Gambit New Orleans, March 24, 2020 by Gambit New Orleans

March 24-30, 2020 Volume 41 // Number 12

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Curator Camp

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CONTENTS

First time clients receive 20% off when they mention Gambit.

MARCH 24 -30, 2020 VOLUME 41 | NUMBER 12 NEWS

Recurring clients receive a complementary treatment when booking a haircut or hair color.

OPENING GAMBIT

OPEN DAILY 11-9

CLANCY DUBOS

FEATURES

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT 5

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COMMENTARY 9

EAT + DRINK

PUZZLES 26

VISIT THE NEW

MUSIC 23 GOING OUT

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WHERE WE ARE Our city comes to grips with the coronavirus pandemic

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COVER DESIGN BY DORA SISON COVER PHOTOS BY KAITLYN HOLEMAN/GETTY IMAGES (BALCONY) & WILDPIXEL/ GETTY IMAGES (CORONAVIRUS)

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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.

P R OV I D E D P H OTO B Y M I CH E L L E K A F F KO

Michael Zapata

Michael Zapata’s ‘Lost Book’ The former New Orleanian’s novel is partially set in the city BY SUSAN LARSON

THE CANCELLATION OF HIS BOOK TOUR

stop in New Orleans was especially hard for Michael Zapata, whose debut novel “The Lost Book of Adana Moreau” is partially set here. “The two stops on the tour that meant the most to me were the publication party in Chicago, where I live, and New Orleans,” Zapata says. “So initially it was a gut punch of disappointment. But then so many people found such creative ways to help

writers who have books out that it was very encouraging.” His affection for the city is long-standing. “Since I was 20, after winning $500 in a Halloween contest and using the money to head out to New Orleans for the first time, I’ve been visiting two or three times a year my entire life — enthralled magnetically to a North American city that historically and even metaphorically resembled a Latin American one and so my own personal and familial history,” he says. Zapata is comfortable with the city’s complicated cultural mix — he is Ecuadorian, Lithuanian and Jewish — and he has lived in Ecuador, Italy and the U.S. That tangled New Orleans history is woven through pages of “The Lost Book of Adana Moreau.” Adana Moreau, called the Dominicana, arrives in New Orleans an immigrant and transforms herself into a writer, who creates a bestseller called “Lost City,” published by a small publisher in the French Quarter during the days of the Double Dealer literary magazine, in the early 1900s. She goes to work on a sequel, “A Model Earth,” that is lost to time, but decades later turns up in an unexpected place. Zapata knows the strength of stories,

the way they endure, how much they matter, and knows how to tell them beautifully. His version of New Orleans is alight with great characters, enveloping atmosphere and unforgettable description. Passages that draw on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are informed by Zapata’s personal experience. “Shortly after Katrina, I spent weeks in New Orleans interviewing writers, activists and those returning after the storm,” he says. “The second issue of a literary magazine I co-founded, MAKE Literary Magazine, was focused entirely on those dedicated to rebuilding the city.” Zapata and his wife moved to New Orleans in 2014. He was hired as an academic adviser at Tulane University, and focused on completing his first book. New Orleans, as it often does, tested the Zapata family’s love of place. “The unreal Shakespearean city — as it does — tried to kill us through a mosquito-borne tropical disease, a bad car accident and a house fire, but also loved us deeply,” he says. “I finished and sold the novel there. We found a New Orleans family through extraordinary friends, many of whom were also Latin American. We danced till 3

a.m. so often it feels like a dream. Our firstborn son was born there during a tropical storm. I’ve since returned to Chicago but New Orleans has partitioned my soul.” Despite all the cancellations, there are consolations for social distancing. He’s spending time at his home in Chicago in what he’s calling “Yellow Sub Quarantine,” with his two boys, including 6-month-old Matias, while the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he works, offers classes online. And, along with several other writers — Deb Olin Unferth and Rebecca Makkai among them — he’s offering online classes and coaching in a project called the Pajama Seminars at StoryStudio Chicago (visit www.storystudiochicago.org for more information). Writers who are stuck at home can still write and find community online — and wear pajamas while doing it. Zapata says he’ll make a return pilgrimage to New Orleans when it’s possible. “As soon as this is over, I want to sit down with my publisher and publicist and make a plan,” he says. “But for right now the solidarity has been beautiful and the idea that we’re all navigating this together brings me comfort.”

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

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Now in print BY SUSAN LARSON DEBUT AUTHOR JASON HARDY was scheduled to appear at the annual Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival and the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane, but both events were canceled due to concerns about the coronavirus and COVID-19. Hardy is keeping it in perspective. “I was looking forward to getting out there and engaging with readers, talking about my book and hearing about the books by other writers,” he says. “I was fortunate to do ‘Fresh Air’ [on NPR] and get some media early on, but there are bigger issues at play right now. And it’s a good excuse to stay home and do some reading.” Katy Simpson Smith, whose third novel will be published this week, has seen her opening events canceled in New York and Massachusetts, though she is a veteran of local festivals and book signings. “It’s been heartbreaking to see the festivals vanish, even as I understand the need for safety,” she says. “What I take comfort in is that literature —

even if we’re each reading alone in our homes — still provides a sense of community.” Bestselling thriller writer Erica Spindler, who refers to her readers as EPIC (Erica’s Partners in Crime), has canceled a national tour. “The health of my readers, our community and country come first,” she posted. So while you have time to read, here are some of the recent books that you could have picked up at the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival or the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University:

novel, the story of a place called Remembrance, a stop on the Underground Railroad, a place outside of time. A terrific blend of magical realism and historical background, this novel features a family of unforgettable women. In her third novel, “The Everlasting” (Harper), Katy Simpson Smith spins a tale of faith and doubt. An early Christian martyr, a medieval monk, a Medici princess, and a modern scientist — all are somehow bound together across two thousand years. What endures across the ages? Love, of course.

Nonfiction

New in paperback

Bestselling author Erik Larson is back with “The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz” (Crown). This is an engrossing chronicle of how Winston Churchill and his family survived one of the most harrowing episodes of World War II. It is Larson at his storytelling best; he brings historical figures to life and makes us smell, see and hear life during wartime. New Orleans native and FBI agent Jason Hardy takes readers inside the New Orleans criminal justice system in his memoir, “The Second Chance Club: Hardship and Hope After Prison,” (Simon and Schuster), the story of his four years as a probation and

parole officer in his hometown. In his new book, “Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Cases of the Civil Rights Movement,” (Simon and Schuster), Jerry Mitchell, founder of the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, shows the painstaking work that goes into righting old wrongs and bringing racist criminals to justice.

Fiction “Remembrance,” by Rita Woods (Forge), is an unforgettable debut

“We Cast a Shadow,” by Maurice Carlos Ruffin (One World), is the critically acclaimed debut by New Orleans lawyer turned LSU creative writing professor. It is a searing examination of an African American father who will go to any lengths to protect his son in a racist society. The book is a finalist for the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Book Award. “My Lovely Wife,” by Samantha Downing (Berkley), is a page-turner about a married couple who turn to serial killing as a way to spice up their sex lives. Downing’s new thriller, “He Started It,” about an unforgettable family road trip, comes out in April.

N E W

O R L E A N S

N E W S

V I E W S

Coronavirus testing ... COVID-19 conspiracy theories ... detecting fake news ... and more

# The Count

Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down

20%

Zion Williamson, power for-

The percent of people aged 20 to 44 who were hospitalized in the U.S. with COVID-19 Feb. 12 to March 16, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

ward for the New Orleans Pelicans, announced he would cover the pay of Smoothie King Center employees affected by the NBA’s suspension of the season due to COVID-19. Williamson made the announcement March 13, saying he would cover pay for the 30 days of the game suspension, which includes seven games at the Smoothie King Center for which game-day staff would not have been paid. P H OTO B Y CHR I S G R A N G E R T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Drive-through coronavirus screening should pick up this week.

Gayle Benson, owner of the

New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, has established two funds to help area workers and businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Benson donated $1 million to create the Gayle Benson Community Assistance Fund, $100,000 of which is dedicated to the New Orleans Business Alliance’s Gig Economy Fund. She also set up the Arena Assistance Fund for people put out of work when the NBA suspended its season and announced Pelicans’ employees would be paid their salaries for postponed games.

U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, a Republican from Port Barre, posted a video blasting Gov. John Bel Edwards as “out of line” and sitting in an “ivory tower” because the governor, a Democrat, followed COVID-19 protocols recommended by medical experts — and by President Donald Trump — namely shutting down bars and restaurants. Higgins, a notorious political grandstander, hit a new low in attacking Edwards, who otherwise has drawn praise from some of his staunchest critics for his COVID-19 response.

DRIVE-THROUGH CORONAVIRUS TESTING PROGRAM RAMPS UP The number of COVID-19 cases is expected to increase this week as testing ramps up. Three drive-through coronavirus testing sites were scheduled to open over the weekend in New Orleans and Westwego, opening first to health care workers and first responders. New Orleans is one of the first cities in the U.S. to establish such sites as part of a pilot program with the federal government. People seeking to be tested at the sites will have to show proof they are a member of the group being tested and have symptoms of the disease, which has been spreading rapidly in New Orleans, according to a press release from Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration. The New Orleans sites, in the parking lots of the Mahalia Jackson Theater and the University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena, will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, according to the release. A third testing site is at the Alario Center in Westwego. The tests will be administered while patients remain in their vehicles. Walk-ups will not be allowed on the sites for the “safety of testing personnel.” In addition to identification and a badge showing they work in health care or are first responders, those seeking tests will be asked to provide health insurance information — though the latter will not be required, according to the release. The tests will consist of a temperature check with a no-touch thermometer and nasal swab to test for the virus. Test results will be available in three to five days, according to the release. — JEFF ADELSON/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

New Orleans virologist helps debunk bioengineered virus theory

Ages 20 to 54 accounted for 38% of COVID-19 hospitalizations during that period, while those 55 and older accounted for 52%, indicating that younger people are at risk of becoming seriously ill with the virus, though most cases are mild. Of those who tested positive for the virus, 12% were hospitalized. These percentages are CDC estimates based on available patient information at press time and are subject to change as cases spread.

C’est What

? Louisiana and 31 other states are considering bills concerning adoption of Daylight Saving Time year-round. Where do you stand?

85.3% MAKE DST

YEAR-ROUND

10.7%

A conspiracy theory about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic has been debunked, thanks in part to a New Orleans virologist. Robert Garry of Tulane University School of Medicine is the senior author of a newly published study in Nature Medicine that says the PAGE 8

KEEP THINGS THE WAY THEY ARE

LET EACH STATE DECIDE

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

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OPENING GAMBIT

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virus sweeping across the globe came from nature, not a lab. Conspiracy theorists have been pushing a narrative for months, falsely implying that the virus was bioengineered — with some claiming it was invented in Wuhan, China, where it was first identified. Politicians, such as U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, and other non-scientists have repeated the claim. Garry says it’s nonsense. He and a team of international scientists have examined the genetic sequences and protein structures of other types of coronaviruses and compared them with this one. They now have several solid ideas of how COVID-19 came into existence — none of them supporting the claim it was manmade. “There’s no way that any human could put this together,” he says. “It’s similar to other viruses that do a pretty efficient job at spreading to people.” The adaptations the virus has made to affect humans are “very different than what you would expect if you were designing it using computational models in biological engineering,” he adds. Garry and his team examined the genetic template for spike proteins, structures on the outside of the virus that pierce the outer walls of human and animal cells. They focused on two features of the spike protein: the receptor-binding domain (RBD), a type of “hook” that grips onto host cells; and the cleavage site, which acts as a sort of “molecular can opener” that allows the virus to crack open and enter the cells. The scientists found that the hook portion of the COVID-19 spike proteins had evolved to effectively target a feature on the outside of human cells involved in regulating blood pressure. The spike protein was so effective at binding to human cells that the scientists concluded it was the result of natural selection — again, not genetic engineering. The scientists believe that it may have reached its current state through natural selection in a non-human host and then eventually jumped species to humans. This is how previous recent coronavirus outbreaks have emerged, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which came from the catlike civets and camels, respectively. Bats are the most likely origin of COVID-19, Garry says. COVID-19 is quite similar in structure to a virus found in bats, but the virus is now (clearly) “well-adapted” to humans. It’s also possible the virus has been circulating among humans for a while in a less advanced form. An unharmful version may have jumped from an animal to human host prior to evolving into its current state. “Maybe it was a few mutations away — that’s the explanation I favor,” says

Garry. “It could have been years, it could be decades, but it hadn’t quite gathered all the particular changes it needed to spread.” — SARAH RAVITS

Grocery chain offers employment to workers with COVID-19-related work slowdowns Winn-Dixie parent company Southeastern Grocers (SEG) announced last week that it would “expeditiously hire” people who have been laid off or had their work hours reduced due to coronavirus to fill its need for additional employees. While more businesses close and events are postponed or canceled, an increasing number of workers have been laid off or are out of work. But grocery retailers are experiencing a business boom as customers buy in bulk to stock their pantries amid COVID-19 concerns. Gov. John Bel Edwards advised residents against this behavior in a press conference March 18, asking people to shop “only one week at a time, not for a month at a time.” Amazon, which also owns Whole Foods, said it would hire 100,000 people nationally and temporarily increase hourly employee wages by $2 an hour to help keep up with the high demand for its services. Walmart announced March 20 it would hire 3,500 workers in Louisiana. SEG, which also owns BI-LO, Fresco y Mas and Harveys Supermarket stores, said in the release that its foundation would donate $250,000 to Feeding America, a nonprofit that operates more than 200 food banks nationally. All SEG pharmacy locations will open at 8 a.m. on weekdays, and seniors and shoppers who are vulnerable to infection can shop from 8 a.m.-9 a.m. Monday through Friday while the store is closed to the general public. Several grocery stores in the New Orleans area — including Dorignac’s and Langenstein’s, as well as larger chains such as Rouses, Walmart, Target and Whole Foods — have implemented similar special shopping hours for groups most vulnerable to COVID-19. — KAYLEE POCHEHE

How to detect fake news Circulation of misinformation about the coronavirus and other fake news is a threat to social-media consumers worldwide, but one LSU professor is leading a team of students to educate the public through a website. Leonard Apcar, a professor at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication, founded www. detectfakenews.com, a site designed to inform audiences about the dangers of fake news and offer tools to identify it, including misinformation surrounding COVID-19. Identifying fake news involves

checking the quotes, images, attribution, sources, bias and a website’s URL address, according to the website. Apcar says media consumers should look for independent and corroborated reporting. The site posts articles that identify fake items, and Apcar and his students update followers via a Twitter account, @detectfakenews. One of the legitimate stories, by a French news agency, describes how social media accounts linked to Russia have launched a coordinated campaign to spread panic about the coronavirus through fake news. The article says that the Russian accounts are spreading conspiracies that the United States was behind the COVID-19 outbreak. Some posts say that the virus was manufactured by the CIA to disrupt China’s economy, while others falsely blame the charitable foundation led by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates for spreading it. “The best way to guard against this is, first of all, to read the story,” Apcar said. “Too many people read headlines and just pass along stories, both true and false.” The site originated after the 2016 presidential election when a group of LSU students traveled with Apcar to a conference where fake news, media distortion and manipulation were discussed. Apcar said the site aims to aggregate research, news, analysis and video so that viewers and voters can learn how to protect themselves from fake news. Social media and technology companies, which inadvertently spread fake news, also are working to fight it through new technology, such as Facebook’s machine-learning algorithms meant to detect and remove fake accounts. LSU international studies freshman Madison Latiolais of Breaux Bridge is one of three students who help curate the site, along with LSU microbiology junior Grayce Mores of Harvey and mass communication graduate student Francis Poche of Baton Rouge. Latiolais posts information about “deep fakes,” which manipulate audio or video clips of people, such as political leaders, using artificial intelligence and other software. Artificial intelligence is trained to notice a person’s facial expressions and speech patterns, and that data is used to make photos or videos of the person saying something they never said in real life. Political science freshman Alex Tirado said that after interacting with the website, he realizes the importance of recognizing fake news online. “If we’re looking at these fake news websites and we believe them to be true, and we spread it, it’s just exactly what these people are wanting us to do,” Tirado said. “I think that’s very detrimental to our knowledge.” — KATHERINE MANUEL | LSU MANSHIP SCHOOL NEWS SERVICE

COMMENTARY

FOR THOSE WHO WEREN’T taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously before, the past week should have been a wake-up call. The rate of confirmed cases in the U.S., even with America’s shamefully inadequate rate of testing, shot up and is expected to increase geometrically in the coming weeks. Global markets have tanked. Businesses of all sizes have shut down or cut back significantly, putting millions across America out of work. The economic downturn has hit New Orleanians who work in the hospitality industry particularly hard. This crisis is testing our city, state and nation’s resolve — and our leaders’ mettle — like none since 9/11. What has become painfully apparent is the wisdom of the Founding Fathers’ vision of a republic grounded in federalism. America’s governors, not its president, are leading the nation’s response to COVID-19, and they are doing it well. President Trump utterly failed to recognize, prepare for or respond to the novel coronavirus. His comments tell the story. He initially had it “totally under control,” then labeled widespread concerns “a Democratic hoax,” then bragged that he always knew would be a pandemic — even before the World Health Organization declared it so. Only late last week did he appear to recognize the severity of the situation. By then it was too little, too late. Polls show 70% of Americans trust their state government’s handling of the crisis and 67% trust local government — but only 53% trust the federal government. Indeed, Louisiana’s state and local leaders have shown genuine leadership. That’s critically important because, on a per-capita basis, New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana have some of the nation’s highest rates of infection. Mayor LaToya Cantrell drew criticism from some quarters by quickly canceling Super Sunday and St. Patrick’s Day parades, but her better-safe-than-sorry approach was exactly what the situation required. Statewide, Gov. John Bel Edwards has shown exemplary leadership in his handling of the crisis — so much so that even his loudest critics, including Attorney General Jeff Landry and U.S. Sen. John Neely Kennedy, have supported his efforts. Both the mayor and the governor have urged citizens to prepare, not panic, in response to the pandemic. This ap-

During this time when s ocial distancing is important, we are finding new way s to connect & continue our friends hips. Spring goods & specials will be pos ted daily @gaetanasnola on ins tagram & facebook. Mes s age us on s ocial media. We’d love to hear from you ! We are offering free shipping for order s over $100 or curbs ide pickup for any orders . Call the store @ 504 - 865 -9625 between 10am-2pm for a one-on- one Facetime experience.

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P H OTO B Y S C OT T T HR E L K E L D/ T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Mayor LaToya Cantrell drew criticism for her early response to COVID-19, but she was right.

plies particularly to shopping. Even if there’s a “lockdown,” grocery stores will remain open. The local private and nonprofit sectors likewise have responded well. Restaurants forced to cease table service quickly shifted to take-out menus. Grocery stores overrun with panicky shoppers announced job opportunities for laid-off hospitality workers. The United Way of Southeast Louisiana, Entergy and the Louisiana Hospitality Foundation jointly created the Hospitality Cares Pandemic Response Fund to provide grants of up to $500 to help hospitality workers meet their basic needs during the outbreak. The grants will help pay for essentials such as housing, child care, food, transportation, and health care. Donations to the fund can be made at www.unitedwaysela.org/hospitalitycares. By all reliable accounts, things will get substantially worse before they get better. The important thing to remember is that things will get better — sooner rather than later if citizens continue to help one another and heed the advice of responsible officials and acknowledged medical experts. Above all: preparation, not panic, should rule the day.

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Beating COVID-19 requires preparation, not panic

To our gae -tana friends

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with the prospect of hunkering down for weeks or even months in response to COVID-19, we in Louisiana already know how to cope. We’ve done this drill before, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The rest of the world may think we only know how to party, but the truth is we also know how to handle disasters. Lord knows we’ve had plenty of practice. I say this not to trivialize the gravity of COVID-19. It’s serious business, and Louisiana ranks among the hardest-hit states on a per-capita basis. I aim instead to offer hope, by reminding us all that we’ve endured far worse in our lifetimes. We stumbled at times, but we came through. We’ll P H OTO B Y C L A N C Y D U B O S come through again. An important lesson from Katrina: how the Hopefully, it won’t take kindness of strangers instills hope. (From nearly as long this time. left, front) Tony Clayton, Brandon Fremin However long it takes, let’s and Sam Barbera III (standing) crossed Lake remember that things today Pontchartrain in a small boat and rescued elderly aren’t nearly as dark as they neighbors of Gambit columnist Clancy DuBos. were in the autumn of 2005. Today, we have food, in returning was selfish — I wanted running water, electricity, cable to check on my house — but the TV, and functioning state and local selflessness of Tony, Brandon and governments. We can reach friends, Sam opened my eyes and inspired neighbors and family 24/7. me. We went back several more We also should remember what times, each time with more boats. got us through the darkest days All of my neighbors, many of them after Katrina: the importance of a elderly, survived. helping hand, a kind word, and perThe kindness of strangers. It’s sonal sacrifices — not just for those we know, but also for strangers. The powerful. It also has a way of being kindness of strangers may be the rewarded in ways no one anticipates. best tonic of all. Today Tony Clayton is a leading Several days after Katrina laid candidate for district attorney in waste to New Orleans, I found Louisiana’s 18th Judicial District. myself in a bar (surprise!) in Baton Brandon Freemin is the U.S. Attorney Rouge. A friend of mine, New Roads for the Middle District of Louisiana. attorney Tony Clayton, happened Sam Barbera III works for the Louisiby and asked how he could help. I ana Department of the Military at a told him to get a boat. My plan was National Guard base in Carville. Best to cross Lake Pontchartrain from St. of all, we remain great friends. Tammany Parish and get back into Today, as we confront COVID-19, my lakefront home. plenty of folks who aren’t getting Two days later, Tony picked me up sick are still suffering. Many are out and, with two of his colleagues (two of work, while others, especially perfect strangers to me), brought health care workers, are pushed me home. We were the first people beyond human limits. to return to the neighborhood since So let’s remember the most Katrina had hit. Tony and his friends important lesson of Katrina by — Brandon Freemin and Sam doing all we can for one another — Barbera III — located two elderly friends, family and strangers alike. neighbors of mine who were on the That’s what instills the priceless verge of dehydration and brought gift of hope. them back to Baton Rouge. And that, ultimately, is how we I confess that my initial motive all survive.

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One medical historian suggests that a physician likely accompanied Jean-Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville on his first visit to what would become the city of New Orleans in 1718. Author P H OTO BY S O P H I A G E R M E R / T H E T I M E S John Duffy surmises P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A S A DVO C AT E that since Bienville’s The former Charity Hospital on Tulane expedition was a military Avenue has been vacant since one, French law would Hurricane Katrina. have called for a doctor to be along for the trip. Still, the exact date of the opening of the city’s in the king’s service, there was a need first hospital is not known. for another hospital that would serve We do know that a military hospital the city, particularly its poor. Funded called Royal Hospital opened soon by the estate of a wealthy shipbuilder after the city’s founding and was named Jean Louis, the first Charity located near Gov. Nicholls and Hospital opened in 1736. It was locatChartres streets. In fact, the original ed near Chartres and Bienville. name of Gov. Nicholls was Hospital Over the years, two other Charity Street. It was changed in 1909 to Hospitals were built on Basin Street honor Confederate Gen. Francis before a fourth one opened in 1815 on T. Nicholls. Canal Street. Another Charity HospiHistorian Samuel Wilson Jr. dates tal opened in 1832 on Tulane Avenue, the Royal Hospital to 1722. It was near the site of the one most readers destroyed by a hurricane in 1732 are familiar with today, which opened and rebuilt in 1734. In its early years, in 1939 but has been closed since the hospital was staffed by Ursuline Hurricane Katrina. Last year, the LSU nuns, who first arrived here in 1727. Board of Supervisors approved plans Since Royal Hospital only cared for French military personnel and those to redevelop the building.

BLAKEVIEW FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK , one of basketball’s greatest all-time players,

Louisiana State University legend “Pistol Pete” Maravich, began his professional career, signing a five-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks. The team chose him in the first round of the 1970 NBA draft with a reported $1.9 million deal. At the time, it was the highest salary ever paid a college athlete. “I’m really looking forward to and am overly excited about playing here in Atlanta next year,” Maravich said on March 26, 1970. Born near Pittsburgh in 1947, Maravich was a three-time All-American at LSU, where his father Press was his coach. In three years with the Tigers, he scored 3,667 points and averaged 44.2 points per game — both NCAA records — and that was before the rules allowed three-point shots. After playing four seasons with Atlanta, he signed with the New Orleans Jazz in the team’s inaugural season, becoming a star on the team, which later moved to Utah. Maravich finished his career with the Boston Celtics and retired in 1980. He died in 1988 at age 40 during a pick-up basketball game, from what doctors said was a previously undetected heart defect. “Maravich’s shaggy hair and floppy socks are ingrained in the memories of every basketball fan who followed his record-setting, roller coaster career,” Times-Picayune reporter Frank Donze reflected in a story the day after Maravich’s death. “Ohhs and ahhs are the legacy of Pistol Pete Maravich,” wrote sports reporter Marty Mule. “Maravich was a stunning 3-D production. Fullcourt behind-the-back passes, sleight-of-hand dribble maneuvers, even bounce passes — off his head — for assists separated Pistol from his peers.”

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WE ARE

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Resources

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COVID-19 Information

P H OTO B Y P S 3 0 0 0/G E T T Y I M AG E S

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.cdc.gov/coronavirus. Information about COVID-19 and its symptoms and guidelines to prevent infection, plus the latest updates from the federal government. Text COVIDNOLA to 888777 to receive alerts from the City of New Orleans. Louisiana 211 — Dial 2-1-1 for health and human services available in the state.

IT’S BEEN MORE THAN A WEEK since Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Gov. John Bel Edwards closed almost everything that draws a crowd and told us to work from home and come to grips with the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic — and the reality that our lives will change dramatically for at least the next few weeks, likely much longer. Many of us have found similarities between the pandemic and past hurricanes that have plagued the city, particularly Katrina. That’s valid. We were surprised and dazed to be ordered to evacuate in 2005, and after the storm moved through, we felt we had dodged a bullet. Then came the gut-punch of the levee failures and, as we watched water flow into the city on national television, we realized the situation was worse than we had known was possible. One of the big differences between the two disasters is that the COVID-19 pandemic is everywhere. By last week, cases had been reported in all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and as testing increases, so do the number of cases and casualties. Unlike Katrina, there is no place for us to evacuate — much of the country is in lockdown or under restrictions to curb new infections. There aren’t organizations, rescue groups and volunteers waiting to come to New Orleans to help us rebuild our lives. They are needed in their own hometowns and states because almost every place in America needs help providing services while preventing the spread of the disease. Stopping the spread of COVID-19 or even determining how many people are infected has been stymied by a shortage of testing kits and supplies. President Donald Trump signed a

bill last week approving more than $1 billion to expand testing and guarantee paid sick leave to workers who contract the virus. The government also is working on a $1 trillion rescue plan that would include direct payments to Americans by next month and provide money to businesses in danger of failing because of the crisis. Even as the government is trying to halt economic disaster, the stock market has tanked and oil is selling for less than $21 a barrel for the first time in 20 years. Locally, Edwards has warned that some cities in Louisiana could be placed on shelter-inplace orders, while earlier moves from Edwards and Cantrell closed schools, colleges, movie theaters, bars and other places where people congregate, and restaurants are restricted to take-out and delivery only. Meanwhile, the numbers of cases and casualties from the virus are rising as quickly as test results come in. As of press time, 479 people in Louisiana had contracted the disease and 10 have died. Of those, 299 are sick in Orleans Parish. With limited help from the outside, New Orleanians are coping by finding ways to fill our own needs. It’s what we do here, and you’ll find the fruits of those efforts throughout our pages. We’ve gathered information about coronavirus testing, organizations providing relief for workers whose income has been cut, community food programs, government restrictions, prevention efforts and more. Organizations, groups, government entities, nonprofits and individuals have been quick to respond. Now, if someone would develop an app to give us real-time info on where to find supplies …

Louisiana Department of Health. www.ldh.la.gov/coronavirus. Information and the latest updates from the state about COVID-19. NOLA Ready. ready.nola.gov. Emergency information from the City of New Orleans along with the latest news about COVID-19 in the area.

Community Feeding Programs

P H OTO B Y M A X B E C H E R E R / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E / T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Nathanial Zimet, chef/owner of Boucherie, prepares family-style meals for take-away orders.

Jefferson Parish Community Grab and Go Meals. www.athlosjp.org. The Athlos Academy of Jefferson Parish will begin offering grab and go breakfast and lunches for families beginning Monday, March 23. Pickup times are 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday at 979 Behrman Highway, Terrytown. Call (504) 290-2510 for more information. Jefferson Parish Schools Grab and Go Meals. www.jpschools.org/coronavirus. Jefferson Parish schools are offering student meals for pickup 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays (11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Grand Isle School). Meals will be offered

NOLA Public School Nutrition Program. (504) 304-5782; www. nolapublicschools.com/covid19. The New Orleans public school system in collaboration with charter school leaders and other community organizations have set up 43 sites across the city where students can receive a free meal. Parents and caregivers can pick up meals for students. Open to those 18 and younger or students 18 that are enrolled in public K-12 schools and students with disabilities through the age of 22. NOLA Tree Project food distribution. www.facebook.com/nolatreeproject.org. The NOLA Tree Project is partnering with the Second Harvest Food Bank to be a pickup spot for free hot meals for all ages. Meal pickup is available 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at NOLA Tree Project headquarters, 1509 Filmore Ave.

SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline. 1-800-985-5990. A crisis support hotline operated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The helpline also takes text messages: Text TalkWithUs to 66746.

Other Domestic violence and sexual assault services. The City of New Orleans lists these resources for those seeking help in domestic violence and sexual assault situations: The New Orleans Family Justice Center (504-866-9554; www.nofjc. org); Women with a Vision (504302-8822; www.wwav-no.org); and Sexual Trauma Awareness & Response (855-435-7827; www. star.ngo). Junior League of New Orleans Diaper Bank. (504) 891-5845; www. jlno.org/community/diaper-bank. Offers free baby diapers through distribution partners around New Orleans. Contact the Junior League or visit its website for location information.

Second Harvest Food Bank. (855) 392-9338; www.no-hunger.org. Second Harvest offers assistance with food pantry referrals, SNAP, finding community support counselors and other safety net programs. The organization also is serving daily meals for children and seniors.

New Orleans Public Library. www.nolalibrary.org. All physical locations are currently closed, but the library offers numerous free online resources, like digital books and magazines, audio books, and services that stream movies, documentaries, TV shows and music. All you need is your library card.

Total Community Action Food Pantry. 4518 Thalia St., (504) 8720334; www.tca-nola.org. Offering supplemental food assistance to families 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

New Orleans public transit. www. norta.com. The Regional Transit Authority is encouraging only essential travel on public transportation and has implemented service reductions. Buses and streetcars are operating on a Saturday schedule. Paratransit services will continue to operate, but RTA encourages reservations (504-827-7433). The Algiers Point to Canal Street ferry service will operate 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Saturday.

Health Services “Keeping Calm through COVID” Hotline. 1-866-310-7977. A 24/7 hotline to connect to trained mental health and substance abuse counselors.

Timeline

THE numbers

Power Coalition for Equality and Justice. www.powercoalition.org. A group of Louisiana organizations working together to empower citizens. The Power Coalition’s website lists resources and updates on programs related to the pandemic

(AS OF PRESS TIME FRIDAY)

210,000

CASES OF COVID-19 WORLDWIDE

The Pro Bono Project. (504) 581-4043; www.probono-no.org. Gives civil legal aid to low-income individuals and families.

9,000

DEATHS FROM COVID-19 WORLDWIDE

Restaurants offering takeout and delivery. www.neworleans.com. Tourism organization New Orleans & Company has organized a list of city restaurants serving takeout and delivery.

15,219

CASES IN THE U.S.

210

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. (504) 529-1000; www.slls. org. Free, civil legal aid for low-income people.

DEATH IN THE U.S.

479

Unemployment insurance. www. louisianaworks.net/hire. Workers who are experiencing a temporary layoff or a reduction in hours can apply for unemployment benefits. Maximum weekly benefit is $247. Applications can be filed online through The Louisiana Workforce Commission or by calling (866) 783-5567.

CASES IN LOUISIANA

DEATHS IN LOUISIANA

299

CASES IN ORLEANS PARISH

ORGANIZATIONS

DEATHS IN ORLEANS PARISH

PROVIDING INFORMATION AND RESOURCES TO MUSICIANS

CASES IN JEFFERSON PARISH

Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans

DEATHS IN JEFFERSON PARISH

104 2

(www.maccno.com)

New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic (www.neworleansmusiciansclinic.org)

CASES IN ST. TAMMANY PARISH

WWOZ Radio

(www.wwoz.org).

DEATHS IN ST. TAMMANY PARISH

OF INFECTION IN LOUISIANA

New Orleans totals are included in Louisiana numbers

TOTA L # O F I N F EC T I O N S LA

103

136

196

280

347

479

N.O.

136

104

231

299

DEATHS

MAR

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to any one ages 18 and under regardless if they are a Jefferson Parish schools student. For a full list of locations, visit www.jpschools. org/page/3676.

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ned. F a m il y O w

Relief funds for artists, musicians and service industry workers

E R AT E D. F A M IL Y O P

BY JA K E C L A P P These resources and relief funds are available to the city’s creatives as they try to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. If you want to help, many of these resources accept donations. Other organizations are helping to spread information about resources to area musicians (listed at end of this article).

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Artist Relief Tree. www.facebook. com/artistrelieftree. Organized by artists across the country, the Artist Relief Tree is offering help to freelance and independent artists. “Anyone who is an artist (of any kind) can request funds,” the project says on Facebook. It plans to provide $250 on a first-come-first-serve basis to artists who meet basic criteria. Artist Relief Tree accepts donations. COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources. www.covid19freelanceartistresource.wordpress.com. The website is an aggregated list of free resources for freelance artists, including information about emergency funding, general preparedness, online teaching, mental health and strategies for being a better ally for friends during tough times. Gayle Benson Community Assistance Fund. www.gnof.org/benson. New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson donated $1 million to create a fund with the help of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. Funds will be awarded to nonprofits that support service and hospitality workers and other nonprofit groups. Jazz Foundation of America Musicians’ Emergency Fund. www.jazzfoundation.org. The fund helps musicians playing blues, jazz and roots music with housing and emergency assistance, medical care and disaster relief. The foundation encourages interested musicians to contact the group directly at (212) 245-3999 and online at www.jazzfoundation. org/contact. Map of schools serving meals. bit. ly/395rnjz.The New Orleans Food Policy Advisory Committee has organized a Google map of school sites in the city that will be community feeding locations open to people 18 years or younger. Students can pick up grab-and-go meals for breakfast and lunch. They do not have to be a student at that particular school to receive food. MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. www.grammy.com/musicares. The national Recording Academy and its affiliated foundation, MusiCares,

have set up a relief fund for music professionals during the coronavirus pandemic. Applicants do not have to be a Recording Academy member. Music industry professionals can apply for assistance for covering rent or mortgage payments, with initial requests up to $1,000. New Orleans Business Alliance relief fund for gig workers. www.nolaba.org/relief-fund. For Orleans Parish musicians, festival production staff, arena workers, ride-sharing drivers and others who have lost income due to coronavirus and meet certain criteria. Recipients can receive $500 to $1,000 depending on need, and can reapply after 45 days. NOLA Virtual Tip Jar. A public Google document, started on Twitter by Kristen Monteleone, an accountant and former service industry worker, the local digital tip jar collects Venmo, Cash App and PayPal usernames of area service industry workers and people who want to help them can donate to workers directly. Songdap. www.songdap.com. A new site, Songdap is a platform where users can request and purchase custom songs from musicians. Through April 16, the service is eliminating its fee so all proceeds go to participating musicians. Among the New Orleans artists listed on the website are Alfred Banks, Ricky B, Teddy Lamson, Julie Odell, John “Papa” Gros, Quintron and Miss Pussycat and Stanton Moore. Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. www. sweetrelief.org. The California-based nonprofit helps working musicians across the country with emergency needs. It recently created a donor-directed fund to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). www.dcfs.la.gov/ getSNAP. SNAP provides monthly benefits for low-income households to help with grocery purchases. More information can be found online or at (888) 524-3578. Unemployment insurance. www. louisianaworks.net/hire. Workers who are experiencing a temporary

USBG National Charity Foundation. www.usbgfoundation. org/beap. The charity arm for the United States Bartenders Guild, the USBG National Charity Foundation awards grants to bartenders who have lost work or are going through an emergency through its Bartender Emergency Assistance Program.

Viral Music Facebook group. Search “Viral Music — Because Kindness is Contagious” on Facebook. The “Viral Music — Because Kindness is Contagious” Facebook group is a public page where independent musicians across the country can post their work, and music lovers can look through it to find new artists to support. The group has exploded as the COVID-19 has spread and now features more than 21,000 members, including many New Orleans and other south Louisiana musicians.

About CORONAVIRUS There are seven types of coronaviruses that can infect humans. There are three human coronavirus strains that have evolved from versions that infected animals and spread to people. COVID-19 coronavirus was first discovered in patients in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Origins of COVID-19 are unknown, but bats are a likely source.

One theory is that bats gave the virus to the scaly southeast Asian anteater the pangolin, which then transmitted it to humans. Chinese scientists report they’ve identified two strains of COVID-19 in China, and one is more deadly than the other.

THE rules BARS, CASINOS, MOVIE THEATERS, HEALTH CLUBS, SCHOOLS, SHOPPING MALLS (but not strip shopping centers) and other venues that draw crowds are closed. RESTAURANTS can offer take-out and delivery services only, no dine-in services. PUBLIC GATHERINGS of any size are banned. PRIVATE GATHERINGS should be no larger than the “reasonable” size of a family. BUSINESSES who remain open must scale back operations and customer volume to allow for social distancing. There is a MORATORIUM on housing evictions. People will only be tested for COVID-19 if they are exhibiting symptoms.

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layoff or a reduction in hours can apply for unemployment benefits. Maximum weekly benefit is $247. Applications can be filed online through The Louisiana Workforce Commission or by calling (866) 783-5567.

EATDRINK

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FORK CENTER Email dining@gambitweekly.com

Umami and Spice

Layoffs hit New Orleans restaurants

Japanese food with Cajun accents in Carrollton

TWO WEEKS AGO, Ralph Brennan’s

BY B E T H D ’A D D O N O IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST BITE . Garlicky grilled rib-eye was piled high on a toasted Dong Phuong roll, and soy marinated bites of carrot and cucumber added crunch under gooey melted mozzarella cheese. It doesn’t get any better than that. This yakiniku po-boy ($11.95), created by chef Momo Young, formerly was available only at booths at Wednesdays at the Square, French Quarter Festival and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. That was when Ajun Cajun was a mobile kitchen. Now, that sandwich and a slew of other Japanese dishes with hints of Cajun cuisine are available from the business’ more permanent space at the Oak Street address formerly home to Ninja. (Ajun Cajun currently offers its food through delivery apps during city and state restrictions on dine-in service.) Young’s restaurant is a cheery open space, with St. Patrick’s Daygreen walls, overhead party lights, light wooden tables and chairs and a front counter where diners place their orders. Young is a longtime New Orleans chef who pushed her way onto the sushi line at Tokyo Sushi on the West Bank in 1983, when sushi rolling was an all-boys club. She later bought Ninja restaurant, where she made a name for herself as an experimental chef. Ajun Cajun followed and became her full-time endeavor. Like a jazz musician improvising on a classic ballad, Young plays with ingredients and textures in ways that surprise and delight diners. Her soft-shell crab po-boy ($15.95) is tempura battered, flash fried and served with “pink sauce,” a housemade mayonnaise-based sauce that creates waves of umami flavor with every bite. The sauce also tops fried oyster ($14.95), shrimp ($11.95) and catfish ($9.95) po-boys. A vegetarian

WHERE

8433 Oak St., (504) 866-7077; www.ajuncajun.com

potato croquette po-boy ($9.95) is a nice riff on the classic french fry sandwich. Besides fried seafood platters, including a generous combo ($19.95) that comes with salad and Cajun fries, the menu offers fried chicken two ways, with spicy sambal ($12.95) and without ($10.95). The dish is better with the pepper sauce — the plain flour-coated morsels of chicken thigh were lackluster without spunky personality most of Young’s dishes exude. Then there are straight ahead versions of Japanese favorites, including donburi (rice bowls), yakisoba (panfried noodles) and ramen (noodle soup). I loved the creamy vegetarian ramen with kale noodles ($11.95), a bowl of comfort rich with miso flavor, mushrooms, bok choy, bamboo shoots and seaweed, with a smattering of toasted sesame seeds adding a nutty finish. Diners can customize their soup with add ons such as half a seasoned boiled egg ($1), pickled ginger ($.50) and garlicky bean sprouts ($.50). The quintessential Japanese fast food meal, donburi rice bowls, include a winning shogoyaki ($9.95). Tender slices of pork loin boldly flavored with ginger, garlic and soy are served atop short-grained sushi rice, with a scatter of sliced scallions on top. Other options include katsu ($10.95) — chunks of paneed pork — and oyako ($8.95), chicken and egg simmered in a soy-seasoned broth. Jazz Fest regulars will be happy to see a hefty serving of shrimp yakisoba ($9.95), a stir-fried mix of noodles,

WHEN

HOW MUCH

Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat.

moderate

WHAT WORKS garlic rib-eye poboy, vegetarian ramen with kale noodles, ginger pork donburi

P H OTO B Y CH E R Y L G E R B E R

Mother/daughter team Hisako “Momo” Young and Angel Young serve tonktosu ramen and a yakinku po-boy at Ajun Cajun.

vegetables and shrimp. The dish also is offered with pork or chicken or as a combination ($12.95). Bowls of flavorful udon, brimming with thick buckwheat noodles, come with fishcake ($8.95) or beef ($11.95). A side of Cajun tuna tataki ($13.95) was billed as sashimi but arrived thickly cut and dusted with too much Cajun spice, overpowering the tuna. Beers including Sapporo ($4.50), Nigori sake ($14.50), canned bubbly rose and other wine ($8) are available from the bar. On the non-alcoholic side, there’s hot and cold green tea and Japanese sodas. There aren’t many dessert options at many local Japanese restaurants, and Ajun Cajun isn’t an exception. Frozen mochi ice cream balls ($3.50) in red bean, green tea and strawberry flavors are it. Instead, diners should order another yakiniku po-boy, which will be ready to eat by the time the craving hits again.

WHAT DOESN’T

over-spiced tataki, lackluster fried chicken

CHECK, PLEASE

Japanese fare with Cajun accents delivers mouthwatering po-boys, savory rice bowls and excellent ramen in Carrollton

restaurant company had 650 people on the payroll, serving breakfast at Brennan’s, fixing Pimm’s Cup cocktails at Napoleon House and working at three other restaurants in New Orleans and one more at Disneyland in California. Now, with all those restaurants closed, the company’s total headcount is down to a few dozen. The state closed all bars and ordered restaurants to cease dine-in service across Louisiana on March 16 in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus. The impact on the hospitality industry has been swift and brutal. Within days, some of the city’s biggest restaurants were laying off workers by the hundreds. That includes Arnaud’s Restaurant, a century-old landmark in the French Quarter, which laid off nearly its entire 200-person staff. “We’ve been through a lot as a city, we know how to respond to hurricanes, but this is just so different, it’s just so devastating,” said Katy Cas-

A DVO C AT E P H OTO B Y V E R O N I C A D O M I N ACH

Ralph Brennan’s Napoleon House restaurant currently is closed.

barian, who runs the restaurant with her brother and their mother. A handful of Arnaud’s managers were still on the job, Casbarian says, working without pay as the restaurant tries to extend health benefits for those who were laid off. “This is a family business and our employees are family to us,” Casbarian says. “We did this as fast as we could so they can be in the best position possible to get unemployment benefits. We’re all trying to save our businesses so we can reopen and they can come back when we get to the other side of this.” Across the city, famous restaurants to neighborhood standbys are grappling with a sudden plunge in income, nebulous forecasts for the future and their own adherence to social distancing. LeBlanc + Smith, parent company for five local restaurants, closed

EAT+DRINK ing the impact of the shutdown too. Bellegarde Bakery, a supplier of many local restaurants, ceased operations last week, maintaining only online sales of flour and pasta. Founder Graison Gill said limiting contact between people was his first consideration, but also that the drop off in business made running his bakery pointless. Bellegarde’s nine full-time staff members are out of work, though Gill is paying them out of pocket through the end of the month. — IAN McNULTY / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

Need a drink? THE STATE OF LOUISIANA ended dinein restaurant service for the foreseeable future, but officials relaxed some regulations for how restaurants can sell wine and beer as they adjust to restrictions imposed to deal with the coronavirus COVID-19. Louisiana restaurants offering takeout, curbside pick-up and delivery can sell packaged wine and beer. The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control drafted new rules for to-go alcohol sales based on a bill passed last year that allows wine and liquor stores and restaurants to deliver booze. These were expanded to apply to restaurants offering take-out and curbside sales during the coronavirus restrictions, ATC Commissioner Juana Marine-Lombard says. Sales of liquor and draft (rather than packaged) beer or wine are not addressed in the rule changes, she says. Rules from the delivery legislation also now apply to take-out and curbside pick-up. Customers must buy food to buy alcohol under these measures, for instance, and the beer or wine must be in factory-sealed containers. Permitting alcohol sales may also help limit residents’ exposure to other people. “If they’re stopping for food, the restaurant can put a bottle of beer or wine with the order, and that means people don’t have to go multiple places,” Lombard says. The state is trying to make it easier for restaurants to acquire the alcohol delivery permit. Marine-Lombard said the usual $250 fee has been cut to $100 and the office is fast-tracking applications for approval within 24 to 36 hours. Restaurants can apply online, via email at atc-attorneys@atc. la.gov or in the ATC’s Baton Rouge office, which Lombard said is configured for social distancing methods (the New Orleans office is closed). Louisiana daiquiri shops can continue to offer drive-through service. Breweries and distilleries are permitted to keep making and selling their product, though their tap rooms and tasting rooms have been closed as part of the ban on public gatherings. — IAN McNULTY / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

3-COURSE INTERVIEW

Chef Michael Gulotta on closing his restaurants MoPho and Maypop during the COVID-19 outbreak CHEF MICHAEL GULOTTA OPENED

MoPho in Mid-City in 2014 and Maypop in the CBD in 2016. After the state prohibited dine-in service at restaurants to contain the spread of coronavirus COVID-19, Gulotta shuttered his two restaurants. He spoke to Gambit about what restaurants and their employees are facing.

Why did you close your restaurants? MICHAEL GULOTTA: It’s one of those fish or cut bait scenarios. Right now the company has enough money to pay all of our staff for hours they’ve worked. But if we tried to switch to a limited service operation, we’re still firing everything up, we’re still turning on the appliances and running electricity and gas and trying to do something that isn’t our typical line of income — plus every other restaurant in town is trying to do the same thing. (It’s) switched our ability to take in money. … There’s no way I can make enough money switching to to-go food and catering to pay all of my bills and give my staff what they need to live on. It’s better for me to shut it all down and tell everyone I owe money that they have to wait and to give the money in my bank account to my staff for the hours that they have worked. It sucks, because they’ve done such a good job for me. I have somewhere around 95 to 100 employees. With part-time (employees), it’s somewhere around 110. It’s one of those things where we have to act quickly and decide. Even if we decided to do rotating shifts, half of my employees are servers. What does a server do when you’re just bringing food to a car. They’re not going to make enough [in tips] to feed their families.

P H OTO B Y W R U S H J AG O E V

What would help restaurants? MG: We’re drafting letters and writing our congressmen, but the best thing they could do is provide grants to help us pay our staff. At this point, they can’t make the changes fast enough the way the system is set up. In a perfect world, what I would like to see is that once we get a handle on how this virus works and we screen our staff to make sure they’re healthy, why not put us to work? I am not looking to make a profit, but give me a way to bring my staff in and let us make food and deliver it to people who need food — like the elderly or kids who were being fed at school and now they’re out of school. Can we find a way for us to feed these people? That’s how we got through (Hurricane) Katrina. A bunch of restaurants switched over and started feeding first responders and disaster relief workers — feeding people cleaning up refineries. There’s also the farms and the meat packers and the PR agencies that work for all of our restaurants. There are so many companies that [make their living through] restaurants and the hospitality industry. Restaurants normally are an engine of fundraising and philanthropy. But right now, we can’t have gatherings, so we have to think outside the box about what we can do to help.

What would reopening look like? MG: We can get running super fast. But the biggest thing is that we’d have to reopen on a smaller scale. Even if we get everything going, it’ll be with minimal staff. We’ll slowly grow back to what we were. At MoPho, we were serving 200 to 400 people a day. There’s no way you’d open to those numbers again, unless you’re the only gig in town. We’re not going to be able to rehire our entire staffs. — WILL COVIELLO

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March 16, putting some 200 people out of work. The Link Restaurant Group is keeping its six restaurants open for take-out but by March 17 had cut staff to roughly a third of where it stood the prior week. Restaurant operators say they hope to hire back their staff when they are allowed to reopen, though when that might happen and the state of the economy at that point are unknown. For now, many, including the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, have kept a few people on the payroll to help their former colleagues access unemployment benefits and whatever other support they can find. Ralph Brennan hopes that forecasts for the future will improve, pointing out that in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina officials warned the city would be inaccessible for many months. “All of a sudden, that time period shortened,” he says. “We have to wait a couple weeks to see what happens next. The big challenge is just the uncertainty of this virus and where it stands.” Louisiana had 9,500 bars and restaurants employing some 172,700 people, according to 2018 federal data. There’s a growing call from the industry for more state and federal aid, including emergency unemployment benefits for workers and tax waivers for businesses. “More needs to be done at the national level for this industry,” Casbarian says. “Whether you work in the hospitality business or not, this will touch everyone.” Across Louisiana, the number of people filing for unemployment claims tripled over its regular volume early last week. State officials said they are working to fast-track claims during the crisis. The number of people in Louisiana applying for food stamps doubled last week. The state’s restrictions are in place through April 13, though Gov. John Bel Edwards suggested in press briefings that they could extend longer. Under the current rules, Louisiana restaurants can operate their kitchens for take-out, drive-through or delivery service. Even restaurants that pivoted to a limited service mode have cut staff. While Link Restaurant Group properties, including Cochon, Herbsaint, Peche, Gianna, Cochon Butcher and La Boulangerie, are offering take-out, the company is down to 140 people on the job after laying off about twice that many last week. Company founder Donald Link said he and his business partners are tapping their own funds to try to keep the payroll flowing to even that number. “We’re going deep and trying to keep as many afloat as we can,” Link says. Other food businesses that are not subject to official restrictions are feel-

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TAKE-OUT TO EAT 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.

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

$ — average dinner entrée under $10

FRENCH QUARTER

$$ — $11 to $20

Bourbon House — 144 Bourbon St., (504) 522-0111; www.bourbonhouse.com — Redfish on the Halfshell is served with crabmeat, crab-boiled potatoes, frisbee, caramelized onions and lemon beurre blanc. The menu includes po-boys and fried seafood platters. Curbside pickup and delivery available. B, L, D daily, brunch Sat-Sun. $$$ Criollo — Hotel Monteleone, 214 Royal St., (504) 681-4444; www.criollonola.com — The shrimp, blue crab and avocado appetizer features chilled shrimp, crab, guacamole and spicy tomato coulis. Baked stuffed Creole redfish is served with crabmeat and green tomato crust, angel hair pasta and Creole tomato jam. Takeout available. B, L, D daily. $$ Roux on Orleans — Bourbon Orleans, 717 Orleans Ave., (504) 571-4604; www.bourbonorleans.com — This restaurant offers contemporary Creole dishes including barbecue shrimp, redfish courtbouillon, gumbo and catfish and shrimp dishes. B daily, D Tue-Sun. $$

$$$ — $21 or more

BYWATER Luna Libre — 3600 St. Claude Ave., (504) 237-1284 — Carnitas made with pork from Shank Charcuterie and citrus from Ben & Ben Becnel farm fills a taco topped with onion and cilantro. The menu combines Tex-Mex and dishes from Louisiana and Arkansas. Curbside pickup is available. D Tue and Thu-Sat, brunch Sat-Sun. $ Polly’s Bywater Cafe — 3225 St. Claude Ave., (504) 459-4571; www.pollysbywatercafe.com — A grilled biscuit is topped with poached eggs, hog’s head cheese and Creole hollandaise and served with home fries or grits. $$

CBD 14 Parishes — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; www.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. $$ Eat Well — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; www.pythianmarket.com — Phoritto is a spinach tortilla filled with brisket, chicken or tofu, plus bean sprouts, jalapenos, onions and basil and is served with a cup of broth. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $ Edison’s Espresso and Tea Bar— Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; www.pythianmarket.com — An Edison’s coffee combines cold brew, espresso, caramel and milk over ice. There is a menu of toasts and pastries. Curbside pickup and delivery available. B and L daily. Cash not accepted. $ Frencheeze — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (504) 264-3871; www.pythianmarket. com — Macaroni and cheese balls are deep fried. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $ Kais — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (941) 481-9599; www.pythianmarket.com — A Sunshine bowl includes salmon, corn, mango, green onions, edamame, pickled ginger, ponzu spicy mayonnaise, cilantro, masago and nori strips. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $$ La Cocinita — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (504) 309-5344; www.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. $ Little Fig — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; www.little-fig.com — A falafel platter includes hummus, roasted beet and kale salad and bread. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L daily, D Mon-Sat. $$ Meribo Pizza — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (504) 481-9599; www.meribopizza. com — A Meridionale pie is topped with pulled pork, chilies, ricotta, mozzarella, collard greens and red sauce. Delivery available. L and D daily. $$ Red Gravy — 125 Camp St., (504) 5618844; www.redgravycafe.com — Thin can-

Kebab — 2315 St. Claude Ave., (504) 383-4328; www.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. Takeout and delivery available. L and D Wed-Mon, late Fri-Sat. $ Mardi Gras Zone — 2706 Royal., (504) 947-8787 — The grocery and deli has a counter offering po-boys, sides such as macaroni and cheese and vegan and vegetarian dishes. Wood-oven baked pizza is available by the pie or slice. $

HARAHAN/JEFFERSON/ RIVER RIDGE

PH OTO BY CH E RY L G E R B E R

Polly’s Bywater Cafe (3225 St. Claude Ave., 504-459-4571; www.pollysbywatercafe.com) serves eggs atop corned beef hash.

Bienvenue — 467 Hickory Ave., Harahan, (504) 305-4792; www.bienvenueharahan. com — A Marrone sandwich features smoked prime rib, provolone, horseradish aioli and jus on Gendusa’s French bread. The menu also includes po-boys, seafood platters, pasta and more. Curbside pickup available. L daily, D Tue-Sat, brunch Sun. $$ The Rivershack Tavern — 3449 River Road, (504) 834-4938; www.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; www.theospizza.com — There is a wide variety of specialty pies and diners can build their own from the selection of more than two-dozen toppings. The menu also includes salads and sandwiches. Takeout and delivery available. L, D daily. $

KENNER noli 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. L and brunch Wed-Mon. $$

Vincent’s Italian Cuisine — 7839 St. Charles Ave., (504) 866-9313; www.vincentsitaliancuisine.com — See Metairie section for restaurant description. Curbside pickup and delivery available.

CARROLLTON/UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOODS

CITYWIDE

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

Breaux Mart — Citywide; www.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 Lounge — 2227 St. Claude Ave., (504) 265-8855; www.carnavallounge.com — The menu of Brazilian street food includes feijoada, a traditional stew of black beans and pork served over rice. Curbside pickup is available. D daily. $$

The Landing Restaurant — Crowne Plaza, 2829 Williams Blvd., Kenner, (504) 467-5611; www.neworleansairporthotel. com — The Landing serves Cajun and Creole dishes with many seafood options. Louisiana crab cakes are popular. Takeout available. B, L, D daily. $$ Mr. Ed’s Seafood & Italian — 910 W. Esplanade Ave., Kenner, (504) 463-3030; www. mredsrestaurantgroup.com — A super seafood platter includes fried oysters, shrimp, catfish, a stuffed crab, french fries and salad. The menu includes seafood, Italian dishes, po-boys and more. Takeout available. L and D Mon-Sat. $$

LAKEVIEW The Blue Crab Restaurant & Oyster Bar — 7900 Lakeshore Drive, (504) 284-2898; www.thebluecrabnola.com — Boiled PAGE 20

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A DVO C AT E S TA F F P H O T O B Y I A N M C N U LT Y

Meribo Pizza (Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., 504-481-9599; 326 N. Lee Lane Covington, 985-302-5533; www.meribopizza.com) tops a pie with pork, collard greens and ricotta.

PAGE 18

crawfish and fixings are available. Pickup available. L and D Fri-Sun. $$ Lakeview Brew Coffee Cafe — 5606 Canal Blvd., (504) 483-7001; www.lakeviewbrew.com — This casual cafe offers gourmet coffees and a wide range of pastries and desserts baked in house, plus a menu of specialty sandwiches and salads. For breakfast, an omelet is filled with marinated mushrooms, bacon, spinach and goat cheese. Tuna salad or chicken salad avocado melts are topped with melted Monterey Jack and shredded Parmesan cheeses. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. B, L daily, D Mon-Sat, brunch Sat-Sun. $ Lotus Bistro — 203 W. Harrison Ave., (504) 533-9879; www.lotusbistronola.com — A Mineko Iwasaki roll includes spicy snow crab, tuna, avocado and cucumber topped with salmon, chef’s sauce, masago, green onion and tempura crunchy flakes. The menu also includes bento box lunches, teriyaki dishes, fried rice and more. Takeout and delivery are available. L and D Tue-Sun. $$

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METAIRIE Andrea’s Restaurant — 3100 N. 19th St., Metairie, (504) 834-8583; www.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. $$$ Dab’s Bistro — 3401 N. Hullen St., Metairie, (504) 581-8511; www.dabsbistro. com — Chef Duke LoCicero serves Creole and Italian favorites. Duke’s meatballs are served with marinara and ricotta. Takeout and curbside pickup are available. L Mon-Fri, D Tue-Sat. $$ Kosher Cajun New York Deli & Grocery — 3519 Severn Ave., Metairie, (504) 8882010; www.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; www.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. $ Mr. Ed’s Oyster Bar & Fish House — 3117 21st St., Metairie, (504) 833-6310; www. mredsrestaurants.com/oyster-bar — See French Quarter section for restaurant description. Takeout is available. L and D daily. $$ Mr. Ed’s Seafood & Italian — 1001 Live Oak St., Metairie, (504) 838-0022; www.mredsrestaurantgroup.com — See Kenner section for restaurant description. Takeout is available. L and D MonSat. $$ Nephew’s Ristorante — 4445 W. Metairie Ave., Metairie, (504) 533-9998 — Crab gravy tops angel hair pasta. The menu also includes osso buco, braised rabbit and Creole Italian-style eggplant. Takeout available. D Tue-Sat. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; www.theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. Takeout and delivery are available. $ Vincent’s Italian Cuisine — 4411 Chastant St., Metairie, (504) 885-2984; www.vincentsitaliancuisine.com — Corn and crab bisque is served in a toasted bread cup. Osso buco features a veal shank with angel hair pasta and veal demi-glace. Curbside pickup and delivery available. Tue-Sun. $$

MID-CITY/TREME Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; www.angelobrocatoicecream.com — This sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian

TAKE-OUT TO EAT

UPTOWN Joey K’s — 3001 Magazine St., (504) 8910997; www.joeyksrestaurant.com — This casual eatery serves fried seafood platters, salads, sandwiches and Creole favorites such as red beans and rice. Daily specials include braised lamb shank, lima beans with a ham hock and chicken fried steak served with macaroni and cheese. Takeout and delivery available. $$

Mr. Ed’s Oyster Bar & Fish House — 1327 St. Charles Ave., (504) 267-0169; www.mredsrestaurants.com/oyster-bar — See French Quarter section for restaurant description. Takeout available by phone. L and D daily. $$ Miyako Japanese Seafood & Steakhouse — 1403 St. Charles Ave., (504) 410-9997; www.japanesebistro.com — Miyako offers a full range of Japanese cuisine, with specialties from the sushi or hibachi menus, chicken, beef or seafood teriyaki, and tempura. Delivery available. $$ Piccola Gelateria — 4525 Freret St., (504) 493-5999; www.piccolagelateria. com — The cafe offers 18 rotating flavors of small-batch Italian-style gelatos and sorbettos. The menu also includes flatbreads on piadina, crepes and espresso drinks. Takeout and curbside pickup available. L and D Tue-Sun. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; www.theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. Takeout and delivery available. Service daily. $$ The Trolley Stop Cafe — 1923 St. Charles Ave., (504) 523-0090; www.thetrolleystopcafe.com — Chicken and waffles includes fried chicken that’s been marinated for 48 hours and is served with chicory-infused maple syrup. Takeout and delivery available. $

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT Carmo — 527 Julia St., (504) 875-4132; www.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 is available. MonSat. $$ Provisions Grab-n-Go Marketplace — Higgins Hotel, 500 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; www.higgingshotelnola. com — The coffeeshop serves salads, sandwiches, pastries and more. Takeout available. Service daily. $ Vyoone’s Restaurant — 412 Girod St., (504) 518-6007; www.vyoone.com — The French and Louisiana-inspired menu includes French onion soup and New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp. Coq au vin is boneless chicken cooked with red wine and root vegetables. Takeout and curbside pickup are available. $$$

WEST BANK Mosca’s — 4137 Hwy. 90 W., Westwego, (504) 436-8950; www.moscasrestaurant.com — This family-style eatery has changed little since opening in 1946. Popular dishes include shrimp Mosca, chicken a la grande and baked oysters Mosca, made with breadcrumps and Italian seasonings. Curbside pickup available. D Wed-Sat. Cash only. $$$ Restaurant des Familles — 7163 Barataria Blvd., Crown Point, (504) 689-7834; www.desfamilles.com — Red Fish & Friends features grilled redfish topped with alligator sauce piquant and lump crabmeat. The menu also includes oysters, gumbo, salads, seafood platters, pasta and steaks. Takeout available by phone order. Service daily. $$$ Specialty Italian Bistro — 2330 Belle Chasse Hwy., Gretna, (504) 391-1090; www.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. $$

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ice, cannolis, fig cookies and other treats. Takeout available by phone order. Tue-Sun. $ Brown Butter Southern Kitchen & Bar — 231 N. Carrollton Ave., Suite C, (504) 6093871; www.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. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. $$ Doson Noodle House — 135 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 309-7283; www.facebook. com/dosonnoodlehouse — Bun thit is Vietnamese-style grilled pork with cucumber, onions, lettuce, mint, cilantro and fish sauce served over rice or vermicelli. The menu includes rice and vermicelli dishes, pho, spring rolls and more. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. $$ Five Happiness — 3511 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 482-3935; www.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. Delivery available. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; www.katiesinmidcity.com — Favorites at this Mid-City restaurant include the Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, grilled ham, cheese and pickles pressed on buttered bread. The Boudreaux pizza is topped with cochon de lait, spinach, red onions, roasted garlic, scallions and olive oil. There also are salads, burgers and Italian dishes. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D Tue-Sun. $$ Mr. Ed’s Oyster Bar & Fish House — 301 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 872-9975; www.mredsrestaurants.com/oyster-bar — See French Quarter section for restaurant description. Takeout available for phone orders. L and D daily. $$ Namese — 4077 Tulane Ave., (504) 4838899; www.namese.net — Shaken pho features bone marrow broth, flat noodles and a choice of protein (filet mignon, short rib, brisket, seafood, chicken, tofu) stir-fried with onions, garlic and bone marrow oil. Takeout and delivery are available. $$ Nonna Mia — 3125 Esplanade Ave., (504) 948-1717; www.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. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; www.theospizza. com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. Takeout and delivery available. $$ Wit’s Inn — 141 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1600; www.witsinn.com — The neighborhood bar and restaurant offers a menu of pizza, calzones, salads, sandwiches, chicken wings and bar noshing items. Creole Italian pizza is topped with red sauce, spicy shrimp, Roma tomatoes, feta, mozzarella, red onions and pesto sauce. $

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MUSIC Alfred Banks and Albert Allenback find joy in SaxKixAve BY JAKE CLAPP LAST YEAR, NEW ORLEANS EMCEE ALFRED BANKS hopped on a few tour

dates with Tank and the Bangas. When they were back home, Tavia Osbey, who manages both Banks and Tank and the Bangas, sent an idea to the rapper and Albert Allenback, the Bangas’ sax player: They should collaborate. Allenback has a background in making beats and producing music, and “we clicked instantly,” Banks says. “The music started to flow.” That new project, SaxKixAve, debuted with an OffBeat Magazine OnBeat Session (on Banks’ website www.underdogcentral.com) and just released its first single on March 17. Banks and Allenback are preparing to release the debut EP, “I Don’t Wear Suits,” on April 17, and the duo hopes to start performing live as soon as life returns to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic. The new single, “Mr. Apricot,” features Tank and the Bangas’ singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball performing with Banks over a fast, bouncy, video game-esque instrumental track. It’s a good sampling for “I Don’t Wear Suits,” a deliberate yet lively, jazzy and often light-hearted record. New York emcee Mickey Factz also features on the album.

New albums by PJ Morton, Sam Doores and Michael Doucet BY WILL COVIELLO WHILE LIVE SHOWS ARE NOT POSSIBLE with theaters and bars closed, local musicians have new music to share. Here are some of the albums released recently by Louisiana artists.

‘The Piano Album’

PJ Morton (Morton Records) While playing keyboards for Maroon 5 attracted attention for PJ Morton, his solo career has been on a roll since he moved home to New Orleans in 2016. He’s been nominated for R&B Grammy awards three years in a row and won Best R&B Song for “Say So” in February. Morton’s 2017 release “Gumbo” drew critical acclaim and a Best R&B Album Grammy nomination. He followed up in 2018 with a live recording, “Gumbo Unplugged,” which featured a host of special guests and

Tank and the Bangas sax player Albert Allenback, left, and emcee Alfred Banks, right, have started SaxKixAve. The new project released its debut single, ‘Mr. Apricot,’ on March 17, and they plan to release an EP on April 17.

Gambit asked Banks and Allenback about SaxKixAve. Responses have been edited for space and clarity.

What is the collaboration process like? Albert Allenback: It feels pretty classic — emcee/producer pairing and relationship. I make the beats and Alfred writes the lyrics. We both take direction well, we both like to be productive while having a blast, and we have thus far been very good at compromising during the workflow without compromising the end result. From my perspective as a producer, the person whose voice is on the song ultimately kind of steers the ship because they have to dig what’s going on musically in order to fully resonate.

How do y’all feel you complement each other musically? Alfred Banks: Creatively, I’d say he complements me by bringing a fresh, jazzy and, at times, crazy but complete sound that comes from his live band background. I’m more of a reserved person, but he’s willing to go that extra step and that helps me a lot. Allenback: Alfred makes some of my weird sounds cool by fully accepting them. That acceptance transmutes corny to cool instantly. He is such a good writer that he connects the emotional strands the music contains to concrete narratives and lyrics.

— having to work with other people in a group setting. I have more of a DJ standpoint and I usually ride solo. I only answer to myself. It helps the music for sure because you can see both of our strengths in all the music. Allenback: We listen to a lot of the same music, but also are always putting each other on music the other one doesn’t know. We love different stuff and have no problem disagreeing about art and still being friends and colleagues. This helps us get to know each other on an artistic taste level.

“Mr. Apricot” is the first release. Tell me more about this particular single. Banks: “Mr. Apricot” was fun to make. Albert sent me the beat when I was working on something for a video company and the words hit me instantly. We were in the studio and Tank came by and Albert asked me to kick the song for [her]. She loved it and started writing. It was all super organic. This song is fire. We had to come out swinging for the first single.

Where do you differ? And does that help the music?

How do you feel “I Don’t Wear Suits” represents SaxKixAve?

Banks: We are different in a few ways. He’s more used to live instrumentation

Banks: “I Don’t Wear Suits” shows our sense of humor, our creativity, our skills

background singers and drew its own set of award nominations. “The Piano Album,” released Feb. 14 on his own label, is a sparer project, highlighting his patient piano playing and soulful R&B singing. For fans, it offers new approaches to songs that appear on all three of those albums: “First Began,” “Go Thru Your Phone” and the Bee Gees’ “How Deep is Your Love.” It also includes a new version of “Say So.” While the album’s one-night, one-take recording approach ends up begging for some changes and surprises, songs like opener “Ready” show that his prolific recording pace is built on ample skill and polish.

‘Sam Doores’

Sam Doores (New West Records) Sam Doores co-founded a few notable bands since he moved to New Orleans in 2006, including Hurray for the Riff Raff with Alynda Lee Segarra and the more country music-inflected project, The Deslondes. He began working on his solo debut years ago while touring with The Deslondes, and although the album is rooted in the warm

and our ability to make really good jams. We’re both into a lot of different types of music and you can also hear that in the project. We had fun making this joint. I really hope that comes through. This is some of the best writing I’ve ever done. Allenback: It’s exactly who we are right now. It’s music that is superior in craft while being incredibly goofy. I think the quality of the music being so high amplifies our humor and heartfelt messages by contrast. We put stuff on this record that begs the question, “Are these guys serious?” Which I think is wonderful..

How are y’all doing during the COVID-19 situation in New Orleans? Banks: This whole corona thing has been nuts. Having all my/our shows canceled has been disheartening. But, we’ve been jumping back in the studio creating, filming stuff and working on our set for when we do get onstage for the first time. Allenback: I’m doing great. I pretty much make music in my house all day anyway, so not much has changed for me. Oh except for every show being canceled. That’s tough. I wash my hands a lot and disinfect my phone constantly. I’m worried about my parents, that’s the worst part. also has more serious reflections on love lost and life’s hardships. “Nothing Like a Suburb,” which is reminiscent of a dancehall waltz, sounds pained but sweetly declares love. The March 13 album release may not have grabbed headlines, but it’s an impressive and polished calling card that will be easy for listeners to come back to again and again.

‘Lacher Prise’

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

Sam Doores released a self-titled solo album March 13. folk and Americana sounds he’s been known for in low-key shows around New Orleans, it was largely recorded in Berlin and incorporates an array of instruments and styles. In the duet “Other Side of Town,” he and Segarra trade playful vocals about feeling alone while others are having fun, and they don’t sound like they’re missing the party. An electronic organ and bluesy notes propel the gently lamenting “Let It Roll.” The album

Michael Doucet avec Lacher Prise (Compass Records) Michael Doucet, the bandleader of Cajun stalwart BeauSoleil, draws from a wider array of Louisiana sounds in his side project — named for his backing band “Lacher Prise.” The album features the sawing of his fiddle and stomping Cajun and zydeco beats on rousing openers “Water, Water” and a cover of Boozoo Chavis’ “Lula Lula Don’t You Go to Bingo.” There are detours into swamp pop, but many of the songs are nimble ballads sung in French and English, and the album closes with a gypsy jazz flourish on “Cajun Gypsy.” New Orleans’ Sarah Quintana contributes guitar and vocals, and it’s an elegant celebration of Louisiana roots music.

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Challenging perspectives BY WILL COVIELLO

ANDREW STERN

THE SHORTAGE OF TOILET PAPER ON LOCAL SHELVES is one of the more absurd offshoots of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. But any large-scale crisis can generate bizarre circumstances. In the late 1980s, 18 cows became the subject of a widespread hunt by the government of Israel. The fugitive heifers had been bought by a group of Palestinians who were boycotting Israeli products in a protest that fit into the greater Israeli-Palestinian conflict about occupied territories. Rivka, Ruth, Goldie and 15 other cows had been purchased from an Israeli kibbutznik, but were deemed a security threat in the hands of Palestinians seeking milk. It’s the subject of the 2014 film “The Wanted 18” directed by Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan. “The Wanted 18” screened in the 2015 PATOIS New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival (www.patoisfilmfest.org). The 2020 festival was scheduled for this week but has been postponed because theaters have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. As people practice social distancing and turn to TV and stream movies and live events for entertainment, Gambit asked PATOIS organizers to recommend films it has screened at past festivals that are available online. They include short and feature-length documentaries dating back to the festival’s first year. Some of them address issues raised by the current pandemic. A few are viewable for free.

RECOMMENDED FILMS ‘The Wanted 18’ — Available on Vudu.com and other platforms. Perhaps one of the few films given a thumbs up by both Roger Ebert and Al Jeezera, the movie combines whimsical stop motion claymation of the fugitive cows, who sometimes tell the story, with interviews and other footage. PATOIS organizers note its relevance to curfews, but it’s also a foray into urban farming. In 1988, residents of Ben Sahou, a town near Bethlehem, wanted to stop buying milk from Israeli dairies. They bought cows from an Israeli kibbutznik and learned how to milk and care for them. When Israeli authorities learned of the success of the project, they dubbed it a security threat and tried to capture the cows.

The new farmers and their community hid the cows from the authorities. While there is humor in the film’s personified talking cow characters and an overall absurdity to the effort to hide the cows, the film does pan out into the wider issue of the first intifada uprising and politics that led to the signing of the Oslo Accords. ‘United in Anger’ — Available on iTunes, Amazon, YouTube and Google Play. Director Jim Hubbard’s 2012 documentary “United in Anger” is about ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), the grassroots activist group that organized to fight the AIDS epidemic. The activists faced a series of battles, including getting the government to address the spread of HIV and AIDs. The disease had been known since the early 1980s,

P R OV I D E D B Y K I N O L O R B E R

Animated cows help narrate ‘The Wanted 18.’

Protestors block an energy company’s use of a highway in ‘Water Warriors.’

‘Water Warriors’ — Available on www.pbs.org/pov/watch/waterwarriors/video-water-warriors. South Louisiana isn’t the only region that’s desirable to both the seafood and oil and gas industries. This 22-minute documentary from director Michael Premo chronicles a battle over land use in New Brunswick Canada, and the film also reflects on the issue of global warming. In 2013, a Texas energy company wanted to explore for natural gas in an area that was home to both large-scale commercial fishing and subsistence fishing by the Mi’kmaq Elsipogtog First Nation. The indigenous group aligned with French-speaking Acadians and English speaking Canadians to prevent the company from drilling and organize against fracking. but President Ronald Reagan didn’t address it in a speech until 1987. The activists battled stigma that it was a “gay disease,” and protested the high prices of drugs available to fight HIV. The film benefits from the group’s energy and determination in staging dramatic protests. Playwright Larry Kramer (author of “The Normal Heart”) offers his signature and devastatingly blunt assessments of the situation to urge people to protest in New York and beyond. There’s footage of activists storming Wall Street and protesting in Washington D.C. ‘¡Salud!’ — Available for free on www.saludthefilm.net There have been many documentaries about Cuban music in the last 20 years, from the “Buena Vista Social Club” to the more recent “A Tuba to Cuba,” about the Preservation Hall Jazz Band touring the island. Discussions of health care have also prompted comparisons of how the U.S. system works versus that of Cuba, where health care is widely perceived as a right. In some areas, Cuba has better results, and the nation is exporting its

system to other countries. This 2007 documentary explores the Cuban system, and also follows Cuban doctors in other countries, including Honduras and Venezuela. ‘The Battle of Algiers’ — Available on www.kanopy.com, Amazon and other services. The first film screened by the PATOIS festival, “The Battle of Algiers,” is sort of a classic war film, originally released in 1966. It’s based on the guerilla resistance to French colonial occupation of Algieria. It takes place in Algiers and focuses on the struggles between French forces and Algerian groups who both support and oppose the French. The film follows both French officers and the resistance. Ali la Pointe is a petty criminal who becomes politicized after witnessing an execution in prison, and though he wants to join a resistance group, they can’t be sure he wasn’t recruited as a spy for the French while he was in jail. The film is renowned for its depiction of the tactics of guerilla warfare and the ruthlessness of all sides in the conflict.

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In accordance with the LSA RS 47:6007 D (1) (e) (ii), Kapital Productions LLC hereby announces completion of the principal photography “Tell Me A Story - Season 2” on December 17, 2019. Any creditors are to present their claims, if any, to the following address: Kapital Productions, LLC c/o CBS Television Attn: Elizabeth Sanchez – 4024 Radford Ave CNB Bldg 310, Studio City, CA 91604.

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BESTOFNEWORLEANS.COM Thank you to the readers and businesses who have supported Gambit, a locally owned publication for almost 40 years. In this time of crisis, we are here for you to continue to report on and cover New Orleans news. While these are uncertain times for all local businesses, we are also doing everything we can to continue to bring you the product that you deserve. If your business could benefit from local advertising at this time, call or email Sandy Stein at (504) 483-3150, sstein@gambitweekly.com .