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Holiday Hops & Pops

It is the time of year when we start to enjoy the smells of the season. A deep breath may stimulate your senses with peppermint, spearmint, and berries. A quick hop around town and you’ll find several seasonal happy hours…

Bon Vivant: Cozy Countdown

With long waits for taxis (and Uber and Lyft surge pricing), unpredictable weather and the disappointment when that allegedly fabulous event you commit to winds up being a dud, a night in for New Year’s Eve sounds more and more…

St.Charles Avenue's Activists of the Year

  Read on to learn why we’re honoring Susan Brennan, Daryl G.Byrd, Edgar L. “Dooky” Chase III, Susan O. Hess, Robert “Bob” Merrick and Kim S. Sport. What you’ll see is that though we’re only able to scratch the surface…

Best of Dining

For our annual December list of restaurant, food and drink “bests,” our team of writers, plus our editorial staff, met with the difficult task of honoring a few of our favorites. The restaurants, people and places listed within mark some…

Marquee: December

Mandatory Merriment Southern Rep hosts this irreverent holiday comedy musical from Dec. 4-29. Due to unforeseen circumstances, six strangers end up stranded at a French Quarter tavern and are forced to find new ways to celebrate Christmas. Information, SouthernRep.com. Mystery…

Best of Cracklins

The Cajun boucherie dates back centuries, a communal hog butchering where careful attempts were made to use every inch of the animal to adequately feed the coterie. Usually held in cold weather months, the boucherie produced items for backbone stew,…

Busk or Bust

  Street performers are the life blood of New Orleans, our famed celebratory culture writ large. They provide the visual soundtrack of the city: Music falling from the sky like rain, fulfilling all the romantic notions a visitor to our…

Thanksgiving Week In Music

Thanksgiving week is usually an interesting one for music.  It always starts with a packed weekend and then slowly settles into the relative quiet of the holiday.  This week we have a couple of great fundraisers at Tipitina’s as well…

Are You From Here?

  It happens all the time, especially if you're in the service/hospitality business, as I am, and the people you encounter day-to-day comprise an ever changing roster of people from out of town. “Are you from here?” they ask. I…

Terminal Trouble

I've been thinking about the Louisiana World Exposition a lot lately. I have a feeling I may not be the only one. But it's not necessarily warm memories tinged with wistful nostalgia. It's because it was an event touted throughout…

Are You Ready For Holiday Sippin’?

  Yes, the holiday season is not far away. That means many local spots are doing their best to conjure up some of the best holiday happy hours around. SoBou (310 Chartres St.) is hosting its Holiday Sippin’ wine tasting…

J'adore Boudin

  I don't usually write about food. There's a reason for that. It's because I don't really know all that much about food. In fact, that was the reason I got hired by Rouse's Market several years ago to write…

Last Call: Fun With Zombies

We cannot prove whether Ernest Gantt was born in New Orleans or not, but that is the legend.  What is easier to prove is that this hospitality character became the renowned Donn the Beachcomber, opened an international string of Tiki-style…

Something Special

Whether you’re seeking time out in a festive holiday atmosphere or a means of entertaining guests without bringing the fa-la-la to your own kitchen, a bevy of New Orleans restaurants have you covered for the season. With a lush hanging…

November

The Bloody Mary Festival The Howlin’ Wolf will host The Bloody Mary Festival on November 2 and 3. Aficionados of the classic alcoholic beverage will be able to sample a wide variety of Bloody Marys, as well as local food…

A Modern Presentation

Many sushi restaurants are cookie-cutter, offering interchangeable lists of the same sushi and sashimi choices. Perhaps they are differentiated by a selection of specialty rolls but, more often than not, one seems much like the other. This is most certainly…

News From the Kitchen

Em Trai Sandwich Co.  Em Trai Sandwich Co. had a very short trip from its initial location inside the St. Roch Market to its new home in the New Orleans Healing Center. The menu includes pho, bao, salads and both…

Pit Perfect

Though largely unheralded outside of their respective neighborhoods, New Orleans has long had a smattering of barbecue restaurants that are respected and sought after for cooking low-and-slow over wood-fueled rigs. “The purveyors and the customers were mostly black and the…

Thanksgiving

On one weekend last month, the opera Carmen was performed at the Mahalia Jackson Theater; nearby the Broadway roadshow of the musical “Wicked” was making a return engagement to the city. That Sunday, the Saints faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers…

Kitchen in the Garden

In June, New Orleans lost a revered icon with the passing of chef, restauranteur and community leader Leah Chase. Her legacy in the culinary world is undeniable and her belief in the power of food made her special. “Food builds…

Kevin Belton

Kevin Belton knows how to cook up a good time in the kitchen. He often appears on WYES (and PBS stations across the country) and on WWLTV morning programs armed with the trinity, a larger than life laugh and sense…

Beauty That Benefits

Beginning with a Preview Party on Wednesday, October 2 and culminating with a luncheon on Thursday, October 3, St. Charles Avenue and its parent company, Renaissance Publishing LLC and the Renaissance Foundation, together with Presenting Sponsor Ronnie and Natasha Lamarque…

The More the Merrier

Fashion Stylist: Tracee Dundas Makeup: Pilar Miranda Hair: Heidi Schirrmann Model: Alexandria Galiano | ABOUTFACES MTM Agency Location: Laurenia at the Pythian Market     STANDING TALL Black strapless squared jumpsuit with notched front sequined side panels by AG Studio…

A Cajun Theme

Sometimes the dressings outweigh the turkey at my family’s Thanksgiving table. There are those, including me, who must have oyster dressing. A simple cornbread dressing pleases those who don’t like oysters, and you might as well count the must-have mirliton…