Let’s be honest, summertime in New Orleans leaves a lot to be desired. Sweltering heat and humidity keep tourists away and drive locals indoors where they can crank up the air conditioning and sip iced drinks. Summer also means constant downpours that flood the city, electrifying (and sometimes terrifying) thunderstorms, […]
Eat the bunny
Last year, Mattel, Inc. had a huge promotional campaign to “Save the Bunny.” Not only was Mattel furthering its own agenda by increasing toy sales, but they used childhood obesity as an excuse for parents to forgo the tradition of chocolate Easter bunnies. Because folks like to “jump on the […]
Cinco ceviches por favor
When the weather heats up and the days get longer, all I can think about is relaxing outside with a pitcher of sangria, crisp tortilla chips and a heap of heavenly ceviche. Ceviche, in all of its forms, seems somehow representative of tropical vacations and warm ocean breezes with its […]
Coffee break
“I like coffee exceedingly.” -H.P. Lovecraft We’re all familiar with that gnawing feeling that sneaks up on us mid-morning (or even mid-afternoon). You’ve already had breakfast and it’s a bit too early for lunch but your stomach is grumbling and your attention is waning quickly, especially while sitting in yet […]
Romance repellent
Valentine, shmalentine. What if you’re not looking for romance? Why does your mother/sister/aunt feel the need to set you up on yet another blind date that you know will fail miserably? What if you believe that finding love will come naturally? You’ll be at a party or catching beads at […]
Not your mom’s Brussels sprouts
“We kids feared many things in those days – werewolves, dentists, North Koreans, Sunday school – but they all paled in comparison with Brussels sprouts.” -Dave Barry When overcooked, as many of our mother’s Brussels sprouts were, admit it, transformed from bright bundles of green joy into bitter, gray blobs […]
$150 & Under
“Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.” ~Oscar Wilde Frugality is king these days. What with our crumbling economy and high unemployment rate, most people are looking at how to save a dollar, rather than how to spend one. We scramble for sales, subscribe to […]
Rising to the top
Cream of the crop, crème de la crème, cream of society … these are all idioms, phrases and sayings signifying the best of the best, after all, the best part of milk is indisputably the cream. There are so many delicious and delightful dishes made with cream, but I think […]
The modest Louisiana oyster
“Oysters are the most tender and delicate of all seafoods. The stay in bed all day and night. They never work or take exercise, are stupendous drinkers, and wait for their meals to come to them.” -Hector Bolitho Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area seafood caught fresh from […]
Pass the popcorn
Lights dim and the noise level in the crowd rapidly decreases as people shush their children and latecomers rush to find seats, squinting down long, red aisles of filled chairs, their eyes not yet adjusted to the dark. At last everyone is in place, bubbly beverages safely stowed into built-in […]
Tasting blood
“Blood is really warm,it’s like drinking hot chocolatebut with more screaming.” -Ryan Mecum, Zombie Haiku We live in an interesting age where the supernatural is natural and everyone wants to be a vampire, or a werewolf, or one of the mystic fae possessing not only their supreme powers, but their […]
Put the phone down and come to the table
While enjoying a magnificent, yet artery-clogging Monte Cristo Sandwich at The American Sector a few months back, I stopped gorging for a moment to take a sip of soda and consider a question my dining companion posed about a family sitting a few tables away from us. “Why did they […]