We returned today with friends to get dim sum at Panda King in Gretna. This was my third visit. The thing about dim sum is that being little dishes, you want to taste a little of everything. But once you have been once or twice, there are some dishes you simply MUST HAVE at each [...]
It’s that time of year in New Orleans: CARNIVAL TIME! And with carnival (yes, I call the season “Carnival,” and the final day of the season only “Mardi Gras.” My Maw Maw taught me right, after all. But I digress…) comes KING CAKE! I am a purist and do NOT eat king cake out of [...]
Every time I go to Galatoire’s, I find it hard to resist their turtle soup. My last bowl of it got me thinking about making it at home. So after talking it over with Pontchartain Pete, we decided to take it on. Historically, turtle soup gained popularity with the European explorations of the West Indies, [...]
During today’s Saints/Bears game, Seymour D. Fair tweeted the following: “Katrina sign behind me. #saints #whodat” and linked to this pic: And Saints fans far and wide came down like a ton of bricks about the insensitivity of Chicago Bears fans. Until it was astutely pointed out that this sign is pro-Saints. Note the black [...]
I got the idea about a month ago to cook Gumbo Z’Herbes, green gumbo, following Leah Chase’s recipe. But about as quickly as that thought popped into my head, I thought it even better to have Chef Chase make it for me herself. I made such a comment on Facebook, and Native Palate immediately jumped [...]
We headed to the St. Joseph altars today. My mother-in-law, exiled in Arizona, had asked that I get her a new St. Joseph’s medal since she lost hers in her move out of Ohio. That was excuse enough for us. We visited three: St. Louis Cathedral (and joined the crowd for the meal prepared for [...]
I learned about the existence of the book “Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans” by seeing it on a side table in a co-worker’s office. Then, before I could register it in the frontal lobe of my brain, I attended the Jefferson Parish Library’s king cake party whereby several local authors were there signing books. [...]
I picked up George Washington Cable’s “Old Creole Days” at the last book sale of the Friends of Jefferson Parish Library. I paid $12 for a hardcover-missing-its-dust-jacket 1943 printing by the Limited Editions Club, Inc. of Cable’s late-1800s stories. This is quite the gem. It was worth the $12 just for the two introductions, one [...]
I’ve just finished reading “New Orleans Noir.” It’s a collection of short stories set in New Orleans, pre-Katrina, post-Katrina and even in between. I tend not to like short stories; I prefer long, epic tales with lots of character development. Notwithstanding, I am addicted to all books NOLA-related and had to give this one a fair shake. [...]
There was a reporting on Twitter that Cochon Butcher had its version of mini kingcakes too. Now, I LOVE the Butcher–their sandwiches, meats and even praline bacon. But cake? Sans meat? How could they compete in the mini kingcake war? For starters, they offer four flavors, cinnamon, praline, strawberries and cream, and chocolate. These cakes [...]