Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The Clubgoer's Dilemma
Posted by Noah Bonaparte Pais on Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 11:23 PM
At 10 p.m. tonight, inside two of New Orleans’ best (if most disparate) music venues, two each of the best (if most disparate) up-and-coming local and national bands will do a familiar battle for scant attendance. It’s an odd phenomenon: This city — in rock terms, at least — is sadly prone to long stretches of inactivity and single nights of multiple goings-on. Tonight is a Wednesday. There is no good reason why the two best rock concerts of the week are happening at the same time, on the same night. But indeed they are. At Republic New Orleans, San Diegan (San Diegoan?) rockers Delta Spirit team with the area jazz/pop ensemble Antenna Inn. Six blocks away, Austin’s Low Lows (above, in a rather amazing video) tackles the Circle Bar’s cramped quarters with experimental locals Magna Porta. (And thank your lucky stars those bookings weren’t reversed, or you might’ve had one of AI’s nine members sipping from your straw.) Call it the Crescent City clubgoer’s dilemma. The simple math, however fuzzy, breaks down like this: Is a Northern Soul-adopting, mass-harmonizing classic rock redux + a stage-crashing, meter-defying Steely Dan fete > peculiarly voiced, pretty-as-hell indie rock + space-tripping, forever-soloing, Mars Volta-aping prog? My abacus, please.
Sedrick Ellis' Tattoo Addiction
Posted by Alejandro de los Rios on Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 9:18 PM
Photo by Jonathan Bachman
Most of the world has not seen Sedrick Ellis' tattoos. Partly because of his tendancy to wear sleeves during games and partly because he doesn't want you to.
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Texas does the contraflow
Posted by Kevin Allman on Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 8:31 PM
From the Corpus Christi Caller:
While no mandatory evacuation has been issued in Corpus Christi because of Hurricane Ike, contra-flow evacuation lanes will be opened on Interstate 37 tomorrow starting at 7 a.m. Thursday, city officials said.Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Cliff Bost said all lanes on Interstate 37 will be opened to go out of town.
Still no word on Houston/Galveston contraflow, but Galveston mayor Lyda Ann Thomas has called for a voluntary evacuation from the "low-lying" parts of Galveston Island.
Simmering for Unity: Red Beans and "Gumbo Tales"
Posted by Ian McNulty on Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 5:58 PM
"Unlike politicians, however, food unites with complete sincerity. It harbors no ulterior motives; its power is irreversible. Red beans and rice is my best example."
- Sara Roahen, from "Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table"
A native of Wisconsin, Sara Roahen had a unique vantage from which to learn about the intertwining of food, family, friendship, business, ethnic identity, history and personal politics in New Orleans as restaurant critic for Gambit Weekly from 2000 to 2005.
Her explorations around the region, her research into the creation and development of iconic recipes and the personalities of her food-obsessed friends gave her plenty of material outside of the standard weekly restaurant critique, however, and this she poured into her memoir, "Gumbo Tales," published around Mardi Gras time this year.
Each chapter corresponds with a specific New Orleans food item, like red beans, or a drink, like the Sazerac, but this book is no mere catalog of our favorite things. Rather, the food and drink set the scene for lively storytelling that gives readers a richer sense of how our everyday culinary traditions came about, their diversity in practice today and how the discussions born from both their commonalities and differences help bind our community together. It may be hard to get two New Orleans cooks to agree on a gumbo preparation, after all, but most of them will agree the spectrum of recipes help build a defining sense of home.
The book's perspective is intensely personal, and therefore also more memorable and meaningful than the many cookbook histories of New Orleans food. There are no recipes included, but reading it will make you want to eat, and even cook, something local right away.
Ms. Roahen will give a reading from her book and even provide samples of her own red beans and rice this Sunday, Sept. 14, at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum.
The event begins at 2 p.m. Admission is $10 and includes the exhibits of both the Southern Food & Beverage Museum and the Museum of the American Cocktail.
- Ian McNulty
How to fix the emergency food voucher screwup
Posted by Kevin Allman on Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 3:53 PM
Whoo-ee, but that plan to get emergency food vouchers into the hands of Louisiana citizens is -- as my favorite nola.com blogger would put it -- a hot mess:
Topping the list of problems was miscommunication between state officials and New Orleans police on whether applications would be taken at St. Maria Goretti Church, 7300 Crowder Blvd., the only city location open on Tuesday.Despite conflicting reports, that location is closed, according to state Department of Social Services spokeswoman Cheryl Michelet. There is only one site open in New Orleans today, she said, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, which began taking applications at 8 a.m.
Lines at that location began forming around 1 a.m., and for a brief time, police officers were redirecting people away from there as well, telling them to report to the New Orleans public library branch at Tulane and Loyola avenues.
New Orleans Police Department spokesman Bob Young said that's because the library was announced as a new location at 7 p.m. roll call on Tuesday. Word of the convention center site didn't reach Superintendent Warren Riley until 12:30 a.m., Young said, and despite radio broadcasts, many overnight officers did not get the word before the 7 a.m. shift change.
"Police were just trying to do those people a favor," Young said.
Seems like we fixed the evacuation problems (mostly), but not the contraflow or the post-evac situation. But I think I have a solution.
Let's put the government functionaries charged with implementing the 2009 digital-TV switchover in charge of all emergency relief.
Drinks with dinner or with lessons
Posted by Jessica Bride on Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 1:37 AM
It is Tuesday. Most people are back and most businesses are open. Now that we are out of the "cone of error" for Ike, life is starting to resemble, err, normal.
Two great places just got better, now that they have liquor licenses. RAW (which, contrary to the name, serves both sushi and Chinese food) at 3909 Magazine Street is now able to serve beer, wine and sake to accompany their great sushi. Naturally I already miss buying a beer two doors down at Joey K's and walking into the restaurant...
And Savvy Gourmet is now serving up 35 fantastic "food" wines selected by their Savvy new wine guy, Greg Knaps, and well paired with any of their cooking classes. Wines are also available for purchase and take-away.
As life begins to return to normal - we return to squeezing all of the goodness out of life that New Orleans has to offer.
