Unless huddling under and umbrella or wading about in galoshes is your jam your outdoor activities are probably getting s---canned for the weekend, so your options are a bit limited. You could build that ark you have been considering.…
Consider taking a drive to LaPlace for lunch tomorrow or brunch on Sunday. Throughout the month of April, Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse (WJS) in LaPlace is celebrating 71 years in the business of turning out what is, in my humble…
fight With Jazzfest postponed until October (when crawfish season will be in the rearview) I offer this recipe so you can make it at home for your Festing in Place (WWOZ 90.7-FM and wwoz.org, April 22-25 and April 29-May 2,…
“Trenasse” is a Cajun term for a cut-through in a marsh. It leads to something. Founded in 2013 by chef and restaurateur Jim Richard, Trenasse, located inside New Orleans’ Intercontinental Hotel, is still going places, revealing inventive surprises, delighting –…
Throughout this pandemic, Andrew and I have been dutiful mask-wearing, social distancing, hand washers. We are just now fully vaccinated. What this means for us is we will not be white knuckling our way through dinner on Sunday afternoon…
Last Thursday was a glorious, beautiful day, all sparkling skies and riotous blooming azaleas. My daughter, Cecilia, escaped from class early. We assumed foot traffic in the French Quarter would be light (mid-week, no conventions) so we set off…
So much more than a place to score exceptional baked goods, top-notch bagels, stunning cakes, or something delicious and savory for lunch, Bywater Bakery (3624 Dauphine St.) also serves as an art gallery, community center, music spot, and whatever…
On Saturday, March 13, at noon, part-time French Quarter president and popular Instagram cooking and entertaining personality, Brian Theis, will sign copies of his fantastic new book and entertaining guide "The Infinite Feast: How to Host the Ones You…
Bar Marilou recently introduced Taking Flights, an international cocktail bar collaboration series. Since international travel is not really happening these days Bar Marilou is bringing some…
The Mexican and Central American immigrants who came to our aid in rebuilding our shattered region after the Big Bath in 2005 brought their culinary traditions and, in some cases, their taco trucks with them. In doing so they radically…
Last spring, New Orleans joined a growing number of cities across the country experimenting with community supported outdoor refrigerators. New Orleans Community Fridges, which spearheaded the local effort, was inspired by similar efforts in New York City, Los Angeles…
It has been almost a year since our family took in Freak Show Fannie, a 13-month-old, 45-pound, shepherd/Border Collie mix who was tossed from a moving vehicle in New Iberia when she was…
Last Saturday night I was caught in a traffic jam on St. Charles Avenue. People were gawking from their car windows at the stunning house floats that crop up in greater numbers all over town each day and masked…
The late Julia Reed was as prolific a cook and entertainer as she was a writer. Throughout the pages of her numerous books, she often referred to the many treasures with which she surrounded herself: an antique Chippendale sofa…
The "Elvis" King Cake from Cochon Butcher. is filled with peanut butter and banana and topped with house-cured bacon, marshmallow and Mardi Gras sprinkles. As we do in my household every year at this time, we recently dismantled Christmas…
Tomorrow evening the historic Dew Drop Jazz and Social Hall will be the site for a series of free live streamed music concerts to be presented virtually on the City of Mandeville’s and the Dew Drop’s Facebook pages. The…
We have all been ground down by the long haul of COVID-19. Some of us have suffered the incomparable grief of having lost loved ones to the disease, while others have, themselves, suffered from it. Most of us have…
Tired of your own cooking and looking for a change of pace? Longtime friends Alison Vega-Knoll and Chris Wilson recently pumped some excitement into the upscale grab-and-go and market scene with the opening of Larder (3005 Veterans Blvd., Metairie, lardergourmetmarket.com).…
As we do in my household every year at this time, this past weekend we dismantled Christmas, stowed it in the attic, and hauled out Mardi Gras. This year more than ever we will make our home look like…
Every January I write about healthful habits that will carry me into the new year and ready me for my childish practice of out jumping teenagers for Mardi Gras…
Usually in bed by 10 p.m., this year I will stay up late on NYE. I want to witness the departure of 2020 and I expect to have plenty of company worldwide. As public gatherings to witness fireworks displays…
I have been relieved on late to note brisk traffic on Magazine Street, my neighborhood Main Street, as holiday shoppers and celebrants have been turning out to keep their business local. Currently the Magazine Street Merchants Association (MSMA) and…
On the day before Thanksgiving my daughter, Cecilia, called me freaking out because she saw someone tying a Christmas tree to the top of their SUV. “The hell,” she bellowed? "It’s kind of early for this. Can’t they wait…
For me, holiday magic resides largely on Magazine Street, which unfolds over six miles from its foot at…
C’est moi, the proverbial squeaky wheel again, here to implore of you, all of you, everyone, again, to please abandon Amazon, national chains and convenience-driven services. Choose instead to keep our local merchants such as those on Magazine Street,…
This is the first in a series of columns exploring some of New Orleans’ many women-owned businesses as we head into the zenith of the holiday shopping and entertaining season. I am here to implore of you, all of…
Choosing the best of the best in New Orleans food is an almost Herculean task; one that requires discipline, an open palate and some set guidelines. It’s hard work, but someone has to do it. In an effort to bring…
An informal poll conducted in my Uptown neighborhood revealed that, given the extreme polarization with which we currently live, some are relieved to have toxic Cousin…
This past was a particularly crafty weekend. I spent it carving elaborate pumpkins with my niece and creating one of those monster-themed candy shoot things so we can issue candy to trick-or-treaters from a distance. That Halloween is on…
I have identified several large, centuries-old oak trees with ground sweeping boughs in public spaces in various small neighborhood parks around town in which to meet friends. It is always 10 to15 degrees cooler under such a tree and…
Perhaps the only child in Louisiana history to be born to a mother with absolutely no culinary skills at all, Jyl Benson began cooking in self-defense at the age of six. She is 13 years younger than her closest sibling so her parents were tired and paid little attention as she use the household kitchen as per personal laboratory, sometimes with disastrous outcomes. Her skills have improved greatly over the years and kitchen fires are a thing of the past.
She began her editorial career in 1990 with The Times Picayune and served as a regional reporter covering the southeastern United States for both The New York Times and Time magazine. She wrote "Galatoire's Cookbook: Recipes & Family History from the Time-Honored New Orleans Restaurant" (Random House 2005), as well as several cultural, historical and architectural guides to New Orleans. She served as editor-in-chief of Louisiana Cookin’ magazine from 2009 to 2011 and founded Louisiana Kitchen & Culture magazine in 2012. Sheis a dining columnist for St. Charles Avenue, Acadiana Profile and Louisiana Life magazines, a frequent contributor to New Orleans Magazine, and the author of "Fun Funky, Fabulous: New Orleans Casual Restaurant Recipes" (2015, Pelican Publishing) and "Louisiana's Tables" (2017, Savory House Press).
