It's getting hot. There's no getting around it anymore. In all actuality, we've been pretty damn lucky this year as the weather has actually been pretty mild heading into the summer. But not anymore. It's officially sweltering out there, you guys.
And we all know that when New Orleans heats up, things start getting a bit slow out there. The lazy heat makes us want to stay inside in the respite of our air conditioners.
But there's still plenty to do, even if our city has quieted down a bit. Here's a few hot (as in popular) things going on to get us through the summer months.
New Orleans Bars Covering The World Cup
Soccer fans are a different breed than football or basketball fans. I'm not sure why. I have no explanation. I just remember during the South Africa World Cup when a friend and I went to Markey's to watch a USA game. We both looked at each other and were like, "have you ever seen so many hot guys in here?" No. We had not. The same is true for Brazil. General eye-candy all-around, ladies. From the screen and from the audience. USA!
"True Blood"
The very last season starts up on Sunday. We're starting to lose some of our Louisiana-set shows! No more "True Detective" in our state and pretty soon, no more "True Blood".
Oh, how I used to love this show. Oh, how disappointed I've been the last few seasons … but I still keep watching, and I have faith that they'll end the series with some serious craziness. If nothing else, I need something to watch on Sundays because "Game of Thrones" is on hiatus until next May and that new "The Leftovers" show on HBO looks pretty "meh".
And I'm not even sure who I ship anymore. Bill? Eric? Alcide? I wasn't crazy about who Sookie ended up with in the books, and if the same thing happens on the show, I'll be surprised.
Chef
Everyone keeps telling me how awesome this movie is, so I actually plan on going to a theater to see it. I've stopped going to movies unless it's a serious nerdfest like The Hobbit or a Marvel release (hello, Guardians of the Galaxy in August!). They just get so expensive, you know? The last movie I went to was at Canal Place and my husband and I spent fifty bucks on tickets and a glass of wine. I mean, what happened to good clean fun?
The Banh Mi
New Orleans has some pretty great banh mis, also known as a "Vietnamese Po Boy", and apparently Taco Bell's parent company wants to see if the rest of the country would like them as much as we do … except it'll be made by the people that brought you the "Double Down". They're test-marketing in Dallas. Is nothing sacred? No? Alrighty then.
So, until they spread across the country like wildfire and Subway inevitably introduces their $5-dollar-foot-long Banh Mi deal, I'm going to continue enjoying the real thing around town.
Love Signs
Have you seen any "love signs" by your house? I have! And apparently they are everywhere.
I love it!
Festivals
We still have many to look forward to: Running of the Bulls, White Linen Night, Dirty Linen Night, Red Dress Run, Satchmo Fest and Southern Decadence. I'm also missing a lot of them; needless to say, there's something going on pretty much every weekend. If you can brave the heat, you can get your party on. Over the past few years, Running of the Bulls (San Fermin in Nueva Orleans) has turned into my favorite, and the good things is, most of the action happens in the morning before the heat index goes up to 100 degrees.
And speaking of festivals …
Prince
I love Prince. Prince will be at Essence Fest this year. I've never seen him live and he's one of the few artists left on my bucket list of shows I need to see before I leave this earth.
That's actually the look I gave my husband when he suggested we get out of town for 4th of July, thus missing Prince.
Cheesecake Factory
I know that New Orleans dislikes chains, but bouts of homesickness (which don't happen too often anymore) are usually quenched by a trip to a good old-fashioned restaurant where the food tastes exactly the same as it does in Ohio (or at any of their other 500 locations). You have no idea how much I rejoiced in Chipotle opening up.
Now, the Cheesecake Factory? People take that place seriously. The menu reads like a book and there are like, 50 cheesecakes to choose from. They really don't like that whole "less is more" philosophy over there, which actually makes it kind of fun. Every once in awhile.
It opened this week at Lakeside Mall.
