I am looking for information on a bakery/donut shop called Spudnuts that was located on Washington Avenue just west of South Broad Street around the 1960s. The name derived from the bakers using dehydrated potatoes instead of flour. I would like to know if it is possible to get the recipe and if there are any Spudnut shops around New Orleans. I am a former resident of New Orleans and visit frequently.

Joe
Sunset, La.

Dear Joe,

I'm sorry to tell you that there no longer is a Spudnut shop in the Big Easy. Of course, there are many businesses that "ain't dere no more" since Katrina, but the Spudnut shop you remember was gone long before the storm.

In 1946, brothers Al and Bob Pelton of Salt Lake City, Utah, started their unique donut business. In their quest for a new kind of donut, they peeled thousands of potatoes by hand. Customers loved the new Spudnuts, and soon the brothers were able to buy an automatic peeler and masher. After further experimentation, the guys hit on a dry potato mix that solved all their problems. Shortly thereafter, they entered the franchise business, and by 1952, there were more than 350 Spudnut shops from coast to coast. The brothers had plans to open shops all over the world.

Today, there are about 35 Spudnut Shops in America; they are located in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington. If you're really interested in a trip to find a Spudnut, you can go to www.spudnutshop.com to find addresses and phone numbers of the shops. If you want to make your own potato-based donuts, however, there are lots of imitation recipes available online.

Hey Blake,

The official name of the New Orleans Archdiocese is Novae Aureliae. Is there a connection between this name and Aurelius? Was Orleans, France, named after Marcus Aurelius? Also, my Latin is a bit rusty, but Aureliae looks like a plural form. Is "Orleans" somehow plural, too?

Mike Redmann

Dear Mike,

The Latin name of the Archdiocese of New Orleans is Archidioecesis Novae Aureliae. In that construction, novae aureliae is not plural but the singular genitive form of the Latin name for New Orleans — Nova Aurelia. There is not, however, a connection with Marcus Aurelius Antonius, who became the Roman Emperor in A.D. 161. Instead, it is Lucius Domitius Aurelianus, known in English as Aurelian, the Roman Emperor from 270-275, who gave his name to the city in France that would come to be called Orleans.

Lucius Domitius Aurelianus was born of poor parents on Sept. 9, A.D. 214, in Lower Moesia. His father was a tenant farmer of a wealthy senator Aurelius, after whom the family was named. He went into the military and rose through the ranks in the army. As Emperor he successfully defended the empire against numerous invaders, and when he was finally able to turn his attention to governing Rome, he made major improvements. He was assassinated by political enemies, but the senate deified him soon after his death.

The city's first name was Genabum or Cenabum, and it was occupied by a Celtic tribe. When the tribe attempted to revolt against Julius Caesar in 52 B.C., the emperor had the town burned. On the foundations of the ancient Genabum, Aurelian built a new city: Aurelianum, 'The City of Aurelianus." This important defense fortress was located in a commanding position in the center of the province. It has retained its importance along with the name of its founder to the present day. The modern name of Orleans is derived from Aurelianis, as it was written in the Middle Ages.

Attila the Hun attempted an attack on Aurelianum in 451 but was unsuccessful. In 498, however, it was taken by Clovis I, founder of the Merovingian kingdom of Gaul and generally regarded as the founder of the French monarchy and the first French champion of Christianity. At Clovis' death in 511, the city became the capital of the Frankish kingdom of Orleans.

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• Roman Emperor Lucius Domitius Aurelianus gave his name to the French city that would come to be called Orleans and for which the city of New Orleans later was named.