Slurping wetly and noisily at the nourishment that is New Orleans
Since the early 1900s, the meat packing industry has been fraught with problems. Plants’ exploitation of workers and highly unsanitary and unsafe practices – brought to light in The Jungle, a novel portraying the harsh conditions and exploitation of immigrants by Upton Sinclair — led to legislation to ensure improved […]
Long before the rise of social media (or even the internet), people have been making baked goods in their own kitchens for sale to the public. Though laws vary from state-to-state, Louisiana’s Cottage Food Act (enacted in 2013 and amended in 2014) allows residents to sell specific, low-risk goods like […]
If there’s one thing summer stirs, it’s the childhood memories of cool, sweet treats. Though any kid from Los Angeles to Manhattan can enjoy creamy ice cream and fruity popsicles, only New Orleans kids (both young and old) are blessed with sno-balls. A super simple confection at its core – […]
As the years pass, it’s fascinating to watch how commerce and development will ebb and flow, hopping from neighborhood to neighborhood. One renovation, one dream can often be a spark that sets the whole area on fire, people kindling their aspirations from another’s blaze. It was especially noticeable shortly after […]
What does one say about the Sazerac cocktail that hasn’t already been said? This historic tipple is reputed to be the first American “cocktail,” created right here in New Orleans in the 1830s by famed apothecary Antoine Amédée Peychaud, the creator of Peychaud’s Bitters, a crucial ingredient in any Sazerac […]
Though there’s many a snob who would scoff at a dish piled high with more food that any average person could eat in one sitting, there are also those who seek to “supersize.” Perhaps those individuals have a hearty appetite; those frustrating, blessed with high-metabolism folk who can eat dizzying […]
What with all of the hoopla of Mardi Gras going on, it’s easy to miss one of the most significant celebrations of February, Great American Pie Month! Naturally this is said with a heavy inflection of snark, but to take it that extra mile, what is even more paramount than […]
For over two decades, locals and visitors alike returned again and again to the small, cypress wood arched door on St. Phillip Street seeking Italian cuisine heavily perfumed with garlic and rosemary, and a warm, intimate atmosphere that felt like coming home. In 2015, Irene’s Cuisine‘s fate was sealed when […]
Though you’d like to believe that the plate lunch, sometimes called a “meat and three,” is a down-home, Southern or Mid-Western invention, it’s origin is actually Hawaiian. Even more fascinating, the Hawaiian plate lunch grew from the island-state’s Pan-Asian influence, most particularly the centuries-old Japanese “bento.” Defined as convenient or […]
Like the recipe for your Great Aunt Edie’s flaky, buttermilk biscuits, many chefs and restaurants jealously guard the secret behind their signature dishes. Consider Olive Garden’s bread sticks, Orange Julius’ famous orange milkshake, the off-menu “animal-style” burgers from In-N-Out and it wasn’t until recently that the 67-year-old chain KFC finally […]
Breakfast. When you think about the typical morning meal, what springs to mind? Is it bacon and sunny-side-up eggs with toast? Fruit-topped waffles drowning in maple syrup? A bagel and cream cheese or a bowl of hot oatmeal sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar? We all have a certain dish […]
Enjoying pizza is easily one of America’s favorite pastimes. Just saying the word conjures up fond memories of pizza parties after playing a grueling game of softball under the hot summer sun, family night with movies and a pie delivered fresh and hot to your door, or much needed brain […]
What exactly do we mean when we say a restaurant is a “hidden gem?” Is it small? Precious? Priceless? Is it actually hidden? Is it tucked away behind a curtain or a secret door, or is it a spot you drive by almost daily before someone finally brings it to […]