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BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
Alesia
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ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
Something to say
Benjamin Booker releases new album ‘Lower’
BENJAMIN BOOKER ISN’T REALLY A “LOOK AT ME” KIND OF PERSON, the New Orleans-based musician says. He’s fine with being quiet.
“I know this job is a ‘look at me’ kind of job, and I don’t know what it’ll be like in the future, but in between albums, I’m totally fine not seeing anybody for years,” Booker says with a laugh.
It was about seven years between Booker’s last album, the well-received soul-rock album “Witness,” and “Lower,” his recently released third fulllength album. And it had been about the same amount of time since he’d played a live show. But with the January release of “Lower,” Booker is ready to be heard again.
Booker has spent the last month or so playing across the country, and he wraps up this tour in New Orleans with a show Friday, March 7, at Siberia.
In 2018, Booker was kicking around Los Angeles after finishing up the album cycle for his sophomore record, “Witness,” and was starting to think about what was next. Critically lauded, the album of gritty garage rock, blues and soul was released on ATO Records and featured an appearance by rhythm and blues legend Mavis Staples. But Booker had a sound in his head that he wanted and didn’t think he had gotten there on “Witness.”
“The last time I was making a record, it kind of felt like a transitional record. I had the songs and stuff, [but] I didn’t really have the skill at the time to make the album that I made [with ‘Lower’],” Booker says. “So there was a long time of kind of trying to get to a certain place and make a certain kind of music. I just didn’t have the goods to do it.”
So for the next few years, Booker patiently pushed himself to find that sound he wanted. He listened to a range of music, learned new recording techniques and re-wrote songs over and over again. In the middle of it all, there was a global pandemic and Booker relocated to Australia to record his new album. Booker had reached out to producer Kenny Segal to work on his new album. Mostly known for his hip-hop work, Segal has produced projects by rappers Billy Woods, Elucid and Open Mike Eagle. Booker had heard Segal’s work on the Woods album “Hiding Places” and liked the guitars on the album.
“A lot of times when you listen to hiphop, the guitar sounds terrible. It’s like hair metal kind of guitars,” Booker says. “But I could tell [Segal] knew rock. He
by Jake Clapp |
somebody whispering in your ear. I wanted a peaceful vocal with all of this kind of noise and distortion and heavy drumming going on around you. To me, that’s how life feels sometimes — I’m this small individual and the universe is blowing by me.” Booker was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and grew up in Tampa, Florida, where he became part of the local punk community and started learning guitar. After graduating in 2012 from the University of Florida, he found a job with a nonprofit in New Orleans and relocated to the city.
Gasa Gasa reopens
Beloved Freret Street music venue
Gasa Gasa is getting another shot of life under new ownership that includes original founders Micah Burns and Reid Martin along with talent buyer Lindsey Baker, David Willis and Brad Moore. The venue throws a re-opening party Friday, March 7, with a show by Boyfriend backed by members of The Revivalists. The weekend also includes a One Direction dance party on Saturday, March 8, and more shows are filling up the March calendar. Friday’s re-opening show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $57.81 via gasagasanola.com.
Katt Williams
grew up as like a Nine Inch Nails kind of kid, then eventually went into drum and bass and then eventually into hip-hop.”
That mix of influences from both Booker and Segal can be heard on “Lower.” On his new album, Booker hits on a unique mix of distorted guitars, left-of-center beats and loops and dark vibes. It’s an evolution from Booker’s past two albums — although, he doesn’t see it as that far of a departure.
Live, “we were kind of wondering how [old music] would work with the new stuff,” Booker says. “But to be honest, the new stuff is not that different from the old stuff. Stylistically, it’s different, but sonically, it’s still the same sounds. It’s still distortion and me singing.”
Lyrically, Booker explores a range of weighty topics, from race, poverty and the surveillance state to exploring sexuality and pushing against artistic expectations, delivered with a raspy voice that’s low and soft. After having a child, Booker began singing lullabies to help his daughter sleep, so when he began recording the songs on “Lower,” his voice fell into the soft style.
“The music is very chaotic, and I was going for a feeling of peace in chaos,” Booker says. “I wanted to have this kind of intimate, not overly processed or reverb-y but very dry (style), like
He started writing more music and in 2012 self-released “Waiting Ones,” an EP of blues-influenced folk-punk. One of the tracks, “Have You Seen My Son,” made its way onto SiriusXM, and Booker began to gain some notice. Around that time, Booker was invited by The Deslondes’ Sam Doores and Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Alynda Segarra to sing with them at what was then Mimi’s in the Marigny, giving Booker encouragement to start playing around town.
By 2014, Booker had signed to ATO Records, toured with Jack White, appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and been featured in Rolling Stone — all before his first fulllength album had landed that August. Booker’s follow-up, “Witness,” was met with an equal amount of excitement and heavy touring. But with “Lower” — which has been featured by NPR, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and numerous other outlets — Booker seems happy to take his time. He released the album on his own label, Fire Next Time Records.
“The whole point of the album is it’s an album for me,” Booker says. “I was just trying to do something where I didn’t have to make any compromises.” Tickets for the Siberia show are $24.92 via dice.fm. Find more about Booker at benjamin-booker.com.
Katt Williams has appeared in many films, breaking out in “Friday After Next,” and TV shows, including numerous seasons of “Wild ’n Out.” But stand-up comedy has always been the foundation of his work, and he released his 12th special, “Woke Foke,” on Netflix last year. He performs at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at Smoothie King Center. Tickets are $59 and up via ticketmaster.com.
Foster the People
The indie pop band Foster the People broke out with the song “Pumped Up Kicks,” which went viral in 2010 and then pushed the album “Torches” up the Billboard charts in 2011, collectively garnering three Grammy nominations. The band hasn’t had a single rocket to that success since, though the group has continued to put out records, most recently “Paradise State of Mind” last year. Synth pop band Good Neighbours opens at 8 p.m. Monday, March 3, at The Fillmore. Find tickets via fillmorenola.com.
Robert Earl Keen
With songs like “The Party Never Ends” and “Gringo Honeymoon,” Robert Earl Keen was set to tour forever, and that was before “Merry
Gasa Gasa
PHOTO BY WILL COVIELLO / GAMBIT
Benjamin Booker
PROVIDED PHOTO BY TRENITY THOMAS
OPENING GAMBIT
The Clownfsh is really gonna try and recreate the Jindal years, huh?
THUMBS UP/ THUMBS DOWN
The Southern Eye Bank Foundation, which supports vision care for south Louisiana residents, gave a $136,000 grant to New Orleans radio station WRBH 88.3 FM to repair its transmission line. A bullet hit WBRH’s transmission line in 2023, reducing its service area to just Orleans Parish, but now, it’s back to its full 90-mile radius.
Republicans on the Public Service Commission voted to remove Democratic commissioner Davante Lewis from his role as vice chair. The vote came in response to Lewis calling Gov. Jeff Landry an asshole on social media after Landry compared conspiracy theorist HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. to Dr. Rachel Levine, a former assistant secretary of health and frequent target of conservatives because she is transgender. While Republicans clutched their pearls at Lewis’ language, they were unmoved by commissioner Mike Francis later calling Lewis an asshole.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is weighing whether to close Bourbon Street of to cars
NEW ORLEANS MAYOR LATOYA
CANTRELL HAS TOLD ALLIES she’s weighing whether to close Bourbon Street off to vehicles following the New Year’s terror attack and is expected to make that decision after Mardi Gras.
French Quarter Management
District Commissioner Christian Pendleton said at a board Security and Enforcement Committee meeting Monday that the mayor brought up the topic at a private meeting she called before the Super Bowl.
shut down Bourbon Street to vehicles 24/7 but that they acknowledged the possibility of creating a window for it to open for things like trash and delivery services.
The French Quarter Management District has opposed the idea in the past, and on Monday members brought up concerns about how making Bourbon a full-time pedestrian mall could affect the ability of firefighters, police and other services to access the street in emergencies.
67
THE NUMBER OF YEARS SINCE THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS FIRST OPENED ITS DOORS.
The school welcomed its first students in 1958, two years after the Louisiana state legislature voted to bring tax-supported higher education to the New Orleans area. It was the South’s first integrated public university and offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.
C’EST WHAT ?
What should New Orleans give up for Lent this year?
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality asked the Trump administration to stop the process of giving a historic district designation to an 11-mile stretch of St. John the Baptist Parish. The designation, which had been in the works since October, would have given the historically Black area more protections from industrial development and pollution.
“She said, ‘The question is: How safe does everyone want to be, and how much are you willing to sacrifice to be that safe?’ ” said Pendleton, who is also the general manager of French Quarter restaurant Brennan’s.
The New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation contracted with consulting firm Teneo to advise on public safety in the city after the attack.
Pendleton said at the meeting Teneo’s recommendation was to completely
However, Pendleton said it wasn’t the board’s decision to make and seemed doubtful they’d be able to sway Cantrell.
“I don’t want to paint everything with a broad brush, but I got the sense that the mayor is going to make a call, and she really didn’t give much of a damn what anybody had to say,” he said. “That was her mood that day in that meeting.”
Commissioner Glade Bilby said the mayor also asked if she could have
13.2%
JEFF LANDRY
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, right, speaks as Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry listens during a press conference.
PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
a show of hands of people in favor of making Bourbon Street a pedestrian mall. He said nobody at the meeting raised their hand.
According to Pendleton, the mayor also said that if the city were to turn Bourbon into a full-time pedestrian mall, then Royal Street would no longer be a pedestrian mall. Currently, Royal is supposed to close to vehicle traffic from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.
Erin Holmes, executive director of neighborhood group Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents, & Associates (VCPORA), said the mayor should consider input from people who live, work and own businesses in the Quarter before making such a big change.
“While I respect that they wanted to have a quick conversation, it cannot be continuously done in such a way that it is an invitation-only, secret club conversation,” Holmes said.
Ethan Ellestad from the Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans (MaCCNO) — a nonprofit that advocates for musicians, street performers
and others — said he was frustrated but not surprised that performers had been left out of the conversation so far.
“If this decision is going to be made, if there’s not widespread sort of input, I’m sure there’s going to be significant pushback ... from a lot of people who feel that it’s going to impact them and they had no say in the decision,” he said.
New Orleans City Council President JP Morrell said turning Bourbon Street into a pedestrian mall permanently would require action by the council.
— Kaylee Poche
Dooky Chase’s Restaurant wins 2025 James Beard Foundation America’s Classics award
DOOKY CHASE’S RESTAURANT IS AMONG six winners of the James Beard Foundation’s America’s Classics award.
America’s Classics awards recognize independent restaurants, particularly long-standing ones, that are notable contributors to their community’s food, culture and traditions.
The foundation noted, “Dooky Chase’s restaurant has been a cornerstone of Creole cuisine and Black American culture for over eight decades.” It also noted the leadership of chef/owner Leah Chase, the role the restaurant played in hosting civil rights leaders and their organizing meetings, and Leah Chase’s collection of art by Black artists.
The award will be presented at the James Beard Foundation awards gala in Chicago on June 16. The gala also is when Beard winners are announced for chef, restaurant and bar categories. Beard Awards are among the most prestigious awards for culinary achievement in the U.S.
You’re free to live your lifeout loud! Becauseyou’ve gotthe compassionof the cross, the securityofthe shield, and the comfortofBlue behind you.
Dooky Chase’s Restaurant.
PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
Previous America’s Classics winners include Willie Mae Seaton’s Scotch House in 2005 and Dong Phuong Bakery in 2018.
The other 2025 winners are Lem’s Bar-B-Q in Chicago, The Pioneer Saloon in Ketchum, Idaho, Sullivan’s Castle Island in Boston, Lucky Wishbone in Anchorage, Alaska, and Gaido’s in Galveston, Texas. — Will Coviello
New Orleans City Council
strips Cantrell’s travel budget over financial crisis claims
THE NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL
UNANIMOUSLY VOTED THURSDAY to strip Mayor LaToya Cantrell and her staff of their travel budgets through April 30, in response to her administration’s claim that the city is facing a financial crisis.
Council President JP Morrell authored the ordinance, which prohibits using city money on “non-essential travel” by city officials and employees — including the council — and takes effect immediately. Exceptions include travel for legal proceedings, existing contracts, funded fully by the state or federal government or that would “cause a direct and material harm to the financial wellbeing of the City” if not completed.
The ordinance also prevents city officials and employees from spending city money on renting vehicles, dinners and other entertainment.
The Cantrell administration started claiming the city was having money problems in January when they informed the council they intended to back out of a deal made between the city and the school board last fall.
However, when pressed by the council, the administration has yet to provide proof of such a budget shortfall.
“What we’ve requested repeatedly is that we need a plan from the administration on how we’re going to cut costs to meet the deficit, as well as what the receipts are for (if) that deficit actually exists,” Morrell said.
There will be a public council meeting in March or April with the Revenue Estimating Committee to further discuss the city’s finances.
Morrell warned that if the city provides evidence it is strapped for cash, further cuts would be likely.
“This will not be the last thing we probably have to do to cut costs,”
he said. “There could be some conversations about how we have to reduce costs in departments based upon what that deficit may or may not be.”— Kaylee Poche
Louisiana officials urge measles vaccination after outbreak in Texas killed a child
AS NEIGHBORING TEXAS FACES A GROWING MEASLES OUTBREAK that killed an unvaccinated child Tuesday night, two top Louisiana officials who are physicians are encouraging residents to get vaccinated against the disease.
Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a gastroenterologist from Baton Rouge who worked on hepatitis B vaccination efforts before entering politics, noted in a social media post Tuesday that a measles alert was issued in San Antonio, east of where the outbreak originated.
In a press call, Cassidy said the measles outbreak “is moving across the I-10, and it’s now in San Antonio, which means it’s moving to us.”
“By golly, if it’s coming down the I-10, it’s gonna be in Houston, it’s gonna be in Lake Charles,” he said. “It’s gonna be in Laffy and Baton Rouge, and then it’s gonna go up the I-49 to Shreveport.”
Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham, also a physician, said in a social media post Tuesday that “LDH
is on alert and ready to respond if the virus spreads to Louisiana.”
“The measles vaccine (known as MMR) has proven to be safe and effective, and I recommend it to my patients,” he said. “Adults and children should consider getting the vaccine if they haven’t already received it. Be sure to talk to your doctor before making that decision.”
The measles death is the first in the U.S. since 2015, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of Thursday, no measles cases have been reported in Louisiana this year.
Last year there were a total of three measles cases in Louisiana and a total of 285 nationwide, according to preliminary CDC data. In 2023, there were no measles cases in Louisiana and a total of 59 nationwide.
Measles, a respiratory virus, “is one of the most contagious of all infectious diseases,” according to the CDC. “Up to 9 out of 10 susceptible people with close contact to a measles patient will develop measles.”
It is “uncommon” for someone fully vaccinated against measles to contract the infection, the CDC says. “Two doses of MMR vaccine are 97% effective at preventing measles, 1 dose is 93% effective.”
Mayor LaToya Cantrell in January
PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
Measles can spread airborne or via infectious droplets, and symptoms typically show up seven to 14 days after infection.
Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, pink eye, white spots inside the mouth, and a rash of red spots that begins on the face and then spreads down over the body.
Vaccines and politics
The statements from Cassidy and Abraham on the measles vaccine follow contentious political debates at the local and national levels over vaccine policy.
Cassidy chairs the U.S. Senate committee that confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the country’s top health official. Cassidy publicly voiced concern over statements Kennedy has made questioning the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and unsuccessfully pressed Kennedy to publicly embrace them.
In voting to confirm Kennedy as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, Cassidy said the new health chief and the Trump administration committed to work within current vaccine approval and monitoring systems and maintain current immunization practices, among other promises.
Meanwhile, Abraham, a skeptic of COVID-19 vaccines, on the day of Kennedy’s confirmation issued a formal directive to Louisiana Health Department employees ending the agency’s promotion of long-standing mass vaccination efforts.
The directive says conversations about vaccines “are best had with the individual’s healthcare provider.”
A sign is seen outside a clinic with the South Plains Public Health District Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Brownfield, Texas.
Vaccines won’t be promoted by LDH through parish health units, community health fairs or media campaigns, the memo says, although parish health units will continue to stock vaccines.
Vaccine promotion
Cassidy on Tuesday acknowledged he and Abraham diverge somewhat on vaccine policy.
“He encouraged people to call their physician and to get their child vaccinated through their doctor’s office. I’m OK with that. I love strengthening the patient-physician relationship,” the senator said.
But Cassidy referred to his previous work on Hepatitis B vaccination programs, saying he knows it can sometimes be difficult to get in and see a doctor for a routine vaccination.
“That’s why community health centers are there, and that’s why I favor things like vaccine fairs,” he said.
But Cassidy said that, with respect to both his stance and the surgeon general’s on the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, “there’s no daylight between us.”
“Dr. Cassidy and Dr. Abraham are on the exact same page that your child needs to be vaccinated,” he later added.
In 2019, Cassidy decried the debunked myth that there is a link
PHOTO BY JULIO CORTEZ
To pGetaway s
Handpicked by th eE xperts
between vaccines and autism after that idea, which has its roots in a discredited study, was raised on the senate floor of the State Capitol. There were 1,274 measles cases that year, the largest spike in the U.S. since the early 1990s.
Since becoming Louisiana’s surgeon general, Abraham has railed against many federal and state public health policies.
Talking to state lawmakers last fall about “tyrannical forces” that drove the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Abraham said nearly all government interventions were “ineffective” and “antithetical to the core principles of a free society.”
He also called the patient-doctor relationship “sacred” and argued it should be tighter than even a marriage bond.
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Nonetheless, the February memo Abraham issued to LDH staff about state vaccine policy said the state Office of Public Health plays “an indispensable role in responding to emergent disease outbreaks that may require vaccine promotion as part of the mitigation of the spread of infectious disease.” — Alyse Pfeil / The Times-Picayune
A former judge will run for New Orleans mayor, giving Helena Moreno her first challenge
THE FIELD OF CANDIDATES FIGHTING to succeed LaToya Cantrell as New Orleans’ mayor is growing.
Arthur Hunter, who parlayed a stint as a New Orleans police officer into more than two decades as an Orleans Parish criminal court judge,
becoming known as a champion for public defense, was set to file documents with the state ethics board Thursday declaring his intent to seek the city’s top office.
Hunter finished third in the 2020 race for Orleans Parish district attorney, behind former judge Keva Landrum and the eventual winner, Jason Williams. In a statement, Hunter said he had spoken with more than 300 people and civic groups in making his decision.
“One thing is clear: New Orleans is at a crossroads,” Hunter said. “Our city deserves leadership with both real solutions and a commitment to making our city safer, stronger, and more prosperous for all. I love my city — our city — and am excited to share more with you soon. Stay tuned for a formal announcement.”
Hunter becomes the second candidate with a political resume to seek the mayorship. City Council Vice President Helena Moreno announced her campaign in December and has emerged as an early frontrunner. She amassed a nearly $1 million war chest in 2024, according to ethics documents filed last week.
Hunter had $680 in his campaign account at the end of 2024, records show.
Until Hunter’s decision, Moreno had faced no significant challenges to her candidacy.
Council member and political veteran Oliver Thomas has hired campaign consultants and is expected to enter the race, too, though he has not officially announced a campaign.
Data from the University of New Orleans’ Quality of Life Survey suggests voters are weary of the current mayor’s leadership and that Cantrell is not receiving credit for strides residents believe New Orleans has made.
Satisfaction with life in the Crescent City has rebounded dramatically in recent years, in tandem with steep declines in crime, according to this year’s survey results.
Yet Cantrell’s approval ratings remain anemic: Just 33% of respondents to this year’s survey viewed the current mayor’s performance favorably — a minor improvement from Cantrell’s 31% approval rating in 2022, which came on the heels of a devastating hurricane and the fallout of COVID-19.
Cantrell, who has faced a series of scandals including a federal investigation, is term-limited and is set to leave office in January of 2026. — James Finn
Arthur Hunter PROVIDED PHOTO
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BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN™
@GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com
Hey Blake,
A sign at the foot of the Earhart Expressway calls it the Sen. Francis E. “Hank” Lauricella Memorial Expressway. When was that added?
Dear reader,
FRANCIS “HANK” LAURICELLA WAS AN INFLUENTIAL LOUISIANA LAWMAKER for more than three decades, as well as a successful real estate developer and college football legend.
Born in Harahan in 1930, Lauricella was a star athlete at Holy Cross. He was recruited by the University of Tennessee, whereas an All-American tailback he led the Volunteers to a 10-1 season during his junior year. The Vols went undefeated in his senior year, won the SEC title and were named national champions.
Lauricella, a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, played one year of professional football for the Dallas Texans. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, among other honors.
After serving in the Korean War, Lauricella joined his family’s real estate business, John L. Lauricella and Sons, which helped develop Jefferson Parish. Later called Lauricella Land Co., its projects include much of Elmwood and the Manhattan West Shopping Center.
Hank Lauricella was elected to the Louisiana Legislature in 1964, representing Jefferson Parish in the
BLAKE VIEW
House of Representatives and later the Senate for 32 years. He also served on the commission which established the Superdome.
Lauricella died in 2014. In 2018, the state legislature added his name to the Earhart Expressway, giving it the honorary name of the Francis E. “Hank” Lauricella Memorial Expressway.
At a ceremony in 2020, thenJefferson Parish President Mike Yenni called it a fitting tribute since Lauricella was the political architect of the five-mile stretch of Earhart Expressway, which links parts of Jefferson and Orleans parishes.
MARCH MARKS THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST RECORDING BY THE BOSWELL SISTERS, the New Orleans-based singing trio whose brand of jazz vocal harmony earned them international fame in the 1920s and ’30s, inspiring performers such as the Andrews Sisters and Ella Fitzgerald.
Although the Boswell Sisters are closely associated with New Orleans and launched their careers here, they were born elsewhere. Martha and Constance, known as Connie or Connee, were born in Kansas City, Missouri, and Helvetia, known as Vet, was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Their father, a former vaudeville performer, moved the family to uptown New Orleans in 1914.
According to the Historic New Orleans Collection, music was a constant presence in the girls’ lives. They all learned to perform and sing, becoming local celebrities by the early 1920s, performing at the Saenger, Palace and Orpheum theaters and appearing on local radio at the dawn of the jazz age.
In March 1925, the Boswell sisters recorded their first songs, “I’m Gonna Cry (Cryin’ Blues)” and “Nights When I Am Lonely,” at Werlein’s music store on Canal Street. Martha was 19, Connee was 17 and Vet was 13 years old. That same year, a vaudeville talent agent saw them perform at the Orpheum and signed them to a contract. The trio began appearing at venues across the country as well as on national radio. By 1934, CBS had given them their own radio show, and they had made dozens of recordings with musicians including Bing Crosby, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and the Dorsey Brothers.
They toured Europe and appeared in several films before splitting up in 1936. Connee Boswell continued as a solo performer. She died in 1976. Her sister Martha died in 1958, while Vet died in 1988.
The Earhart Expressway FILE PHOTO BY TED JACKSON
TO HERE
STAY
A f er a budget de f cit and layo f s , is the University of New Orleans ready for a comeback?
BY SARAH RAVITS
EVEN FROM AN EARLY AGE, Otis Taylor excelled in science and was always curious about how things worked. He was especially interested in infrastructure and buildings, he says, and his mother, herself an architect, encouraged him to explore engineering.
“She was like, ‘You’d be doing some of the same things (as an architect), but you’ll get paid,’ ” he says.
Taylor would often tag along with her at architectural job sites when childcare was hard to come by. He was a fast learner and loved absorbing knowledge, figuring out how to use 3D computer design programs like AutoCAD, in between reading books, building elaborate sets out of LEGOs and going to the zoo.
A bright student, when Taylor was getting ready to graduate as valedictorian of New Orleans Charter Science & Math School, the offers and acceptance letters came rolling in from universities around the country.
While he had plenty of schools to choose from, one stood out for the Uptown native: the University of New Orleans.
Given the school’s robust science, tech, engineering and math (STEM) programs, attending UNO would also mean being able to stay close to family and friends. Plus, thanks to a scholarship from the state’s Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (Ed. Note: no relation to Otis Taylor), which covers tuition for Louisiana students who meet a certain GPA to attend public colleges in state, it was the most affordable.
In the end, it was an easy decision for Otis Taylor.
“I’m from New Orleans, and I’ve always been here,” he says. “UNO is accessible for a lot of people, and it’s more affordable than other schools ... it offers great opportunities.”
For generations of New Orleanians, UNO has been a go-to, affordable option for students seeking four-year degrees, graduate degrees and research opportunities, all for a fraction of the cost of private or out-of-state universities. The school has churned out an impressive list of notable alumni, including the late musician Ellis
Marsalis, civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, shipyard magnate Boysie Bollinger and former Gambit owner and editor Clancy DuBos.
Unfortunately, over the last two decades the school has been in a tough spot, due to a variety of factors ranging from Hurricane Katrina to former Gov. Bobby Jindal’s cuts to higher education. With enrollment levels collapsing and the university in dire straits financially, it wasn’t clear even a year ago whether UNO could remain viable.
But after a painful series of budget cuts and furloughs, the school seems to be getting back on track. And while some of the lesser enrolled-in programs are still being monitored, overall enrollment is has increased, its books are getting back in order, and the school is even expanding its STEM course offerings to include an undergraduate degree in neuroscience.
“I wouldn’t have come to this university if I didn’t believe in it,” says Dr. Kathy Johnson, the university’s president, who took the helm in
2023. “It plays too important of a role in this region, and it’s an amazing place to live.”
Originally called Louisiana State University in New Orleans, UNO was part of the LSU system when it was established in 1956 after the state legislature passed a law to bring affordable higher education to New Orleans.
When the school opened two years later, it was the South’s first racially integrated public university. Over the years, it grew steadily into a viable four-year institution, primarily attracting middle class residents of all backgrounds and giving students a chance at upward economic mobility when they came from more modest means. By the late 1960s, it was the second-largest university in the state. And it remains the only public urban research university in Louisiana, with opportunities for students in liberal arts, hospitality, and STEM programs — just to name a few.
UNO “historically has been responsible for creating the middle
The University of New Orleans campus PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
class of the New Orleans region, and that’s more important than ever,” says Michael Hecht, the president of GNO, Inc., a regional nonprofit focused on economic development that partners with the university. “This is a place that brings opportunity to our residents.”
But recently the university has sustained some major blows and is currently focused on “righting the ship,” says Johnson.
UNO took its first big hit nearly 20 years ago when Hurricane Katrina devastated huge swaths of the city, including the university’s lakefront campus. Enrollment dropped from about 17,000 to about 6,000, and it never fully bounced back, reflecting the city’s own population loss.
Then, in the early years after the storm, Gov. Bobby Jindal took office and swiftly gutted state funding for higher education in 2008. The move reversed decades of bipartisan efforts to support Louisiana’s universities and draw in students from out of state.
In 2011, the school was moved out of the LSU system and into the University of Louisiana (UL) system. Enrollment grew until the Covid pandemic and Hurricane Ida hit. It reached 8,400 in 2020 but dropped to 7,953 in 2021 and 7,112 in 2022.
UNO received a boost in the form of federal dollars to keep its doors open and operating during the pandemic. But when those funds dried up, it was clear the school was in need of some more serious changes, as operational costs also were increasing.
When Johnson was hired as university president in the fall of 2023, she inherited budgetary woes that had been largely unaddressed for years.
“The deficit existed prior to the pandemic and had probably been building up for at least eight or nine years,” she says.
When she started working at the university, she began looking closely at the budget. She said the situation was “more dire” than
she anticipated. UNO had a $10 million deficit.
With enrollment on a decline, one of her main goals has been to increase the student population to bring in money to help fund the university.
“There’s no priority more important to me right now than strengthening our enrollment because honestly, it generates the money that we need to run our research endeavors to basically help the university stay healthy and whole,” Johnson told the Times-Picayune in 2023.
But addressing the budget hole also meant she had to make cuts.
“I own the structural deficit,” Johnson told Gambit last month. “I was hired to address it ... We’ve incurred longer-term debt that we’re trying to manage. That’s the hardest thing, and it’s been very difficult work to lead the changes in order to right-size the budget.”
It all seemed to come to a head in early January, when 30 or so staffers were laid off and dozens of
others were placed on mandatory, tiered furloughs for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends in July.
The school also implemented a hiring and spending freeze, in addition to eliminating more than 60 vacant positions and those deemed “nonessential.” Furloughs do not impact tenured professors, HB1 visa holders and workers fully funded by grants, nor athletic contracts.
The cuts came as a shock to many at the school and in the community.
“I’m pretty darn involved, and I had no idea the financial situation and how dire it was,” says Connie Phelps, the longtime Louisiana and Special Collections librarian and president of the Faculty Senate. Phelps says the sudden decisions created obvious tension between faculty and the administration.
“Anytime you have a budget cut like this and the drastic measures that are needed, you’re going to have tension,” she told Gambit.
“The faculty wanted to be involved. And some things are moving so quickly there’s no way to involve the
Prospective students and their families tour the University of New Orleans in 2024
PHOTO BY JOHN MCCUSKER / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
faculty at the level they want to be involved.”
In the weeks since the layoffs and furloughs were announced, Phelps says the administration has been meeting with the faculty more often and working to smooth things over.
“I think there are people who have talked about leaving, but there are people who are quite sure we’re going to get through this,” she says. “There’s some growing pains, but we all want to get through it.”
Meanwhile, the administration seems to think the worst is over.
Adam Norris, a spokesperson for the school, says they are focused on “raising revenues and reducing costs before the end of the fiscal year so that no additional reductions are needed in the fiscal year beginning July 1.”
“I want to emphasize that not only is this agonizing work, it’s work that should have been done a long time ago,” Johnson told Gambit. “I’m trying to do everything in my power to make sure we’re done (with cuts) and can go back to operating with stability.”
Already, there’s been some sparks of hope, Johnson says. In the fall of 2024, the school saw a 60% increase in transfer student enrollment and an overall 20% boost in enrollment for incoming freshmen.
Last month, the school ranked in the top 10% nationwide according to Social Mobility Index, which measures how successful institutions are in boosting low-income students into the middle class within five years of graduating.
Johnson calls these all “promising signs.”
But there remains a significant need for financial support from both the state and federal government, in
addition to private donations to help get the university back on track.
When the state legislative session begins April 14, lawmakers will decide how much money to allocate to the Board of Regents, which will divvy up funds for the state’s public universities, including UNO.
State Rep. Aimee Freeman, a New Orleans Democrat and self-described budget hawk, says lawmakers should keep in mind how important UNO is to New Orleans and Louisiana as a whole. They should be thinking about how to reduce “brain drain,” the ongoing problem of young talent leaving the state to pursue educational and career opportunities elsewhere.
“I think if we’re going to bring the state out of 49th place in a lot of things, we have to educate people who are here and give them the opportunity to stay here,” Freeman says. “If our mission is to keep growing the economy, that’s what universities do. They grow the economy because they produce smart people.”
The Louisiana Illuminator reported last month that for the first time in 15 years, UNO has hired lobbyists to advocate for the school at the federal level in Washington, D.C. Those lobbyists are paid by the privately funded University of New Orleans Foundation.
Johnson hopes this will help UNO get more federal money for research so it can keep its status as an R2 university. To maintain that designation from the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions as a university with “high research activity,” UNO needs to spend $5 million annually on research. It regularly exceeds that amount, but
State Rep. Matt Willard’s district includes UNO. The legislature will meet next month and determine the budget, which affects public higher education.
PHOTO BY HILARY SCHEINUK / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
the school wants to reiterate just how important that work is.
State Rep. Matthew Willard, a New Orleans Democrat whose district encompasses the university, is skeptical federal help will come given the current political climate.
“It’s hard to believe the federal government is going to step in at this point with everything going on up there,” he told Gambit. “But I hope that’s the case.”
At the state level, however, Willard hopes to hear a more detailed account of how much exactly is needed from university officials so he can rally for support in Baton Rouge.
And even though he expects some pushback for higher public education as a whole, he points out that UNO is in a unique position, in that it has “plenty of bipartisan” supporters in the legislature.
“We have a good amount of UNO alumni (in the legislature) to where we could make this a credible ask,” he says.
Looking forward, Willard also wants to make sure UNO doesn’t end up in this spot again.
“We can’t just go to the legislators and say, ‘They’re having a bad year,’ ” he says. “We have to explain, for the sake of transparency, how did we get here, and how do we make sure we don’t end up in the same spot?”
Julie Stokes, a former Republican state lawmaker who was named as UNO’s Distinguished Alumnus of the year in 2017, serves on the University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors. She helps manage nine of the public universities that fall under the UL system.
She says the university is vital for the lower-income and middle-class students in the New Orleans metro area.
“UNO must be fixed and saved,” she says. “It’s the only affordable option (for four-year degrees) within the New Orleans metro area. Not everybody that needs to get a lower-cost public education can drive an hour, both ways, to go to the other schools here. It’s absolutely essential.”
“UNO built the middle class,” she adds. “And it’s not finished with that mission.”
Not only does the university provide opportunity for residents who can’t afford higher education elsewhere, it also has programs for people who can’t go to school full time or simultaneously raising families. It also offers rare programs, like its naval architecture and marine engineering school.
And many of its programs are designed specifically for residents who work in the industries that are the backbone of New Orleans, one example being its School of
Otis Taylor, the engineering student who is set to graduate in 2026, has seized that opportunity.
This summer, he’ll be working at a paid internship that will give him both energy policy experience and more technical experience, through the university’s Wind Scholarship program.
He’s also involved in doing outreach at local high schools, hoping to connect with aspiring engineers like him.
He remembers when he was in high school, and UNO brought faculty and leaders in the engineering industry in to talk to him and his classmates about their programs.
“Clubs and organizations come and do science exhibits and show (high school students) what to do with our degrees and interact with people in our industry,” he says. “That was a good experience, and that helped me come here.”
Johnson says these are exactly the kinds of programs she hopes to expand in the coming years. Once the fiscal year ends, she’s hoping to raise money from local partners to fund paid internships.
Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration.
With federal and state funding up in the air, the school also is heavily relying on its public-private partnerships.
GNO, Inc., for example, has been working to connect students at the school with industry professionals so they have work opportunities once they graduate.
Over at The Beach, a research and tech park on UNO’s campus, dozens of start-ups and small businesses rent space and “contribute to the university,” according to Johnson.
“It’s an incubator for academic-industry partnerships, and that’s priceless at this time,” she says.
“There’s a strong group of faculty and staf who are commited to the students, and to the university and want us to succeed. It’s going to be very helpful in geting us through this.”
“We have a huge opportunity to do paid internships for our students, especially those who have unmet financial needs,” she says. “I want every student to graduate without being able to avoid an internship, research, or service ... We should be capitalizing on this and making sure they have good experiences and can grow as professionals.”
But, she adds, “I need dollars to do that.”
Connie Phelps, the longtime librarian and president of the Faculty Senate, says while the budget cuts and layoffs have been an obvious hardship, the remaining staff is committed to the school and providing young people with resources to succeed into adulthood.
The furloughs have been tough, but those affected have been rallying to get through the remainder of the fiscal year.
“There’s a strong group of faculty and staff who are committed to the students, and to the university and want us to succeed,” she says.
“It’s going to be very helpful in getting us through this.”
Stokes, the UNO alumna on the UL board, says she is going to keep fighting for UNO to get more resources, and considers herself as one of its biggest advocates.
“This university is here to stay,” she says. “It’s got good financial leadership in place, good academic leadership in place and it’s on its comeback story.”
Kathy Johnson, president of the University of New Orleans
PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
— Faculty Senate President Connie Phelps
EAT + DRINK
Japanese vibes
Nikkei izakaya opens at the Broadside by Beth D’Addono |
THE LOCATION OF CHEF WATARU
SAEKI’S NEW RESTAURANT, Nikkei, is a match made in heaven.
Nikkei is styled like an izakaya, a Japanese tavern. Situated at the Broadside, the indoor and outdoor music venue next to The Broad movie theater, Nikkei puts the chef within listening distance of his beloved New Orleans music.
It’s fitting, given that live New Orleans music is the reason he moved here from Japan.
“I loved The Meters and New Orleans music so much, also techno and house music from Detroit,” says Saeki, who was born in Chiba, the region just east of Tokyo.
Although he went to school to be a computer engineer, Saeki loved to cook. He worked at a noodle shop after college to save enough money to move here. It took almost four years, but he arrived in New Orleans in 2003.
“At my age now (46), I don’t have the mentality to make that move, but in my 20s, I didn’t hesitate,” he says.
He got a job working for Hisako “Momo” Young at Ninja on Oak Street, where he learned how to make sushi and practiced his craft. It’s where he met Christina and Dana Honn, who were regulars.
The Honns opened Carmo in the Warehouse District 15 years ago, though it recently shuttered. Seiki wanted to experience something besides Japanese cuisine, so he moved to the Carmo kitchen. He worked there for a decade, and then together the trio launched Nikkei in late November.
The Japanese tavern pays homage to “nikkei,” the term for Japanese immigrant communities, and explores Japanese cuisine using a bounty of Louisiana ingredients.
This new project is an exciting one for all three partners.
“I’d worked with (Broadside) owner Brian (Knighten) before,” Dana Honn says. “I’d had a slow fish event at the cinema. When I had the first meeting about this space, all I could think was izakaya.”
The newly built space is bright and airy, with a long bar and lots of
FORK + CENTER
Email
Late night dining options
THE NEON LIGHTS TRACING THE NAME BUFFA’S LOUNGE give a timeless look outside the longtime tavern and music venue on the border of the French Quarter and Faubourg Marigny. But it’s the word “restaurant” glowing below that marks this as a timely find for people on the prowl for a meal after hours.
Buffa’s (1001 Esplanade Ave.) recently resumed 24-hour service, making its full menu of burgers, deli sandwiches and plates available around the clock. It also added a breakfast menu, aimed both at night owls and early risers, served from midnight to noon (and until 2 p.m. Sundays for jazz brunch).
exposed wood. There’s a turntable for vinyl and a stack of albums that includes the Rebirth Brass Band, the Jazz Vipers and the 79rs Gang. A photo of Fats Domino offers a sense of place, along with art including Japanese-style wood cuts and a handsome pelican portrait.
The bar serves Japanese whiskey, shochu, sake, local draft beer and imported Japanese bottles. House cocktails include a hibiscus margarita and a seasonal old-fashioned.
Fans of Carmo will recognize the chef’s deft hand at work in the Nama/Raw section of the menu.
The Gulf tuna tartare and Peruvian tiradito were in regular rotation at Carmo. The Honns bring in pristine and sustainably sourced fish. And the chef is proud to offer “the very best rice.”
The frequently changing menu includes broiled fish collars with ponzu and aioli. There’s a version of Peruvian nikkei causa, which are chilled whipped potatoes topped with avocado, aioli, boiled egg and a soy-ginger drizzle.
“That’s my daughter Mona’s favorite,” says the chef.
Popular pork and chicken katsu sandwiches feature panko-breaded fried cutlets dressed with cabbage slaw on a brioche bun and are served with pabu (pub) hand-cut fries. Crispy nori tacos, a deep-fried fusion of rice paper and seaweed, are filled with pork, sashimi tuna or mushrooms, and topped with slaw, salsa fresca and house remoulade.
The outstanding Nikkei broil is a plate of Gulf oysters, shrimp or mushrooms with tamari, ginger and herb butter, all topped with melted Havarti cheese.
Everything except for Monday’s ramen special is gluten free, with wheat-free tamari used instead of regular soy sauce.
Monday through Friday, there is a 5-7 p.m. happy hour, and there’s an all-day Tuesday $6 special on drinks, nigiri and hand rolls. It lines up with the Broad Theater’s Tuesday special of $6 tickets.
So far, all parties say they are having fun. Honn promises more special events, like sake tastings and ceviche nights. He is working closely with Broadside general manager and beverage maven Lara Desmond to put together a calendar.
For the chef, who moved nearly 7,000 miles from home to hear New Orleans music, Nikkei is a pitch perfect place to be.
“The way it used to be, graveyard bartenders were always busy. It’s your late-night people and people getting off their own shifts. You’d know everybody at the bar,” says Christy Bagley, Buffa’s manager. “People still need someplace to go, so we’re giving this a shot.”
Buffa’s return to 24-hour service comes after a precipitous drop in late-night dining around New Orleans and across the country. It’s another impact from the pandemic and changes in the restaurant business that have accrued since. Now, more operators say they’re starting to see a stirring of greater afterhours appetites among their customers, and some new restaurants are testing the waters with service until midnight on weekends.
Still, the list of once-legendary late-night New Orleans restaurants that have closed in recent years is as sobering as a bottomless coffee.
That includes the Trolley Stop Café, nearby St. Charles Tavern and Anita’s Grill on Tulane Avenue. Gene’s Po-Boys closed pre-pandemic but adds to the
Buffa’s Bar & Restaurant recently resumed 24-hour service.
PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
Nikkei serves Peruvian-style sashimi (left) and Creole ceviche.
PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
toll. Others that kept famously late hours are gone too, like Mimi’s in the Marigny and Crepes a la Carte by the Tulane University campus.
Beignets and café au lait at any hour was once a hallmark of late-night New Orleans. But now the original Café du Monde in the French Quarter closes at 11 p.m. on weeknights, and midnight on weekends, and across town Morning Call Coffee Stand closes at midnight daily. A sign that once advertised 24-hour service under Morning Call’s iconic coffee cup logo has been edited to “Since 1870.”
The current scarcity of late-night dining may feel at odds with New Orleans’ reputation as a late-night town, but it syncs with a national trend.
Restaurants that had to stop on a dime in the pandemic shutdowns could only reopen in phases, and for many of them, restoring late hours made less sense in the aftermath. Dining habits changed, with people dining out earlier, and many are also drinking less (nationally anyway).
Restaurants and bars also are up against higher costs in everything from staffing to basic supplies. Locally, the insurance crisis has sent property costs skyrocketing. Cutting back the least profitable hours is one tactic to manage expenses.
Inflation has hit everyone’s wallets, including a prime customer base for late-night kitchens: the staff from other restaurants and bars. If they’re feeling less flush, they’re more likely to go home and eat a frozen pizza instead of staying out for a burger and cocktail.
Violent crime rates have been in steep decline in New Orleans and the suburbs alike. But security remains a major concern for many operators. With fewer places open late, some worry that being the outlier with open doors can expose them to more risk.
Cleo’s Mediterranean Cuisine & Grocery (940 Canal St.) is a hub for lighter, healthier fare late night, with shawarma, kebabs, salads and vegetarian dishes. Proprietor Tarek Madkour keeps the kitchen open until at least 5 a.m., reopening again at 10 a.m. He’d like to get back to 24-hour service, though first he’s assessing how safe his staff and customers feel in the span before sunrise.
“Security is a big factor,” he says. “You get the security right, then people will come back.”
Fast food restaurants and the chain diners Waffle House and IHOP may offer ports in the storm for late-night meals, but a closer look can reveal much more local flavor, and perhaps local character, as well as more variety.
Sit-down meals and 24-hour service endure at the classic Clover Grill (900 Bourbon St.), the Tic-Toc Cafe (3205 36th St.) in Metairie and Coffee & … (5024 Westbank Expwy.) in Marrero. Melba’s has made its niche on daiquiris, gumbo, po-boys and bargain breakfast anytime, now at two locations (1525 Elysian Fields Ave. and 3219 Tulane Ave.)
And the area still has its share of late-night staples, from the big bar burgers of the Beachcorner (4905 Canal St.) in Mid-City or the Swamp Room (5400 Veterans Memorial Blvd.) in Metairie, to wings at Fat Harry’s (4333 St. Charles Ave.) and the waffle cheese fries at F&M Patio Bar (4841 Tchoupitoulas St.), where the motto is “the party isn’t over.” Cooter Brown’s Tavern (509 S. Carrollton Ave.) even added a latenight oyster bar to the mix.
But not all late-night eats are casual these days. At Emeril Lagasse’s stylish new den of Portuguese flavor, 34 Restaurant & Bar (710 Baronne St.), the kitchen fields a happy hour menu from 9 to 11 p.m. on Thursdays and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and there’s a D.J. station in the dining room to rev up the vibe as the night grows later. The Wine Bar at Emeril’s, attached to the tasting menu flagship Emeril’s Restaurant (800 Tchoupitoulas St.), also keeps its elegant bar food menu going until 11:30 p.m. on weekends.
Nearby, Morrow Steak (1003 Julia St.) exudes vibe and is open until midnight on weekends (10 p.m. otherwise), much like proprietor Larry Morrow’s Asian fusion spot Sun Chong (240 Decatur St.) in the French Quarter.
Uptown, first-class cocktails and elevated bar food have long been the calling cards at Bouligny Tavern (3641
Magazine St.), the sister restaurant next door to Lilette, where the kitchen is open until midnight or 1 a.m. on weekends.
Tatlo (240 Bourbon St.), an absinthe bar and restaurant inspired by its chef’s witch spirituality, is open until midnight, and until 1 a.m. on the weekends with a modern Filipino menu.
In Metairie, Barcar (601 Metairie Road) switches to a short late-night menu from 10 p.m. to midnight with a few items.
Downtown, a new tavern called Junebug (748 Camp St.) is slated to open in March, promising an elevated take on bar food and late-night hours.
Still, all across the area what were once reliable standbys for late-night or 24-hour service are much more likely to be “playing it by ear,” the term managers consistently use when asked about last call for their kitchens.
The Delachaise (3442 St. Charles Ave.) set a new standard for bar food back in the pre-Katrina era and remains the place to find goose fat fries, hanger steak, frog legs and mussels long after bistros have stacked the chairs on the tables for the night.
Founder Evan Hayes says the challenge is gauging how long to keep the kitchen staffed and running with the variable volume of latenight customers.
“We do have people coming in later and later asking for the menu,” he says. “New Orleans people, when they’re out for an event, they don’t want to go right home. I think that’s starting to come back.” — Ian McNulty / The Times-Picayune
Bouligny Tavern is an upscale lounge that usually serves until at least midnight.
PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
WI NE OF THE WEEK
Coppola Diamond Prosecco
Natasha and Leonard Arthur
Chefs
by Will Coviello
NATASHA AND LEONARD ARTHUR ARE MEMBERS OF THE NAVAJO TRIBE from northern New Mexico in the Four Corners area. After years of visiting New Orleans, they moved here a few years ago and started the pop-up N8tive Grub. Their menu is built around fry bread, and they pop-up regularly at local breweries including Parleaux Beer Lab, Oak Street Brewery and Skeeta Hawk Brewing. Their next pop-up is March 15 at Oak Street. Visit @n8tivegrub on Instagram for information.
Fry bread comes from back in 1864, when the Navajos were forced by the U.S. government to walk 300 miles from Arizona to New Mexico. The U.S. government gave us rations, like flour, salt and baking powder to live off of. We weren’t able to farm. We had to move. So that’s where fry bread comes into play, and we survived off of it.
here for other people to explore. We never worked in restaurants. My husband does the cooking, and I work the register.
Abeautiful prosecco crafted from selectgrapes growninnortheastern Italy. Characterized by exotic fruit and floral aromas, and notes of apple, citrus,and white peach. Enjoyonits own, with ameal, or as an aperitif.
DISTRIBUTED BY
My grandmother, my mom, Leonard’s mom, we all had the recipe. It’s passed down from generations. When we make our dough, we can either use vegetable oil and make fry bread, or we can make tortillas. The dough goes either way.
We will make a stew and dip fry bread in that. Or we’ll make fry bread burgers, or we’ll just eat it with a meal. Some people eat it with just salt, or with powdered sugar and honey to get that sweet taste. I tell people it’s kind of like a beignet, but bigger.
Fry bread is different among the tribes. We went to a powwow in western Louisiana, and their fry bread is very different. Ours is like an 8-inch round bread. Theirs was tiny and thick.
How did you decide to start a pop-up?
A: My husband was a coal miner for 22 years in the Four Corners area. His coal mine shut down. He was like, “Where do you want to go now?” We always visited New Orleans, like two or three times a year. We met different
My daughter moved down with us. She was a vet tech in Farmington (New Mexico). For a while, she worked at an animal hospital in Metairie. Then she decided to use her organic chemistry degree, so she went to work at a brewery. At the brewery, they were talking about pop-ups. We had been talking about a food truck. But the brewery wanted pop-ups, and they gave us a shot. That was at Parleaux Beer Lab in October 2022. We have been doing pop-ups at breweries and off Frenchmen Street ever since.
We have a lot of customers who are familiar with our fry bread. Some of our customers are from Arizona and Utah. They come and get their fry bread fix.
Our pop-up (tent) says New Mexico State University. We’ve been getting known by word of mouth. We get some people from the Four Corners who miss fry bread.
What do you serve at the pop-up?
A: The food we serve is the food we grew up on. Like we’d go to our grandmothers’, and this is the food they cooked. A lot of people in the Four Corners eat this food. We call them fry
menu. When we make our fry bread, flour is the main ingredient. We tried different flours from around here, but it doesn’t give you the same consistency. So we have to get our flour out of Cortez, Colorado. It’s in the Four Corners as well. It’s called Blue Bird Flour. The reason why we use it is because it’s finely ground, and it has high gluten content. We can work with it. It stretches. We have to go back to New Mexico to pick it up, or if we have friends coming, we have them bring some. In December, we went back to New Mexico and came back with four 25-pound bags of flour.
Leonard talked about adding brisket for our fry bread tacos. We just added Frito pie. It’s really familiar in our area. It’s just quick and easy. They’ll serve it at high school basketball games or volleyball games.
Back in New Mexico, nobody likes Fritos. No one eats the chips by themselves. We have Fritos, and we put beans, meat, lettuce, tomatoes and we do our own salsa. We use jalapenos in our salsa. But we brought back hatch chilies. If people want hatch chilies, we’ll put them on there too. New Mexico and Colorado have a thing about whose hatch chilies are better. We’re trying to get used to the spiciness here. In New Mexico, people like things hotter.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY NATASHA ARTHUR
OUT TO EAT
Out to Eat is an index of Gambit contract advertisers. Unless noted, addresses are for New Orleans and all accept credit cards. Updates: Email willc@gambitweekly.com or call (504) 483-3106.
Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; angelobrocatoicecream.com — This Mid-City sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ices, cannolis, biscotti, fig cookies, tiramisu, macaroons and more. There also are coffee drinks. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $
Annunciation — 1016 Annunciation St., (504) 568-0245; annunciationrestaurant. com — Gulf Drum Yvonne is served with brown butter sauce with mushrooms and artichoke hearts. There also are seafood pasta dishes, steaks, lamb chops and more. Reservations recommended. Dinner Thu.-Mon. $$$
Bamboula’s — 514 Frenchmen St.; bamboulasmusic.com — The live music venue’s kitchen offers a menu of traditional and creative Creole dishes, such as Creole crawfish crepes with goat cheese and chardonnay sauce. Reservations accepted. Lunch, dinner and late-night daily. $$
The Blue Crab Restaurant and Oyster Bar — 118 Harbor View Court, Slidell, (985) 315-7001; 7900 Lakeshore Drive, (504) 284-2898; thebluecrabnola.com — Basin barbecue shrimp are served with rosemary garlic butter sauce over cheese grits with a cheese biscuit. The menu includes po-poys, fried seafood platters, raw and char-grilled oysters, boiled seafood in season, and more. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lakeview: Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. Slidell: Lunch Wed.-Fri., dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Sat.-Sun. $$
Broussard’s — 819 Conti St., (504) 5813866; broussards.com — Rainbow trout amandine is served with tasso and corn macque choux and Creole meuniere sauce. Brunch includes Benedicts, chicken and waffles and more. Reservations recommended. Outdoor seating available. Dinner Wed.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$$ Cafe Normandie — Higgins Hotel, 480 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higginshotelnola.com/dining — The menu combines classic French dishes and Louisiana items like crab beignets with herb aioli. Sandwiches include po-boys, a muffuletta on flatbread and a burger. No reservations. Breakfast and lunch Mon.-Sat., dinner Fri.-Mon. $$ The Commissary — 634 Orange St., (504) 274-1850; thecommissarynola.com — A smoked turkey sandwich is served with bacon, tomato jam, herbed cream cheese, arugula and herb vinaigrette on honey oat bread. The menu includes dips, salads, sandwiches, boudin balls, fried oysters and more. No reservations. Outdoor seating available. Lunch Tue.-Sat. $$ Curio — 301 Royal St., (504) 717-4198; curionola.com — The creative Creole menu includes blackened Gulf shrimp served with chicken and andouille jambalaya. There also are crab cakes, shrimp and grits, crawfish etouffee, po-boys and more. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Dahla — 611 O’Keefe Ave., (504) 7666602; dahlarestaurant.com — The menu includes popular Thai dishes like pad thai, drunken noodles, curries and fried rice. Crispy skinned duck basil is prepared with
$ — average dinner entrée under $10
$$ $11-$20
$$$ — $20-up
vegetables and Thai basil. Delivery available. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $$
Desire Oyster Bar — Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 586-0300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — A menu full of Gulf seafood includes char-grilled oysters topped with Parmesan and herbs. The menu also includes po-boys, po-boys, gumbo, blackened fish, fried seafood platters and more. Reservations recommended. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$
Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House — 144 Bourbon St., (504) 522-0111; bourbonhouse.com — There’s a seafood raw bar with raw and char-broiled oysters, fish dip, crab fingers, shrimp and more. Redfish on the Half-shell is cooked skin-on and served with crab-boiled potatoes, frisee and lemon buerre blanc. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$
Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse — 716 Iberville St., (504) 522-2467; dickiebrennanssteakhouse.com — The menu includes a variety of steaks, plus seared Gulf fish, lobster pasta, barbecue shrimp and more. A 6-ounce filet mignon is served with fried oysters, creamed spinach, potatoes and bearnaise. Reservations recommended. Dinner Mon.-Sat. $$$
El Pavo Real — 4401 S. Broad Ave., (504) 266-2022; elpavorealnola.com — The menu includes tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, ceviche. tamales and more. Pescado Vera Cruz features sauteed Gulf fish topped with tomatoes, olives, onion and capers, served with rice and string beans. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lunch and early dinner Tue.-Sat. $$
Juan’s Flying Burrito — 515 Baronne St., (504) 529-5825; 2018 Magazine St., (504) 569-0000; 4724 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-9950; 8140 Oak St., (504) 897-4800; juansflyingburrito.com — The Flying Burrito includes steak, shrimp, chicken, cheddar jack cheese, black beans, rice, guacamole and salsa. The menu also includes tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, fajitas, nachos, salads and more. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Thu.-Tue. $$
Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity.com — The Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, ham, cheese and pickles. The eclectic menu also includes char-grilled oysters, sandwiches, burgers, pizza, fried seafood platters, pasta, salads and more. Delivery available. Reservations accepted for large parties. Lunch and dinner daily. $$
Kilroy’s Bar — Higgins Hotel, 480 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higginshotelnola.com/dining — The bar menu includes sandwiches, salads and flatbreads, including one topped with peach, prosciutto, stracciatella cheese, arugula and pecans. No reservations. Lunch Fri.Mon., dinner daily. $$
Legacy Kitchen’s Craft Tavern — 700 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 613-2350; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes oysters, flatbreads, burgers, sandwiches, salads and a NOLA Style Grits Bowl topped with bacon, cheddar and a poached egg.
Reservations accepted. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$
Legacy Kitchen Steak & Chop — 91 Westbank Expressway, Gretna, (504) 513-2606; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes filets mignons and bone-in rib-eyes, as well as burgers, salads and seafood dishes. Reservations accepted. Outdoor seating available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $$
Luzianne Cafe — 481 Girod St., (504) 2651972; luziannecafe.com — Boudin Benedict features two poached eggs over boudin and an English muffin, served with green tomato chow chow and hollandaise. No reservations. Delivery available. Breakfast and lunch Wed.-Sun. $$
Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; mikimotosushi.com — The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado and snow crab. The menu also has noodle dishes, teriyaki and more. Reservations accepted. Delivery available. Lunch Sun.Fri., dinner daily. $$
Mosca’s — 4137 Highway 90 West, Westwego, (504) 436-8950; moscasrestaurant.com — This family-style eatery serves Italian dishes and specialties including chicken a la grande, shrimp Mosca, baked oysters Mosca and chicken cacciatore. Reservations accepted. Dinner Wed.-Sat. Cash only. $$$
Mother’s Restaurant — 401 Poydras St., (504) 523-9656; mothersrestaurant.net — This counter-service spot serves po-boys dressed with sliced cabbage and Creole favorites like jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, red beans and rice and more. Breakfast is available all day. Delivery available. No reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$
Neyow’s Creole Cafe — 3332 Bienville St., (504) 827-5474; neyows.com — The menu includes red beans and rice with fried chicken or pork chops, as well as shrimp Creole, seafood platters, po-boys, chargrilled and raw oysters, salads and more. Side items include carrot souffle, mac and cheese, cornbread dressing, sweet potato tots and more. No reservations. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$
Nice Guys Bar & Grill — 7910 Earhart Blvd., (504) 302-2404; niceguysbarandgrillnola. com — Char-grilled oysters are topped with cheese and garlic butter, and other options include oysters Rockefeller and loaded oysters. The creative menu also includes seafood bread, a Cajun-lobster potato, wings, quesadillas, burgers, salads, sandwiches, seafood pasta, loaded fries and more. No reservations. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat. $$$
Orleans Grapevine Wine Bar & Bistro — 720 Orleans Ave., (504) 523-1930; orleansgrapevine.com — The wine bar offers cheese boards and appetizers to nosh with wines. The menu includes Creole pasta with shrimp and andouille in tomato cream sauce. Reservations accepted for large parties. Outdoor seating available. Dinner Thu.-Sun. $$
Palace Cafe — 605 Canal St., (504) 523-1661; palacecafe.com — The contemporary Creole menu includes crabmeat cheesecake with mushrooms and Creole meuniere sauce. Outdoor seating available. Reservations recommended. Breakfast and lunch Wed.-Fri., dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Sat.-Sun. $$$
Parish Grill — 4650 W. Esplanade Ave., Suite 100, Metairie, (504) 345-2878; parishgrill.com — The menu includes burgers, sandwiches, pizza and sauteed andouille with fig dip, blue cheese and toast points. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $$
Peacock Room — Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, 501 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 324-3073; peacockroomnola.com — At brunch, braised short rib grillades are served over grits with mushrooms, a poached egg and shaved truffle. Reservations accepted. Dinner Wed.-Mon., brunch Sun. $$
Rosie’s on the Roof — Higgins Hotel, 480 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higginshotelnola.com/dining — The rooftop bar has a menu of sandwiches, burgers and small plates. Crab beignets are made with Gulf crabmeat and mascarpone and served with herb aioli. No reservations. Dinner Mon.-Sat. $$
Tableau — 616 St. Peter St., (504) 9343463; tableaufrenchquarter.com — The menu features traditional and creative Creole dishes. Pasta bouillabaisse features squid ink mafaldine, littleneck clams, Gulf shrimp, squid, seafood broth, rouille and herbed breadcrumbs. Outdoor seating available on the balcony. Reservations recommended. Dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Thu.-Sun. $$$
Tacklebox — 817 Common St., (504) 827-1651; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes raw and char-broiled oysters, seafood platters, po-boys, fried chicken, crab and corn bisque and more. Redfish St. Charles is served with garlic-herb butter, asparagus, mushrooms and crawfish cornbread. Reservations accepted. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$
Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 1212 S. Clearview Parkway, Elmwood, (504) 733-3803; 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; 70488 Highway 21, Covington, (985) 234-9420; theospizza. com — A Marilynn Pota Supreme pie is topped with mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, mushrooms, bell peppers and onions. There also are salads, sandwiches, wings, breadsticks and more. Delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $
Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco — 1433 St. Charles Ave., (504) 354-1342; titoscevichepisco. com — The Peruvian menu includes several types of ceviche, as well as steak and seafood dishes. Traditional lomo saltado features sauteed beef tenderloin tips, onions, tomatoes, soy sauce and pisco, served with potatoes and rice. Delivery available. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner
Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$$
The Vintage — 3121 Magazine St., (504) 324-7144; thevintagenola.com — There’s a full coffee drinks menu and baked goods and beignets, as well as a full bar. The menu has flatbreads, cheese boards, small plates and a pressed veggie sandwich with avocado, onions, arugula, red pepper and pepper jack cheese. No reservations. Delivery and outdoor seating available. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$
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Shows Shows Show SpringShow Spring
Christmas from the Family” gave him holiday appeal. The Texan announced and abandoned retirement plans a few years ago. Instead, he released “Western Chill,” and has been touring with Tyler Childers and Willie Nelson this year. He’s solo at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 9, at House of Blues. Tickets $49.50-$125 via hob.com.
Lena Prima
Vocalist Lena Prima has performed a wide range of genres, including funk and rock, but she may be best known for her work in the jazz, swing, big band and pop music her father, Louis Prima, was also known for. Lena Prima kicks off this year’s Chanteause concert series at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center, which celebrates women vocalists. Prima performs at 8 p.m. Friday, March 7, and Cristina Kaminis performs Saturday, March 8. Tickets are $10. Find more info at jazzandheritage.org.
Lara Ruggles
On her latest album, “Anchor,” folk singer-songwriter Lara Ruggles sings warm songs that sound honest and intimate. While her music is rooted in the acoustic guitar, the Tucson, Arizona, musician stretches out at points on the album with electric guitars and lush production. Ruggles, who also works with the National Independent Venue Association, plays New Orleans at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at the Howlin’ Wolf with Rose Vaughn. Tickets are $15 via thehowlinwolf.com.
Mac Phipps
New Orleans rapper Mac Phipps, the lyrical giant of No Limit Records, plays a Lundi Gras show at the Dew Drop Inn. The music starts at 7 p.m. Monday, March 3, and tickets are $20 via dewdropinnnola.com.
Lundi Gras Love
Legendary rapper Mia X will be joined by The Original Pinettes Brass Band to headline this Lundi Gras party at Cafe Istanbul. Organized by marketing duo The Blairisms, the party also features Kayla Jasmine, Sunni Patterson, DJ Juane Jordan and host DC Paul. The music starts at 8 p.m. Monday, March 3, and tickets are $55 general admission via eventbrite.com.
‘Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark’ in concert John Williams has made his mark composing music for films including “Star Wars,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” three Harry Potter films,
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
and nearly 100 movies total. He’s collected five Oscars. This has led to more orchestras presenting his work, and the LPO presents a live score for “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” at a screening of the film. Thiago Tiberio conducts. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at Mahalia Jackson Theater. Tickets $35-$125 via lpomusic.com.
The GuitArmy
Held down by Danny Abel, The GuitArmy is a collective of New Orleans guitarists playing a range of styles. On Friday, March 7, Abel will be joined by guitarists Mahmoud Chouki, Chris Adkins, Joshua Starkman and Raja Kassis along with bassist Lex Warshawsky and drummer Gerald Watkins for a show at the Maple Leaf. Music starts at 11 p.m., and tickets are $15 via mapleleafbar.com and $20 at the door.
Anime Soiree
New Orleans group Anime Soiree throws anime- and cosplay-inspired raves. They’re back for the “Beneath the Mask” masquerade on Lundi Gras at Southport Hall. Deshiimo, Cronos and Jaee will perform. Music starts at 10 p.m. Monday, and tickets are $14 via eventbrite.com.
Daikaiju
Wild, kaiju-theme surf punk band
Daikaiju is back in New Orleans for a show at 9 p.m. Monday, March 3, at Siberia. This time, they’re joined by The Nancies and Whisper Party. Tickets are $24.92 via siberianola.com.
Quintron & Miss Pussycat
Electro-dance mad man Quintron and his puppeteer partner Miss Pussycat throw a Lundi Gras show at the Joy Theater with prop-loving punk band Snooper and visual and video artist 1-800-HOT-DUCK. The show starts at 10 p.m. Monday, and tickets are $25 via thejoytheater.com.
Big Chief Juan Pardo
Tipitina’s again hosts a sunrise set to welcome in Mardi Gras Day with music by Big Chief Juan Pardo & The Golden Comanches, Billy Iuso and Squeek & Da Boys Brass Band. Doors open at 5 a.m. Tuesday and the music starts soon after. Free admission. Find more info at tipitinas.com.
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MUSIC
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MONDAY 3
APPLE BARREL — Zev Russ, 6 pm; Decaturadio, 10:30 pm
BAMBOULA’S The New Orleans Rug Cutters, 1:15 pm; Jon Roniger & The Good For Nothin’ Band, 5:30 pm; Sugar & The Daddies, 9 pm
REACH MORE DINERS IN GAMBIT! 86% of Gambit’s 113,000 weekly readers have visited a sit-down restaurant in the past 30 days.*
Reserve by: March 21 Contact Sales and Marketing Manager Abigail Bordelon 504.636.7427 or abigail.bordelon@gambitweekly.com
Issue Date: March 31
PHOTO BY ANDREAS STAEBLER.
GOING OUT
Champions league
by Will Coviello
COMEDIAN ANDY HAYNES HAS PERFORMED in New Orleans once before, but it wasn’t a typical gig.
“It was Mark Normand’s wedding,” Haynes says from his home in New York. “He rented out Tipitina’s. It was all comics who were guests at the wedding. So everybody was there.”
Haynes is coming back this week for two nights of shows at Sports Drink.
His only other trip to New Orleans was an unplanned visit during the pandemic. When he tested positive for Covid in San Antonio, he and his girlfriend, comedian Rosebud Baker, decided not to get on a plane, and they drove home instead. They stopped off in New Orleans for three days in a then quiet city.
Haynes and Baker have had a busy few years since the pandemic began. They started a podcast together called “Find Your Beach.” They got married. She became a writer at “Saturday Night Live” in 2022. He released his latest special, “The Coward of Gramercy,” in 2023. And they had a baby.
Haynes also spent a year in England in a well-funded odd job. He had created the animated show “The Champions” on the sports platform Bleacher Report, and the show is based on the teams and players in the European Champions League.
When a bunch of crypto investors bought a British soccer club, they wanted a comedian to generate online content for it. Haynes fit the bill perfectly. He had always been a fan of soccer and of the British club Arsenal.
“I got a tattoo, I can’t go anywhere,” he says.
But the venture didn’t go as planned.
“They hired me to be their in-house comedian,” Haynes says. “I made content for them. But the team was bad, and the fans hated the owners. Everything I made never got released.”
Back in the U.S., he has gotten much more exposure, launching podcasts, recording specials and performing. He’s got a streak of dark humor, and a commitment to follow a joke regardless of social or political sensitivities.
His Instagram bio is brief and says he’s a “libtard,” though he says it’s a misunderstood joke.
“For the longest time that said ‘patriot,’ as a joke,” he says. “Then people were like, ‘Are you a guy who calls
yourself a patriot?’ so I changed it.”
He does not fit a cookie-cutter political profile. In one special, he talks about growing up in Washington state, going to the forest with a bong and a gun to shoot things.
“I am from Seattle,” he says. “The second you leave Seattle, it’s the wilderness. Most of Washington is rural, conservative, gun and all that cowboy bullshit. In Seattle, I had a rowdy adolescence. We’d go to the woods and shoot stuff. We shot up a porta-potty. There was a husk of a burnt out van that we used to go shoot.”
He started performing at open mics before he left Seattle, and he lived in Los Angeles for six years, pursuing comedy writing jobs. But he still wasn’t sure if he’d eventually go to film school or into academia. And Los Angeles wasn’t always an easy place to be.
“Being unemployed in L.A. is how cults start,” he says. “Everyone is looking for spiritual guidance to get their next audition. I was going to hit pause on everything and go back to Seattle. I went to New York on a whim and had an amazing experience.”
He misses easy access to forests in New York, but it’s going well. He recently launched the “Beautiful Boys” podcast with Mike Cannon, and he’s working toward a special he’ll record next fall.
Andy Haynes performs at 7 and 9 p.m. Friday, March 7, and Saturday, March 8, at Sports Drink. Tickets $25 via
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANDY HAYNES
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MIXED-UP THINGS THEY DID
By Frank A. Longo
87 Capital of Vietnam 89 “Bed-in” activist Yoko 90 “The Love Boat” actor guided a liaison? 94 Verizon or AT&T, in brief
33 Mil. rank 34 “Mighty” trees
35 “My country, -- of thee ...”
81 Fully, informally 82 Like relatively minor fires
1 Viewed piercingly 9 Freed, as a pet bird
-- -la-la
“Full House” actor retrieved infants?
36 Always, in verse
Little -- (tykes)
Fairy-tale fiends
Barbers’ jobs
“Intermezzo” actress mailed a rosary piece? 68 Passage between building parts
-- -frutti 71 Longish short story, maybe 72 1977 American League MVP attached a jack of clubs to his uniform? 75 German coal region
60-min. units
“Howdy”
Some small deer
B&B, maybe
Currently
Fa follower
Captain in “Moby-Dick”
Used to be
Sense of self 99 “Alfie” lyricist owned a bottle of ibuprofen? 104 Cotillion girl 107 Pixieish 108 Tina of “Mean Girls” 109 Acoustic organ 110 Forgo, as a right 112 “Serpico” author Peter
113 “Sisters” actress spotted a birch family tree?
118 With the bow, to a violinist 119 Almond treat
Virtual selling
Some Marvel superheroes 122 Arrogant gallerygoer, perhaps
Mariners’ instruments
1 Wave to, say
Huge admirer
Yoga pose 4 Partner of rules, in brief
5 Online bidding site 6 Designate as a knight 7 Sing -- (vocalize alone)
8 Beat strongly
Thurman of Hollywood
Part of USNA: Abbr.
Merciful
Turn to hit, in baseball
Maestro Solti
Spanish for “that”
German for “the”
Stellar
Plush toy with a heart for a nose
by little
Prefix with intestinal
“Big Blue” corp.
“I’m --” (Apple ad declaration)
36 Sci-fi power 37 Comics’ Kett 40 Owner-assembled auto
Long auto race 42 Made a cozy home 43 Certain food coloring
Bridle part
Rural
Docs treating apnea 51 Airing via the boob tube 52 Taunts 55 Approaches 56
83 Feature of a humanfigured child’s toy 84 Big rig 85 Taj Mahal city 86 Paid mind to
In times past
“Mazel --!” 91 Victory at an opponent’s field
92 Fox toon Flanders
93 N.J. neighbor
95 Inventor Thomas
96 Is able to 100 C sharp’s soundalike 101 Makes well 102 Bouquet displayers 103 Hopping mad 104 Totally ruined
