Gambit Digital Edition: August 4, 2020 by Gambit New Orleans

August 4-10, 2020 Volume 41 // Number 29

Lane Lacoy Historic Home Specialist

Cristina’s

Family owned and operated since 1996

Cleaning Service

Asociate Broker/Realtor®

1020 ESPLANADE AVE. #301

FRENCH QUARTER PENTHOUSE • $589,000

Cool 2-level condo, 2 BR, 1.5 BA, LR/DR, Den, PRIVATE BALCONY & TERRACE, in-ground pool, lushly landscaped brick patio area, gated off-street parking.

Let our crew help you with all your cleaning needs!

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

504-957-5116 • 504-948-3011

Residential & Commercial • Licensed & Bonded

840 Elysian Fields Ave N.O., LA 70117

504-232-5554 cristinascleaningnola@gmail.com

www.lanelacoy.com - ljlacoy@latterblum.com

MJ’s

Summer Deals

.- Fri. 10-5 & NOW OPEN Mon

Sat. 10-3

Genuine Leather Daisy Purses Was $35.99

NOW ONLY $9.99

SENIOR INTEGRATION SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

BULLETIN BOARD

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > AU G U S T 4 - 1 0 > 2 0 2 0

MJ’s 1513 Metairie Rd. 835-6099

METAIRIE SHOPPING CENTER MJSMETAIRIE • mjsofmetairie.com

Lakeview

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

CLEANING SERVICE

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

Susana Palma

lakeviewcleaningllc@yahoo.com Fully Insured & Bonded

504-250-0884 504-309-6662

To work in New Orleans, LA. Design and develop new systems as well as existing systems, with an emphasis on minimized maintenance requirements. Working with business partners, vendors and project delivery teams, creating a roadmap of services delivery. Work with business, infrastructure and applications leaders to identify the scope, requirements and architecture of the project. Must have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Information Technology and 36 months experience as a Senior Integration Software Developer or Integration Software Developer. Three years experience must be working with integration architectures and middleware, speciﬁcally Mulesoft. MAIL RESUME TO ELLEN FITTE, PAN-AMERICAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, 601 POYDRAS STREET, SUITE 1530, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70130.

Must have proof of legal authority to work in the U.S. Put job code 80018731 on resume. EOE

Immigration. Criminal Law. Traffic Tickets

Don’t go to court without an Attorney Call Eugene Redmann 504.834.6430 Se Habla Espanol www.redmannlawnola.com

REAL ESTATE FOR RENT

GARDEN DISTRICT 1/2 BLOCK TO MAGAZINE

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

CITY PARK 910 CITY PARK AVE

2BR, LR/DR combo, large furn kit w/breakfast area, wd flrs, cvr’d pkg. No Pets. $1200/mo, water pd. 504-450-0850.

to place your ad in the

GAMBIT EXCHANGE call 486-5900

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 0 2 0

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 02 0

CONTENTS

AUG. 4 — 10, 2020 VOLUME 41 | NUMBER 29

NEW ORLEANS - METAIRIE

NEWS

OPENING GAMBIT

REALREAL EXPERIENCE. EXPERIENCE.

COMMENTARY 8

REALRESULTS. RESULTS.. REAL

CLANCY DUBOS

BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN 10

FEATURES

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 5

BROCATO LAW FIRM, PLC

EAT + DRINK

MUSIC 21 GOING OUT

PUZZLES 23

EXCHANGE 23

PERSONAL INJURY

DWI

@The_Gambit

CRIMINAL

@gambitneworleans

METAIRIE, LA ˚ BROCATOLAW.COM BROCATOLAW.COM

504-832-7225

THRIFT CITY

@GambitNewOrleans

DIGGIN’ IT With restaurants hamstrung by pandemic shutdowns, local farmers and producers find ways to grow.

ON THE COVER KALEB J. HILL OF OKO VUE PRODUCE CO. COVER PHOTO BY CHRISTINE BROWN COVER DESIGN BY DORA SISON

USA

STAFF

THURS. AUGUST 6 THURS. AUGUST 20 th th

SALE STORE HOURS 8 AM - 8 PM

1 /2 O FF VEE R Y EEV R Y TTH HIIN NG G II N N SSTTO ORREE

Now accepting donations onbehalf of AMVETS

MON-FRI 9AM-7PM • SAT 9AM-6PM • SUN 11AM-6PM 601 TERRY PKWY · GRETNA

Publisher | JEANNE EXNICIOS FOSTER

EDITORIAL

ADVERTISING

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

Advertising Inquiries (504) 483-3150

Editor | JOHN STANTON

Advertising Director | SANDY STEIN BRONDUM

Political Editor | CLANCY DUBOS Arts & Entertainment Editor | WILL COVIELLO Staff Writers | JAKE CLAPP, SARAH RAVITS Contributing Writers | IAN MCNULTY

PRODUCTION

(504) 483-3150 [sstein@gambitweekly.com]

Senior Sales Representative JILL GIEGER (504) 483-3131

[jgieger@gambitweekly.com]

Creative Services Director | DORA SISON Pre-Press Coordinator | JASON WHITTAKER

Sales Representatives

Web & Classifieds Designer | MARIA BOUÉ

KATIE BISHOP

Graphic Designers | CATHERINE FLOTTE,

(504) 262-9519

TIANA WATTS

[kbishop@gambitweekly.com]

BUSINESS & OPERATIONS

KELLY SONNIER

Billing Inquiries 1 (225) 388-0185

(504) 483-3143

Administrative Assistant | LINDA LACHIN

[ksonnier@gambitweekly.com]

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.

Words up GARDEN DISTRICT BOOK SHOP HOSTS LITERARY CHATS ON ZOOM THIS WEEK. NOVELIST NATHANIEL RICH, author of the New Orleans-set “King Zeno,” speaks at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Edward Ball, whose book “Life of a Klansman” chronicles white supremacy in New Orleans and in his own family, talks at 6 p.m. Thursday. Chats can be watched via gardendistrictbookshop.com.

The beat goes on

Heart attacks

Video Age shows some love on new ‘Pleasure Line’

P R OV I D E D P H O T O B Y A L E X H . PAY N E

Video Age is, left to right, Nick Corson, Ray Micarelli, Ross Farbe and Duncan Troast. The band’s latest album, ‘Pleasure Line,’ is out Aug. 7.

BY JAKE CLAPP VIDEO AGE’S “PLEASURE LINE,” the New Orleans band’s upcoming third record, is a love album. Not just the romantic, Cupid shooting heart-tipped arrows style of love — although there is plenty of that on “Pleasure Line” — it’s about love in a variety of its forms. “Loving yourself first, which allows you to open up to the possibility of beauty and love in the world around you,” says Ross Farbe, the band’s singer and multi-instrumentalist. “And then finding, maybe, the possibility of love in a single relationship you might have, and the complications with love, also.” “Yeah, and partnerships with people in all different ways, like friendships,” drummer Ray Micarelli adds. “Pleasure Line” is scheduled to be released Aug. 7. It’s Video Age’s first album on the New York City-based label Winspear. It may have been inevitable that “Pleasure Line” explores affectionate territory. Farbe and Micarelli are the songwriting core of Video Age and they were “feeling a lot of feelings,” Micarelli says, while writing the songs that would ultimately make up “Pleasure Line.” Farbe and Micarelli were touring a lot as Video Age — rounded out by multi-instrumentalist Nick Corson (gui-

tar, bass, keyboards) and keyboardist Duncan Troast — on their well-received 2018 album, “Pop Therapy,” and growing closer as bandmates. Then, they both got engaged. “We were both like, man, these are life commitments,” Micarelli says, “and really feeling love and compassion and connecting with someone and appreciating someone and them appreciating you. You also can’t capture that event just in a song alone.” “It made its way into the songwriting whether we liked it or not,” Farbe says. On “Pop Therapy,” Farbe and Micarelli dove into synths and ’80s pop and new wave influences. They have spoken about loving musicians, like Paul McCartney and Donald Fagan, “who got to the ’80s and were like ‘I guess I’ll try this synth thing,’ and made some really weird music experimenting with the new technology of the time,” Farbe said in a 2018 The Times-Picayune interview. While out on tour, Farbe and Micarelli would visit record stores to buy used cassette tapes for their van — paid tribute to on the “Pleasure Line” track “Aerostar.” “We got this Joni Mitchell tape, I think it’s from the early-’90s or maybe the late-’80s,” Fabre says. “It still sounds like the Joni Mitchell that I expected

song-wise and her voice is amazing, but she really embraced the synths of the times. It’s got just the most incredible vibe throughout the whole thing.” “Pleasure Line” follows a natural line from “Pop Therapy,” and incorporates more funk, rhythm and blues and blueeyed soul. It’s a warm pop album that can’t help but be optimistic. The album’s eponymous opener celebrates the joy that can be found in restlessness as Farbe calls for his partner to join him “on the pleasure line.” “Once you cross that threshold and become vulnerable in love, there’s a whole new challenge,” Farbe said in a past statement about the track. “There’s a reason that song comes first on the album, because the rest of the songs exist in that place.” Video Age recorded “Pleasure Line” at Farbe’s house in November. “It came together really quickly,” Farbe says. “Pleasure Line” materialized “during a time in our life when we were kind of crossing into a new frontier,” Micarelli says, “in our own lives, with our bandmates, and musically. So it was kind of like, let’s make this album more personal and try to make it have a bigger impact and build on what we started with ‘Pop Therapy.’ ”

LE PETIT THEATRE CONTINUES ITS RADIO-DRAMA SERIES WITH A SELECTION OF SHORT EDGAR ALLAN POE TALES. THE TERROR-THEMED PROGRAM INCLUDES “THE TELL-TALE HEART,” “The Raven” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” To listen in, tune your internet dial to lepetittheatre.com at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Binge watching “BLOODY NOSE, Empty Pockets” is a tale near and dear to many a New Orleanian’s heart: a group of barroom philosophers, lushes and lonely souls gather at their regular dive to bid it farewell on the last day of business. Directors Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross (makers of “Tchoupitoulas”) filmed the unscripted homage to barroom life in a few long stints at a local bar. Zeitgeist Theatre and Lounge offers online viewing via zeitgeistnola.org.

Zionosphere ROOKIE ZION WILLIAMSON RETURNED TO ACTION WITH THE NEW ORLEANS PELICANS IN THE NBA BUBBLE LAST WEEK. THIS WEEK, the team takes on The Sacramento Kings (12:30 p.m. Thursday), the Washington Wizards (7 p.m. Friday) and the San Antonio Spurs (2 p.m. Sunday). How many minutes Zion will play is anyone’s guess! All games are broadcast on Fox Sports New Orleans, ESPN radio 100.3 FM, and the Spurs game also will be televised on ABC.

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 0 2 0

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 02 0

OPENING GAMBIT N E W

O R L E A N S

N E W S

V I E W S

From racism to the ’rona, kids are proving they’re better than us

# The Count

Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down

$20 million

The amount of money Xavier University of Louisiana received from an anonymous donor — the largest private gift in the school’s history.

Delfeayo Marsalis has launched Keep NOLA Music Alive, a new nonprofit that aims to get financial help to musicians and other native born or long time New Orleanian “culture bearers” struggling because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Marsalis, who lost his legendary father Ellis earlier this year to the disease, kicked off the fundraising for KNOMA with a streaming concert celebrating his dad’s birthday. The group is particularly welcome for providing funds to second line steppers and other members of our community.

P H OTO B Y S O P H I A G E R M 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

The City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee for the first

time has released new online tools for residents to track racial disparities in the city’s criminal justice system. The data dashboard, which is located on the committee’s site, paints a stark, if unsurprising picture of the treatment of Black New Orleanians and is a rare demonstration of accountability and transparency for any level of government.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell has

tapped Peter Bowen as “founding entrepreneur” for the new Office of Business and External Services. Bowen had been the general manager of San Francisco-based Sonder, one of the largest shortterm rental (STR) companies in the city, and will oversee a number of critical regulatory areas including, you guessed it, STRs. The city’s handling of STRs has been fraught, to say the least, and putting a former STR exec in charge of them gives the new office a “fox guarding the hen house” optic.

Ethan Ashley, president of the Orleans Parish School Board, introduced a proposal to change the board’s rule regarding renaming schools.

ORLEANS SCHOOL BOARD TAKES FIRST STEP TOWARD REPLACING RACIST SCHOOL NAMES

School officials said this will allow the historically Black and Catholic university to expand scholarships, endow new faculty positions and make investments to sustain its mission. President Reynold Verret said, “This gift will enhance the university’s capacity to educate in the medical sciences, pharmacy, law, the arts and the social sciences.” The institution is known for its illustrious history of producing more African-American MDs than any other institution in the U.S., in addition to federal judges, civil rights attorneys, renowned artists and musicians, business leaders, and elected officials.

C’est What

THE ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD has introduced a sweeping set

of changes to its rules that would give the board more control over renaming schools whose current namesakes “did not respect equal opportunity for all.” The proposal would change a policy dating to 2015, which prohibits the board from renaming charter schools. School Board President Ethan Ashley’s first reading on July 28 comes amid a push to rename public property, including streets and parks, in a city reckoning with its history of honoring Confederate figures and others who fought to uphold white supremacy. Ashley has repeatedly said the school board “believes all schools should be welcoming, inclusive and inspiring places for all students.” The language in his proposal reflects those statements. Lusher Charter School and schools named for John McDonogh are among the learning institutions that could be impacted. Lusher draws its name from Robert Mills Lusher, a Confederate who later fought to uphold white supremacy within the state’s education system; McDonogh was a slave owner. Renaming these schools has drawn support from local activists during a summer of nationwide protests against systemic racism. McDonogh has been a target of civil rights activists dating back to the 1950s. Ashley’s proposal states that all renaming requests must be submitted to the superintendent along with biographical support and other documentation. Ashley also proposes that the superintendent appoint a committee that could ensure public input. The committee would include a school board member and school employees. Lion Pride Families, a group that supports a student-led movement to rename Lusher Charter, circulated a letter the day before Ashley’s

Have you dined inside a restaurant since restrictions were relaxed?

39.4% NAH, BAG IT UP. I’LL TAKE MY MEAL TO GO

23%

YEAH, BUT IT WAS FOR A SPECIAL OCCASION

15.8%

21.8%

NO WAY, I’M COOKING AT HOME WITH MY MASK ON

YES! I’M THERE RIGHT NOW

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

OPENING GAMBIT City unveils new studentdesigned poster series Amid several weeks of spiking coronavirus cases, and as public health professionals beat the drum to mask properly (we see you, chinstrap) New Orleans officials are asking citizens to take some cues from the city’s kids. On July 30, the Mayor’s Office of Youth and Families and the City Council announced the winners of its Mask Wearing Poster Contest and unveiled student artwork that will soon appear on posters around town. The city launched the poster design contest in early July and the four winning designs were chosen from 81 submissions. “Our students can be fierce ambassadors who will help us get through this so they can prepare to get back to school,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell said at the launch of the contest. The four winners are Dai’Ja Alford, who won the 4th-8th grade category; Isabella “Izzy” Harrell, the high school poster winner; college poster winner Raeann

Koehler; and Mauro Nunez, who won the foreign language poster winner for their Spanishlanguage submission. “We know that this period has been particularly hard on our young people and it’s so critical that we continue to create outlets for self-expression,” said Emily Wolff, director of the Office of Youth and Families. “It is now our responsibility as a community to listen to our children, do the right thing, and mask up.” Keep an eye out for the posters to appear around New Orleans in coming weeks. — JAKE CLAPP

New data tools reveal inequities in New Orleans’ criminal justice system The New Orleans City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee on July 28 unveiled a series of new data “dashboards,” including tools that allow citizens to track the inequality in charging decisions, how much bond is required, and the length of sentences handed down in local courts.

The dashboards paint a sadly unsurprising picture of the disproportionate negative consequences Black New Orleanians face from interactions with the criminal justice system. For instance, over the last 10 years Black men facing charges in local courts received bonds averaging $6,000, while white men faced bonds averaging roughly $4,500. Likewise, in the last decade more than 230,000 Black men have been charged with criminal offenses in the city, compared to just under 53,000 white men. Users can break down the data by year, location and charge, “rolling averages” over a 12-month period, and how the data has changed over the last decade. The racial inequality dashboard is one of several data tools on the site, including a traffic cam data tool, a “jail population snapshot” dashboard, and a new “public safety” dashboard that contains data on 311 calls, catch basin cleaning data, and other metrics. — JOHN STANTON

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 0 2 0

proposal appeared. The letter reflects a movement to rally support for renaming the school. Lusher is a top-ranked school, with an administration that has come under scrutiny for its responses to calls for change. The letter notes that previous efforts to rename the school have failed. It goes on to say that recent pushes to advance change have thus far led to disappointment “with both the depth and breadth of the response” from the administration and the Lusher board. Meanwhile, Jamar McNeely, CEO of InspireNOLA Charter Schools, expressed support for certain name changes in June. McKneely, who oversees McDonogh 42, wrote to the school board, asking to amend its policy on naming facilities and to grant the authority to the charter to form a community-based exploratory committee for the purpose of changing the name of McDonogh 42. Ashley is scheduled to present again on August 18 and bring it to the full school board for adoption as early as August 20. — SARAH RAVITS

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 02 0

COMMENTARY

Congress Must Save Our Stages Now

Tequilas ON FIRE ARETTE BLANCO $24.99

ARETTE REPOSADO $29.99

ARETTE ANEJO $39.99

ARETTE GRAN CLASE EXTRA ANEJO $140.00

1.0 L

750 ML

710 VETERANS MEMORIAL BLVD. | METAIRIE | DORIGNACS.COM SENIOR SHOPPING HOURS: Monday & Thursday 7am - 8am (504) 834-8216

Open 8am-7pm Everyday

CONGRESSIONAL BIPARTISANSHIP

of any sort is rare these days. Bipartisanship that attracts the support of Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond and Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy? Well, that’s a unicorn, f’sure. Which is what makes the Save Our Stages Act so remarkable, and worthy of additional support. The bill would provide much needed grants to independent music venues across the country, including in New Orleans, for up to 45% of their operating costs since the beginning of the pandemic. Venues could use the money to help pay employees, rents or mortgages, and capital costs. That help is critical if iconic local venues such as Tipitina’s, Santos, Preservation Hall and at least 20 others covered by the bill are to survive the pandemic. Unlike bars and restaurants, local independent music halls haven’t been allowed to re-open, even under limited-capacity restrictions. Neither they nor their employees have seen a payday since the pandemic began — right at the start of the festival season. The situation is dire. According to the National Independent Venue Association, nearly 90% of music halls in the country could fold in the coming months because of the pandemic. In fact, many local venues are either on the brink or in the process of shutting down. We’ve already lost Gasa Gasa to COVID-19. Our elected officials need to take steps now to prevent further closures. The Save Our Stages Act won’t save everyone. It does not include direct assistance to musicians, who desperately need help; nor would it help dozens of bars and restaurants around town that host “informal” shows. Still, the proposed law would throw a literal lifeline to New Orleans’ live music industry just when it most needs one. That alone should make supporting the bill — and including it in the stimulus package Congress is currently debating — a no-brainer. Which makes the notable absence of Sen. John Neely Kennedy and House Minority Leader Steve Scalise,

P H OTO B Y C H R I S G R A N G E R / T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

A sold-out crowd filled Tipitina’s for a celebration of Professor Longhair’s 100th birthday in 2018.

both Republicans, amongst its backers troubling. We won’t hazard a guess as to whether Scalise and Kennedy listen to bounce music, but even buttondown conservatives should recognize the economic benefits of keeping live music in New Orleans, well, alive. It draws millions of people to the city annually and is one of the foundations upon which our economy is built. Without live music clubs, Frenchmen Street will disappear as a cultural touchstone. The raucous sounds of Bourbon Street will be replaced by a handful of barkers screaming “HUGE-ASS BEERS” at startled, drunken tourists. As the music goes, so go tourists’ dollars, and those dollars add up fast. NIVA estimates that for every dollar spent in a music venue, 12 more are spent at shops, bars and restaurants in the surrounding area. Ultimately, saving live music in New Orleans is as much about protecting an industry as it is saving a vital part of ourselves. Music underpins our city’s distinctive culture. Everywhere you go in New Orleans there’s music; it can sometimes be easy to take for granted, especially if you’re not a musician. We hope Kennedy and Scalise will use their considerable influence within their party and strike a note for their constituents. If Richmond and Cassidy can dance the bipartisan two-step, anybody can. Because none of us wants to imagine a silent New Orleans, let alone live in one.

CLANCY DUBOS

pretty in pink

Expand mail ballots & early voting to Nov. election now

linen dresses $

EXPANDED EARLY VOTING FOR THE COVID-DELAYED GENERAL ELECTION ON AUGUST 15 continues

through Saturday, August 8. The general election normally would have occurred May 9, but in March Louisiana became the first state to delay regularly scheduled elections amid the pandemic. In April, also in response to the pandemic, state lawmakers expanded voters’ opportunities to cast ballots — but only slightly, and only for the delayed spring elections. With no indication of fraud or other problems related to that expansion, and with the pandemic likely to continue through the general election, it’s time to extend those changes to November. In addition to the presidential election, the November ballot also includes Louisiana’s jungle primary for a U.S. Senate seat, six congressional seats, and numerous state and local offices. It remains to be seen if our GOP-dominated Legislature will expand voting rights again, especially when their cohorts across America are doing everything possible to suppress voter turnout. It’s not as if state lawmakers warmly embraced the idea in the first place. Republican legislators initially voiced unfounded concerns about voter fraud when Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, a Republican, proposed a significant expansion of both early voting and mail balloting amid the pandemic. Ardoin made a good show of trying to sell his plan, but a House committee quickly deep-sixed it. Repeating a favorite trope of President Donald Trump, they feigned fears that letting too many people vote by mail would lead to fraud. That’s nonsense, of course. Many states have had widespread mail balloting for years, and all independent experts agree that voter fraud there is extremely rare. Moreover, a recent poll of Louisiana voters — by a firm used by none other than President Trump’s campaign — found overwhelming support (76-22%) for keeping all polling locations open while giving all voters the option to vote absentee. The poll was reported by LaPol-

@ gaetanasnola shop with us on instagram & facebook P H OTO B Y DA R Y L A N N E L M I /G E T T Y I I M AG E S

itics.com, a nonpartisan political newsletter published by respected Baton Rouge analyst (and former Gambit columnist) Jeremy Alford. Truth is Republican leaders don’t fear voter fraud; they fear voter turnout — particularly now that Trump consistently trails Democrat Joe Biden by significant margins in all national polls, including those sponsored by Fox News. A week after lawmakers nixed Ardoin’s initial proposal, they approved a scaled-down version that expanded mail balloting only slightly and lengthened early voting from one week to two. Louisiana then held statewide presidential primaries and scores of municipal elections on July 11, with nary a whiff of voter fraud. That argues strongly for expanding voter access in November — and beyond. At a minimum, lawmakers should extend the modest expansions approved for August 15. Better still, heed the voters and expand both early voting and mail balloting significantly — and permanently. The law already allows everyone over age 65 to vote by mail. If lawmakers can change laws by mail and email ballots during a pandemic, voters should be able to exercise their most sacred right by mail as well. Recent election cycles have shown two things to be true: voters prefer early voting and mail balloting in overwhelming numbers; and they tend to punish those to try to keep them from voting. Louisiana legislators should learn — and apply — those lessons while there’s still time.

SMOKIN’ HOT JUICY BRISKET Order online at www.BrownButterRestaurant.com or call (504) 609-3871

Check out our

NEW WEEKLY SPECIALS & FAMILY STYLE MEALS

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

Open for Take-out & Limited Delivery Tuesday - Saturday 12pm - 7pm

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 0 2 0

@clancygambit

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 02 0

BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN™ @GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com

MARDI GRAS MEMORIES YOU’D LIKE TO FORGET?

Hey Blake, With lots of talk about statues these days, I have a question about one on Canal Street that I think we can all support: Ignatius J. Reilly. Who was the artist and when was it placed there?

Dear reader,

DONATE YOUR MARDI GRAS KREWE COSTUME TO A BETTER CAUSE! RECEIVE UP TO $300 OFF when you donate a krewe costume to recycle into protective masks.

The statue of Ignatius J. Reilly, the protagonist of John Kennedy Toole’s “A Confederacy of Dunces,” has been on Canal Street since 1997. The opening scene of the Pulitzer Prize-winning work famously places Reilly on Canal Street, waiting for his mother under the clock at D.H. Holmes. The D.H. Holmes department store opened at 819 Canal Street in 1849. After it closed in 1989, the property was redeveloped into a hotel. It was known as the Chateau Sonesta when it opened in 1995. It is now the Hyatt Centric French Quarter. The D.H. Holmes clock, a meeting spot for generations of New Orleanians, had been stolen in 1989 by two Kenner men “for safekeeping,” they said. It was returned to the hotel and restored to its spot outside. The idea for an Ignatius Reilly statue came from the hotel’s developer, Pres Kabacoff. “New Orleans is steeped in literary tradition,” he told The Times-Picayune, “and the idea of putting this outrageous protagonist from the novel — a novel that means New Orleans to many people — out in front of the hotel…

P H OTO B Y E L L I S L U C I A / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

Actor John ‘Spud’ McConnell, portraying Ignatius J. Reilly.

was an image I thought made a lot of sense for the city.” Local sculptor Bill Ludwig was commissioned for the work. The statue is modeled after actor and radio/TV personality John “Spud” McConnell, who has portrayed Ignatius many times in local theaters. “McConnell was the closest thing we were going to get to an Ignatius,” Ludwig said. “I saw him onstage and loved what he did. He’d played the part, he’d studied it, he had been Ignatius.” The sculpture was unveiled in October 1997. Ludwig’s other local sculptures include the Louisiana Vietnam War Veterans Memorial at the Superdome and the statue of Malcolm Woldenberg and his grandson at Woldenberg Park.

BLAKEVIEW Get your own custom Pure Dermatology mask by Epiphany Throws this August with your Botox and Juvederm injectable treatments.

LEARN MORE AT PUREDERMNOLA.COM/ EPIPHANYTHROWS

PureDermNola.com | (504) 226-7873

WE CONTINUE OUR LOOK AT SOME NOTABLE FILMS set and filmed in Hollywood South over the years by revisiting the 1960s, which brought serious star power to New Orleans. The 1965 drama “The Cincinnati Kid” starred Steve McQueen in the title role as poker player Eric “The Kid” Stoner. The cast includes Edward G. Robinson, Ann-Margret and Karl Malden. Director Norman Jewison’s film was set in 1930s New Orleans, a change from the original novel, which is set in St. Louis. In the film, the Eureka Brass Band leads a jazz funeral and Sweet Emma Barrett and other music greats perform at Preservation Hall. The 1969 counterculture classic “Easy Rider” is partially set in New Orleans and south Louisiana. The movie is directed by Dennis Hopper, who co-starred with Peter Fonda and newcomer Jack Nicholson. Hopper, Fonda and Terry Southern wrote the film about two bikers making a motorcycle trip — and several drug-induced trips — from Los Angeles to New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Nicholson earned an Oscar nomination and the film was nominated for best original screenplay. Also released in 1969 was “Number One,” a film that stars Charlton Heston as an aging New Orleans Saints quarterback struggling to make a comeback. It was filmed at several locations including Tulane Stadium, the French Quarter and Canal Street. The Saints’ first head coach Tom Fears, original owner John Mecom Jr., trumpeter Al Hirt and several Saints players appear in the film.

OPEN DAILY 7AM - 8PM

Validated Parking

 Dine In  Takeout  Delivery

(504)523-9656  MothersRestaurant.net  401 Poydras St

August Birthstone PERIDOT

SHOP ONLINE AT WWW. FISHERSONSJEWELERS.COM (504) 885 -4956 • INFO@FISHERSONSJEWELERS.COM TUES-THURS 10AM-4PM | FRI 10AM-5:30PM | SAT 10AM-3PM CURBSIDE PICKUP AVAILABLE 5101 W. ESPLANADE AVE. | 1 BLOCK OFF TRANSCONTINENTAL

COOLINARY 2020 MONDAY - SATURDAY ONLY LUNCH MENU 2 COURSES: $20

DINNER MENU 4 COURSES: $33.95

1ST COURSE

CUP OF GUMBO OR 1/2 HOUSE SALAD

2ND COURSE CHOICE OF: CRAWFISH BEIGNET KATIE’S CLASSIC BURGER & FRIES BOUDREAUX PIZZA FRIED SHRIMP POBOY & FRIES GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD

2ND COURSE CHOICE OF:

FRIED SEAFOOD RAVIOLI W/ SEAFOOD CREAM SHRIMP REMOULADE & 3RD COURSE CHOICE OF: FRIED GREEN TOMATO BLACKENED CATCH OF THE DAY KATIE’S TOPPED W/ HERBED BUTTER CRABCAKE FRIED SHRIMP & 4TH COURSE DESSERT: CATFISH PLATTER WHITE CHOCOLATE CRAWFISH BEIGNET BREAD PUDDING PANEED CHICKEN MARSALA

3701 IBERVILLE ST• NOLA 70119• 504.488.6582 • katiesinmidcity.com

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 0 2 0

Breakfast Served All Day

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 02 0

PH OTO BY B E N S H E N K

Kaleb J. Hill harvests produce at his Oko Vue Produce Co. farm in Hollygrove.

DIGGIN’ IT Small farmers worried the pandemic would crush them. They were wrong. BY MAT T HAINES For small farmers like Kaleb J. Hill, uncertainty has always been just a part of life. Droughts or floods can kill off whole crops, shifting culinary trends can make staples suddenly unsellable. Even seemingly minor changes in temperature can upend their best laid plans. And for urban farmers like Hill who depend on the farm-to-table restaurant movement and consumers willing and able to spend a little more for fresh, local produce, learning to live with uncertainty is a vital survival skill. But nothing could prepare Hill, or anyone else for that matter, for the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Local farmers were scared,” says Hill, a fourth-generation agriculturist who owns an urban farm in the Hollygrove neighborhood. Overnight, the trendy restaurants that used locally sourced ingredients were gone. Consumers who’d been loyal customers were suddenly out of

work, farmer markets were closed, everyone was gripped with panic. “People were talking about letting their crops die in the field. That’s their livelihood,” Hill says. The sure bet was that operations like Hill’s wouldn’t last the spring, much less deeper into the hot, Louisiana summer — after all, even restaurants reliant on cheap meat and produce shipped in from giant industrial agribusinesses were already announcing bankruptcies. But the same Hollygrove streets that raised up Lil Wayne have, against all odds, turned out to be rich soil for Hill’s hopes to grow in. Instead of closing up shop, he says, he’s not only surviving, he’s seen new customers as well. “It seems like more people want to know where their food comes from,” Hill says. “They’re willing to spend a little more money to know who’s handling their food, and to know it’s safe.” Hill is part of a growing number of small farmers who have found a market directly with consumers

themselves. Those consumers are buying locally in record numbers and showing it’s not only quality and ethically-minded restaurateurs who are willing to pay more for produce and meat.

Fresh food for all

Food always has been a central part of Hill’s life. His great-grandparents were sharecroppers in the Florida panhandle, raising peanuts and traditional Southern vegetables like okra and bell peppers. His grandparents moved across the Deep South, and one set of grandparents settled in St. James Parish. Hill says they, too, were farmers. They passed on what they knew to their kids, and ultimately to him. “I used to help them out on their farm,” he remembers. “I’ve got uncles that raised beef cattle, chickens and crops. I grew up going from farm to farm learning different parts of the craft.” Hill has a degree in public health from Xavier University, but his passion remained growing

DIGGIN’ IT | C O V E R

STORY

Grant and Kate Estrade with goats on the Local Cooling Farms on the Northshore.

S TA F F P H O T O B Y M A X B E C H E R E R

Siblings Assane “Sam” Ndiaye, left, and Amy Ndiaye, center, talk with Marguerite ‘Margee’ Green at NOCCA’S Press Street Gardens that are being used by SPROUT NOLA to distributes seedlings to support family gardens.

and sharing healthy food. He founded Oko Vue Produce Co. on a plot of land in Hollygrove before he graduated. As if it wasn’t already obvious, COVID-19 has made the connection between public health and nutrition urgently clear. Coronavirus death rates have been linked to diseases related to poor nutrition. Rates of chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease are well above the national average in New Orleans and Louisiana — particularly among its poorer residents — and minority residents in the city have accounted for more than three in four coronavirus deaths. “New Orleans is full of food deserts,” Hill says, noting that many low-income residents can’t get to grocery stores. “So I wanted to bring fresh food to them.” He created an online ordering system at makingroceriesmarket.com and he works with approximately a dozen other local black farmers to provide an array of produce each day. The key, he explains, is that he’ll deliver orders to customers’ doors anywhere in the city. “I don’t want fresh, healthy food to be something only for rich people,” he says. “We all need it. So I’ll bring the food directly to you, and — because it’s grown locally and can stay on the vine until it’s ready to be eaten — it’s a lot fresher and more nutritious than that California tomato you’ll get at the grocery store.”

A new model

It turns out Hill’s model was uniquely suited to stand up to the financial hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He sold produce to restaurants (and he says those accounts have fizzled) but the majority of his sales were already directly to consumers. Additionally, in a time when Americans were hesitant to enter crowded grocery stores, and were eager to know who was handling their food, having produce delivered by a local farmer has been appealing. “We’ve got a lot of new customers now,” he says, “because people care about where their food is coming from in a way they didn’t before COVID.” The transition, however, has not been so seamless for other local farmers and distributors. JV Foods in Kenner purchases products in bulk from 60 mostly-local and regional producers —

everything from honey made in Flora, Mississippi to wagyu beef from Monroe, Louisiana. Co-owner Tim Bordes says they were distributing that food to approximately 400 restaurants in the South. The day after COVID-19 closed restaurants, Bordes says he received a $100,000 shipment of beef he had previously ordered. He said he was worried for his company — that he wouldn’t be able to sell the $250,000 worth of food he then had in his warehouse — and he also worried for the dozens of local farmers he worked with. Where would they sell the meat and produce they’d been raising for the last several months? “We had an entire cow in our freezer, and no restaurant that could take it,” Bordes says. “If I couldn’t sell this one, how could I buy more?” As a last resort, he texted a few friends to see if they were interested in buying a few cuts of beef. Bordes says he was completely shocked by what happened next. “Not only did my friends buy some of the meat we were stuck with, but then they texted their friends to see if they wanted to do the same,” he says. “Not only did they buy the meat, but they also spread the word — and it just kind of continued like that until I was out of meat.” Bordes says his new customers asked if they could get more, which he was happy to do, and they also wanted products from other local producers. “I think it was just way higher quality food than they were used to getting outside a high-end restaurant,” he says. “Even when restaurants open back up, I’m going to keep part of my business focused on retail to individual consumers. It’s a great way for me and the local producers I work with to diversify our businesses.”

Industrial farming falters

Kate Estrade is the co-owner of Local Cooling Farms, a 16-acre property on the Northshore where she and her husband, Grant, raise livestock including pigs, cattle, chickens and goats. In addition to producing their own food, the Estrades sell their product — as well as the products of other local farmers — directly from their Metairie shop, Laughing Buddha Nursery. On a recent Tuesday, Estrade had nearly 100 items available from more than a dozen local producers: eggs and a wide variety of pork

products from their own farm; steak and lamb from Opelousas, shrimp and fish from Montegut; beets, eggplant and okra from Mississippi; as well as locally produced jelly, cream cheese, pasta, mushrooms and more. Like Hill and Bordes, they’ve seen retail business skyrocket since March. “It’s been bonkers,” Estrade says. “Our email list where we communicate what we’re selling for the day has increased by 600 people since COVID began, and our sales in May were up 175% from the previous year.” But why has a global pandemic motivated so many New Orleanians to begin shopping locally? It’s part of a national trend, she says. The USDA reported in 2018 that more than half the money Americans spent on food was on meals prepared and eaten away from home — largely at restaurants. Once COVID closed restaurants, consumers had to find their food elsewhere, Estrade says. “I think they went to grocery stores first,” she says, “but I had new customers who were showing up in a panic in March saying the grocery store aisles were empty. So they started buying milk, meat and everything else from us, and if I ran out, I’d usually be able to get more from other local farmers” Estrade says this supply issue in grocery stores across the city and country happened for several reasons. She points to the many cases of largescale food providers being forced to close amid coronavirus outbreaks in their facilities. “That’s not a surprise, right? You have these plants with 6,000 to 8,000 employees on an assembly line working in close quarters. Besides being a human rights issue, that doesn’t seem like a good idea during a pandemic,” she says. She points to Kasad Brothers — a regional slaughterhouse in Mississippi she uses — and its 20 employees as a more responsible option. Even when operations have been able to continue, larger producers were unable to pivot in a changing market. In the case of milk, for example, Estrade says larger dairy producers package their product in two-and-a-half-gallon containers for use by restaurants and schools. But when schools and restaurants closed, they were unable PAGE 16

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 0 2 0

PH OTO BY CHERYL GERBER

O RIG

VOTE NOW

P O

E R S ’

R S ’

R E

I OR I GIN

A R E

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 02 0

B E S T O F NE WO R L E A N S.C O M /2020 Since 1986, Gambit readers have voted for the things they think make the New Orleans area special and unique. And every year we celebrate their choices in our Best of New Orleans® issue. But this year is different from others. The pandemic, the stay-at-home orders, the slow reopening phases may mean it has been a while since you’ve seen some of your favorite New Orleans people, places and things. Despite these uncertain times, our mission will be to continue to support local organizations and businesses through this beloved edition and continue to honor the people and places that you think make our city so great. So even if it’s been a few months since your neighborhood bar has been open or you’ve stepped foot into a restaurant, we still want to hear about those places. Stay healthy, socially distance and cast your votes online for your local favorites. Vote now at bestofneworleans.com/2020

• • • • •

• • • •

FOOD AND DRINK •

• • • • • •

• • • • •

• •

Best new restaurant (opened October 2019 or later) Best place for curbside pickup Best Kenner restaurant Best Metairie Restaurant Best New Orleans restaurant Best Northshore restaurant Best St. Bernard Parish restaurant Best West Bank restaurant Best bakery Best barbecue restaurant Best burger restaurant Best Chinese restaurant

• • • •

• •

•

• •

Best doughnut Best food hall Best French restaurant Best Indian restaurant Best Italian restaurant Best Japanese/sushi restaurant Best Latin American restaurant Best locally owned coffee house Best Louisiana-made food product Best Mexican restaurant Best Middle Eastern/ Mediterranean restaurant Best pizza restaurant Best restaurant for vegetarians/vegans

• • • •

• • •

• • • •

•

• •

Best seafood restaurant Best sno-ball stand Best steakhouse Best Thai restaurant Best traditional Louisiana restaurant Best Vietnamese restaurant Best chef Best gumbo Best fried chicken Best king cake Best outdoor dining Best place for desserts Best place to get frozen desserts Best place to get a po-boy Best place to get boiled seafood Best place to get breakfast/ brunch Best place to get poke Best place to get a sandwich Best place to get tacos Best restaurant for romantic dining Best balcony for dining and drinking Best bar for cocktails Best bar for day drinking

3137 CALHOUN ST. MON - SAT 11-7

•

504-309-4717

CALHOUNTRADINGCO.COM

•

Best sports bar

• • • • • • • • • • •

•

• • •

LOCAL LIFE • • • •

Best nursery/preschool Best grammar school Best high school Best local college/university

Money drawing grid for prosperity for all who view this.

FINE ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES KRATOM • CBD

•

Best beer selection Best casino Best distillery Best dive bar Best dog-friendly bar Best LGBT bar Best gentlemen’s/strip club Best happy hour Best hotel bar Best local brewery Best neighborhood bar Best place to get a bloody mary Best place to get a glass of wine Best place to get a margarita Best place to get a martini Best place to get a traditional Louisiana cocktail Best rooftop bar

•

Spiritual Gift Shop

Incense • Candles • Crystals Jewelry • Tarot Cards Spiritual Supplies • Rootwork

5509 Magazine St. | starwindgifts.com | 504.702.5825

B E S T O F NE WO R L E A N S.C O M /2020 •

• • • • • • • • •

•

• • • •

Best assisted living / retirement community Best art gallery Best golf course Best high school band Best marching group Best Mardi Gras parade Best museum Best nonprofit Best place to get married Best summer camp (virtual or IRL) Best virtual concert or event during COVID-19 Best live music venue Best music artist / band Best theater company Best movie theater

POLITICS •

•

GOODS AND SERVICES •

•

MEDIA •

• • • • • •

Best local investigative reporter Best local radio personality Best local TV news anchor Best local TV station Best local TV sportscaster Best local TV weathercaster Best radio station

Best Congress member from Louisiana Best New Orleans City Council member Best Jefferson Parish Council member Best member of the Louisiana Legislature

• • • • • • • •

Best new retail store (opened October 2019 or later) Best Jefferson neighborhood grocery Best New Orleans neighborhood grocery Best Northshore neighborhood grocery Best antiques store Best bank/credit union Best barbershop Best bicycle shop Best car dealership Best costume store Best day spa Best dry cleaner

• • • • • • • • • • • •

•

• • • •

•

Best florist Best garden store Best hair salon Best health club/fitness studio Best hospital Best hotel Best law firm Best liquor store Best local shop to buy lingerie Best locally owned bookstore Best locally owned bridal shop Best locally owned children’s store Best locally owned jewelry store Best locally owned kitchen design store Best locally owned men’s clothing store Best locally owned music store Best locally owned pharmacy Best locally owned shoe store Best locally owned women’s boutique Best pet boarding/day care business Best pet grooming business

ARE YOU THE

BEST

NEW ORLEANS?

LET THE CITY KNOW!

PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS CONTACT Sandy Stein TODAY! 504.483.3150 sandys@gambitweekly.com

• •

Best place to buy adult toys Best place to buy CBD oil products

•

Best place to buy eyewear

•

Best place to buy a gift

•

• •

Best locally owned store for home decor / accents Best locally owned furniture store Best place to buy vintage / consignment furniture Best store for vintage / consignment clothing Best place to buy wine Best place to get a manicure/ pedicure

•

Best place to get a massage

•

Best place to get waxed

•

Best real estate office

•

Best smoke shop

•

Best tattoo/piercing parlor

•

Best thrift store

•

Best vape shop

•

Best veterinary/animal clinic

•

Best yoga studio

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 0 2 0

BEST of NEW ORLEANS 2020

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 02 0

COVER STORY

| DIGGIN’ IT

PAGE 13

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

Grow Dat Youth Farm cultivates produce on its seven-acre site in New Orleans City Park.

P R OV I D E D B Y G E O R G E B A R I S I C H

Fisherman George Barisich works in St. Bernard Parish.

to change their packaging to meet demand at grocery stores. “Individual consumers don’t want two-and-a-half gallon containers of milk,” she says. Most important, Estrade believes, is that consumers want to buy food from someone they can trust. “Our customers don’t know whoever owns that factory farm in California or Mexico, and they don’t know how many people have handled their food,” she says. “But they know me and they can look me in the eyes and can ask me about my values. They trust that I’m selling healthy and high-quality food, because they know that’s what I eat and that’s what I care about.”

She says local farmers are more likely to be conservative with their chemical use and are more likely to use cover crops to capture carbon and protect against chemical run-off into waterways. Growing food near where it’s eaten can also cut down on the carbon emissions it takes to drive produce across the country. “As Louisianians, we see the damage these actions have on our planet, our health and on our economy,” Green says. “Local farmers care about Louisiana and don’t want to add to things like the Gulf of Mexico’s dead zone or sea-level rise. We want to help stop them.”

The real cost of food

Green believes it’s urgent that we produce and eat more local food, but acknowledges that accessing and affording this food can be challenging for many lower-income New Orleanians. Still, she doesn’t believe farmers can — or should be expected to — charge less money for their products. “Local farmers want everyone to have access to fresh and healthy food,” she says, “but they shouldn’t need to accept less than a living wage to make that happen, and they shouldn’t have to resort to paying their team less than a living wage, either. Gill of Bellegarde Bakery says locally produced food should be subsidized to make it affordable, and argues that when industrial farms are allowed to hire low-wage migrant labor and have them work in substandard conditions, that is a form of subsidy (“It’s called ‘corporate welfare’ ” he says) that local producers shouldn’t be expected to compete against. But Gill says it’s also up to consumers to stop supporting these systems. “Maybe you’ll save a dollar buying that California tomato at Sysco instead of from a local farmer,” he says, “but what is the cost of that dollar? The health impact, the environmental impact, the human rights impact, the way we treat animals — if we don’t pay the money for quality food now, we’re going to pay for it in other ways later. There’s no getting around it.” Grow Dat Youth Farm executive director Devon Turner believes her organization and other local nonprofits can help solve the problem of access. She says as many as 35% of New Orleanians find themselves without access to fresh food — up from 25% before the pandemic. Grow Dat attempts to bring healthy, locally grown food to these residents

If there’s one consistent complaint about local food that frustrates producers, it’s that it’s bougie and costs too much “Maybe we should replace the word ‘cost’ with ‘value,’ ” says Graison Gill, the owner of Bellegarde Bakery, which was forced to temporarily close due to the loss of revenue during coronavirus. “Maybe we should be talking about what we’re getting in return for that higher price, and what the cost is if we continue to eat from the industrial food system.” For many in the food industry, the greatest value local food adds is to the health of those who eat their products. George Barisich is a shrimper and oyster farmer in St. Bernard Parish who struggles to compete against imported shrimp, which now makes up more than 92% of the U.S. market. “You go into a grocery store in Louisiana and you’re still going to see lots of shrimp from China, Thailand and India,” he says. “But, gosh, you don’t want to know how they raise those shrimp — tons cramped in one pond, and they’re dumping hormones and antibiotics on them just to keep them alive. Yeah, it’s cheaper, but do you really want to put all that in your body?” Margee Green is the Executive Director of SPROUT NOLA, where she trains and supports local farmers so they can earn a living wage selling fresh and healthy food to New Orleanians. In addition to the health benefits of eating local food, she says local farming is also beneficial to the environment. “All farmers should be businesspeople and environmentalists,” she says, “but when factory farms are spraying fertilizer and pesticides recklessly over their crops, that’s not being a good environmentalist.”

Grow Dat

by using fundraising dollars and volunteer labor. Turner says there are two ways in which they try to address this inaccessibility to healthy food. First, they donate nearly a third of the produce they grow on their seven-acre farm in City Park to vulnerable New Orleanians. Second, they have a youth leadership program that’s trained more than 320 young New Orleanians about farming, leadership and the workings of the local food system. “That’s the work that makes us unique,” Turner says. “We’re preparing new leaders to take on food-related challenges in their home communities, and our hope is that will result in a lot more healthy food for a lot more people.”

The consumer decides

“Eating locally means more than just going into a local bakery and buying a baguette,” Gill says. “It’s almost meaningless when those ingredients are from somewhere else, because the only thing local you’re paying for is payroll. If we purchase food made with local ingredients — all of that money is going back to the local economy. We all need to be smarter consumers.” For those looking to purchase local food, producers like Hill’s Makin’ Groceries Market, Estrade’s Local Cooling Farms, Bordes’ JV Foods and Turners’ Grow Dat Youth Farm all offer online order forms. Similarly, consumers can contact local farmers and talk to them about purchasing food directly. Estrade says it’s hard to plan for the future without knowing how consumers will respond when COVID is under control and larger food systems return to normal. “We’ve gained 600 new customers, but does that mean we should raise more pigs?” she asks. “It’ll take months before they’re ready for slaughter and who knows how many of these customers stick with us after the pandemic is gone. We hope it’s a lot, but we don’t know yet.” Hill is hopeful. He says he fell in love with farming because he’s passionate about connecting with his neighbors and introducing them to fresh and healthy food they may have never known was accessible to them. “That’s something far away industrial food systems can’t do very well,” he says. “But I live in the same city as you. You can come to my farm, or I can bring produce to your door. This is a chance to remind people where their food comes from, and that’s very exciting.”

The right Stuph

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

New Plume PLUME ALGIERS, a new restaurant serving regional Indian dishes, officially opened last week in Algiers Point. After traveling together in India, chef Tyler Stuart and Merritt Coscia started to do restaurant pop-ups in New Orleans as Thali Llama. They

Get beignets with sweet and savory fillings at Stuph’D in Bywater BY B E T H D ’A D D O N O STUPH’D, A WELCOMING CAFE run by

three formidable New Orleans women, chef/owner Duana Lawrence, her mother, Ellen Williams, and her daughter, Dionne Lewis, has a new address. Situated in Gentilly since 2017, the restaurant relocated and reopened at 3325 St. Claude Ave. on July 17. The restaurant’s specialties are sweet and savory stuffed beignets and burgers. “When the owner (in Gentilly) put the building up for sale in May, we decided to take a little time off and look for another location,” Lawrence says. The spot, formerly occupied by Polly’s Cafe, has a homey vibe that seemed like a good fit, she explains. “Our regular customers always comment on our family feel, that they feel at home with us. That’s who we are.” Lawrence stylzed the spelling of Stuph’D, but it still sums up what she makes: fried-to-order pillows of dough packed with Creole crawfish, grilled chicken, fried shrimp, barbecued “beeph” or other fillings. There also are house specials such as a Philly cheese steak beignet with grilled steak, fried onions and oozing cheese; the Creole queen bursts with a juicy saute of crawfish, crabmeat and shrimp; and the hot sausage beignet has crumbled patties and melted American cheese. There are two beignets to an order. Sweet beignets come with the traditional dusting of powdered sugar, or filled with caramelized apples, holiday-worthy sweet potato pie, crushed Oreos or New Yorkstyle cheesecake. Burgers are filled with the likes of mushrooms, Swiss cheese, jalapenos and bacon. Wing

fans can order wings with a variety of sauces, including Buffalo and teriyaki. House-made lemonade and strawberry lemonade also can be ordered “Stuph’D” — as in spiked with booze. For breakfast and brunch, there’s fried biscuits, a riff on pancakes with the layered, flaky texture of biscuits. Grits are served with a slab of fried catfish or as “gritstoufee,” smothered with crawfish etouffee. Menu prices are $6 to $13 for beignet duos. Oversized beef and turkey burgers and sandwiches are in the $8.50 to $12.95 range, and five wings go for $6. Dessert beignets are $3 to $7.50. Friday specials include fried seafood po-boys for $10.50 and a seafood platter for $19.50. Lawrence recalls the moment when the idea of stuffing a beignet came to her. “We were on a pier in California and my daughter ordered strawberry shortcake funnel cake — which seemed like a stuffed beignet to me. I figured, why not give that a try.” She had never run a restaurant. A job at Steak Escape at Lakeside Shopping Center was her only foray into food service. So Lawrence worked at perfecting her idea with feedback from family tastings. With the help of her cousin Jeffrey Cole-

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

Dionne Lewis, Duana Lawrence and Ellen Williams run Stuph’D Beignets & Burgers on St. Claude Avenue.

man in the kitchen, Stuph’D came together, first as a pop-up in the back of Legend’s Food & Spirits in MidCity in 2016, and then on Franklin Avenue the following year. Her new location is a bright, open space, painted orange on the outside and decorated with an eye-popping mural called “Beignet City,” painted by 7th Ward artist Journey Allen. Although the restaurant could seat about 50 customers, with current COVID-19 rules in place, Lawrence plans to take orders by phone or in person, and have curbside pick-up for now. While she acknowledges that opening any kind of venture during the pandemic is risky, Lawrence remains optimistic. “Maybe I’m naive, but I’m really excited about opening,” she says. “I hope it’s not just wishful thinking, but I’m feeling really positive about our new home.”

? WHAT Stuph’D

WHERE 3325 St. Claude Ave., (504) 459-4571; @get_stuphd on Instagram

WHEN 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sun.

HOW Takeout only

CHECK IT OUT Beignets with savory and sweet fillings and more

P H OTO B Y S I M O N B E R R Y / S I B P H OTO G R A P H Y

Plume Algiers serves regional Indian dishes.

served regional Indian dishes at bars including The Crown & Anchor in their neighborhood in Algiers. They also did more formal pop-up meals at Carrollton Market, where they met, and where Stuart had been the restaurant’s sous chef. They bought a building at 1113 Teche St. in Algiers Point in January and renovated the space. The menu includes a handful of dishes they learned while traveling. There is a large tandoor oven in the kitchen which they use to prepare goat and lamb specials. Kozhi pidi is a spicy fried chicken stew with coconut dumplings. Recheado shrimp salad is one of the seafood dishes they learned in the southern Indian coastal area near Goa. The Plume Algiers version uses chilled Gulf shrimp, cucumber, tamarind, papaya and appam, a fermented coconut pancake. Some dishes have less traditional roots. From a northeastern area on the border with China, they found an Indian adaptation of chow mein, with stir-fried noodles, charred green beans, carrots, green chilies and toasted sesame. Mushroom kothu roti is an Indian adaptation of a dish, but Stuart learned to make it at a restaurant in London. The menu also includes vegetarian dishes, fried rice with ginger, garlic and mustard seeds, and naan served with garlic ghee. For dessert, there is a mango pie with a salted gingerbread crust. PAGE 18

17 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 0 2 0

EATDRINK

FORK CENTER

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 02 0

EAT+DRINK PAGE 17

Because of the pandemic, food currently is available by calling ahead or walking up for pickup. Their original plan was to offer fast casual service, with diners ordering at the bar. There also are six stools at a food bar, which when the pandemic is over, they will use for chef’s tasting menu dinners on Friday and Saturday nights. Plume is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. for dinner Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, visit plumealgiers.com. — WILL COVIELLO

taproom manager Amber Gunn. She estimates that 80 beers have been released this year. The brewery also is working on spiked seltzers. Since the beginning of June, it’s released two flavors per week. The latest duo includes Aloha Punch, with pineapple, orange and cherry, and POG, with passionfruit, orange and guava juices. Urban South released a Black is Beautiful imperial stout in early July. Its version is made with Hey Coffee Co. coffee and coconut milk. The

Not so sours URBAN SOUTH BREWERY recently released the first beers in a line of fruit-packed sours in flavors that sound more like popsicles. There’s a watermelon-strawberry brew and a mango-banana-passionfruit. The beers were developed by Urban South’s Houston brewmaster, and they’re among a host of new releases being offered by the taproom at Urban South in the Lower Garden District, which had to discontinue some offerings due to the pandemic restrictions imposed by the city on Saturday, July 25. The new fruity beers are part of the brewery’s Spilled series, which employ much more fruit, and even fruit pulp, than a normal sour beer. Some also have higher alcohol levels, at 7% to 8%, than typical sours. And while they’re not without tart elements, they’re sweet for beers, and thicker bodied from the fruit content. Urban South’s Houston brewmaster David Ohmer started the series there in March, and the New Orleans location recently introduced them, currently available in 16-ounce crowlers. In recent weeks, the taproom also had started offering beer slushies, icy combinations of beer and fruit juice that are poured out of slushy machines. The addition of simple syrup allows them to maintain their consistency, even if stored in a freezer. Though the slushies were available in freezer bags, they’re unavailable under current pandemic restrictions. The taproom initially reopened on June 13, but it has reverted to pickup service only. The brewery introduced two IPAs last week. Kia Ora is an IPA made with New Zealand hops, and Vera Cruz is a West Coast-style IPA with more bitter notes. Urban South had been planning on celebrating its 4th anniversary in March with a host of new releases. When that rollout was pre-empted by the pandemic, the brewery produced many beers only available for pickup from the taproom, says

P H OTO B Y E R I C A S E E M A N N

Urban South released a fruit-heavy sour beer made with watermelon and strawberry.

basic recipe was created by Marcus Baskerville of Weathered Souls Brewing Company in San Antonio. He invited breweries to release a Black is Beautiful beer and donate profits to a local organization fighting racism or working for social justice and inclusivity. Urban South will donate to the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP), which offers mentoring, education and job training programs for underserved youth. — WILL COVIELLO

Lombard support WHEN ACTIVIST RUDY LOMBARD DIED of pancreatic cancer in 2014,

the stories that filled newspapers recounted his extraordinary civil rights work as a co-founder of the Congress of Racial Equality, as a leader of lunch counter sit-ins in New Orleans and as a Freedom Rider. The list of his accomplishments in the fight for racial equality was so long and varied that his role in publishing a cookbook seemed to pale in comparison. But “Creole Feast: 15 Master Chefs of New Orleans Reveal Their Secrets” by Lombard and Nathaniel Burton was not just any cookbook. Edited by the late Pulitzer Prizewinning novelist Toni Morrison, published in 1978 and recently reprinted by the University of New Orleans

Press, “Creole Feast” was part of Lombard’s work as an activist, spotlighting the achievements of 15 Black chefs who were experts in what the world knows now as New Orleans cooking. Leah Chase of Dooky Chase; Austin Leslie of Chez Helene; Louis Evans of the Caribbean Room; Louise Joshua and Letitia Parker of the Bon Ton Cafe — their contributions all appear in the cookbook, along with brief bios, recipes and the chefs’ personal culinary secrets. “Creole Feast” is a grand survey of New Orleans food, with recipes for appetizers, seafood, meats, soups, sauces, breads and dessert. There are directions for oysters Rockefeller, Creole turtle soup, trout meuniere, gumbo z’herbes, grillades, stuffed mirlitons, bread pudding and more. There also are tips for the home chef. For flavorful gumbo, take the advice of Chase and add a little stew meat to the pot. For fried chicken, listen to the grease in the frying pan, Leslie said. Lombard, a New Orleans native, was living in Chicago when he became ill, said his youngest sibling Edwin Lombard, a judge on the state 4th Circuit Court of Appeal. “He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and we started talking about putting out a second Creole cookbook. ... [W]e hadn’t gotten far when Rudy passed,” Edwin Lombard said. “That’s when I became determined to have the original book reissued because it was out of print.” The new edition of “Creole Feast” includes a foreword by the late Leah Chase, which she wrote in 2017. In it, she addresses the reason Rudy Lombard compiled the book. “I don’t think anybody fully understood what he was trying to do,” Chase wrote. “Rudy was smart as a whip, and he had great vision. This book was more than recipes and more than a cookbook: It shows who is really behind the doors of all these big restaurants in New Orleans.” That was Chase’s way of saying that Black cooks worked behind the scenes to compose menus, many according to the way they cooked at home. Few had formal training. Recipes are simple and straightforward, yet rich in flavor and tradition. In his introduction, Rudy Lombard compares the creativity of New Orleans’ renowned Black chefs to the improvisational genius of jazz musicians and notes the mentorship of older Black cooks who were usually ignored in the press. In 1978, the former Freedom Rider saw glimmers of progress in the way Black chefs finally were being acknowledged. “The change is a modest one, and the paucity of positive images is still

with us,” Lombard wrote, “but every now and then one comes across newspaper articles about a Black chef or cook.” With its reissue in paperback, another generation has access to the wellspring of New Orleans cooking that serves up a “Creole Feast.” — R. STEPHANIE BRUNO/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

Gendusa reboots Italian Market THINGS HAVE BEEN MOVING FAST

for Troy Gendusa. In June, he watched his Kenner restaurant Gendusa’s Italian Market go up in flames. Six weeks later, he reopened the restaurant in a new home a few steps away in Kenner’s Rivertown. But before the doors opened to the public, Gendusa set out a meal of gratitude. The first people to eat at this new Gendusa’s Italian Market were Kenner first responders, whom he invited for a meal on the house over the weekend. “I’ve always had an appreciation for those people,” Gendusa says. “I know it’s their job. But they put their lives on the line for people who don’t even know their names.” The new home is at 325 Williams Blvd., in what was previously the bakery cafe Fleur de Lily. This new spot is a cottage surrounded by a white picket fence, with a front porch and patio for outdoor dining. It has a full bar and can seat three times the number of people the old spot fit. Gendusa is a former commercial fisherman who got into the restaurant business with Gendusa’s Italian Market in 2015. It was drawn up as a specialty food store, but customers gravitated to the kitchen specials, and the business evolved into a restaurant. In his new home, Gendusa is bringing back some of the market idea. There’s a bank of dessert cases up front, lined with Italian cookies and cannoli, and jars of honey from the hives he keeps. The menu includes the Tuesday Cuban sandwich special, a tribute to the chef’s Cuban mother-in-law. Fire investigators determined that the June 16 fire was started by pork roasts left to cook overnight for the special. “I guess it’s notorious now,” Gendusa said. Gendusa’s Italian Market is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. — IAN McNULTY/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

EAT+DRINK

Melissa Martin Chef/author

LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED

not justeaypotuhrrill ordinary cashter storytellers

MELISSA MARTIN GREW UP IN CAJUN CULTURE around the fishing

town of Chauvin. Her professional life has been built around food, cooking at restaurants, catering gigs, relief efforts and more. She started a pop-up and developed it into a restaurant of the same name, Mosquito Supper Club (which is temporarily closed). She recently released a cookbook about her life in Cajun culture and food, “Mosquito Supper Club — Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou.”

How did you come to write a cookbook? MELISSA MARTIN: Part of the experience of coming to the restaurant is that I tell stories and try to talk to people about the reality in south Louisiana right now — environmentally, culturally. We debunk Cajun myths and serve this food I grew up eating. I thought that was needed because I didn’t feel great about the options when people would ask, “Where can we get Cajun food in New Orleans?” I would say, “Nowhere.” I grew up in a fishing village. I want people to understand where their food comes from. More than anything, my work has been about being able to support fishermen and farmers — being able to serve the best ingredients I can. We broke the book down in seafood chapters so we can talk about the life of a fisherman, how shrimp get sold, how to get good shrimp. We do the same with local oysters. We talk about the problems in the industry and possible solutions. We talk about coastal erosion and the loss of the bayou, both metaphorically and physically. With that comes loss of tradition and culture. I pay tribute to the women. They were the people who were cooking. They were in the kitchen. The women held together what to me is the center and the heart of Cajun culture, and that is the table and food.

How do you think Cajun culture has been misrepresented? M: In New Orleans, it’s the tours — getting on a bus and going out

P H OTO B Y D E N N Y C U L B E R T

to feed marshmallows to alligators. You see the word Cajun on so many trinkets in shops on Bourbon Street. The term is being used interchangeably with Creole, which it shouldn’t be. On a food level, everything is spicy. Well, that’s not true either. Even Creole spice is false. I don’t think it can be all bundled up together, but we do season our food. (In my hometown) people didn’t get modern with their Cajun food. They’re still cooking it the same way. It’s sort of frozen in time. Maybe there’s a faster technique for this or that, but it’s the same food that’s passed down.

How has the pandemic affected the restaurant? M: March 14 was last day as we knew it. Pre-COVID. We transitioned and cooked with Feed the Frontline. My sous chef did every one of those meals because she wanted to work by herself because of COVID. Then we cooked to-go food, until we could operate at 50% capacity. We opened our dining room until last Saturday, when we closed to take a break and to reassess. We were running at the speed of lightning, and trying on all these different hats — all these different business models. And really, that just costs you a ton of money. We landed on this new business model which isn’t family-style seating — two seatings and just 12 people; and we spread them out all over the restaurant. What was Mosquito before will never be again. It used to be people seated family style, passing around platters of food. I can’t see that happening again or when people will be happy doing that again. — WILL COVIELLO

award winning m

NEW ORLEANS FAVORITE WALKING TOURS

GHOST & VAMPIRE TOURS

6PM & 8PM NIGHTLY Come on - get out of the house, have some fun, enjoy a cocktail and learn some really c ool stuff about your City !

LOCAL SPECIAL Enter GAMBIT in the promo code box for an additional

10% DISCOUNT TOURS BEGIN FROM

THE VOODOO LOUNGE

718 N

RAMPART FRENCHQUARTERPHANTOMS.COM (504) 666- 8300

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 0 2 0

3-COURSE INTERVIEW

OUT EAT TO

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 02 0

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 $$ — $11 to $20 $$$ — $21 or more

BYWATER

CITYWIDE

Luna Libre — 3600 St. Claude Ave., (504) 237-1284 — Roasted chicken enchiladas verde are filled with cheese, hand-rolled and served with special house-made cheese dip. The menu combines Tex-Mex and dishes from Louisiana and Arkansas. Curbside pickup is available. B Sat-Sun, D Wed-Sun. $

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. $

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. $$ Eat Well — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; www.pythianmarket.com — Phoritto is a spinach tortilla filled with brisket, chicken or tofu, plus bean sprouts, jalapenos, onions and basil and is served with a cup of broth. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $ Kais — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (941) 481-9599; www.pythianmarket. com — A Sunshine bowl includes salmon, corn, mango, green onions, edamame, pickled ginger, ponzu spicy mayonnaise, cilantro, masago and nori strips. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $$ 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. $ 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. $$ Willie Mae’s — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; www.williemaesnola.com — The Creole soul food restaurant is known for its fried chicken, red beans and more. Takeout available. L and D Mon-Sat. $

CARROLLTON/UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOODS Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; 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. $$ Pyramids Cafe — 3151 Calhoun St., (504) 861-9602 — Diners will find Mediterranean cuisine featuring such favorites as shawarma prepared on a rotisserie. Takeout and delivery available. L, D daily. $$

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

HARAHAN/JEFFERSON/ RIVER RIDGE 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. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L, D Tue-Sat. $

LAKEVIEW 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. $ 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. $$

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. $$$ 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. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; www.theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

includes salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza and more. Curbside pickup and delivery are available. Service daily. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; www.theospizza. com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Willie Mae’s Scotch House — 2401 St. Ann St., (504) 822-9503; www.williemaesnola. com — This neighborhood restaurant is known for its wet-battered fried chicken. Green beans come with rice and gravy. There’s bread pudding for dessert. No reservations. L Mon-Fri. $$

MID-CITY/TREME

Joey K’s — 3001 Magazine St., (504) 891-0997; www.joeyksrestaurant.com — This casual eatery serves fried seafood platters, salads, sandwiches and Creole favorites such as red beans and rice. Sauteed trout Tchoupitoulas is topped with shrimp and crabmeat and served with vegetables and potatoes. Takeout and delivery available. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; www.theospizza. com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; www.angelobrocatoicecream.com — This sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ice, cannolis, fig cookies and other treats. Window and curbside pickup. L, D Tue-Sun. $ Brown Butter Southern Kitchen & Bar — 231 N. Carrollton Ave., Suite C, (504) 609-3871; 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. Takeout and delivery available. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; www.katiesinmidcity.com — Favorites at this Mid-City restaurant include the Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, grilled ham, cheese and pickles pressed on buttered bread. The Boudreaux pizza is topped with cochon de lait, spinach, red onions, roasted garlic, scallions and olive oil. There also are salads, burgers and Italian dishes. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D Tue-Sun. $$ 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

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

UPTOWN

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 and delivery are available. Mon-Sat. $$ 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. $

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. $$$ Specialty Italian Bistro — 2330 Belle Chasse Hwy., Gretna, (504) 391-1090; www. specialtyitalianbistro.com — The menu combines Old World Italian favorites and pizza. Chicken piccata is a paneed chicken breast topped with lemon-caper piccata sauce served with angel hair pasta, salad and garlic cheese bread. Takeout and delivery available. Service daily. $$

e Scoop With Us! Com

Take

WWNO

with you wherever you go. Download the App Today

ABBOTT’S FROZEN CUSTARD IS HIRING! We are looking for team members and managers to be a part of the historic French Quarter grand opening. Please apply online at www.abbottscustard.com/ employment Questions and inquiries may be directed to NOLA@abbottscustard.com

New Orleans Public Radio • wwno.org

New Orleans H O M E

+ STYLE + DESIGN

New Orleans

N + DESIG STYLE HOME + 020 AU G US T 2

inside

EXPR ESSI

TS V E ACCEN

ER’S A PULITZ P. 4 // A LEX

M A LONE P. 12 // HOME // R ATTA N HOME P. 8

TIPS P. 18 P. 16 // DECOR

Gambit Details showcases how New Orleanians love to intersect classic style with the eclectic, while introducing our readers to some of our city’s unique retailers, designers and creators.

I S S U E DAT E

R E S E R V E S PAC E

SEPT 1

AUG 21

CALL NOW CALL FOR SPECIAL OFFER Ad Director Sandy Stein 504.483.3150 or sstein@gambitweekly.com *SCARBOROUGH CUME RESEARCH: NEW ORLEANS, LA 2019 RELEASE 2 (AU G 201 8 -S EPTEM B ER 201 9)

MUSIC

Orchestrating with care BY KEITH SPERA SOON AFTER LEGENDARY NEW ORLEANS JAZZ PIANIST and educator Ellis

Marsalis Jr. died of coronavirus at age 85 on April 1, a sign appeared in the window of Peaches Records on Magazine Street. It read, “Thank you Ellis Marsalis for keeping NOLA music alive.” That notion resonated with trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, one of Ellis’ six sons. “He was always interested in helping and teaching youngsters,” Delfeayo says of his father. “People would call him and he would very seldom turn down an opportunity to be supportive.” In that spirit, Delfeayo Marsalis has launched a P H OTO B Y M I C H A E L D E M O C K E R / T H E T I M E S nonprofit, Keep NOLA MuP I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E sic Alive (KNOMA), to aid New Orleans musicians affected Since the coronavirus shutdown by the coronavirus pandemic. commenced in March, the Uptown The organization’s website, Jazz Orchestra has only performed knoma.org, recently went live. twice. In June, the 18 musicians The fundraising campaign was socially distanced themselves in the set to kickoff off Sunday, Aug. 2, vast main room of Esplanade Stuwith a livestream performance by dios, housed in a former church on Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Esplanade Avenue. One day, they Jazz Orchestra with guest vocalist livestreamed a concert broadcast Tonya Boyd-Cannon. It also was by the legendary Blue Note jazz dubbed “Double-Nickel Birthday club in New York. The next day, Bash,” marking Delfeayo’s they taped a performance for the 55th birthday. Niagara Jazz Festival’s “Summer The fund is intended for profesMardi Gras” online event. sional musicians who were born Marsalis’ “Double-Nickel Birthday in New Orleans or are longtime Bash” is the Uptown Jazz Orchesresidents; they must apply through tra’s third gig in four months. the KNOMA website. The fund also “The band was in such good spiroffers grants starting at $250 to its after we played in June,” he says. other types of culture bearers, such “That’s the part of not having gigs as second-line dancers. we miss the most. The money part “We want culture bearers to feel is what it is. But something happens the importance of what they do,” when you have a group of folks Marsalis says. “I’ve always had the together onstage.” ultimate respect for street musiAs evidenced by “Jazz Party,” cians and the brass bands. This is a the CD the Uptown Jazz Orchestra good opportunity for us not only to released early this year, the band come together as a musical comhas tapped into the celebratory munity, but help folks.” tradition of New Orleans music. Marsalis hopes the project “We started off with what you excan build camaraderie in the pect of a jazz orchestra, with charts music community. and proficiency,” Marsalis says. “We “This is not just looking to get still can take you into the abyss, names and send a check,” he says. but we’re trying not to be there too “This is a long-range project. We’re long. Now the goal is more about looking to grow relationships with having a good time. musicians and work together to “That’s what the country needs. keep New Orleans music alive.” When we’re on the other side of For years, the Uptown Jazz this (pandemic), it’s not going to be Orchestra has done just that, cramall gloom and doom. They’re going ming more than a dozen musicians, to need New Orleans musicians. both veterans and young players, Our tradition and legacy is uplifting onto the tiny stage at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro every Wednesday night. people spiritually.”

21 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 0 2 0

Now Hiring!

FILM

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > Au g u st 4 - 1 0 > 2 02 0

tell your ISSUE Story

All Back to School advertisers will receive a B U S I N E S S/S C H O O L F E AT U R E in this issue. ONE PHOTO AND UP TO 100 WORDS SPACE RESERVATION

CALL TODAY

ISSUE DATE

AUGUST 11

Ad Director Sandy Stein 504.483.3150 or sstein@gambitweekly.com

We opened our doors in February, and getting the word out about our new company has been crucial to our survival. Gambit’s “Adopt a Small Business” initiative has been invaluable. We are so grateful to the Gambit for their support of small businesses like ours, our wonderful customers who “adopted” our business, and the Gambit readers who #drinklocal!

Meagen Moreland-Taliancich Co-Founder | Chief Brand Officer Happy Raptor Distilling, LLC happyraptor.com SHARE YOUR GAMBIT STORY

EMAIL VIP@GAMBITWEEKLY.COM

To Adopt-a-Small Business, visit

BESTOFNEWORLEANS.COM/SHOPSMALL

On the case BY WILL COVIELLO RECENT SUPREME COURT DECISIONS, such as an

overturned Louisiana law restricting abortion and affirmation of anti-discrimination protections for transgender people, have been covered in the media often less for their details than as defeats or victories for President Donald Trump and conservative or liberal wings of the court. The cases often emanate from or have crucial impact on people not involved in politics or with access to power. “The Fight,” a new documentary featuring a handful of ACLU lawyers, connects the dots from the plaintiffs to the courts’ vaunted chambers. The attorneys represent people trapped at airports following Trump’s 2017 Muslim bans, immigrants separated from their children at the border and a transgender soldier pushed out of the military after 12 years of service. Attorney Brigitte Amiri defends the right to access to abortion for a 17-year-old who’s in the custody of immigration enforcement, arguing before Justice Brett Kavanaugh at an appeals court panel in Washington, D.C., in 2017. Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants Rights Project, battles the so-called Muslim ban. Dale Ho argues against the Trump administration’s attempt to place a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census. Many of the film’s most memorable scenes involve immigrants and parents’ descriptions of being separated from their children. In one case, a plaintiff, who comes to be known as the namesake Ms. L in Ms. L v ICE, is a non-English-speaking mother from the Democratic Republic of Congo who recounts through a translator how her 7-year-old daughter realized before she did that they were being separated. There’s also an entertaining scene of a government lawyer not enjoying being deposed by Amiri. Many cases in the film are related to the core issues of Trump’s appeal to his followers, such as denying asylum and lowering immigration and restricting access to abortion. The ACLU is not portrayed as an anti-Trump group. It has been reviled by liberals for advocating for the rights of Nazis to march in public.

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

Voting rights advocate Dale Ho prepares for a case at the Supreme Court.

There was a famous case of the ACLU defending Nazis’ rights to march in Indiana in 1977, but the film also includes the Unite the Right march in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. The ACLU went to court to protect the white supremacists’ rights. After violence ensued and a Unite the Right activist killed a woman by driving into anti-racist protesters, the organization struggled with its role. The film includes footage of former Louisiana legislator and Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke at the Charlottesville rally, saying, “We’re going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump.” ACLU leaders discuss the group’s position and the brushback. ACLU lawyers are accustomed to being vilified. Most of the attorneys in the film read hate mail and voicemails they have received. The heated politics on the streets and airwaves seem a world apart from the courtrooms, where the lawyers get into complicated arguments about legal procedure and technical aspects of the law, class action certifications and more. The film was completed before the recent spate of Supreme Court cases, but it was clearly a prescient project for directors Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman and Eli Despres. Voting rights lawyer Ho acknowledges that a nonprofit group of lawyers can only do so much vis-à-vis the powers of the political parties. The film has tense drama, as several Davids face Goliath in D.C., but beyond the outcomes of cases, there’s an ominous sense of the way politics is weighing on the scales of justice. ”The Fight” is available from Magnolia Pictures via a link from the website of The Broad Theater.

GORGEOUS HOMES IN HISTORIC 7TH WARD CENTER HALL COTTAGE Renovation just comW NE pleted. High Ceilings, Beautiful Original Pine Floors, Double Parlor w/ Pocket Doors, Elegantly Appointed Kitchen. Wide Lot (83ft) w/ a Large Side Yard. Parking for 3 or 4 cars. Conveniently located between the French Quarter & City Park/Fairgrounds! $599,000 E IC PR

C E L E B R AT I N G 1 0 C O N S E C U T I V E M O N T H S O F MORE THAN A MILLION IN CLOSED SALES

(504) 895-4663

PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE MAKE JOKES

By Frank A. Longo 33 Large African antelope 36 Pianist Schiff 37 Request to your Accord when you need to get somewhere in a hurry? 42 Triton’s realms 43 Snake noise 47 — Lingus 48 Traffic jam 50 Funny 52 Color ranges 56 City where the Model 3 is produced? 59 Adjust 60 Land in eau 62 Raggedy — 63 Tripled trio 64 Why you don’t want to

give up your beloved Q7? 70 Has food 71 Sparkly stone 72 From long ago: Abbr. 73 Once-big news agcy. 74 “Silkwood” co-star 78 Declaration when a Regal stalls in traffic? 82 VIP roster 86 London loc. 87 Clink dweller 88 Shire of “Rocky” 89 Charger being dismantled for scrap metal? 94 Permitted 96 San — (city WSW of Sacramento)

97 Unceasingly 99 Up to, in brief 100 Pace 101 Don of talk radio 104 Things provided by joyrides in a Grand Cherokee? 109 Crude shed 111 Knightly title 112 Caulk, e.g. 113 Action words used in Continental ads? 119 Forest hooter 122 Rapa — (Easter Island) 123 Large city in Nebraska 124 Put a wheel boot on a Mustang? 128 Cato’s language 129 Ocean east of Fla. 130 Burn balm 131 Main course 132 Nerve cell projections 133 Pekoe, e.g. 134 Oxen connector 135 Vocalizes Alpine-style DOWN 1 Mischievous 2 Just so 3 Chipping tool 4 Was ill with 5 Gabor and Longoria 6 Pack of cards 7 Suffix with depart 8 “Mazel —!” 9 Schumer and Sedaris of comedy 10 Pueblo tribe 11 Trues up 12 Make a choice 13 Pull-out part of a range 14 — Bill (Old West folk hero) 15 Somalian supermodel 16 Astros pitcher Greinke 17 Rigatoni relative 18 Et — (and more) 24 Lofty 25 Stranded cellular stuff 30 NBAer Pau 32 Gap-creating gizmos 34 NSFW part 35 Joins up 38 D.C. subway 39 Goof up 40 65% or so, gradewise

GARDEN DISTRICT OFFICE 2016 & 2017

W NE

G TIN LIS

ABR, CRS, GRI, SFR, SRS

41 Vienna’s nation: Abbr. 43 Cracker brand of old 44 Holy likeness 45 Equivalent 46 Louver piece 49 Physics Nobelist Max 51 — -pedi (spa option) 52 NSFW part 53 “Guilty,” e.g. 54 Louisiane, par exemple 55 Mann of pop 57 “Gemini Man” director Lee 58 Acting instinctively, informally 61 Long- — (rangy) 65 E followers 66 Capital of South Vietnam 67 “Ltd.” cousin 68 Winning by a point 69 Salsa, say 74 White wine 75 Fiery realm 76 Pennsylvania city 77 Use a book 78 Texter’s “ciao” 79 Sturm — Drang 80 Backdrops 81 Flight unit 82 Slightly open 83 Moon, in Italy 84 Research ctr.

85 — -Ball 90 “Entrapment” director Jon 91 Headwear in the title of the first Ellery Queen mystery 92 FBI’s govt. division 93 “Gosh!” 95 — degree 98 Print quality abbr. 102 Gen. Assembly procedure for a resolution 103 McCartney of fashion 105 Medium gait 106 “The Raven” maiden 107 Hardy’s pal 108 Declines 109 Bank offers 110 Munic. law 113 Dancer Falana 114 Huge-screen format 115 Defense gp. 116 Facial feature 117 Yrly. gift-giving occasion 118 Aviate alone 120 Milk serum 121 Jokey Jay 125 Asian pan 126 Born, to Fifi 127 Co. bringing bouquets

ANSWERS FOR LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE: P 2

PUZZLES

ACROSS 1 Yearned (for) 7 Zion National Park locale 11 Fracas 14 Domino’s order 19 Colorado River tribe 20 Quarterback Tony 21 Bible book after Exod. 22 PC letter 23 Bought an expensive Camaro? 26 Desert plants 27 “— all true!” 28 Hit the slopes 29 Crooning while standing atop a Rio? 31 Glimpses

UPSCALE NEWLY BUILT DUPLEX! Downstairs 3 Beds/2 Baths as well as a 1 Bed/1 Bath MIL suite. Upstairs is a 3 Bed/2 Bath unit + large loft & 2 Car Parking. Beautiful Pine Hardwood ﬂoors thru out & high end bathrooms. Kitchens include Gorgeous granite counters & ss appls. Upstairs unit has lrg Wrap Around Balcony. Downstairs includes a large backyard. $699,000

TOP PRODUCER

504-777-1773 • MICHAEL@NOLASTYLES.COM Engel & Völkers New Orleans • +1 504-875-3555 722 Martin Behrman Avenue • Metairie, LA 70005 ©2020 Each brokerage independently owned and operated. Licensed in Louisiana. Data from RDS October 2019=July 2020.

1723-25 COLUMBUS STREET

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > AU G U S T 4 - 1 0 > 2 0 2 0

1637 N. TONTI STREET