I love this house. Anyone who’s been to Tipitina’s or the Rouses on Tchoupitoulas Street would know it. Bright green, often projecting music and heavily decorated regardless of the season, I can’t help pondering who owns this double every time I pass it by. “GOD LOVE YOU”, “JESUS LOVE YOU” and […]
Just a few blocks to bliss at Boucherie
Not to start any inter-city rivalry, but I think I live in one of the best neighborhoods in New Orleans, especially when it comes to food. It’s only four blocks to Spoon Bread at Dante’s Kitchen, three to a pork tenderloin & Gouda cheese Canoe at Barcelona Tapas Cafe or the best burgers […]
There IS a monkey at the Monkey Hill Bar!
As a Bay Area native, when I first heard the story of “Monkey Hill” in Audubon Zoo, I thought someone was yanking my chain. During the Great Depression, an artificial hill was constructed inside the zoo to show the children of New Orleans what a hill looked like. Even today, […]
Parakeets gone wild!
I had just left my house and was driving around the corner, when I was forced to stop the car. One of my neighbors has a collection of birdhouses and bird feeders in their front yard and they must have recently put out some more food because there was a […]
Support your local bookseller! Visit Blue Cypress Books
On my way back home, I had a two-hour layover in LAX and I didn’t know what to do with myself. Stretching, eating, roaming around and chatting on the phone only managed to burn about 45 minutes and I began feeling anxious. Wandering into one of the many bookstores, I […]
Visiting Katie’s Restaurant & Bar
Ever since I read about the recently re-opened Katie’s in Mid-City, I became anxious to give it a try. After all, Katie’s has been around since 1984 and though it’s not as old as Mandina’s or College Inn, staying in business for over twenty years is nothing to sneeze at. […]
Trapped in Lafayette Cemetery #1
Several years ago, John’s mom Glenda drove down from Ponchatoula to visit with us for the day. Although she had lived almost her whole life only an hour’s drive away, she never really had the opportunity to explore New Orleans and John and I thought we might take her somewhere […]
Half Moon therapy
Like the Circle Bar, the Half Moon Bar & Restaurant on the corner of St. Mary Street is a local watering hole that I used to frequent quite often. It was at the Half Moon that I heard about a shooting that happened on St. Charles Avenue during Mardi Gras […]
Making up for lost time at St. Joe’s
As soon as I stepped into St. Joe’s on the corner of Magazine and Joseph Streets, I was immediately upset that it took me so long to finally get there. Ever since that crazy first year in New Orleans with Shalom, I developed an affinity for the “dive bar” and […]
Books: The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish
In the premiere episode of HBO’s Treme, there is a scene where John Goodman’s character is ranting about the levee failures to a British television crew. At one point, the journalist questions the reality behind the rumors that local city officials blew up part of the levees in an attempt […]
Luling Mansion: The three-sided Italianate
Last week, I drove too far past Cafe Degas on Esplanade and had to find a place to turn around. Things can get kind of hinky street-wise around the bayou, so I hurriedly took a right on Verna Street, made the block and came back around on Leda. I suddenly […]
S is for Stanley, that’s good enough for me
Could you imagine knowing the luxury of dining in a restaurant where you are served seven courses of culinary art, each dish an original masterpiece? Have you ever dared to dream of epicurean nirvana, where a chef’s heavenly creations enable sensory bliss? Do you have the financial wherewithal to make […]