It’s Thanksgiving time, so I’ll take advantage of your good feelings solidly rooted in the holiday spirit and veer off just a bit from our regular diatribe. Thank you for your indulgence.
Party Safely This Weekend
First and foremost, we all know what great celebrators New Orleanians are. Even things that people in other towns don’t celebrate, we do it with a vengeance. We party hard. That’s the way we roll. But with all that hard partying, there comes the potential, a nice word meaning it’s going to happen f’sure, to indulge to the point where we are over the legal limit for alcohol. And driving, while we still may be good at it, is not in our or anyone else’s best interests.
Point is use cabs. Relying on a Designated Driver is fine but who among us is going to fulfill that role at this time of year. Hell, any time of year. And it does not take much to be over the legal limit of alcohol consumption.
Five glasses of Champagne, consumed over a 2 hour period, for a 200 pound person brings you to the brink. If you weigh 160, you have crossed the line of .08 blood alcohol content (BAC). We don’t realize it here because we are always in Mardi Gras training and we don’t act drunk or even impaired, but in the eyes of the law, we are.
And the reality is that maybe we did nothing wrong behind the wheel. Maybe some joker runs into us. When the police arrive and the alcohol test begins, who is at fault for the accident is immediately overshadowed by the results of BAC. Losing your privilege to drive, losing your insurance, maybe even losing your job is just not worth the trade-off for the price of a cab ride.
Try this nifty website and calculator to help you get a grip on the situation..
What to Do with that Turkey Grease
Okay, second piece of sage advice: recycle your turkey grease. Cooking those birds creates a good bit of grease, and if you are frying, one of my favorite ways to enjoy turkey, there will be plenty of grease mixed in with the cooking oil.
This year, after not being able to offer it last year, Whole Foods Markets at all locations will accept your used cooking oil and recycle it into biodiesel fuel. Free. With this service available, why would you pour your used grease down the storm drain? Why would you do that anyway? It’s nasty and illegal. Attracts bugs and can clog the drainage flow.
The best thing to do is pour your used but cooled grease back into the original containers, or if you just have grease from the bird, put it into a jar, and drive it over to any Whole Foods location from Friday, Nov. 23, through the following Friday, Nov. 30. Easy.
Thank you, Whole Foods, for a great community service.
Upcoming Wine and Spirits Events
Okay, now the fun stuff.
If you are reading this on Wednesday, November 21, the New Orleans Opera is offering Opera on Tap, which will combine the pleasures of malt, hops, and arias. It will be at the Four Points Sheraton French Quarter Hotel (541 Bourbon St., 524-7611), formerly the Inn on Bourbon Street, but more importantly site of the legendary, long-gone French Opera House.
The event begins lasts from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and admission is free, though the beer is not. It’s an event for the whole family and if you have houseguests, it would be a great way to get everyone out for a little recreational activity. The hotel is offering a $5 parking rate during the concert so just tell them you are attending Opera on Tap.
On Tuesday, Nov. 27, Koval Whiskey, the first craft distillery to open in Chicago’s City Limits since Prohibition, will be staging Whiskey Dinner at Calcasieu (930 Tchoupitoulas St., 588-2188), just around the corner from Cochon in the Warehouse District.
The three-course meal, plus dessert, will include cocktails with every course, of course, along with the great cuisine of Cochon. Nothing shabby with any of it. Cost is $60 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations can be made at 504-588-2188.
Speaking of Prohibition, Old New Orleans Rum is celebrating its repeal. Well, I guess. Their whole operational plan depends on being able to sell the rum. From 8 to 11 p.m. on on Dec. 7, at Old New Orleans Rum (2815 Frenchmen St., 945-9400) you can party like its 1933 with the acknowledgement that the Noble Experiment was a flop. Thankfully.
Tickets are only $25 in advance and the proceeds benefit People United for Armstrong Park, a most worthy cause. Call 504-945-9400 to purchase tickets.
The actual repeal date was Dec. 5, 1933 but importantly we are recognizing that Prohibition is no longer here, in full force.
Moving on, and there are lots of activities in December but I am focusing on adult beverage-centric activities, is Tales of the Toddy on Dec. 20. This Tales of the Cocktail-affiliated event will feature the stars of the New Orleans cocktail and restaurant scene shaking up drinks of the season and serving some tasty tidbits. It’s very neat.
All takes place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency (601 Loyola Ave., 561-1234). Tickets are $30, and the Hyatt is offering special pricing on rooms so this may be an excellent opportunity to take that good advice offered you earlier in this column.
Call 504-948-0511, or visit talesofthecocktail.com, for tickets. I promise you will make this a part of your holiday traditions once you have attended.
Hope you, your family and all of your friends enjoy a special New Orleans Thanksgiving weekend. And for this holiday, don’t get all nervous about what wines go with what dishes. You literally cannot make a mistake with that much great food and that many people around the table.
Whatever you do is going to be special because you are sharing the joy of living in New Orleans with those you love.
Next week, back to our regular columns. Happy Thanksgiving. Geaux Tigers!! Geaux Saints!!
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