Tarte Temptation
Succulent, sweet and enticing, figs are ripening on trees all over Louisiana. In spring and summer, the distinctive lush green leaves and orbs of rosy fruit are as pleasing to the eye as the barren, skeletal branches of the…
Author: Jyl Benson
The Best of All Things Brennan
Commander’s Palace recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of offering 25 cent martinis at lunch. Ti Martin and her cousin Lally Brennan own and manage the fabled Garden District restaurant their family started generations ago. Ti generously shared the story…
The Best Jell-O Shots, Cream Puffs, Tacos, and Yoga for the Weekend
Sometimes to stars align. I called a Lyft to collect me from a health-oriented culinary seminar the other day and my driver turned out to be, according to her very colorful, fanciful business card, “Mrs. Debbie, The Original JelL’o…
The Best Happy Birthday to Me
As a lifelong plant and flower enthusiast I am excited about the return of floral design workshops at Mitch’s Flower’s, a beautifully appointed horticultural oasis on a shaded block of Magazine Street. While they were once common, today shops…
The Best Foods to Try This Weekend
Seemingly forever, brothers John and Moe Thabata have run Rainbow Grocery (4837 Magazine St., 504-875-3635), the popular Uptown corner store best known for its extensive selection of everything from very cheap beers sold as singles to fine wines and…
The Best Frozen Drinks to Keep You Cool this Weekend
Both beloved and reviled, the frozen daiquiri in a Styrofoam cup from a drive-through has some solid upscale competition around town and wise restaurateurs are rolling out a plethora of options for those seeking to stay cool while imbibing…
Blackberry Bushels
Days after New Orleans post-Katrina flooding, a friend put Chef Scot “Scottie” Craig in touch with a group of CNN journalists seeking someone who could feed them something other than military-issued, vacuum sealed M.R.E.s. With his home and restaurant—the…
The Best New Sushi Experience
It is too hot to hang in the kitchen, so I have been on a sushi kick of late. At the suggestion of a friend my daughter, Cecilia, and I hit up Yakuza House in Metairie for a late…
The Best Way to Celebrate Juneteenth: Mitch’s on Magazine with Red Drink and Clementine Hunter Artwork
This week Louisiana recognized Juneteenth, the day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, as a legal state holiday. The third Saturday in June will now be celebrated as Juneteenth Day under a bill passed without any…
Sharing The Best of New Orleans Culture with the World
Yesterday the New Orleans Citizen Diplomacy Council (NOCDC) invited me to address an international group of NGO (a nonprofit organization that operates independently of any government, typically to address a social or political issue) managers interested in learning more…
The Best: Artist Marianne Angeli Rodriguez to Reveal a New Collection at Her Covington Gallery on Saturday Evening
Western St. Tammany Parish has long served as a beacon to artists working in all mediums. An abundance of natural beauty, a relaxed lifestyle allowing for the growth and exploration of creativity, and a supportive parish-wide art association (St.…
Fire up the Grill
Chef Daniel Esses shared a version of this recipe with me years ago when he was the man behind the menu at Three Muses on Frenchmen Street. Today he mans the kitchen at Rimon in Tulane University’s Hillel Center,…
The Dish | A Happy Place
Last August, the culmination of a long held dream, Chef Suda Ounin and Jeerasak Boonlert opened their restaurant and bakery. Housed in a cottage the color of strawberry buttercream frosting and fronted by a lush garden, Thai DJing beckons…
The Best Recollections and a Recipe for Crawfish Bisque
In 1957 a feature in Holiday magazine described ladies dining on bowls of crawfish bisque Galatoire's. The article was already a relic by the time I read it years ago, but it stuck for its description of the women…
The Best Places to Catch Me This Weekend
Sooo, as much as I really do not like being on camera that is exactly where my new gig as the NOSH columnist for New Orleans Magazine has landed me. Check it out here if you are ready to…
The Best of Westwego: Fifteen Minutes and a World Away
A friend recently needed a new driver’s license and she hit me up for a ride. "Go to the one in Westwego," we were repeatedly advised. "The lines are shorter than everywhere else." Having experienced numerous OMVs (forever the…
The Best of Audubon Riverside, the Land of Tacos and Margaritas
I was 27 when I bought my home near Magazine and Jefferson in the West Riverside neighborhood – bounded roughly by Valmont, Camp, and Tchoupitoulas streets, and Audubon Park. That was 1996 and I still love it here. I…
The Dish | Bywater Bakery
The realization of a shared dream, Chef Chaya Conrad opened Bywater Bakery in 2017 with her husband, Alton Osborne, a native of the Seventh Ward and a clothing designer who’s a familiar face in New Orleans’ art and music…
Taco Time
The Tacos Hennicano at Juan’s Flying Burrito: A Creole Taqueria (juansflyingburrito.com) literally inspired me to write a contemporary New Orleans cookbook (Fun, Funky & Fabulous, Pelican Publishing, 2015). Back in 2013 or so, my then teenage daughter and I wandered…
The Best Bets for Eats for Festing In Place This Weekend
Get out your hammock! This is the last weekend for “Festing in Place,” Beth Arroyo Udderback’s brilliant solution for keeping the Jazz & Heritage Festival’s traditional relationship with WWOZ radio alive while large public gatherings are still banned. Tune…
The Best Family Anniversary
McFoBen = Mc(alear) + Fo(x) + Ben(son) We have done a stupendous job of trying to screw this up and we have succeeded on many occasions but today I celebrate 15 years of marriage to Andrew Martin Fox, my fellow…
The Best Bets for a Wet Weekend
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.…
The Best Weekend Road Trip: Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse in LaPlace and Sweet Treats at the Ace Hotel
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…
Best of the Fest
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,…
The Dish | Finding Beauty at Trenasse
“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 –…
The Best Sunday Dinner with Friends and Family
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…
The Best Ways To Get Outside and Enjoy Spring This Weekend
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…
The Best for St. Joseph’s Day and Women’s History Month
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…
The Best for This Weekend and St. Patrick’s Day
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…
Best Bets for Getting Out This Week
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…
