angles to help convey a modern design, with the lower are of the garden featuring a seat wall, a dining area and a fire pit.”

Both Saia and Stephens feel fortunate to live in such an interesting setting. “We feel blessed to live in a home on Audubon Park near St. Charles Avenue and Loyola and Tulane universities,” Saia says. “The views and activities in the park provide unending enjoyment. The location and a home that is unique in design make it a dream come true.” n Facing page: Top: The guesthouse kitchen is abbreviated version of the main house, including a smaller stove and island that serves as more of an additional bar for entertaining. Bottom, left: The third-floor bathroom takes full advantage of the small space by placing the tub under the dormer. Bottom, right: The house next door was purchased when the couple’s neighbor decided to move out of town after Hurricane Katrina. Today it’s a guesthouse joined to the main residence by a courtyard, pool and garden.

Top: The pool is framed by an architectural structure designed by landscape architect Rene J.L. Fransen, who did the entire courtyard and garden; “Currents,” a polished aluminum kinetic sculpture by Lin Emery, is featured near the pool. Left: The third floor media room and office opens onto a deck overlooking Audubon Park; a Jim Richard painting graces the wall.

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Special thanks to Stanton Murray at Murray Yacht Sales, who captained our crew on this Beneteau Sense 55 on the perfect Lake Pontchartrain sunset cruise. Model Kirsten Rinck; Stylist, Lisa Tudor; Hair

by Niki Walker; Makeup by Meggan Dupre Ory. Kirsten is wearing Raga crochet top over crochet bikini by She Made Me at Stonefree.

Making Waves A Guide to the Lake and its Shores

By Lauren LaBorde

Photographed by Marianna Massey

NOLA Flyboarding offers the next best thing to flying, with a board propelled by a flexible hose that propels you into the air.

W

e speak of the Lake Pontchartrain shore in terms of geography; The St. Tammany Parish Northshore and the Southshore running alongside Jefferson and Orleans parishes. Both sides have pockets of development targeted at leisure. Like looking for treasure, there are discoveries to be made. Here are some of our suggestions: Southshore West End and Bucktown Perhaps the most wellknown Lakefront area, there’s plenty to do here, whether you just want to eat seafood and drink on the lake, run or bike along the lake with the breeze on your back or actually get in the water.

For adventurous bikers, you can start as far away as

the French Quarter, head down the bike lane on Esplanade Avenue, go through City Park in Mid-City and take the Wisner Boulevard trail all the way to Lakeshore Drive.

But a more doable route – and one you don’t need to own a bike to do – would be to start at City Park’s Big Lake, where you can rent bikes at a boathouse through Wheel Fun Rentals (WheelFunRentals.com/Locations/NewOrleans-2). Rentals start at $10 hourly, $25 half-day and $40 full-day for a cruiser, and surrey, tandem and kids bikes also are available.

For a workout in the water, stand-up paddling – in which you stand up on what looks like a surfboard and paddle on the water – is good for developing core strength, and your close proximity to

the water provides a cool breeze. NOLA Paddleboards’ Lakefront location (7840 Lakeshore Drive, 717-8847, NolaPaddleboards.com) offers an “open-water adventure” (as opposed to its relatively confined Bayou St. John excursions). Offered by reservation only, the company’s instructors lead paddle sessions that begin with a group lesson – but if you’re not confident in your abilities, the company provides private and small-group (four max) sessions. The one-hour excursions start at $25 per paddler for groups of six-nine paddlers and $75 for private or small group sessions (it’s $50 for additional paddlers, up to 4). Check the website for excursion times.

Those paddleboard trips offer prime views of the New

High Tides and Low

Making a Comeback My mother, a Navy brat who spent most of her life living in the Maryland/D.C. area, always tells me about how she and her best friend decided to come to New Orleans and attend Loyola University: looking at a map, seeing a city surrounded by water, it seemed like New Orleans was filled with beaches. She and her friend were a bit disappointed when they eventually landed here and realized that New Orleans was certainly not a beach town.

However, don’t say that to the people who frequented Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park. My mother attended Loyola until 1978, four years before the once wildly popular recreation area – the park that was

After the weekly Wednesday night races at the New Orleans Yacht Club (March to November) crews and spectators alike gather at the bar to tell stories and unwind.

home to the Zephyr roller coaster and is a favorite entry in the New Orleans “ain’t dere no more” canon – and its manmade beach would close. Outside the gates of the park was the Tiki restaurant Bali Hai, where many New Orleans teens had their pre-prom dinners. After the park and beach closed, that spot stayed open for a few more years as an events rental space before a fire destroyed it in’86. And course, “The Point” was the spot for teen mischief along the lake.

Hurricane Katrina’s floods devastated West End and the Lakeview area. Pontchartrain Beach was eventually reopened for swimming, but closed in 2012 after two drownings within six weeks, though the area remained opened to boaters.

Canal Lighthouse, which was damaged after hurricanes Katrina and Rita restored and re-opened in 2013. The lighthouse museum, education center and gift shop is open to the public Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., with docent-lead tours available.

Admission is $7.50 for adults; $5 for seniors, students and military; and $3 for children.

For an even better core workout: Ever wanted to know what it would feel like to fly with a jetpack or hoverboard? NOLA Flyboarding (7400 Lakeshore Drive, 982-8346, NolaFlyboarding. com) offers the next thing to it with a board propelled by a flexible hose that propels you into the air. It isn’t difficult to master the basic step of getting up in the air, but flips and other trips take some

practice. The company also offers party barge, Jet Ski and kayak rentals.

Alternatively, start the day by grabbing wine, cheese and other provisions from the nearby Robert Fresh Market (135 Robert E. Lee Blvd., 282-3428, RobertFreshMarket. com) and picnic at Breakwater Park on Breakwater Drive.

On Wednesday nights, West End is the place to be. On those nights, from March to November, the New Orleans Yacht Club (403 N. Roadway St., 283-2581, NOYC. org) hosts Wednesday Night Racing, where at least 30 boats participate in a laidback competition. Afterward, crews congregate at the bar of the yacht club. For anyone who has a sailboat and wants to learn to race, the NOYC can set the boat owners up with

an experienced crew or skipper to teach them. If you don’t have a boat, NOYC can help pair you with those who do – the NOYC seems to care more about enthusiasm than previous sailing experience. Boat call is 5:30-6:15 p.m., and the race usually ends at 8:30 p.m. depending on wind conditions.

Down the street is Southern Yacht Club (105 N. Roadway St., 288-4200, SouthernYachtClub.org), which offers sailing and crew classes, social events and twilight races. And if you’re looking to purchase your own boat, look to Murray Yacht Sales (6500 Spanish Fort Blvd., 283-2507, MurrayYachtSales. com), which has many to ogle on its website.

If you’d rather enjoy the water without the motion

There are plenty of places to fish, including along Lakeshore Drive on the Northshore (pictured here), at Bonnabel Boat Launch and Park, at Fontainebleau State Park and at the Frank Davis Fishing Pier.

sickness, there are the aforementioned restaurants anchoring West End’s second life.

Brisbi’s (7400 Lakeshore Drive, 304-4125, BrisbisRestaurant. com) has a contemporary interior and focuses on local seafood. The Blue Crab (7900 Lakeshore Drive, 284-2898, TheBlueCrabNola.com) has gluten-free options, traditional lakefront seafood joint fare and a few Tiki cocktails from Bali Hai. There is also Landry’s (8000 Lakeshore Drive, 2831010, LandrysSeafood.com), a chain seafood restaurant that has a great view of the lake.

Bucktown Head towards Metairie and you’ll hit Bucktown, the oncebustling fishing community that took a hit after Katrina.

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But there are still some seafood destinations that are going strong: Deanie’s Seafood (1713 Lake Ave., Metairie, 8314141, Deanies.com) is still a favorite spot, and R&O’s (216 Metairie-Hammond Highway, Metairie, 831-1248) serves delicious pizza alongside classic New Orleans fare.

Further into Metairie along the lake, Bonnabel Boat Launch and Park (1599 Bonnabel Blvd., BonnabelBoatLaunch.com) is a public boat launch that also has a small recreation area with a playground, fishing pier and free dog park. It is a perfect place to set up a picnic and watch the sunset on the lake.

Eastern New Orleans Damaged by Hurricane Katrina’s winds and flooding, the art deco Lakefront Airport (which mainly functions for charter, private and occasional military operations) was restored to glory and in 2013 opened as a grand events venue. The venue’s in-house caterers, Messina’s at the Terminal, operate the Runway Cafe, which serves comforting New Orleans brunch and lunch fare, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Tuesdays-Sundays.

Pack a picnic from Walker’s BBQ (10828 Hayne Blvd., 2418227, CochonDeLaitPoboys. com) – it’s the home of the Jazz Fest cochon de lait poor boy, available here all year round – and head to the The Frank Davis Fishing Pier near

But in 2013, the seafood restaurants Blue Crab and Brisbi’s opened along Lakeshore Drive, providing a jolt of adrenaline in the Lakefront dining scene. On a Sunday night, for example, the area is bustling with diners, making it difficult to snag a spot in the outside seating areas overlooking the water. And recently, the Orleans Levee District approved signing a lease with the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, allowing the nonprofit to reopen the beach to the public as a swimming area and nature preserve. The nonprofit is slated to reopen the beach by next spring, unfortunately sans amusements (for now) and lifeguards – so swim at your own peril.

Brisbi's has a contemporary interior and focuses on local seafood, like these fresh oysters.

For a workout in the water, stand-up paddling with NOLA Paddleboards – in which you stand up on what looks like a surfboard and paddle on the water – is good for developing core strength, and your close proximity to the water provides a cool breeze.

A row of cabins that, after being shuttered since Hurricane Isaac in 2012, reopened for reservations in August and are for rent at Fontainebleau State Park

the Lakefront Airport on Lakeshore Drive beneath the west side of the Sen. Ted Hickey (formerly Seabrook) Bridge.

You can fish here 24/7.

If you have a boat, head to South Shore Harbor (6701 Stars & Stripes Blvd., 245-3152, MarinasInNewOrleans.com), a beautiful marina where slips are available to rent.

Also in the area is a tiny enclave that feels like you’re in a miniature beach town: the Lighthouse Bar & Grill (6001 France Road, 301-2218, LighthouseBarNola.com) sits along the Pontchartrain Landing industrial marina (PontchartrainLanding.com).

The bar serves up beachy cocktails and delicious barbecue, and you can access

it all by boat. Tropical-hued vacation rentals in the villa – including “floating” ones – are available. There is also a boat launch ramp and a pool, and daily shuttles to the French Quarter.

While crabbing is good all around Lake Pontchartrain, “The Trestles,” the bridges spanning the lake between Irish Bayou and Slidell, which can be accessed via the Chef Harbor Marina (21135 Chef Menteur Highway, 662-5511) on Chef Pass, is a fishing and crabbing hot spot.

Jefferson Laketown Pack a picnic and ride your bike to the park surrounding Treasure Chest Casino in Kenner, along the Jeffer-

son Parish Linear Path that stretches to Bucktown. If you’re driving, pick up food from the burgeoning row of restaurants on Williams Boulevard for a picnic. Although primarily Hispanic eateries, the street also has some Asian and Middle Eastern cafes and grocery stores.

On Sundays, the Treasure Chest Casino hosts the weekly dance party from the classic rock station WTIX, where a group of mostly elderly, very dedicated regulars cut a rug to oldies.

Coconut Beach, the sand volleyball complex that was at West End before the storm, now holds court in Kenner (100 Coconut Beach Court, Kenner, 305-4090, CoconutBeachLa.com). It hosts the

The south shore of Lake Pontchartrain isn’t the only lakefront area that has seen some recent revival.

Fontainebleau State Park reopened its popular cabins on Lake Pontchartrain near Mandeville, shuttered since Hurricane Isaac in 2012, for reservations in August.

Another lakefront area seems poised for development in the near future: In May of this year Kenner Mayor Mike Yenni proposed turning the five acres of undeveloped land overlooking Lake Pontchartrain near Treasure Chest Casino – recently rezoned from recreational to commercial – into a Destin-like development with condos, a hotel and boardwalks. Earlier this year a pair of developers, one of

From March to November, the New Orleans Yacht Club hosts Wednesday Night Racing, where at least 30 boats participate in a laid-back competition.

whom owns the music venue Tipitina’s, were in talks about developing unused Lakefront property east of the Lakefront Airport complex and South Shore Harbor, formerly the site of the Bally’s riverboat casino landing, into a four-and-a-half-acre water park and outdoor concert setting.

So going along with the city’s trend of embracing the waterways again – which also include the boom of recreation, festivals and events in and along Bayou St. John and the building of Crescent Park, with prime views of the Mississippi River – it seems like the New Orleans area is heading back to Lake Pontchartrain for recreation and dining, and that should only increase in the next few years.

national AVP beach volley ball tour, but amateur volleyball, beach soccer and dodgeball leagues are the primary players. There also is a bar and grill to replace your electrolytes and more besides.

A good spot for crabbing is the Jefferson/St. Charles Parish line. You can get there by launching at Williams Boulevard near the casino.

Northshore Aquafly New Orleans (9575859, AquaflyNewOrleans. com), another flyboarding company, operates at the Northshore at The Dock (118 Harbor View Court) and Marina Del Ray/Hooked Up Bar & Grill (110 Marina Del Rey Blvd.). The company offers sunset couple flights

that include a GoPro camera hooked up to your helmet to capture it all.

Bayou Paddle Co. (bayoupaddleco@gmail.com) offers stand-up paddling on Lake Pontchartrain, as well as races, guided trips and other events.

At The Dock (118 Harbor View Court, Slidell, (985) 6453625, TheDockSlidell.com), another bar and grill accessible by boat, is the Slidell outpost of Coconut Beach, with open courts Saturday and Sunday.

The bar also hosts fishing tournaments, karaoke nights and other events.

Also in the Slidell area is the St. Tammany Fishing Pier (54001 E. Howze Beach Roard, Slidell, (985) 649-1922), created after the Interstate 10 Twinspans were

destroyed following Katrina.

Fontainebleau State Park (FontainebleauStatePark. com) near Mandeville is a beautiful park on the Northshore with a shallow beach.

The area features a fishing pier, and the Mandeville boat launch is nearby. There is another beach by a row of cabins that, after being shuttered since Hurricane Isaac in 2012, reopened for reservations in August; visit ReserveAmerica.com/Outdoors/Louisiana-Camping. htm to make a reservation.

There are a lot of quaint restaurants along Lakeshore Drive in Mandeville, and The Barley Oak (2101 Lakeshore Drive, Mandeville, (985) 7277420) is a draught house with an eclectic pub grub menu. n

Family Matters

Local businesses that keep close to home

by Judi Russell

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photographed by jeffery johnston

f you do much research into the topic of family businesses, you’ll see the same statistics repeated over and over: • Only about 30 percent survive into the second generation; • Only about 12 percent survive into the third generation; and • Only a mere 3 percent survive into the fourth generation or beyond.

Those odds aren’t great. Even the most loving families can discover that working together isn’t the same as living together.

Sooner or later family members find themselves at loggerheads, unable to reach compromises over details like succession, division of profits, opening more stores or how much to pay children, grandchildren, etc. as they join the company.

It is no surprise that most of us don’t choose to work side by side with our relatives. Just thinking about the fierce battles that can erupt over whether or not the green bean casserole at Thanksgiving should have slivered almonds makes us realize that mixing work and family isn’t always a snap.

But for some lucky New Orleans families, keeping the business in the family has proved to be a ticket to success. Talk to them, and you’ll hear the same refrain expressed: “We wouldn’t have it any other way.” They tell tales of watching their parents and grandparents work hard, learning to pitch in as youngsters and taking pleasure in watching their elders build strong relationships with their customers and clients.

Getting a business off the ground is hard work, and succeeding generations often say they joined the family business because they wanted to spend time with their fathers and mothers, who put in long hours at the office. They may go off to college or take up another profession, but for these people, coming home to join the family firm was the natural thing to do.

Pel Hughes

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n 1954, Pel and Alice Hughes bought a letter-service business. In keeping with the times, the company was named after the husband, Pel. But he already had a job on the railroad and his wife, who was ahead of her time, actually ran the operation. Today, much has changed about Pel Hughes – its location and services, for example – but you’ll still find a Hughes family member minding the store.

Pel’s son Vic, who grew up and joined the business, married a schoolteacher named Jackie Levy, who worked there on and off. In 1971, the young couple bought the business, which at that time was primarily a printer and mailer.

Jackie’s brother, Tim Levy, remembers pitching in when he was just 10 years old, stuffing envelopes for all those mailings.

Jackie and Vic Hughes had four children who grew up around the family business. Their daughter went into the hairdressing business, although she helps out from time to time.

Their three sons – Mark, Johnny and Brian – graduated from college with degrees in business and marketing, then went into the family business as well. In addition to Tim, Jackie has another brother and a brother-in-law who work for Pel Hughes.

Like so many other local companies, Pel Hughes flooded during Hurricane Katrina. Instead of folding its tent, however, the business reinvented itself, withdrawing from sectors of the business that were disappearing thanks to new technology and adding new businesses that met the city’s needs. Since the printing business has become more digital, Vic explains, the company switched its focus to marketing, helping companies figure out how to market themselves through the use of many media, rather than just print.

The family opened a flooring store, Floor de Lis, to help the many residents who had to replace flooded floors, and a catering company, Toulouse Gourmet, which did offsite catering. Later, they used some of the space in their 63,000-square-foot building on Toulouse Street as an event space called The Cannery, which can handle events of up to 600 people.

Pel Hughes employs between 50-60 people, down from about 125 when Katrina hit.

Tim Levy and Jackie and Vic Hughes say they have no plans to retire. In fact, with six grandchildren, Jackie says she may be welcoming more Hughes family members into the business. It is a positive thing to bring in young people, Tim says; they come with new contacts, new ideas and lots and lots of energy.

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Hiller Jewelry

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alk into Hiller Jewelry and even before you examine the exquisite items nestled in glass cabinets, you’ll notice the serenity. Joe Biderman and daughter Lisa, president and vice president respectively, prefer it that way.

“We like the one-on-one approach,” Joe says, so instead of a mall location, Hiller sits among the homes, boutiques and restaurants of Metairie Road. Hiller doesn’t seek to be the biggest jewelry store, he says, choosing instead to be the most personal. He and Lisa strive to build long-term relationships with their customers, remembering what they’ve bought before and what their likes and dislikes are. That is in keeping with the nature of jewelry, which is often purchased as a gift for a memorable occasion.

Father and daughter work as a team. Joe is a specialist in diamonds and gemstones, as well as antique or estate jewelry. Lisa handles the marketing end of the business while working with customers to choose unique items that will become family heirlooms. Hiller can also create jewelry for its customers and repair and appraise valuables. They even offer appointments.

Hiller Jewelry began in 1918, when Alphonse Hiller opened a wholesale jewelry business the old Godchaux Building on the corner of Canal and Decatur streets. Within 30 years he had created the largest diamond wholesale business in the southeast region. His son, Jonas Hiller, joined the firm in the 1930s. He oversaw the transition from a wholesale to a retail jeweler.

Jonas’ daughter, Joan, married Joe Biderman in the late 1970s. Joan worked on and off at Hiller, and after their marriage Joe came aboard, learning from his father-in-law and forging relationships with people in the business all over the country. He became president in ’91.

Lisa, a graduate of the University of Colorado, returned home after Katrina to join Hiller. She remembers helping out at the store during her childhood, wrapping gifts at Christmas, and says learning the ropes from her father has been a pleasure.

“He’s been a great mentor,” she says. Her brother, Adam, owns Company Burger on Freret Street. Her aunt, Patti Hiller Lengsfield, also works at the store.

Joe’s expertise in antique and estate jewelry has led to an enjoyable niche business, he says. When people inherit jewelry, they usually have questions about what they have, what it’s worth and what to do with it. He can give advice on the options, including redesigning the pieces in a more contemporary setting or selling it through Hiller’s wide network of dealers, brokers and buyers.

Mothe Funeral Homes

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lanning a funeral is an inevitably stressful endeavor. Families have to make lots of decisions at a time when they’re coping with grief and sorrow. Often, what makes the process easier is help from funeral professionals whose roots go deep in the community.

For six generations, members of the Mothe family have helped their neighbors when a funeral must be planned.

“Our family has cared for the West Bank community for more than 120 years,” says Boyd Mothe Jr., current owner of Mothe Funeral Homes. Today, the firm owns three funeral homes on the West Bank and seven others in the region, as well as several cemeteries. The company’s success is due largely to its close connection to the communities it serves, he says. “Our profits don’t go to Wall Street. They go to Main Street.”

Boyd Mothe Jr.’s sister, Laurie Mothe Knowles, also works in the business, and their father, Boyd Mothe Sr., remains active as well. Boyd Jr.’s three children – Nicole Mothe Lawson, Kathryn Mothe Illg and Boyd “Beau” Mothe III – comprise the sixth generation of Mothes who work for the family concern.

The company had its start in the French Quarter, when Guillaume Mothe opened a funeral services business. His son, Emile J. Mothe Sr., opened the first funeral home operations on the West Bank. That home was destroyed by a major fire in Algiers in 1898. Emile’s son, Emile J. Mothe Jr., bought the home on Vallette Street, which is still in operation. His son, Boyd Mothe Sr., expanded the business, confident that future generations were waiting in the wings. It remains a family-owned business, unique in an industry where consolidation has done away with many such companies.

Boyd Mothe Sr. says he remembers the days when wakes were held in a family’s home and when visitation might take place all night. Today, he says, things are less formal. Boyd Jr. says one trend he’s noticed is toward individualization; Mothe’s offers such touches as dove and balloon releases, a Harley Motorcycle Hearse and harpists or bagpipers.

The frantic pace of life today makes it difficult for families to appreciate the necessity of allowing sufficient time for mourning. “It’s time to slow down and reflect,” Boyd Jr. says. If families can take the time to share stories and pictures, he says, the result can be talks of a lifetime between several generations.

Langenstein’ s

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ince Michael Langenstein founded his grocery shop at 1300 Arabella St. in 1922, the business has thrived by selling the best of fresh and prepared foods, locally sourced whenever possible. The recipe has proven successful; by ’54, the store outgrew its original spot and moved to 1330 Arabella St. In ’94, the Metairie Road shop was opened, and this fall a new Langenstein’s will open in the River Ridge area. The family also owns Prytania Liquor Store, which is operated in the grocery’s original Arabella Street location.

Fourth-generation owner and President H.D. Lanaux Jr. (who discovered the Better Cheddar that has become a Langenstein’s hallmark), says he tells his employees, “People are relying on us for a meal for their family.”

If something isn’t good enough for his family’s table, he says, it won’t be put it out for sale to his customers.

Lanaux’s father, H.D. Lanaux Sr., married Ethel Langenstein, the founder’s granddaughter. Their sons, H.D. Lanaux Jr. and Mike Lanaux, each entered the business after studying business and accounting. Lanaux Jr.’s son, Trey, and Mike’s son, Ellis, have also joined the firm.

Division of labor has been one secret to the company’s success, Lanaux Jr. says. He oversees the Metairie Road store, while Mike Lanaux oversees Arabella Street. Trey and Ellis will be handling the new store. And each has his own strength; Ellis Lanaux, for example, is extremely adept at the technical side of the business, which has grown tremendously as scanners and other innovations have emerged. And patriarch H.D. Lanaux Sr. still puts on the black-and-white outfit staff members wear and checks out the stores.

For Langenstein’s, it was all hands on deck when Hurricane Katrina hit. Although the stores didn’t flood, family members and several employees worked feverishly to throw away spoiled food and sanitize every nook and cranny so they could open for business.

H.D. Lanaux Jr. says he still remembers how grateful – and gracious – people were to find even a pared-down inventory for sale in those traumatic days.

Like other local business owners, Lanaux Jr. says the family knows that New Orleans shoppers like to shop at independently owned businesses, and they develop a loyalty that persists down through generations. That is one reason the family likes to hear from its customers. “Our customers travel a lot,” he says. When they suggest products they’ve sampled elsewhere and enjoyed, Langenstein’s is always ready to give them a try. n

Black vs.

45 years ago the Black Panthers and New Orleans Police

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n Nov. 19, 1970, the city administration had had its fill of revolutionary Black Power rhetoric, acts of defiance and maybe even the services that the fledgling New Orleans Black Panther group were providing to the poorest of the poor in the 9th Ward Desire Housing Project. Just a month earlier there had been a 30-minute shootout between the Panthers and police at the nearby Piety Street headquarters. Twelve Panthers, including Malik Rahim, the local Panther in charge of security, were arrested after that shootout –

and a year later acquitted. Mercifully, no one had been killed.

Early Thursday morning, Nov. 19, Police Chief Clarence Giarrusso declared at a press conference at his headquarters that police would make “a last-ditch effort” to remove the Panthers from their new headquarters. “We are going to do our damnedest to get them out without any violence,” Giarrusso told reporters.

He said police intelligence had learned that between five and 15 Panthers were holding out in the project, possibly in more than one building. The police chief, Mayor Moon Landrieu and the mayor’s black assistant, Bob Tucker, discussed the Panthers’ possible use of hand grenades and how Panthers might occupy sniper positions in various apartments. In the course of the long

Blue

by Orissa Arend Illustration by Jason Raish

had a tense standoff; amazingly, it ended non-violently Vietnam War, some Panthers had joined the armed forces or been drafted and had become skilled, if reluctant, warriors.

After the press briefing, approximately 250 white police officers boarded buses for Desire armed with riot guns and wearing bulletproof vests. They marched into the project at about 11:30 a.m. behind an armored vehicle, dubbed the “war wagon,” that had been acquired after the September shootout. Three helicopters circled a few hundred feet above while state police stood ready nearby. “For your own safety, please move out of the area,” a voice from a loudspeaker urged.

“More power to the people!” came the reply in unison.

The army of police was determined to serve the eviction no-

tice. The city accused the Panthers of violating the state trespass law – with its maximum fine of $50.

At 11:45 a.m., hundreds of young blacks blocked police and the tank as it neared Building 178, the Panther stronghold. During the yelling and the mayhem, one enterprising young man made the best of the situation, selling ice cream from his truck parked some 50 yards from the community center, close to Building 178.

At 12:20 p.m., the armored police tank again rolled up to the Panther building. Police announced from the war wagon that the building’s occupants were in violation of the law and would be given eight minutes to clear the building. The tank withdrew, but confrontation seemed imminent.

Eight minutes came and went, but police didn’t advance on the building. Panther members remained inside. Yet another warning was issued at 1:45 – with the same results. The crowd of Panther protectors had moved out of the way, but within minutes of the last warning, they again filled the street in front of the Panther headquarters. Any earlier advantage held by the police seemed to evaporate.

At one point an angry sea of Panther supporters was less than 30 feet from the police. They were being restrained by Desire leaders, who locked their arms together to prevent the crowd from advancing. Meanwhile, other Desire leaders met with Chief Giarrusso. The chief warned community leaders that the situation “is damn near getting out of hand.”

Throughout the afternoon, Father Jerome LeDoux and Rev. William C. London, who had been called in to mediate, held private conversations with the police chief about every 15 or 20 minutes on the Alvar Street neutral ground. Meanwhile, police manned several project buildings adjacent to the Panther headquarters. They stood in secondstory apartments aiming their shotguns out open windows.

Mid-afternoon, Rev. London emerged from the project to report to Landrieu, Giarrusso and the press that Desire residents had taken a vote and “unanimously” decided to back the Panther holdouts as long as police remained on the scene. “It is surprising to note the number of people who are supporting this movement,” said Rev. London.

Asked if he thought Panther members were giving any serious consideration to giving up without violence, the minister thought for a moment and replied, “My frank answer is no. … They would rather die for the cause.”

Responding to dire warnings coming from several sources, and to orders from Mayor Landrieu, Giarrusso called for his men to withdraw. The cops were tense and angry amid shouts of “Death to the Pigs!” They resented the insults and the hours of tension with no action. It didn’t sit well with them to leave without doing what they had come there to do. They walked past one building on which, “Power comes from the barrel of a gun” was crudely written in black paint. That may have been one sentiment upon which both they and the Panthers agreed.

How Did We Dodge the Bullet?

Around 1970 race riots erupted in other cities. There was widespread disillusionment with peaceful resistance after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. two years earlier. So under the extreme tension of these circumstances, how did New Orleans avoid bloodshed?

I interviewed Moon Landrieu in 2003. He told me: “The Panthers apparently had won a good bit of support down there by giving out meals and breakfasts and becoming part of the community in the time that they were there. And they developed a good bit of sympathy, both from the standpoint of ‘charity’ work they were doing as well as this whole question of race, which was and still is today, a boiling question. Minority rights, the repression of blacks, police brutality, poverty – these played a huge part in it.”

Landrieu went on to say, “We were not precipitous about this.

There was no chest-beating. There was no sense of posturizing. I knew this was a dangerous situation. I knew there was a real possibility of injury and death in each one of these instances. There was no political capital to be made. First of all, I had been elected with essentially 95 percent of the black vote. These were my constituents.

And I’d lived through the civil rights era. And I didn’t have any racial

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fear. Not that I was brave. I didn’t have racial fear. That didn’t mean I didn’t fear the Panthers. The Panthers were a different make-up, a different group.”

The night after the standoff, Landrieu and Bob Tucker, a black businessman, and Charles Elloie, a new black assistant to the mayor who went on to become a judge, were drinking cognac at a bar in the French Quarter called In a Pig’s Eye. Tucker remembers Landrieu saying, “You know what? I admire the hell out of those kids.”

“What kids?” asked Tucker.

“The Panthers,” Landrieu told Tucker. “To find a 17-, 18-, 19-yearold who had a cause he was willing to die for. That’s something. For a young person to be so committed to something. I disagreed with what they were trying to do. But I admired that kind of commitment.”

Judge Elloie recalled in 2003 sitting in the bar that night after the standoff “just quiet, uncharacteristically quiet. … It was the first time I had reflected on what could have happened.” Elloie had been part of a late-night meeting to decide how to enforce the law in Desire.

But he saw more than lawbreakers. When he saw the Panthers and all those Desire residents, many of them children, surrounding and protecting Panther headquarters, Elloie saw himself. “I’m a product of the projects. I grew up in the Lafitte project. I spent 20 years in the projects. So I never had any fear of me. Everything in there was me.”

The fear didn’t come until that night while Elloie was sitting a little apart from the group in a corner of the Pig’s Eye. Before that, he couldn’t remember being truly afraid. “I’d been careful,” he told me, “but not fearful. But on that particular night, I reflected on what could have happened and I was scared. I sure ’nuf dodged the bullet.

That’s the very first bullet I dodged. … You know someone could have banged on a garbage can cover or a garbage can could have turned over and boom, right out front. “Cause Don [Hubbard, who today owns the Hubbard Mansion bed and breakfast on St. Charles Avenue] and I were really right out front.”

I asked Judge Elloie what he thought saved the day. “Police restraint,” he said. “There were a lot of policemen, a lot of firepower and a big tank. … Two people I gained a lot of respect for on that particular day were Deputy Chief Louis Sirgo [Sirgo was killed three years later in the Mark Essex affair] and Clarence Giarrusso. … They were both reasonable people on that day, and fortunately, the Panthers in the development at that time – they were cool, too. … For some reason it all worked and peace prevailed. That night I just reflected.”

The city’s Human Relations Committee issued a statement at the time offering “special praise to the thousands of citizens of Desire who kept the peace in their own neighborhood. Their contribution to limiting injuries and loss of life to a level far below that of similar incidents elsewhere must be applauded gratefully by all.”

Double Dirty Tricks

On the fifth and sixth days after the standoff, the police pulled what many considered to be two dirty tricks. A lot of New Orleanians remember the first one, probably because it involved a celebrity.

But amazingly, very few remember the second, the final arrest of the Panthers. Even the man who ordered it had forgotten.

On Nov. 24, five days after the showdown, Jane Fonda, whose career as an actress had taken an activist turn in response to the Vietnam War, arrived in New Orleans to support the Panthers. The next day, she rented four cars from Hertz to transport the Panthers and their supporters to the Revolutionary People’s Constitutional Convention in Washington D.C. Before they got out of town, they

were stopped by the NOPD and all were arrested.

Former intelligence officer Larry Preston Williams, who’s black, told me, “She comes in town and she rents the automobiles. There are people who get into the automobiles. They are leaving New Orleans and going to Washington D.C. We arrest them. They are leaving town. To this day, I have no idea why they’re arrested. I don’t even remember what we charged them with. But I do know when I arrested a group, my English teacher from Xavier got out of the car.

He and I chatted. I could not imagine what law they had violated.”

The second part to the final arrest of the Panthers was even more bizarre. It was described by Johnny Jackson Jr. At the time he was executive director of the Desire Community Center. He was on the Model Cities Advisory Commission and had been active in establishing community support programs in drug rehabilitation, education health care and a talent showcase. On the night of the final arrest of the Panthers, Thanksgiving eve, Jackson was working late into the morning at the Community Center when he heard a noise and went to investigate. He thought the noise had come from a group of kids preparing for a Thanksgiving party in the back of the building. When he got to them, they told him they had just seen priests, police in disguise, leading Panthers from their headquarters, which was next door to the community center.

Jackson stepped out onto the porch to see if he could figure out what was going on. Someone called to him from the shadows. As he stepped around the corner, he was thrown up against the wall, and someone (who he soon realized was a cop) stuck a shotgun in his chest.

“Get us out of here safely,” he was told, “or you won’t be a shield, you’ll be a target.”

When he refused to cooperate, he was handcuffed and taken to the police cars with the Panthers. Residents began shouting. “Pigs in the community!” and “Power to the People!”

As Jackson put it, “I belong to all these organizations and have these titles, but when you get down to it with the police – I’m just another n----r.”

Jackson would go on to serve as a state legislator and New Orleans city councilman.

In 1970 Jackson told the NOLA Express: “The police department disguised themselves in many ways, from Public Service repairmen, mailmen to a priest. It was this policeman disguised as a priest offering a donation for the breakfast program with the other policemen hidden in the hallway with all sorts of guns that lured one of the occupants to open the door a little. At that point, they [the policemen] burst into the office and began shooting, wounding a young black woman.”

When I interviewed Clarence Giarrusso at his home in 2003, he was 82. On the day of the interview, he remembered nothing about the final arrest of the Panthers. Reasoning that objectivity in regard to one’s personal history accrues with forgetfulness, I described the events to him as matter-of-factly as I could, leaving out his role in it.

When I got to the part about the cop disguising himself as a priest, Giarrusso seemed genuinely shocked. He said, “That is not something I believe in.”

Nevertheless, it was something that he ordered, and it finally accomplished what a shootout and an invasion of Desire could not. It eliminated the Panthers as an effective organizing force in the city.

Lessons Learned

How we dodged the bullet and avoided massive bloodshed through this succession of harrowing events can be attributed to enlightened

leadership, restraint, community organizing, discipline and principles, the power of a cohesive Desire community and a portion of luck or the divine favor that we regularly count on to save us in New Orleans. But we didn’t leave it there.

The lessons to be gleaned seemed so complex, mysterious and profound that we convened a forum for healing and reconciliation 33 years after the showdown, Sept. 17, 2003. Former Panthers Robert King and Malik Rahim led the planning for the forum. Former city officials – including Moon Landrieu – former Panthers, Desire residents, Panther lawyers, police officials and clergy who had tried to mediate all came together for a public forum where grievances were aired, unknown stories were told and forgiveness was freely offered from both the antagonists and protagonists.

As the forum approached, no one felt qualified to predict the results. A few days before the gathering Moon Landrieu asked me, “Are the Panthers still revolutionary, or have they mellowed?”

“Both,” I told him.

The night of the forum, Landrieu was on the hot seat, but one would never have known it from his gracious demeanor. “God bless them,” he said of the Panthers. “They drove me crazy at times. I had a grudging respect for them, though I thought, and still think, that the path they took was incorrect.”

After the forum, Landrieu told a reporter that, looking back, he believes the path the city chose also was incorrect. “I think we should not have gone into the project with such massive force. It seemed to be reasonable at the time, but in retrospect we could have found a better way to do that.”

Charles Jones, editor of The Black Panther Party Reconsidered, told me after the forum that he had never known an official in a Panther confrontation to make such an admission.

Panther scholar Curtis Austin, who also attended the forum, wrote, “This story is even more valuable because it shows that people, with all their various hang-ups and shortcomings, are essentially good and interested in the welfare of their fellow men. Despite the racism and violence that ran rampant through this Gulf Coast enclave, each side came to see that their lives were so intertwined that only by working together could they hope to make the dramatic changes that activists so vehemently demanded during the tumultuous 1960s and early ’70s.”

Lessons Applied

Malik Rahim embraced Bob Tucker and shook Moon Landrieu’s hand at the forum, even though they had been mortal enemies at the shootout on Piety Street. Two years after the forum Rahim had another chance to apply Panther principles when the levees broke after Hurricane Katrina. Within days after the storm he co-founded Common Ground Relief Collective and started a health clinic. The Panther’s survival programs included medical clinics, free breakfast for children, food giveaways, free clothing, political education and prisoner support, all of which Common Ground was providing. Common Ground gutted 3,000 homes, businesses and churches in the 9h Ward. Many volunteers embraced the philosophy and grassroots organizing tradition of the Black Panther Party, which seemed wellsuited to use in the political vacuum of post-Katrina New Orleans.

But that would be a whole other story.

Orissa Arend is a mediator, psychotherapist and author of Showdown in Desire: The Black Panthers Take a Stand in New Orleans.

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Olivia Erwin Rosenthal

Owner, Olivia Erwin Interiors

Olivia Erwin Rosenthal is a wonderful example of a woman who does, indeed, have it all. Instead of talking about how stressful it is balancing her own business and a young family, Olivia seems to thrive on the challenge. “I feel incredibly lucky,” she says, “I love being an entrepreneur and I love being a mother. It can be difficult but working hard and juggling many things seems natural to me.” She admits that to do both successfully you must be extremely dedicated, passionate and ready to lose some sleep but, “I feel it ultimately makes me a better mother,” she says.

“Plus I love showing my daughters that they have choices.”

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Nicole Webre

Developer, Bakery Village; Government Relations Consultant & CEO, Webre Consulting, LLC; President, Livewell Properties, LLC Nicole Webre embraces her femininity and wears it like a badge of honor. She prioritizes kindness and diplomacy but is also determined to achieve the best possible results for her clients. There are infinite challenges in her line of work, but she strives to meet each with strength and integrity. At the moment, Webre is converting a former bakery site into a subdivision (BakeryVillageNola.com).“The original CEO of the bakery was an independent, fashionable and resilient woman who began running the company in the 1940s,” she says. “It is women like her who inspire me to build my own legacy and do so with poise and grace.”

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Sylvia Roy Manager, Gardner Realtors, Garden District & Uptown After obtaining her bachelor's degree from Newcomb College and Masters from Tulane University, Sylvia Roy traded her teaching license for a real estate career. Once a broker, she established Sylvia Roy Properties, which grew to 30 agents over eight years.

Via mergers, it eventually became part of Gardner Realtors. As the current manager of Gardner Realtors’ Garden District and Uptown offices, she helps her 150 agents achieve their dreams within the industry.

As president of the New Orleans Realtor Association she worked with the Jefferson Board to create a merger and become NOMAR (New Orleans Metropolitan Board of Realtors). In addition, Roy chaired NOMA’s 1970 Odyssey Ball and remains committed to New Orleans’ cultural and philanthropic efforts.

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Kim Dudek

Founder & President, Belladonna Day Spa, Dag’s House & Belladoggie Resort Spa for Dogs Kim Dudek’s career has always been centered on empowering others to be their best. After working as a rehabilitation counselor in Los Angeles and New Orleans, she went to esthetics training. Driven by a passion to create a place where people could discover their own beauty and love themselves as they are, she opened Belladonna Day Spa in 1989.

Then in 2007, after studying canine rehabilitation, she started Dag’s House, a nonprofit organization for disabled dogs. A year later, she opened Belladoggie Resort Spa for Dogs.

“Find a mentor, someone who can support you in being the best,” Dudek advises. “Also, tell people your dreams, you never know who might be listening.”

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Lynell Dow Owner, California Closets

Lynn Dow believes much of the success in her life, both professionally and personally, has come from the advice her mother gave her at a very early age. “She taught me to stand up for myself and believe in myself,” says Dow, who believes these guiding principles have helped her make good decisions. “I’ve been able to make choices that correspond with my values while taking others into consideration.” She also credits her husband for her happiness, “He reminds me every day that he finds my determination and strength to be beautiful and feminine,” she says. “I’m very fortunate to have a career I’m passionate about,” she adds, “Discover what you love and success will come.”

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Bonnie Boyd President & CEO, BBC Destination Management

Bonnie Boyd believes persuasion, respect, a sense of humor and hard work are the keys to success in life. In 1992, Boyd founded her company, BBC Destination Management, to market and deliver the true New Orleans experience to visitors.

“Approaching people in the right way has been fundamental to our success,” she says “and we have earned a stellar reputation as well as the respect of clients, vendors and colleagues.” Boyd takes this same approach to nonprofit fundraising and community work.

After Katrina, she founded “give-back voluntourism,” and alongside her husband, John, she’s also involved with the Southern Food & Beverage Museum’s Culinary & Hospitality Library, the Historic New Orleans Collection and the New Orleans Convention Bureau.

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Erin Romney-Cazes Owner, Romney Pilates Studio & Romney Ride Erin Romney’s studio touches hundreds of people each day, empowering them to become, as she says: “… healthier, stronger and more positive versions of themselves.” Amazing physical and mental transformations happen at the studio, but Romney also sees it as a sanctuary to help people go within themselves, to become centered and balanced.

“Our end goal is creating a stronger body no matter what physical set backs a person may have, be it injury, surgery or disease,” she says. “However, it’s the mind that moves the body, so we focus on the two working together. Everyone has inner strength, but everyday distractions and pressures can prevent access to it. Our state-ofthe-art programs and highly qualified instructors, help clients reach their ultimate health and fitness goals.”

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Lisa Condrey Ward

Partner in the civil litigation law firm of Ward & Condrey; Real Estate Developer; Historical Preservationist; Hotelier

Lisa Condrey Ward completed her first historical renovation at the age of 22. She restored the Southern Hotel in downtown Covington and now owns it alongside her husband Joseph Ward and her brother- and sister-in-law, Ricky and Gayle Condrey. It was built in 1907 and is now a 42-room boutique hotel and has won both Phoenix and Preservation Heritage awards.

Southern Living Magazine recently voted it a "Top Ten New Hotel in the South." Ward also began the Covington Public Art Fund to raise money for public art displays in Covington and she is actively involved with multiple civic activities.

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Dr. Myra Corrello

Consultant, Speaker & “Super-Connector”

Dr. Myra Corrello is a business growth consultant, adventure traveler, professional speaker, photographer, foodie, salsa dancer and live music enthusiast. She practices what she preaches when it comes to finding new ways to add a little “spice” into one’s life. As a Jazz Fester (since 1998) who “never left,” her passion is bringing together diverse, extraordinary people to mutually learn and grow. As a superconnector, she’s served a total of 18 terms on local boards for four trade associations and was instrumental in helping build back nonprofit, tourism, healthcare and economic development programs post-Katrina. She was named the Small Business Administration’s “Women in Business Champion of the Year” for Louisiana in 2007.

“Being able to use your talents for greater good,” she says, “is the best feeling of all.”

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Lisa Wyatt, D.D.S Owner, Wyatt Family Dentistry; Metairie Village Dentistry & Wyatt Dental Group

Dr. Lisa Wyatt is committed to improving dental health. She is involved in numerous philanthropic endeavors, helping people restore and maintain healthy smiles. “We donate services to patients who can not afford quality dental care,” she says. “We believe giving back to our community helps us become better humans.”

“I’m inspired every day by my mother, Honey, and Cindy, my life partner, who work beside me,” she says, “and also by our three incredible children. It feels great to give back.”

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Angelique Palumbo Weiser Owner, Angelique Boutiques

Angelique Palumbo Weiser attributes her business brain to her father (who owns Terminix New Orleans) and her irrefutable sense of style to her mother. Whatever talent she was born with, she has created a fashion empire that leads the city. With three stores Uptown, she has just opened a fourth in Lakeview and renovated a building on Maple Street. Somehow Angelique finds time to support numerous philanthropic efforts, local schools and civic projects. “Entrepreneurship and giving back to the community is in my blood,” she says. “I also have the support of my parents and children, my incredible husband Kurt (of Uptown Athletics Club), my stepmom Jackie, who owns Earthsavers and my partner Heather. I can’t help but be inspired every day.”

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Alyssa Fletchinger Vice President Plush Appeal, LLC & The Mardi Gras Spot Being female in a male-dominated industry has made Alyssa Fletchinger a stronger woman. Her adaptability, responsiveness and sensitivity make her well equipped to problem solve in her dealings with China and India, two countries that are critical to the Mardi Gras industry.

These attributes were never more important than after Katrina. She says, “My father, Daryl Fletchinger, and I worked tirelessly to pull off that first Mardi Gras. My dad is my inspiration, and we both knew Carnival 2006 was pivotal to our city’s recovery.”

Fletchinger believes that Mardi Gras epitomizes the giving nature of New Orleanians. She says, “I like working with the krewes during the year on philanthropic projects, especially creating customized products for fundraising."

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the MENU TABLE TALK

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RESTAURANT INSIDER

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FOOD

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LAST CALL

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DINING LISTINGS

Nina Compton of “Top Chef” fame generated a lot of national buzz when she announced plans to open up shop ... “I’d always wanted to live in New Orleans,” Compton says. “People just love to eat here – it makes it very attractive.”

table talk pg. 96

jeffery johnston PHOTOGRAPH

THE MENU / TABLE TALK

Duo of Beef entrée at Compère Lapin

Small Hotels; Big Flavors Two new offerings

by JAY FORMAN

B

ig hotels boast some big-name restaurants here in New Orleans, but lately some boutique hotels have been rolling their options into the mix. And with the upcoming grand opening of the Ace Hotel in spring and the eventual return of the Pontchartrain on St. Charles Avenue, it looks like this trend will continue.

With this in mind, here’s a look at a few of the smaller hotels around town and what they offer.

Nina Compton of “Top Chef” fame generated a lot of national buzz when she announced plans to open up shop in the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery in the Warehouse District. Born and raised in St. Lucia, she felt the port city cultural crossroads

of the Crescent City dovetailed nicely with her Caribbean background and her Italian and French professional training. “I’d always wanted to live in New Orleans,” Compton says. “People just love to eat here – it makes it very attractive.”

Her restaurant, Compère Lapin, is attractive as well. The main dining room’s soaring space straddles both industrial and antiquarian themes while the generously sized pass-through bar area offers line-of-sight views into the kitchen. Its bustle spills out into the lobby itself, stamping the boutique hotel with an immediate culinary identity.

The menu is seasonal and ingredient-driven, so

Go for the Food, Stay for the Food Compère Lapin 535 Tchoupitoulas St. 599-2119 CompereLapin.com Lunch and dinner daily

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Angeline 1032 Charters St. 308-3106 AngelineNola.com Breakfast Mondays-Fridays; brunch Saturdays-Sundays; dinner nightly

Hotel Monteleone 214 Royal St. 523-3342 HotelMonteleone.com

expect it to change often.

But one recent entrée, Duo of Beef, pulled off a neat trick: Cubes of braised short rib and strips of seared sirloin were plated atop fresh Cici beans and garnished with pea shoots. A pair of sauces decorated the plate, one a beefy reduction of the braising sauce akin to a demi-glace and the other a light, summery purée of green peas. As a twist, when it arrived tableside foie gras was shaved over it, a carnivorous take on Parmesan cheese. Here is a beef and foie dish that managed to be substantive, light and summery at the same time.

Big movers include the Curried Goat, customized with Compton’s stamp of plantain gnocchi in lieu of the usual rice.

Consider ordering pretty much anything made with Caribbean ingredients, like the conch croquettes, as they stand out from the crowd and play to her strengths. And while Compton works closely with local purveyors such as Pelican Produce, a new purveyor out of Miami will help her to bring in even more Caribbeansourced ingredients, like breadfruit and soursop.

On the drink side, expect bar manager Ricky Gomez to make good use of these same seasonal ingredients. “Ricky is very attuned to my cooking,” Compton says. “When we developed the cocktail program he tasted jeffery johnston PHOTOGRAPH

Take a Spin The Hotel Monteleone may be in the thick of the French Quarter’s fray, but it retains plenty enough charm to draw locals to its classic (and revolving) watering hole, the Carousel Bar. It also houses Criollo, a restaurant that takes a fresh look at the colonial heritage of Creole cuisine. Wellexecuted favorites like Grilled Pompano share space with Gulf Shrimp Ravigote plated alongside fried green tomatoes. Be sure to enjoy a beforeor-after in the Carousel Bar. And don’t worry – it doesn’t spin very fast. everything and we talked a lot about how the drinks and food would work together. He really did his homework.”

Compère Lapin is open daily for lunch and dinner and offers small plates as well for the bar. Valet parking is available as well for a $5 charge.

On the far side of the French Quarter in the Hotel Provincial is chef Alex Harrell’s Angeline, tucked into the space formerly occupied by Stella!. After the better part of two decades in kitchens, Harrell was ready for a place of his own. So when he heard about the surprise closure of Stella!, he acted fast.

Harrell and the hotel worked out a deal, the main concession being that he was required to offer breakfast. Buildout was a simple affair as the kitchen was in good shape. “Scott Boswell took most of the toys, though,” Harrell says. “When we came here there was only like one broken thermal circulator left at the top of a closet.”

Menu-wise, Angeline runs thick in the pack of Contem-

porary Southern eateries that are flourishing both locally and nationally, though it’s no affectation on his part. “Southern food and southern cooking – it’s just something that I’d grown up with in South Alabama,” Harrell points out. “I always returned to it wherever I worked because it’s just so deeply rooted.”

Harrell’s approach is to essentially marry two concepts – the seasonal and regional ingredients of southern cooking approached with European technique, predominately those of the northern Mediterranean.

In addition, he adds a good measure of historical perspective.

“Southern food often gets a bad rap for the misperception of its being doused in pork fat, bacon and bourbon, then fried,” he points out. “But Southern food was originally very agrarian. It was vegetable-and-grain-based, because that was what people could grow here. Meat usually came from whatever they could hunt and fish and raise on small plots. You didn’t kill a chicken every week for a fried chicken dinner because you needed those eggs. That idea of everything heavy and fried isn’t really accurate.”

To that end, expect to find a lighter take on Southern cuisine and also one that often takes southern ingredients and recasts them in European technique. His squash blossoms are an example, using local squash blossoms and local black drum for the mousseline, and finishing it with blanched tomatoes, some crème fraiche for tang and lemon oil for brightness. The Rabbit Milanaise has proven popular as well.

“I love rabbit, always have. I put it on because I wanted it there, but honestly I didn’t expect it to move well,” Harrell says. “It has become our biggest seller.” n

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THE MENU / RESTAURANT INSIDER

News From the Kitchens El Pavo Real, Palms and Jack and Jake’s

BY ROBERT PEYTON

El Pavo Real Literally translated, El Pavo Real is Spanish for “the royal turkey.” Non-literally, it means “the Peacock.” I find that pretty nifty, but perhaps that’s just me. I think I’m not going to be alone, however, when El Pavo Real opens at 4401 Broad St. Chefs Lindsey McClellan and Mario Aranda have experience in multiple restaurants in New York City and locally, including Lola’s, August and El Gato Negro. Aranda is from Tlapa, in Guerrero, Mexico, and the restaurant will reflect the cooking of that region. The menu I saw was a work in progress and as I write the restaurant hasn’t opened, but I’m excited to have a place in my neighborhood that looks like it will be family friendly without sacrificing on the quality of the food.

Look for chicken in mole poblano; ceviche with Gulf fish, octopus and shrimp; chilaquilles; and a number of vegetarian and vegan dishes on the menu. They will make their own tortillas where appropriate. There are plans for a liquor license, and from what McClellan told me, I’d expect that to happen by the time you read this article. Once El Pavo Real is open for a few weeks, I’m pretty sure even the most obstinate neighbors are going to come around. I can tell you this: The restaurant is opening within a brisk stroll from my home and I’m going to be visiting frequently, unless I’m very mistaken, in which case I will never speak of it again.

The current plan is for El Pavo Real to be open 7 to 7, serving breakfast, lunch and an early dinner six days a week (closed Sundays).

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Palms

Jack and Jake’s

As a callow youth I frequented a few bars near Tulane University’s campus. Among them were the Boot and, as it was called then, the Metro, and now the Palms. When I walked into the Boot a few weeks ago, there were certain things that I remembered, and certain things that were very new.

It is possible that some of the new things were new to me because I rarely entered the Boot during daylight hours, but I think the place is just classier than it was in 1985.

One indication of that is that the folks who own both the Boot and the Palms have engaged Jeff Baron to oversee the operations, including the food at both establishments. Baron is a veteran of the restaurant scene in New Orleans, though at his age, “veteran” may not be the best term. He and his partner Bart Bell were the brains behind Crescent Pie & Sausage, among other joints, and he’s bringing that attention to detail to his new job.

Baron was also behind the surprisingly good pizza served at the Dough Bowl for a few years, and he’s returned to that end of the business, but what’s exciting him these days is that he’s scored chef Dave Usher (most recently of Annunciation, but also an alum of the food truck La Cocinata) to cook a pan-Latin menu at the Palms, including arepas, empanadas and tacos. At the moment, the Palms is serving chef Usher’s food from 6 p.m. until midnight, Tuesdays-Saturdays, but there may be lunch in the future.

The Palms is located at 7130 Freret St., and you can call 669-2061 to get the latest scoop.

Jack and Jake’s has been in the “about to open” mode for a long time. I have driven by the place on my way downtown just about daily for a year, and in that time I’ve seen the space at 1307 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. start to actually look like it was ready for business.

There is a beautiful garden along the front, and peering into the building itself (which I’ve done) gives the impression that, any day now, the place is going to revolutionize shopping in the surrounding neighborhood and beyond.

The plans are certainly grandiose – in addition to stalls where local farmers will offer produce and products, there will be a restaurant, a bar and who knows what else. I would not be surprised at this point if the place had plans for an organic unicorn milk stand.

I am not ready to call it a boondoggle, perhaps because I so very much want to see the potential realized. I want to shop there and I want to see the place be inclusive to the community, all while helping local producers make a living. I see the promise of the place, and I hope they have things worked out by the time you read this.

If the place interests you as much as it does me, you’ll want to check back here in a few months for my assessment of how the place is holding up.

left & middle photos by SARA ESSEX BRADLEY right photo by cheryl gerber

THE MENU / FOOD

Falling into Soup Cooking into the season

by Dale Curry

EUGENIA UHL PHOTOGRAPH

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Italian-style Cauliflower Soup 1 head cauliflower

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 onion, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 8 cups chicken stock 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 4 ounces spaghetti, broken nto thirds ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish Stem and trim cauliflower and cut into small pieces.

In a medium-large pot, heat olive oil and sauté onions and celery until transparent. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute more.

Add stock, cauliflower and seasonings, cover and simmer until cauliflower is almost cooked but still slightly firm. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente. Remove from heat and stir in parsley and 1/3-cup Parmesan.

Serve hot with a sprinkle of Parmesan on each bowl. Serves 4 to 6

Pumpkin Soup

4 cups pumpkin, fresh cooked or canned 2 Tablespoons butter 1 onion, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 bunch green onions, chopped, white and green parts divided 2 cloves garlic, chopped 5 cups chicken broth 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1 cup Half & Half Roasted pumpkin seeds for garnish, optional Sour cream, optional

A

mong my mind’s snapshots of Italy, a favorite country, are rows of cauliflower lined up at every market – purple, green, white, lavender. A beautiful sight they are, and the fodder for many a recipe.

I covered courts for the old States-Item and frequently stopped at a small restaurant, long-closed, a few doors away from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal building downtown.

The magnet was a cauliflower soup, simple but so tasty that I became a regular and eventually devised my own recipe to match it.

Fall is the time for soups, when a chill finally reaches the air and the most delicious and healthful vegetables are in season. Cauliflower, broccoli, greens, pumpkin and butternut and acorn squash are ingredients for tempting soups.

Interchangeable for a thick and filling soup are pumpkin and butternut squash. Like many of the fall vegetables, they’re brimming with

If using fresh pumpkin, cut pumpkin in half from top to bottom. Clean out seeds and set aside 1 cup of cleaned seeds. Place pumpkin halves cut side down on a baking sheet and roast in a 350-degree oven until a knife slips through easily. When cool enough to handle, spoon out cooked pumpkin, measure 4 cups and freeze any leftover for other uses.

Melt butter in a large pot and sauté onion, bell pepper and white part of green onions. When transparent, add garlic and sauté 1 minute more. Add pumpkin, chicken broth and spices, and simmer for 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings and purée using a hand blender, or remove in batches to a blender to purée.

Add Half & Half.

Serve hot with pumpkin seeds as garnish, if desired.

Or, top with a dollop of sour cream and green onion tops.

To roast pumpkin seeds, rinse 1 cup seeds in a colander until clean. Place in 2 cups of water with 2 Tablespoons salt and simmer for 10 minutes.

Drain and place in a single layer on baking sheet brushed with olive oil and toss to coat.

Bake until brown, about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on size of seeds. Halfway through

nutrition. They carry strong flavors, a perfect match for a light chicken broth, seared onions and a touch of cream. Food writers usually run recipes for gumbo z’erbes (greens gumbo) during Lent, especially Good Friday when meat is taboo. I prefer to make it in the fall when more greens are available and a bit of pork seasoning can be thrown into the pot. At this time of year, the markets are filled with collards, turnip greens and mustard greens. The number of greens is supposed to indicate the number of friends you’ll make in the coming year. The tradition is seven or nine greens, and the number must be odd. An even number is considered bad luck.

When I eat greens, I must have cornbread.

I like a moist version with chopped jalapeños and grated sharp cheddar cheese. My choice of sides for cauliflower or pumpkin soup is hot French bread; it’s great for dipping.

baking, stir and return to a single layer. Serves 4 to 6

Cooked long-grain white rice, for serving

Gumbo Z’herbes

If using a ham bone, simmer it in a large pot in 2 quarts of water, covered, for 2 hours or until the meat is about to fall off the bone. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bone and set aside. Discard bone and save stock. You will need about 7 cups of stock.

Strain oysters, reserving their liquor, and check for shell fragments. You should have about ½ cup liquor.

In a very large, heavy pot, combine the oil and flour and stir over high heat until the roux starts to brown. Reduce the heat to medium, stirring constantly, until the roux becomes the color of milk chocolate. Immediately add the onions and simmer until caramelized. Add celery and garlic and simmer a minute more.

Stir in the reserved ham stock, oyster liquor (about ½ cup), Creole seasoning, bay leaves, thyme, sugar, reserved ham or ham cubes and greens and season with salt and pepper.

Simmer, covered, for about 1 hour. Add the oysters and cook until they curl, about 1 minute.

Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Turn off the heat and remove the bay leaves.

Serve in soup bowls over the rice. Serves 8

The following recipe is from my recently published cookbook, Gumbo, a Savor the South cookbook from the University of North Carolina Press.

1 small ham bone or ½ pound smoked ham cubes or smoked sausage 1 pint shucked oysters with their liquor ½ cup vegetable oil ½ cup all-purpose flour 1 large onion, chopped 3 green onions, chopped 3 stalks celery, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced ½ teaspoon Creole seasoning 3 bay leaves 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1 Tablespoon sugar 2 cups cleaned and roughly chopped mustard greens 2 cups cleaned and roughly chopped turnip greens 4 cups cleaned and roughly chopped collard greens 4 cups spinach 1 bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley ½ small cabbage, chopped or shredded 2 cups endive, torn in pieces Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

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THE MENU / LAST CALL

Never Enough Finding ways to save time BY tim mcnally

T

he favorite lament of New Orleanians, and likely most Americans, is that there’s never enough time. Likely we have no idea why that is, or maybe even we don’t have a thought as to what we want more time for.

But we’re busy, and this time of year seems particularly “tight.” All manner of football, the start of basketball season, fairs and festivals all topped with the holiday beloved by everyone local: Halloween.

So, given the real stress of not enough time to celebrate, costume, create the feast for the party and then make drinks, let’s lighten the load with no sacrifice in quality or damage to the fun-quotient.

Max Messier, a recent transplant, has created an entire line of helper products, Cocktail and Sons, which assure a quality cocktail with minimum preparation effort, created and made here with distribution throughout the United States. They get you into the drinking part of the program in record time. n

Manhattan 2 ounces Wild Turkey 101 Rye, Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon or Sazerac Rye 3/4 ounce Cynar 1 bar spoon Cocktail & Sons Spiced Demerara 6 dashes Bitterman’s Aromatic Bitters Add all ingredients to mixing glass. Top with ice and stir for 40-50 revolutions. Strain into chilled coupe glass and garnish with an orange peel expressed across the top of the cocktail.

A tasty, easy take on an old standard as created by Max Messier

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sara essex bradley PHOTOGRAPH

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THE MENU / DINING GUIDE H= New Orleans Magazine award winner / $ = Average entrée price. $ = $5-10 / $$ = $11-15 / $$$ = $16-20 / $$$$ = $21-25 / $$$$$ = $25 and up.

Bywater

Manning’s 519 Fulton St., 593-8118. L, D daily, Br Sat-Sun. Born of a partnership between New Orleans’ First Family of Football and Harrah’s Casino, Manning’s offers sports bar fans a step up in terms of comfort and quality. With a menu that draws on both New Orleans and the Deep South, traditional dishes get punched up with inspired but accessible twists in surroundings accented by both memorabilia and local art. $$$

Elizabeth’s 601 Gallier St., 944-9272, ElizabethsRestaurantNola.com. B, L MonFri, D Mon-Sat, Br Sat-Sun. This eclectic local restaurant draws rave reviews for its praline bacon and distinctive Southerninspired brunch specials. $$$

Pete’s Pub Intercontinental Hotel, 444 St. Charles Ave., 585-5401, IcNewOrleans. com/dining/petes_pub. D Mon-Fri. Casual fare and adult beverages are served in this pub on the ground floor. $$

American Zea’s Rotisserie and Grill Multiple Locations, ZeaRestaurants.com. L, D daily.

Drawing from a wide range of worldly influences, this popular restaurant serves a variety of grilled items as well as appetizers, salads, side dishes, seafood, pasta and other entrées. Also offers catering services. $$$

H Maurepas 3200 Burgundy St., 2670072, MaurepasFoods.com. D Thu-Tue, Br Sat-Sun. Pioneering farm-to-table restaurant with an ingredient-driven menu that changes daily. Clever cocktails a plus as well. $$ Satsuma Café 3218 Dauphine St., 3045962, SatsumaCafe.com. B, L daily (until 5 p.m.). Offers healthy, inspired breakfast and lunch fare, along with freshly squeezed juices. $

carrollton Bourré 8115 Jeanette St., 510-4040. L, D Tue-Sun. “Elevated” street food along with quality daiquiris and reconsidered wings are the draw at this newcomer from the team behind Boucherie. $$

CITY PARK Café NOMA 1 Collins Diboll Circle, NO Museum of Art, City Park, 482-1264, CafeNoma.com. L, (snacks) Tue-Sun. Sleek bar and café in the ground floor of museum offers a thoughtful array of snacks, sandwiches and small plates that are sure to enchant, with a kids’ menu to boot. $$

CBD/Warehouse District The Grill Room Windsor Court Hotel, 300 Gravier St., 522-1992, GrillRoomNewOrleans.com. B, L, D daily, Br Sun. Featuring modern American cuisine with a distinctive New Orleans flair, the adjacent Polo Club Lounge offers live music nightly. Jazz Brunch on Sunday. $$$$$

Q&C Hotel/Bar 344 Camp St., (866) 247-7936, QandC.com. B, D daily. Newly renovated boutique hotel offering a small plates menu with tempting choices such as a Short Rib Poor Boy and Lobster Mac and Cheese to complement their sophisticated craft cocktails. $$

H Root 200 Julia St., 252-9480, RootNola. com. L Mon-Fri, D daily. Chef Philip Lopez opened Root in November 2011 and has garnered a loyal following for his modernist, eclectic cuisine. Try the country fried chicken wings and the Cohiba-smoked scallops crusted with chorizo. $$$$ H Restaurant August 301 Tchoupitoulas St., 299-9777, RestaurantAugust.com. L Fri, D daily. James Beard Award-winning chef John Besh’s menu is based on classical techniques of Louisiana cuisine and produce with a splash of European flavor set in an historic carriage warehouse. $$$$$ Tivoli & Lee 2 Lee Circle, 962-0909, TivoliAndLee.com. B, L, D daily, Br SatSun. Progressive Southern cuisine is the focus. Rabbit sliders, poke salad and pickled shrimp redefine locally sourced ingredients, and craft cocktail and bourbon menus round out the appeal. Craft cocktail bar Bellocq serves specialty and locally influenced libations. $$$ Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar 1009 Poydras St., 309-6530, Walk-Ons.com. L, D, daily.

Burger, sandwiches, wraps and more

made distinctive with a Louisiana twist are served at this sports bar near the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. $$ Warehouse Grille, 869 Magazine St., 322-2188, WarehouseGrille.com. L, D daily, Br Fri-Sun. Creative fare served in an artfilled environment. Try the duck crêpes or the lamb spring rolls. $$ Wolfe’s in the Warehouse 859 Convention Center Blvd., 613-2882. B, L, D daily.

Chef Tom Wolfe brings his refined cuisine to the booming Fulton Street corridor.

His Smoked Kobe Short Ribs are a good choice. $$$

Downtown The Grill 540 Chartres St., 522-1800. B, L, D daily. A diner with local character straffed by local characters. $

Faubourg Marigny Langlois 1710 Pauger St., 934-1010, LangloisNola.com. L Fri-Sat, D Wed-Sun. *Reservations only Supper club and boutique cooking school in the Marigny serves up culturally informed, farm-to-table fare with the added bonus of instruction.

Dishes include Spiced Quail and Lemongrass Meatballs with Smoked broth. Open kitchen and convivial atmosphere add up to a good time. $$$ The Marigny Brasserie 640 Frenchmen St., 945-4472, MarignyBrasserie.com. L, D daily. Chic neighborhood bistro with traditional dishes like the Wedge of Lettuce salad and innovative cocktails such as the cucumber Cosmo. $$$ Snug Harbor 626 Frenchman St., 9490696, SnugJazz.com. D daily. This jazz club serves cocktails and a dining menu loaded with steaks, seafood and meaty burgers served with loaded baked potatoes. $$$$

French Quarter Angeline 1032 Chartres St., 308-3106, AngelineNola.com. B Mon-Fri, Brunch Sat & Sun, D nightly. Modern southern with a fine dining focus is the hallmark of this bistro tucked away in a quiet end of the French Quarter. Southern Fried Quail and Braised Lamb Necks with ricotta agnolotti represent the style. $$$

Continental Provisions 110 N Peters St., Stall 23, 407-3437. Open daily. Artisan purveyors including Bellegarde Bakery and Cleaver & Company team up to reclaim a foothold for quality food in the tourist Ground Zero of the French Market.

Sandwiches, breads, cheeses and more. $$ Hard Rock Café 125 Bourbon St., 529-5617, HardRock.com. L, D daily.

Local outpost of this global brand serves burgers, café fare and drinks in their rock memorabilia-themed environs. $$ The Pelican Club 312 Exchange Place, 523-1504, PelicanClub.com. D daily. Serves an eclectic mix of hip food, from the seafood “martini” to clay-pot barbecued shrimp and a trio of duck. Three dining rooms available. $$$$$ Rib Room Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, 621 St. Louis St., 529-7046, RibRoomNewOrleans.com. L, D daily, Br Sat-Sun. Old World elegance and high ceilings, house classic cocktails and Anthony Spizale’s broad menu of prime rib, stunning seafood and on weekends a champagne brunch. $$$

GARDEN DISTRICT Cheesecake Bistro by Copeland’s, 2001 St. Charles Ave., 593-9955, CopelandsCheesecakeBistro.com. L, D daily. Shiny, contemporary bistro serves Cajun-fusion fare along with its signature decadent desserts. Good lunch value to boot. $$ District Donuts Sliders Brew, 2209 Magazine Street, 570-6945, DonutsAndSliders. com. B, L, D daily. Creative sliders (hello, pork belly) and super-creative donuts (think root beer float) are the hallmarks of this next-generation café. $

Metairie café B 2700 Metairie Road, 934-4700, cafeB.com. D daily, L Mon-Sat. Br Sun. Ralph Brennan offers New American bistro fare with a Louisiana twist at this family-friendly neighborhood spot. $$$ Caffe! Caffe! 3547 N. Hullen St., 2679190. B, L Mon-Sat. & 4301 Clearview Parkway, 885-4845. B, L daily; D Mon-Sat. CaffeCaffe.com Healthy, refreshing meal

Discover Southern Hotel’s Ox lot 9 Ox Lot 9, Southern Hotel, 428 E. Boston St., Covington, (985) 400-5663, OxLot9.com In a state with so many storied restaurants, it’s rare and satisfying to discover a hidden gem. If you like the idea of that, go and try Ox Lot 9, an upscale bistro situated in the beautifully renovated Southern Hotel in Covington. Behind the freshly printed menus offering simple but sophisticated fare are coowners chef Jeffrey and General Manager Amy Hansell. A Mississippi native, Jeffery has worked with top chefs around the country, including Tory McPhail and John Besh, and was voted Food & Wine Best New Chef 2014. – M.C.

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cheryl gerber photograph

options combine with gourmet coffee and espresso drinks to create a tasteful retreat for Metairie diners at a reasonable price. Try the egg white spinach wrap. $

Dakota 629 N. Highway 190, (985) 892-3712, TheDakotaRestaurant.com. L Tue-Fri, D Mon-Sat. A sophisticated dining experience with generous portions. $$$$$

Heritage Grill 111 Veterans Memorial Blvd., 934-4900, HeritageGrillMetairie. com. L Mon-Fri. This lunch-only destination caters to the office crowd and offers a freshly squeezed juice menu to go along with its regular menu and express twocourse lunch. $$

Riverbend

Martin Wine Cellar 714 Elmeer Ave., 8967300, MartinWine.com. Wine by the glass or bottle to go with daily lunch specials, towering burgers, hearty soups and salads and giant, deli-style sandwiches. $

Audubon Clubhouse 6500 Magazine St., 212-5282, AudubonInstitute.org. B, L TueSat, Br Sun. A kid-friendly menu with local tweaks and a casually upscale sandwich and salad menu. $$

Vega Tapas Café 2051 Metairie Road, 836-2007, VegaTapasCafe.com. D Mon-Sat. Innovative establishment offers fresh seafood, grilled meats and vegetarian dishes in a chic environment. Daily chef specials showcase unique ingredients and make this place a popular destination for dates as well as groups of friends. $$

Camellia Grill 626 S. Carrollton Ave., 309-2679. B, L, D daily. A venerable diner whose essential character has remained intact and many of the original waiters have returned. Credit cards are now accepted. $

Mid-City Parkway Bakery and Tavern 538 Hagan Ave., 482-3047, ParkwayPoorBoys.com. L, D Wed-Mon. Featured on national TV and having served poor boys to presidents, it stakes a claim to some of the best sandwiches in town. Their french fry version with gravy and cheese is a classic at a great price. $

NORTHSHORE

Carrollton Market 8132 Hampson St., 252-9928, CarrolltonMarket.com. D TueSat. Modern Southern cuisine manages to be both fun and refined at this tasteful boîte. $$$

Uptown

GG’s Dine-O-Rama 3100 Magazine St., 373-6579, GGsNewOrleans.com. B Sat, L, Tue-Sun, D Tue-Fri, Br Sun. Upscalecasual restaurant serves a variety of specialty sandwiches, salads and wraps, like the Chicago-style hot dog and the St. Paddy’s Day Massacre, chef Gotter’s take on the Rueben. $$ Martin Wine Cellar 3827 Baronne St., 899-7411, MartinWine.com. Wine by the glass or bottle with cheeses and snacks to-go. $

Slim Goodies 3322 Magazine St., 891 EGGS (3447), SlimGoodiesDiner.com. B, L daily. This diner offers an exhaustive menu heavily influenced by local cuisine. Try the Creole Slammer, a breakfast platter rounded out by crawfish étouffée. The laid-back vibe is best enjoyed on the patio out back. $ Stein’s Market and Deli 2207 Magazine St., 527-0771, SteinsDeli.net. B, L, D TueSun. New York City meets New Orleans.

The Reuben and Rachel sandwiches are the real deal and the half-sours and pickled tomatoes complete the deli experience. $ Surrey’s Café and Juice Bar 1418 Magazine St., 524-3828; 4807 Magazine St., 895-5757, SurreysCafeAndJuiceBar. com. B, L daily. Laid-back café focuses on breakfast and brunch dishes to accompany freshly squeezed juice offerings.

Health-food lovers will like it here, along with fans of favorites such as peanut butter and banana pancakes. $$ Tracey’s Irish Restaurant & Bar 2604 Magazine St., 897-5413, TraceysNola.com.

L, D daily. A neighborhood bar with one of the best messy roast beef poor boys in town. The gumbo, cheeseburger poor boy and other sandwiches are also winners.

Grab a local Abita beer to wash it all down.

Also a great location to watch the game. $

H Upperline 1413 Upperline St., 891-9822, Upperline.com. D Wed-Sun. Consummate hostess JoAnn Clevenger

and talented chef Dave Bridges make for a winning combination at this nationally heralded favorite. The oft-copied fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade originated here. $$$$

H Wayfare 4510 Freret St., 309-0069, WayfareNola.com. L, D daily. Creative sandwiches and southern-inspired small plates. $$ Ye Olde College Inn 3000 S. Carrollton Ave., 866-3683, CollegeInn1933.com. D Tue-Sat. Serves up classic fare, albeit with a few upscale dishes peppering the menu. $$$

Asian Fusion/Pan Asian Little Tokyo Multiple locations, LittleTokyoNola.com. L, D daily. Multiple locations of this popular Japanese sushi and hibachi chain make sure that there’s always a specialty roll within easy reach. $$

Bywater Red’s Chinese 3048 St. Claude Ave., 304-6030, RedsChinese.com. D Wed-Mon. Assertive, in-your-face Chinese fare by chef Tobias Womack, an alum of Danny Bowien’s Mission Chinese. The Kung Pao Pastrami and Delta Broccoli are good options. $$

CBD/Warehouse District Horinoya 920 Poydras St., 561-8914. L, D daily. Excellent Japanese dining. The chu-toro is delicious and the selection of authentic Japanese appetizers is the best. $$$

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DINING GUIDE Rock-N-Sake 823 Fulton St., 581-7253, RockNSake.com. L Fri, D Tue-Sun, late night. Fresh sushi and contemporary takes on Japanese favorites in an upbeat, casual setting. $$$

Faubourg Marigny Bao and Noodle 2700 Charters St., 272-0004, BaoAndNoodle.com. L, D daily. Housemade noodles and a more authentic take on Chinese fare sets this neighborhood startup apart. Try the soup dumplings if available $$

French Quarter V Sushi 821 Iberville St., 609-2291, VSushiMartini.com. D daily, late-night.

Creative rolls and a huge list of fusion dishes keep party-lovers going late into the night at this combination sushi and martini bar. $$$

Garden District Hoshun Restaurant 1601 St. Charles Ave., 302-9716, HoshunRestaurant.com.

L, D daily. Offers a wide variety of Asian cuisines, primarily dishes culled from China, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia. Fivepepper calamari is a tasty way to begin the meal, and their creative sushi rolls are good. Private dining rooms available. $$

H Tan Dinh 1705 Lafayette St., 361-8008.

B, L, D daily. Roasted quail and the beef pho rule at this Vietnamese outpost. $$ Kenner

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Little Chinatown 3800 Williams Blvd., 305-0580, LittleChinatown.net. L, D daily.

One of the city’s best Chinese restaurants is secreted away on William’s Boulevard in Kenner. Try the roast duck or roast pork, either one is terrific, as well as their short menu of authentic dishes that (for the most part) avoid Americanized Chinese fare. $$

Lakeview Lakeview Pearl 6300 Canal St., 309-5711, LakeviewPearl.com. L, D Mon-Sat. A long list of specialty rolls rounds out the offerings of this Asian-Fusion restaurant. $$

Metairie Aloha Sushi 619 Pink St., 837-0055, SunRayGrill.com. L Tue-Fri, D, Tue-Sun. Fresh fish and creative rolls, along with gluten-free options such as rolls in bowls, sushi burritos and other lunch friendly Japanese fare featured. $$ CoNola Grill & Sushi 619 Pink St., 8370055, CoNolaGrillSushi.com. L, D Tue-Sun. Eclectic cafe with DNA from both Sun Ray Grill and Aloha Sushi Bar puts out southern-inspired fare backed by an Americanized sushi menu, a kids menu and more. Along with a Sunday brunch, there’s something for everyone at this independent restaurant. $$$

H Royal China 600 Veterans Blvd., 8319633. L daily, D Tue-Sun. Popular and family-friendly Chinese restaurant is one

of the few places around that serves dim sum. $$

MARRERO Daiwa, 5033 Lapalco Blvd., 875-4203, DaiwaSushi.com. L, D daily. Japanese destination on the Westbank serves an impressive and far-ranging array of creative fusion fare. $$$

Mid-City H Café Minh 4139 Canal St., 482-6266, CafeMinh.com. L Mon-Fri, D Mon-Sat. Chef Minh Bui and Cynthia Vutran bring a fusion touch to Vietnamese cuisine with French accents and a contemporary flair. $$ Five Happiness 3605 S. Carrollton Ave., 482-3935, FiveHappiness.com. L, D daily.

This longtime Chinese favorite offers up an extensive menu including its beloved mu shu pork and house-baked duck. $$

H MoPho 514 City Park Ave., 482-6845, MoPhoMidCity.com. L, D Wed-Mon. Vietnamese cuisine meets southern Louisiana in this upscale casual hybrid by chef Michael Gulotta. Mix-and-match pho and an interesting poor boy menu rounds out the appeal. $$$ Riverbend H Ba Chi Canteen 7900 Maple St., 3735628. L, D Mon-Sat. The kitchen plays fast and loose with Vietnamese fare at this eclectic outpost on Maple Street. Try the

caramelized pork “Baco”. $

H Chill Out Café 729 Burdette St., 8729628. B, L daily, D Mon-Sat. Thai food and breakfast favorites like waffles and pancakes can both be had at this affordable college-friendly hangout. $ Uptown Chiba 8312 Oak St., 826-9119, Chiba-Nola. com. L Wed-Sat, D Mon-Sat. Contemporary restaurant features fresh, exotic fish from all over the world and fusion fare to go along with typical Japanese options.

Extensive sake list and late night happy hours are a plus. $$$

H Jung’s Golden Dragon 3009 Magazine St., 891-8280, JungsChinese.com. L, D daily. This Chinese destination is a real find. Along with the usual, you’ll find spicy cold noodle dishes and dumplings. One of the few local Chinese places that breaks the Americanized mold. $ H Magasin 4201 Magazine St., 896-7611, MagasinCafe.com. L, D Mon-Sat. Pho, banh mi and vegetarian options are offered at this attractive and budget-friendly Vietnamese restaurant. Café sua da is available as well. $ Kyoto 4920 Prytania St., 891-3644, KyotoNola.com. L, D Mon-Sat. A neighborhood sushi restaurant where the regulars order off-the-menu rolls. $$

WEST BANK Nine Roses 1100 Stephen St., 366-7665, NineRosesResturant.com. L, D Sun-Tue, Thu-Sat. The extensive Vietnamese menu specializes in hot pots, noodles and dishes big enough for everyone to share. $$

Bakery/Breakfast Café du Monde Multiple Locations, CafeDuMonde.com. This New Orleans institution has been serving fresh café au lait, rich hot chocolate and positively addictive beignets since 1862 in the French Market 24/7. $ CC’s Coffee House Multiple locations in New Orleans, Metairie and Northshore, CCsCoffee.com. Coffeehouse specializing in coffee, espresso drinks and pastries. $

CBD/Warehouse District H Merchant 800 Common St., 571-9580, MerchantNewOrleans.com. B, L daily. Illy coffee and creative crêpes, sandwiches and more are served at this sleek and contemporary café on the ground floor of the Merchant Building. $

H Ruby Slipper Café 200 Magazine St., 525-9355; 1005 Canal St., 525-9355, TheRubySlipperCafe.net. B, L daily, Br Sun. Homegrown chain specializes in breakfast, lunch and brunch dishes with unique local twists such as bananas Foster French toast and barbecue shrimp and grits. $$ CARROLLTON Breads on Oak, 8640 Oak St., 324-8271,

BreadsOnOak.com. B, L Wed-Sun. Artisan bakeshop tucked away near the levee on Oak Street serves breads, sandwiches, gluten-free and vegan-friendly options. $

City Park Morning Call 56 Dreyfous Drive, City Park, 885-4068, NewOrleansCityPark.com/ in-the-park/morning-call. 24 hours a day; cash-only. Chicory coffee and beignets coated with powdered sugar make this the quintessential New Orleans coffee shop. $

Faubourg Marigny H Ruby Slipper Café 2001 Burgundy St., 525-9355, TheRubySlipperCafe.net. B, L daily, Br Sun. Homegrown chain specializes in breakfast, lunch and brunch dishes with unique local twists such as bananas Foster French toast and barbecue shrimp and grits. $$

Mid-City

Barbecue

Lakeview Harbor 911 Harrison Ave., 486-4887, NewOrleansBestBurger.com. L, D daily. Burgers are the name of the game at this restaurant. Daily specials, pizza and steaks are offered as well. $

Lower Garden District

METAIRIE

Voodoo BBQ 1501 St. Charles Ave., 522-4647, VoodooBBQAndGrill.com. L, D daily. Diners are never too far from this homegrown barbecue chain that features an array of specialty sauces to accompany its smoked meats and seafood. $$

Cheeseburger Eddie’s, 4517 W Esplanade Ave., 455-5511, AustinsNo.com/ Cheeseburger-Eddie-s.html. L, D Mon-Sat. Hickory-grilled burgers are the main draw at this casual spot but tacos, tamales, poor boys and more are also served. $

Metairie

Riverbend H Cowbell 8801 Oak St., 298-8689,

Voodoo BBQ 2740 Severn Ave., 353-4227, VoodooBBQAndGrill.com. L, D daily. Diners are never too far from this homegrown barbecue chain that features an array of specialty sauces to accompany its smoked meats and seafood. $$

Gracious Bakery + Café 1000 S. Jeff Davis Parkway, Suite 100, 301-3709, GraciousBakery.com. B, L daily. Boutique bakery on the ground floor of the Woodward Building offers small-batch coffee, baked goods, individual desserts and sandwiches on breads made in-house. Catering options available. $

Burgers

H Ruby Slipper Café 139 S. Cortez St.,

Port of Call 838 Esplanade Ave., 5230120, PortOfCallNola.com. L, D daily. It is all about the big, meaty burgers and giant baked potatoes in this popular bar/restaurant – unless you’re cocktailing only, then it’s all about the Monsoons. $$

525-9355, TheRubySlipperCafe.net. B, L daily, Br Sun. Homegrown chain specializes in breakfast, lunch and brunch dishes with unique local twists such as bananas Foster French toast and barbecue shrimp and grits. $$

Lakeview

The Joint 701 Mazant St., 949-3232, AlwaysSmokin.com. L, D Mon-Sat. Some of the city’s best barbecue can be had at this locally owned and operated favorite. $

Bywater

French Quarter Bayou Burger, 503 Bourbon St., 5294256, SportsBarNewOrleans.com. L, D daily. Sports bar in the thick of Bourbon Street scene distinguishes its fare with choices like Crawfish Beignets and Zydeco Bites. $$

Cowbell-Nola.com. L, D Tue-Sat. Burgers and homemade sauces on potato rolls are the specialty here, along with other favorites like skirt steak. $$

Uptown H The Company Burger 4600 Freret St., 267-0320, TheCompanyBurger.com. L, D Wed-Mon. Custom-baked butter-brushed buns and fresh-ground beef patties make all the difference at this excellent burger hotspot. Draft beer and craft cocktails round out the appeal. $

French CBD/Warehouse District Chateau du Lac 857 Fulton St., 301-0235, ChateauduLacWarehouse.com. L Tue-Fri, D Mon-Sat. This casual French bistro, run by chef-owner Jacques Saleun, offers up classic dishes such as escargot, coq au vin and blanquette de veau. $$$$

“I Leave Happy.”

-Tom Fitzmmris

Steak & Crabmeat

6106 Magazine Street Walk-Ins or Reservations: 504-208-8772 | Chappys.com Free Parking in Perlis Lot myneworleans.com / OCTOBER 2015

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DINING GUIDE Le Foret 129 Camp St., 553-6738, LeForetNewOrleans.com. D Mon-Sat. Sophisticated fine dining melds southern cuisine and classic French with modernist influences in an elegant setting. $$$$

FlamingTorchNola.com. L Mon-Fri, D daily, Br Sat-Sun. French classics including a tasty onion soup and often a sought-after coq-au-vin. $$

Faubourg St. John H Café Degas 3127 Esplanade Ave.,

2670, LaCrepeNanou.com. D daily, Br Sun. Classic French bistro fare, including terrific moules and decadent dessert crêpes, are served nightly at this neighborhood institution. $$$

945-5635, CafeDegas.com. L, D Wed-Sat, Br Sun. Salad Niçoise, Hanger steak and frites are served in a lovely enclosed courtyard at this jewel of a French bistro. $$

French Quarter Broussard’s, 819 Conti St., 581-3866, Broussards.com. D daily, Br Sun. CreoleFrench institution also offers beautiful courtyard seating. $$$$

H Marti’s 1041 Dumaine St., 522-5478, MartisNola.com. D daily. Classic French cuisine, small plates and chilled seafood platters like Grand Plateau Fruits De Mer are the calling cards for this restaurant with an elegant “Old World” feel. $$$

Lacombe\ H La Provence 25020 Highway 190, (985) 626-7662, LaProvenceRestaurant.com. D Wed-Sun, Br Sun. Chef John Besh upholds time-honored Provençal cuisine and rewards his guests with a true farm-life experience, from house-made preserves, charcuterie, herbs, kitchen gardens and eggs cultivated on the property. $$$$$

Metairie Chateau du Lac 2037 Metairie Road, 8313773, ChateauduLacBistro.com. L Tue-Fri, D Mon-Sat. This casual French bistro, run by chef-owner Jacques Saleun, offers up classic dishes such as escargot, coq au vin and blanquette de veau. $$$$

Uptown Bistro Daisy 5831 Magazine St., 899-6987, BistroDaisy.com. D Tue-Sat. Chef Anton Schulte and his wife Diane’s bistro serves creative and contemporary bistro fare in a romantic setting. The signature Daisy Salad is a favorite. $$$$

H Coquette 2800 Magazine St., 2650421, CoquetteNola.com. L Wed-Sat, D Wed-Mon, Br Sun. The food is French in inspiration and technique, with added imagination from chef Michael and his partner Lillian Hubbard. $$$ Flaming Torch 737 Octavia St., 895-0900,

H La Crêpe Nanou 1410 Robert St., 899-

La Petite Grocery 4238 Magazine St., 8913377, LaPetiteGrocery.com. L Tue-Sat, D daily, Br Sun. Elegant dining in a convivial atmosphere. The menu is heavily Frenchinspired with an emphasis on technique. $$$ Lilette 3637 Magazine St., 895-1636, LiletteRestaurant.com. L Tue-Sat, D MonSat. Chef John Harris’ innovative menu draws discerning diners to this highly regarded bistro. Desserts are wonderful as well. $$$$$

Gastropub Abita Springs Abita Brew Pub 72011 Holly St., (985) 892-5837, AbitaBrewPub.com. L, D TueSun. Better-than-expected pub food in its namesake eatery. “Tasteful” tours available for visitors. $$

CBD/Warehouse District Gordon Biersch 200 Poydras St., 5522739, GordonBiersch.com. L, D daily.

Local outpost of this popular chain serves specialty brews made on-site and crowdpleasing lunch and dinner fare. $$ Victory 339 Baronne St., 522-8664, VictoryNola.com. D Tue-Sat. Craft cocktails served by owner and acclaimed bartender Daniel Victory, as well as refined small plates and gourmet pizza. $$

cuisine. $$$

H Patrick’s Bar Vin 730 Bienville St., 200-3180, PatricksBarVin.com. D daily.

This oasis of a wine bar offers terrific selections by the bottle and glass. Small plates are served as well. $$ Lower Garden District The Tasting Room 1926 Magazine St., 581-3880, TTRNewOrleans.com. D WedSun. Flights of wine and sophisticated small plates are the calling cards for this wine bar near Coliseum Square. $$

Mid-City Trèo 3835 Tulane Ave., 304-4878, TreoNola.com. L Wed-Sat, D Tue-Sat. Craft cocktail bar also serves a short but excellent small plates menu to accompany its artfully composed libations. $$

Uptown The Avenue Pub 1732 St. Charles Ave., 586-9243, TheAvenuePub.com. Kitchen open 24/7. With more than 43 rotating draft beers, this pub also offers food, including a cheese plate from St. James Cheese Co. and the “Pub Burger.” Counter service only. $ Bouligny Tavern 3641 Magazine St., 8911810, BoulignyTavern.com. D Mon-Sat. Carefully curated small plates, inventive cocktails and select wines are the focus of this stylish offshoot of John Harris’s nationally acclaimed Lilette. $$ The Delachaise 3442 St. Charles Ave., 895-0858, TheDelaichaise.com. L Sat-Sun, D daily. Cuisine elevated to the standards of the libations is the draw at this lively wine bar and gastropub. Food is grounded in French bistro fare with eclectic twists. $$

Italian

French Quarter H Cane & Table 1113 Decatur St., 581-

Avondale H Mosca’s 4137 Highway 90 West, 463-

1112, CaneAndTableNola.com. L Sat-Sun, D daily. Open late, this chef-driven rustic colonial cuisine and rum and “proto-Tiki” cocktails make this a fun place to gather. $$

8950, MoscasRestaurant.com. D Tue-Sat. Italian institution dishes out massive portions of great food, family-style. Good bets are the shrimp Mosca and chicken à la grande. Cash only. $$$

Orleans Grapevine Wine Bar and Bistro 720 Orleans Ave., 523-1930, OrleansGrapevine.com. D daily. Wine is the muse at this beautifully renovated bistro, which offers vino by the flight, glass and bottle.

A classic menu with an emphasis on local

Bywater H Mariza 2900 Charters St., 598-5700, MarizaNewOrleans.com. D Tue-Sat. An Italian-inspired restaurant by chef Ian Schnoebelen features a terrific raw bar, house-cured charcuterie and an array

of refined adult beverages served in the industrial/contemporary setting on the ground floor of the Rice Mills lofts. $$$

CBD/Warehouse District H Domenica The Roosevelt Hotel, 123 Baronne St., 648-6020, DomenicaRestaurant.com. L, D daily. Chef Alon Shaya serves authentic, regional Italian cuisine.

The menu of thin, lightly topped pizzas, artisanal salumi and cheese, and a carefully chosen selection of antipasti, pasta and entrées, features locally raised products, some from chef John Besh’s Northshore farm. $$$$ Red Gravy 4125 Camp St., 561-8844, RedGravy.com. B, Br, L, D, Wed-Mon. Farm-to-table Italian restaurant offers a creative array of breakfast items such as Cannoli Pancakes as well as delectable sandwiches and more for lunch.

Homemade pastas and authentic Tuscan specialties like Cacciucco round out the dinner menu. $$ Tommy’s Cuisine 746 Tchoupitoulas St., 581-1103, TommysNewOrleans.com. D daily. Classic Creole-Italian cuisine is the name of the game at this upscale eatery.

Appetizers include the namesake oysters Tommy, baked in the shell with Romano cheese, pancetta and roasted red pepper. $$$$$

French Quarter Café Giovanni 117 Decatur St., 529-2154, CafeGiovanni.com. D daily. Live opera singers three nights a week. A selection of Italian specialties tweaked with a Creole influence and their Belli Baci happy hour adds to the atmosphere. $$$$ Chartres House, 601 Chartres St., 5868383, ChartresHouse.com. L, D daily. This iconic French Quarter bar serves terrific Mint Juleps and Gin Fizzes in its picturesque courtyard and balcony settings.

Also famous for its fried green tomatoes and other local favorite dishes. $$$ Irene’s Cuisine 539 St. Philip St., 529881. D Mon-Sat. Long waits at the lively piano bar are part of the appeal of this Creole-Italian favorite beloved by locals.

Try the oysters Irene and crabmeat gratin appetizers. $$$$

H Italian Barrel 430 Barracks St., 569-0198, ItalianBarrel.com. L, D daily.

Northern Italian dishes like Braciola di

Feel the Season at Copeland’s CopelandsOfNewOrleans.com Even if it’s too hot to feel like fall, Copeland’s of New Orleans restaurants can still put you in a seasonal mood. New desserts include: Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake, Pumpkin Bread Pudding and Apple Tart a la Mode. These join more savory fare, such as a Crab Stuffed Beignet Po-Boy and duck and andouille and shrimp gumbos. The daily Happy Hour in the lounge continues Mondays-Fridays, 4-7 p.m., and then from 9 p.m. to close. –Mirella Cameran

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Maiale as well as an exhaustive pasta menu tempt here at this local favorite that also offers al fresco seating. $$$

beans and rice and poor boys as well as specialty burgers, grilled all-beef hot dogs and thin-crust pizza. $$

Muriel’s Jackson Square 801 Chartres St., 568-1885, Muriels.com. L, D daily, Br Sun. Enjoy pecan-crusted drum and other local classics while dining in the courtyard bar or any other room in this labyrinthine, rumored-to-be-haunted establishment. $$$$

H R’evolution 777 Bienville St., 5532277, RevolutionNola.com. L Wed-Fri, D daily, Br Sun. An opulent place that combines the local flavors of chef John Folse with the more cosmopolitan influence of chef Rick Tramonto. Chef de cuisine Chris Lusk and executive sous chef Erik Veney are in charge of day-to-day operations, which include house-made charcuterie, pastries, pastas and more. $$$$$

Napoleon House 500 Chartres St., 524522-4152, NapoleonHouse.com. L MonSat, D Tue-Sat. Originally built in 1797 as a respite for Napoleon, this family-owned European-style café serves local favorites gumbo, jambalaya and muffulettas, and for sipping, a Sazerac or lemony Pimm’s Cup are perfect accompaniments. $$ NOLA 534 St. Louis St., 522-6652, Emerils. com. L Thu-Mon, D daily. Emeril’s more affordable eatery, featuring cedar-plankroasted redfish; private dining. $$$$$ Ralph Brennan’s Red Fish Grill 115 Bourbon St., 598-1200, RedFishGrill.com.

L, D daily. Chef Austin Kirzner cooks up a broad menu peppered with local favorites such as barbecue oysters, blackened redfish and double-chocolate bread pudding. $$$$$ Arnaud’s Remoulade 309 Bourbon St., 523-0377, Remoulade.com. L, D daily.

Granite-topped tables and an antique mahogany bar are home to the eclectic menu of famous shrimp Arnaud, red

H Tujague’s 823 Decatur St., 525-8676,

H Andrea’s Restaurant 3100 19th St., 834-8583, AndreasRestaurant.com. L Mon-Sat, D daily, Br Sun. Osso buco and homemade pastas in a setting that’s both elegant and intimate; off-premise catering. $$$ Semolina 4436 Veterans Blvd., Suite 37, 454-7930, Semolina.com. L, D daily. This casual, contemporary pasta restaurant takes a bold approach to cooking Italian food, emphasizing flavors, texture and color. Many of the dishes feature a signature Louisiana twist, such as the muffuletta pasta and pasta jambalaya. $$

TujaguesRestaurant.com. L Sat-Sun, D daily. For more than 150 years this landmark restaurant has been offering Creole cuisine. Favorites include a nightly six-course table d’hôté menu featuring a unique beef brisket with Creole sauce. $$$$$

Vincent’s Italian Cuisine 4411 Chastant St., 885-2984, Metairie, VicentsItalianCuisine.com. L Tue-Fri, D Mon-Sat. Snug Italian boîte packs them in, yet manages to remain intimate at the same time. The cannelloni is a house specialty. $$$

harahan

Mid-City H Liuzza’s 3636 Bienville St., 482-9120,

Oak Oven 6625 Jefferson Highway, Harahan, 305-4039, OakOvenRestaurant.com. L, D Mon-Sat. Wood-fired pizza and seasonal Italian cuisine with a locavore philosophy brings respite to the burbs. Family friendly with patio seating to boot. $$

Lakeview H Tony Angello’s 6262 Fleur de Lis Drive, 488-0888, TonyAngellos.com. D Tue-Sat. Creole-Italian favorite serves up fare. Ask Tony to “Feed Me” if you want a real multicourse dining experience. $$$$

Metairie

Liuzzas.com. L, D daily. Classic neighborhood joint serves favorites like the “Frenchuletta,” stuffed artichokes and andouille gumbo. Kid’s menu offered. Cash only. $$ Ralph’s On The Park 900 City Park Ave., 488-1000, RalphsOnThePark.com. Br Sun, L Tue-Fri, D daily. A modern interior and contemporary Creole dishes such as City Park salad, turtle soup, barbecue Gulf shrimp and good cocktails. $$$$

NORTHSHORE H Del Porto Ristorante 501 E. Boston St.,

(985) 875-1006, DelPortoRistorante.com.

L, D Tue-Sat. One of the Northshore’s premier fine dining destinations serving Italian food that makes use of locally sourced meats and produce. $$$

Uptown Amici 3218 Magazine St., 300-1250, AmiciNola.com. L, D daily. Coal-fired pizza is the calling card for this destination, but the menu offers an impressive list of authentic and Creole Italian specialties as well. $$ Pascal’s Manale 1838 Napoleon Ave., 895-4877, PascalsManale.com. L MonFri, D Mon-Sat. Vintage neighborhood restaurant since 1913 and the place to go for the creation of barbecued shrimp. Its oyster bar serves icy cold, freshly shucked Louisiana oysters and the Italian specialties and steaks are also solid. $$$$ Vincent’s Italian Cuisine 7839 St. Charles Ave., 866-9313, VicentsItalianCuisine.com.

L Tue-Fri, D Tue-Sun. Snug Italian boîte packs them in yet manages to remain intimate at the same time. The cannelloni is a house specialty. $$$

Louisianian Fare CBD/Warehouse District H Annunciation 1016 Annunciation St., 568-0245, AnnunciationRestaurant.com.

D Mon-Sat. Chef Steven Manning brings a refined sensibility to this refined Warehouse District oasis along with his famous fried oysters with melted brie. $$$

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DINING GUIDE Balise 640 Carondelet St., 459-4449, BaliseNola.com. L Mon-Fri, D nightly. Chef Justin Devillier turns back the clock at this turn-of-the-century inspired bistro in the CBD. Decidedly masculine fare – think venison tartare with horseradish and pumpernickel – is carefully crafted and fits well alongside the excellent cocktail and beer list. $$$ Bon Ton Cafe 401 Magazine St., 524-3386, TheBonTonCafe.com. L, D Mon-Fri. A local favorite for the old-school business lunch crowd specializing in local seafood and Cajun dishes. $$$$ Café Adelaide Loews New Orleans Hotel, 300 Poydras St., 595-3305, CafeAdelaide. com. B, D daily, L Mon-Fri. This offering from the Commander’s Palace family of restaurants has become a power-lunch favorite for business-people and politicos.

Also features the Swizzle Stick Bar. $$$$

H Cochon 930 Tchoupitoulas St., 588-2123, CochonRestaurant.com. L, D, Mon-Sat. Chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski showcase Cajun and Southern cuisine at this hot spot. Boudin and other pork dishes reign supreme here, along with Louisiana seafood and real moonshine from the bar. Reservations strongly recommended. $$ Drago’s Hilton Riverside Hotel, 2 Poydras St., 584-3911, DragosRestaurant.com. L, D daily. This famous seafooder specializes in

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charbroiled oysters, a dish they invented.

Great deals on fresh lobster as well. $$$$ Emeril’s 800 Tchoupitoulas St., 528-9393, EmerilsRestaurants.com. L Mon-Fri, D daily. The flagship of superstar chef Emeril Lagasse’s culinary empire, this landmark attracts pilgrims from all over the world. $$$$$

H Herbsaint 701 St. Charles Ave., 5244114, Herbsaint.com. L Mon-Fri, D MonSat. Enjoy a sophisticated cocktail before sampling chef Donald Link’s menu that melds contemporary bistro fare with classic Louisiana cuisine. The banana brown butter tart is a favorite dessert. $$$$$ Mother’s 401 Poydras St., 523-9656, MothersRestaurant.net. B, L, D daily. Locals and tourists alike endure long queues and a confounding ordering system to enjoy iconic dishes such as the Ferdi poor boy and Jerry’s jambalaya. Come for a late lunch to avoid the rush. $$ Mulate’s 201 Julia St., 522-1492, Mulates. com. L, D daily. Live music and dancing add to the fun at this world-famous Cajun destination. $$ Palette 700 Tchoupitoulas St., 613-2350, B, L, D daily. Creole, Cajun and French flavors all come together at this restaurant in the Renaissance Hotel near the Convention Center. $$

Central City

Café Reconcile 1631 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 568-1157, CafeReconcile.org. L Mon-Fri. Good food for a great cause, this nonprofit on the burgeoning OCH corridor helps train at-risk youth for careers in the food service industry. $$

Darrow Café Burnside Houmas House Plantation, 40136 Highway 942, (225) 473-9380, HoumasHouse.com. L daily, Br Sun. Historic plantation’s casual dining option features dishes such as seafood pasta, fried catfish, crawfish and shrimp, gumbo and red beans and rice. $$ Latil’s Landing Houmas House Plantation, 40136 Highway 942, (225) 473-9380, HoumasHouse.com. D Wed-Sun. Nouvelle Louisiane, plantation-style cooking served in an opulent setting features dishes like rack of lamb and plume de veau. $$$$$

Faubourg Marigny Feelings Cafe 2600 Chartres St., 9452222, FeelingsCafe.com. D Wed-Sun, Br Sun. Romantic ambiance and skillfully created dishes, such as veal d’aunoy, make dining here on the patio a memorable experience. A piano bar on Fridays adds to the atmosphere. Vegan menu offered. $$$$ Horn’s 1940 Dauphine St., Marigny, 459-4676, HornsNola.com. B, L daily, D Thu-Mon. This casual, eclectic watering hole offers offbeat twists on classics (the

Jewish Coonass features latkes to go with the crawfish etouffée) as well as the usual breakfast and lunch diner fare. $ Praline Connection 542 Frenchmen St., 943-3934, PralineConnection.com. L, D daily. Down-home dishes of smothered pork chops, greens, beans and cornbread are on the menu at this Creole soul restaurant. $$

French Quarter Acme Oyster House 724 Iberville St., 5225973, AcmeOyster.com. L, D daily. Known as one of the best places to eat oysters. $$

H Arnaud’s 813 Bienville St., 523-5433, ArnaudsRestaurant.com. D daily, Br Sun. Waiters in tuxedos prepare Café Brûlot tableside at this storied Creole grande dame; live jazz during Sun. brunch. $$$$$ Antoine’s 713 St. Louis St., 581-4422, Antoines.com. L, D Mon-Sat, Br Sun. This pinnacle of haute cuisine and birthplace of oysters Rockefeller is New Orleans’ oldest restaurant. (Every item is á la carte, with an $11 minimum.) Private dining rooms available. $$$$$

H The Bistreaux New Orleans Maison Dupuy Hotel, 1001 Toulouse St., 586-8000, MaisonDupuy.com/dining.html. L, D daily.

Dishes ranging from the casual (truffle mac and cheese) to the upscale (tuna tasting trio) are served in an elegant courtyard. $$

The Bombay Club Prince Conti Hotel, 830 Conti St., 586-0972, TheBombayClub.com.

D daily. Popular martini bar with plush British décor features live music during the week and late dinner and drinks on weekends. Nouveau Creole menu includes items such as Bombay drum. $$$$ Café Maspero 601 Decatur St., 523-6250, CafeMaspero.com. L, D daily. Tourists line up for their generous portions of seafood and large deli sandwiches. $ Court of Two Sisters 613 Royal St., 522-7261, CourtOfTwoSisters.com. Br, D daily. The historic environs make for a memorable outdoor dining experience.

The famous daily Jazz Brunch buffet and classic Creole dishes sweeten the deal. $$$$$

lunches are a New Orleans tradition at this world-famous French-Creole grand dame. Tradition counts for everything here, and the crabmeat Sardou is delicious. Note: Jackets required for dinner and all day Sun. $$$$$ House of Blues 225 Decatur St., 3104999, HouseOfBlues.com/NewOrleans. L, D daily. Surprisingly good menu complements music in the main room. Worldfamous Gospel Brunch every Sunday.

Patio seating available. $$ Killer Poboys 811 Conti St., 252-6745, KillerPoboys.blogspot.com. L, D Wed-Mon. This quasi-popup operating out of the Erin Rose Bar serves some of the city’s best poor boys, including one featuring glazed pork belly. $

Criollo Hotel Monteleone, 214 Royal St., 681-4444, CriolloNola.com. B, L, D daily.

Next to the famous Carousel Bar in the historic Monteleone Hotel, Criollo represents an amalgam of the various cultures reflected in Louisiana cooking and cuisine, often with a slight contemporary twist. $$$

K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen 416 Chartres St., 596-2530, ChefPaul.com/KPaul. L Thu-Sat, D Mon-Sat. Paul Prudhomme’s landmark restaurant helped introduce Cajun food to a grateful nation. Lots of seasoning and bountiful offerings, along with reserved seating, make this a destination for locals and tourists alike. $$$$

H Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House 144 Bourbon St., 522-0111, BourbonHouse. com. B, L, D daily. Classic Creole dishes such as redfish on the halfshell and baked oysters served. Its extensive bourbon menu will please aficionados. $$$$

H MiLa 817 Common St., 412-2580, MiLa-

Galatoire’s 209 Bourbon St., 525-2021, Galatoires.com. L, D Tue-Sun. Friday

Royal House, 441 Royal St., 528-2601, RoyalHouseRestaurant.com. L, D daily. B

NewOrleans.com. L Mon-Fri, D Mon-Sat. Latest offering from husband-and-wife chefs Slade Rushing and Allison VinesRushing focuses on the fusion of the cuisines of Miss. and La. $$$$

Sat and Sun. Poor boys, jambalaya and shrimp Creole are some of the favorites served here. Weekend breakfast and an oyster bar add to the crowd-pleasing appeal. $$$

Metairie/Jefferson

SoBou 310 Chartres St., 552-4095, SoBouNola.com. B, L, D daily. There is something for everyone at this “Modern Creole Saloon.” Decidedly unstuffy with an emphasis on craft cocktails and wines by the glass. Everything from $1 pork cracklins to an extravagant foie gras burger on accomplished yet eclectic menus. $$

Austin’s 5101 W. Esplanade Ave., 8885533, AustinsNo.com. D Mon-Sat. Mr. Ed’s upscale bistro serves contemporary Creole fare, including seafood and steaks. $$$

H Tableau 616 S. Peter St., 934-3463, TableauFrenchQuarter.com. L, D daily, Br Sun. Gulf seafood such as trout amandine and classic Creole brunch dishes like eggs Sardou are the highlights of this Dickie Brennan restaurant that shares space with Le Petite Théâtre on the corner of Jackson Square. $$$ Kenner Copeland’s 1319 W. Esplanade Ave., 617-9146, CopelandsofNewOrleans.com. L, D daily, Br Sun. Al Copeland’s namesake chain includes favorites such as Shrimp Ducky. Popular for lunch. $$

Lakeview H Cava 789 Harrison Ave., 304-9034. D Mon-Sat. Fine dining (and excellent wine list) at this high-end Cajun and Creole restaurant that makes customer service a big part of the experience. $$$

Acme Oyster House 3000 Veterans Blvd., 309-4056, AcmeOyster.com. L, D daily.

Known as one of the best places to eat oysters. $$

Copeland’s 1001 S. Clearview Parkway, 620-7800; 701 Veterans Blvd., 831-3437, CopelandsofNewOrleans.com. L, D daily, Br Sun. Al Copeland’s namesake chain includes favorites such as Shrimp Ducky.

Popular for lunch. $$ Crabby Jack’s 428 Jefferson Highway, 833-2722, CrabbyJacksNola.com. L MonSat. Lunch outpost of Jacques-Imo’s.

Famous for its fried seafood and poor boys including fried green tomatoes and roasted duck. $ Drago’s 3232 N. Arnoult Road, 888-9254, DragosRestaurant.com. L, D Mon-Sat. This famous seafooder specializes in charbroiled oysters, a dish they invented. Great deals on fresh lobster as well. $$$$

Mid-City H Katie’s Restaurant and Bar 3701 Iberville St., 488-6582, KatiesInMidCity. com. L, D Mon-Sat, Br Sun. Creative poor boys, local dishes such as gumbo and Sunday brunch make this a neighborhood favorite. $$

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DINING GUIDE Lil’ Dizzy’s Café 1500 Esplanade Ave., 569-8997, LilDizzysCafe.com. B, L daily, Br Sun. Spot local and national politicos dining at this favored Creole soul restaurant known for homey classics like fried chicken and trout Baquet. $

H Mandina’s 3800 Canal St., 482-9179, MandinasRestaurant.com. L, D daily.

Though the ambiance is more upscale, the food and seafood dishes make dining here a New Orleans experience. $$ H Redemption 3835 Iberville St., 3093570, Redemption-Nola.com. L Wed-Fri & Sun, D Wed-Sun. Chef-driven “Revival” Creole fare served in an inspiring former church. $$$

H Toups’ Meatery 845 N. Carrollton Ave., 252-4999, ToupsMeatery.com. L, D TueSat. Charcuterie, specialty cocktails and an exhaustive list of excellent à la carte sides make this restaurant a carnivore’s delight. $$$

NORTHSHORE Acme Oyster House 1202 N. Highway 190, Covington, (985) 246-6155, AcmeOyster. com. L, D daily. Known as one of the best places to eat oysters. $$ Gallagher’s Grill 509 S. Tyler St., (985) 892-9992, GallaghersGrill.com. L, D TueFri, D Sat. Chef Pat Gallagher’s destination restaurant offers al fresco seating to accompany classically inspired New Orleans fare. Event catering offered. $$$

Riverbend H Boucherie 1506 S. Carrollton Ave., 862-5514, Boucherie-Nola.com. L, D TueSat. Serving contemporary Southern food with an international angle, chef Nathaniel Zimet offers excellent ingredients presented simply. $$ Brigtsen’s 723 Dante St., 861-7610, Brigtsens.com. D Tue-Sat. Chef Frank Brigtsen’s nationally famous Creole cuisine makes this cozy cottage a true foodie destination. $$$$$

Uptown H Apolline 4729 Magazine St., 894-8881, ApollineRestaurant.com. D Tue-Sun, Br Sat-Sun. Cozy gem serves a refined menu of French and Creole classics peppered with Southern influences such as buttermilk fried quail with corn waffle. $$$ Casamento’s 4330 Magazine St., 8959761, CasamentosRestaurant.com. L

Tue-Sat, D Thu-Sat. The family-owned restaurant has shucked oysters and fried seafood since 1919; closed during summer and for all major holidays. $$ Chappy’s 6106 Magazine St., 208-8772, Chappys.com. D nightly, Br Sun. Tradition reigns supreme at Chappy’s on a genteel stretch of Magazine Street near Audubon Park. Classics such as shrimp and eggplant casserole will be sure to please. $$$ Clancy’s 6100 Annunciation St., 895-1111, ClancysNewOrleans.com. L Thu-Fri, D Mon-Sat. Their Creole-inspired menu has been a favorite of locals for years. $$$ Commander’s Palace 1403 Washington Ave., 899-8221, CommandersPalace. com. L Mon-Fri, D daily, Br Sat-Sun. The grande dame is going strong under the auspices of James Beard Award-winner chef Tory McPhail. Jazz Brunch is a great deal. $$$$

by a full bar. $ Mat & Naddie’s 937 Leonidas St., 8619600, MatAndNaddies.com. D Mon-Tue, Thu-Sat. Cozy converted house serves up creative and eclectic regionally inspired fare. Shrimp and crawfish croquettes make for a good appetizer and when the weather is right the romantic patio is the place to sit. $$$$

WEST BANK Copeland’s 2333 Manhattan Blvd., 3641575, CopelandsofNewOrleans.com. L, D daily, Br Sun. Al Copeland’s namesake chain includes favorites such as Shrimp Ducky. Popular for lunch. $$

Pizza Reginelli’s Pizzeria Multiple Locations, Reginellis.com. L, D daily. Pizzas, pastas, salads, fat calzones and lofty focaccia sandwiches are at locations all over town. $$

Dick and Jenny’s 4501 Tchoupitoulas St., 894-9880, DickAndJennys.com. L Thu-Fri, D Mon-Sat, Br Sun. A funky cottage serving Louisiana comfort food with flashes of innovation. $$$$

Theo’s Pizza Multiple Locations, TheosPizza.com. L, D daily. The crackercrisp crust pizzas are complemented by a broad assortment of toppings with a lot of local ingredients at cheap prices. $$

Domilise’s 5240 Annunciation St., 899912. L, D Mon-Wed, Fri-Sat. Local institution and rite-of-passage for those wanting an initiation to the real New Orleans. Wonderful poor boys and a unique atmosphere make this a one-of-a-kind place. $

Bywater H Pizza Delicious 617 Piety St., 676-8282,

H Gautreau’s 1728 Soniat St., 899-7397, GautreausRestaurant.com. D Mon-Sat. Upscale destination serves refined interpretations of classics along with contemporary creations. $$$$$ Jacques-Imo’s Cafe 8324 Oak St., 8610886, Jacques-Imos.com. D Mon-Sat. Reinvented New Orleans cuisine served in a party atmosphere. The deep-fried roast beef poor boy is delicious. The lively bar scene offsets the long wait on weekends. $$$$

PizzaDelicious.com. Authentic New Yorkstyle thin crust pizza is the reason to come to this affordable restaurant that began as a pop-up, but they also offer excellent salads sourced from small farms and homemade pasta dishes as well. Outdoor seating a plus. $

Uptown H Ancora 4508 Freret St., 324-1636, AncoraPizza.com. D Mon-Sat. Authentic Neapolitan-style pizza fired in an oven imported from Naples. The housemade charcuterie makes it a double-winner. $$

Joey K’s 3001 Magazine St., 891-0997, JoeyKsRestaurant.com. L, D Mon-Sat. A true neighborhood restaurant with daily lunch plates; red beans and rice are classic. $

Pizza Domenica 4933 Magazine St., 301-4978, PizzaDomenica.com. L Fri-Sun, D nightly. James Beard Award Winning Chef Alon Shaya’s pizza centric spinoff of his popular Restaurant Domenica brings Neapolitan-style pies to Uptown. Excellent salads and charcuterie boards are offered as well. $$

Mahony’s 3454 Magazine St., 899-3374, MahonysPoBoys.com. L, D daily. Along with the usual poor boys, this sandwich shop serves up a grilled shrimp and fried green tomato version dressed with remoulade sauce. Sandwich offerings are augmented

Slice 1513 St. Charles Ave., 525-PIES (7437); 5538 Magazine St., 897-4800; SlicePizzeria.com. L, D daily. Order up slices or whole pizza pies done in several styles (thin- and thick-crust) as well as pastas, seafood, panini and salads. $

Seafood Akers Middendorf’s Interstate 55, Exit 15, 30160 Highway 51 South, (985) 386-6666, MiddendorfsRestaurant.com. L, D Wed-Sun. Historic seafood destination along the shores of Lake Maurepas is world-famous for its thin-fried catfish fillets. Open since 1934, it’s more than a restaurant, it’s a Sun. drive tradition. $$

CBD/Warehouse District H Borgne 601 Loyola Ave., 613-3860, BorgneRestaurant.com. L, D daily. Coastal Louisiana seafood with an emphasis on Isleños cuisine (descendants of Canary Islanders who settled in St. Bernard Parish) is the focus of this high-volume destination adjacent to the Superdome. $$$

H Pêche 800 Magazine St., 522-1744, PecheRestaurant.com. L, D Mon-Sat. Award-winning southern-inspired seafood destination by chef Donald Link serves whole roasted Gulf fish from its massive, wood-burning oven. An excellent raw bar is offered as well. $$$ French Quarter Bourbon House 144 Bourbon St., 5220111, BourbonHouse.com. B, L, D daily.

Local seafood, featured in both classic and contemporary dishes, is the focus of this New Orleans-centric destination. And yes, bourbon is offered as well. $$$ Deanie’s Seafood 841 Iberville St., 5811316, Deanies.com. L, D daily. Louisiana seafood, baked, broiled, boiled and fried is the name of the game. Try the barbecue shrimp or towering seafood platters. $$$

H GW Fins 808 Bienville St., 581-FINS (3467), GWFins.com. D daily. Owners Gary Wollerman and twice chef of the year Tenney Flynn provide dishes at their seasonal peak. On a quest for unique variety, menu is printed daily. $$$$$

H Kingfish 337 Charters St., 598-5005, CocktailBarNewOrleans.com. L, D daily.

Gulf seafood and nouvelle Creole dishes such as smoked rabbit gumbo are the main draws at this establishment helmed

by Greg Sonnier, as well as the excellent bar program by mixologist Chris McMillian. $$$ Landry’s Seafood 400 N. Peters St., 5580038, LandrysSeafood.com. Kid-friendly and popular seafood spot serves of heaping platters of fried shrimp, Gulf oysters,

Try a New Chef and Oktoberfest at the Ralph Brennan Group RalphsOnThePark.com, cafeb.com Executive Chef Chip Flanagan enjoyed his culinary mission to Germany with the U.S. Department of State so much he’s running Oktoberfest (Sept. 19-Oct. 11) at Ralph’s on the Park. It is a unique chance to take a tasty tour of the fare of Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. At another Ralph Brennan spot, café b, Michael Uddo has taken the helm as Executive Chef, where he’ll combine Southern cooking with 21st century touches. With a $0.50 Oyster Happy Hour, it’s a prime time to stop by.

– M.C.

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cheryl gerber photograph

catfish and more. $$

nation. Catering offered as well. $$$

Le Bayou, 208 Bourbon St., 525-4755, LeBayouRestaurant.com. L, D Mon-Sat. Blackened redfish and Shrimp Ya-Ya are a just a few of the choices at this seafoodcentric destination on Bourbon Street.

Fried alligator is available for the more daring diner. $$$

Deanie’s Seafood 1713 Lake Ave., 8314141, Deanies.com. L, D daily. Louisiana seafood, baked, broiled, boiled and fried, is the name of the game. Try the barbecue shrimp or towering seafood platters. $$$

Oceana Grill 739 Conti St., 525-6002, OceanaGrill.com. B, L, D daily. Gumbo, poor boys and barbecue shrimp are served at this kid-friendly seafood destination. $$

Mr. Ed’s Seafood and Italian Restaurant 1001 Live Oak St., 838-0022, AustinsNo. com. L, D Mon-Sat. Neighborhood restaurant specializes in seafood and Italian offerings such as stuffed eggplant and bell pepper. Fried seafood and sandwiches make it a good stop for lunch. $$

Pier 424, 424 Bourbon St., 309-1574, Pier424SeafoodMarket.com. L, D daily.

Seafood-centric restaurant offers long menu of traditional New Orleans fare augmented by unusual twists like “CajunBoiled” Lobster prepared crawfish-style in spicy crab boil. $$$

Uptown

Kenner

Landry’s Seafood 8000 Lakeshore Drive, West End, 283-1010, LandrysSeafood.com.

Kid-friendly and popular seafood spot serves of heaping platters of fried shrimp, Gulf oysters, catfish and more. $$

Mr. Ed’s Seafood and Italian Restaurant 910 W. Esplanade Ave., Ste. A, 463-3030, AustinsNo.com. L, D Mon-Sat. Neighborhood restaurant specializes in seafood and Italian offerings such as stuffed eggplant and bell pepper. Fried seafood and sandwiches make it a good stop for lunch. $$

Metairie Austin’s Restaurant, 5101 W. Esplanade Ave., 888-5533, AustinsNo.com. D MonSat. Signature steak, seafood and Italian specialties reign at this dinner-only desti-

Frankie & Johnny’s 321 Arabella St., 2431234, FrankieAndJohnnys.net. L, D daily.

Serves fried and boiled seafood along with poor boys and daily lunch specials. Kidfriendly with a game room to boot. $$

West End

Steakhouse CBD/Warehouse District H Besh Steak Harrah’s Casino, 8 Canal St., 533-6111, HarrahsNewOrleans. com. D daily. Acclaimed chef John Besh reinterprets the classic steakhouse with his signature contemporary Louisiana flair. $$$$$

Chophouse New Orleans 322 Magazine St., 522-7902, ChophouseNola.com. D daily. In addition to USDA prime grade aged steaks prepared under a broiler that reaches 1,700 degrees, Chophouse offers lobster, redfish and classic steakhouse sides. $$$

H Desi Vega’s Steakhouse 628 St. Charles Ave., 523-7600, DesiVegaSteaks. com. L Mon-Fri, D Mon-Sat. USDA Prime steaks form the base of this Mr. John’s offshoot overlooking Lafayette Square, but Italian specialties and a smattering of locally inspired seafood dishes round out the appeal. $$$ H La Boca 870 Tchoupitoulas St., 5258205, LaBocaSteaks.com. D Mon-Sat. This Argentine steakhouse specializes in cuts of meat along with pastas and wines.

Specials include the provoleta appetizer and the Vacio flank steak. $$$ Morton’s The Steakhouse 365 Canal St., One Canal Place, 566-0221, Mortons.com/ NewOrleans. D daily. Private elevator leads to the plush, wood-paneled environs of this local outpost of the famed Chicago steakhouse popular with politicians and celebrities. $$$$ Ruth’s Chris Steak House Harrah’s Hotel, 525 Fulton St., 587-7099, RuthsChris.com.

D daily, Br Sat-Sun. Filet mignon, creamed spinach and potatoes au gratin are the most popular dishes at this area steak institution, but there are also great seafood choices and top-notch desserts. $$$$$

Garden District H Mr. John’s Steakhouse 2111 St. Charles Ave., 679-7697, MrJohnsSteakhouse.com. D Tue-Sat, L Friday. Wood paneling, white tile and USDA Prime Beef served sizzling in butter are the hallmarks of this classic New Orleans steakhouse. $$$

French Quarter Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse 716 Iberville St., 522-2467, DickieBrennansSteakhouse.com. L Fri, D daily. Nationally recognized steakhouse serves USDA Prime steaks and local seafood. $$$$$

H Doris Metropolitan 620 Chartres St., 267-3500, DorisMetropolitan.com. L Sat-Sun, D daily. Innovative, genre-busting steakhouse plays with expectations and succeeds with modernist dishes like their Classified Cut and Beetroot Supreme. $$$$ Galatoire’s 33 Bar & Steak 215 Bourbon St., 335-3932, Galatoires33BarAndSteak. com. L Fri, D Sun-Thu. Steakhouse offshoot of the venerable Creole grande dame offers hand-crafted cocktails to accompany classic steakhouse fare as well as inspired dishes like the Gouté 33: horseradish-crusted bone marrow and deviled eggs with crab ravigote and smoked trout. Reservations accepted. $$$

Metairie Ruth’s Chris Steak House 3633 Veterans Blvd., 888-3600, RuthsChris.com. L Fri, D daily, Br Sat-Sun. Filet mignon, creamed

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DINING GUIDE spinach and potatoes au gratin are the most popular dishes at this area steak institution, but there are also great seafood choices and top-notch desserts. $$$$$

Mid-City H Crescent City Steaks 1001 N. Broad St., 821-3271, CrescentCitySteaks.com. L Tue-Fri & Sun, D daily. One of the classic New Orleans steakhouses. Steaks, sides and drinks are what you get. $$$$

Vegan/Vegetarian Lower Garden District H The Green Fork 1400 Prytania St., 2677672, GreenForkNola.com. B, L Mon-Sat. Fresh juices, smoothies and vegetarianfriendly fare make The Green Fork a favorite for lovers of healthy food. Catering is offered as well. $$

World Byblos Multiple Locations, ByblosRestaurants.com. L, D daily. Upscale Middle Eastern cuisine featuring traditional seafood, lamb and vegetarian options. $$

Bywater H Booty’s Street Food 800 Louisa St., 2662887, BootysNola.com. B, L, D daily. Street food culled from countries around the globe is the muse of this creative establishment, where papadum from India resides confidently alongside Peruvian ceviche. $$ The Green Goddess 307 Exchange Place, 301-3347, GreenGoddessRestaurant.

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com. L, D Wed-Sun. One of the most imaginative local restaurants. The menu is constantly changing, and chef Paul Artigues always has ample vegetarian options. Combine all of that with a fantastic selection of drinks, wine and beer, and it’s the total (albeit small) package. $$

CBD/Warehouse District Johnny Sanchez 930 Poydras St., 3046615, JohnnySanchezRestaurant.com. L, D daily. Contemporary Mexican mecca offering celebrity chef cachet to go along with the locally sourced produce accompanying the Bistec a la Parilla. Popular happy hour and downtown locale next to South Market District add to the appeal. $$$

H Lüke 333 St. Charles Ave., 378-2840, LukeNewOrleans.com. B, L, D daily, Br Sat-Sun. Chef John Besh and executive chef Matt Regan serve Germanic specialties and French bistro classics, housemade patés and abundant plateaux of cold, fresh seafood. $$$ Palace Café 605 Canal St., 523-1661, PalaceCafe.com. L Mon-Sat, D daily, Br Sun. Dickie Brennan-owned brasserie with French-style sidewalk seating and house-created specialties of chef Darrin Nesbit. Favorites here include crabmeat cheesecake, turtle soup, the Werlein salad with fried Louisiana oysters and pork “debris” studded Palace potato pie. $$$$$

Faubourg Marigny

H Mona’s Café 504 Frenchmen St., 9494115. L, D daily. Middle Eastern specialties such as baba ganuj, tender-tangy beef or chicken shawarma, falafel and gyros, stuffed into pillowy pita bread or on platters. The lentil soup with crunchy pita chips and desserts, such as sticky sweet baklava, round out the menu. $ Faubourg St. John H 1000 Figs 3141 Ponce De Leon St., 301-0848, 1000Figs.com. L, D Tue-Sat. Vegetarian-friendly offshoot of the Fat Falafel Food Truck offers a healthy farm-to-table alternative to cookie-cutter Middle Eastern places. $$

French Quarter Bayona 430 Dauphine St., 525-4455, Bayona.com. L Wed-Sat, D Mon-Sat. Chef Susan Spicer’s nationally acclaimed cuisine is served in this 200-year-old cottage. Ask for a seat on the romantic patio, weather permitting. $$$$$ El Gato Negro 81 French Market Place, 525-9752, ElGatoNegroNola.com. Central Mexican cuisine along with hand-muddled mojitos and margaritas made with freshly squeezed juice. A weekend breakfast menu is an additional plus. $$

Kenner H Fiesta Latina 1924 Airline Drive, 4682384, FiestaLatinaRestaurant.com. B, L, D daily. A big-screen TV normally shows a soccer match or MTV Latino at this home

for authentic Central American food.

Tacos include a charred carne asada. $$

Lakewood H Mizado 5080 Pontchartrain Blvd., 885-5555, MizadoCocina.com. L daily, D Mon-Sat. Sleek restaurant offers modern Mexican cuisine featuring pan-Latin flavors and influences. Small batch tequila and a ceviche bar make it a party. $$

Lakeview H Mondo 900 Harrison Ave., 224-2633, MondoNewOrleans.com. L Mon-Fri, D Mon-Sat, Br Sun. Chef Susan Spicer’s take on world cuisine. Make sure to call ahead because the place has a deserved reputation for good food and good times. $$$

METAIRIE Vega Tapas Café 2051 Metairie Road, 836-2007, VegaTapasCafe.com. D Mon-Sat. Fun, eclectic small plates destination offers creative fare keeps guests coming back with frequent regionally inspired specialty menus served with humor and whimsy. $$

Mid-City Juan’s Flying Burrito 4724 S. Carrollton Ave., 486-9950, JuansFlyingBurrito.com. L, D daily. Hard-core tacos and massive burritos are served in an edgy atmosphere. $ Lola’s 3312 Esplanade Ave., 488-6946, LolasNewOrleans.com. D daily. Garlicky Spanish dishes and great paella make this

artsy boîte a hipster destination. $$$

H Milkfish 125 N. Carrollton Ave., 2674199, MilkfishNola.com. L, D Thu-Tue. Filipino cuisine like adobo and lumpia is served, further expanding dining opportunities. $$

H Mona’s Café 3901 Banks St., 4827743. L, D daily. Middle Eastern specialties such as baba ganuj, tender-tangy beef or chicken shawarma, falafel and gyros, stuffed into pillowy pita bread or on platters. The lentil soup with crunchy pita chips and desserts, such as sticky sweet baklava, round out the menu. $

H Taqueria Guerrero 208 N. Carrollton Ave., 484-6959. B, L, D, Tue-Sat. Friendly staff and authentic Mexican cuisine make this affordable neighborhood restaurant a neighborhood favorite. $ Upper 9th Ward Kebab , 2315 Saint Claude Ave., 3834328, KebabNola.com. L, D Fri-Mon. The menu is short and tasty at this kebab outpost along the revitalized St. Claude Avenue corridor. $

Uptown H Café Abyssinia 3511 Magazine St., 894-6238. L, D daily. One of a just few authentic Ethiopian restaurants in the city, excellent injera and spicy vegetarian fare make this a local favorite. $$

H Irish House 1432 St. Charles Ave., 595-6755, TheIrishHouseNewOrleans.com.

L Mon-Fri, D daily, Br Sat-Sun. Irish pub dishes such as shepherd’s pie and fish and chips are featured here, as well as creative cocktails like Irish iced coffee. Check the schedule of events for live music. $$ Jamila’s Mediterranean Tunisian Cuisine 7808 Maple St., 866-4366. D TueSun. Intimate and exotic bistro serving Mediterranean and Tunisian cuisine. The Grilled Merguez is a Jazz Fest favorite and vegetarian options are offered. $$ Juan’s Flying Burrito 2018 Magazine St., 569-0000, JuansFlyingBurrito.com. L, D daily. Hard-core tacos and massive burritos are served in an edgy atmosphere. $

H Mona’s Café 4126 Magazine St., 8949800; 1120 S. Carrollton Ave., 861-8174.

L, D daily. Middle Eastern specialties such as baba ganuj, tender-tangy beef or chicken shawarma, falafel and gyros, stuffed into pillowy pita bread or on platters. The lentil soup with crunchy pita chips and desserts, such as sticky sweet baklava, round out the menu. $ H Panchita’s 1434 S. Carrollton Ave., 281-4127. L, D daily. Authentic, budgetfriendly Mexican restaurant serves tamales, mole and offers free chips and salsa as well as sangria. $ H Patois 6078 Laurel St., 895-9441, PatoisNola.com. L Fri, D Wed-Sat, Br Sun. The food is French in technique, with influences from across the Mediterranean as well as the American South, all filtered

through the talent of chef Aaron Burgau.

Reservations recommended. $$$

H Shaya 4213 Magazine St., 891-4213, ShayaRestaurant.com. L, D daily. James Beard Award-winning chef Alon Shaya pays homage to his native Israel with this contemporary Israeli hotspot. Fattoush Salad and Matzo Ball Soup made with slow-cooked duck are dishes to try. $$$

Specialty Foods CBD/Warehouse District Calcasieu 930 Tchoupitoulas St., 5882188, CalcasieuRooms.com. For gatherings both large and small, the catering menus feature modern Louisiana cooking and the Cajun cuisine for which chef Donald Link is justifiably famous.

French Quarter Antoine’s Annex 513 Royal St., 525-8045, Antoines.com/Antoines-Annex. Open daily. Serves French pastries, including individual baked Alaskas, ice cream and gelato, as well as panini, salads and coffee. Delivery available.

Metairie Sucré 3301 Veterans Blvd., 834-2277, ShopSucre.com. Desserts daily. Open late weekends. Chocolates, pastry and gelato draw rave reviews at this dessert destination. Beautiful packaging makes this a great place to shop for gifts. Catering available.

Mid-City H Blue Dot Donuts 4301 Canal St., 218-

4866, BlueDotDonuts.com. B, L Tue-Sun. The Bacon Maple Long John gets all the press, but returning customers are happy with the classics as well as twists like peanut butter and jelly.

Uptown Blue Frog Chocolates 5707 Magazine St., 269-5707, BlueFrogChocolates.com. Open daily, closed Sundays in summer. French and Belgian chocolate truffles and Italian candy flowers make this a great place for gifts.

St. James Cheese Company 5004 Prytania St., 899-4737, StJamesCheese. com. Open daily. Specialty shop offers a selection of fine cheeses, wines, beers and related accouterments. Look for wine and cheese specials every Friday.

Sucré 3025 Magazine St., 520-8311, ShopSucre.com. Desserts daily & nightly.

Open late weekends. Chocolates, pastry and gelato draw rave reviews at this dessert destination. Beautiful packaging makes this a great place to shop for gifts.

Catering available. n

If you feel that a restaurant has been misplaced, please email Managing Editor Morgan Packard at Morgan@MyNewOrleans.com.

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Re-turning Japanese

New Orleans Sushi Fest returns for a bigger and better second year.

By Kim Singletary

W

hen it comes to movies, the sequel is hardly ever as good as the original. But in the case of one very original production, the New Orleans Sushi Fest, the sequel did what all sequels set out to do – take a great idea to the next level.

On Sun., Aug. 16, 2015, thousands gathered at the Lakefront Arena for the return of the city’s first and only festival dedicated to the art and flavors of sushi and all things Japanese. Produced again by Renaissance Publishing, parent company of New Orleans Magazine, this event was presented by Royal Honda.

One of the most obvious changes this year was the location. “The Lakefront Arena enabled us to create a different layout, offer free parking and provide a bigger space for our VIP experience,” explains Cheryl Lemoine, director of marketing and events for Renaissance Publishing.

Lemoine says all of the $75 VIP tickets sold quickly this year, enabling 350 attendees to enjoy a reception that began at 1 p.m., an hour before the event opened to the public.

VIP patrons were welcomed into a lush Japanese garden-style setting on the floor of the arena by a woman dressed in a hoop skirt that held champagne glasses. The libations flowed, including Sapporo beer, Ty Ku sake, Clos du Bois wine and a signature cocktail featuring Licor 43.

While live traditional Japanese music played, patrons dined on sushi from Rockn-Sake and Pigeon Caterers. Unlike during the first year, the VIP section remained open for the entire event; patrons needed only show their hand blown glass sushi necklace, created for the event by Studio Inferno, to gain re-admittance.

General admission ticket holders ($15 in advance, $25 at the door) sampled more than 25 food and drink vendors, along with an expanded marketplace filled with authentic Japanese goods and sushi-related accessories, including Japanese hats

by Haute Dames and vintage kimonos by Ninoni NOLA. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s New Orleans Sushi Fest went to The Japan Club of New Orleans, members of which showcased and sold intricate origami creations, and The Japan Society of New Orleans, who provided the grand prize for the event’s raffle: two round-trip airline tickets to Japan.

Attendees also experienced some new features, including The Cat’s Meow Karaoke Club, free upper body massages, two photo booths, the chance to have a caricature of yourself created on an iPad and to make your own customized New Orleans Sushi Fest T-shirt.

“We had six different styles to choose from, or you could create your own,” Lemoine says. “You could even have your name in Japanese printed on the back.”

Transforming the arena into a Japanese wonderland was no small feat, but it was accomplished thanks to the work of Blaine Kern Jr. and his team at Mardi Gras Productions who, for example, created a giant Japanese lantern big enough for a woman to dance inside while attendees cast their vote for the People’s Choice category of the event’s culinary awards, a title that went this year to Rock-n-Sake Bar & Sushi.

The biggest award of the culinary competition, that of Grand Champion, went to Vitascope Hall.

“New Orleans is famous for its great festivals and celebrations of food,” says Todd Matherne, CEO of Renaissance Publishing.

“We’re excited to have created this festival which is, as far as we’ve been able to find, unique to not only New Orleans, but the entire country.”

New Orleans Sushi Fest Culinary Competition Winners Grand Champion: Vitascope Hall People’s Choice: Rock-n-Sake Bar & Sushi Best Wine Pairing: Miyako Hibachi & Sushi Bar with the Clos du Bois Sauvignon Blanc Japanese Consul-General Award: Rock-n-Sake Bar & Sushi Best Presentation: Lakeview Pearl Sushi & Asian Bistro Best Use of Heat: Mizado Cocina

Most Innovative: Katie’s Restaurant Best Use of Local Produce: Chiba Best Unexpected Ingredient: Tsunami Best Texture Combination: CoNola Grill & Sushi Most Elegant Roll: ToGoSushi Best Japanese Infusion: Seither’s Seafood

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Seeing Red Wine Festival

Louisiana Weekends: Fall Festivals, Events, & Destinations

F

all weekends are jam-packed with events across Louisiana and the southern region. From film, wine and food festivals and coolweather tour opportunities, to the always-popular shopping and dining options the season brings, the number of ways to spend your weekends is countless. Whether you’re looking for a resort stay a short drive away or the ability to play tourist with a staycation in New Orleans, there are accommodations to suit every desire and to give you a place to rest in luxury and comfort after a full day of regional fun. Find the flavor that suits you this fall among the following events and destinations that include everything from cultural experiences such as Oktoberfest and a wooden boat festival to exquisite cuisine and eccentric shopping.

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Three Rivers Art Festival

Festivals & Events The Fairhope Film Festival is a film lover’s festival, offering worldclass, award-winning films in a picturesque location over four days. Films include features, shorts and documentaries that have been finalists at national and international film competitions over the past year – the “best of the best” in cinema arts.

Directors, actors, screenwriters and film fans connect at screenings, informative panels and entertaining festivities.

The festival takes place in the quaint bayside city of Fairhope, Alabama, an ideal weekend getaway destination. Festival venues are located in the flower-filled downtown and are within walking distance to locally owned restaurants, hotels, shopping and the town bluffs, which boast sweeping views of Mobile Bay. Renowned as one of the country’s loveliest and most unpretentious film festivals, the Fairhope Film Festival is among the Gulf Coast’s top cinematic experiences. The 2015 Fairhope Film Festival takes place Nov. 12-15. Festival passes are available at FairhopeFilmFestival.org.

Since 1928, the Deutsches Haus New Orleans has celebrated and fostered the rich culture, musical heritage, language and history of the German people. The Haus features organizations dedicated to German song, dance and language, and for years has awarded numerous scholarships for German language and history students to study abroad. In the fall of each year, however, the Deutsches Haus New Orleans is known for one thing: Oktoberfest!

Oktoberfest 2015 is here and will run for three consecutive weekends this month in the spacious Rivertown in Kenner.

Houmas House

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The fest runs Oct. 9-10, 16-17 and 23-24. These six days will be filled with live German music, traditional German food and of course, dozens of unique German beers. This year’s event will also include Wiener dog races, Stein holding contests and booths with activities for kids. For more information about Oktoberfest 2015, visit OktoberfestNola.com or DeutschesHaus.org.

Fall is festival time in the Bayou Lafourche area! October kicks off with La Fete De Vieux Temps, or the “Festival of the Old Times,” in Raceland Oct. 2-5. Dance your way to the Bayou Music Festival on Oct. 17 in Golden Meadow, which features local bands, food, an exciting auction and door prizes throughout the day.

Food lovers must check out two Southeast Tourism Society “Top 20 Events.” The 44th annual Louisiana Gumbo Festival (Oct. 9-11) in Chackbay, the “Gumbo Capital of Louisiana,” offers the best in Cajun food, music and dancing. This festival is also an American Bus Association “Top 100 Event” in the United States! The 39th annual French Food Festival in Larose (Oct. 22-25) holds over 40 local food booths, featuring traditional Bayou classics such as White Oyster Soup, Shrimp Boulettes, Jambalaya and more. Live entertainment and cultural exhibits add to the festival.

Additionally, the Thibodeauxville Fall Festival (Nov. 14) offers live music, a Cajun food court, art booths and a duck race on Bayou Lafourche.

Fall is an ideal season to experience The Bayou Life. For

more information, including special festival hotel rates, visit VisitLafourche.com or call 877-537-5800.

Aged like a good Bordeaux, the Seeing Red Wine Festival is gearing up to celebrate its 25th anniversary, Nov. 5-8, in the award-winning town of Seaside, Florida. Produced in partnership with the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation (DCWAF), the town of SEASIDE® presents the highly anticipated, four-day event featuring some of the world’s premier vintners throughout a variety of special events that take place within the iconic beach town located along Highway 30A and the sugar white sand beaches in South Walton, Florida.

Celebrating its silver anniversary, the Seeing Red Wine Festival has grown to be a sell-out event, attracting wine connoisseurs and novices alike. Attendees are encouraged to reserve their tickets well in advance. The Seeing Red Wine Festival has been recognized as one of the “Top 10 Can’t-Miss Fall Wine Festivals,” by Fodor’s Travel.

For more information on the events, tickets and lodging packages, visit SeeingRedWineFestival.com.

Head northwest to spend a weekend in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, beginning Oct. 1. Travel the Zydeco Cajun Prairie Scenic Byway and stop at the Melville Atchafalaya Catfish Festival, Oct. 9-10. That same weekend, take a cemetery tour to delve into the history of some of the more intriguing citizens. Then, shop the Semi Annual Antique Fair & Yard Sale in Washington, where you can be an “American Picker.” Oct. 17-18, check out the Experience Louisiana Festival in Eunice

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with its full lineup of events and music. Finish out the month at the Oct. 24 Sweet Dough Pie Festival, where thousands of pies are sold – arrive early to get the flavor of your choice!

The weekend of Nov. 5-8 plays host to the Port Barre Cracklin Festival. Waste not, want not … that’s how Cajuns invented the cracklin’, which is now featured on many well-known chefs’ menus. Pig out on delicious food and enjoy one of the best band lineups found outdoors.

For more details on these and other experiences, visit CajunTravel.com or call 877-948-8004 to plan your trip.

St. Tammany Parish, located just 45 minutes north of New Orleans, is known for celebrating a little of everything. Mark your calendar for the following upcoming fall events offering a variety of exciting activities.

The legendary Dew Drop Jazz & Social Hall in Old Mandeville continues its fall season on with six performances OctoberDecember. Pontchartrain Vineyards also has concerts Oct. 10 and 24, and Nov. 28, while the Abita Opry rounds out its fall season with shows on Oct. 17 and Nov. 21.

Sportsmen and their families won’t want to miss the Kayak Fishing Boondoggle at Fontainebleau State Park Oct. 9-12 or the Wooden Boat Festival in Madisonville Oct.10-11; Oct. 10 also brings the Fall for Art block party in Covington, featuring gallery exhibits and boutique shopping. The fun continues in Covington with The Three Rivers Art Festival, which takes over downtown Nov. 14-15 with art, food, music and family fun. Over in Slidell, the The Olde Towne Slidell Fall Antique Street Fair brings countless vendors to Historic Olde Towne Oct. 24-25.

For more info on these events and to find your fun, visit LouisianaNorthshore.com.

breathtaking views of New Orleans, native landscaping, bike paths, a dog run and multi-use pavilions for all to enjoy.

The entire French Market District is open 365 days a year, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. (with some restaurants open later). Visit FrenchMarket.org to learn more about yoga and pilates classes, walking tours, children’s events, concerts and festivals at the French Market.

French Quarter Phantoms Ghost & Vampire Tours are fun for visitors and locals alike. Listed as No. 5 in TripAdvisor’s Top Ten Ghost Tours in the World, this should be on everyone’s “Must Do” list. Grab a cocktail and walk along with their Master Story Tellers for a lot of great laughs and chills up your spine! Their fun, exuberant guides are passionate about entertaining guests.

Tours begin at 6 and 8 p.m. nightly and year-round and are appropriate for all ages.

For daytime fun, don’t miss the company’s newest tour, Music of New Orleans: Listen and Learn Tour! Enjoy the unique sounds and history of New Orleans Jazz in the Tremé neighborhood, where inspiration abounds. Beginning Oct. 1, the tour is available Thursdays-Sundays at 3 p.m. Also, Saints & Sinners, a dirty little French Quarter history tour (adults only) begins at 1 p.m. daily. Online discounts are available through FrenchQuarterPhantoms.com. For more information, call 504-666-8300.

Arts & Attractions Guided by a new name and mission, the Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane University presents original exhibitions that explore socially engaged art, civic dialogue and community transformation. As an entity of an academic institution, the museum utilizes the frameworks of diverse disciplines in conceptualizing and interpreting art and design.

Currently on display through Jan. 3, 2016, the museum presents “A Shared Space: KAWS, Karl Wirsum, and Tomoo Gokita.”

The exhibition presents new work by KAWS, one of the most relevant artists of his generation, alongside pieces from his private collection.

The museum is open Tuesdays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturdays-Sundays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Learn more at NewcombArtMuseum.tulane.edu or call 504-865-5328. The museum and its programs are free and open to the public.

The French Market District is a scenic six-block area of shopping, dining and entertainment in the New Orleans French Quarter from Café du Monde to the Farmers and Flea Markets, including The Shops at the Upper Pontalba on Jackson Square.

Stroll this “neighborhood within a neighborhood” to experience historic architecture, public parks, outdoor dining, live music, boutique retail shopping and unique souvenirs.

The district now includes Crescent Park, a 1.4-mile, 20-acre urban linear park on the riverfront, just one block from the French Market Flea Market. This unique public space provides

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Audubon Nature Institute

ADVERTISING SECTION

Nestled between Baton Rouge and New Orleans is Houmas House Plantation and Gardens, the “Crown Jewel of Louisiana’s River Road.” This historic property boasts 38 acres of the South’s most lush and vibrant gardens and offers tours of the magnificent mansion with its rare collection of period artwork and furnishings. Learn about the great sugar barons of the South and how they grew this modest manor into a grand estate.

This holiday season, treat yourself to world class dining, luxury accommodations and southern charm only seen in movies. Whether attending a party or looking for a romantic escape, this plantation destination offers the most extensive antebellum experience along River Road.

Upon arrival guests feel transported back to a time of antebellum splendor.

Slow down and enjoy a leisurely time. Sip a refreshing Mint Julep. Experience the South the way it was meant to be, at Houmas House Plantation and Gardens. For tour, dining, and accommodations, visit HoumasHouse.com.

Stuff their stockings with a year full of fun! Audubon Membership is the wildest gift in town this holiday season!

Imagine their surprise when they unwrap a year of fun and discovery at Audubon Nature Institute. Audubon Members enjoy unlimited free admission for an entire year to Audubon Zoo, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, and Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. Plus, members save with exclusive discounts on Audubon education programs and special events and at Audubon gift shops and golf course. Members are cel-

ebrated with member-only parties such as ZOObilation and SEAlebration. And, Members go free to festivals, including Earth Fest and Soul Fest.

Give the wildest gift in town that they can enjoy year round!

Purchase today and receive 13 months of membership for the price of 12. Call 504-861-5105 or visit Audubon Nature Institute online at AudubonInstitute.org/members for more information.

Use promo code HOLIDAY15.

Shopping While Trashy Diva is a distinctly New Orleans clothing company with five locations across the city, their vintage-inspired designs are known and coveted worldwide. For more than 19 years, Trashy Diva has provided customers with retro flair and classic style. Original and vintage-inspired designs in dresses and separates by Candice Gwinn suit a modern sensibility with a focus on creating feminine styles that flatter a variety of body types, ranging from sizes 0 through 20 with larger sizes available in select pieces.

Arrive in style to Saints games this fall with their exclusive, classic three-tone fleur-de-lis print, Grand Fleur, available in a variety of dress, blouse and skirt styles. Complementing Gwinn’s dress designs are classic footwear styles at the Trashy Diva Shoe Boutique, ranging from chic pumps to spectators and boots.

From bustiers to burlesque, Trashy Diva now offers the ultimate party experience for your closest group of girlfriends.

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Celebrating a bachelorette or birthday party? Hosting an afterhours event at a Trashy Diva Lingerie Boutique can make for a memorable night of fun and entertainment. Shop online or find more info at TrashyDiva.com or call 504-299-3939.

You’ve gotten the beads, hurricane glasses, masks and shrunken alligator heads. But would you also like to take home something that’s stylish and beautiful and that you cannot get anywhere else? Then visit QUEORK – a fantastic French Quarter boutique that’s the first of its kind not only in New Orleans, but in the United States! QUEORK is a local business that specializes in fine handbags, shoes and accessories for fashion, home and office that all prominently feature natural cork “leather.”

Cork leather comes from the same raw material as wine corks – the bark of the cork oak tree. Once the bark is removed by hand, which allows the tree to continue growing, it’s processed into a supple, waterproof, scratchproof, stain resistant, hypoallergenic, antimicrobial and durable fabric that QUEORK transforms into luxurious products. Visit QUEORK in the French Quarter and see the stunning array of colors and designs they offers. From handbags, wallets, belts, bowties, boots, jewelry, aprons, hats and much more – there’s something for everyone at QUEORK. You can even get a collar for your special four-legged friend.

Visit QUEORK at 838 Rue Chartres or shop online at Queork.com.

For some of the most iconic and traditional New Orleans designs in art, jewelry, accessories and gifts, be sure to visit the designers at Fleur d’ Orleans at 3701-A Magazine St., or 818 Chartres St. in the French Quarter. Fleur d’ Orleans has designed more than 150 different pieces of sterling silver jewelry, inspired by art and architectural designs found around the city, so you can celebrate and share the design heritage of New Orleans. Whether you need handmade sterling silver earrings, brooches or pendants, semi-precious jewels set in sterling, beautiful silk scarves or handmade paper notecards, you’ll find a rich array of designer accessories at Fleur d’ Orleans.

Fleur d’ Orleans designs are exclusive to their shops and can’t be found anywhere else. You can also view their exclusive designs online and order with free shipping from their website, FleurDOrleans.com. For more information and hours, call 504899-5585 (Magazine) or 504-475-5254 (Chartres).

A New Orleans native, artist and designer Cristy Cali has a knack for capturing the spirit of New Orleans with designs in silver and gold. Cristy’s Collection is a line of jewelry focused on and inspired by the architecture, rich culture and fascinating history of New Orleans.

Cristy’s Collection features necklaces, bracelets, pendants, rings, earrings and more – each piece exhibiting a love of New Orleans and an appreciation of style. From well-known landmarks such as St. Louis Cathedral and the Superdome to popular local indulgences such as snowballs and the Roman Candy Co., Cristy’s Collection highlights not only the city, but also the community.

Additionally, Cristy Cali has revolutionized the tradition of wedding cake pulls with Couture charms. Couture charms offer an exciting new way to approach the event. Brides have the option of classy pearl bracelets or colored satin ribbon to pull the charms, allowing bridesmaids to immediately wear their new charms.

For a list of retailers or to shop online, visit CristyCali.com.

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Accommodations An unconventionally historic New Orleans hotel, the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery is the latest incarnation of a building that began its life in 1854. Just steps from the French Quarter, it served as a coffee warehouse before being purchased by E.J. Hart & Company who operated a chandlery trading in everything sailing ships needed to stock their voyages from the Port of New Orleans. In a nod to its heritage, the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery takes its name from its original address, 77 Tchoupitoulas St., and has undergone a transformation to create the one of the most exciting new hotels in New Orleans.

Featuring hardwood floors and exposed brick, the comfortable rooms of the Old No. 77 showcase a modern sensibility while providing contemporary amenities.

Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery

Sharing the address is renowned Chef Nina Compton, fanfavorite from Bravo’s “Top Chef” Season 11, whose newly opened Compère Lapin showcases the delectable diversity of her culinary background while incorporating the rich food traditions of New Orleans.

For information and reservations at Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery, visit Old77Hotel.com.

Four Points by Sheraton French Quarter is in the heart of the French Quarter, right on Bourbon Street. Set on the site of the legendary French Opera House, center of New Orleans’ Creole society, this hotel puts you steps from world-class jazz, cuisine and lively happenings. Four Points offer 186 comfortable guest rooms, a beautifully landscaped courtyard and pool, 24-hour fitness and 4,500 square feet of flexible meeting space for everything from corporate meetings to beautiful weddings.

Dine at Café Opéra, the hotel’s full-service restaurant, featuring a classic New Orleans menu of Creole and continental cuisine, and enjoy a drink at the intimate Puccini Bar, where you can take in the sounds of New Orleans’ most talented musicians at the “Live & Local” music series, Thursdays through Saturdays.

Plan your fall getaway to New Orleans and get 20 percent off the best available rates. For reservations and more, call 504-5247611 or visit FourPointsFrenchQuarter.com.

The Hyatt French Quarter Hotel is a historic hotel in one of the city’s oldest and most popular neighborhoods: The French myneworleans.com / OCTOBER 2015

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Quarter! The property resides in the former D.H. Holmes building and offers 254 guest rooms and more than 10,660 square feet of customizable function space located in one central area of the hotel’s first floor. With 10 meeting rooms, an expansive Garden Courtyard and indoor atrium, the Hyatt French Quarter can accommodate meetings, events and weddings, up to 300 people.

Enjoy their market-inspired eatery, Powdered Sugar, and the artisan lobby bar, Batch, which showcases a collection of quality Bourbons and flask service. The popular and award-winning Red Fish Grill owned and operated by Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, is also part of the Hyatt French Quarter, as well as The Hard Rock Café, serving casual cuisine and live music during the week. The hotel is located at 800 Iberville St., New Orleans, LA 70112. For more information, visit FrenchQuarter.hyatt.com.

Make this year’s holiday plans Grand. For more than 165 years, The Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club & Spa has been known

throughout the South as “The Queen of Southern Resorts,” and it never looks better than during the holidays. Spend Thanksgiving here with your family and leave the cooking and cleaning to the Grand. From quaint shopping in Fairhope to family bonfires on the beach to spectacular meals to magnificent holiday decorations, Grand holidays are an easy drive on I-10. Have breakfast with Santa on December Saturdays. Enjoy the award-winning spa. Ring in 2016 with “Grand style.”

The Grand Hotel has been honored recently as a top resort by CondeNast Traveler, Successful Meetings and ConventionSouth.

The Grand boasts two Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail courses, a 20,000-square-foot European-style spa, indoor and outdoor feature pools and tennis. To make your holiday brighter, visit GrandHotelMarriott.com or call 251-928-9201.

Dining Copeland’s of New Orleans combines New Orleans flavor and comfort in a casual dining atmosphere. Known for its fromscratch cuisine, fresh premium ingredients, sauces and seasonings are blended to bring out the robust signature flavors of New Orleans in every dish – seafood, pasta, salads, steaks and more.

Enjoy exceptional food and hospitality by stopping by one of several locations.

Copeland’s is featuring new craveable fall dishes fresh from their kitchen throughout October. Try the New Fried Loaded Macaroni & Cheese appetizer, a Crab Stuffed Beignet Po-Boy, Chicken Fried Chicken or the flavorful BBQ Shrimp. Don’t forget dessert! Along with signature cheesecakes, the fall season delivers favorites such as Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake, Pumpkin Bread Pudding and Apple Tart A La Mode. Spice up your season at Copeland’s today for Sunday brunch, lunch or dinner!

For more information on Copeland’s of New Orleans, including menus and locations visit CopelandsOfNewOrleans.com.

At the request of the U.S. Department of State, Executive Chef Chip Flanagan of Ralph’s on The Park embarked on a culinary mission to Germany in July to strengthen cultural diplomacy and deepen their knowledge of American traditions and cuisine. Over two weeks, Flanagan visited Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich, sharing and promoting the cuisine of the South. Fueled by his recent trip, and in an effort to bring back culinary knowledge he attained in

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Germany, Flanagan celebrates Oktoberfest from now through Oct. 11. Take a tasty virtual trip to Germany with a variety of appetizers, entrées and desserts inspired by his summer mission.

The Oktoberfest menu features appetizers such as Pretzel & Obazta, Spaetzle, German Lager & Cheese Soup and Kohlrouladen (stuffed cabbage rolls with veal reduction).

Entrées include Schweinshaxe, braised pork shank, Sauerbraten, red wine marinated brisket and Schnitzel Holstein, chicken breast with fried egg, white anchovy, capers and lemon. Don’t miss the German desserts as well.

For more information, visit RalphsonthePark.com or call 504488-1000. Guten Appetit!

Salon

Salon is the culmination of Sucré’s beautiful approach to haute cuisine and its passion for exceptional service and presentation.

Located in the heart of the French Quarter, Salon blends the time-honored formality of New Orleans service with the exquisite cuisine of chef Tariq Hanna in a casual French mid-century modern dining room.

Salon offers guests a menu of savory and sweet, an expertly curated wine list to pair with Tariq Hanna’s degustation and cocktail concoctions that are both quirky and whimsical. With each menu item offered in both appetizer and entrée sizes, guests can enjoy an exceptional snack or full meal. Relax at Salon in the afternoon for a scrumptious modern high tea.

Private events are also welcome at the new restaurant. To learn more and schedule your event, email salon@shopsucre.com.

Salon is situated above the Sucré retail boutique at 622 Conti St., and is open for dinner 5-10 p.m. weekdays (except Mondays and Tuesdays), and 5-11 p.m. on weekends. Lunch service runs 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and bar snack service 4-5 p.m. Find out more by calling 504-267-7098. •

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Personal Benefits: Planning for the Future

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hile some people claim to see the future, it’s not often we seek a crystal ball for advice on serious issues such as retirement planning, long term care planning or other financial and legal concerns. With the ups and downs of today’s markets, knowing that you have stability can bring peace of mind in otherwise rocky times. A variety of wealth management companies, banks and other entities offer financial and legal planning assistance that can help bring that to you. Planning for big changes requires extensive knowledge and expertise, and in some cases, years of experience.

Retirement, education and unexpected occurrences such as disability or death can change your financial landscape drastically.

From century-old banks to independent advisors, law firms and funeral providers, the following area experts can help your family weather these financial and legal storms and possibly avoid them altogether.

Financial Planning In Travel + Leisure’s “World’s Best” Awards 2015 readers’ survey, New Orleans was named the No. 2 city in the U.S. and Canada. According to Travel + Leisure, New Orleans is a place “where dreamers and doers of every type are bringing the city back.” Whitney is proud to be the bank, not behind the dreamers and doers, but beside them.

In times when digital conveniences are a must and time is precious, Whitney Bankers believe in the value of forming solid relationships. Here you’ll find convenient ways to manage your banking needs like online and mobile banking, but you’ll also find experienced bankers that believe in one130

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on-one conversations – in taking time to listen and help you achieve your goals.

As New Orleans begins its fourth century, Whitney is uniquely poised to help the region flourish with services, products, and expertise tailored to fit your unique needs.

Learn more today at WhitneyBank.com.

After developing a successful dental practice located just outside of New Orleans, Rick Romano was on his way to a long career in dentistry – until he was unexpectedly diagnosed with a tumor in his spinal cord, leaving him permanently disabled and unable to practice.

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ment, estate, disability, long term care planning, wealth management, education funding and more.

With nearly four million clients and $27 billion in annual revenues, Northwestern Mutual enjoys the highest financial strength ratings awarded to any life insurer by all four major credit rating agencies. Find out how Rick Romano and Northwestern Mutual can help you at (504) 620-6689 or RickRomano.com.

Experience the IBERIABANK difference today. Headquartered in Louisiana for over 127 years, IBERIABANK has strength, stability and security that you can count on for your financial wellness. Visit any of their convenient locations in New Orleans or on the Northshore to experience their tradition of excellence firsthand. Their relationship-based approach to banking focuses on local decision making so you can enjoy the things in life that matter most.

For more information, visit IberiaBank.com or call (800) 682-3231.

“I never thought I would need the disability insurance that I bought from Northwestern Mutual seven years before, but I did,� says Romano. The professionalism of Northwestern Mutual during his time of difficulty influenced Romano to become a financial advisor with the nearly 160-year-old company.

Today, Rick Romano, DDS, CLU, ChFC, AEP is able to help others build comprehensive financial plans addressing retire-

Jasmine Stafford is an independent agent whose main focus is to protect you and your family financially from the challenges, health and otherwise, that you may face along the way. She works with clients by providing financial education and implementing wealth building concepts that fit their individual needs. She implements strategies that focus on protection, savings, and growth of your financial portfolio.

Permanent insurance, term insurance and disability are options explored in finding ways to optimize growth. Not only does Stafford and her team work with families, but they

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also assist businesses in securing their financial future.

Jasmine Stafford received her B.A. and M.A. in political science at the University of Texas at Arlington before later serving as a White House Intern. She received her Life, Health and Accident License in both Texas and Louisiana. For more information and to make an appointment, call (817) 600-1760 or visit GenerationalWealth.Wordpress.com.

Legal Representation & Planning Blue Williams, LLP, has been providing high-quality representation to clients throughout the Gulf South in commercial litigation, healthcare and construction law, and business matters since 1982. By recruiting motivated and experienced attorneys in diverse areas of law, Blue Williams is able to provide a full spectrum of services and create lasting solutions to the legal dilemmas faced by clients. The firm’s attorneys practice in seventeen areas of law, including Commercial Litigation, Estate and Tax Planning, Disability and Elder Law Planning, Corporate Law, Healthcare Law, Construction Litigation, Insurance Law, Products and Professional Liability and more.

Blue Williams has a history of rising to the challenge and has defended clients in multi-million dollar exposure cases.

The firm provides services to clients nationally, though primarily in Louisiana, and these clients range from Fortune 500 companies to international corporations, local businesses and individuals. Attorneys spend a significant amount of time with each client to be certain of the client’s individual needs and all available options. For more information on Blue Williams’s commitment to providing lasting solutions, visit BlueWilliams.com or call (800) 326-4991.

Pre-planning & Arrangements New Orleanians love a party! Locals love planning a celebration and the variety of details to be considered. Where will we hold the celebration, what will we serve, and what music will we have? With that said, there are far too few of us planning our final celebrations – those of lives well lived.

Planning today can make your final celebration a more fulfilling occasion for all involved and one your family will treasure and remember for years to come. To preplan and give your family an invaluable gift, speak with your funeral provider and begin planning your final celebration today.

For more information and assistance, contact Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home and Cemeteries at (504) 486-6331, or visit LakeLawnMetairie.com. •

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Cancer

scary diagnosis to face, cancer can mean different things for different people. From guidelines and screenings, to available treatments and support systems, the details of how and where to get help can seem overwhelming at times.

There are resources of all kinds, from the foundations and organizations who support cancer research, to the programs that offer screenings, the doctors who initiate treatment and the pharmacists who administer medications and advice.

Not to mention the support groups who offer fellowship, the nurses who assist throughout testing and treatment, and the cancer centers who provide comprehensive medical services to patients – the list goes on and on. If you or someone you love is in need of recommended cancer screenings or treatment, the following area healthcare providers are great resources for finding expert cancer care right here at home.

Cancer Centers & Wellness Programs As the region’s only member of the MD Anderson Cancer Network, East Jefferson General Hospital (EJFH) is a regional leader in survivorship. EJGH offered the region’s first cancer navigator program. Add to that their cancer wellness program at the Wellness Center and you begin to see that EJGH develops programming specifically built around the goal and concept of survivorship.

EJGH’s expanded cancer infusion center and inpatient cancer wing are both testaments to their commitment to fighting cancer. Additionally, EJGH offers the region’s only center with the new UroNav Prostate Biopsy System, and they are expanding their Breast Care Center to offer 3D mammography to more women than ever before. Sadly, the forecast for this region projects more cancer diagnoses in the next two decades. EJGH is poised to take on that battle and help hundreds win it. For more on their innovative cancer screenings, treatments, and survivorship programs, visit EJGH.org.

Serving Thibodaux and the Bayou Region, the Cancer Center of Thibodaux Regional has been a leader in the fight against cancer for over 20 years. Accredited with Commendation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer and the only program in Louisiana to receive the College’s Outstanding Achievement Award three times, the Center provides comprehensive quality care in a compassionate environment.

The Cancer Center utilizes the latest technology, allowing patients to experience many benefits including earlier and more precise diagnosis, detection of small tumors, avoidance of invasive procedures, fewer side effects, and better chances for a positive outcome. Chemotherapy and surgical services are provided, as well as a Patient Care Navigation Program in which patients are guided through the cancer care system.

The Patient Care Coordinator helps ensure all patients with positive pathology receive information and assistance to help them obtain timely diagnosis, treatment (if necessary) and follow up. Patients also receive the best in support services, including consultation with a registered dietician, emotional

support via individual or group counseling and Home Health Services when needed.

For more information about the Cancer Center of Thibodaux Regional, visit Thibodaux.com.

Screenings & Exams Women, put your health first! As a woman, caring for those you love may be one of your most important priorities. But don’t forget to take care of yourself as well. Preventive visits and yearly wellness exams are covered by most insurance plans and are good practice in staying on top of your health.

Depending on your age and any concerns you may have, your doctor will perform a variety of measurements and screenings. Screening tests, such a blood pressure checks and mammograms, look for diseases before you have symptoms. You know your body better than anyone. Always tell your doctor or nurse about any changes in your health, or any concerns that you may have.

Visit Touro.com/FindADoc or call Touro at 504-897-7777 to find the right doctor for all your health needs.

Reconstructive & Cosmetic Procedures Westbank Plastic Surgery, L.L.C. is led by Jonathan C. Boraski, M.D., D.M.D., F.A.C.S. He and his dedicated staff are among the best in their field. Dr. Boraski specializes in breast reconstruction as well as cosmetic, other reconstructive procedures, and microsurgery. Dr. Boraski trained at Louisiana State University and is highly respected in the field of breast reconstruction. Dr. Boraski leads his talented staff with a patient-oriented philosophy, providing top quality reconstructive procedures, cosmetic surgery and medical care.

Services include abdominoplasty, facial procedures, breast surgeries, liposuction, otoplasty, bracheoplasty, fat injections, body-contouring procedures, chemical peels (aggressive and non-aggressive), Botox, Juvederm, Sclerovein, repairing split earlobes, as well as treatment of skin cancers and breast reconstruction. The practice also provides facials, massages, myneworleans.com / OCTOBER 2015

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waxing, Fraxel and Clear + Brilliant. They accept most health insurance plans and offer financing for patient services.

Please call the office for monthly specials 504-349-6460 or visit WestbankPlasticSurgery.com.

Pediatric Oncology The LaNasa-Greco Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Hospital treats more than 1,100 children with cancer or blood disorders each year, more than all other facilities in Louisiana combined. The hospital provides treatment and transplantation for children with leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, and other childhood cancers and blood disorders.

Children’s Hospital’s Cancer Program is accredited with an outstanding achievement award by the American College of Surgeons and is a member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), a national study group of premier research institutes in the United States and Canada. The Bone Marrow Transplant Program is FACT-accredited since 2008. Hospital physicians have access to the most modern therapies for treatment of malignancies and blood disorders in children.

Children’s Hospital recently received accreditation from the Department of Health and Human Services as a federally recognized Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC) to provide state-of-the-art comprehensive multispecialty care to Louisiana children with all types of bleeding disorders.

For more information, contact Children’s Hospital’s Cancer Center at 504-896-9740 or CHNola.org/cancer.

Pharmacy For over 55 years, people have turned to Patio Drugs for help in managing their healthcare needs. Since 1958, Patio Drugs has helped individuals and families understand their medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, and provides free prescription delivery throughout East Jefferson.

In addition to being a full-service pharmacy, the oldest independent pharmacy in Jefferson Parish, Patio Drugs is also a leading provider of home medical equipment. For everything from a Band-Aid to a hospital bed, Patio Drugs is your one-stop source for all home medical equipment needs.

Patio Drugs has over 55 years of experience in specialized compounding services. No two people are the same. Their pharmacists work with physicians to customize medication doses and dosage forms to meet the individual needs of each patient. Some of their compounding services include: Hormone Replacement Therapy, Gluten Free Formulations, Medicated Troches, Sugar Free Preparations, Preservative Free Formulas, Transdermal Gels and Sterile Injections.

Whether you need prescriptions, medical equipment or specialized compounding services, call Patio Drugs, 5208 Veterans Blvd. in Metairie, 504-889-7070. Patio Drugs, “Large Enough to Serve You, Yet, Small Enough to Know You.” •

NOVEMBER 20th, 21st & 22nd

Campers are organized into groups:

Younger girls 7-9 Younger boys 7-9 Older girls 10-12 Older boys 10-12 Camp Swan is a 3 day/2 night camp for children ages 7-12 who have lost someone significant in their lives. This camp is sponsored

by Canon Hospice and the Akula Foundation.

Camp Swan is designed to provide an experience in outdoor living combined with therapeutic activities to facilitate grieving in a fun and naturalistic setting.

The camp is staffed by volunteer counselors including bereavement counselors, social workers, doctors, nurses, medical students, and adults from the community. This weekend camp can accommodate approximately 40 children. THE CAMP IS FREE OF CHARGE. Donations to Camp Swan are always appreciated.

The camp will be held the weekend before Thanksgiving, November 20th, 21st, and 22nd, 2014 at Camp Living Waters. Camp Living Waters is 100 acres of land on the north shore of Lake Pontchartain in Tangipahoa Parish between Robert and Loranger, Louisiana.

If you know a child who would benefit from the services provided

by Camp Swan, call Sue May at 504-729-6920

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Specialty Clinics

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utting-edge technologies, the latest research and years of training – specialists and sub-specialists have to balance it all to be effective and efficient physicians, and New Orleans is an area filled with some of the best and most respected. Knowing who to see for what and making referrals is often best left to a primary care physician, but knowing what’s available in the wide world of medicine may help you ask the right questions when seeking treatment for a health concern. With today’s advancements, area specialists may be able to assist you with problems in balance, back pain, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, vascular disease and much more. Peruse the following specialty clinics for more information on numerous physicians, conditions and treatments available.

Ear & Balance

Pain Management

The Ear and Balance Institute specializes in the evaluation and treatment of vertigo, dizziness balance disorders. Gerard Gianoli, M.D. and James Soileau, M.D. operate one of the most comprehensive balance testing centers in the world. Among some of their more unique devices is the Epley Omniax Multi-positional Chair. One of only 18 devices in the world and the only one in Louisiana, the Omniax is used in the diagnosis and treatment of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), the most common cause of dizziness and vertigo. Drs. Gianoli and Soileau conducted the research for the FDA approval of the Omniax in 2008. The Omniax is useful for complex and difficult to treat cases of BPPV. It allows patients to be placed in any position necessary for appropriate treatment while monitoring eye movements using an infrared video camera in goggles worn by the patient.

The Ear and Balance Institute is located at 1401 Ochsner Blvd. in Covington. For more information, their website is EarAndBalance.net and their phone number is (985) 809-1111.

Southern Pain & Neurological Consultants are excited to introduce a revolutionary, minimally invasive needle treatment for herniated discs to their practice with the HydroDiscectomy, an outpatient alternative to traditional back surgery. The procedure uses a high-speed water-jet stream to remove herniated disc tissue, relieving the nerve pressure that causes back and leg pain. The advantages of using water include no hospitalization, fast recovery, no incision, less pain, no bone removal, no trauma to back muscles and no general anesthesia. The entire procedure takes 20 minutes on average. Most patients will be able to return to work in about one to four weeks.

The doctors at Southern Pain & Neurological Consultants know that chronic pain is a prison, keeping those who suffer from it trapped and unable to do the things they want to do. The stress from pain and lack of freedom can negatively affect personalities, too. If you’re suffering from chronic back pain, contact the Southern Pain clinic and find out if the HydroDiscectomy or another treatment is right for you.

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New Orleans residents suffering from pain are invited to find their own pathway to pain relief at Integrated Pain and Neuroscience. Physicians and advanced practice clinicians led by Dr. Eric Royster offer a custom multi-specialty treatment experience for patients suffering from chronic pain.

Common conditions such as headaches, and spine, orthopedic and neurologic pain are successfully treated. Pain is difficult; their team can help.

The team consists of Dr. Eric Royster, board-certified in Pain Medicine; Dr. Domenick Grieshaber, fellowship-trained in Pain Medicine; Dr. Andrea O’Leary, specializing in adult and child psychiatry; and Dr. Aaron Friedman, specializing in neurology and acupuncture. Their focus on coordination of care determines the most suitable treatment options for each patient. IPN physicians offer a variety of interventional procedures including acupuncture, platelet rich plasma (PRP) treatments, psychiatric care and whole food plant-based nutrition counseling.

For more information, visit PainIsAPuzzle.com or call (504) 300-9020. IPN is located Uptown at 2801 Napoleon Ave. Saturday appointments are available.

Sleep & Sinus Disorders While GNO Snoring & Sinus is a comprehensive ENT clinic, the focus of its physicians is on the in-office treatment of sleep and sinus disorders. The standard treatment for sleep and sinus disorders can create significant frustration for a patient. From obstructive sleep apnea to chronic sinus disease, a patient usu-

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ally undergoes visits to multiple specialists in order to learn of the various treatment options available. At GNO Snoring and Sinus, their treatment philosophy is simple: to efficiently deliver specialty care in a single patient visit.

“Our practice is rooted in a philosophy of finding and fixing any anatomic obstruction, whether a blockage in the nose or throat,” says Dr. Akash Anand. “Most patients we see try medication or a CPAP unfortunately none have had their airways assessed properly,” he says. Whether a patient requires medical or surgical management, all options are provided inoffice across multiple New Orleans locations without the need for unnecessary patient referrals. Such efficiency allows GNO Snoring & Sinus to cover in one patient visit what typically requires two to three visits with other physicians.

For information and scheduling, call (504) 309-8615 or visit GNOSnoring.com.

Neurosurgery Sebastian F. Koga, M.D. received his M.D. from Tulane University and completed his neurosurgery residency at the University of Virginia’s prestigious Neurosugery Program. The then completed a fellowship in cerebrovascular neurosurgery in Christchurch, New Zealand, and spent an additional year as an international fellow, traveling to and learning from renowned neurosurgery centers in Europe and Japan.

Dr. Koga was recruited for a return to Louisiana in 2014 he established Koga Neurosurgery with a goal of providing access to world-class neurosurgery treatments to this region from its location on the Northshore. Dr. Koga’s specializations include

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surgical care of pituitary and skull base tumors, orbital tumors, spinal tumors and peripheral nerve and movement disorders, and additionally, artificial disc replacement. Artificial disc replacement is an innovative, minimally invasive alternative to spinal fusion surgery, and its benefits include shorter recovery time, no bone grafting and greater range of motion for patients.

Koga Neurosurgery is located at 15770 Paul Vega MD Dr., Ste. 204 in Hammond. For more information, call (985) 246-2800.

Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Dr. Kevin Darr of Covington Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Institute is a board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon with a commitment to offering comprehensive, progressive orthopedic care, including today’s most innovative and progressive practices to achieve optimal function and performance.

“In addition to traditional orthopedic treatments and surgery, I also offer minimally invasive alternatives utilizing stateof-the-art technology and integrative orthobiologic therapies and treatments,” says Dr. Darr.

He is nationally recognized for his orthopedic stem cell research and frequently lectures across the country on his outcomes. Dr. Darr is currently conducting five IRB-approved research studies using advanced adult stem cell therapy along with platelet-rich plasma to improve function and relieve pain associated with osteoarthritis, soft tissue pathology including tendon and ligament disorders osteonecrosis in various joints.

For more information on these studies and services by Dr. Darr, visit DrKevinDarr.com or call (985) 273-5888.

Cardiovascular Care A world-leader in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, Cardiovascular Institute of the South (CIS) is the largest single specialty practice in Louisiana. Providing state-of-the-art cardiovascular care for more than 32 years, their cardiologists are experts in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular, peripheral vascular and venous disease.

Do you experience leg pain or cramps, numbness, ulcers or discoloration? These are signs of peripheral vascular disease, or PVD. Those at risk include anyone over the age of 50, those who smoke or have smoked, those who have diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol or family history of vascular disease, heart attack or stroke.

A simple, painless test called an ankle-brachial index (ABI) can determine your risk of PVD. Contact your doctor if you think you may be at risk.

To learn more about CIS, call (800) 425-2565 or visit Cardio. com to find a list of their 15 convenient locations.

Home Health & Hospice Anyone looking for compassionate and dignified care for their terminally ill loved ones should take a look at the services offered by Canon Hospice. The caring team at Canon is dedicated to a hospice ministry that helps patients and families accept terminal illness positively and resourcefully. Their stated goal is to “allow our patients to live each day to the fullest and enjoy their time with family and friends.”

With special expertise in pain management and symptom

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control, Canon Hospice designs individualized plans of care for each patient based on their unique needs. Home Based Services provide doctors, nurses, social workers, pastoral care and volunteers. For patients with more intensive symptom management needs, Canon has an Inpatient Hospice Unit. This unit provides 24-hour care in a home-like environment where patients are permitted to receive visits at any hour.

For more information, visit CanonHospice.com or call (504) 818-2723.

Behavioral Health Jefferson Oaks Behavioral Health, Inc. has been a leading private provider of mental health and substance abuse services in Baton Rouge since opening in 2004. Jefferson Oaks is proud to announce it has recently expanded to the Northshore/Greater New Orleans area with a new location in Madisonville, which offers varying programs and services to improve patients’ mental health, and subsequently, their quality of life.

Programs at Jefferson Oaks are designed to assist those whose mental health needs are severe enough to impact daily functioning but not so severe as to necessitate 24-hour hospitalization. It is an independent alternative for the treatment of many mental health issues, including but not limited to grief and loss, self esteem, bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression.

Each patient works with a therapist to devise his or her own custom treatment plan from a variety of levels of care. Programs include Partial Hospitalization, Intensive Outpatient Services

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and Therapy, Psychological Assessments, Addiction Services & Interventions and Adolescent Intensive Outpatient. Jefferson Oaks is a preferred provider for most major private insurance companies. Visit JeffersonOaks.com or call (985) 206-3899.

Retirement Living & Rehabilitative Care At the Hainkel Home, individuals who are critically ill or disabled receive care for a range of health issues both short- and long-term. The home also offers an adult daycare for adults who live at home but need assistance during the day. Designated “5 Stars” (the only 5-star rated nursing home in Orleans Parish) by the Centers of Medicare/Medicaid, Hainkel offers activities and programs developed around the residents’ needs, desires and abilities. They accept private pay/private insurance, Medicare, VA and Medicaid.

Hainkel Home features a beautiful garden with winding paths perfect for wheelchairs or walkers. Activities are voted on by the residents at their monthly resident council meetings and include art therapy, music therapy, shooting pool, reminiscing, current affairs, barbecues, birthday parties, happy hours and countless others.

Hainkel is deeply rooted in the community and has affiliation agreements with Ochsner and LSU as well as relationships with Loyola University and Delgado Community College. Hainkel Home is a privately run not-for-profit nursing home and accepts donations. It is located at 612 Henry Clay Ave., and can be reached at (504) 896-5900 or HainkelHome.com. •

ADVERTISING SECTION

Northshore Living

Bra Genie

Louisiana Custom Closets

HQS Store 2881 Highway 190, Mandeville (985) 951-8638 7539 Corp. Blvd., Suite 180, Baton Rouge (225) 223-6114 TheBraGenie.com

New Orleans: (504)885-3188 Covington: (985) 871-0810 Baton Rouge: (225) 753-3001 LouisianaCustomClosets.com

Bra Genie is a proud sponsor of Foundation for Woman’s BUST Breast Cancer. Louisiana has the highest breast cancer mortality rate in the nation, and with early detection and prompt treatment, more than 93% of breast cancer cases can be cured.

Louisiana Custom Closets represents the pinnacle of quality in storage solutions. Because they are the manufacturer, their professional design staff can create personalized spaces for you. Locally owned since 2003. Choose your style, choose your finish, and take your storage space from simply neat to simply fabulous.

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Antoine’s Restaurant 713 St. Louis St., New Orleans (504) 581-4422 | Antoines.com Since 1840, world-renowned Antoine’s Restaurant has set the standard that made New Orleans one of the greatest dining centers in the world. Antoine’s excellent French-Creole cuisine, service and atmosphere have combined to create an unmatched dining experience for both locals and visitors to New Orleans.

Chappy’s Restaurant 6106 Magazine St., New Orleans (504)208-8772 | Chappys.com Host your next event at Chappy’s!

Whether it’s an intimate dinner party for 20 guests in our private dining room, or a festive soiree for 150 guests in our main dining room, Chappy’s can take care of every detail to make your event spectacular.

Five Happiness 3605 S. Carrollton Ave., New Orleans (504) 482-3935 | FiveHappiness.com Come to Five Happiness and let the ambience and friendly staff take you to a new level of dining experience.

This award-winning restaurant always strives to achieve its best. Private party and banquet rooms are available.

Hard Rock Café Arnaud's 813 Bienville Ave., New Orleans (504)523-5433 | ArnaudsRestaurant.com Offering live Dixieland Jazz in the Jazz Bistro, romantic dinners in the Main Dining Room, cocktails in the awardwinning French 75 Bar and an assortment of private dining rooms overlooking the historic French Quarter, Arnaud’s offers the quintessential New Orleans dining experience.

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The Court of Two Sisters 613 Royal St., New Orleans (504) 522-7261 | CourtOfTwoSisters.com The Court of Two Sisters, known for its large dining courtyard, serves a lavish daily Jazz Brunch buffet. At night choose from its à la carte dinner menu or a four-course dinner. Complete menus available at CourtOfTwoSisters. com.Reservations are recommended.

125 Bourbon St., New Orleans (504) 335-2290 | neworleanssales@ hardrock.com Hard Rock Cafe offers rock star service and a unique environment for all special events! While the dining menu is known for its classic American cuisines, special events receive customized menus to fit each client’s taste and event needs. Whether planning an intimate reception for 30 guests or a large extravaganza for 500, we have it covered.

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Rock-n-Sake

Red Gravy Hoshun Restaurant 1601 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans (504) 302-9717 | HoshunRestaurant.com Plan your next special event at Hoshun Restaurant. Drawing on the cuisines of China, Japan, Vietnam and other south Asian countries, there is something for everyone. Their second floor event space provides an elegant setting complete with a balcony view of historic St. Charles Avenue.

125 Camp St., New Orleans (504) 561-8844 | RedGravyCafe.com Create an impressive private dining experience for up to 50 guests at Red Gravy. Let Madame de Cuisine Roseann create a custom package for your event. Everything she serves is farm to fork, handmade with love and dedicated to tradition.

823 Fulton St., New Orleans (504) 581-SAKE 3043 Perkins Road, Suite A, Baton Rouge (225) 615-7940 RockNSake.com Rrock-n-Sake can handle all of your sushi needs from high-end custom offsite sushi bars to hosting your next birthday party in our private roomthe Kai Lounge. Email today for a quote at catering@rocknsake.com.

Wayfare Richard Fiske’s Martini Bar and Restaurant 301 Dauphine St., New Orleans (504) 586-0972 | RichardFiskes.com Located inside the Chateau LeMoyne Hotel, our ballroom is perfect for toasting the season. It opens up to a French Quarter courtyard oasis. We can host your Cocktail Hour, Holiday Party or Private Dinner. Come indulge during the Holiday Season with us!

4510 Freret St., New Orleans (504) 309-0069 | WayfareNola.com Party planning? We’ll cater! Perfect for any occasion – from tailgating to receptions – Wayfare’s assorted sliders, including our signature knuckle sandwich, will have them begging for more. Don’t forget the Kurobuta Mac & Cheese, Anti-pasta and sweet desert pies.

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TRY THIS

L’Auberge set to host Better Than Ezra, Aaron Neville and More!

L’Auberge Casino & Hotel Baton Rouge, 777 L’Auberge Ave., Baton Rouge, (866) 261-7777, MyLAuberge.com L’Auberge Hotel and Casino in Baton Rouge has unveiled its fall lineup of entertainment.

Better Than Ezra will return to the hotel’s outdoor entertainment space, The Lawn, while Aaron Neville, Candlebox and Rick Springfield among others, will perform in the indoor Event Center. On Oct. 30, a show with Chee Weez will include a Halloween costume contest with $5,000 in cash and prizes.

Among Saints & Sinners A French Quarter Phantoms tour

By Kelly Massicot

I Relocation for Southern Pain & Neurological Consultants Southern Pain & Neurological Consultants, 1200 Pinnacle Parkway, Suite 7, Covington, (985) 643-4144 Southern Pain & Neurological Consultants has relocated its Lacombe office to Covington, Louisiana. The group’s offices in Metairie and Marrero, Louisiana remain unaffected. The new Covington practice is within the Pinnacle Medical Building and offers convenient parking. The new location offers patients access to many other medical specialist services within the same building. The current medical team of Drs. Paul Hubbell III and Donald Richardson, along with physician assistants Melanie Mire and Melissa Brower will continue to take care of patients. Physician Barry F. Faust Jr., M.D. will be joining the team and working with patients in all three locations.

– Mirella Cameran

n a city whose history is clothed in virtue and vice, one can imagine the endless stories, legends and tales of the city of New Orleans. Historians and master storytellers from the Big Easy and beyond have made it their mission to entertain tourists and local alike, while giving them a piece of our history – the good and the bad.

With a number of companies and tours to pick from, the goal was to find a tour with an interesting twist on New Orleans history. This brought me to French Quarter Phantoms Tour Company and Saints and Sinners with guide and tour manager Luke Siddall. “One of the most fascinating things about our city,” Siddall says about the Saints and Sinners tour, “is the dichotomy between its very religious and Catholic history, and the fact that we’re renowned throughout the world as a city of vice and decadence. We thought it would be very interesting to do a tour that directly speaks to that wonderful strangeness and unique cultural history in the United States.”

Like most things you do in New Orleans, the tour began outside of a bar where “2-for-1 Hurricanes” were offered to tour participants. As we began walking, Siddall filled the air with stories of Bienville and Iberville and the early swamp days of New Orleans. Throughout the hour and a half excursion, we wandered up and down the French Quarter streets, stopping in front of Preservation Hall, Lafitte’s on Bourbon, Hotel Villa Convento – which claims to be the “House of the Rising Sun” – ending near Jackson Square. Siddall mentioned that his favorite stories to tell are about Marie Laveau and Voodoo. He says, “There are so many misconceptions about slavery, Voodoo and her life in general that I enjoy giving out the real history and seeing people come to a greater understanding about the lives of those around them.”

These walking tours are better than any history class you could sit through.

The dedicated historians and the animated narration of a city full of saints and sinners bring it to life in front of your eyes.

French Quarter Phantoms offers multiple tours throughout each day. Varying tour themes include: Ghost and Vampire, Cemetery, Tremé, True Crime, Saints and Sinners, as well as custom and private tours. Visit FrenchQuarterPhantoms. com to book yours. n

cheryl gerber photo

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Whispers From the Gods By errol laborde

C

hara, our tour guide, was herself a Greek classic, whose native good looks were worthy of a statue and could have made her a movie star. Throughout the afternoon, she led us around her island showing the villages, hills, town squares and panoramic views that are part of a tour guide’s daily odyssey.

What could not be seen, but certainly felt, are ancient gods that traverse the hills, given immortality by epic legends. (Off the coast of one island there’s a rock that looks like the bow of a ship pointed upward. Legend has it that it was Ulysses’ boat that had

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been turned to stone.) Listen carefully and the Muses are singing, whether you can hear them or not.

Chara’s stage is her island and she delivers her lines with good English, embellished by enough of an accent to complement her Greek look. She was articulate and well informed – and spoke passionately about her island.

Then came the question, It was a question that probably all of us on the tour, myself included, had wanted to ask but were not sure if we should, as though it might anger the gods. That did not stop one woman in the group, who within ear shot of the all-knowing Zeus asked, “What about the economy?”

For the first time that afternoon, Chara seemed to struggle for words. Greece’s troubled finances have been Europe’s anvil, plunging the continent toward the sharks.

Chara paused, took a swig of water and then seemed to undergo a catharsis. Her mind, associated with a people who produced some of the world’s greatest philosophy, raced for a strategy and landed at frankness. Here was her moment of releasing the frustration. “Honestly,” she told the group, “I don’t see how were are going to make it past winter.”

Then she revealed that her dad, a retired government worker, just saw his pension slashed by 600 euros. She wondered if she would have to provide more support for her family, though the

crisis was causing a decline in tourism, her industry. She lamented that she had believed in the various government officials that she had voted for, but nothing has worked. Than came her diatribe about the euro, drachmas and the European Union. “It is like having one dress,” she said of the latter “and trying to make it fit three different people. Greece is different from the other places.” She also attacked the stereotypes: “We are not lazy Greeks; we work hard.”

I felt sorry for Chara. At another time in another place her looks, charm and intelligence could place her on top of the world, but her world is an island – a relatively small one at that.

Though we could not totally feel her pain, I doubt if any of the Americans, myself included, felt the same pessimism. We, after all, come from the land of the bailout where a strong central government would never let a state roll over and die. Certainly former nemesis Germany and the European powerhouses will keep Greece afloat. An island that gave the world feta and Socrates must be preserved.

Chara (that’s not her real name) would express none of that optimism, at least not this moment.

Later that evening the cruise boat glided from the island. The sunset had turned the Mediterranean cost gold.

It was the end of another beautiful day in Greece, though even Muses sometimes sing the blues. n

ARTHUR NEAD ILLUSTRATION