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New Orleans Magazine December 2013

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A New Orleans Music Lover’s Christmas List

The gift-selection guide we provide in December draws on polling data that confirm that our readers are happy to spend money, now that the House has reopened government, once more scaling the fiscal cliff and in a necessary mix of metaphor, giving the debt ceiling its eternal boost. (We shall, in the manner of the […]

Lords of the Ring

Boxing in New Orleans

I, Bingle

Confessions of a department store snowman

Best of Dining 2013

In which we select the tops, without reservations

Dining Highlights

Vega Tapas Café offers a Mediterranean-Flavored Christmas Vega Tapas Café and Catering, 2051 Metairie Road, Metairie, 836-2007, VegaTapasCafe.com Vega Tapas Café in Metairie is offering a great value: a $50, five-course tasting menu over the holiday week (Dec. 23-28). Often rated as one of the best Mediterranean restaurants in the New Orleans area, Vega’s chef […]

A Charming Drink For the Season

No one can accuse New Orleans of not having any charm – we practically ooze charm from our every pore. We are also a town populated by great folks; ask anyone if we aren’t among the most charming folks on the planet. One of the things we do really well is celebrate unique situations, and that […]

Cooking for the Holidays

Try these go-to recipes for the Christmas season.

Marti’s, Domenica on Magazine and More

The original Marti’s closed the year after I graduated high school and I never dined there. The restaurant was located at 1041 Dumaine St., at the corner of Rampart Street, a location I associated with chef Ann Kearney’s Peristyle. The space has been dormant since chef Tom Wolfe closed his eponymous restaurant in 2009. Though […]

Lower Magazine's Restaurant Scene

There are lots of options near the intersection of Jackson Avenue and Magazine Street.

New Orleans Christmas Tree Memories

Every family with a Christmas tree has its share of Christmas tree stories. But first, you have to find that tree. Professional forester Adrian Juttner was a leader of an Explorer Scout Troop at the First Unitarian Church when he came up with a fundraising idea that lasted for years: selling Christmas trees. “The first […]

Yes, I Am Still Nursing

I don’t have a whole lot of “causes.” I don’t generally get involved in political campaigns, I’m very casual about religion and I pride myself on being able to see the other side in almost every argument. But there are a few things I’m definitely passionate about: my kids; my immediate family; New Orleans; coffee; “Gilmore […]

Sweating Over Christmas Sweaters

My mother-in-law Ms. Larda just loves Christmas sweaters. And you can get them real cheap at garage sales, since the rest of the human race evidently decided, all at once, that Christmas sweaters are ugly. But Ms. Larda don’t think they’re ugly. “How can Rudolph be ugly? Or Frosty? Or Santa with a nose that […]

A Man and His Hearse

Vehicle avoids dead end

Read and Spin

What to read and listen to this December.

A Few Words About Boudin Balls

Not that I have been to many cocktail parties recently, but there have been two where among the items served was boudin balls. On both occasions I was excited to take one, which usually comes with a sauce on the side for dipping; on both occasions I was disappointed. They weren’t bad. They just weren’t special. If they had a taste it was […]

The Resurrection of Reveillon

An old holiday tradition is finding new fans.

Plugging New Orleans’ 'Retail Leakage'

The Orleans Parish Retail Report, published by the New Orleans Business Alliance in 2013, analyzed the retail spending of New Orleans residents. The report identified a “retail leakage” in Orleans Parish of $1.9 billion dollars in 2012 – or retail spending by Orleans Parish residents in surrounding parishes, other cities and online. “Our retail report […]

The Legacy of Baby Quinton

A different type of loss

Healthbeat

In September the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services partnered with the Louisiana Health Cooperative, Inc. to develop the statewide health Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP). The idea is to provide a customer governed and nonprofit health coverage opportunity to small business owners and the public In October the CO-OP was officially opened […]

Hangover Helpers From Around the World

Try these remedies if you celebrate too much this holiday season.

New Orleans Schools Are Improving

Yet some people are unhappy about that

Are Women the 'Better Half' or the Have-nots?

A new report says women remain shut out of corporate decision-making.

Milne Boys Home’s Redevelopment

In 2014, the City of New Orleans plans to begin redevelopment of an historic property in Gentilly. Shuttered since Hurricane Katrina, the Milne Boys Home will serve as the new headquarters for the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission. Opened in 1933, it housed orphans and troubled youth until it closed in ’86. Until Katrina it […]

Catching Up With Benny Grunch

The man behind the "12 Yats of Christmas” talks about his latest music and more.

Julia Street with Poydras the Parrot

The pursuit to answer eternal questions

The Year New Orleans’ News Environment Changed

There are some cities that are one-newspaper towns. There are others that are two-newspaper towns. In terms of daily home deliveries, New Orleans enters the New Year as a one-and-three-sevenths-newspaper town. As always, things are different down here. We begin 2014 experiencing a news media environment that has changed dramatically over the last couple of years. That is true globally as it is locally; it’s just that in […]

A Big Victory

Re: “Jays and Tigers: 50 years ago they battled for a state title,” by George Gurtner. Characters column, October 2013 issue. I just had the opportunity to read George Gurtner’s write up about the Jesuit-Holy Cross game. It was really well done, and like so many, brought back some great memories. I had the honor […]

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