Variety, not Quantity
The phrase, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation” has never rang so true for so many. We are all pretty much on the same path, the same schedule. This town, like most towns in America, is shut down.…
Recipes
Great Locales Inspire Great Cocktails
(This article was composed before the full implementation of the effects and governmental restraints as applied to the Corona Virus outbreak. This article was penned on Friday March 13, which now seems eons ago. But the hope is that…
How I Learned to Love the Corona Virus
I have been working remotely for several years. By “working remotely,” I mean “working from home and often in casual clothing/dainty unmentionables.” I am used to being alone and dealing with other humans via cell phone, Skype and my…
NOLA Mock-Tales: Weekend Survival of the Fervent(est)
When you decide to give up alcohol for Lent, suddenly everyone wants to go to happy hour and boozy birthday parties abound. At least, that was my experience the first weekend of the Eat Fit Alcohol Free for 40…
Sacrifice? Maybe Not so Much.
For many New Orleanians, even those who for most of the year are not strict followers of a particular Faith, Lent is a season of sacrifice. Nothing wrong with that approach, and it does not hurt to give up…
Smokin’ Hot
Not long ago, good Southern barbecue was a rare find in New Orleans. A slice of meat drenched in barbecue sauce was about the closest you could get. Shortly before the turn of the 21st century, a few cooks with…
Whiskey in Winter
When the weather turns cool, and to be honest in January that really should happen despite how we do winter in south Louisiana, then to me the perfect accompaniment is whiskey. Oh sure, brandy, port and hot toddies all…
A Winter Evening
My go-to dish for winter evenings is a pot roast, with all but the rice in one pot. At one time it could be consumed by my family, but as children went off to college, it began to cover two…
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…
Authenticity
Today’s word, students, is “authenticity.” It is one of my favorite answers to the question, “What makes New Orleans different and special when compared to other American towns?” Or “Why are we this way, and they are that way?”…
Pigskin and Perfect Cocktails
Football Fans, we are here for you! There are so many amazing happy hours around town to get a good deal and watch the game while sipping your favorite libation. But some may argue that the best seat in…
Oodles of Noodle
If I have learned one thing about raising children, it is to feed them noodles. Really, any kind of pasta will do, but noodles are a favorite among kids, who like to slurp things. We Americans, of all ages, have…
Surviving the Hot Months
It’s a known fact that tourists avoid New Orleans in the heat of summer. And many who live here try to escape. Hard as I try, my trips lean toward early summer or fall, leaving me to survive the inferno…
Cocktail Condiments
The recent annual gathering of Tales of the Cocktail is finished, and the last hedonist has returned home. We are left with fine memories and new ideas. It happens this way every year, and when the final ice cube…
Simple Summer Cocktail Recipes
Easy construction? Obtainable ingredients? Speed to build? The portable party we know as summer presents its own set of challenges when it comes to creating a drink that satisfies. This time of year, tackling a build-your-own-cocktail project with too many…
FOOD FOR THE SOUL
Ask Leah Chase what soul food is and she’ll say, “It’s food that soothes you when you eat it. It fills you up. It tastes good. Anybody in the South has been eating it all his life.” She should…
Don’t Complicate the Cocktail
Looks like the corner, finally, has been turned. And not a moment too soon. We went through a period of ego and self-congratulations in the Cocktail World of the early 1990’s and into the new century where crazy drink…
Crescent City Cocktail Classics
Prior to the birth of the current cocktail era, which made a first appearance around 1985, no city on the planet could claim the birth of more styles of cocktails than New Orleans. Even now, those classic cocktails invented…
Caterer's Choice Rewind: Garlic and Herb Grilled Shrimp and Saffron Paella
Today is National Shrimp Day, and seeing that Louisiana is prime location for all things seafood, we wanted to share a post from our "Caterer's Choice" series that highlights the delectable crustacean. Below you'll find the original post from…
Sinful Summer Flavors
Pork Belly 2 pounds pork belly Sea salt and black pepper 4 fresh bay leaves 3 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed 1 teaspoon cardamom pods 4 star anise 1 Tablespoon fennel seeds Olive oil 2 quarts chicken stock 1 Tablespoon…
Next Up
A look ahead to St. Patrick's Day
Party On, NOLA!
Most places around the world have thrown in the towel. Christmas and New Year’s are now both in the rear-view mirror. But here, we did our best to give those two seasons their due, and now we go into…
Crespelle!
I think I’ve written before that the first thing I cooked when I had access to a kitchen after Katrina was crepes. I still have no idea why that’s what I decided to cook, but there you are. Conventional…
The Shape that I am In
I was reminded of TV dinners recently. I’m talking about the Swanson-brand type – a tin tray with several compartments and a thin piece of foil on top. You popped the things into a preheated oven and thereafter the…
Caterer's Choice: Garlic and Herb Grilled Shrimp and Saffron Paella
For the past few months, we have partnered with Chef Bryan Clark, executive chef of Joel Catering, to bring readers excellent, and easy to execute, recipes perfect for a date night in, wedding BBQ or even a bridal shower. This…
A Gin Thing
Many of us, maybe all, at some point or another overdid a food item, a drink, or one of life’s pleasures. Or maybe all three. And after the over-indulgence, we swore off the offending situation. Never again, we muttered.…
It’s Not, But Let’s Drink Anyway
Celebrating Cinco de Mayo with these margarita recipes
The Same But Different
Mezcal and tequila are brothers from the same mother and therein lies the confusion and misunderstanding. Both are born from the same biologic, the agave plant, also known as the Century Plant. Mezcal and tequila are both taken from…
Caterer's Choice: Backyard Fry Party
Last month, we introduced a new series called "Caterer's Choice" where we have teamed up with Chef Bryan Clark, executive chef for Joel Catering and Events. Each month, Chef Bryan will be offering up some delicious recipes and additional…
Family Recipes
I was reading an article yesterday about the “dirty little secret” that a lot of family recipes we think are ancient in fact originated from labels printed on food products in the 1950s. I wasn’t aware it was a secret.…
Happy Hour
All there is to sip and savor in New Orleans
about
In New Orleans, when the subject is wine and spirits, it is very difficult to leave Tim McNally out of the discussion. He is considered one of the “go to” resources in the Crescent City for counsel and information about adult beverages and their place in the fabric of life in this great city.
Tim is the Wine and Spirits Editor, columnist and feature writer for New Orleans Magazine; the Wine and Spirits Editor and weekly columnist, Happy Hour, for www.MyNewOrleans.com; creator and editor of his own website, www.winetalknola.com; all in addition to his daily hosting duties on the radio program, The Dine, Wine and Spirits Show, on the air at WGSO – 990AM, every weekday, 3- 5 p.m, and streamed live on www.wgso.com.
Over the years, Tim has proved to be an informed interviewer, putting his guests at ease, and covering tactile and technical information so that even a novice can understand difficult agricultural and production concepts. Tim speaks with winemakers, wine and spirit ambassadors, distillers, authors, people who stage events and festivals, and takes questions from listeners and readers, all seamlessly blended together in a program that is unique in America.
Tim’s love of wine actually came about many years ago from his then wife-to-be, Brenda Maitland, a noted journalist in her own right, and together they have traveled to the major wine producing areas in the US and Europe, seeking first-hand information about beverages that give us all so much pleasure.
They were instrumental in the founding of the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, a major national and international well-regarded festival of its type. They both continue to be involved with the planning and staging of this multi-venue, five-day event now over twenty years old.
Tim is also considered one of the foremost professional wine judges in the US, being invited to judge more than 11 wine competitions each year, including the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (the largest competition of American wines in the world, with more than 6,000 entries), the Riverside, CA International Wine Competition, San Francisco International Wine Competition, Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition, Indiana International Wine Competition, Sandestin, Florida Wine Festival Competition, the State of Michigan Wine Competition, the U.S. National Wine Competition, and the National Wine Competition of Portugal.
Tim is a guest lecturer to many local wine and dine organizations, and speaks each year to the senior class in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama.
Staying abreast of the news of the wine and spirits world is a passion for Tim, and he is committed to sharing what he knows with his listeners and readers. “Doing something I love, with products that I truly enjoy, created by interesting people, coupling the experience with culinary excellence, and doing it all in the greatest city in America,” are the words Tim lives by.
It’s a good gig.
