Gambit: November 3, 2020

November 3, 2020 Volume 41 Number 42

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N OV E M B E R 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

BULLETIN BOARD

Lane Lacoy Historic Home Specialist

UPCOMING AUCTIONS GULF STATES REAL ESTATE

Asociate Broker/Realtor®

JUST LISTED!!!

4200-02 DAUPHINE STREET $563,000

BIG 2-story owner’s unit 1,820 s/f, cent. a/h, 2 BR’s, 2 BA, Kit/appliances, Den, LR, rear porch, f/p’s, wood floors, wainscotting, high ceilings.

1 BR, 1 BA rental LR, Den, kit/appl, rear porch 900 s/f.

HUGE fenced yard... possible off-street parking.

504-957-5116 • 504-948-3011 840 Elysian Fields Ave N.O., LA 70117

www.lanelacoy.com - ljlacoy@latterblum.com

Give Thanks

MJ’s

-3 i. 10-5 & Sat. 10 Garden flags $8.99 - $16.99

.- Fr NOW OPEN Mon

Switchmatt inserts $8.99 Mat Base $14.99

Tea Towels $5.99

Immigration. Criminal Law. Traffic Tickets

Call Eugene Redmann 504.834.6430 2632 Athania Pkwy, Met., LA 70002 Se Habla Espanol www.redmannlawnola.com

REAL ESTATE FOR RENT

GARDEN DISTRICT 1/2 BLOCK TO MAGAZINE

AUCTION NOV. 18

AUCTION NOV. 20

AUCTION DEC. 10

64± AC FORMER PHI HELICOPTER TRANSPORT FACILITY IDEAL FOR REDEVELOPMENT

FORMER MANUFAB, INC. INDUSTRIAL FACILITY IN NEW ORLEANS INDUSTRIAL MARKET

AMELIA PORT ALLISON MARINE INTRACOASTAL WATERFRONT SERVICE FACILITY

3887 LAKE PALOURDE RD. MORGAN CITY, LA

SOLD SUBJECT TO A MINIMUM STALKING HORSE OVER BID OF $1,025,000 • 8 structures (39,470± SF total) • Massive redevelopment opportunity • Located on beautiful Lake Palourde with scenic views • Perfect for offshore Gulf transportation providers for oil & gas industry

9828 HWY. 182 AMELIA, LA

3310 PORT & HARBOR DR. PEARLINGTON, MS

PREVIOUS LISTING PRICE: $2,950,000 – MINIMUM BID: $1,675,000 • 72,000± SF total – 67,200 SF industrial space; 4,800 SF office space; 2,400 SF storage • On-site rail & direct port access • 8 cranes – 5-ton to 15-ton • 12 (12x14) drive-in & 12 dock-high doors

Louisiana Properties

42.6± ACRES WITH LAND FOR EXPANSION, MFG BUILDINGS & OFFICE SPACE • 8 structures (82,300± SF total) • Barge slip & bulkhead on site • Expected to benefit from river & bayou widening project • 25± miles from the Gulf of Mexico

HilcoRealEstate.com

855.755.2300

1 & 2 bedrooms available in ideal location and ROOMS BY THE MONTH with PRIVATE BATH. All utilities included monthly. Call 504-202-0381 for appointment.

JEFFERSON SINGLE HOUSE NEAR OCHSNER

2BR, 2BA , Off-St. Pkg. Front & side yards (owner maintained). $1300/mo + $1300 Dep. Cats ok, Sm dogs negotiable. Call 504-481-3112.

OLD METAIRIE OLD METAIRIE-1820 METAIRIE RD.

Upstairs, 2Bd, 1Ba, lg liv rm, kit & den combo, 3 closets. Off Street Parking. $775/mo plus dep. 504-834-3465.

PRIVATE HOME NEAR METAIRIE RD.

$495/mo incl util & some use of kit.

Refs & dep. Avail now. Call 504-473-3296.

Students welcome.

Mississippi Properties

504.233.0063

Hilco Real Estate, LLC, in cooperation with Paul Lynn, LA Broker, Lic. #76068-ACT & Paul A. Lynn & Associates, LLC, MS Broker, Lic. #21483.

Cristina’s

Family owned and operated since 1996

Cleaning Service Burlap Door hangers $39.99

MJ’s

Let our crew help you with all your cleaning needs!

• Disinfecting/Sanitation Services Available • • General House Cleaning • • After Construction Cleaning •

1513 Metairie Rd. 835-6099

Residential & Commercial • Licensed & Bonded

METAIRIE SHOPPING CENTER MJSMETAIRIE • mjsofmetairie.com

✁ ✁ ✁ ✁ INTERIOR/EXTERIOR • Pressure Washing • Painting • Gutter Cleaning

REPAIRS

• Roofing • Gutters • Sheetrock • Patio Covers • Decks • Siding/Fascia

CALL JEFFREY • (504) 610-5181

✁ ✁ ✁ ✁

2

Lakeview

504-232-5554 cristinascleaningnola@gmail.com

Locally owned & serving the New Orleans area for over 30 years

CLEANING SERVICE

RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL AFTER CONSTRUCTION CLEANING SANITIZING/DISINFECTING LIGHT/GENERAL HOUSEKEEPING HEAVY DUTY CLEANING

Susana Palma

lakeviewcleaningllc@yahoo.com Fully Insured & Bonded

504-250-0884 504-309-6662

to place your ad in the

GAMBIT EXCHANGE call 486-5900

ADVERTISE HERE!

CALL 486-5900

in the

FRENCH MARKET DISTRICT

Now through November 15

NOVEMBER 9 —— DECEMBER 14

NOVEMBER 3 —— DECEMBER 15

NOVEMBER 5 —— DECEMBER 17

NOVEMBER 7 —— DECEMBER 12

NOVEMBER 7 —— DECEMBER 12 NOVEMBER 4 —— DECEMBER 16

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

FALL FUN

3

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

4

CONTENTS

NOV. 3 — 9, 2020 VOLUME 41 || NUMBER 42 THE 2020 BIG EASY AWARDS

2020 AWARD WINNERS 15 EXIT, PURSUED BY A PANDEMIC 17 HONORING THE STAGE 19 NEWS

OPENING GAMBIT 6 COMMENTARY 8

& t s i L a g n i k a M ! e c i w T t i g n i Check

CLANCY DUBOS 9 BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN 10 PULLOUT

DETAILS FEATURES

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 5

JIM BEAM BLACK BOURBON

EAT + DRINK 21

GIFT SET W/ SET OF ROCKS GLASSES

GOING OUT

750 ML

EXCHANGE

MAKERS MARK WHISKEY $20.99

750 ML

STOLI VODKA

@The_Gambit @gambitneworleans

11

The 2020 Big Easy Awards

@GambitNewOrleans

Perpetual motion: 30 years of the Soul Rebels

THE SOUL REBELS PHOTO PROVIDED BY LOUIS BROWNE COVER DESIGN BY DORA SISON

W/ FREE CAP

$25.99 1.75L

WOODFORD PREMIUM BOURBON

W/ 2 FREE ROCK GLASSES

$27.99

750 ML

JACK DANIELS WHISKEY

Publisher | JEANNE EXNICIOS FOSTER

EDITORIAL

JAMESON BLACK BARREL IRISH WHISKEY W/ 2 TUMBLER GLASSES

ADVERTISING

(504) 483-3105// response@gambitweekly.com

Advertising Inquiries (504) 483-3150

Editor | JOHN STANTON Political Editor | CLANCY DUBOS

Advertising Director | SANDY STEIN BRONDUM (504) 483-3150 [sstein@gambitweekly.com]

Arts & Entertainment Editor | WILL COVIELLO

Senior Sales Representative

Staff Writers | JAKE CLAPP, KAYLEE POCHE,

JILL GIEGER

SARAH RAVITS

(504) 483-3131 [jgieger@gambitweekly.com]

PRODUCTION

$18.99 750 ML

STAFF

Contributing Writers | IAN MCNULTY

GIFT SET W/ TALL GLASS

Sales Representatives

Creative Services Director | DORA SISON

KATIE BISHOP

Pre-Press Coordinator | JASON WHITTAKER Web & Classifieds Designer | MARIA BOUÉ

(504) 262-9519 [kbishop@gambitweekly.com]

Graphic Designers | CATHERINE FLOTTE,

KELLY SONNIER

EMMA VEITH, TIANA WATTS

(504) 483-3143 [ksonnier@gambitweekly.com]

BUSINESS & OPERATIONS Billing Inquiries 1 (225) 388-0185 Administrative Assistant | LINDA LACHIN

CHARLIE THOMAS (504) 636-7438 [cthomas@gambitweekly.com]

$39.99

750 ML

710 VETERANS MEMORIAL BLVD. | METAIRIE | DORIGNACS.COM (504) 834-8216

Open 7am-8pm Everyday

30

PUZZLES 31

$19.99

W/ LIMITED EDITION HOLIDAY SWEATER ROCK GLASSES

Gambit (ISSN 1089-3520) is published weekly by Capital City Press, LLC, 840 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130. (504) 4865900. We cannot be held responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts even if accompanied by a SASE. All material published in Gambit is copyrighted: Copyright 2020 Capital City Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

31

Film festing

Stuffing the ballot LAVEAU CONTRAIRE, Tarah Cards and Cucci Licci host an election night party with drag performances and running commentary on results on the large screen at the Broadside outdoor space next to The Broad Theater. Masks are required. 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. Admission $10.

The New Orleans Film Fest screens films outdoors and online

Soul session

BY WILL COVIELLO

DERRICK FREEMAN’S SOUL BRASS Band performs on the balcony at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at 5 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 3. The set also will be broadcast via facebook.com/nolajazzmuseum/live.

FILM FESTIVAL FANS DON’T USUALLY

cart coolers, drinks, collapsible chairs, blankets or sunscreen to screenings, but 2020 is definitely not a normal year — even for film buffs. And in order to make everyone feel safe and comfortable, the New Orleans Film Festival this year is welcoming that type of fest activity at its two open-air screening spaces on the Lafitte Greenway.

The New Orleans Film Festival has two outdoor screens at the Greenway and one at the recently opened Broadside outdoor stage, run by The Broad Theater. The festival presents outdoor screenings Nov. 6-15, and films also are available online through Nov. 22.

Festival programming slimmed down from more than 200 films to 165 this year, but entries span the usual range of narrative features, documentaries, short, experimental and animated movies, music videos and more. Some online screenings are followed by Q&A sessions with filmmakers and allow for viewers to participate. More than 25% of films are by Louisiana filmmakers, and more than half are by women and gender nonconforming directors.

On opening night, “Farewell Amor” runs at 7 p.m. on all three outdoor screens. Director Ekwa Msangi’s drama explores the reunion of three family members separated by 17 years.

Walter, an Angolan immigrant working as a cab driver in New York, can finally bring his wife and daughter to join him, but they have to bridge the gaps in distance, time apart and social change.

The festival’s Centerpiece highlight also is a story of immigration. In “Minari,” a South Korean family that’s adjusted to life in small town Arkansas welcomes a cantankerous grandmother to their new lives.

The Louisiana Features Competition portion includes the Sundance Darling “Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets.” Local filmmakers Bill and Turner Ross shot the film in three days at a Terrytown bar with a cast of professional and novice actors, including a local comedian and musician. The story is set in a dive bar on the outskirts of Las Vegas on its last day of business. The regulars nurse their drinks in a stream of endless chatter and barroom philosophizing in an oddly compelling montage.

Black verse P R OV I D E D B Y I F C F I L M S

“Farewell Amor” is the opening night film at the New Orleans Film Festival.

Drag performers Laveau Contraire and Franky Canga are at the center of director Stuart Sox’s “To Decadence with Love: Thanks for Everything!” The movie documents drag performances and revelry during a steamy Labor Day weekend during Southern Decadence.

There are performances at spaces from AllWays Lounge & Theatre to Southern Rep Theatre, as a diverse group of performers engage large, enthusiastic crowds during the annual LGBT festival.

Long before the upper 9th Ward was flooded by Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures, it was flooded by Hurricane Betsy, and long before that, areas of it developed as a community welcoming home Black soldiers from World War II. Director Leonard Smith III chronicles this history and culture of the neighborhood in “A Place Called Desire,” and he also examines the effect of environmental racism on the community, with ample archival photos and interviews with longtime residents.

Fans of Ellen DeGeneres or “America’s Got Talent” may have seen short snippets of local musician Valerie Sassyfras performing her song “Girls Night Out.” Or locals may have caught her mix of keyboards, accordion, electric sounds and singing at local venues.

“Nobody May Come” is directors Ella Hatamian and Stiven Luka’s personal profile of the performer.

Joshua J.G. Bagnall’s documentary “Professor Longhair, Rugged and Funky” is a retrospective project that aims to give the legendary Henry Roeland Byrd his due. In interview footage, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Henry Butler and others attest to the pianist’s talents and influence shaping New Orleans music, funk and rock and roll.

Documentaries on local subjects also include “Closed for Storm,” Jake

Williams’ look at the Six Flags New Orleans amusement park in New Orleans East. “A Crime on the Bayou” examines a 1966 Plaquemines Parish case in which a Black teenager was arrested for touching a white boy’s arm.

Other documentary features include “Mayor,” about how Musa Hadid became mayor of the West Bank city of Ramallah, a town near Jerusalem that is predominantly occupied by Arab Christian and Muslim residents. Hadid goes about a normal city leader’s job of trying to fix sidewalks and attract tourists to a place caught up in larger political struggles. “Proper Pronouns” follows four transgender ordained ministers who try to build tolerance and battle discrimination in their Bible Belt towns, and “Unapologetic” looks at the Movement for Black Lives in Chicago through the eyes of two Black queer women.

Among the international entries is “Aga’s House.” Director Lendita Zeqiraj reveals her drama through the eyes of Aga, a 9-year-old boy who lives with five women in rural Kosovo. Zdenka has just joined the group, and it slips out that she’s Serbian, not Croatian as others thought. Balkan ethnic tensions cast a long shadow, and some of the other women’s complicated pasts also shape the present as Aga tries to relate to the adults in his world.

In Gibrey Allen’s “Right Near the Beach,” the murder of a famous Jamaican sprinter opens the door to his private life, as the public mourns the celebrity and searches for the motive behind the crime.

The festival’s outdoor site on the Greenway has two screens and there are daytime screenings. Films are available by individual tickets and various festival passes. Pass holders must reserve space for outdoor films. Visit neworleansfilmsociety.org for schedule, tickets and information.

“ANTHOLOGY OF NEGRO POETS” was a recording of readings by Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Sterling A. Brown, Margaret Walker and others, produced by Louisiana native Arna Bontemps. Le Petit Theatre presents a virtual performance of the work, with poets played by Justin William Davis, Renaldo McClinton, Tommye Myrick, Constance Thompson and LeBaron Thornton.

View the performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, via lepetittheatre.com.

War correspondence DOUGLAS TAUREL’S ONE-MAN show, “The American Soldier,” is based on letters from soldiers who fought in the American evolution through wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, looking at service and sacrifice through correspondence between service members and their loved ones. Taurel has presented the show from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Westwego Performing Arts Theatre. Tickets are $20-$35, available at jpas.org.

Box set

P R OV I D E D P H OTO B Y J A S O N K R U P PA

Helen Gillet

THE MUSIC BOX VILLAGE reopens with a weekend of live shows in its Sonic Remedies series. Louis Michot leads his Melody Makers and is joined by Leyla McCalla at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6. Black Magic Drumline performs at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7 Helen Gillet and Mike Dillon perform at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8. Tickets are available at musicboxvillage.com.

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

5

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

6

OPENING GAMBIT N E W

OR L E A N S

N E W S

+

V I E W S

It’s been a long, a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

# The Count

Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down

964,181 Judge Robin Pittman, who presides over Orleans Criminal District Court, Section F, has received Loyola University New Orleans’ Adjutor Hominum Award, the highest award given by the university’s alumni association. The award is normally given during a fall celebration, but Pittman chose to forgo any events in favor of paying it forward by establishing a scholarship to support a sociology student.

The record-breaking number of Louisianans who voted early for the Nov. 3 election, despite hurricanes and an ongoing pandemic.

P H OTO B Y DAV I D G R U N F E L D D I RE C TOR O F P H OTO G R A P H Y

An abandon house leans on an occupied home in the 1700 block of Washington in the height of Hurricane Zeta’s arrival in New Orleans on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020.

CITY DEALS WITH HURRICANE ZETA AFTERMATH Early voting in Louisiana

shattered records this election cycle. Just under 1 million votes were cast either during the 10-day early voting period or as absentee mail ballots for the Nov. 3 election, marking an 81.3% increase from the early voting number in 2016. The 963,871 people who have voted already represent 31.7% of registered Louisiana voters — and will likely comprise close to half the total votes cast in the Nov. 3 election.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry lost the first round in his lawsuit seeking to block $7.8 million in grants to local election officials from a nonprofit backed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The grants, offered by the Center for Tech and Civic Life, were designed to help local leaders run elections in a pandemic and would have paid for equipment, personal protective gear and wages for election workers staffing early voting sites for longer hours. Landry opposed the idea.

DARKNESS FELL OCT. 28 ON NEW ORLEANS long before Hurricane Zeta

finished shaking trees and houses, leaving uncertainty for the 77% of the city waiting for the lights to come back on. City and Entergy officials warned that some customers might be waiting as long as 10 days.

By late afternoon on Oct. 29 nearly 400,000 were still without power, mostly in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.

“We prepared for a significant amount of outages, and that’s certainly what we got,” utility spokesperson Lee Sabatini said.

She told WWL television it could take 10 days to restore service to all, based on Entergy’s previous experience, but said 90% of customers likely will have power restored sooner.

At a post-storm news conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Entergy would prioritize residents with special needs.

Other utility companies were to prioritize municipal agencies that lost their Internet service, including some police stations.

Many of the outages were the result of 200-plus “tree emergencies” reported to City Hall in the aftermath of Zeta. Some trees ripped down power lines.

“We haven’t had this kind of wind for a long time,” said Ramsey Green, Cantrell’s deputy chief administrative officer for infrastructure.

Officials discouraged residents from cleaning up storm debris on public rights of way, saying instead that Park and Parkways Department workers should do that work. They cited the electrocution of a 55-year-old man who came in contact with a dangling power line.

“This is not for residents to do themselves,” Cantrell said. “Please leave it up to public safety officials to manage the damages caused by Hurricane Zeta.”

Collin Arnold, director of Cantrell’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said there was significant debris on major thoroughfares after Zeta’s sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph and gusts up to 80 miles per hour.

“Clearly there’s damage out there,” Arnold said. “But there’s still a lot of unknowns out there, and the public needs to know that.”

— JEFF NOWAK AND DELLA HASSELLE / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE PAGE 7

According to Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, the 2020 number is almost double what it was in 2016, when 531,462 voters cast their ballots before election day. In Orleans Parish, 98,257 ballots had been cast by Oct. 27, as compared to 2016 when 51,376 ballots were cast. 86,977 of those 2020 ballots were cast in-person. Despite previous efforts to limit voting access amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Ardoin praised voters and said “It is my strong desire to see 2020 set the record for Louisiana’s highest turnout.” Sometimes wishes do come true.

C’est What

?

Of the presidential also-rans on the Nov. 3 ballot, who would get your vote?

34.3%

14.9%

JO JORGENSEN

ALYSON KENNEDY

43.3%

KANYE WEST

7.5%

GLORIA LA RIVA

Vote on “C’est What?” at www.bestofneworleans.com

PAGE 6

Gov. Edwards files suit challenging GOP lawmakers seeking to undermine his emergency proclamation Gov. John Bel Edwards filed a lawsuit in state court on Oct. 26 to defend his COVID-19 public health emergency proclamation, which has been challenged repeatedly by Republican lawmakers of the House of Representatives. The legal battle — not his first against GOP members seeking to undermine his executive powers — comes amid a third spike of the virus.

A majority of House members — all of them Republicans — signed a petition declaring that the public health emergency was over on Friday, Oct. 23. That was the same day that America saw its highest number of daily new cases.

A visibly frustrated Edwards said at a news conference that more than 5,600 Louisianans have died since March from COVID-19 and that the state’s mitigation measures follow guidance from the Republican-led White House.

Edwards’ GOP critics claim his emergency powers are unconstitutional; Edwards says the House petition was improperly filed because the Legislature did not consult the

Parity in name only?

In August, the New Orleans City Council unanimously passed an ordinance requiring the city’s public defender office receive 85% of the funding that the District Attorney’s office receives from the city — a huge increase from the 35% it currently receives. But the proposed city budget Mayor LaToya Cantrell released last week seemed to ignore that ordinance, according to a story by The Lens’ Nicholas Chrastil.

Cantrell’s proposed budget, which the council must adopt or revise by Dec. 1, gave public defenders around 28% of the DA’s funding for 2021.

Since each year’s budget is a separate ordinance, the council’s budget decision could override the “parity” measure that council members passed

MASK NOW so we can

in August. The mayor’s proposed budget would significantly decrease both the public defender office and the DA’s budget as the city faces a projected shortfall due to COVID-19.

Cantrell proposes giving the public defender office $1,626,422 — down from the more than $2 million it received in 2020 — and the DA’s office $5,742,423, down from $7,178,029.

City Council President Jason Williams, who is running for Orleans Parish DA, said in a statement to The Lens that the city’s budget woes were not an excuse to continue funding the offices unequally.

“It’s true that agencies across the board are expecting and in some cases agreeing to budget cuts,” Williams said. “This economic crisis should not absolve the city from our commitments to a fair, equitable and just criminal legal system.”

Read more at thelensnola.org.

Pet projects Six legislators were key negotiators on a supplemental budget bill that included $13 million in pet projects for their districts, the Louisiana Illuminator’s Julie O’Donoghue reports.

The state Legislature passed the bill, which included $25 million in funding for local projects, during the special legislative session that ended Oct. 23.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has said he

OPENING GAMBIT intends to line-item veto some of the projects.

According to the Illuminator’s analysis, the six lawmakers who served on a conference committee that substantial re-wrote the budget measure represent five of the six parishes that received the most pet project funding.

House Speaker Clay Schexnayder and Senate Finance Chairman Bodi White, both Republicans, represent Livingston Parish, which received $1.3 million in funding. White also lives in East Baton Rouge, which received $4.8 million.

Senate President Page Cortez, also a Republican, brought home $2 million to Lafayette, while Sen. Greg Tarver, a Democrat, got $1.3 million for Caddo Parish.

House Appropriations Chairman Jerome Zeringue represents Terrebonne Parish, which received $1.2 million. More than $800,000 went to East Carroll, Madison, Ouachita and Morehouse parishes, which Rep. Francis Thompson, a Democrat, represents.

Spending for the home areas of the conferees far exceeded the per capita expenditures for larger parishes. Still, Orleans was the only parish outside of those represented by the conferees to receive more than $1 million.

Read more at lailluminator.com.

‘Tis the season for parties and celebrations.

With the holidays upon us, let’s work together so we can get back to the life we love in Louisiana. Wear a mask now to protect yourself, your family and neighbors—so we can party later!

Learn more about ways to protect

01MK7441 09/20

yourself at bcbsla.com/covid19

later!

7 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

“public health authority” (the Louisiana Department of Health) as required by state law. The LDH has guided the governor’s decisions throughout the duration of the pandemic.

“I am incredibly disappointed that at a time when Louisianans need to be coming together to protect each other from this virus, some legislators and the Attorney General [Jeff Landry] are instead playing politics with peoples’ lives,” he said. “I will continue to work with public health officials and experts to make decisions based on sound science and data.” — SARAH RAVITS

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

8

Wearable Art

MICHOU

COMMENTARY

Seriously. Go Vote HURRICANE ZETA MAY HAVE TAKEN OUT THE ELECTRICITY, BUT IT CAN’T TAKE AWAY OUR MOST IMPORTANT POWER: the power of the vote. As of press time election officials were still assessing whether the storm would force last-minute changes in polling places, so we urge readers to check your parish government websites, the Secretary of State’s voter portal, or the Gambit site (bestofneworleans.com), where we’ll be keeping track of any location changes in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes.

Like most years, there will inevitably be rumors of, and potentially actual, voter intimidation or obstruction occurring on Election Day. Do not let this stop you. Exercise of the franchise is our most important right, and untold thousands of Americans have lost their lives in the fight to protect it. Honor them, and yourself, and get out to vote!

In recent weeks we have published in print and online our recommendations. Even if you disagree with our endorsements, we hope you’ll exercise your right to vote. Below is our Gambit ballot, which you can take into the voting booth with you.

The Gambit Ballot SHOP ONLINE AT WWW.FISHERSONSJEWELERS.COM (504) 885 -4956 • INFO@FISHERSONSJEWELERS.COM TUESDAY – FRIDAY 10-5 | SATURDAY 10-3 CURBSIDE PICKUP AVAILABLE 5101 W. ESPLANADE AVE. | 1 BLOCK OFF TRANSCONTINENTAL

– Nov. 3 You can take this ballot with you to vote!

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONER Kevin Pearson (Parts of Orleans & Jefferson, Northshore)

NEW ORLEANS DISTRICT ATTORNEY Keva Landrum ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 1 | DISTRICT 2 | DISTRICT 3 | DISTRICT 4 |

WHATEVER YOUR FLAVOR

Office of Inspector General Millage Renewal | YES CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

our specials board FOR DAILY DELICOUSNESS!

MONDAY - THURSDAY 11AM - 9PM

FRIDAY - SATURDAY 11AM - 9:30PM

DISTRICT 5 | Grisela Jackson DISTRICT 6 | Carlos Zervigon DISTRICT 7 | Nolan Marshall Jr.

JEFFERSON PARISH

Check out

NEW HOURS!!

Dr. Patrice Sentino Ethan Ashley Olin Parker Dr. J.C. Romero

A Mid-City Tradition!

SUNDAY BRUNCH 9AM - 3PM

CURBSIDE TO-GO OR DELIVERY TO YOUR DOOR!

PLACE YOUR ORDER @ (504) 488-6582 ALL TO-GO & DELIVERY ORDERS PREPAID OVER THE PHONE

FULL MENU AVAILABLE

*WE REQUEST AT LEAST 72 HOURS ADVANCE NOTICE FOR CATERING.

3701 IBERVILLE | MID-CITY | KATIESINMIDCITY.COM

AMENDMENT 1 | NO “No Right to Abortion” AMENDMENT 2 | YES “Oil & Gas Well Assessment” AMENDMENT 3 | YES “Rainy Day Fund and Disasters” AMENDMENT 4 | NO “State Spending Limit” AMENDMENT 5 | NO “Payments Instead of Property Taxes” AMENDMENT 6 | NO “Expanded Property Tax Freezes” AMENDMENT 7 | NO “New Fund for Unclaimed Property” Local Option, Sports Wagering |

YES

Neighborhood Crime Districts | YES (Lake Willow, North Kenilworth, Lakeshore, Broadmoor, Lake Vista)

9

CLANCY DUBOS

holiday cheer starts here November 1st

Landry leads parade of GOP hypocrisy on money and elections STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF LANDRY is the Will Rogers of

hypocrisy and grandstanding. He has never encountered an intellectually dishonest idea he didn’t like — especially if he could turn it into political theater.

Unfortunately for Landry, hypocrisy and grandstanding will only get you so far, even in Louisiana. As the state’s highest-ranking legal officer, Landry has posted quite a losing streak trying to promote his mindless pontifications in court.

Judges routinely reject his cockamamy arguments, particularly when he makes them in furtherance of voter suppression.

The latest example: State District Judge Lewis Pitman of the 16th Judicial District, in St. Martin Parish, dismissed Landry’s lawsuit seeking to block $7.8 million in charitable grants to local election officials. The grants were offered by the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a nonprofit funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with the aim of helping local leaders run elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the suggestion of Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, clerks of court and voter registrars across Louisiana had applied for grants, which they planned to use to cover additional election costs brought on by the pandemic. Those costs included equipment, personal protective gear and wages for election workers staffing early voting sites for longer hours.

The idea of a tech billionaire helping local election officials conduct fair, free and safe elections struck Landry as outrageous. Claiming that private money going to public entities to run elections would have a “corrosive influence,” Landry grabbed headlines and browbeat election officials (including fellow Republican Ardoin, who immediately did a Sen. Lindsey Graham-like pivot) into withdrawing their grant applications.

To Landry and many other Republicans, elections must not become the sandbox of billionaire liberals looking to help more people (read: Democrats) vote. No, they must be preserved as the exclusive domain of billionaire oilmen and “dark money” Super PACs that support Republicans.

Alas, Landry’s latest defeat must have stung all the more, coming as

stay safe shop early ease into the holidays

pandemic hours mon - sat 10 - 5:30 7732 m a p l e 865 . 9625

P H OTO B Y M E L I N DA D E S L AT T E / A S S O C I AT E D P RE S S

Attorney General Jeff Landry, posing in front of law books which he may or may not have read.

it did in St. Martin Parish, his political backyard — particularly when Pitman ruled from the bench, without need of poring over briefs and researching the law. The AG’s claim was so specious that he couldn’t even prevail in what he no doubt assumed would be a friendly, if not home-cooked, venue.

Ever the professional, Landry took the loss in stride by insulting the judge. “The judge said we had no cause of action,” he said. “I just think he was a little confused.

These issues can sometimes become complicated.”

Oh yeah, like Pitman or any other judge needs to be schooled in the law by a guy whose losing record rivals that of the 2020 Atlanta Falcons. Rest assured Landry’s unflattering assessment of Pitman’s ability to understand what constitutes a cause of action will earn the AG extra points on his appeal, which he pledged to file.

In a statement, the Center for Tech and Civic Life called lawsuits like Landry’s “frivolous.” That it may be, but it accomplished Landry’s aim: It got the clerks and registrars to withdraw their grant applications.

And, of course, it got him some cheap headlines, his hypocrisy notwithstanding.

MID CITY PIZZA BOTH LOCATIONS NOW OPEN!

T H U R S DAY - S U N DAY 1 1 : 0 0 a m -10 : 3 0 p m

MID-CITY 504.483.8609

UPTOWN 504.509.6224

DINE-IN // DELIVERY // TO-GO

DELIVERY // TO-GO

4400 BANKS ST. NEW ORLEANS, LA 70119

6307 S. MIRO ST. NEW ORLEANS, LA 70125

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

@clancygambit

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

10

BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN™

TOTE-ally in the he Bag!!

@GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com

NEOPRENE TOTES!

FOLLOW US!

517 METAIRIE RD. OLD METAIRIE | 504-510-4655 | nolaboo.com

PICK UP

BAR Issue

DELIVERY WEDNESDAY - MONDAY

3 - 9 PM 2315

ST. CLAUDE AVE

383-HEAT

Hey Blake, In addition to the statue of Jesus behind St. Louis Cathedral, there’s an obelisk-type monument.

Is it religious or a memorial of some kind?

Dear reader,

St. Anthony’s Garden, as the garden behind St. Louis Cathedral is known, has existed since 1831. The Sacred Heart of Jesus statue, also known locally as “Touchdown Jesus,” was placed there in 1926. The Merilh family donated the statue, which was sculpted in Italy and has become one of the most photographed statues in the city. The statue famously lost several of its fingers in Hurricane Katrina but was restored in 2015.

The six-foot-tall white marble obelisk, topped by a draped Grecian urn, is a memorial to members of the crew of the French warship Tonnerre (French for “thunder”). The sailors

P H OTO B Y S A R A H R AV I T S

The Tonnerre memorial, in St. Anthony’s Garden.

died of yellow fever in August 1857, while being treated at a quarantine station near the mouth of the Mississippi River.

The monument was erected in 1859 at the cemetery near the quarantine station, where 19 of the sailors were buried. Their names – as well as those of 11 others who died in Mexico, Havana and at sea – are inscribed on the base of the obelisk. Also inscribed there, in French, are the words: “To the memory of thirty seamen, members of the crew of the Steam Corvette the Thunder of the French Imperial Navy, who died at the Quarantine of New Orleans, in August 1857.”

After a hurricane toppled it from its original location, the monument was moved to its present spot in 1914. The remains of the 19 sailors were exhumed and interred in a vault under the monument.

4 3 2 8

BLAKEVIEW

ISSUE DATE

nov 24 C a ll S a nd y tod a y to r es er v e you r sp a c e. s s tei n@ ga mb itweekly. c om 5 0 4 -4 8 3 -3 1 5 0

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION THIS WEEK brings to mind the only U.S. president to call Louisiana home: Zachary Taylor. Born in Virginia in 1784, Taylor had a 40-year career in the U.S. Army, serving in the War of 1812 and other battles. At various points, he was stationed in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Natchitoches and Terre aux Boeufs in St. Bernard Parish. Nicknamed “Old Rough and Ready,” he rose to the rank of major general and became wellknown as a result of his victories in the Mexican–American War. Taylor returned to private life and settled with his wife Margaret (who went

by Peggy) on a plantation in Feliciana Parish near Baton Rouge. Taylor, a slaveholder, owned farmland up and down the Mississippi River and was known as a shrewd businessman and land speculator.

Taylor was living in Louisiana when he was elected president in 1848. He is sometimes referred to as “the reluctant president,” since he had little interest in becoming president, had never voted and was not a member of any political party. Even after accepting the nomination of the Whig Party, he refused to campaign for the office. Others did, however — capitalizing on his reputation as a war hero — and he ended up winning the election of 1848.

Sworn into office in March 1849, Taylor served only 16 months as president. On July 4, 1850, he contracted a stomach illness and died five days later. He was 65.

11 The Soul Rebels have been named the Big Easy Awards’ Entertainers of the Year, and the album ‘Poetry in Motion’ won Best Album.

T N E M N I A T R E ENT

AWARDS

PERPETUAL

MOTION MACHINE

The Soul Rebels keep it moving to the next level IT TOOK A GLOBAL PANDEMIC TO

slow The Soul Rebels’ stride.

This time last year the band was releasing its exuberant, full-length album “Poetry in Motion,” and preparing for a busy 2020 tour in support of the record, including a much-anticipated set with the Wu-Tang Clan during this year’s Jazz Fest.

But the band would only get a few of its winter 2020 tour gigs under its belt, including a string of shows in Cuba with Tank and the Bangas and Cuban musician Cimafunk, before the coronavirus brought them, and the entire nation, to a screeching halt.

The virus has meant the members of The Soul Rebels are stuck at home in New Orleans and Houston. They’re spending the time with family, catching up on older projects and developing some new hobbies. It’s been a rare, quiet few months for the band.

But while the pandemic may have hit pause on touring and live shows, The Soul Rebels have remained unstoppable: As they enter their 30th year as a band, The Soul Rebels have been named Entertainers of the Year by the Big Easy Awards, and “Poetry in Motion” has won Best Album. An awards ceremony usually accompanies the Big Easy Awards, but COVID-19 has pushed the event to be canceled this year.

When the members of The Soul Rebels talk about “Poetry in Motion,” a certain refrain appears, bouncing to the same beat but maybe played a little differently by each player. This record is a calling card to the world to show everyone what New Orleans music is capable of, what a brass band can really do — what The Soul Rebels is all about.

“Poetry in Motion” is “an amazing piece that represents the cul-

P

BY JAKE CLAP

mination of talents of the group,” says Lumar Leblanc, snare drummer and Soul Rebels co-founder.

“It exposed a lot of the world to so many different facets that we have to present.”

The members of The Soul Rebels have always pursued being true to themselves, blending in hip-hop, funk, soul, pop and whatever other genre they’d like, and in the process continuously challenged what it means to be a brass band from New Orleans.

On the genre-dissolving “Poetry in Motion,” the eight-member ensemble purposely wanted to hold on to using sousaphone, two separate drummers, two trumpets, tenor sax, and two trombones, “because that’s really what we come from,” Leblanc says. “But that’s not all that we come from.”

IN JUST THE PAST TWO YEARS, THE

Soul Rebels kicked off Mardi Gras

2018 by playing their song “504” with Jon Batiste and Stay Human on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” A few months later, they backed Wu-Tang emcee GZA on his NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, before heading out on a summer tour that featured dates with Talib Kweli, Matisyahu, Action Bronson, Marco Benevento and Curren$y.

That September, the party scholars gave their own musical version of a TED Talk by headlining the global TED Conference.

In 2019, The Soul Rebels joined pop star Katy Perry on stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and played with The Rolling Stones, Big Boi, Big Freedia, Mannie Fresh and Rakim. The band capped the year with the roll out of “Poetry in Motion,” which included music videos for “Good Time,” an airy bounce-based track with Big Freedia and Denisia, “Real Life,” “Greatness” and “Blow the Horns.”

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

P R OV I D E D P H OTO B Y LO U I S B R O W N E

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

12

Best Services. Best Price. Period.

LIMITED-TIME OFFER FOR NEW CUSTOMERS

GET 1 MONTH FREE^ ON INTERNET, PHONE AND TV.

200Mbps Internet

49

99

$

/mo. when bundled for one year*

Reliable Phone

$

19

99

/mo. per line when bundled with Internet for one year**

Business TV Essentials

$

19

99

/mo. when bundled with Internet‡

NO CONTRACTS. NO COMMITMENTS. OFFER EXPIRES 12/31/20

Call 855-840-8289

or visit Business.Spectrum.com Offer expires 12/31/20; subject to change. Qualified new business customers only. Must not have subscribed to applicable services w/ in the last 30 days & have no outstanding obligation to Charter. ^Offer expires 12/31/20.

Free month offer will be applied as a credit by the 2nd month statement. Taxes, fees, equipment and broadcast surcharge included. Excludes installation fees, usage charges & Spectrum Mobile. *Internet offer is for 12 mos. when bundled w/ TV or Voice & incl. Spectrum Business Internet starting speeds. Internet speed may not be avail. in all areas. Actual speeds may vary. Advertised speed based on download speed on wired connection.

Wireless Internet speeds may vary. Spectrum Internet modem is req’d & included in price; Internet taxes are included in price except where req’d by law (TX). **Voice offer is for 12 mos. when bundled with Internet & incl. one business phone line w/ unlimited local & long distance w/ in the U.S., Puerto Rico, & Canada. Offer not available to bars and restaurants. Includes phone taxes, charges and fees. Other telephone services may have corresponding taxes and rates. ‡Spectrum Business TV Essentials requires subscription to Spectrum Business Internet. Spectrum TV App required to access Spectrum Business TV Essentials. Spectrum TV App is available through either a web browser (via watch.spectrum.net), Roku or Apple TV. Service only accessible through Spectrum Business Internet connection at business location. Account credentials may be required to stream some TV content online. Not available to bar and restaurant customers. Number of channels may vary.

All channels not available in all areas. Additional services are extra. Services subject to all applicable service terms & conditions, which are subject to change. Services & promo. offers not avail. in all areas. Standard pricing applies after promo. period. Installation & other equipment, taxes & fees may apply. Restrictions apply. Call for details. © 2020 Charter Communications, Inc.

The band also worked with Dave East and Nas for the track “Godfather 4,” and appeared on the Big Freedia and Icona Pop single “Pipe That.” The Soul Rebel song “Greatness” was used for ESPN’s college basketball campaign and “Good Time” appeared on the show “#blackAF.” “We definitely had a lot of momentum,” Leblanc says. “It was a whole team effort, from the management side, the record company, from the band members themselves, our families and fans.

We were making — and still are, it’s still progress, but obviously, the COVID situation has slowed it down. We were making some big strides in putting this piece on a national and international level. Being from New Orleans and being in the brass band idiom, sometimes it’s difficult to break into that mainstream level.”

NEXT YEAR WILL MARK 30 YEARS

of Soul Rebels music. The band has naturally seen members come and go over the years, but most of the musicians in the current lineup have been with the band at least a decade. They’ve come to represent a few generations of New Orleans musicians.

Leblanc and bass drummer Derrick “Oops” Moss co-founded the band in 1991; trumpeter Marcus Hubbard became a member in 1998; saxophonist Erion Williams joined in 2005; and trumpeter Julian Gosin and trombonists Paul Robertson and Corey Peyton all officially became part of Soul Rebels in 2010. Manuel Perkins Jr., who joined on sousaphone in 2017, is the youngest member.

“It’s been so many pivotal turning points in our existence,” Leblanc says, “but it’s always that journey of being in that culture that allows you to see so many things.”

Where The Soul Rebels are today is an organic maturation, Leblanc says. He connects the journey of the band back to the journey of life.

“It’s different for New Orleans musicians. It’s part of life and the culture. You start playing the music, you start playing in marching bands and jazz bands … We were just doing what we had been doing our whole lives.”

Back in 1991, Leblanc, Moss and other members of the Young Olympia Brass Band decided to split off on their own, wanting to incorporate the music they were listening to on the radio, such as hip-hop and bands like Parliament-Funkadelic and Earth, Wind & Fire. Cyril Neville heard the group and put them on a bill at

Tipitina’s opening for the Neville Brothers. The story goes that the group reminded Cyril of the Bob Marley song “Soul Rebel” and suggested the name. It stuck.

Things were “rough at first,” Leblanc said in a 2006 Gambit story on The Soul Rebels. “We would go on gigs, and people would request other bands’ song. People wanted us to be a regular brass band.”

The group held a deep love for traditional second-line and brass band music, but they were driven to do their own thing. “We just had to do what was in our souls,” Leblanc said in the past. “You know, doing the music the way we were, that’s just something that was in us.”

THE SOUL REBELS WERE ONE OF THE FIRST New Orleans brass

bands to incorporate hip-hop — which not only helped build the band’s sound, but has ultimately come full circle and made them sought after collaborators with Rakim, members of Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, Slick Rick and Black Thought.

“One of the reasons why The Soul Rebels has connected with hip-hop is because the guys, when they started the band, they were from that hip-hop era,” Hubbard says. “A lot of guys from like Rebirth [Brass Band] were a little bit older. Soul Rebels started at the same time that hip-hop was getting big.”

Both brass band culture and hip-hop originated in the streets, Hubbard adds. Those are genres that were born out of community.

“I think we are hip-hop in its most organic form,” Gosin says.

“If you go back to the early hiphop of the ‘80s, it was all samples of Black American music. You got introduced to the DJ, who started breaking it down and cutting it up, and that’s rhythm — electronic rhythm. All of that rhythm stems from the drum, and the music stems from the horn. … The horns and the drums are the root of that music.”

The Soul Rebels leaned into creating its own sound, and played regularly in New Orleans, including a weekly Thursday night gig at Le Bon Temps. The band still regularly plays the Uptown bar when they aren’t on the road, and Leblanc and Hubbard will commute in from Houston, where the two musicians have lived since Hurricane Katrina.

An early turning point was the song “Let Your Mind Be Free,” which ultimately led off their 1994 debut album of the same name.

“Warren Hildebrand gave us the green light,” Leblanc recently told Gambit. “He was the executive producer with Mardi Gras Records.

13

BIG EASY ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

P R OV I D E D P H OTO B Y LO U I S B R O W N E

I have to respect him for taking the plunge in doing such an aggressive album. He was willing to do that hip-hop-funk collab and with a brass band. It was so innovative for its time. That first album, it was so forward in its scope, in methodology.”

Another major moment for the band was the 1998 release of “No More Parades,” which in the literal sense solidified the band’s decision to focus on its stage show and break out of the box of traditional brass band music.

“It was no disrespect,” Leblanc says. “At the time, it was a big thing, but that’s all it was. Now you see everybody trying to do a combination of both — well you have some bands doing more street and stage, but it’s all good. I love them all.”

LIKE LIFE’S JOURNEY, THE TURNING POINTS for The Soul Rebels

have been continuous, sometimes small and sometimes obvious.

There was the time in the early 90s when Robert Plant heard the band playing while driving through Treme and stopped to

join them for the song “L.O.V.E. U.” Plant, with crazy hair and a billowing white shirt, couldn’t believe the sound coming from the sousaphone, Leblanc says. He later flew the band to New York to play a benefit concert. At another point in the ’90s, somehow Brad Pitt found out about the group, Leblanc says, and coordinated a photo shoot.

Working with Nas, Rakim and Wu-Tang has been special to Leblanc. And he adds playing with DMX, Tribe Called Quest, Metallica and Katy Perry have been pivotal moments. “The journey is so spontaneous,” he says. “All of them are great. I’m sure if you talk to each band member, they all have their personal favorites.”

Soul Rebels have always wanted to be looked at on an entirely different scale, Gosin says. There’s a stereotype and novelty that gets cast onto brass bands from New Orleans when they tour, and it can be difficult to break away, he says.

“Poetry in Motion” was when “we tried to reach the masses,” Gosin says. “There are songs you can sing, we have hooks, we have

rap verses, we have skits. We did everything we could within our power to put the band into the mainstream world as much as we can without compromising our authenticity.”

As part of that effort, the Rebels enlisted a host of special guests for “Poetry,” including Sean Carey, Big Freedia, PJ Morton, Dee-1, Alfred Banks, Branford Marsalis, Matisyahu and Robert Glasper.

Gosin and Soul Rebels trombonist Corey “Passport P” Peyton also both lend their emcee talents to the record.

The New Orleans party anthem of a love letter “Down for my City” alone features Emeril Lagasse, Trombone Shorty, Kermit Ruffins, Mia X, DJ Jubilee, Cheeky Blakk, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, New Orleans Citywide Youth Choir, Jaelyn Langston, Wild Wayne and Kango Slim.

The 12-track album is full of life and floats through bounce, hip-hop, soul, funk, R&B, pop and all the points in between that are meant to make you move.

“The Soul Rebels have always wanted to take the band to the

next level. The band embraced everybody’s ideas and wanted to make a push for it on that level, and that’s what we did,” Gosin says. “This record is a prime example of everybody’s thoughts, energies, ideas meshing together to create this vibe that Soul Rebels have always seen themselves to be.”

It’s a statement from The Soul Rebels as a band, but also as New Orleans musicians, Hubbard says.

Similar to the perceived stereotype of brass bands, musicians from New Orleans can often be pigeonholed by jazz, traditional brass or other genres the city has exported around the world.

While touring, Hubbard adds, The Soul Rebels try to spread the word that New Orleans musicians are well-rounded performers and producers and ready for mainstream notice.

“We tap into all the musicians in New Orleans to try to show with the record,” Hubbard says. “That’s the main thing. We’ve always tried to focus on being a band that brings everybody together.”

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

14

USING SMART TOOLS

TODAY TOMORROW. WILL HELP YOU SAVE FOR

Looking for innovative tools and award-winning customer service to help you take your next step in life? You’ve come to the right place. We help you move your money forward with: Straightforward financial insight that’s relevant to your situation and goals Experienced bankers ready to help you confidently take your next step Banking tools and technology that keep up with your busy life Ready to spend less time thinking about your money and more time thinking about life?

Call, click or come by to learn more.

Congratulations to the honorees and winners!

1.800.regions I regions.com © 2020 Regions Bank. Mobile Banking, text alerts, the Regions mobile app and Regions Mobile Deposit require a compatible device and enrollment in Online Banking. Regions Mobile Deposit is subject to fees. Your mobile carrier’s messaging and data fees may apply. | Regions and the Regions logo are registered trademarks of Regions Bank. The LifeGreen color is a trademark of Regions Bank.

15 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

T N E M I N A T E NTER

S D R A AW

EATER MUSIC AND TH

WINNERS

Gambit’s Big Easy Awards recognize annual and lifetime achievement in arts and entertainment. There are categories for music, theater, opera and dance, and awards for performance as well as directing, conducting, choreography and technical design. Annual awards are for performances in 2019.

Big Easy Award nominees were announced in March. The winners are typically announced in spring, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed this year’s announcement. The Big Easy Awards are sponsored by Gambit, Regions Bank and Jones Walker.

P H OTO B Y S A R R A H DA N Z I G E R

Leyla McCalla won Best Country/Folk.

ENTERTAINERS OF THE YEAR

THEATER PERSON OF THE YEAR

The Soul Rebels

Polanco Jones Jr.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THE CLASSICAL ARTS

Johnny Vidacovich

LaVergne Monette

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THEATER

ARTS EDUCATION AWARD

Tommye Myrick

Dancing Grounds

MUSIC WINNERS Best Female Performer

Best Brass Band

Best Rock

The Original Pinettes Brass Band

Sweet Crude

Best Funk

Best Country/Folk

Corey Henry & the Treme Funktet

Leyla McCalla

Best R&B

Best Zydeco

Tank and the Bangas

Keith Frank and The Soileau Zydeco Band

Tarriona “Tank” Ball

Best Male Performer Joshua Starkman

Best Album “Poetry in Motion” The Soul Rebels

Best Rap/Hip-Hop/Bounce Alfred Banks

Best Gospel Jessica Harvey and The Difference

Best Traditional Jazz Wendell Brunious

Best Contemporary Jazz Herlin Riley

Best Blues P H OTO B Y S H AW N F I N K

DJ Raj Smoove, pictured here at Voodoo Music + Art Experience in 2019, won Best DJ/Electronica.

Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters

Best Cajun Michot’s Melody Makers

Best Latin/World/Reggae The New Orleans Klezmer All Stars

Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal/Punk

Best New/Emerging Artist

Goatwhore

Julie Odell

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

16

BIG EASY ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS

Best Actor in a Play Michael C. Forest “A Raisin in the Sun” Voices in the Dark Repertory Theatre and Ashe Cultural Arts Center

Best Supporting Actor in a Play Keith Claverie “The Henchman: A Shakespeare Story” The NOLA Project and New Orleans Museum of Art

P H OTO B Y E L S A H A H N E

Marigny Opera Ballet won Best Dance Ensemble.

Best Ensemble P H OTO B Y T H E LO U I S I A N A P H I L H A R M O N I C O R C H E S T R A

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra won Best Symphonic Performance for ‘Rite of Spring.’

Best DJ/Electronica

Best Director of a Musical

DJ Raj Smoove

Christopher Bentivegna “Cabaret” See ‘Em On Stage: A Production Company

Best Symphonic Performance “The Rite of Spring” Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) Carlos Miguel Prieto, conductor

Best New Classical Music Performance

Best Director of a Play Jon Greene and Torey Hayward “Barbecue” The Radical Buffoon(s)

Best Actress in a Musical

“Angels in Flight”

by Marjan Mozetich Musaica

Kali Russell “Cabaret” See ’Em On Stage: A Production Company

Best Chamber Music Performance

Best Actor in a Musical

“Winterreise” Lyrica Baroque

Best Choral Arts Presentation Mozart’s “Requiem” LPO/NOVA Chorale Carlos Miguel Prieto, conductor

THEATER WINNERS Best Musical “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” Le Petit Theatre

Best Play

Clint Johnson “Cabaret” See ’Em On Stage: A Production Company

“Roleplay” Goat in the Road Productions and Jenny Mercein

Best Original Work Michael Aaron Santos “The Henchman: A Shakespeare Story” The NOLA Project and New Orleans Museum of Art

Best Choreography in a Musical Christopher Bentivegna and Kali Russell “Cabaret” See ’Em On Stage: A Production Company

Best Music Director Chad Gearig-Howe “Cabaret” See ’Em On Stage: A Production Company

Best Set Design Steve Schepker “Baby Doll” Le Petit Theatre

Best Supporting Actress in a Musical

“The Blind” New Orleans Opera Association

Natalie Boyd “Barbecue” The Radical Buffoon(s)

Best Sound Design Clare Marie Nemanich and Sarah Quintana “Azul” Southern Rep Theatre

Best University Production “Machinal” Tulane University Ryder Thornton, director

Outstanding Dance Presentation (Full Length) “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Marigny Opera Ballet

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Derwin May Jr. Marigny Opera Ballet

Outstanding Choreography (Short)

Best Actress in a Play

Best Supporting Actress in a Play

Shauna Leone “The Henchman: A Shakespeare Story” The NOLA Project and New Orleans Museum of Art

Outstanding Choreography (Full Length)

Rahim Glaspy “Dreamgirls” Jefferson Performing Arts Society

Best Opera Production

Best Costume Design

“IONO” from “Journeys” KM Dance Project

Best Supporting Actor in a Musical

Ellen Barry “August: Osage County” Southern Rep Theatre

Joshua Courtney “August: Osage County” Southern Rep Theatre

Outstanding Dance Presentation (Short)

Jessie Terrebonne Thompson “Matilda” Summer Lyric Theatre, Tulane University

“In the Red and Brown Water” No Dream Deferred NOLA

Best Lighting Design

P H OTO B Y B R I T TA N Y D SMITH

‘In the Red and Brown Water’ won Best Play.

“IONO” from “Journeys” Catherine Caldwell, KM Dance Project

Outstanding Dance Ensemble Marigny Opera Ballet Dave Hurlbert, artistic director

THE LIGHTS WENT OUT AT LOCAL

theaters when the city and state instituted widespread shutdowns in March in response to COVID-19.

Although productions have recently started coming back in Jefferson and surrounding parishes, New Orleans stages remain closed and nobody is sure what the future holds for the region’s theater community.

In the early months of the pandemic, performers and producers went virtual with play readings on Zoom, online singing contests and more. But at the end of the day, live theater is meant for a live audience: actors feed off the energy of the crowd after all. By its nature, theater is a local, intimate experience, and it depends on audiences being able to return, in person, safely if it is to flourish again. Whether that’s to drag shows in bars or to Saengersized theaters for touring Broadway productions, local stages will need the people seated in front of them.

Since the early run of Zoom-based efforts, the theater community has largely decided to bide its time, looking forward to resuming regular productions with regular audiences.

But with limited audiences and the houselights off, everyone is wondering when the show can go on.

Under New Orleans’ Phase 3.2 guidelines live theater is effectively prohibited. We say “effectively” since while there are specifications for movie theaters and music venues, theater has no specific rules.

City officials, however, say theater companies should follow the rules for indoor live entertainment, which means no singing, karaoke or windblown instruments, and an event would need to secure a special permit. Seating is allowed for the lower number of 50% of capacity or 250 people. Phase 3.3 is expected to be announced soon.

In Kenner, Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts has been presenting cabaret shows with casts of three performers. In addition to upgrades in safety equipment and measures, it’s only seating a maximum of 50 people in a theater that normally holds 300. Jefferson Performing Arts Society has presented standup comedy at its Westwego theater, and it’s looking into a presentation of “The Nutcracker.” If state regulations allow it to present dance, it will limit seating at Jefferson Performing Arts Center to roughly 25%, says Artistic Director Dennis Assaf.

These efforts are laudable, but not sustainable. For instance, in

order to bring in the revenue of just one normal performance of “The Nutcracker,” under its pandemic capacity plan JPAS will have to sell out four shows. That’s a huge strain on an arts organization’s budget.

Several local theater producers, including Rivertown, JPAS and Le Petit Theatre in the French Quarter received PPP loans, but all are currently working with fewer staff.

JPAS, which normally presents theater, opera, youth productions and more at spaces on the East and West banks and runs camps, is down to five employees from its pre-COVID staff of 17, Assaf says.

Aside from government guidelines and revenue constraints, it’s not clear audiences would want to pack a house, even with masks on.

Many people who work in theater also work at other jobs. For performers or backstage staff who also work in service industries or education, they are already balancing safety and the demands of those jobs. For standup comics and burlesque or drag performers who normally perform in bars or small clubs, the current prospect may be little income beyond audience tips, since bars that can’t open at full capacity likely aren’t able to hire performers. For performers who work by the production, there’s a loss of opportunities and income and the ability to work out a future schedule.

Performing arts organizations are trying to be nimble to stay in touch with audiences and subscribers. Le Petit Theatre will present an outdoor holiday show, literally mounting it on a flatbed truck that will be able to travel to different partner sites.

JPAS, which already has postponed or cancelled eight shows, is preparing to see if it has to swap out a season of musicals for plays, and it will present a one-man show about renowned singer Paul Robeson during the weekend before Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Tommye Myrick is planning to fill her Voices in the Dark Repertory company’s entire 2021 season with outdoor shows, from her original piece about slavery in early Louisiana, “Le Code Noir,” to a 20th anniversary commemoration of 9/11, “Dust.”

Reopening theaters is tracking with competing desires to stay safe and to get back to normal. “Out of sight, out of mind” takes its toll, however, and rebuilding won’t be as easy as opening the doors and raising the curtains.

Gifting

Local 2020

Issue dates: November 10* November 17* November 24* December 1* December 8* December 15* December 22* December 29 * GIF T GUIDE ISSUES

Contact Ad Director Sandy Stein 504.483.3150 or sstein@gambitweekly.com

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

Exit, pursued by a pandemic

17

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

18

Going Above and Beyond in Louisiana.

In 1937, Jones Walker LLP began as a small law firm in New Orleans. We’re now one of the largest firms in the US, serving a broad range of industries, including banking, construction, energy, gaming, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, and maritime.

While our firm has certainly changed over the years, what hasn’t changed is our steadfast commitment to helping clients meet their legal challenges. Perhaps that’s why The BTI Consulting Group, which conducts hundreds of in-house counsel interviews to identify the top client service firms in the nation, named Jones Walker to its 2020 Client Service A-Team.

William H. Hines, Managing Partner 201 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70170-5100 504.582.8000 ALABAMA | ARIZONA | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | FLORIDA GEORGIA | LOUISIANA | MISSISSIPPI | NEW YORK | TEXAS Attorney Advertising. No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other attorneys.

joneswalker.com

19

BIG EASY ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS

P H OTO P R OV I D E D B Y A M I S TA D RESEARCH CENTER

P H OTO B Y DAV E M A R T I N / A S S O C I AT E D P R E S S

P H OTO B Y H A N N A H B A H N E Y

P H OTO B Y R I C H A R D P O P P I N O

TOMMYE MYRICK

JOHNNY VIDACOVICH

POLANCO JONES JR.

LAVERGNE MONETTE

Lifetime Achievement in Theater

Lifetime Achievement in Music

Theater Person of the Year

Lifetime Achievement in Classical Arts

TOMMYE MYRICK HAS BEEN THE DRIV-

JOHNNY VIDACOVICH, IN HIS MORE

THEATERS HAVE GONE DARK FOR

GROWING UP IN NEW ORLEANS,

ing force behind Voices in the Dark Repertory theater for 28 years.

“I came up with Free Southern Theater,” Myrick says. Its legendary director “John O’Neal taught us how to do anything with nothing.”

She’s worked in New York and New Orleans and paved her own way as a writer, performer, director, founder of Voices in the Dark and professor at schools including UNO and SUNO. She won Big Easy Awards for Best Director for August Wilson’s “Fences” at Le Petit Theatre and Pearl Cleage’s “Flyin’ West” at Southern Rep Theatre.

She’s also known for her lead role in the film “Cane River,” a film shot in 1982, but — due to the death of its director — lost until 2013. The film was restored and released in 2018.

During the pandemic, she’s worked on an all-outdoor season of shows for 2021, including her original drama, “Le Code Noir,” a history of enslaved people and free people of color in antebellum Louisiana. She’s also remounting the Billie Holiday show “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” and presenting “Dust” on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

“I think I have been blessed by the community that supports my work and the work Voices brings to the community,” Myrick says. “I have always directed shows that had teachable moments to them, shows that are relevant and shows that deal with disenfranchisement — due to poverty, race, sexual orientation and religion. Voices is about doing productions that speak to people being enlightened and why it’s so very necessary that we investigate and understand other people, other races and religions and be more collective.”

— WILL COVIELLO

than 50 years performing, has drummed with Mose Allison, Chet Baker, James Booker, Joe Henderson, Professor Longhair, Charles Neville, George Porter Jr. and numerous others. He’s been behind the kit with Astral Project since 1978, along with Tony Dagradi, Steve Masakowski and James Singleton. He gigs with Nolatet and others, leads his own trio, and has never missed a New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — until this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Vidacovich picked up the drums when he was 10 years old and became a sponge for the New Orleans rhythms around him. He has lent his personal, dynamic touch to more than 100 recordings, crossing genres from jazz to rhythm-and-blues, funk, rock ‘n’ roll and country.

Simply, Vidacovich is a master.

Vidacovich also is a dedicated educator. He has taught at Loyola University New Orleans since 1982 and still gives drum lessons. Stanton Moore and Brian Blade count him as a beloved mentor. In 1995, Vidacovich and Herlin Riley, with Dan Thress, published “New Orleans Jazz and Second Line Drumming.”

Vidacovich, who turned 71 in June, released his latest album as a bandleader, “’Bout Time,” earlier this year, featuring Dagradi, keyboardist Michael Pellera and bassist Ed Wise.

“I’m just proud to have been able to” cut this record, Vidacovich said.

“I never thought I’d be making any records at this later point in my life.

But when I listen to it now, I’m really impressed by the guys that play on it.

They just knock me out.”

— JAKE CLAPP

most of 2020, but Polanco Jones Jr. has been busier than ever.

This year, Jones has produced music videos and completed his master’s in museum studies. He joined the New Orleans Jazz Museum, focusing on theatrical inclusion and museum innovation and helping launch a Hispanic Heritage Festival.

He choreographed projects and joined a local burlesque company as creative director. He directed and choreographed Cameron-Mitchell Ware’s one-man show, “The WakeUp Call,” which will be presented by InFringe Fest in December.

“COVID has given me an opportunity to grow at an exponentially fast rate,” Jones says. “I feel like I’ve become a more well-rounded theater maker. I’ve spread my wings as a filmmaker. The real beauty of it is being able to share that there is theater in everything.”

In recent years, Jones starred in the musical “Hairspray” at Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane and choreographed “Dreamgirls” for JPAS and co-choreographed “Ragtime” for Summer Lyric.

The expanded recent work has allowed Jones to continue his mission of elevating Black voices.

“As a Black male creator, I have a responsibility to accurately represent the community I am a part of,” he says. “I feel like when the work has been created by people that are not of color, it becomes a watered-down version of the full experience. You don’t get to immerse yourself in the experience and understand the nuances of behavior or language.”

— AMANDA McELFRESH

LaVergne Monette was surrounded by music.

“My mother and father had music on all the time,” she says. “I was around 3 or 4, trying to spell Tchaikovsky and listening to prestigious opera singers.”

Monette became a celebrated opera singer in her own right. She won the New York Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Audition competition in 1960. She was a soloist at the New York City Opera, Baltimore Civic Opera and elsewhere, starring in “Aida,” “Carmen” and “Madama Butterfly.” In 1968, she became the first person of color to sing with the New Orleans Opera Association. She has performed at some of the world’s best-known opera houses, from New York City to Finland. In 1987, she was a soloist at a New Orleans Mass for Pope John Paul II. “I’ve just been very fortunate because I was given these opportunities when I had no funds of my own,” she says. “My parents were not wealthy by any means, but I was very fortunate to earn scholarships and opportunities that helped me along the way.”

Monette also is a music teacher who has taught at schools and universities. She teaches students how to use their vocal gifts but advises that they must be committed to be successful.

“You need total dedication. You need patience. You need to apply yourself and be willing to do all that is necessary,” she says. “You really have to love it and learn everything you can about your field.”

— AMANDA McELFRESH

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

Big Easy Honorees

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

20

Merry & Bright B

  Velvet Ice   Latte

For a Limited Time!

 Latte

Cake Balls

A New Family Tradition in Partne ership with Restaurant R’evolution EXPERIENCE THE HOLIDAYS AT

  Latte

Children can visit with Santa in Stay Safe with Sonesta style!

Reservations required. Visit our website for details & tickets.

300 Bourbon St | sonesta.com/royalneworleans

Vintage Cava Danny Millan will open Cava Bistro in Metairie

BY B E T H D ’A D D O N O DANNY MILLAN IS LIKE THE MUHAMMAD ALI of restaurateurs.

He is always primed for a comeback. For his latest, Millan will open Cava Bistro Nov. 12 in the space that formerly housed Restaurant Cypress at 4426 Transcontinental Drive in Metairie.

His last knockdown was the closing in January, after just two months, of Azul, a large sports bar in Lakeview.

The place was full of his personal art and sports memorabilia, the food was up to Millan’s high standards and the business was growing. But as so often happens when several partners are involved, goals and methodology didn’t sync up, says Millan, who declined to offer many details, citing legal complications.

“I’m doing this one on my own,” he says.

Cava Bistro looks like it suits him to a T — an inviting space with local details — wrought iron railings, balcony seating, hurricane shutters and exposed brick. The place is already decorated for the holidays and his customers are booking Christmas parties, he says. The space is painted in the same understated ecru and olive he used in the original Cava, a fine dining restaurant in Lakeview.

“I knew that Cypress had closed (in February) and the space was available,” he says. “I really fell in love with it when I took a closer look. I’d eaten there — it was a great place — and everything about it felt right.

“All I kept hearing was, ‘Danny, we miss Cava. We miss Cava,’ ” he says.

“This is a version of Cava in a beautiful neighborhood by the lake.”

While setting up Azul, Millan closed Cava in April 2019. (That space is now occupied by Junior’s on Harrison.)

When he closed Cava, it marked the first time since 1985 that Millan wasn’t working in fine dining.

Millan, 53, worked his way up in the local restaurant business from bussing tables to running the front of the house in places including Brennan’s on Royal Street, Restaurant August and Le Foret. He went into business for himself in 2014 with Cava.

The hospitality business is in his blood, and the Mexico City native followed in his father’s footsteps. His father was a long-time maitre d’ at the Sazerac Restaurant, having come to New Orleans from a similar stint at the iconic Princess Hotel in Acapulco.

Millan, who lives in Lakeview, hopes his former customer base will follow him to his new restaurant, where a slightly scaled down version of the original Cava menu awaits. To start, there’s his grilled Caesar salad with house-made dressing and fried oysters Pernod, served with spinach, bacon and brie. In a dish named for the fishmonger Higgins’ Seafood in Lafitte, crab claws are sauteed in lemon butter cream sauce. Escargot are baked with roasted garlic in truffle butter.

One of Cava’s most popular dishes, pork osso buco simmered with onions and carrots and served with garlic mashed potatoes, also made the cut. So did classic lasagna with bechamel and shrimp carbonara over linguine in a bacon-studded white wine cream sauce.

Cava Bistro will be open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday. Millan’s waiting for a liquor license, but customers are welcome to bring their own wine for a $10 corkage charge for the table, not per bottle.

Drinking 40s GAMBIT HAS BEEN REPORTING LOCAL NEWS FOR 40 YEARS, and to

mark its anniversary, Makin’ News beer is now available. Bywater microbrewery Parleaux Beer Lab created the brew, and it’s available at its taproom in cans and on draft while supplies last. It also will be available at some restaurants and stores on the weekend beginning Nov. 9.

P H OTO B Y C H ER Y L G ER B ER

Danny Millan will open Cava Bistro in Metairie.

As at Cava, there will be no microwaves, walk-in coolers or freezers.

Millan says if something can’t be created and served fresh, it doesn’t go on his menu.

“I want to always put more heart and soul into my food,” says Millan.

Ten months into the coronavirus pandemic might seem like a risky time to open a fine-dining restaurant, but Millan seems unperturbed.

“I could have opened sooner, but I was waiting to see what happened,” he says.

When the city went into lockdown in March, Millan hunkered down and spent a lot of time with his 3-year-old son, Danny Jr. “I was scared for sure,” he says. “I really took my time. I wanted to do everything right this time.”

?

WHAT

Cava Bistro

WHERE

4426 Transcontinental Drive, Metairie, (504) 582-9360; cavabistronola.com

WHEN

Dinner Tue.-Sat.

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

CHECK IT OUT

Danny Millan’s new fine dining spot

Makin’ News is a hybrid of East and West Coast styles that Parleaux brewers dubbed Gulf Coast pale ale.

It’s brewed with Pilsner and Golden Promise malts and oats and kettle and dry-hopped with Simcoe, Ella and Sultana hops. It’s 5.5% alcohol by volume.

Gambit’s first issue was published Dec. 8, 1980. Gambit will publish a 40th anniversary issue Dec. 8 and host some anniversary events in December. — WILL COVIELLO

A man for Four Seasons THE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL TAKING SHAPE IN THE WORLD TRADE CENTER is transforming one of the

most recognizable buildings on the New Orleans skyline. When it opens next year, it will have a new restaurant from a chef New Orleans already knows well.

Alon Shaya, chef of the Uptown restaurant Saba, and his wife and business partner Emily Shaya are developing the restaurant, currently slated to open in early 2021.

It will be an upscale, modern New Orleans restaurant, Alon Shaya says.

“This will be my expression of what I love about Louisiana cuisine, my love letter to it in a way,” he says. “I feel like I’ve been studying and writing the opening menu for this restaurant for the last 18 years of living here.”

The hotel, officially the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences New Orleans, will mark a new chapter for the landmark World Trade Center

21 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

EATDRINK

FORK CENTER

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

22

MOOOO-NIFICENT DEAL Burger

+ 2 beers

$18

Wednesdays & Thursdays 4PM - 8PM

Your choice of burger and fries plus 2 draft beers in our new 22oz souvenir cup.

Dine-in only. Limit 1 per guest with no sharing.

Open for Dine-in & Curbside Pick-up

Lunch Wed - Fri Dinner Wed - Sat Brunch Sat & Sun

EAT+DRINK building at the foot of Canal Street.

Long in disrepair, the property’s redevelopment as a luxury hotel and condominium project has been touted as a boon for reviving this part of downtown and the riverfront.

Despite the coronavirus shutdowns, Shaya says he is optimistic about the project.

“By next year, when people begin traveling again, I see so many coming to visit here again and making up for lost time,” he says.

The Shayas have partnered with the Four Seasons through their company Pomegranate Hospitality, which runs their local modern Israeli restaurant Saba as well as another in Denver called Safta.

231 N Carrollton Ave. Suite C • 504-609-3871

www.BrownButterRestaurant.com

P H OTO B Y TO D D A . P R I C E / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W OR L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Alon Shaya will open a new restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences.

GUIDE TO GIVING A SPECIAL PUBLICATION DEDICATED TO THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE MAKING NEW ORLEANS A BETTER PLACE

tell

your organization’s story

solicit

end of the year donations

attract

new members and volunteers

promote

special events

Pomegranate Hospitality will handle food and beverage across the Four Seasons’ lobby, with a bar in addition to the restaurant.

The as yet unnamed restaurant will be on the hotel’s ground level adjoining the lobby. Shaya says it will showcase classic and contemporary influences running through Louisiana cuisine, with elements ranging from Cajun to Vietnamese.

Born in Israel and raised in Philadelphia, Shaya came to New Orleans in 2003. He made his name working with John Besh’s restaurant group properties, Domenica, and Shaya, the modern Israeli restaurant that also won a James Beard award.

The chef is no longer affiliated with the restaurant that bears his name after splitting with his former partners in 2017. — IAN McNULTY/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

Refreshed Columns THE COLUMNS HOTEL is beginning

DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 6

ISSUE DATE: NOVEMBER 17

To advertise call Sandy Stein at (504) 483-3150 or email sstein@gambitweekly.com

a new chapter, with new owners, a new chef and a revamp meant to revitalize the role it has long held. It’s also making a slight name change to Columns.

Columns is opening in phases, with the public areas open for food and drinks now and room bookings to come later in the year. The

renovations are significant but mostly with familiar spaces reframed and freshened up.

“We don’t want to scare away the ghosts,” says Jayson Seidman, who bought the hotel last year.

The biggest change thus far comes from the kitchen and bar, now run by chef Michael Stoltzfus and his team from Coquette.

Their menu is built around casual food with a modern lens, and a bent toward lighter, fresher flavors. Smoked trout roe is dappled between charred cabbage with fennel aioli. There’s a chili-flecked cashew hummus with a rainbow of crunchy vegetables to dip, and slices of country ham share a platter with pickles, pimiento cheese and puffy shrimp crackers.

Roasted oysters are dabbed with Swiss chard, butter and a Tabasco mash. Burgers are made with some smoky andouille. The cocktail list has a Sazerac and an array of standards and revived classics.

There’s no designated restaurant space, and the menus are served across the hotel’s patio, porch and ground floor rooms.

Seidman is known for his independent, often offbeat hotel projects around the country, including the Drifter, a once-dingy “no-tell-motel” on Tulane Avenue that’s got retro-styled appeal and has developed its own social scene around the pool and patio.

For Columns, he partnered with Garrison Neill, part of the family behind the Paris Parker salon brand.

Seidman was drawn to Stoltzfus’ cooking for the way he understands New Orleans cuisine but also adds a global perspective. That approach has made Coquette one of the leading voices of contemporary New Orleans cuisine over the past dozen years, though this restaurant has undergone changes itself recently.

Stoltzfus and the chef Kristen Essig were in a relationship for many years.

By 2016, Essig became a partner in Coquette. Over the summer, the couple’s relationship and business partnership ended. Stoltzfus now runs Coquette and its sibling restaurant Thalia. That second, much smaller restaurant is currently in use as a commissary kitchen for other food businesses as the pandemic continues (see 3-Course interview, page 25).

Columns was built as a private mansion in 1884, designed by Thomas Sully, the same architect who designed the home that’s now The Chloe hotel a few blocks away. It later became a boarding house, and Seidman’s grandfather lived there in the 1920s, while attending Tulane law school.

The property eventually became a hotel, but it had fallen into sorry shape when Jacques and Claire Creppel bought the place in 1980. The Creppels, now in their 80s, sold the hotel late last year. — IAN McNULTY/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

23 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

898 BARONNE ST. 504.302.1302 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 11AM TO 10PM

Remember when you could send a message to a loved one in a local newspaper?

We are bringing back that VINTAGE EXPERIENCE. Send your personalized message to another reader in Gambit’s commemorative 40th Anniversary issue.

WILL YOU MARRY ME?

d Holly P., I want to be quarantine with you indefinitely. Love and NOLA forever.

–Nicky P.

HAPPY B IRTHDAY Sen

SINC

E 1980

HONEY’ TO kMyoYu fo‘Hr beUinBg anIGamazinglepabrrtatneinrgfowrith Than ard to ce oking forw ve you so 20 years. Lo u rock. I lo Yo e. or m y an with you. m e r pi fo u as t yo been swee s ha fe Li much!

ndy M –Roman Ca

TO MARK S

an

MITH To the BEST work mate: I miss sharing an o ffice with yo u and our afternoon cu ps of Matcha tea.

ding love IRMA! to Irma T ing you a wonderfu homas. Wishl da birthday!

I’m your b y, we share a iggest fan –Joe S. .

PJ’s I saw you at You were wearThe one on Magazine Street.

I was the guy ing a red hat and black overalls. e t-shirt. whit a and s jean in latte a ordering ded. DM poun t hear my and We locked eyes 4 me on the ‘gram! @coffeeboi50

COVID-19 MAY HAVE KEPT US APART THIS YEAR BUT ... GAMBIT WANTS TO KEEP YOU TOGETHER. ISSUE DATE: DECEMBER 8

Visit bestofneworleans.com/personal

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

24

©2020 MILLER BREWING CO., MILWAUKEE, WI • BEER

CELEBRATE RESPONSIBLY®

EAT+DRINK

25 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

3-COURSE INTERVIEW

Carla Briggs Baker CARLA BRIGGS ORIGINALLY WANTED TO BECOME A PASTRY CHEF, and she

worked in restaurants for several years before switching to a career in education. During the pandemic, Briggs started baking bread with her friend Kathryn Conyers, and the project grew into Viola Heritage Breads, which takes direct orders and sells breads and cookies at farmers markets.

How did you get into baking?

CARLA BRIGGS: After graduating high school, I went to Johnson and Wales (University) in Charleston, South Carolina, and Providence, Rhode Island, and studied to be a pastry chef. My senior year was when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and I came back and finished my schooling with an internship at Emeril’s and Whole Foods doing bread and cake decorating.

(In school) I started (studying) pastry and wanted to do classical French pastries. My dream was to do some sort of French baking or have a cake studio. I liked croissants, napoleons, little French pastries and desserts.

At Emeril’s, I got hired to do bread for service. My daily tasks were baking baguettes for crostini, biscuits, cornbread, dinner rolls, like rosemary and potato dinner rolls.

I developed problems related to carpal tunnel (syndrome) and took a break from restaurant work.

How did Viola come about?

B: We started Viola right before COVID. I hadn’t baked bread since 2008 or 2009, but I still cooked and did some catering. We supported (Kathryn’s) husband in events with food.

Kathryn was trying to make bread at home and was failing at it. I told her I used to make bread professionally, so I made a brioche and brought it to her.

She just wanted to make better bread for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They were amazed by the bread I created, and we were like, “This could be a thing.” That happened two weeks before COVID, and then bread shelves were empty.

So we were like, we could make bread and sell it.

P H OTO P ROV I D E D B Y V I O L A H ER I TAG E B RE A D S

Carla Briggs and Kathryn Conyers

We started delivering bread to friends and they told their friends.

Friends then posted on Instagram.

People who started following us ordered bread. Then we were on a podcast featuring Black startup businesses. People heard about us from there.

Then we moved into the kitchen at Thalia and started selling bread at their farmers market. We are at the Coquette market on Saturdays. On Sundays, we are at Coffee Science, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

What types of breads does Viola offer?

B: In the first couple weeks, we did brioche. We got into recipe development and figuring out what would work, which flavor profiles.

We needed some consistency if we were going to develop this.

Our sweet potato-rosemary is our most popular. We call it our rooted loaf, because it focuses on Louisiana ingredients. It’s great for peanut butter and jelly or grilled cheese sandwiches.

We make tea cakes. It’s the first kind of cookie we added to the menu. It’s based on a family recipe my grandmother taught me when I was a little girl. Her tea cake included nutmeg and other flavors.

We sell cookies to have simple items people can grab and enjoy while they’re walking around the market.

We would like to grow into grocery stores next. I am glad we started with securing key recipes to produce and be consistent. Going into grocery stores requires that (to determine information on) nutritional labels and things like that.

We’re also jumping into king cake season. We just finalized testing recipes, and we’re going to roll out a sweet potato king cake in January.

— WILL COVIELLO Visit violaheritagebreads.com for more information.

Send us a photo or video of YOUR 2020 holiday lights display to enter to win limited edition holiday knitwear from Miller Lite and Gambit.

VISIT BESTOFNEWORLEANS.COM/LITE FOR MORE INFORMATION All qualified submissions must include a Miller Lite logo. Our favorite photos will be selected each week to win a Miller Lite knitwear prize pack and will be printed in Gambit.

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

26

MAKIN’ NEWS FOR 40 YEARS On December 8, 1980, the first issue of Gambit was printed and distributed across the New Orleans area. For forty years we have covered local news, arts, music, culture, food and fun for you — for free. We hope to do it for forty+ more.

Give a toast to local journalism at Parleaux Beer Lab in the Bywater by picking up our limited edition beer, Makin’ News — a “Gulf Coast” pale ale, brewed by Parleaux.

634 Lesseps St. New Orleans, LA

TO

Contact Will Coviello wcoviello@gambitweekly.com 504-483-3106 | FAX: 504-483-3159 C O M P L E T E L I S T I N G S AT W W W. B E S T O F N E W O R L E A N S . C O M Out 2 Eat is an index of Gambit contract advertisers. Unless noted, addresses are in New Orleans and all accept credit cards. Updates: email willc@gambitweekly.com or call (504) 483-3106.

Notice: Due to COVID-19, dining at restaurants is impacted, with limited indoor seating and other recommended restrictions. All information is subject to change. Contact the restaurant to confirm service options.

BYWATER Luna Libre — 3600 St. Claude Ave., (504) 237-1284 — Roasted chicken enchiladas verde are filled with cheese, hand-rolled and served with special house-made cheese dip.

The menu combines Tex-Mex and dishes from Louisiana and Arkansas. Curbside pickup is available. B Sat-Sun, D Wed-Sun. $

CBD 14 Parishes — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; 14parishes.com — Jamaican-style jerk chicken is served with two sides such as plantains, jasmine rice, cabbage or rice and peas. Delivery available. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $$ Eat Well — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; pythianmarket.com — Phoritto is a spinach tortilla filled with brisket, chicken or tofu, plus bean sprouts, jalapenos, onions and basil and is served with a cup of broth.

Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $ Kais — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (941) 481-9599; pythianmarket.com — A Sunshine bowl includes salmon, corn, mango, green onions, edamame, pickled ginger, ponzu spicy mayonnaise, cilantro, masago and nori strips. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $$ La Cocinita — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (504) 309-5344; lacochinitafoodtruck. com — La Llanera is an arepa stuffed with carne asada, guasacasa, pico de gallo, grilled queso fresco and salsa verde. Curbside pickup and delivery available. B, L and D daily. $ Meribo Pizza — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (504) 481-9599; meribopizza.com — A Meridionale pie is topped with pulled pork, chilies, ricotta, mozzarella, collard greens and red sauce. Delivery available. L and D daily. $$ Willie Mae’s — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; williemaesnola.com — The Creole soul food restaurant is known for its fried chicken, red beans and more. Takeout available.

L and D Mon-Sat. $

CARROLLTON/UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOODS Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; mikimotosushi.com — The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado and snow crab. Takeout and delivery available. L Sun-Fri, D daily. $$ Pyramids Cafe — 3151 Calhoun St., (504) 861-9602 — Diners will find Mediterranean cuisine featuring such favorites as shawarma prepared on a rotisserie. Takeout and delivery available. L, D daily. $$

B — breakfast L — lunch D — dinner late — late 24H — 24 hours

$ — average dinner entrée under $10 $$ — $11 to $20 $$$ — $21 or more

CITYWIDE Breaux Mart — Citywide; breauxmart.com — The deli counter’s changing specials include dishes such as baked catfish and red beans and rice. L, D daily. $

FAUBOURG MARIGNY Carnaval — 2227 St. Claude Ave., (504) 265-8855; carnavallounge.com — The music club’s Cozinha de Carnaval kitchen serves Brazilian street food. Frango is chicken cooked with thyme, rosemary and cumin and served with rosemary-garlic aioli. No reservations. Takeout available. D Sat-Mon. $ Kebab — 2315 St. Claude Ave., (504) 3834328; kebabnola.com — The sandwich shop offers doner kebabs and Belgian fries.

A falafel sandwich comes with pickled cucumbers, arugula, spinach, red onions, beets, hummus and Spanish garlic sauce.

No reservations. Takeout and delivery available Thu-Mon. $

FRENCH QUARTER Desire Oyster Bar — Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 586-0300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — The menu features Gulf seafood in traditional and contemporary Creole dishes, po-boys and more. Char-grilled oysters are topped with Parmesan, herbs and butter and served with French bread. Reservations recommended. Takeout available. B, L and D daily. $$

HARAHAN/JEFFERSON/ RIVER RIDGE The Rivershack Tavern — 3449 River Road, (504) 834-4938; therivershacktavern.com — This bar and music spot offers a menu of burgers, sandwiches and changing lunch specials. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L, D daily. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 1212 S. Clearview Parkway, Elmwood, (504) 7333803; theospizza.com — There is a wide variety of specialty pies and toppings to build your own pizza. The menu also includes salads and sandwiches. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L, D Tue-Sat. $

LAKEVIEW Lakeview Brew Coffee Cafe — 5606 Canal Blvd., (504) 483-7001; lakeviewbrew. com — This casual cafe offers gourmet coffees, pastries and desserts baked in house, sandwiches and salads. An omelet is filled with marinated mushrooms, bacon, spinach and goat cheese. Tuna salad or chicken salad avocado melts are topped with melted Monterey Jack and shredded Parmesan cheeses. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. B, L daily. $ Lotus Bistro — 203 W. Harrison Ave., (504) 533-9879; lotusbistronola.com — A Mineko Iwasaki roll includes spicy snow crab, tuna,

METAIRIE Andrea’s Restaurant — 3100 N. 19th St., Metairie, (504) 834-8583; andreasrestaurant.com — Chef/owner Andrea Apuzzo’s specialties include speckled trout royale which is topped with lump crabmeat and lemon-cream sauce. Capelli D’Andrea combines house-made angel hair pasta and smoked salmon in light cream sauce.

Curbside pickup and delivery are available.

L, D daily, brunch Sun. $$$ Kosher Cajun New York Deli & Grocery — 3519 Severn Ave., Metairie, (504) 888-2010; koshercajun.com — This New York-style deli specializes in sandwiches, including corned beef and pastrami that come from the Bronx. Takeout available. L Sun-Thu, D Mon-Thu. $ Mark Twain’s Pizza Landing — 2035 Metairie Road, Metairie, (504) 832-8032; marktwainpizza.com — Mark Twain’s serves salads, po-boys and pies like the Italian pizza with salami, tomato, artichoke, sausage and basil. Takeout and curbside pickup are available. L Tue-Sat, D Tue-Sun. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 5104282; theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

MID-CITY/TREME Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; angelobrocatoicecream. com — This sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ice, cannolis, fig cookies and other treats. Window and curbside pickup. L, D Tue-Sun. $ Brown Butter Southern Kitchen & Bar — 231 N. Carrollton Ave., Suite C, (504) 6093871; brownbutterrestaurant.com — Sample items have included smoked brisket served with smoked apple barbecue sauce, Alabama white barbecue sauce, smoked heirloom beans and vinegar slaw. A Brunch burger features a brisket and short rib patty topped with bacon, brie, a fried egg, onion jam and arugula on a brioche bun. Dine-in, takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. L and D Wed-Sat, brunch Sat-Sun. $$ Doson Noodle House — 135 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 309-7283; facebook.com/ dosonnoodlehouse — Bun thit is Vietnamese-style grilled pork with cucumber, onions, lettuce, mint, cilantro and fish sauce served over rice or vermicelli. The menu includes rice and vermicelli dishes, pho, spring rolls and more. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. $$ Five Happiness — 3511 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 482-3935; fivehappiness.com — The large menu at Five Happiness offers a range of dishes from wonton soup to sizzling seafood combinations served on a hot plate to sizzling Go-Ba to lo mein dishes. Takeout and delivery available. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity.com — Favorites include the Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, grilled ham, cheese and pickles pressed on buttered bread. The Boudreaux pizza is topped with cochon de lait, spinach, red onions, roasted garlic, scallions and olive oil. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D Tue-Sun. $$ Nonna Mia — 3125 Esplanade Ave., (504) 948-1717; nonnamianola.com — A Divine Portobello appetizer includes chicken breast, spinach in creamy red pepper sauce and crostini. The menu also includes salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza and more.

Curbside pickup and delivery are available.

Service daily. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; theospizza.

com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Willie Mae’s Scotch House — 2401 St. Ann St., (504) 822-9503; williemaesnola.com — This neighborhood restaurant is known for its wet-battered fried chicken. Green beans come with rice and gravy. There’s bread pudding for dessert. No reservations.

L Mon-Fri. $$

NORTHSHORE Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 70488 Highway 21, Covington, (985) 234-9420; theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

UPTOWN Joey K’s — 3001 Magazine St., (504) 8910997; joeyksrestaurant.com — ­ This casual eatery serves fried seafood platters, salads, sandwiches and Creole favorites such as red beans and rice. Sauteed trout Tchoupitoulas is topped with shrimp and crabmeat and served with vegetables and potatoes. Takeout and delivery available. $$ Red Gravy — 4206 Magazine St., (504) 561-8844; redgravycafe.com — Thin cannoli pancakes are filled with cannoli cream and topped with a chocolate drizzle. The menu includes brunch items, pasta dishes, sandwiches, baked goods and more. Takeout available. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; theospizza. com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT Annunciation — 1016 Annunciation St., (504) 568-0245; annunciationrestaurant. com — The menu highlights Gulf seafood in a mix of Creole, Cajun and Southern dishes. Fried oysters and skewered bacon are served with meuniere sauce and toasted French bread. Reservations required.

D Thu-Sun. $$$ Carmo — 527 Julia St., (504) 875-4132; cafecarmo.com — Carmo salad includes smoked ham, avocado, pineapple, almonds, cashews, raisins, cucumber, green pepper, rice, lettuce, cilantro and citrus mango vinaigrette. The menu includes dishes inspired by many tropical cuisines.

Takeout and delivery are available.

Mon-Sat. $$ NOLA Caye — 898 Baronne St., (504) 302-1302; nolacaye.com — The menu features Caribbean-inspired dishes and Gulf seafood. Seared ahi tuna is served with mango, avocado, mixed greens, citrus vinaigrette and sesame seeds. Reservations accepted. Takeout, delivery and outdoor seating available. D daily, brunch Sat-Sun. $$$ Provisions Grab-n-Go Marketplace — Higgins Hotel, 500 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higgingshotelnola.com — The coffeeshop serves salads, sandwiches, pastries and more. Takeout available.

Service daily. $

WEST BANK Mosca’s — 4137 Hwy. 90 W., Westwego, (504) 436-8950; moscasrestaurant.com — This family-style eatery serves shrimp Mosca, chicken a la grande and baked oysters Mosca, made with breadcrumbs and Italian seasonings. Curbside pickup available. D Wed-Sat. Cash only. $$$ Specialty Italian Bistro — 2330 Belle Chasse Hwy., Gretna, (504) 391-1090; specialtyitalianbistro.com — The menu combines Old World Italian favorites and pizza.

Chicken piccata is a paneed chicken breast topped with lemon-caper piccata sauce served with angel hair pasta, salad and garlic cheese bread. Takeout and delivery available. Service daily. $$

27 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

OUT EAT

avocado and cucumber topped with salmon, chef’s sauce, masago, green onion and tempura crunchy flakes. The menu also includes bento box lunches, teriyaki dishes, fried rice and more. Takeout and delivery are available. L and D Tue-Sun. $$

& ADVERTISER

FOR SUPPORTING » Aaron Frumin

» Annie Johnson

» Brian Sands

» Alan Borne

» Antha Hugel

» Alicia LaRose

» Anthony Bentley

» Bridget Hellmers

» Alisha Reed » Alix Tarnowsky » Allison Dandry » Allison McCarroll

» April Babin

» Buddy King

» April Sanchez

» Bushra Ahmad

» Aran Donovan

» Caire Restaurant Supply

» Ashley Rice

» Allison Tierney

» Avery Penman

» Amanda Maggio

» Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital

» Amanda Schroeder » Amy Dailey » Amy Exnicios » Anastasia Roberts

» Andrew Ravits » Angel Serigne » Angelique Carter

» Carol Senft

» Cherie Thompson

» Demetric Mercadel

» Cherry Fisher May

» Denise Templeton

» Cheryl Manley

» Diana Shaw

» Christina Tucker

» Diane Killeen

» Clara Gould

» Dina Zeevi

» Clark Tiffiny

» Donna Svenson

» Corinna Weir

» Doug Weisz

» Cotty Chubb

» Beth Hall

» Cassie Lentz

» Cynthia Phillips

» Beth Utterback

» Cecile Castello

» Cyril Vetter

» Betsy Moore

» Celeste Gauthier

» Dan Askin

» Beverly Watts » Bill Bass » Blaine Lindsey » Blaine Stanga

» Chad Wallace » Chanel Salzer » Charles Chester, MD » Charli Guest

» Brenda Mickol

» Charmaine Caccioppi

» Brent Meche

» Chelsea Rourke

» Donna DeHoog

» Claud Clark

» Barbara Poche

» Bonnie Buras

» Anna Clayton Bullock

» Carol Osborne

OUR READERS & ADVERTISERS

AND LOCAL JOURNALISM

» Caroline Ross

» Beverli Turner

» Andrew Hancock-Shaw

» Bruce Hoffman

LOVE

» Ed Walters

» Erica Cardosi

» Hether Smiroldo

» Jennifer Herbert

» Juan Barreto

» Erica Hirsch

» Holli Hamilton Lindsey

» Jennifer Lloyd

» Juli Miller Hart

» Jennifer Marusak

» Julia Barecki

» Erin Fitch » Erin Luetkemeier » Ernestine WashingtonHarris » Everett Bonner » Flynn Zaiger » Frenchie Kessler

» Eileen Minahan

» Fritz Westenberger

» Elise Dabezies

» Gail Richardson » George Kulman

» Dan Bess

» Elizabeth Glassell and John Foster

» Dana Reynolds

» Elizabeth Hyde

» Dawn Carl

» Elizabeth Jee

» Giancarlo Caratini

» Dawn Ofodile

» Ellen Byron

» Gina Aalvatore

» Dayna Ann GesslerPoitevent

» Ellie Avegno

» Gretchen Caillouet

» Deborah Augustine Elam

» Ellie Rand » Elliott Bauman » Emma Fleckman

» Georgie and Roger Smith

» Harry Shearer » Heather Trumble

» Howard Turoff » Howard Zimmerman » Hugh Stiel » Jackie Shreves » Jaime Loebner » Jake Clapp

» Kipp Rhoads

» Julius Cain

» Kris Shull

» Luis, Erin & Nadia Salcedo

» Karen Abell

» Kristen Schorp

» Lynnette Judge

» Jess Carter » Jesse Hemeter » Jessica Hawkins

» Joe Giarrusso

NO NEWS IS BAD NEWS

Gambit reports on the city we love, connects you to New Orleans, and covers the issues that matter —all for free.

By becoming a Gambit Member, you are showing your support for local journalism and helping us continue our mission (you will receive some great perks too!)

BESTOFNEWORLEANS.COM/MEMBER

Volume 41 // Number

» Karen Hebert » Karen Peter » Katherine Stuke » Kathleen Edmundson » Kathleen Mazure

» Kim Sport

» Lucy Riess

» Mary Matalin and James Carville » Mary McCarthy » Maxwell Rieman » McGready Richeson » Melanie Bray » Melanie Turner » Melissa Gnibus

» Kristina Teran

» Malain Collins

» Kristy Saunders

» Malia Hamilton

» Krystan Hosking » Kyuwon Kim

» Margo and Clancy DuBos

» Laney Blakemore

» Margo Moss

» Michelle Hansen

» Laren Holzer

» Marie Rousselle

» Laura Rochon

» Marie-Claire Serou

» Mindy Milam, LCSW

» JamesFurlow

» John Exnicios

» Kathleen Padian

» Jamiles Lartey

» John Mclachlan

» Jason Richards

» John Stolf

» Kathryn Hobgood

» Jeanne Exnicios Foster

» Jonah Seligman

» Kathy Vicari

» Lawrence Centola

» Jonathan Martin

» Katie Bishop

» Jeanne McGlory

» Josie O’Brien

» Jennifer Adams » Jennifer Cuddihy

» Laurel Clausen

» Michael Tisserand » Michelle Bushey

» Natalie Robinson

» Patricia Podell

» Richard Fumosa

» Patricia Ravits

» Rita Amedee

» Patrick Carson

» Robert Billiot

» Patrick Landry

» Robert Gramenz

» Paul Clement

» Robert Lecher

» Sidney Levin

» Paul Tamburello

» Robert Levy

» Siri Regan

» Timothy Ruppert

» Paul Waldman

» Robert Monk

» Sonia Gasparini

» Paula Harrelson

» Robin Johnstone

» Paula Mangum

» Roger and Barbara Stetter

» Stephanie Kleehammer

» Tom & Deborah Cole

» Penny Dufrene » Philip Wolfe » Pierre Champagne

» Samantha Hanks

» Rahlyn Gossen

» Samantha Yrle » Sandra Albert

» Marita Crandle

» Nicole Boyer

» Mark Burlet

» Norah Friar

» Rebekka Veith

» Leigh Thorpe

» Mark Romig

» Norma Gomez

» REF Bull

» Katie Welsh

» Leigh Wall

» Marlane Drake

» Pamela Theriot

» Regina Cairns

» Joy Braud Sims

» Keith Thompson

» Liliane bavister

» Mary Adams

» Pat Galloway

» Renee Rothman

» Juan Aguirre

» Kelly Sonnier

» Linda Lachin

» Mary F Bergeron

» Pat Macaluso

» Renny Martyn

PRESENTED BY

29

4 0er undder un for fo rty ty T W EN T Y T W EN TY

For more information visit

BESTOFNEWORLEANS.COM/SHOPSMALL *PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CHARITABLE DONATION AND DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR A TAX DEDUCTION.

» Sallie Shafto

» Rachel Kellogg

» Rebecca Friedman

opt-Ad A

» Ryan Smith

» Sally Duplantier

» Nick Mauer

» Lauren Morel

» Rose Dobrez

» Quentin Stewart

» Marisa Naquin

Augus t 18-2 4, 2020 // Volum e 41 // Numbe r 31

August 4-10, 2020

» Lisa Williford

» Julie Graybill

» Jo-Ann Ledger

» James Robertson

» Lisa Snyder

» Jennifer Schuyler

» Jill Wagner

» James Morris

» Kim Janowski

» Lindsay Manco

» Jennifer Osburn

» Jill Dryden

» James Jang

» Killian Jordan

» Lindsay Hannah

» Julie Gernhauser

» Jessica Mason

» James Cook

» Kevin O’Shaughnessy

» Sandy Rosenthal » Sandy Stein » Scott D’Aunoy » Scott Schick » Serena Williamson

» Shannon Corrigan » Shenea Mathews » Sherrie Sherrin

» Stephanie McShane » Stephen Schulkens » Sue Southon » Suri Duitch

» Tiara Washington Konate » Tiffany Campo » Tiffany French

» Tom Perrault » Tony Laska » Tracey Collins » Tracy Centanni » Tracy Jenkins » Vasy McCoy

» Susan Bledsoe

» Veronica Bird

» Tara Hernandez

» Vicki Clark

» Teagan Connors

» Walter Leger, Jr.

» Teddy Lopez

» Wanda Jenkins

» Terry Ryder

» Will McCrary

» Therese Duke

» William King

» Thomas Braly

» Zac Zelazny

» Tiana Watts

» Zaccai Free

From Magazine Street to Metairie Road, independently-owned shops and restaurants help our region thrive. As we all face the economic disruptions wrought by COVID-19, we at Gambit want to do our part by offering a new way to support local businesses.

“Adopt A Small Business” is an initiative designed to promote locally-owned businesses AND support local journalism.

Help your favorite local businesses advertise — in Gambit at very reduced rates — so they can let customers know they’re open.

P H OTO BY M A X B E C H ERER / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W OR L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Bird’s-eye view

Artist Danae Brissonnet works on a mural on the Embassy Suites hotel at the corner of Julia and South Peters streets.

A 14-story mural will be completed in the Warehouse District this week

BY DOUG MACCASH ARTIST DANAE BRISSONNET WORKS BIG. The mural she’s in the process of

painting on the Embassy Suites Hotel in the Warehouse District is 14 stories high. She paints while perched in the basket of a dizzyingly tall piece of construction equipment. “Luckily, I’m not afraid of heights, because the machine shakes a lot,” she says, laughing.

Brissonnet, 28, hails from Quebec, but her art career has carried her near and far, from Mexico to Morocco to India. For the past nine years, she says, she hasn’t really had a home address.

That’s the way she likes it, moving from city to city and culture to culture. She’s no stranger to New Orleans. Four years ago, Brissonnet painted a mural on the fence inside the Fair Grinds coffee shop on St. Claude Avenue (which is currently closed).

Before beginning a mural, Brissonnet says, she studies the history, landscape, creatures and customs of the setting, trying to

D!

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N ov e mb e r 3 - 9 > 2 02 0

ART

WE EVENT EKE THIS N

30

compose an image that represents the region where she’s working. Her Embassy Suites painting includes a gigantic pelican, alligator and a row of corn, meant to symbolize the first inhabitants of the area.

But she’s not content with merely rendering local icons. Instead, she adds surrealistic flourishes. Notice the storm-tossed houses bobbing in the pelican’s wavy feathers. Notice that the alligator seems to be sprouting a mermaid’s tail. Notice that the corn cobs seem to be seated on some sort of botanical amusement park ride.

Based on an online perusal of previous murals, the Embassy Suites painting promises to be both faithful to the region and fantastical.

Brissonnet sketches ideas for her murals on a computer pad. She then loosely brushes random shapes on the wall, like landmarks, to help her remain oriented as she freehands the highly detailed painting.

of the “Unframed presented by the Helis Foundation” project, with Jessica Strahan and an international artist who has not yet been named.

The artworks by female artists are meant to celebrate the centennial of the 19th Amendment that gave women the vote in 1920. The “Unframed” project, managed by The Arts Council of New Orleans, began with eight Central Business District murals in June 2019.

Brissonnet’s mural will be officially unveiled the evening of Nov. 7, during the Arts District’s First Saturday Walk. An Arts Council representative declined to reveal the cost of the mural.

“I kind of go into a trance when I do murals,” Brissonnet says.

The ideal spot to view the enormous painting is from the stop sign at the intersection of Julia and South Peters streets, catercorner from the hotel, Brissonnet says. But it’s visible all the way from the Pontchartrain Expressway.

Brissonnet is one of three women creating murals in the second phase

NEW ORLEANS CHRISTMAS BEAD & JEWELRY SHOW! NOV 6, 7 & 8 $4 ADMISSION ALL WEEKEND

ADVERTISE WITH US

(WITH THIS AD)

Call Sandy Stein (504) 483-3150 or sstein@gambitweekly.com

PONTCHARTRAIN CENTER • 4545 WILLIAMS BLVD. KENNER, LA • FOR MORE INFO VISIT WWW.AKSSHOW.COM

MISSED AN ISSUE? VISIT

BESTOFNEWORLEANS.COM/CURRENT TO READ THE LATEST ISSUES

October 13-19, 2020 Volume 41 // Number 39

October 6-12,

me 41 2020 Volu

// Number

38

MID-CITY DOUBLES 4009-11 ORLEANS AVENUE

MID CITY HOSPITAL DISTRICT! Duplex PR W NE with lots of potential.

2nd Floor needs some TLC. 1st Floor needs a total renovation.Lots of renovated homes in the area. Central location - Easy access to City Park, Fairgrounds, CBD & Broad St with Coffee Shops, Restaurants and Whole Foods. $249,000

LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! Craftsman N Raised Double right off North Carrollton.

2 BR on each side. 10 ft ceilings. Original Hardwood Floors & Cabinetry. Off-Street Parking for 2 cars.

Centrally located & easily accessible to all part of the city. $365,000

E IC

E

IC

EW

PR

TOP PRODUCER

(504) 895-4663

GARDEN DISTRICT OFFICE 2016 & 2017

ABR, CRS, GRI, SFR, SRS

SQUARE PHASE

By Frank A. Longo

66 Riddle, part 4 71 Delilah player Lamarr 72 Hotel furniture 73 History unit 74 Suffix with strict 75 Inedible type of orange 77 Coiled length of yarn 79 Riddle, part 5 85 Fleeced male 87 “The Walking Dead� airer 88 “Royals� singer 89 Anti votes 90 —Kosh B’gosh (kids’ clothing brand) 93 1998-2008 Toyota model 96 Former Nintendo rival

97 Orlando theme park 99 End of the riddle 103 Lack of vigor 104 Suffix with beat 105 “— was saying ...�

106 “See ya!,�

British-style 107 Ernie’s pal 109 Pierre’s pal 111 Lariat part 115 Covered with vines 116 Riddle’s answer 120 Nairobi’s land 121 Prep schools 122 “The Magic Flute,� e.g.

123 Provided with a border 124 Small equine 125 Film lioness 126 Dot in the sea DOWN 1 Droopy cheek 2 Waikiki Beach locale 3 — -friendly 4 Tackle, guard or center 5 Supposed psychic gift 6 Thunder god 7 Sales agents, for short 8 Unsound 9 Like most sandals 10 Saintly glow 11 Court declaration 12 Yale Daily News staffer 13 Similarly defined wd.

14 Enlarged 15 Broadcast again 16 Briefcase variety 17 First-ever 18 Christian cry of praise 21 Stood up to 24 Wyatt at the O.K. Corral 29 To a large degree 31 Apparel 32 Totally absorbed 33 Outdated 34 VI doubled 35 PC support whiz, perhaps 36 “Drink� for a constantly critical sort 37 Alternatively 38 Fat-and-flour mixture 39 Utah city

40 Oscar winner Dunaway 41 See 82-Down 47 Have a hunch 48 “On the Road� novelist Jack 50 Cowboy cry 52 “Absolutely, sarge!�

53 Big retailer of outdoor gear 54 Hawaii’s Mauna — 55 Hither’s partner 57 Posh quality 58 Scooched over, perhaps 59 Devious 63 “Get Shorty� star Chris 65 “Masterpiece� network 67 Set- — (brawls) 68 Game akin to crazy eights 69 Dot-com address 70 “Magnum, P.I.� star Tom 76 Trapshooting targets, informally 78 Stereotypical working-class family man 80 Ace or deuce 81 “If — be so bold ...�

82 With 41-Down, lotus sitters’ cushion

83 Asia’s — Sea 84 “Spring ahead� hrs.

86 Ties down, as a boat 90 Resembling a hooting bird 91 Bundled, as wheat 92 High- — (snubbing) 94 Pull along 95 Khan who married Rita Hayworth 96 “I’m OK with it�

98 Comedian Emo 100 It might be given by a flirter 101 Way to serve ham or pastrami 102 CafÊ au — 107 Wheat husk 108 Water whirl 109 City in Iowa 110 Plateau’s kin 112 Law school newbie 113 Folklore giant 114 Exam for H.S. juniors 116 Brief snooze 117 — -friendly 118 Fossil fuel 119 — polloi

ANSWERS FOR LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE: P 2

PUZZLES

33 Hormone released during childbirth 35 Riddle, part 2 41 Signified 42 Valentine’s Day feeling 43 Angle measure 44 History unit 45 Pretend 46 Particular printing 48 Lock go-with 49 Marina del — 51 Riddle, part 3 56 Considers to be 60 Like unripe bananas 61 Always, in poetry 62 Hugs, in letters 64 Airline of Israel 65 Pod fillers

!

# 1%(" -+""- "/ +'" (,

$ +)&"+ #" %(!"*"(!"(-'0 )/("! (! )*"+ -"! % "(,"! %( ).%,% (

PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Work unit 6 Duo plus one 10 Orangutans, e.g.

14 Plot out, as an equation 19 Desert refuge 20 In an obliging manner 22 Evoking an earlier style 23 Start of a riddle 25 Rob of “Melrose Place�

26 Enticement 27 “— longa, vita brevis�

28 March Madness org.

29 — mama (rum cocktail) 30 Tarnish 32 Rd. with a number

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > N OV E M B E R 3 - 9 > 2 0 2 0

2525-27 BANKS STREET

31

Lot 203: Pair of Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze Lot 225: Sarah Ashley Longshore Mounted Gray Marble Urns, (1975- , New Orleans), “Audrey 19th c., H.- 12 in., W.- 8 1/2 in., D.- 6 1/2 in. Hepburn with Butterflies,” 20th c., Est. $2,000-$3,000 mixed media, H.- 24 in., W.- 24 in., D.- 2 1/2 in.

Est. $6,000-$9,000

Jewelry Includes Diamonds, Rubies,Sapphires, Tahitian Pearls, Emeralds, Tanzanite, and Tourmaline etc.

IMPORTANT FALL ESTATES AUCTION Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020 at 10am Lots 1-450 Sunday, Nov 15, 2020 at 10am Lots 451-817

Lot 184: French Louis XVI Style Ormolu Mounted Mahogany Marble Top Sideboard, H.- 40 in., W.- 104 in., D.- 21 3/4 in. Est. $1,200-$1,800

Full color catalog available at:

www.crescentcityauctiongallery.com Lot 164: Hovsep Pushman (1877-1966, New York, California, Armenia), “Armenian Girl,” early 20th c., oil on board, signed upper right corner, H.- 11 in., W.- 8 1/2 in.

Est. $2,500-$4,500

Lot 175: Itzchak Tarkay (1935-2012, Israel), “Tea Time,” 20th c., oil on canvas, signed lower right, H.- 19 3/4 in., W.- 23 1/2 in.

Est. $2,000-$4,000

WATCH AND BID LIVE ONLINE FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME!

Lot 276: George Valentine Dureau (1930-2014, New Orleans), “Jeffrey Cook,” 20th c., silver gelatin print, H.- 9 3/4 in., W.- 10 in.

Est. $600-$900

Lot 182: Large French Provincial Carved Oak Monastery Table, 19th c., H.- 30 7/8 in., W.- 106 1/4 in., D.- 39 in. Est. $1,200-$1,800

Lot 660: French Empire Style Carved Walnut Marble Top Commode, 19th c., H.- 34 in., W.- 50 5/8 in., D.- 22 3/4 in.

Est. $700-$1,200

Lot 143: Eutrope Boure (1833-1906, French), “Jeanne d’Arc on Horseback,” 19th c., patinated bronze, H.- 29 in., W.- 17 in., D.- 7 1/8 in. Est. $700-$1,200

Lot 349: Pair of Large Cast Iron Campana Form Garden Urns, 20th/21st c., H.- 46 in., Dia.- 32 in. Est. $1,500-$2,500 Lot 220: Clementine Hunter (1887-1988, Louisiana), “The Honky Tonk on Cane River- Saturday Night,” c. 1966, oil on board, H.-15 1/2 in., W.- 23 3/4 in.

Note: This painting has been authenticated by the Hunter expert. Est. $2,500-$4,500

Lot 251: Incredibly Rare New Orleans .900 Silver Fireman’s Speaking Trumpet, 1891, the mouthpiece of coin silver, with engraved and repousse oak leaf and acorn decoration, the horn of the trumpet engraved, “Presented by Star Hook and Ladder Company to Simon Oesterly as a token of Respect and Acknowledgement of His Services, New Orleans, 1891,” H.- 19 in., Dia.- 7 1/2 in., Wt.- 26.4 Troy Oz. Est. $12,000-$18,000

Lot 227: Alexander J. Drysdale (1870-1934, New Orleans), “Bayou Scene With Moss Draped Oak and Water Lilies,” 1915, H.- 19 1/2 in., W.- 28 3/4 in.

Est. $1,500-$2,500

Lots 204-207: Selection of Carved Wooden Santos.

Lot 223: Pedro Friedeberg (1936-, Mexican), “Hands and Head,” 20th c.,wood sculpture, H.- 8 in., W.- 9 in., D.- 2 1/2 in.

Est. $800-$1,200

Lot 221 & 222: Clementine Hunter (18861988), “Zinnias,” 1969, oil on masonite, verso inscribed “1969, #128, D-194, K-C,” H.- 23 5/8 in., W.- 9 5/8 in., Est. $2,000$4,000, and Two Clementine Hunter Paint Decorated Clay Ginger Beer Bottles, c.

1980, one with zinnias; the other with two figures, a flower and bird, ZinniasH.- 9 in., Dia.- 4 in., Figures- H.- 9 1/4 in., Dia.- 4 in. Est. $800-$1,200 Provenance: From the Ryan collection, New Orleans.

Lot 271: Mildred “Millie” Wohl (19061977, New Orleans), “Painting No. 13,” 1961, oil on masonite, H.- 15 1/2 in., W.- 23 3/8 in. Est. $1,000-$1,500

Crescent City Auction Gallery, LLC 1330 St.Charles Ave, New Orleans, La 70130 504-529-5057 • fax 504-529-6057 info@crescentcityauctiongallery.com 25% Buyers Premium For a complete catalog, visit our website at: www.crescentcityauctiongallery.com LA Auc Lic AB-411, 1354, 1529

Lot 117: Niek van der Plas (1954- , Dutch), “Horses on the Beach,” 20th c., oil on panel, H.- 9 1/8 in., W.- 11 1/4 in.

Est. $1,000-$1,500 Lot 81: Four Piece Sterling Tea and Coffee Set, 20th c., by Gorham, in the “Buttercup” pattern, # 991, Weight- 55.1 Troy Oz. Est. $1,200-$2,000

Lot 224: Walter Anderson (1903-1965, Mississippi), “Eggplants,” 20th c., watercolor and graphite, signed “WA” in a circle lower right, H.- 8 1/2 in., W.- 11 1/8 in. Est. $8,000-$12,000

Lot 233: French Belle Epoque Louis XV Style Ormolu Mounted Parquetry Inlaid Rosewood Marble Top Bombe Secretaire, c. 1900, H.- 55 1/4 in., W.- 29 1/4 in., D.- 15 1/2 in. Est. $700-$1,200