I love to go tubing. A simple creature, plopping my butt in an inner tube then floating down a river with a group of friends while alternating between eating fried chicken and drinking beer (this is the only time…
I used to give walking tours in the French Quarter and now I don't. I go down there these days and see some of my colleagues (competitors?) out on the streets, masked up, telling to stories to small clusters…
Though the city of New Orleans has put bars and restaurants under more restrictions due to the rise in cases of COVID-19, New Orleans & Co – formerly the New Orleans CVB – is going ahead with its annual…
While the swimsuits and shorelines of summer vanish with the Sept. 22 autumn equinox, Acadiana’s cooling cocktails prevail with the lingering heat. Soaring temperatures invariably converge with the onset of fall, when fields of sugar cane reach harvest heights along…
Redfish, speckled trout, flounder and red snapper — longtime Louisiana favorites — are getting harder and harder to come by unless you have the luxury of either catching them yourself or have friends who share their bounty with you. Like…
With the introduction of COVID-19, health and wellness have become primary concerns for everyone. Not only is it important to follow safety guidelines during this time, but it is equally vital to be active—and maintain sanity—in the process of finding…
It was early in the day on March 9 when Jennifer Avegno, while working in her office on the eighth floor of City Hall, got a call from an emergency physician at New Orleans’ Veterans Affairs Hospital. A patient the…
I grew up around doctors. My dad was the Dean of Georgetown Medical School. He was an administrator, lecturer, researcher, clinician and editor of medical journals over a 50 year career. He was a wicked smart guy. He met my…
We are currently experiencing a bitter taste of COVID-Blues. Typically, in the heat of the summer, we are craving a good gathering with wonderful cocktails at some of our favorite places. My, how times have changed. COVID-19 has no…
Now and again people offer to send me things to evaluate. Sometimes I must respond with a “thank you” and an explanation that while I could probably find a use for drywall screws around my house, drywall screws are…
I have enjoyed many fine meals at kin(sic), Hieu Than's diminutive yellow powerhouse of a restaurant overlooking a charmless drainage ditch in Gertown across from Xavier University. It is on my regular "route" around town and a tug of…
NEW ORLEANS – Chef Isaac Toups of Toups Meatery has shared his recipe for roasted oysters with crab fat butter ahead of National Oyster Day, which is Aug. 5. Below you'll find Toups' recipe. Make the recipe yourself? Let us…
Four weeks ago, my husband Mark was losing it. Which is understandable, given he’s an extrovert and we are 20 weeks and 139 days into this COVID-19 dumpster fire. (I’m an introvert — content to spend every single day,…
The history of and conflict over Confederate monuments and symbols is now part of the curriculum in many schools. But what do you do when the school IS one of those Confederate memorials? The legacy of John McDonogh is…
When we last heard from the former New Orleans Zephyrs, our Triple A minor league baseball team, they had been renamed as the Baby Cakes. After hearing fan reaction to what was supposed to be a locally endearing name…
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – A few New Orleans bartenders are sharing cocktail recipes in a new Summer Sippin' in New Orleans series. The bartenders are from popular local restaurants and the cocktails are perfect to make at home.…
In some very exciting news for New Orleans the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience (NOWFE) has been nominated for "Best Wine Festival" by USA Today newspaper. As the final award recipient will be decided via people's choice, you…
Over the past few years, I’ve become one of those smoothie people. I make them with spinach and beets and pretty much any veggie you can stick in a blender and mask the potential weirdness with one or more…
Yogi Berra, the great catcher of the New York Yankees, was once asked about a famous Italian restaurant in his hometown of St. Louis. Berra. who was known for his malapropisms gave one of his all-time great responses: “Nobody…
Native New Orleanian Michael Gulotta practically grew up with a stainless-steel spoon in his hands. In 2014, he opened his renowned restaurant MOPHO, which perfectly blends a large portion of Asian cooking with just a dash of Louisiana flair.…
K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen announced it would close this week, and that is a shame. I will admit I had not been there for some time, but from most accounts it was still a very good restaurant. It was, in…
It’s the heat of summer and we recently had a quick taste of getting things back to normal, or somewhat normal. We grew accustomed to walking into a bar masked up, sitting apart at a same distance... Then BAM,…
I grew up in Washington, D.C. I was a Washington Redskins fan. Hard core, unconditional, undying – the way young boys can be about their home teams. They sucked when I was a kid, despite such roster legends as…
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – New Orleans continues to charm visitors from around the world and earn praise with recent designations in the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2020. The readers of the prominent travel magazine have named New Orleans the No. 2 City in the United States. This is the sixth consecutive year that…
My sister, Beth, has been going through a really rough time lately, dealing with even more uncertainty and upset than the rest of us while also dealing with the same uncertainty and upset the rest of us continue to…
I am presently away from New Orleans, engaged in an annual summer tradition, a 4th of July gathering of my partner's extended family in the faraway idylls of central Minnesota. Her parents live in Staples, two and a half…
When Ruby left to spend the summer with her dad five weeks ago, Georgia and I spent about an hour moping around the house. Then, to cheer ourselves up, we got drive-thru Taco Bell and took a walk at…
My pick of the buzz phrase for wicked 2020 is “New Normal.” It is used often to describe the way things are going to be different as we make our way through COVID-19. Offices spaces will change; so will…
I usually spend the Fourth of July at my brother's compound near the Louisiana/Mississippi border hanging out in the woods around a massive swimming pool, slurping frosty beverages and arguing politics while my sister-in-law's many siblings, their children and…
For the past couple of decades, I’ve been refining my morning routine. When I was in my 20s, I kicked off each day by slamming a cold, sugary Coke within a few minutes of waking up (I’m not proud…
