Latest Issue: April 2022—Spring Festivals

April 2022

WhereYat.com

DINING • MUSIC • ENTERTAINMENT

• NIGHTLIFE

TROMBONE SHORTY IS LIFTED

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WhereYat.com | April 2022

CONTENTS

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April 2022 Publisher/Editor-in-Chief: Josh Danzig

Food & Drink

Features

Creative Director: Robert Witkowski Executive Editor: Reine Dugas

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Trombone Shorty is Lifted

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Rowing the Waters of NOLA

Cover Photo: Trombone Shorty by Gustavo Escanelle

Generations of Service at Antoine's

Director of Sales: Jim Sylve

Garden Varieties

Movie Editors: David Vicari, Fritz Esker

Restaurant Guide

Contributing Writers: Kathy Bradshaw, Phil LaMancusa, Debbie Lindsey, Kim Ranjbar, Burke Bischoff, Julie Mitchell, Greg Roques, Eliana Blum, Leigh Wright, Steve Melendez, Michelle Nicholson, Sabrina Stone, Kimmie Tubre, Emily Hingle, Camille Barnett, Celeste Turner

Bar Guide

Easter and Its Many Traditions

Things To Do in NOLA When You’re Not Fest’n

Entertainment & Nightlife 22 38 42 46

Copy Editor: Donald Rickert

$20 & Under

Lakeside2Riverside The Local Side to the Oscars

Photographers and Designers: Gus Escanelle, Kim Ranjbar, Emily Hingle, Monwell Frazier, Robert Witkowski

Extras 44 45

Interns: Frances Deese, Gracie Wise, Mathilde Camus, Jariah Johnson, Enrique Monzon, Jr., Owen Sears, Lauryn Hinton

Tales From the Quarter Po-Boy Views

Subscribe: Receive 1 year (14 issues) for $30 and get a FREE Where Y’at phone credit card holder. Subscribe today at WhereYat.com.

Film Review Where Y'Been

Logo ©2022 All rights reserved Bruce Betzer, Legal Counsel: (504) 304-9952

Letter from the Publisher

Where Y’at? Trombone Shorty’s song appears towards the top of any Google search of those words. While the song won’t be on his new album Lifted, Kevin Credo’s interview does offer insights to Troy Andrews’ upcoming release and more.

Springtime is my favorite time in New Orleans because of all the wonderful festivals. This issue previews all the excitement of events like Hogs for the Cause and the NCAA Men’s Final Four. Celeste Turner also previews the upcoming 39th Annual Chris Owens Easter Parade.

Do You Have a Favorite Bartender? The Hendrick’s Neptunia Gin Mix-Off is now open to all working at area bars and restaurants. Those interested should talk to their rep from Republic National Distributing Company for an entry form.

Finally, thanks and farewell to Executive Editor Burke Bischoff. Burke did a great job, and we look forward to his future contributions as a writer. Welcome to new Executive Editor Reine Dugas. We’re excited to have her on board.

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–Josh Danzig, Publisher

Spring Festivals | Where Y'at Magazine

Where Y’at Magazine 5500 Prytania St., #133 New Orleans, LA 70115 (504) 891-0144 info@whereyat.com WhereYat.com

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PHOTOS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / JOSEF PLCH; NOLA ROWING CLUB; COURTESY ANTOINE'S; ROBERT WITKOWSKI; WHERE Y'AT STAFF PHOTO

Chris Owens Easter Parade

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NEW ORLEANS LEGEND

TROMBONE SHORTY

Talks Inspiration, Charity, and Upcoming Album

By Kevin Credo

One of the most acclaimed artists of the contemporary New Orleans musical scene, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews is famous for meshing the sounds of traditional New Orleans brass bands with eclectic funk influences.

Where Y’at (WYA): Even after becoming an internationally-touring artist, you’ve maintained very strong ties to the local New Orleans musical scene. What’s it like balancing your strong local commitment with the global scope of your music?

Shorty: “Well, it’s because of the local commitments, and the people that raised me, and the entire city of New Orleans, that I’m able to travel internationally and represent the city. No matter how big we get, we wouldn’t be able to do it without the fabric and the love of the city and that blood running through me. It’s never really a thought, about if I am or am not connected, because I always try to keep myself here in some way. I don’t think about it. It just happens naturally.”

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Spring Festivals | Where Y'at Magazine

for me are seeing how the kids mentored by the foundation are able to go on after, to go to college or to realize that they can make a living out of music or audio engineering.

As for memories, there was one time that really stuck with me a few years back, right in the beginning of 2020. We were performing in Cuba a few years back, and some of the students got to see and participate in a concert in front of three or four thousand people. One of the kids started crying, and he gave me a hug. I asked him what was going on, and he said that being there and getting to play in front of all of those people was unbelievable and that he couldn’t thank me enough. It’s moments like that that make me want to keep up with everything I can to help out and give back to the city’s youth.”

WYA: Your music has taken inspiration from a lot of New Orleans musical artists, some of the most influential being your family, including your brother James who’s worked with few different brass bands around the city. Has James’ influence gravitated you towards brass band music in particular?

WYA: One of the most visible impacts you’ve had on the local community has been through your charity, the Trombone Shorty Foundation, which has been helping New Orleans youth with music education for about 10 years now.

Are there any particularly rewarding memories and experiences you can recall from your work in charity?

Shorty: “One thing to understand with brass band music—it was less of a choice and more what I was born into. My brother James is definitely my biggest influence, both as a man and a musician, and when that’s the music that he and our family was creating, it rubs off a lot. I was introduced into the brass band community in the streets, and James was helping me to explore that music while he was also pivoting to more of a stage-act performance style with legends like Dr. John and Allen Toussaint and the Neville Brothers.”

Shorty: “It’s crazy that you mention that. I had no idea that it had even been 10 years because it feels so fresh to me. The highlights

WYA: Another major influence you’ve cited has been your training in music at NOCCA. How has a more standardized,

GUSTAVO ESCANELLE

Recently home from a collaboration with Lenny Kravitz in the Bahamas and preparing for the launch of his hotly-anticipated new album, Andrews had a chance to catch up with Where Y’at just in time for New Orleans’ spring festival season. In a candid reflection on everything from his musical influences to the power of musical mentorship for New Orleans’ youth, Andrews shares the best details of his music and local flare.

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WhereYat.com | April 2022

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Andrews was blowing his own horn at an early age; now hosting Shorty Fest 2022 on May 2

" I was introduced into the brass band community in the streets," –Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews

technical music training meshed with the more improvised, performative style of street performance you experienced with James and the rest of your family? How does this inform your own teaching style for young musicians?

Shorty: “There were a lot of influential teachers during my formal education.

There was Kid Jordan. He didn’t teach at NOCCA, but his son Kent Jordan did.

There was also the late, great Clyde Kerr, Jr. At school, they saw potential in me and the performative style that I

wanted to bring. Their goal was equipping me with the knowledge of music theory, which was different from playing it by-ear with James and other local musicians.

I try to pass on the technical knowledge to my students, and the discipline there helps to equip them with life skills, whether they want to be a band-leader, a regular player, or just scope out their own life trajectory. Those skills are universal.”

WYA: Currently, you’ve been making big preparations for your forthcoming album, Lifted, that’s due in April of this year. As your first studio album since Parking Lot Symphony in 2017, what are some of the inspirations for this album’s musical style building off of your previous ventures?

Shorty: “The music of New Orleans is very live. It’s really a ‘live’ city, and on this album, we tried to capture the soul of a live performance more than anything. Even in a studio, we wanted the band to give the

same energy and spirit that we play with on-stage. The guys in the band, the Orleans Avenue, come with their own interests, ranging from gospel to hip-hop to zydeco, and those influences take it to a different level and I allow the band to bring them in. It’s a collaborative effort, and that’s the biggest thing, seeing how we can make those roads meet.”

WYA: Having the spirit of a live performance as a driving influence on a studio album is definitely unique.

What are you doing to prepare for the launch, and what can fans of your music expect soon?

Shorty: “Yeah. Once the album comes out, pretty much everything we do is gonna be tied around that. We’re going to be performing songs from the album on our upcoming Voodoo Threauxdown Tour, and that’s going to be a focus. The record is coming out right around Jazz Fest, so I’ve been doing a lot of work to see where these new album songs fit into our rehearsals. We’re definitely planning on sprinkling some of those new songs into the upcoming live performances. The live energy and the soul of New Orleans music, that’s what we’re after.”

Trombone Shorty’s new album, Lifted, releases on April 29, 2022 from Blue Note Records. His upcoming performances include the Saenger Theater and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

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Spring Festivals | Where Y'at Magazine

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THE CHRIS OWENS EASTER PARADE Hopping its Way Back to the French Quarter

By Celeste Turner

Although this New Orleans tradition, which started back in the 1980s, was sadly postponed for the past two years due to the pandemic, family and friends are welcomed to join the festivities and frolic in the Easter fun on Sunday, April 17, beginning at the corner of St. Louis and Royal Streets in front of the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel at 1 p.m.

As the Grand Duchess of The French Quarter Easter Parade, Chris Owens proudly leads the parade while standing on her beautifully decorated float while dressed in her personally designed Easter ensemble, including her unique and exotic bonnet. “My favorite thing about the Easter Parade is riding on the float in the parade and throwing my signature bunnies and colorful beads to the huge crowds,” said Owens, who’s a locally-renowned singer, dancer, and legendary entertainer at her French Quarter club on Bourbon Street.

Although in the past years the parade has been centered on the holiday spirit of Easter as it rolls through the heart of the French Quarter, Owens indicated that the theme of this year’s parade highlights the return and resumption of the city of New Orleans.

“The city of New Orleans is back and moving forward,” Owens said. “We are resilient and open for business. Nothing will keep us from celebrating and having a good time.”

Historically, the French Quarter Easter Parade was a vision of Chris Owens and Sammy Steele, a local real estate investor, hairdresser, and makeup artist. In its first year, Owens and Steele had a few floats followed by a second line. This walking group of ladies and gentlemen were dressed in their finest Easter outfits and handing out beads, flowers, Easter eggs, and candy to the small crowds on the street. As each year passed, the parade

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grew in size, popularity, and attendance.

After Steele retired as Captain Emeritus, Owens said that Kitsy Adams, her publicist and manager, along with Dottie Belletto, owner of the New Orleans Convention Company, took over the parade. “Kitsy and Dottie have been by my side,” Owens added. “They have developed the Chris Owens French Quarter Easter Parade into a huge success and a New Orleans tradition that attracts people from all over the world.”

Owens, who has been a French Quarter fixture for several years, was actually born in Stamford, Texas, and raised on a cattle ranch. After she moved to New Orleans at the age of 20, Owens met the man of her dreams and dynamic dance partner, Sol Owens. Married in 1956, the couple opened the iconic 809 Club in the French Quarter, where Chris Owens became an instant star with her energetic mix of Samba, Rumba, Cha Cha, and Salsa dance style. Although her husband passed away in 1979, Owens continues to sing and dance regularly at her famous French Quarter nightclub on 500 Bourbon Street. “New Orleans will always be my home,” Owens said. “We have history, music, food, and culture. It’s a great life for everyone, young and old.”

The Easter Sunday festivities kick off at 10:30 a.m. at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel ballroom with the famous Hat Contest, followed by the Silent Auction organized by Tim Jones. Special entertainment will be provided by the Yat Pack.

Participants of the Hat Contest include men, women, and children who want to delight in the merrymaking fun and display their artistry. Local celebrity judges select the most spectacular Easter hats and bonnets based on the following criterion: most glamorous, most creative, and most original. After the Hat Contest, riders will

Spring Festivals | Where Y'at Magazine

FROM LEFT: COURTESY CHRIS OWNES EASTER PARADE / KITSY ADAMS GUSTAVO ESCANELLE

Mardi Gras may be over, but thrill-seeking revelers can still enjoy the colorful floats, the marching bands, and plenty of beads at the 37th annual Chris Owens French Quarter Easter Parade.

ALL PHOTOS: COURTESY CHRIS OWNES EASTER PARADE / KITSY ADAMS

then hop on their glittered floats at the corner of St. Louis Street, passing down Royal Street, turning onto Iberville Street, and continuing down Bourbon Street. The parade will eventually end up back at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel for the private champagne brunch and dancing.

“We now have 16 decorated floats, marching bands, fancy convertible cars, dance teams, and more,” Owens said. “It is truly a one-of-a-kind parade with glamour, fun, and family atmosphere.”

So for Peep’s sake, come celebrate on Easter Sunday at the Chris Owens French Quarter Parade and “laissez les bons temps rouler.”

For those interested in riding on a float or purchasing a ticket to participate in one or all of the festivities, please contact Kitsy Adams at 504-495-8383. Also, if you are interested in donating auction items for company advertisement, please contact Tim Jones at 504-450-6071.

This historic estate offers a glimpse into life in the 1800’s through the guided tour and the original artwork and artifacts throughout the mansion. 38 acres of the South’s most beautiful gardens surround the estate offering brightly colored florals year round. Restaurants and a boutique Inn are also available for spending the day or night at Houmas House. Save time to visit The Great River Road Museum which explores life along the Mississippi River in the 1800's.

40136 Hwy 942 | Darrow, LA 70725 www.HoumasHouse.com

WhereYat.com | April 2022

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GARDEN VARIETIES Gardens of NOLA

By Kim Ranjbar

Spring has officially sprung! The flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, ferns are stretching out tendrils from brick walls, and bright green mosses are forming lush, natural carpeting just about everywhere. When the rain takes a break, everyone in the Greater New Orleans Area is out and about enjoying the rich, colorful bounty that comes with living in a sub-tropical paradise.

New Orleans Botanical Gardens 12

Spring Festivals | Where Y'at Magazine

COURTESY BOTANICAL GARDENMS / NOCP

If one thing can be said about our city's gardens, it's that they're anything but “garden variety.” Grab your camera, apply plenty of sunscreen, and remember to take your allergy meds as we take a joyous, springtime journey through the gardens in and around New Orleans.

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NEW ORLEANS BOTANICAL GARDEN neworleanscitypark.com/botanical-garden One of the largest and most obvious places to start would have to be the Botanical Garden in New Orleans City Park. Created in 1936 through President Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration, the City Park Rose Garden (as it was originally named) was designed for all to enjoy, becoming the city's first public, classical garden. To this day, it is one of the few remaining examples of a WPA public

that visitors see today was actually the second home the couple built on this site, as the first didn't suit the gorgeous gardens being created around it by famed landscape architect Ellen Biddle Shipman. From 1935 to her death in 1950, Shipman worked on the gardens you see today and it is the only intact design of hers open to the public. Edith Stern also enlisted the help of botanist Caroline Dormon to choose flora for Longue Vue's “Wild Garden,” which is known for its extensive collection of

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Longvue Gardens grounds welcomes visitors

LONGUE VUE HOUSE & GARDENS longuevue.com Located on Bamboo Road just behind the New Orleans Country Club, Longue Vue House & Gardens is the lasting legacy of Edith and Edgar Stern, a philanthropic couple who, among many other civic endeavors, helped to establish Dillard University, worked on voter-registration reform, and supported the New Orleans Philharmonic Symphony. The house

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Spring Festivals | Where Y'at Magazine

Longvue Gardens

indigenous Louisiana plants. In 1968, Edith Stern opened Longue Vue gardens to the public in the interest of sharing the space with her community.

Guests can enjoy a self-guided tour throughout the gardens and grounds and even bring a picnic to lunch under the property's stunning oak allée or opt for a guided tour of the gardens, which covers both horticultural and historical information about all eight acres of Shipman's design. The Longue Vue garden is always blooming, but this time of year, you'll find everything from delphinium, foxglove, and tulips to azalea, passionflower, amaryllis, and silver bells.

FROM TOP: COURTESY LONGVUE GARDENS; KIM RANJBAR

garden design from the Art Deco period.

In the early 1980s, the name was changed to the New Orleans Botanical Gardens and featured in excess of 2,000 plant varieties from all around the globe.

These extensive gardens sprawl over 10 acres of land, which include the park's renowned, 100+ year-old oaks. The expansive green space includes different sections where plants are showcased seasonally: the Rose Parterre with modern roses and a water-lily-laden pond; a native plant garden; a tropical garden; a variety of shrubs, small trees, and ground covers make up the Southern Shade Garden; and the Butterfly Walk features plants that attract all different types of butterflies due to their nectars and larval hosting capabilities. The Botanical Garden has even maintained the original WPA rose garden, which showcased both antique and modern roses. Open year-round, visitors can obtain a map of the grounds upon entry or when visiting City Park's website.

BESTHOFF SCULPTURE GARDEN noma.org/besthoff-sculpture-garden A breathtaking display of “art and nature in harmony,” the Besthoff Sculpture Garden in New Orleans City Park is certainly a different kind of garden, but a garden nonetheless. Founders Sydney and Walda Besthoff, well-known local businesspersons, dedicated much of their lives to support the arts, from founding the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans to serving on the boards for the New Orleans Museum of Art and

Paradigm Gardens bar

PITOT HOUSE pitothouse.org Exhibited in the era when it was owned by New Orleans’ third mayor, James Pitot, this property is one of the few West Indies-style homes remaining in the state. The Pitot House was originally built in 1799 by Spanish merchant Bartholome Bosque and is located on the area's oldest European settlement in the Bayou St. John neighborhood. Over the years, 11 families occupied the home and, in 1964, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart donated it to the Louisiana Land— marks Society.

Today, the home serves as both a museum and an event venue with a small, but stunning parterre garden, featuring period-appropriate local flora including phlox, irises, and luna hibiscus, as well as citrus trees, antique roses, camellias, and herbs and vegetables with boxwood hedges. Tours of the house and gardens are by appointment only.

PELICAN GARDENS facebook.com/pelicangardens Located in Algiers Point, Pelican Gardens is an “organic community garden and learning space” owned and operated by Mark LaMaire, a local chef who also founded Lahpet (@lahpetkitchen), a pop-up featuring Burmese food. The garden regularly offers vegetables, seeds, and even edible flowers for sale and/or trade, from Romanesco cauliflower and raw honey to hot peppers, rainbow chard, green papaya, and turmeric.

Pelican Gardens also offers a community fridge fully stocked with their regular

produce, which invites those who need it to “take what you want, leave what you can.”

Find them on Instagram @pelicangardens.

PARADIGM GARDENS paradigmgardensnola.com An urban garden, outdoor restaurant, events venue, Paradigm Gardens on S. Rampart is all of these things and more. The Central City garden is, at its heart, a chef's garden; one that grows herbs and vegetables for local restaurants like Boucherie, Marjie's Grill, Patois, Coquette, Turkey and the Wolf, High Hat Café, and more. It's also a gorgeous green space where people can hold events with customizable food and cocktail menus. In fact, Paradigm frequently holds its own events, such as their Roots of Music concert series “celebrating the rhythmic foundations of modern blues, jazz, reggae, Latin, funk, and soul,” featuring artists from all across the country and accompanied by menus prepared by their in-house chef. They also regularly hold plant and vegetable sales to the public, which include an arts market, brunch, and local DJs. Oh, and did we mention goat yoga?

Perhaps the garden's most inspiring work is their school. Self-touted as Louisiana's first and only K-12 garden school, Paradigm uses the Montessori model with a project-based curriculum and teaches everything from the obvious like horticulture and community service to science, math, carpentry, art, and music. Entirely free to the students who attend, the school is funded through their weekly plant sales and other events held in the garden.

FROM LEFT: COURTESY NOCP; COURTESY PARADIGM GARDENS / CLARE BANGSER

Besthoff Sculpture Garden

the New Orleans Symphony. In 2003, the Besthoffs donated money and initial works for the sculpture garden, works that were to be harmoniously displayed among the landscape of lagoons, live oaks, and bridges designed by Sawyer/ Berson Architecture & Landscape Architecture in New York. In 2017, the New Orleans Museum of Art launched a six-and-a-half-acre expansion, under the guidance of renowned landscape architectural firm Reed Hilderbrand in Ca mbridge, Massachusetts, which officially opened with 27 works in May 2019.

Among the live oaks, magnolia trees, and azaleas, visitors to the garden can appreciate modern sculpture from artists all over the world, from Thomas Housaeago's Striding Figure in bronze and Korean artist Do Ho Suh's Karma to Polish artist Ursula Von Ryndingsvard's Dumma, meaning “proud” cast in bronze.

The Besthoff Sculpture Garden is open daily and admission is free.

WhereYat.com | April 2022

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A CHICKENSITUATION Spring is here—and with it, Easter.

WHICH CAME FIRST, THE BUNNY OR THE EGG? One of Christianity’s main holy days may not have started out as Christian at all. It’s likely that Easter pre-dates Jesus and friends and that it began as a festival to honor the AngloSaxon goddess of spring (Eostre or Eastre), for which the holiday was named. The goddess was said to have two “sacred symbols,” which were the hare and the egg. Although, in some accounts, the two symbols merged into one to become an egg-laying hare. Later, Christians adopted both bunny and egg to represent not only life and fertility associated with spring (leaves blooming, animals being born), but also the resurrection of Christ.

EGGS-TREME RESTRICTIONS Eggs have represented life and rebirth since the beginning of time. And while nowadays it might be more common to find life and rebirth served over-easy with a side of bacon, eggs still stand as a symbol of renewal, emergence, and awakening, especially at Easter. Some Christians believe that the egg’s shell represents Jesus’s tomb, while the chicken that comes out of it symbolizes Jesus himself emerging from the dead. Some of the earliest egg decorating involved coloring the eggs a deep red to represent the blood of Christ.

During Lent, it was traditionally forbidden to eat any animal products. The custom of eating eggs at Easter was derived not from a desire to compensate for a 40-day protein deficiency, but to deal with a six-week-long egg surplus. Chickens, not fully aware that it was Lent, continued to lay eggs the entire time. Unable to eat them, early Christians would boil them, decorate them to make them pretty, keep them around for weeks (despite primitive preservation methods), and then pass them out for consumption once restrictions were lifted on Easter. It’s a

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wonder that salmonella poisoning didn’t become a regular Easter tradition as well.

DIFFERENT YOLKS FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS People around the world have developed their own egg-centric Easter traditions, including egg dancing, egg tapping, egg decorating, egg eating, egg hunting, and egg rolling on the White House lawn (which some say represents the rolling away of the stone that blocked Christ’s tomb). There are eggs of every shape, substance, and nutritional value; eggs to serve every purpose or desire, from décor to digestion. In New Orleans, we throw eggs from floats.

Decorating eggs has been a common practice since as far back as the 1200s, with various cultures using different colors, patterns, and methods. Some people suggest that decorating eggs was invented as a festive way to spruce up the dark period of Lent or to break the Lenten fast in colorful style.

HIDE OR HARE The tradition of hunting for eggs dates back hundreds of years, perhaps to Germany in the 16th century. Martin Luther supposedly conducted egg hunts at his church, during which men would hide eggs for the women and children to find.

Egg hunting also ties in with the Easter Bunny. Since bunnies are such bountiful breeders, they’ve long been associated with the renewal of life that is spring. The modern-day Easter Bunny is probably a descendent of the German “Oschter Haws” or “Osterhase,” which means “Easter Hare.”

Osterhase was supposedly a rabbit who would lay vibrantly colored eggs, fill up a basket with them, and cottontail it on over to the homes of all the good little boys and girls, where he would hide the eggs for them to search for. The eagerly awaiting children would build grassy nests for Osterhase to lay his eggs in, which is likely a precursor of the commercialized, artificial grass-like substance that often fills today’s Easter baskets.

When German immigrants settled in the United States, the mythical eggy rabbit hopped the Atlantic with them.

ALL IMAGES: KATHY BRADSHAW

705 Common St | 504.595.5605 | hotelindigo.com/frenchquarter

And what does Easter mean to you? For the religious among you, it’s the day that Jesus rose from the dead three days after he was crucified on the cross. But for the less devout, Easter might be the only day that you’re willing to wait two hours for a brunch table.

Maybe it’s a day when you don a bunny bikini and wander around the French Quarter. Perhaps you see it as your chance to finally eat cheese again after giving it up for Lent or one of the two days of the year that they won’t let you into Target.

Only you know why you pick the lavender ones out of the package of pastel Easter M&Ms, or why you insist on eating your Easter ham with a spoon, but if you’re interested in learning about some of the more common, universal holiday traditions, read on.

AND-EGG Easter and Its

Joe’s Ready When You Are!

Many Traditions

By Kathy Bradshaw BEING IN YOUR BONNET Religious processions have been a thing since the dawn of Christianity, but the Easter parade as we know it today originated in New York City after the Civil War. It was a custom to celebrate the “new start” of life in the spring with a snazzy new pastel outfit and fancy hat, or “bonnet,” often decked out with spring-like leaves or flowers. Many people thought it was good luck to buy new clothes for Easter, and they often wanted something fun and bright after Lent and a dapper getup to wear to church on Easter Sunday.

The first Easter parade began organically in 1870 when well-to-do New Yorkers came out of their Fifth Avenue churches following service on Easter morning and walked along the avenue.

They wanted to show off their swanky Easter attire and check out what others were wearing. As more people joined in or came out to gawk, it gradually became a parade and a yearly Easter tradition—with around a million people in attendance at its peak.

In addition to its popular Easter bonnet contest, New Orleans now has three parades, including the Historic French Quarter Easter parade, the renowned Chris Owens parade, which began in the early 1980s, and the Gay Easter Parade, which has been a tradition since 2000.

LIFE IS LIKE A BASKET OF CHOCOLATE As time has passed, the famous Easter rabbit has become an increasingly benevolent bunny. Although he still gives away eggs, he’s also known to pass out stuffed toys, money, iPhones, ponies, and lots and lots of candy.

The transition to baskets full of chocolate eggs and

chocolate Easter Bunnies, which began in 19th-century Europe, was a way to make Easter more kid-friendly. But it was almost certainly also a capitalistic ploy for the candymaking companies to keep their hands in the Easter basket and make an extra buck. Today, approximately 91 million chocolate bunnies and 16 billion jelly beans are produced annually, helping to make Easter the most candy-filled holiday after Halloween. If laid end-to-end, that’s enough jelly beans to go around the globe five times.

JEEPERS PEEP-ERS! Giving s’mores a run for their money, America’s second favorite way to eat a marshmallow is surely in the form of a brightly colored, gelatinous, sugar-coated baby chicken.

Peeps, now also available in a slew of other squishy shapes and flavors, were born in 1953 thanks to the company Just Born.

Company founder Sam Born was a candy-minded genius who could not only work magic with a marshmallow, but also allegedly helped invent chocolate sprinkles and a machine that automatically inserts sticks into lollipops. He began making Peeps following the acquisition of another marshmallowcentric candy company, which had originated the idea and used to hand-make every chick by piping marshmallow through a pastry tube.

Just Born mechanized the process, thus cutting the Peeps production time down from 27 hours to just six minutes. Today, Peeps are massproduced using a machine called the Depositor, which is the only way to keep up with the demand for the 1.5 billion Peeps purchased every year.The candy has developed a cult following, complete with an entire Peeps-based merchandise line, Peeps recipes galore, Peepsinspired artwork, and even a Peeps competitive eating contest (the record is 255 chickens consumed in just five marshmallowy minutes).

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OTHER THAN FESTIVAL Things To Do in NOLA

By Kimmie Tubre

French Quarter Festival, Jazz Festival, BUKU Fest, and more, New Orleans is back in the swing of things when it comes to all things festive.

With over 130 festivals annually, this city couldn't be more ready to fest than it is today. After a few long years of not being able to fest, the city is entering a festival season like none other. While New Orleans is certain to be filled during these months with visitors ready to take on all of the fest’n, there are many things to do and see in the city that will make your time here more worthwhile. Whether you're here for a visit or a local trying to enjoy your city, here are some “other than fest” things to do while galivanting through the Big Easy.

ADMIRE ART BY LOCAL ARTISTS Art fills the city of New Orleans. It is as easy to find as music. Of course, you can visit some of the beautiful major museums such as NOMA, The Ogden, and the CAC. But there are also so many other galleries, street artists, and art exhibits that display the works of the city's many talented artists. JAMNOLA is a display of art and music from some of the most talented people in the city. Standing for “Joy, Art, & Music,” JAMNOLA focuses on a group of local artists while creating a positive culture and place in its community. Then there’s Jackson Square. Artists line up daily along the gates of Jackson Square while displaying their original pieces. This art is always affordable and usually as authentic as it gets. Studio BE is another local-born, beautiful art experience. Located in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans, this gallery is famous for its thought provoking and eye-opening pieces.

Meet the open-air artists .

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Bartenders will ensure you drink well with well drinks at local haunts like Monkey Hill.

Opulent venues like The Saenger Theatre set the stage for a fun performance.

DRINK WELL AT A LOCAL BAR While there’s nothing livelier than strolling down Frenchmen Street or wildly wandering around Bourbon, New Orleans has so many cool bars to visit that are not on the typical tourist radar. When it comes to bars, there is a bit of everything. From high-end bars that spin like The Carousel Bar and Lounge to super local dive bars like Ms. Mae’s and the infamous Snake and Jakes, New Orleans bar culture is unmatched when it comes to having a little something for everyone. Some bars specialize in fancy cocktails like Cure and Bar Tonique, while others specialize in beer gardens and outdoor scenery. Whatever you choose, New Orleans has several cool places to enjoy spirited beverages.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: ROBERT WITKOWSKI (2); MADISON O'FRIEL / UNSPASH

When You’re Not Fest’n

ENJOY A THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE After more than a year of closures, many of the city’s theaters have reopened with shows and performances that are ready to be seen and heard. The Saenger Theatre is one of the city’s most famous theatres, with its star lit ceilings and ancient Greek and Roman statues. Here you can see many types of shows from Broadway musicals to Jazz Fest night shows and concerts.

The Orpheum Theatre is also offering up a steady line of shows in the next following months. Recently passing its 100-year anniversary, The Orpheum Theatre is a beautiful representation of the city’s history and culture. Other theaters, from the Civic Theatre to the Joy Theater and many more, are back in business and definitely worth a visit.

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WhereYat.com | April 2022

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Buy your pass with the GoMobile app, at select Walgreens or at norta.com.

LEARN SOMETHING ON A WALKING TOURS Being such a unique and diverse city, New Orleans has a story for just about anything you can think of. Being a possible haunted city filled with culture, if you want a good tour with amazing information, then you will surely find one here. Our cemeteries alone are unique and, yep, there’s a tour for that too. Whether you want to hear about history, voodoo, ghosts, or vampires, New Orleans offers a variety of well-trained tour guides ready to walk you through all facets of the Crescent City.

Jazz Clubs that are intimate venues are music to our ears.

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Loving parks

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: GRAYLINE N.O.; NOCP/NEW ORLEANS BOTANICAL GARDENS; TOMAS MARTINEZ / UNSPASH; ROBERT WITKOWSKI

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FALL IN LOVE WITH THE BEAUTIFUL PARKS For a city that isn't typically famous for its nature, we are certainly fortunate to have beautiful parks.

Starting with City Park, located in the heart of the city (Mid-City), it happens to be one of the oldest parks in the country. Being the largest park in New Orleans, City Park has a variety of attractions such as NOMA, The Children’s Museum, Storyland, Tad Gormley Stadium, and so much more. In the city’s university area, you’ll find Audubon Park, which houses the Audubon Zoo. Famous for its scenic canopying oak trees, Audubon Park is a stunning piece of land. For a more retro scene, try Crescent Park located along the Mississippi River.

And, of course, we can’t forget about Louis Armstrong Park across from the French Quarter. As the home of Congo Square, the history of this park alone is certainly worth a visit.

VISIT OUR BODIES OF WATER Being a city that is under sea level, it may be worth your time to visit the element that’s surrounding New Orleans—water.

This city consists of almost equal parts land and water. On one side is the Mississippi River, which can be viewed from along the Riverwalk to the Audubon Zoo. Then there is Lake Pontchartrain, where you can dine at a nice restaurant while you listen to waves hitting the shore.

April 1-2.................................................................. Hogs For The Cause

Soothing waters of New Orleans DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY TO A JAZZ OR BRASS BAND Last but not least, during festival season, you will find some of the best live shows around. You could jazz out at Preservation Hall or spend a Thursday night with the Soul Rebels Brass Band at Le Bon Temps. There's local music all over the city, from Frenchmen Street to the famous Uptown located venue Tipitina’s. Either way, you are in for an experience of a lifetime.

April 3..............................................................HBCU All-Star Basketball April 7.........KEM & Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds – The Full Circle Tour April 13....................................................................... All Elite Wrestling April 21-24 .......................................Disney On Ice presents Dream Big Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or the Lakefront Arena Box Office WhereYat.com | April 2022

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LAKESIDE2RIVERSIDE

UPCOMING FESTIVALS & EVENTS

311 CONCERT

NOLA SPEEDTOUR AT NOLA MOTORSPORTS

Party like it's 1999 at the Fillmore. Omaha-based rock band 311 is returning to New Orleans for their 2022 spring tour. Jam out to classic hits such as “All Mixed Up,” “Don’t Stay Home,” and “Beautiful Disaster.” The performance will start at 7 p.m. and will take place at NOLA’s beautiful Fillmore concert venue. The Fillmore has 22,000 square feet of space and state-of-the-art light and sound. If you’re a huge fan of 311 and want to catch them live in concert, now’s the chance. Tickets are available online while they last.

Start your engines because SVRA is zipping to NOLA Motorsports, located in Avondale on the Westbank, for this year’s NOLA SpeedTour. It'll feature action-packed events such as the Formula Regional Americas Championship, F4 U.S. Championship, Mazda Miata Heritage Cup Series, and Vintage Racing. There will also be go-karting, live music, a car show, and a crawfish cook-off that the whole family will love. Tickets can be purchased online, and anyone interested in bringing an RV should reach out to a park spokesperson.

March 30 | The Fillmore | livenation.com

HOGS FOR THE CAUSE

April 1-2 | UNO Lakefront | hogsfest.org What better way to spend your weekend than eating BBQ, jamming to music, and drinking plenty of beer? Hogs for the Cause will feature national and local artists, as well as lip-smacking pork dishes from local restaurants. Bacon Mac ‘N’ Cheese, Pulled Pork Nachos, and Pork Balls are some of the many dishes you can find on the menu. The festival is working with national and local hospitals to help Hogs for the Cause children with brain cancer. Funds will go towards Hogs Houses, which offer children receiving treatment a free place to stay. Two-day and single-day tickets are still on sale, so don’t miss out.

NEW ORLEANS OPERA’S “LA BOHÉME” April 1 & 3 | Mahalia Jackson Theater | neworleansopera.org

Puccini’s famous opera La Bohéme is returning to New Orleans after an eight-year hiatus. Premiered in 1896, the opera tells the story of two lovers who experience love and heartbreak. It stars Yongzhao Yu as Rodolfo and Vanessa Isiguen as Mimi, and it’s sung in Italian. Not only is this one of the best operas of all time, but it’s also the inspiration for the Broadway musicals Rent and Bohéme on Broadway. The opera starts at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are available online.

April 8-10 | NOLA Motorsports Park | nolamotor.com

PONCHATOULA STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL

April 8-10 | Memorial Park | lastrawberryfestival.com Did you know that Ponchatoula is the “Strawberry Capital of the World?” If you love strawberries, you’ll love their annual Strawberry Festival. There will be live music, rides, a talent show, a fun run, and a float parade. Kids will enjoy activities like face-painting, sack races, and strawberry-eating contests. Delicious strawberry food and drinks will be sold.

Plus, don’t miss out on the “Strawberry Little Miss & Masters Pageant,” where kids 17 and younger will be judged based on their strawberry-themed costumes. When you attend the Strawberry Festival, you support local farmers and organizations in Louisiana.

“CINDERELLA” BY JPAS

April 8-10 & 22-24 | Jefferson Performing Arts Center | jpas.org Join JPAS as they proudly present Cinderella at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center. Written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cinderella is a modern take on the classic fairy tale, which is told in a different manner to what people are used to with Walt Disney’s animated version. It features songs such as “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible/It’s Impossible,” and “Ten Minutes Ago.” Not only was it made for Broadway, but it was also nominated as “Best Revival of a Musical” and “Best Book of a Musical” for the Tony Awards. Tickets are available online.

ERIC CHURCH CONCERT

April 9 | Smoothie King Center | smoothiekingcenter.com

NCAA FINAL FOUR FAN FEST AND CONCERT SERIES April 1-3 & 4 | Ernest N. Morial Convention Center | ncaa.com

If you’re a sports or music fan, the Men’s Final Four Fan Fest has something for you.

It’ll feature interactive games, athlete appearances, autograph signings, and more. The festival will also host its free 2022 NCAA Men's Final Four March Madness Music Festival, presented by official NCAA Corporate Champions AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Capital One at Woldenberg Park. Music fans will see A-list celebrities perform live on stage such as Khalid, Imagine Dragons, the Kid LAROI, and Macklemore. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. Capital One cardholders, Men’s Final ticket holders, and kids can enter free.

Eric Church

NOLA SpeedTour

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Country fans, you’re in for a real treat. Join Eric Church at the Smoothie King Center for his Gather Again Tour. Starting his music career in 2005, Church has since released multiple albums and singles that have reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

Enjoy some of his greatest hits such as “Mr. Misunderstood,” “Drowning Man,” and “Country Music Jesus.” Morgan Wallen, known from his time on The Voice, will also be there for the opening act. The concert will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster, so get good seats before this show sells out.

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WhereYat.com | April 2022

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Skulling along New Orleans waterways is a longstanding tradition for exercise, competition, and teamwork.

By Michelle A Nicholson

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COURTESY: NOLA ROWING CLUB

ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT…

Rowing dates back at least 4,000 years when these sleek oar-driven vessels were the swiftest mode of transportation by water. Egyptians began rowing for sport in the 15th century B.C.

New Orleans Rowing Club call the waters of Lake Pontchartrain their home port.

New Orleans certainly can’t compete with that kind of history, but the New Orleans Rowing Club does have a fair claim to local legacy. From single-sculling on early mornings to adult and youth lessons in sweep rowing to championship team-training, any variety of water-sports enthusiast could find a home and have a new adventure on Bayou St. John, care of the New Orleans Rowing Club.

“We date back over 150 years of rowing history in the city,” Rowing Club President John Huppi was proud to proclaim in an interview this past January. “There’s been over 45 clubs in existence throughout its history here.

We are currently the only adult and youth program in the entire state. We think that water recreation is super important—not just for sport, but also access to nature, all the benefits that come with being on the water, being able to just breath the air outside.”

Indeed, over a dozen men and women of all shapes and ages had gathered, despite the early hour and the cold, and were rigging up their new boats.

A flow of idle chatter cocooned the team, comfortable and warm, and their excitement, their focus on getting in the water, was palpable. The club had lost over half of their fleet in Hurricane Ida, which restricted activity at the Boathouse for some time. But the more concerning loss was to their savings in general, which also funds the club’s community initiatives—most importantly RowNOLA. “RowNOLA is supposed to fund three different activities, all revolving around youth and getting more youth on the water,” Huppi explained. “First is showcasing the sport, taking the sport to them—whether it’s taking rowing machines to their cafeteria or going to community events or having ‘learn to row’ events here [at the Boathouse].”

“One of our biggest passions is getting kids on the water. It’s such a different experience than they get doing a lot of their other activities,” Huppi emphasized. “Considering how stressful their school schedules and stuff are— it’s just such a different pace. And it obviously opens a lot of doors more than it closes, since college rowing is such an important thing.”

Therein lies the biggest vision

WhereYat.com | April 2022

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New Orleans Rowing Club member rowing by New Orleans Lakefront Airport in Lake Pontchartrain 26

Spring Festivals | Where Y'at Magazine

ROWING CLUB (2)

Tulane University team trains in the Mississippi River

hurricanes or any other catastrophe.

Such is the promise of RowNOLA. According to Huppi, “She started right in the middle of the pandemic, in the first few months. We were doing indoor training at the time, so we didn’t even have a chance to get her in a boat yet because it was the middle of winter. It was COVID, all that stuff.

But the sport just drew her in. That’s what rowing is all about—it’s just drawing people in. It’s about community. It’s about people.”

School is exactly where Huppi got into rowing, and how he met his wife, Hannah Huppi, at Tulane University. Just this past fall, the duo competed in the coxed

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: TULANE UNIVERSITY ROWING; COURTESY NOLA;

underpinning RowNOLA. Huppi stated that their eventual goal is “to start seeing the path of having kids be shown the sport to actually racing and having that next connection—to be able to go from that cold call all the way through to having a scholarship and a pathway to university.”

In fact, one of the young women who learned to row in the club recently received a scholarship to row for Notre Dame, a Division I school. Huppi is hopeful that her success story is only the first of many in a program that will become another local legacy—a legacy that refuses to be stalled by viruses or

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quadruple sculls at the 2021 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in Portugal. According to World Rowing, the race came down to the final run, and John Huppi was the fastest, earning the U.S. the bronze.

“It’s totally bonkers that we won— that we just managed to put ourselves in that position,” Huppi said, still in a state of wonder. “We’re on the start line with Olympians who are just coming from Tokyo, other national team rowers who are paid to row in all these other countries. We work full time. We run the clubs. We have a two-year-old. So we squeeze in workouts whenever we can. We actually won bronze, which was unbelievable.”

However, life has returned to normal on Bayou St. John and Huppi has an eye on the future. “We have the U.S. trials in August,

so Hannah and I are fully on-board, training again to get ready for that and hopefully make the U.S. team again. And Hannah and I both are planning to do the Olympic trails in Paris for the singles in flat water rowing.”

Most of the Rowing Club’s fleet is designed for flat water rowing, on lakes and still bodies of water like the bayou. Coastal rowing, which is the couple’s specialty, won’t be added to the Olympics until the 2028 Olympics, but Huppi is happy that, nevertheless, they “are leading the way as far as how the U.S. team can succeed in that boat class.” In the meantime, the Rowing Club recently added Coastal Rowing workshops to their list of offerings to the community.

To get involved or for more information, visit neworleansrowingclub.org.

WhereYat.com | April 2022

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GENERATIONS OF WAITERS ...at Antoine's

By Michelle A Nicholson

Residing at its original location on Rue St. Louis, the place is, in fact, a sort of living history museum. The menu, though slightly shortened, remains unchanged, and the entire staff is dedicated to providing guests with the same exact dining experience they would have had in 1840. Legacy and preservation are everything at Antoine’s, so much so that families have returned over the years, not only as customers, but as waiters—families who have been together now for as many as four generations.

Being part of the Antoine’s family, smack in the middle of the French Quarter, certainly guarantees a degree of excitement, and a collection of unforgettable experiences.

Charles Carter remembers his first day, January 17, when he was 15 years old. “I started on Proteus Monday, the busiest day of the year, on Lundi Gras. 1,000 people. I’ll never forget the day. 60 guys just working the floor, running around like crazy, getting everything prepped. It was insane.”

A playfulness, a twinkling lightheartedness, pervades the atmosphere and conversation in Antoine’s, a tendency toward frivolity that is enhanced during the holidays but is ever-present—thanks to the performative art that is being a waiter at Antoine’s. Expect storytelling. Expect drama. Expect casual colloquial niceties of the Old South like “sugahs” and “babies,” as well as baskets of hot French bread that steadily fall like soft rain on the white linen. Expect a full glass. Expect to be treated like family. Expect a quintessentially New

Charles in Charge

A third-generation server at Antoine’s

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COURTESY ANTOINE'S RESTAURANT

Established over 180 years ago, Antoine’s Restaurant is not only the oldest restaurant in New Orleans, it’s the oldest family-owned restaurant in the nation.

WhereYat.com | April 2022

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DON’T MISS THE

JAZZ FEST WEEKEND I

DEADLINE: APR 11 | STREET DATE: APR 18

Charles with his great uncle and father

They were living in St. Martinville when the restaurant scouted them out in the 1950s, because they spoke French.

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The next generation…

Little Charles is dressed for success while being held by his proud papa.

continued. “You learn all the sauces, not the cooks. The waiters know almost more than the cook does. That’s why it used to be such a long apprenticeship. And these are dishes that date back over a hundred years. Here, it takes time. You have to know what’s in what.”

“It’s really a pride thing, too,” Carter emphasized. “You know, Antoine’s is a world-famous name, and people think of it in a certain way. It’s a three-hour experience. It’s more of a personal thing rather than turn-and-burn. It’s very personable. It’s a relationship, not a job.

And we keep it that way. People don’t realize you can make a living, you can make a career, out of working here. Once you’re a waiter, you’re made. And it’s life.

You’re a lifer. And that’s how it is. It’s what we chose.”

2022 is treating Antoine’s well. In fact, Antoine’s has more business than they can handle, for they are in dire need of new

FROM TOP: PHOTO COURTESY THE CARTER FAMILY; BROOKE CARTER

Orleans experience.

Charles Carter, a third-generation waiter at Antoine’s, had a childhood filled with memories of spending time with his father and great-uncle at the restaurant.

He recalled eating ice cream out of a coffee cup in the Mystery Room—what was once a speakeasy—and said, “I knew then that this, this is what’s up—like family, the guys, the waiters. I grew up here. Whether it be in the front or the back of the house, we roll together. It’s a whole crew effort.

This restaurant is different from any other restaurant that you know—because it’s family-oriented.”

When Charles began his career at Antoine’s 24 years ago, a person needed to be an apprentice for 5-10 years before becoming a waiter. It takes years to hone their craft. Waiters are expected to know the menu—over a hundred items, all in French. They know exactly what seafood is freshest and best, customizing recommendations. They get to know who they serve and have their favorite drinks ready when they arrive. Impressively, waiters never write down a single order.

Essential to preservation, memory is of the utmost significance at Antoine’s.

“There’s no written recipes,” Carter explained. “Everything is done chef-tochef. Just like on the floor, we roll from waiter to waiter. So my dad taught me the way he was taught 50 years ago, so if a customer comes in today, 2022—they got computers, iPads, you got kids running around—they're getting served the same exact way they would have gotten served 70 years ago because it’s handed down, generation to generation, from waiter to waiter, in an apprenticeship.”

“They teach you the wine,” Carter

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"Charles is a Celebrity Server, meaning the celebrities ask to see him!"

FROM TOP: COURTESY ANTOINE'S; MICHELLE NICHOLSON

–Samantha Witkowski, Antoine's

Meghan Ruiz is another third-generation server at Antoine’s.

She is studying under her father, Murphy Ruiz

apprentices.

“It’s hard to get people to get back to work, and they could be making money,” Carter explained.

“When we used to do 500600 a night, we can only do 300. It’s just the wait staff situation.

Right now, we’re at about 50% staff. We have waiters coming back that haven’t been here for 20 years. That shows love to the restaurant because they could have gone anywhere.”

New blood is entering the scene, though, and Antoine’s wait staff couldn’t be happier to extend the family.

Apprenticeships are no longer limited to family and friends of family. The duration is much shorter now, too, with ambitious apprentices becoming waiters in two or three years as opposed to a decade. That said, the next generation of waiters is also in training, ready to inherit their family’s position— apprentices like Meghan Ruiz, who is studying under her father, Murphy Ruiz. Like Carter, she is soon to become a thirdgeneration waiter at Antoine’s.

Ruiz said she “grew up with such great, amazing people who are masters of their craft” and that it is her honor to preserve her family legacy and the Antoine’s tradition. Like so many others at Antoine’s, she concluded, “It’s like family. I love this place.”

WhereYat.com | April 2022

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$20 AND UNDER

Currying Flavor

By Kim Ranjbar

Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a dearth of great Indian cuisine in the GNO. But the restaurant scene, oh boy, it is a-changin'.

In the past decade, pandemic and hurricanes notwithstanding, the region has seen a huge influx of Mexican restaurants (tacos a-go-go), Thai food, and, most recently, Indian cuisine. It's hard to believe how

Plume Algiers' Banana Chaat 32

Spring Festivals | Where Y'at Magazine

quickly time passes. It seems like only yesterday, in the early aughts, when food fanatics lamented our sore lack of worldly cuisine, and then poof. Our wishes are coming to fruition right before our eyes.

To be totally fair, there have been a couple of old-school Indian food standbys supported by loyal local customers whose hearts will never stray—Taj Mahal in Metairie comes immediately to mind. Touted as the first Indian restaurant in town, it was launched by the late Har G. Keswani and his wife Anila in 1982. Today, Anila and her son Anjay also run Nirvana, an Uptown Indian spot on Magazine Street, which opened in 1999.

Both locations offer well-attended lunch buffets and elegant, white tablecloth, gut-busting dinners.

Whether you enjoy a creamy lamb korma, tangy tandoori chicken, or the vegetarian bliss of spicy saag paneer, most of the entrees at Taj Mahal and Nirvana fall gratefully under budget, even after adding a side of garlic-stuffed naan or steamed basmati rice.

In 2014, a little eatery dubbed NOLA Desi Kitchen opened quietly in a strip mall on Williams Boulevard.

Suburban Kenner (brah), the land of endless strip malls, sports a surprising number of international foods, generally of the Latino persuasion—think Cuban, Brazilian, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan. Naturally, it was both surprising and exciting for the denizens of Kenner (brah) to have NOLA Desi Kitchen offering Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi cuisine, all prepared with halal proteins. Almost all of the entrees are served with tandoori naan, from their spicy nihari lamb and goat korma to the creamy butter paneer and lentilladen masala daal, which leaves plenty of spending space for an order of potato samosa or a tall, cool glass of mango lassi.

ALL PHOTOS: KIM RANJBAR

NOLA Desi Kitchen's Butter Paneer

FROM TOP: MANTRA INDIAN CUISINE; KIM RANJBAR

Mantra Indian Cuisine Several years ago, rumors began circling of a gas station in Hammond serving what many claimed was the “best Indian food in Louisiana.” While folks in the Bayou State are all too familiar with great gas station eats, one serving Indian food was completely new. Though many New Orleans residents raved about the food at Punjabi Dhaba, exclaiming it was more than worth the trek out of town, they only had to wait a couple of years to get the same delicious fare right in their own backyard. Late in 2020, in the midst of shutdowns and COVID-19 woe, Chef Neeta (a.k.a. Bonsi Lal) left Punjabi Dhaba and opened Mantra Indian Cuisine inside the old City Diner on the I-10 Service Road. Mantra offers Northern Indian cuisine, and with the huge portions, you better go hungry. All entrees are served with a hefty helping of steamed basmati rice, so whether you get aloo gobhi (cauliflower and potatoes), rogan josh with tender lamb cooked low and slow, or garlicky lasuni chicken, you're bound to have leftovers. Plus, Mantra also has a huge selection of naan, stuffed with everything from minced meat to homemade cheese, as well as cashews and raisins.

After a highly influential and educational trip through India, industry vets Tyler Stuart and Merritt Coscia returned to New Orleans and began popping up around town offering a taste of what they discovered. In the summer of 2020, the duo opened Plume Algiers, their first brick and mortar inside their home located on Teche Street in Algiers (obviously). The tiny restaurant offers a constantly rotating menu with dishes like banana chaat with fried banana and tamarind, shrimp kaathi rolls, moreish appam (ie. fermented coconut bread), and Kerelan fried chicken with garlic and chili chutney. Because everything is so incredible, it's easy to order too much and go way over budget, but if you stick

Plume Algiers Fried Chicken to a kaathi roll or a dish of stir-fried mushrooms with roti, goat cheese raita, and tarragon, you'll be able keep your wallet intact.

Speaking of pop-ups, another duo has been making the rounds under the Instagram account @lufu.nola.

Sarthak Samantray and Aman Kota have been bringing Indian goodies to bars, breweries, and music venues all over town, from Urban South Brewery and the Saturn Bar to Gasa Gasa and Happy Raptor Distilling. Follow their account to discover where they'll be next serving up dishes like dal makhni with lentils, tomatoes, and coriander; ragada patties or potato cakes with yellow peas; or khasta kachori—a fried, carom-flavored pastry with a tomatoey potato curry.

Finally, owner and chef Manish Patel of Tava Indian Street Food made a huge splash at Magazine Street food hall Auction House Market with his rice and lentil dosa, pressed naan sandwiches, and flaky partha wraps. But now he's ventured into his own digs in the Paramount Building on O'Keefe Avenue. Patel is featuring an expanded menu, but diners will still enjoy favorites like his chana salad and fusion-style panini.

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RESTAURANT GUIDE Legacy Kitchen Steak + Chop offers some of the best steaks on the Westbank. Whether you order the sirloin or tomahawk, you will be eating a great cut of meat. Steak + Chop’s other entrees are not to be missed. 91 Westbank Expy #51, Gretna, 504-513-2606, legacykitchen.com

Bub’s NOLA is the best place in the city to get some fine smash burgers. The standard Bub Burger is an easy choice, but customers who want to expand their palates can also go for more creative choices like the Peanut Bubber, the Manning’s Sports Bar & Grill is just the Rodeo Adobo, or the Gumbo Fries. 4413 Banks place for lovers of sports and great food. The St., bubsnola.com restaurant is themed around Archie Manning’s sports career. Some of the fan favorite, shareable Bud’s Broiler is a true New Orleans gem that plates on the menu include jalapeno poppers locals flock to in droves. The chain is known far and nachos. 519 Fulton St., 504-593and wide for their amazing broiled, charcoal 8118, caesars.com burgers. Whether you choose to go, you are bound to get some of the best burgers in the city. Multiple Locations, facebook.com/Buds- New Orleans Vampire Cafe is the favorite hangout for ghouls and goblins in the heart of Broiler-City-Park the French Quarter. Sink your fangs into their shrimp and grits, fried Chicken & Watermelon is one of the best deviled eggs, and even the places to get chicken wings in New Orleans. The Dracula Burger, which is restaurant’s goal is to serve quality meals at affordable prices. There are all kinds of delicious half beef and half brisket.

801 Royal St., 504-581wing flavors to choose from like Caribbean BBQ, 0801, nolavampirecafe.

Yaka-mein, and more. Multiple Locations, com boogiebird.com Common Interest, inside the Hotel Indigo, features delicious Southern cuisine with a New Orleans twist. Menu highlights include the Riverbend Griddled Butt'ah Burger and the Debris & Grits. The restaurant is a great option before a night in the French Quarter. 705 Common St., 504-595-5605 The Country Club is one of the Bywater’s best kept, and most elegant, treasures. Enjoy dishes like the black angus hamburger or the grilled Norwegian salmon. Make sure not to miss out on the restaurant’s weekend drag brunches. 634 Louisa St., 504-945-0742, thecountryclubneworleans.com Crescent City Steaks is Louisiana’s oldest family-owned steakhouse. Their New Orleansstyle steaks, which they sizzle in butter, are out of this world. Anything on their award-winning menu is fantastic, like the broiled lobster tail and shrimp cocktail. 1001 N. Broad St., 504-8213271, crescentcitysteaks.com Daisy Dukes’ motto is, “Nuttin’ fancy, just great Southern eatin’.” This attitude perfectly encapsulates the restaurant’s menu, which is full of simple, but great tasting Southern classics.

Particular favorites are the po-boys and the Blackened Alligator Platter. Multiple Locations, daisydukesrestaurant.com

Ernst Café has the distinction of being the oldest continually operating bar in the Warehouse District. The restaurant offers tasty dishes like jambalaya, gumbo, and all kinds of different sandwiches. Sip on craft cocktails like the Fulton 75 or the Ernst Cup. 600 S. Peters St., 504525-8544, ernstcafe.com Flamingo A-Go-Go is New Orleans’ go-to destination for outdoor day drinking. Snack on one or two of their tasty appetizers like the galic chicken parmesan bites or the pepperjack boudin

Peacock Room, located in the Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, has everything needed for a romantic night out. Pick on some elevated bar food like Crawtator Crushed Oysters and Cheewee Fries.

You can also sip on many craft cocktails such as the Sazerac. 501 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-5711818, peacockroomnola.com Stumpy's Hatchet House has the perfect combination for a fun evening out: food and hatchets. Practice your throwing arm at the different private throwing pits Stumpy’s offers.

Once you’ve worked up an appetite, grab some nachos or beer from their snack bar. 1200 Poydras St., 504-577-2937, stumpyshh. com/neworleansla Tracey’s Original Irish Channel Bar is a great place to hang out for St. Patrick’s Day. The bar has lots of different beer bottles on offer, so you’re bound to find your favorite there. Pair your beer with one of Tracey’s specialty po-boys. 2604 Magazine St., 504897-5413, traceysnola.com

Spudly’s Super Spuds is easily the best restaurant in the entire Greater New Orleans Area for baked potatoes. Anything from crawfish, chicken, chili, pepperoni, cauliflower, corned beef, and even veal is found in their potatoes. They also offer sandwiches. 2609 Harvard Ave., Metairie, 504-455-3250, spudlys. com

CAFE Caffe! Caffe! is known for having a friendly atmosphere and serving quick and tasty lunches. Some of the refreshing lunch dishes that you can enjoy include the Grilled Caesar Pita and even their very own muffuletta. Come in early to enjoy the café’s breakfast items. Multiple Locations, caffecaffe.com Carmo is a unique café and bar that blends flavors from the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and beyond. The café is great for vegan customers, offering selections like vegan ceviche and Burmese tea leaf salad.

They also offer delicious baked bread. 527 Julia St., 504-8754132, cafecarmo.com

The Steakhouse at Harrah’s pays tribute to the classic flavors of New Orleans while also offering unforgettable steaks. The restaurant has plenty of starters such as charred Gulf oysters and Louisiana BBQ shrimp. Pair your meal with any of their fantastic wines. 8 Canal St., 504-533-6111, caesars.com

The Ruby Slipper Cafe is noteworthy for their New Orleans twists on breakfast and brunch classics. Some of their amazing signature items include fried green tomatoes and Bananas Foster pain perdu. Start your morning off right with their award-winning Bloody Mary. Multiple Locations, therubyslippercafe.net

ASIAN

Asia is a great place to dig into when you’re Gattuso’s Neighborhood Restaurant is a go-to taking a break from the slots in Boomtown Casino. spot for tasty eats and great drinks in the heart The menu features many of Old Gretna. With a beautiful and spacious different classic Chinese courtyard, it’s the perfect place to take your dishes like szechuan beef entire family. Gattuso’s offers a ton of different and lo mein noodles. You sandwiches. 435 Huey P. Long Ave., Gretna, can also order a hot bowl 504-368-1114, gattusos.net of pho. 4132 Peters Rd., Harvey, 504-366-7711, House of Blues New Orleans has all of the boomtownneworleans.com drinks and live entertainment needed for a fun night out. You’ll definitely be satisfied after you Cho Thai serves some of the try the food from the House of Blues’ Southernbest Thai food you’ll find in New Orleans. Owned inspired menu. Make sure to get the shrimp

by Thailand native Chef Jimmy Cho, the menu, and grits. 225 Decatur St., 504-310-4999, which features classics like pad thai, pork laab, houseofblues.com/neworleans and short rib khao soi noodle soup, is authentic and delicious. 3218 Magazine St., 504-381Jimmy J’s Café is the funkiest place in New 4264, chothairestaurant.com Orleans for all day breakfast. Their Cochon Panini and Beignet Sticks are perfect for brunch or supper. They also offer weekly food and BARS WITH GREAT FOOD drink specials like fried green tomatoes and Irish coffee. 115 Chartres St., 504-309Bar Marilou is a stylish French-style bar that 9360, jimmyjscafe.com perfectly fits into the New Orleans drinking scene.

Relax and sip on Bar Marilou’s creative cocktails, Legacy Kitchen Craft Tavern is known best wine, or even their virgin cocktails. Enjoy a for its refined American cuisine and creatively selection of small plates such as seared scallops crafted cocktails. Their menu even has a few and foie gras. 544 Carondelet St., 504-814gluten-free options, such as the raw oysters.

7711, barmarilou.com The Honey Old Fashioned is particularly great for sipping. 700 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-613Curio is the best place in the French Quarter to 2350, legacykitchen.com experience Louisiana cuisine with a Creole twist.

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Order New Orleans favorites like the shrimp and grits or get creative with the crawfish cavatappi pasta. Choose from Curio’s many different wines and beers that they offer. 301 Royal St., 504717-4198, curionola.com

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Carreta's Grill bombers. Cool off with some of the bar’s on tap “flocktails.” 869 Magazine St., 504-577-2202, flamingonola.com

The Vintage is one of the best places on Magazine Street to grab a bite and people watch. Nibble on some of their traditional beignets or wrap your hands around their pressed sandwiches. If you don’t feel like getting coffee, sip on a glass of wine instead. 3121 Magazine St., 504-324-7144, thevintagenola.com

Willa Jean is the purest definition of “retro-chic.”

Not only does the café serve coffee and alcohol, Willa Jean’s has a number of different Southerninspired, breakfast items to enjoy. Pick up something from their biscuit station or bite into their avocado toast. 611 O’Keefe Ave., 504509-7334, willajean.com

The Jimani is a great late-night haunt for all things food, drinks, and sports. Not only do they have 100 different beers, they also make some great Chicago-style hot dogs. They also have some of the French Quarter’s strongest Jell-O shots. 141 Chartres St., 504-5240493, thejimani.com

FRENCH

Le Bon Temps Roule is where the good times roll in Uptown. Not only does this iconic New Orleans bar feature live music, it also hosts private parties. The bar is also featuring a menu of an array of hamburgers, sandwiches, and satisfying sides. 4801 Magazine St., 504-8973448, lbtrnola.com

Café Degas is New Orleans’ longest running French bistro—for good reason. Café Degas’ lunch and dinner menus contain classic French dishes like frog legs, scallops, escargots, quiche, and much more. They also have Belgian waffles on their Brunch menu. 3127 Esplanade Ave., 504-945-5635, cafedegas.com

WHERE Y'AT STAFF

AMERICAN

Mid City Pizza is New Orleans’ go-to establishment for quality pizzas. Pick from classic options or be daring and go for the more creative pizzas that are on offer such as the Shrimp Remoulade. You can also customize your own calzone or enjoy their wings and dips.

Multiple Locations, midcitypizza.com Mosca’s Restaurant is the best-known Italian restaurant in the Westbank and has been a favorite for over 60 years. All of Mosca’s entrée dishes are made-from-scratch and amazing. Go for their signature Oysters Mosca or the Chicken Cacciatore. 4137 US-90 W., Westwego, 504-436-8950, moscasrestaurant.com Nephew’s Ristorante has been serving authentic Sicilian dishes for many years.

The menu is large and filled with tasty entrees like eggplant parmigiana and grilled rosemary chicken. They also offer frog legs, stuffed shrimp, and soft-shell crabs. 4445 W. Metairie Ave., Metairie, 504-5339998, nephewsristorante.com Pascal’s Manale can accurately be considered a true New Orleans tradition. The restaurant’s biggest claim to fame is being the birthplace of the world-famous BBQ shrimp, prepared in the shell with a tangy and spicy sauce. They also have terrific steak dishes. 1838 Napoleon Ave., 504-895 4877, pascalsmanale.com

Red Gravy serves rustic Italian cuisine from recipes that have been passed down for generations. Some of Red Gravy’s small plates are unique like the arancini and zucchini fritters. The restaurant also does Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 4206 Magazine St., 504-561-8844, redgravycafe.com

MIDDLE EASTERN Lebanon’s Café has a reputation for being one of the top Middle Eastern restaurants in NOLA. You should expect to enjoy traditional Lebanese classics like tabouleh salad and much more. A perfect meal could be the chicken shawarma with baklava for dessert. 1500 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-862-6200, lebanonscafe.com

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3304 W Esplanade Ave. North Ste B-7 in Metairie 504.582.9553 @evolvecoffeenola evolvecoffeenola.com

715 St. Charles Ave. • 381-0045 Management@lechatnoirnola.com LeChatNoirNola.com • Resy

Saj offers creatively contemporary Middle Eastern classics that are tasty and appealing.

Consider getting one of their mashawi woodfire grilled items, such as their lamb chops. All of the lunch platters come with the restaurant’s namesake saj bread. 4126 Magazine St., 504-766-0049, sajnola.com Shaya is a James Beard Award winning restaurant serving modern Israeli cuisine right in scenic Uptown. Shaya’s amazing hummus is a must. Make sure to sip on some of their craft cocktails or quality wines imported straight from Israel and Lebanon. 4213 Magazine St., 504-891-4213, shayarestaurant.com

NEW ORLEANS CUISINE Annunciation has a really excellent wine selection that goes great with any of the restaurant’s modern Creole and Southern dishes. Enjoy a number of upscale entrees like roasted duck. If you’re with your date, consider ordering pommes frites as an appetizer. 1016 Annunciation St., 504-5680245, annunciationrestaurant.com Cafe 615 (Home of Da Wabbit) is Gretna’s favorite restaurant for fantastic Creole food.

All of Da Wabbit’s lunch specials are out of this world. They also have one of the best fried chicken plates you’ll find in the Greater New Orleans area. 615 Kepler St., Gretna, 504365-1225, cafe615.com Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop is truly NOLA’s one-stop-shop for great gumbo. You can get your gumbo with fried catfish, fried oysters, crabmeat, and so much more. Make sure to order some tasty sides such as cheesy mac and potato salad. 2309 N. Causeway Blvd., 504835-2022, gumbostop.com Crescent City Brewhouse is unique in that it

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Tommy’s Cuisine is where you need to be if you’re craving quality Creole Italian cuisine in the Warehouse District. Expect amazing pasta dishes like baked lasagna and fettuccini alfredo.

Wash down all of Tommy’s delicious dishes with

Felipe’s Mexican Taqueria is home to some of the best margaritas and tacos in town, all offered with friendly service at an affordable price. If you want great tacos, choose from either the Mexico City Tacos, Baja Style, or the Gringos Tacos. Multiple Locations, felipestaqueria.com

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Tavolino Pizza & Lounge is definitely worth crossing the Crescent City Connection or taking the ferry to the Westbank. Located in picturesque Algiers Point, Tavolino specializes in thin crust pizzas like the Behrman Hwy and That’s a Spicy Meatball. 141 Delaronde St., Algiers, 504-605-3365, tavolinonola.com

Carreta’s Grill offers some of the highest quality Mexican dishes in the Crescent City.

Carreta’s Chicken Fajitas, the Chimichanga Dinner, and the Tamales Locos are some of the best items on the menu. They even offer authentic traditional dishes such as carne asada and carnitas. Multiple Locations, carretasgrillrestaurant.com

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Pizza Domenica is the best place to be in order to enjoy Italian classics in a lively atmosphere. All of their specialty gourmet pizzas are amazing and cooked in a custommade oven. Start off with the garlic knots and finish up with the lemon pound cake.

Multiple Locations, pizzadomenica.com

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Josephine Estelle focuses on seasonal ingredients that help blend classic Italian recipes with Southern flavors. Come and enjoy this interesting mix at any time of day. The seared scallops and the 48-hour braised beef short ribs are absolutely to die for. 600 Carondelet St., 504-9303070, josephineestelle.com

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Domenica, located in the Roosevelt Hotel, has a menu that is firmly rooted in Italian traditions. They have amazing handmade pastas and Napolitano style pizzas. Compliment your meal with an Italian wine or a seasonal craft cocktail. 123 Baronne St., 504-6486020, domenicarestaurant.com

Venezia specializes in home-style Italian cooking with a New Orleans flair. They have pizzas that are cooked in an original stone oven, as well other authentic cuisine such as chicken marsala. The restaurant is also a short walk from Angelo Brocato. 134 N. Carrollton Ave., 504-488-7991, venezianeworleans. net

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The Crazy Italian Pizzeria has everything one would love in a classic pizzeria. Not only do they serve authentic New York style pizza, they also have delicious pasta and paninis. Make sure to also order their delicious cannoli. 206 W. Harrison Ave., 504-7667914, thecrazyitalianpizzeria.com

a glass of champagne. 746 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-581-1103, tommyscuisine.com

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RESTAURANT GUIDE provides quality craft beers right in the French Quarter. Order a flight to enjoy samples of their pilsner, wheat beer, and other brews. Make sure to slurp down a dozen of their Louisiana raw oysters too. 527 Decatur St., 504-522-0571, crescentcitybrewhouse.com Evangeline is one of the French Quarter’s finest restaurants. New Orleans classics like gumbo and etouffee are all offered on the menu. If you go for weekend brunch, you’ll find interesting dishes like fried alligator and waffles and crab cake benedict. 329 Decatur St., 504373-4852, evangelineneworleans.com Houmas House & Gardens contains three different restaurants that cater to your specific tastes and price range. Visit The Carriage House and enjoy some Louisiana ribs or turtle soup.

Or maybe you want to be fancy and visit Latil’s Landing? 401336 LA-942, Darrow, 225-4739380, houmashouse.com Le Chat Noir is a brand-new New Orleans restaurant looking to make a splash. The restaurant will have you dancing with its many different drink selections. Whether you order an entrée or something from their oyster bar, you will be satisfied. 715 St. Charles Ave., 504-381-0045, lechatnoirnola.com

for their weekly specials and consider heading over for Sunday brunch. 3332 Bienville St., 504-827-5474, neyows.com Neyow’s XL offers more Neyow’s flavors in a more fine dining atmosphere. Some of the restaurant’s authentic Creole dishes include corn and crab bisque and jumbo crab cakes.

Consider ordering the XL Hurricane, which is seven shots of Captain Morgan with different fruit juices. 3336 Bienville St., 504-5031081, xl.neyows.com Nice Guys Bar & Grill truly serves up quality that you can taste. There are a ton of different dishes on Nice Guys’ menu that offer creative spins on classic cuisine. Try the Drunkin’ Wings coated with alcohol infused sauces. 7910 Earhart Blvd., 504-302-2404, niceguysbarandgrillnola.com Orleans Grapevine Wine Bar & Bistro offers an intimate atmosphere that is perfect for a

the best in the city. Compliment that chicken with a multitude of different sides. Multiple Locations, 504-822-9503, williemaesnola. com

SEAFOOD Bon Temps Boulet Seafood has a passion for not only boiled seafood, but also mouthwatering BBQ. For something absolutely amazing, order the 16-Hour Wagyu Brisket Po-boy, which comes with your choice of caviar ranch or horseradish sauce. 4701 Airline Dr., Metairie, 504-885-5003, bontempsboulets.com Briquette is known for providing contemporary coastal cuisine in the French Quarter. The restaurant’s main attraction is their 18-foot seafood display of fresh fish. Enjoy from a wide selection of dishes like the caramelized sea scallops. 701 S. Peters St., 504-3027496, briquette-nola.com Casamento’s Restaurant has been serving some of the best New Orleans style seafood since 1919. Known best for their oysters, other fabulous menu items include crab claws and fried catfish. The restaurant has been featured on numerous different TV shows. 4330 Magazine St., 504-895-9761, casamentosrestaurant.com

Luke is a Creole-inspired brasserie that pays homage to restaurants that one would find in France and Germany. The restaurant’s raw bar offers some of the freshest Gulf seafood and oysters around. Enjoy the mussels with fries or the pork schnitzel. 333 St. Charles Ave., 504-378-2840, lukeneworleans. com

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Cafe 615 (Home of Da Wabbit)

Melba’s Poboys offers much more than just delicious po-boys! There are many different entrée plates to choose from such as shrimp and grits and the most affordable boiled crawfish in town. Melba’s also offers a lot of sides like gumbo and baked macaroni. 1525 Elysian Fields Ave., 504267-7765, melbas.com

date night. Double-cut pork chop is one of the wonderful dishes on offer. The restaurant has one of the largest bottled wine selections in the French Quarter. 720 Orleans Ave., 504-5231930, orleansgrapevine.com

Mother’s Restaurant not only has the best baked ham in the world, but also some of the best red beans and rice in the Big Easy. They also have all day breakfast, so make sure to enjoy the crawfish etouffee omelet and the shrimp creole omelet. 401 Poydras St., 504523-9656, mothersrestaurant.net

Please U Restaurant will surely leave you pleased after you try some of their delicious food. The restaurant’s po-boy selection is absolutely massive with choices like chicken fried steak and so much more. They also offer all day breakfast. 1751 St. Charles Ave., 504525-9131, pleaseunola.com

MRB Bar & Kitchen is a laid-backed bar that really makes you feel right at home. Along with their oysters, MRB’s Jumbo Chicken Wings with your choice of sauce are excellent. Their happy hour is round the clock, so make sure to enjoy their frozen daiquiris. 515 St. Philip St., 504524-2558, mrbnola.com

Restaurant August offers contemporary Creole cuisine in a beautiful 19th century French-Creole building. The menu is very fancy, so expect elevated fare like torchon of foie gras, poached lobster ravioli, and scallop almandine.

301 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-299-9777, restaurantaugust.com

New Orleans Creole Cookery offers one of the most beautiful spaces, both inside and outdoors, in the entire French Quarter. Consider ordering the massive Seafood Tower. This dish comes with crab maison, shrimp cocktail, and shrimp remoulade. 510 Toulouse St., 504524-9632, neworleanscreolecookery.com

Short Stop Poboys has been dishing out tasty po-boys in Metairie since 1966. The restaurant has over 30 po-boys that customers can decide from. All of these po-boys come with your choice of a side from potato chips or even gumbo. 119 Transcontinental Dr., Metairie 504-885-4572, shortstoppoboysno.com

Neyow’s Creole Café is an informal spot that is known best for its Creole-inspired dishes. Go for some of their NOLA classics such as chargrilled oysters and BBQ shrimp. Keep an eye out

Willie Mae’s Scotch House has been going strong with its New Orleans fried chicken since 1957. Whether you get it fried, baked, or in a sandwich, Willie Mae’s chicken is some of

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The Galley Seafood is more than just a great local seafood restaurant. A number of different appetizers are available for your whole party to enjoy. Try some of the house specials like panned veal and white beans and rice.

2535 Metairie Rd., Metairie, 504-8320955, thegalleyseafood.net Legacy Kitchen’s Tacklebox not only has a great oyster bar, but also provides quality Southern comfort food. Order the NOLA Classic Trio, which is gumbo, jambalaya, and red beans and rice. They also offer a daily brunch with items such as a Bananas Foster Waffle. 817 Common St., 504-827-1651, legacykitchen. com Seaworthy is the perfect place to relax and enjoy quality, hand-crafted cocktails with fresh oysters. Mussels, crabmeat dip, and fried Gulf shrimp are just a few of the dishes on offer.

Make sure to also get the banana bread pudding for dessert. 630 Carondelet St., 504-9303071, seaworthynola.com Spahr’s Seafood serves some of the most authentic Cajun and Creole cuisine in all of Louisiana. You’ll find catfish, crab, shrimp, oysters, and crawfish on the menu. Try the Swamp Platter, which comes with alligator sausage, duck strips, and crawfish pies.

Multiple Locations, spahrsseafood.com Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco will make you feel like you’ve been transported to the beautiful cities of Lima or Cusco. All of their Peruvian specialties are amazing, especially the ceviches.

Try their classic pisco sour or one of the many different beers. 5015 Magazine St., 504-2677612, titoscevichepisco.com

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Mandina’s Restaurant is a New Orleans favorite for both Italian classics and sumptuous seafood. Go for a special occasion and get the filet mignon. You can also order shrimp remoulade, crab fingers in wine sauce, and Gulf fish amandine with fries. 3800 Canal St., 504-4829179, mandinasrestaurant.com

Felix’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar has been a true French Quarter staple for more than 70 years. Their oysters are the restaurant’s main draw, but Felix’s also has delicious turtle soup and more. Their Lakefront, Gulfport, and Mandeville locations also feature live music every week. Multiple Locations, felixs.com

Bar Guide Alto (Ace Hotel) 600 Carondelet St. 504-900-1180 Banks Street Bar 4401 Banks St. 504-486-0258 Bar Marilou 544 Carondelet St. 504-814-7711

Drink Food Specials

Fillmore New Orleans 6 Canal St. 504-881-1555 House of Blues 225 Decatur St. 504-310-4999

Not only is the live entertainment at House of Blues great, the Southern-inspired food and refreshing drinks are fantastic as well! You can enjoy plenty of different beer and cocktails.

Jazz Daiquiris 3400 S. Claiborne Ave., # A 504-899-8761

Jazz Daiquiris & Lounge’s claim to fame are their specialty daiquiris. Choose from a variety of flavors like Pina Colada, Jungle Juice, Blue Magic, Triple Threat, and more.

Jimani 141 Chartres St. 504-524-0493

If you want to see all of the hottest sports action, then you need to go the Jimani. A New Orleans favorite for over 40 years, the bar has over 100 beers that you can choose from!

Lots A Luck Tavern was recently voted as the #1 spot for bar games in New Orleans by Where Y’at Magazine’s readers. Try your hand at mini golf or cornhole or sip a refreshing drink at their outdoor seating area.

If you’d like to see the next Saints or LSU game on over 30 flat screens, then you have to go to Manning’s Sports Bar. Get into a local sports mood by ordering the Manning’s Mardi Gras Punch.

Martine’s provides a very friendly and comfortable atmosphere in Old Metairie. Not only is there darts and video poker, they serve up great wines, tasty cocktails, and a large selection of beer.

Located in Generations Hall, the Metropolitan is a great venue option for anyone looking to party the night away. The space offers two-stories filled with dance floors, spaces for DJs, and multiple bars.

Pal’s Lounge is the perfect place to be if you feel like having a drink at “witching hour.” Stay awake with their house cocktails, beers, and many other different kinds of brews.

Down the Hatch 1921 Sophie Wright Pl. 504-522-0909 Evangeline 329 Decatur St. 504-373-4852

Lots A Luck Tavern 203 Homedale St. 504-483-0978 Manning’s 519 Fulton St. 504-593-8118 Martine’s Lounge 2347 Metairie Rd. 504-831-8637 The Metropolitan 310 Andrew Higgins Blvd.

504-568-1702, Pal’s Lounge 949 N. Rendon St. 504-488-7257 Peacock Room 501 Tchoupitoulas St. 504-324-3073 The Pelican Bar (Sheraton) 500 Canal St. 504-525-2500

Offering an elevated cocktail bar experience, The Peacock Room’s large drink menu has anything you could want.

Perhaps you’d like one of the “Old Birds” like a Sazerac or the Washouko Mary.

You’ll get a real taste of New Orleans charm while sipping on the Pelican Bar’s specialty cocktails. Grab a bite to eat and make sure to order some red, white, or sparkling wines.

Not only does the Pool Club offer great views of the city, you can also relax in their pool or jam to the sounds provided by their resident DJ. Grab an umbrella drink and enjoy!

This eclectic venue has all of the amenities needed for a The Rabbit Hole perfect night out. Listen to brass bands and electronic DJs at 1228 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

The Rabbit Hole's downstairs bar and stage or get some fresh 504-354-9709 air at their outdoor stage area.

Rendon Inn has been providing the food, drinks, and good Rendon Inn company in Mid-City for over 85 years. Grab some food while 4501 Eve St. enjoying different domestic and draft beers, as well as wine 504-218-7106 and specialty drinks.

The Pool Club 550 Baronne St. 833-791-7700

Royal Frenchmen Hotel 700 Frenchmen St., #1614 504-619-9660

This award-winning bar in the Royal Frenchmen Hotel has a stylish ambiance, live entertainment, and a beautiful courtyard.

The delicious specialty cocktails are truly amazing.

Stumpy’s Hatchet House 1200 Poydras St., Suite C 504-577-2937

Stumpy’s is the best place in NOLA to try your hand at throwing a hatchet. After you work up a sweat, you can grab some food and drinks while there. Have a day out with your friends!

Tracey’s is a fantastic place to hang out at and not just for St. Patrick’s Day! Their extensive beer catalog includes hundreds of different bottles and six draught taps.

Tracey’s Irish Channel Bar 2604 Magazine St. 504-897-5413 Tropical Isle Multiple Locations 504-523-1927

Live Music

crescent city

Billards

brewhouse

Alto offers truly great views of New Orleans. After you’re done chilling in the rooftop pool, order yourself some thirst-quenching cocktails like the Paloma or the Great Ulysses.

Banks Street Bar is a true neighborhood bar in Mid-City.

While enjoying their beer, chow down on the different traditional Louisiana dishes that they provide like po-boys, gumbo, and oysters.

Not only is Bar Marilou very trendy, the food and drinks on offer are fantastic. There are all kinds of drinks to choose from, such as the Jardin De Mémé and the Heloïse.

Providing an upscale experience, Blue Ruin offers beers on tap, craft cocktails, and a great wine list, as well as seasonal craft cocktail and martini menus. Happy hour is on Mondays through Thursdays.

This bar and grill is a special spot in the Garden District for delicious and reasonably priced food and drinks. The Hell’s Kitchen Wings are delicious, as well as the many different starters, sandwiches, and burgers.

Evangeline’s courtyard is perfect for sipping on some of the locally craft beers they offer. The Rum Punch and Strawberry Blonde cocktails are also fruity and delicious.

Happy hour is from 3 to 6 p.m. daily.

The Fillmore prides itself in providing legendary experiences to its patrons. Not only is it the perfect setting for live entertainment, the creative food, signature cocktails, and craft beer are all great.

Blue Ruin Speakeasy 3224 Metairie Rd. 504-835-3335

Dancing

Tropical Isle helps make Bourbon Street so internationally famous. Everyone knows that if you go to Tropical Isle, you gotta get a Hand Grenade, aka New Orleans’ "most powerful drink."

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Anthony Mackie in "The Hurt Locker"

THREE CHEERS FOR THE OSCARS and The Locals Who Attended Them

By Jeff Boudreaux

Sure, I still have sort of a bad taste in my mouth for the fact that the amazing and exceedingly-original blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home did not garner a best picture nomination out of 10 movies, even though remakes of Dune, Nightmare Alley, and West Side Story did. Understandably, there arose a significant amount of backlash, and the esteemed Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to create a popular film category this year that absolutely no one cares about (except for fans of Amazon Prime’s Cinderella apparently). Still my love for The Oscars is an unconditional one. I mean, you wouldn’t disown your child just because they may prefer Twilight over Nosferatu. Am I right?

Yes, this was a special time of the year…which is why the historic Prytania Theater has always opened its doors for over a decade on Oscar night, allowing New Orleans residents to celebrate this awards show of shows in front of a big screen. I count myself fortunate to attend another awesome Oscar party every year

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Patricia Clarkson in "Pieces of April"

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: LIONSGATE; MGM/TEDDY MAKI; ABC

Oscar season is just wrapping up, and for film fanatics in New Orleans (and around the country), this can best be described as our Super Bowl.

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as Houma’s own (then) 9-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis was nominated for Best Actress as Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild. All at once, she made history as the youngest actress to ever be nominated for an Oscar, as well as the only person born after 2000 to be nominated for any of the show’s awards. The film also drew nominations for Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay, but netted zero wins. I think I can speak for all of Louisiana I say that our hearts 9-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis nominated when were broken when this for "Beasts of the Southern Wild" adorable, groundbreaking

that hadn’t yet conceded its crown to the state of Georgia.

Fast forward to 2021, long after the demise of Hollywood South and embroiled in the middle of a pandemic that we all can’t wait to forget, it was with great fortitude and determination that our Oscar party moved into a larger space. Peace of mind equals better times had for all, and there was no better time than this to celebrate two local musicians who were in competition for Best Original Score: Metairie’s own Grammy-nominated Jon Batiste (w/ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) for Soul and NOLA trumpeter Terence Blanchard for Da 5 Bloods. Batiste and company took home the bronze, and we rejoiced. Could Best Documentary

Facing off with the "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

In Disney's "Soul," aspiring jazz musician Joe Gardner channels Jon Baptiste…

accentuated by the added attraction of being able to root for a local nominee on the annual ballot, not unlike a favorite sports team playing in a home game.

Sadly, there were no nominees with local ties on this year’s show, but it still seems like fun to look back at the times when we could pin our hopes on a hometown favorite to win on Oscar night.

Back in 2003, several years before the big parties, I recall my unwavering, solitary support for Patricia Clarkson in her emotionally-driven performance as Joy, the cancer-stricken mother of Katie Holmes’ title character in the now-perennial Thanksgiving favorite Pieces of April. Maybe it was because my own mother’s name is Joy and some aspects of the movie hit close to home, but it was my wish for the night that Clarkson would bring that gold-plated, bronze statuette back to New Orleans.

Interestingly, besides being born and raised in New Orleans, Clarkson’s ties to the city famously include her reallife mother (Jackie), whom residents will remember for her longtime seat on the New Orleans City Council. It wasn’t to be, however, as Clarkson’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar hopes were dashed when Renee Zellweger’s colorful portrayal of a tomboyish frontierswoman in Cold Mountain garnered the award.

The Oscar parties, however, were in full effect nearly 10 years later

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talent lost out to Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook, but I can’t say that it came as a surprise to anyone. The next year, 2014, was different as 12 Years a Slave was awarded the Oscar for Best Picture, a tremendous achievement for a sizzling Louisiana film industry

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Jon Batiste has "Soul"

Feature be awarded to Sundance-winner Garrett Bradley who lives and works in New Orleans?! We pulled hard for Time, but she just couldn’t stand up to the arms of My Octopus Teacher.

Of course, last year’s telecast became particularly memorable when one of New Orleans’ favorite sons—the incomparable Tyler Perry—became a much-deserved recipient of the prestigious Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award due to his efforts to create a safe work environment for film industry workers during the pandemic, as well as his dedication to social justice issues. He joined a long line of actors whom the Academy has recognized for their contributions to the betterment of the lives of others, a list which includes

such heavyweight names as Audrey Hepburn, Bob Hope, Quincy Jones, Jerry Lewis, and Elizabeth Taylor.

As we finish up the 94th edition of this memorable gala, and after #OscarsSoWhite and the Academy’s long-awaited efforts to diversify the nomination …and has to be a soul to find process, it came some soul in his music. as a surprise to me that the Crescent City’s own movie superhero—Anthony Mackie—has never been nominated for an Oscar, even though he’s appeared in Oscar-nominated films and has racked up accolades from dozens of other awards shows. Which is probably the best opportunity for me to relate the story of how I screamed like a banshee when Mackie’s film The Hurt Locker was awarded the Oscar for Best Picture in 2008 over Avatar, at that time the highestgrossing film in history. Trust me, Avatar is no groundbreaking, original film along the lines of Spider-Man: No Way Home, but quite simply a sci-fi remake of Dances with Wolves. Change my mind.

COUNTER-CLOCKWISE FROM FROM TOP LEFT: FOX SEARCHLIGHTS PICTURES (2); NEIL GR ABOWSKY / MONTCLAIR FILM ; DISNEY (2)

where there’s a potluck dinner and the libations flow. Although this merry ritual can most certainly be traced back to friends arguing over what the year’s truly best film was, it has, at times, been

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FILM REVIEWS

The Outfit

S

movie fan, a movie critic, and a fan of the theatrical experience, one of my bigger frustrations is that people often make that complaint then don't go to theaters when Hollywood

releases exactly the kind of film they claim it no longer releases. Hopefully, people looking for original, adultcentered fare will go see the new thriller The Outfit.

Mark Rylance plays Leonard, a British immigrant making stylish suits in 1950s Chicago with the help of his young assistant Mabel (Zoey Deutch). His workplace also functions as a message drop for the local Irish mob. When the son (Dylan O'Brien) of the mob boss (Simon Russell Beale) arrives one night with an emergency wound they want sewn up, it leads to an escalating series of problems that put Leonard and Mabel's lives in danger.

That's as far as this plot summary will go because for this movie, it's more fun to go watch it knowing less about where the story is headed. The script, by director Graham Moore and Johnathan McClain, keeps the plot zipping along nicely. Rylance is good playing a man with a kindly demeanor but with enough going on behind his eyes to make viewers believe he's capable of shrewdness and deception.

It's a fairly slow March for theatrical releases, so be sure to check out The Outfit at a local theater.

FOCUS FEATURES

By Fritz Esker

ome people say that Hollywood only makes franchise/ superhero movies and has given up making original genre fare targeted to adults. However, as a

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Spring Festivals | Where Y'at Magazine

X

By David Vicari

H

alfway through the horror movie X, there is an excellent jump scare. It's extremely well-timed, but the main reason it works as well as it does is because writer/director Ti West (The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers) has successfully pulled us into this story and its characters. X is a very unsettling slow-burn, but it is also wickedly funny, at times.

It is 1979 and a group of young filmmakers are making a porno in a rural part of Texas. To shoot their epic, they rent a barn on the property of a odd, elderly couple.

Needless to say, like most slasher films, there is sex and a body count.

Only, X is a smarter slasher because it includes a meditation on loneliness and being unloved. Don't worry,

though, there's plenty of blood and gore, courtesy of the New Zealand based Weta Workshop. Yes, the movie was shot in New Zealand, convincingly standing in for Texas.

The cast is very good, including Mia Goth who plays both the final girl, Maxine, and the creepy old woman, Pearl. Unlike the recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre rehash on Netflix, the characters here are likable. Sure, they are flawed people, but I cared about the adult film stars (Brittany Snow, Scott Mescudi AKA Kid Cudi) and the filmmakers (Martin Henderson, Owen Campbell and Scream 5's Jenna Ortega) and didn't want them to die.

X is West's ode to 1970s horror movies.

You'll see fun nods to Tobe Hooper's films The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Eaten Alive (1976), as well as Brian De Palma's Carrie (1976), and any Lucio Fulci film where there is a hearty eye gouging.

When you go and see X, be sure to stay after the end credits to see the hilarious trailer for the prequel, Pearl.

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TALES FROM THE QUARTER

By Debbie Lindsey

We Call This Home

I

t all began in 1989. To be precise, it was a lovely Saturday at 12:25 in the afternoon of April 1. Yes, that’s right, April Fool’s Day. But there was nothing foolish about moving to New Orleans. My birth city was never fully my home. Sure, I was born in Mobile and lived there for 34 years and certainly have no regrets for the friends (stellar friends) that have remained true and dear to me or for the various neighborhoods, jobs, and experiences that shaped me in that town—but I never truly identified with Mobile. And on some level I suspect my parents may have felt the same. They introduced me to New Orleans from the time I was quite young with day trips to this exotic and strange town. And I am forever grateful.

So you could say this is my annual Happy Anniversary card to New Orleans and me. I also want this missive to act as a thank you to all the newbies, transplants, “new” New Orleanians. On this page, not too long ago, I did a mea culpa for briefly feeling usurped by new residents, especially the younger of our neighbors who moved here in recent years. I suspect I was feeling insecure about my age and their youth—intimidated, if you will, by their youth which I no longer embody. It

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was hypocritical of me to diminish their value to our city—I was (in my opinion) an asset to this community when I first moved here and it took me a minute to remind myself that our young citizens deserve the same credit (perhaps even more) and praise for all that they contribute to our community. My earlier apology for doubting the wealth of enthusiasm new folks bring to us was short; now I wish to thank you for moving here.

To those here on vacation and considering a move here, I can’t stress enough the need to know what you are getting into if you plan to relocate to New Orleans. She ain’t easy. She is a hard place to live more times than not. I feel this city has gotten tougher to navigate, literally and figuratively, and the cost of living has soared. I was recently laughing with a neighbor about the war zone look of our neighborhood (note: one of the better and more popular niches) due to the inept and shamefully dysfunctional street/ infrastructure demolition, and my neighbor firmly told me this is not funny, we should not accept it, and that when rents were affordable you could overlook stuff—but not now. He was so right. Of course, he and I both agreed that our spirit of wry

TAMICA LEE

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humor is what gets this city through much. But our sense of humor must go hand in hand with a commitment to hold the powers-that-be accountable.

If you choose this place to be your home, do so with eyes wide open and an expansive heart, a heart willing to love her through thick and thin, good and bad. You have to love New Orleans so much or you will go running back to that ordinary town you came from. For me to remain in love with her and not feel like a victim in an abusive relationship, I think of New Orleans as that grand old house, an architectural beauty, filled with history, culture, and a soul that, through no fault of her own, is subject to the indifferences of a slum lord. While I commend many of our leaders and daily I sing the praises of our local journalists that hold feet-to-fire, I feel for the most part that corruption and ineptness have exploited my New Orleans and her people. It seems that too many of our services and contracts are out-sourced (lacking local over-sight, control) and a malaise of “f**k it” dominates. So what is my advice? Participate. Vote, volunteer, and take it personal.

I realize now (with apologizes in hand) that my momentary forgot-what-it’slike–to-be-young was what gave me my unsubstantiated pause when so many young folks flocked here after Katrina.

However, I did have a legitimate concern about gentrification. Yet I am delighted to have had the pleasure of meeting and being befriended by new residents that are standing up to gentrification and actually helping to infuse our culture and

SEFENECH HENOK

funk with vitality and creativity. They are like a fresh coat of paint. This past Mardi Gras was a definite reminder of the wealth of artistry and verve that the new foot parades, second lines, and carnival groups have offered. Fortunately, the Bubba/beer/bare your breast for beads type tourists are seldom among the new recruits our city attracts for the difficult job of living here and carrying on the task of funkin’ it up (far from f**kin’ it up). Yet there are those not interested in contributing to the funk—the opportunists who, be they new or native, are more interested in buying and flipping her homes and land. The corporate entities (sure, some are good and responsible) that suck the soul out of that once holistic wholesome food store or generational family-owned restaurant. But if we, newly minted locals and born-at-Charity folks, pool our creative resources, we can protect New Orleans.

It has been a privilege to call this place home. And I do not take lightly the responsibilities that go along with ownership. Ownership needn’t involve your name on a title deed or possession of stock shares—it is a state of mind, an attitude. I tell brand new inhabitants, “You are now a New Orleanian, a local, regardless of how new you are or even if you’re a short-term Tulane student—own it, be a part of it. This is your home now, and hopefully she will work her magic on you and you’ll choose to never leave.

Regardless, feel a proprietary purpose here. We need you fully engaged. New Orleans needs your love.”

PO-BOY VIEWS

By Phil LaMancusa

Crater New Orleans or Knockers Up

F

estival season, as well as the festivals themselves, inherently is about celebrating, on specific occasions, the uniqueness of cultural formalities, fantasies, and values. Whatever they may be. For me, as a New Orleanian, Jazz and Heritage immediately come to mind. Ours is a city of jazz and heritage, among other things, and we have given ourselves permission to hold a celebration for both jazz and heritage.

However, I now offer up other things that New Orleans is a city of and recommend new festivals for them: potholes, civil disobedience, our relationship, not to these United States, but as being a northern Caribbean enclave, and voting. I’ll be both brief and expansive.

First up: uncivil disobedience.

Insulting civic behavior, including crime and other inconsiderations, I believe starts with littering. Our WTF attitude has its roots in our pervasive DGAF (Don’t Give A F**k) mentality. It starts with the total disregard for our environment and leads to a disregard for other people’s safety and property. Does this mean that littering is a gateway mentality?

Does leaving used diapers in a public street, candy wrappers, dog s**t, to-go containers, cigarette butts, and honkers of phlegm indicate an untrustworthy person (as well as a bad example to our youngsters)? There

are body fluids, waste water, oil leaks, and paint brushes being cleaned into our storm drains to consider. Where does that behavior start? Trash being deposited by the side of our roadways (WTF or DGAF)? Can we consider public urination a form of body function litter?

Where does it end? You tell me. I say the mentality of someone who is callous to their environment is indifferent to our collective well-being, and their mama shoulda raised them better but didn’t. Enough said, let’s move on to potholes.

I believe that there are more potholes in New Orleans than injury lawyers, and that says a lot. There are more grinds and bumps than a male stripper at a bachelorette party, and there are more unfinished and abandoned construction sites than advertisements for remedies that (side effects that can kill you) you’re told to ask your doctor about prescribing.

First there’s the modified speed bumps that bida-bump bida-bump your car about three or four times a block; you’ve kinda gotten used to them. Then there’s the hip shaker/spinal crackers that you hit by surprise when your body jerks up and down and your pelvis shakes from side to side. Then there’s the block on your route that, if someone in the back seat had a guitar, the music would

come out like a Led Zeppelin flamenco recital. And then there’s the unexpected hole that had your neck jerking and your teeth slamming, bridgework scrambling, like a Code Blue shocker slammer. I witness them all almost daily.

There are those abandoned construction sites that the city gets to scatter about that say, “Alright, I’m done destroying this street.

Let’s move over to the next block and let the next crew (that never comes) put it back together.” There’s that corner that has had a bed of gravel swamp in it for months. There are those “workers ahead” signs that show no sign of workers except for the sudden dips and exposed manholes that worry the underbelly of your vehicle. Have you ridden the “waves” on major streets that can have you airborne if you’re not on the lookout? The sudden rise of a small hill that can take out your rear axle if you’re going the speed limit?

There are two streets over from where you live that have been torn up, band-aided, torn up, graveled, and then treated to with enough heavy equipment to invade a third world country that all takes forever to fix while residents on that block are forced to find alternative parking spots (like in front of your house), all the while there are 12 people on site (two to work and 10 to stand around and supervise).

Have you not seen the leaking water systems that continually pool water and that yahoo that decides to speed up and cause a wave that blinds the car behind them?

I set aside money each year to replace the shock absorbers in my ride, as well as my tires and things call “ball joints, racks, pinions, and doomaflatchies.” The wear and

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tear on my car gives rise to squeaks and tremors and little noises like bird chirps and muffler squirrel growls, and I want to get a bumper sticker that says “It’s Not My Fault.”

The city’s ground level is wrinkling like Robert Redford and the Queen of England, with a lot less money. And why can’t we finish one road project before we begin another?

“Well because we are a Third World country,” you say. Ya think? Let’s examine that. Things we've gotten used to over the centuries: fragile (if not crippled) infrastructure, nepotism, corruption, poverty, crime, and lack of social services. Correct my misinformation please. We taught the country to drink 24/7, we are governed by the Napoleonic Code, and we encourage hedonistic behavior. The City that Care Forgot has forgotten how to care, and so, yes, our streets are a mess. So are our sidewalks, our public transportation is a joke, recycling is a distant memory, and a good percentage of our population lives below the poverty level.

We breed scofflaws and our public education system struggles to reach our young. We live with Third World dysfunction at First World prices (willingly).

But wait, as with Pandora’s Box, we have hope. There are still people that get our funk and flavor moving here that hopefully will not put up with this folly. We’re still down 100,000 residents since Katrina (Informed Sources, WYES) and spaces are now being filled in. These new voices also vote and we’re seeing new progressive leaders taking control (and being held accountable), leaders that want to preserve, protect, and advance.

Remember that this election cycle, your voice counts—Use it.

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WHERE Y'BEEN

OUT & & ABOUT ABOUT WITH WITH OUT

GREASING OF THE POLES AT THE ROYAL SONESTA HOTEL

ST. PATRICK’S DAY AT TRACEY’S

BACCHUS BASH AT GENERATIONS HALL

TEAM GLEASON GAME CHANGER GALA VIP PRE-PARTY 46

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