February-March 2017 Issue of Inside New Orleans

450

$

URSULINES IN NEW ORLEANS • STEAMBOATS • WOLF CREEK SKI AREA • HEALTH AND WELLNESS

FEBRUARY-MARCH 2017 VOL. 4, NO. 1

February-March 2017

Vol. 4, No. 1

Publisher Lori Murphy –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Editor-in-Chief Anne Honeywell

Senior Editor Jan Murphy

Managing Editor Leah Draffen

Contributors are featured on page 16.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Art Director Brad Growden

Graphic Designer Jennifer Starkey

Production Intern Madison Hutson

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Business Manager Jane Quillin

Senior Account Executives Poki Hampton

Candice Laizer Barbara Roscoe

Account Executives Barbara Bossier

Jonée Daigle-Ferrand Amy Taylor

Advertising Coordinator Margaret Rivera

Sales Intern Faith Saucier –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– For advertising information phone (504) 934-9684 fax (504) 934-7721 email sales@insidepub.com –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Please send items for Inside Scoop to scoop@insidepub.com.

Photos for Inside Peek, with captions, should be sent to peek@insidepub.com. Submit items for editorial consideration to editor@insidepub.com.

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Contact Inside New Orleans P.O. Box 6048

Metairie, LA 70009 phone (504) 934-9684 fax (504) 934-7721 website www.insideneworleans.net

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On the cover

Artist Bernard Mattox

Archaeology of Solitude

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– INSIDE NEW ORLEANS is published bi-monthly (February, April, June, August, October, December) by M and L Publishing, LLC, PO Box 6048, Metairie, LA 70009 as a means of communication and information for greater New Orleans, Louisiana. Bulk Postage paid - New Orleans, LA. Copy­right ©2017 by M & L Publishing, LLC. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written consent of publisher. Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and artwork. Inside New Orleans Magazine is created using the Adobe Creative Suite on Apple Macintosh computers.

contents table of

page 32

page 78

Features 18 Digging Up Memories Cover Artist Bernard Mattox 32 French Quarter Living page 46

38 Rollin’ on the River

Steamboats on the Mississippi 46 Trailblazing Women of God The Ursulines in New Orleans 57 For the Powder Hounds Wolf Creek Ski Area 76 70 Years of Faith, Scholarship,

and Service

St. Martin’s Episcopal School 86 Tulane’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine The world’s first medical school teaching kitchen

Health & Wellness 60 Introduction 61 Wellness Resources 64 Choosing a Personal Trainer page 86 8

Inside New Orleans

66 IN the Bookcase The Dorito Effect,

by Mark Schatzker

contents table of

Departments

page 71

12 Publisher’s Note 14 Editor’s Note 15 Reader Resources 16 Contributors 24 INside Scoop 31 INside Story It’s King Cake, Baby!

37 Wine Cellar Port 67 At the Table Souperman 71 Flourishes

Extraordinary gifts and home accents 78 INside Look Think Pink 92 IN Great Taste After the Boil 94 INside Dining 98 IN Love & Marriage

99 INside Peek Featuring: An Evening of Mythical Proportions Richardson Society Dinner The Spirit of Stuart Hall Luncheon

Odyssey Ball M.S. Rau Antiques Napoleon Exhibition

Opening

Thibodaux Regional Wellness Center Dedication

Mathilde Hall Dedication 106 Last Bite

Nonna Randazzo’s page 92

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Inside New Orleans

Feel the Beat

by Lori Murphy Everyone has a specialty, and at this time of year, mine is procrastination. After an especially hectic holiday season and before the full onslaught of Carnival, I feel an urge to nest and rest. To sink into the sofa with a Hallmark movie.

Unfortunately, this is also the time of year when we are supposed to be “getting our act together.” Making sure that we are healthy, that our family is healthy. You know the drill and can probably relate to my anxiety.

For inspiration, I turn to “experts” around me. That would include anyone better at being healthy than I am.

This year, that is just about everyone. I am 55, way too young for another heart attack. Yes, you heard me right. In November, I had another wake up call, and I face 2017 with a real goal of getting my act together. The reminder from the American Heart Association that February is Heart Month gives me additional inspiration.

To that end, I asked for help building a good Get Physical playlist. Almost every suggestion started with Pandora, so if you don’t have it, get it. And Spotify. In fact, one of the young staffers I work with told me that Spotify has a running genre that includes multiple channels that will track your pace and play right along with music that matches your tempo. To me, that is a great use of technology.

For an old fashioned playlist you might consider:

Uptown Funk

Best I Ever Had

Gavin DeGraw

Baby Workout

Jackie Wilson

Ain’t Got Far To Go

La Grange

I’m A Survivor

Destiny’s Child

Stronger

Kelly Clarkson

Girl On Fire

Roar

Boom, Boom, Pow

Bruno Mars

Jess Glynne ZZ Top

Alecia Keys Katy Perry Black Eyed Peas

You can tell which suggestions came from my chick friends! My nephew suggested anything from AC/DC. I am not sure I could even sing along with them anymore. Boy, do I feel particularly old today!

p.s.... I hope you like some of the suggestions on this list, and I encourage you to build on it…and get moving! Leigh, a high school friend who is an avid runner, responded to my plea by saying she was in a race in the rain over the weekend but didn’t miss a beat since her iPod was playing It’s Raining Men!

12

Inside New Orleans

Editor’s Note

by Anne Honeywell As we all know, in New Orleans, the question “Where did you go to school?” means high school.

For me, that was St. Martin’s Episcopal School. For a lot longer than just high school—for 13 years, as a matter of fact. My father chose St. Martin’s for my older brother and me because it was a private, Episcopal school; it remains, to this day, the only Episcopal high school in the metro area. I treasure my years at St. Martin’s for both my education and for the lifelong friendships it gave me. I could not have imagined my children going anywhere else. But would it be right for them? Both of them thrived, and I am very happy with my investment. Because that is what schooling is—an investment in your children.

This year marks 70 years for my alma mater. Many notable St. Martin’s alumni have been honored with the Martin de Tours award, which John Eastman received this school year. See page 76. And our cover artist, Bernard Mattox, is a St. Martin’s alum, class of 1973. He is a great guy—and such a talent. I hope you enjoy getting to know him—see page 18.

One of my closest friends from our days together at St. Martin’s is Michael Harold, who on page 31 cracks us up with his tales of king cakes and their babies. It is the season after all!

With carnival season comes crawfish season. On page 92, Yvette Jemison tells what to do with leftover crawfish—if there are any! And Tom Fitzmorris is on target with hearty soups for those colder days. This issue is just packed with great stories—everything from steamboats (page 38) to the Ursulines (page 46) to skiing (page 57) to Tulane’s innovative Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine (page 86). Boy, that was a fun story to be a part of—it was like being in the Chopped kitchen!

Our Health & Wellness section begins on page 60. Here you will find some resources to help you meet the fitness and other goals in your New Year’s resolutions.

One resolution I have never had to make is to do a better job keeping up with old friends.

When I hear people say they hated high school or don’t have any friends from that time in their lives, I cannot relate at all. I guess it all depends on where you went and who you went with. I am thankful for St. Martin’s Episcopal School and the class of 1983. Good choice. Thanks, Dad!

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Inside New Orleans

Reader Resources Contact Us: Telephone: (504) 934-9684 Fax: (504) 934-7721 Website: insideneworleans.net

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Please contact the editor at editor@insidepub.com.

February-March 2017 15

Our contributors give Inside New Orleans its voice, its personality and its feel. Here we are proud to highlight a few of them so that you can put a face with a name and get to know them.

Other Voices: Gretchen Armbruster, Kate Brevard, Leah Draffen, Tom Fitzmorris, Candra George, Thomas B. Growden, Anne Honeywell, Bill Kearney, Kelly Rasmus and Terri Schlichenmeyer.

Michael Harold Michael Harold grew up in New Orleans and graduated from St. Martin’s Episcopal School, The University of the South and LSU Law School. Fluent in Spanish and French, he is also a classical pianist. Michael practiced law for more than 23 years and is now a legal recruiter.

He is a contributing writer for Local Palate magazine in Charleston, South Carolina.

In his spare time, he coordinates the renovation of a 19th century home in New Orleans. In this issue, Michael tells his INside Story about king cakes on page 31.

photo: CANDRA GEORGE mycreativereality.com

Contributors

Yvette Jemison

Mimi Greenwood Knight

Longtime contributor and former managing editor of Inside Northside, Karen B. Gibbs enjoys writing about the fascinating people and places of New Orleans and the northshore. She tells the story of the Ursulines in New Orleans on 46. A contributor to Today.com and iVillage.com, Karen recently completed the biography of her father-in-law, a WWII paratrooper. When not writing, she enjoys traveling with her husband and spoiling their grandchild.

Yvette’s passion for all things culinary extends back to her childhood growing up in a military family.

Her recipes and home cooking are influenced by the many places she has lived. She was immersed in the Tex-Mex cuisine of South Texas and has experienced food from Native American Indian reservations to the street food of Turkey. She often attends cooking classes while traveling with her husband and two daughters and has truly enjoyed a well-seasoned life. Yvette presents ideas for leftover crawfish on page 92.

photo: CANDRA GEORGE mycreativereality.com

Karen B. Gibbs

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Inside New Orleans

Mimi Greenwood Knight is a mother of four and freelance writer with more than 500 article and essays in print in national and regional magazines, devotionals and 50 anthologies, including two dozen Chicken Soup for the Soul books. She lives in Folsom with her husband, David, where she enjoys martial arts, gardening, Bible study and knitting. In this issue, Mimi writes about the world’s first medical school teaching kitchen on page 86.

Digging Up Memories Cover Artist Bernard Mattox

by Leah Draffen

18

Inside New Orleans

SIPPING COFFEE FROM A CUP he potted and painted, Bernard Mattox’s eyes brighten as he recounts his first love—pottery.

“My mother wasn’t very happy with me for quitting my studies in anthropology, but in ’75, I fell in love with the potter’s wheel. It started with an elective ceramics class at Loyola. Once bitten by the bug, I apprenticed at Big Creek Pottery School in California and took classes at Newcomb before I went to what was then University of Southwestern Louisiana for my bachelor in fine arts. I went back to New Orleans for my master’s in sculpture from the Newcomb-Tulane program.”

Following his master’s, Bernard shared

his loved for pottery as an assistant professor at Newcomb. He says, “I taught there for five years and then another year and a half at Xavier University. Crazy enough, I went from teaching young adult college students to 5-year-olds at the St. Tammany Art Association. The Mudbugs program ran for 15 years.”

While born in New Orleans, Bernard has lived in the woods north of the lake since 1991. “I grew up in New Orleans until I was 10, lived in Covington during my ‘huckleberry years,’ then was home to New Orleans by 15 to eventually graduate from St. Martin’s. In 1991, I left New Orleans to live in the woods,” says >>

February-March 2017 19

photo: CANDRA GEORGE mycreativereality.com

But what’s interesting is that throughout all of my schooling, I never managed to take a painting class.

I could technically be considered semi-self taught.”

Using parts of surrealism and abstraction, he calls on his subconscious to create his paintings.

“I have people say ‘How do you do that? I don’t have enough imagination to do that.’ But yes, you do—you just have to reencounter dreams and experiences. It’s archaeology in a sense.” His graphic canvases are loaded with familiar forms that are often folded together in unusual combinations.

Very elusive, Bernard’s paintings tend to attract and distract your eyes from one focus to another.

Writer Karl F. Volkmar may have said it best: “The artist holds the viewer’s interest to the point

photos: CANDRA GEORGE mycreativereality.com

Bernard. “I didn’t want to see any buildings, just trees and quiet. However, a deep well of memories, associations and visual and mental images, along with recollections of a French Catholic upbringing, followed me. All of these associations have evolved as a result of living some 30 years in a city so entrenched in mystery, decadence, spiritual archeology and architectural exotica.”

In his new home on the Bogue Falaya River, he continued to sculpt. “I primarily did large-scale architectural pieces starting out. I completed several hundreds of pieces by the late ’90s until I hit a ‘sculptural crash.’ I knew I needed to keep creating, but I could not make one more sculpture, so I went to Dixie Art Supplies and bought everything paint.

20

Inside New Orleans

of fascination through the phenomenon of persistence of vision in which it is the eyes of the viewer which move not the individual stills that make motion pictures work…delighting in the new experience and experiencing a lingering feeling of loss, only to have the process recur repeatedly, one becomes drawn a palimpsest of memories.”

“My paintings are not limited in the interpretation.

They are whatever one sees in them, whatever one’s own experiences bring forth,” says Bernard. What comes to focus first may change for the viewer. What seems commanding at one look slips behind other elements in another glance. It is the complexity of the presentation that allows the art to be appreciated in varying ways over time.

Bernard’s art is sometimes subtle, while other times bright and dense. His collage work often incorporates objects from the woods surrounding his home or someone’s junk pile. A favorite is his Katrina sculpture that began with a found branch >> February-March 2017 21

22

Inside New Orleans

“I closed in the bottom for my studio when I moved here to get away from the flooding at my old cottage.” However, the flooding followed Bernard with three feet of water in March while he was in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for a show. “I’m glad I did not put sheetrock in yet.”

The humble space is lined with his large-scale canvases, and sculptures are atop every surface. With two rooms, one is home to his potter’s wheel and the other to his painting. And where does Bernard choose to paint in his studio? On the floor, barefoot and in his

photo: CANDRA GEORGE mycreativereality.com

after Katrina that evoked the form of a dancing woman. “The branch was cut off a tree that fell during Katrina. All I did was carve a foot, add another arm from a chair that got crushed by a tree and attach it to this platform I had.” The woman is complete with a hurricaneesque tornado headdress.

She is perched beautifully in a corner of Bernard’s studio. His studio is beneath his “tree house” that he moved into a little over three years ago. While not an actual tree house, the main living floor is leveled with the tree branches.

“painting clothes.”

“I’m a mess when I work,” says Bernard. However, the results are far from a mess. That’s 40 years of discipline.

“I, of course, have that fear, like many artists, that one day I will have nothing left to paint or sculpt, but I believe that working everyday exercises my imagination. Whether that’s analyzing dreams or digging up memories.”

Bernard also uses his studio to teach private pottery lessons and to work with permanently brain damaged patients of Hammond’s Neuro Restorative. “It has been so great working with them.

They come once a week to my studio where we paint, do pottery or go on field trips. They all lead such difficult lives, but they never complain. It’s something to learn from.” Bernard also learns at St. Joseph Abbey where he has taken theology and philosophy classes for several years. Much of Bernard’s inspiration comes from these classes.

His first love has come full circle this year with a show at Carol Robinson Gallery that will include paintings and sculptures. “I have named the show Resurfacing, which has a double meaning to me. There’s of course resurfacing the fire clay and finishing it with oil paint, but also the resurfacing of my sculptures as a whole. I do not title individual works, but bodies of work. The show is a great example of that.”

The opening reception for Resurfacing will be held on February 4 at Carol Robinson Gallery, 840 Napoleon Avenue (at Magazine Street) in New Orleans.

More information can be found at carolrobinsongallery.com or 895-6130.

Bernard’s works can also be viewed at the Christwood Community Center’s new Cognitive Care Center in Covington and Hooks-Epstein Galleries in Houston, Texas.

February-March 2017 23

INSIDE a handy guide to events and entertainment in and around New Orleans

Mardi Gras 2017

February 1-5 Cirque Du Soleil’s TORUK-The First Flight. Transports you to the world of Pandora; inspired by James Cameron’s

Taking the Long Way Home.

Dave Dixon Drive. cirquedusoleil.com/

Arthur Roger Gallery, 434 Julia St.

toruk. ticketmaster.com.

Tues-Sat, 10am-5pm. 522-1999.

Future and It Was Yesterday.

Arthur Roger Gallery, 432 Julia St. Inside New Orleans

arthurrogergallery.com.

1-18 Read More and Eli Hansen:

AVATAR. Smoothie King Center, 1501

1-18 Dawn DeDeaux: I’ve Seen the

24

Tues-Sat, 10am-5pm. 522-1999.

arthurrogergallery.com.

1-19 George Dunbar: Elements of Chance. New Orleans Museum of Art,

February 22 Krewe of Druids. Uptown. 6:30pm.

22 Krewe of Nyx. Uptown. 7pm.

23 Krewe of Babylon. Uptown. 5:45 pm.

23 Krewe of Chaos. Uptown. 6:15 pm.

23 Krewe of Muses. Uptown. 6:30 pm.

24 Krewe d’Etat. Uptown. 6:30pm.

24 Krewe of Hermes. Uptown. 6 pm.

24 Krewe of Morpheus. Uptown. 7pm.

25 Krewe of Endymion. Mid-City.

4:15pm.

25 Krewe of NOMTOC. Westbank.

10:45am.

25 Krewe of Iris. Uptown. 11am.

25 Krewe of Isis. Metairie. 6:30pm.

25 Krewe of Tucks. Uptown. 12pm.

26 Krewe of Bacchus. Uptown.

5:15 pm.

26 Krewe of Mid-City. Uptown.

11:45 am.

26 Krewe of Okeanos. Uptown. 11 am.

26 Krewe of Thoth. Uptown. 12pm.

27 Krewe of Proteus. Uptown. 5:15pm.

27 Krewe of Orpheus. Uptown. 6 pm.

27 Krewe of Proteus. Uptown. 5:15 28 Krewe of Argus; Jefferson and Elks Jeffersonians follow. Metairie. 10am.

28 Krewe of Rex; Elks Orleanians and Crescent City follow. Uptown.10 am.

28 Krewe of Zulu. Uptown. 8 am.

One Collins C. Diboll Crl, City Park.

658-4100. noma.org.

1-24 Rites, Rituals and Revelry: The History of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Themed tour of THNOC’s Louisiana History Galleries. 533 Royal St. Tours daily, 11am. $5, free for members.

523-4662. hnoc.org.

1-March 11 The Art of Woodworking.

>>

February-March 2017 25

Inside Scoop Featuring Sammy Long, Tom Myers and Terry Tjader. Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, 386 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, Miss. (228)374-5547. georgeohr.org.

1-March 25 Clarence John Laughlin and

Arts Center celebrates its 40th Anniversary with a Black Tie Birthday Party. CAC Warehouse. 7-11pm. 528-

a Thousand Words. The Historic New

3805. cacno.org.

10 17th Annual Got Gumbo?

Center, 410 Chartres St. Tues-Sat,

Experience. Presented by the United

9:30am-4:30pm. 523-4662. hnoc.org.

Way of Southeast Louisiana to benefit

2 New Orleans Go Red for Women

a “gumbo” of United Way services.

Luncheon. American Heart Association.

Royal Sonesta Hotel, 300 Bourbon St.

Hyatt Regency New Orleans, 601 Loyola

5-8pm. In advance, $25; at door, $30.

Ave. 10am. goredforwomen.org.

4 Cookies and Cocktails and All that

unitedwaysela.org.

10 Art of the Cocktail. Benefiting the

Jazz. Silent auction, live music, cash

Hammond Regional Arts Center. 217 E

bar, and tasty appetizers, desserts

Thomas St. 6:30-9:30pm. $45. 21 or

and cocktails made with Girl Scout Cookies to benefit Girl Scouts Louisiana

older. hammondarts.org.

10 Nonna Randazoo’s Purple, Green

East. Club XLIV in Champions Square.

and Gold Promotion. Pick up winning

Patron party, 6-7pm; gala, 7-10pm.

envelopes with the purchase of a king

Patron party and gala, $100; gala, $75.

cake for over $40,000 in prizes. All

Age 21 and over. 355-5885. bit.ly/

locations: 2033 N Hwy 190, Covington,

cookiescocktails17.

(985) 893-1488; 22022 Marshall Rd,

4 FATS. The difference between good and

Mandeville, (985) 898-2444; 1625

bad fat. Rouses Culinary Innovation

US-51 Bus, Ponchatoula, (985) 386-

Center by Jenn-Air, Southern Food &

9922. nonnarandazzo.com.

Beverage Museum, 1504 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. 2pm. 267-7490. natfab.org.

4 Gnarly Gras Can Release Party. Nonna

10, 12 Sweeney Todd. New Orleans Opera. 529-3000. neworleansopera.org.

11-18 Lee Loves Local Event. Featuring

Randazzo’s King Cake and Gnarley

works by Emily Ryan Smith and Cindy

Barley Beer pairing, food, Coast Roast

Trist. Special pricing on all Lee orders.

coffee and tea, and bands. Gnarley

Rug Chic Home Décor, 4240 Hwy 22,

Barley Brewery, 1709 Corbin Rd, Hammond. (985) 318-0723.

4 Resurfacing. Bernard Mattox’s

Mandeville. (985) 674-1070.

14 Mardi Gras Mambo Bingo and Luncheon. Presented by the Children’s

sculpture and paintings. Carol

Hospital Guild. Buffet lunch and cash

Robinson Gallery, 840 Napoleon

bar. Pontchartrain Center, 4545 Williams

Avenue (at Magazine Street). 895-6130.

Blvd, Kenner. Doors open, 9:30am;

carolrobinsongallery.com.

event, 10:30am-2:30pm. Guild member,

4 Summer Camp Preview. Learn about Theater Camp, Uptown Shuttle Service, Teen Trek to Florida and Swim Lessons.

Inside New Orleans

summercamp.

4 SweetArts 2017. The Contemporary

His Contemporaries: A Picture and

Orleans Collection’s Williams Research

26

Metairie. 10:30am. stmsaints.com/

$42; nonmember, $46. RSVP by Feb. 6.

896-9373. chnola.org.

15 Uniquely New Orleans: The Classical

St. Martin’s Episcopal School, Adkerson

Tradition and Jazz. A Louisiana

Gymnasium, 225 Green Acres Rd,

Philharmonic Orchestra and The Historic

New Orleans Collection collaboration.

St. Louis Cathedral. 7:30pm. Free. 5236530. lpomusic.com.

16- May 21 A Life of Seduction: Venice in the 1700s. Exclusively at The New Orleans Museum of Art, the exhibition of objects provides a glimpse into the pageantry, ceremony and extravagance of Venetian life in the 1700s. One Collins C. Diboll Crl, City Park. 658-4100. noma.org.

17-19 Family Gras. Veterans Memorial Boulevard, across from Lakeside Shopping Center, Metairie. mardigrasneworleans.com.

18 War of 1812 Living History. See the age of Napoleon come to life through volunteers in reproduction uniforms and clothing of the War of 1812. Cannon firing drills, black powder musket drills and camp life talks. Audubon State Historic site, 11788 LA-965, St. Francisville. 10am-4pm. (225) 635-3739.

18 Writers & Readers Symposium: A Celebration of Literature & Arts.

Hemingbough Convention Center, St. Francisville. 8:30am-3pm. In advance, $55; at door, $65. brownpapertickets.com. stfrancisvillefestivals.com.

22 Krewe of Druids. Uptown. 6:30pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

22 Krewe of Nyx. Uptown. 7pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

23 Krewe of Babylon. Uptown. 5:45 pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

23 Krewe of Chaos. Uptown. 6:15 pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

23 Krewe of Muses. Uptown. 6:30 pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

24 Krewe d’Etat. Uptown. 6:30pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

24 Krewe of Hermes. Uptown. 6 pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

24 Krewe of Morpheus. Uptown. 7pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

25 Krewe of Endymion. Mid-City. 4:15pm.>> February-March 2017 27

Inside Scoop neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

25 Krewe of NOMTOC. Westbank.

10:45am. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

25 Krewe of Iris. Uptown. 11am. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

25 Krewe of Isis. Metairie. 6:30pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

25 Krewe of Tucks. Uptown. 12pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

26 Krewe of Bacchus. Uptown. 5:15 pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

26 Krewe of Mid-City. Uptown. 11:45 am. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

26 Krewe of Okeanos. Uptown. 11 am. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

26 Krewe of Thoth. Uptown. 12pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

27 Krewe of Proteus. Uptown. 5:15pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

27 Krewe of Orpheus. Uptown. 6 pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

28

Inside New Orleans

27 Krewe of Proteus. Uptown. 5:15 pm. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

28 Krewe of Argus; Jefferson and Elks

Center, 410 Chartres St. Tues-Sat, 9:30am-4:30pm. 523-4662. hnoc.org.

1-April 9 Goods of Every Description:

Jeffersonians follow. Metairie. 10am.

Shopping in New Orleans, 1825-

neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

1925. The Historic New Orleans

28 Krewe of Rex; Elks Orleanians and Crescent City follow. Uptown.10 am. neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

Collection, 533 Royal St. 532-4662. hnoc.org.

1-May 21 A Life of Seduction: Venice

28 Krewe of Zulu. Uptown. 8 am.

in the 1700s. Exclusively at The New

neworleans.com/mardi-gras.

Orleans Museum of Art, the exhibition

March

of objects provides a glimpse into the

1-11 The Art of Woodworking. Featuring Sammy Long, Tom Myers and Terry Tjader. Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, 386

pageantry, ceremony and extravagance of Venetian life in the 1700s. One Collins C. Diboll Crl, City Park. 658-4100. noma.org.

2 New World Symphony. Louisiana

Beach Blvd, Biloxi, Miss. (228)-374-

Philharmonic Orchestra. Jefferson

5547. georgeohr.org.

Performing Arts Center, Metairie.

1-25 Clarence John Laughlin and His Contemporaries: A Picture and a

7:30pm. 523-6530. lpomusic.com.

10 LARK in the Park. Drinks and 40 of

Thousand Words. The Historic New

New Orleans’ top restaurants. To benefit

Orleans Collection’s Williams Research

the restoration of Tad Gormley Stadium

Field. Tad Gormley Stadium, City Park.

VIP party, 7-8pm; gala, 8-11pm. 4839376. friendsofcitypark.com.

10 Molly’s at the Market Irish

on Metairie Road. 12pm.

historic homes and gardens, authentic

stpatricksdayneworleans.com.

1820s costumes, living history

15-19 Art in Bloom 2017. Presented by

demonstrations, night festivities and

IBERIABANK. Floral design showcase

cemetery tours. West Feliciana Parish

Parade. 1101 Decatur St. 6pm.

created by over 100 exhibitors themed

Historical Museum, 11757 Ferdinand

stpatricksdayneworleans.com.

“Rhythm & Blooms.” March 15, Patron

St, St. Francisville. (225) 635-6330.

10-11 Sennod Jewelry Trunk Show.

and Preview Party. March 16, Lectures

audubonpilgrimage.info.

FeBe, 474 Metairie Rd, Ste 102,

& Luncheon. March 17-19, open to the

Metairie. 835-5250. febeclothing.com.

public. New Orleans Museum of Art,

11 Irish Channel Parade. 1pm. Corner of Felicity and Magazine streets. stpatricksdayneworleans.com.

11, 12 Crescent City Auction Gallery Auction. 1330 St. Charles Ave. crescentcityauctiongallery.com.

11-April 28 Pio Lyons. Atrium Gallery at Christwood, 100 Christwood Blvd, Covington. Opening reception, March 11, 4:30-6:30pm. Free. 898-0515. christwoodrc.com.

12 St. Patrick’s Day Parade

One Collins C. Diboll Crl, City Park. 6584100. noma.org.

16-June 18 Cecilla Vicuña: About to

18 Italian-American St. Joseph’s Parade. French Quarter. 6pm. stpatricksdayneworleans.com.

18 Opus Ball: LPO Swings. A Tribute to Louis Prima, presented by the Bob and

Happen. Contemporary Arts Center,

Jeri Nims Foundation. Sheraton New

900 Camp St. 528-3805. cacno.org.

Orleans Hotel, 500 Canal St. Patron

16-June 18 Senga Nengudi: Improvisional Gestures. Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St, New Orleans.

528-3805. cacno.org.

17 Downtown Irish Club Parade. 6pm. stpatricksdayneworleans.com.

17, 18, 19 Audubon Pilgrimage. Tour

party, 6pm; concert and dinner, 6:30pm.

523-6530. lpomusic.com.

18 Stars of American Ballet Encore!

Presented by the New Orleans Ballet Association. Mahalia Jackson Theater, 1419 Basin St. 522-0996. nobadance. com.

>>

Inside Scoop 19 Circus Parade. LPO goes beneath the big top for its final Family Concert this season. Roussel Hall, 6363 St Charles Ave. 523-6530. lpomusic.com.

19 Louisiana Irish-Italian Parade.

Veterans Hwy, Metairie. 12pm. stpatricksdayneworleans.com.

22 Mad Hatter’s Luncheon and Fashion Show. A fashion show by Saks Fifth Avenue, silent auction, “A Day at the Races!” theme and lively hat contest to benefit the New Orleans Opera’s education programs such as Opera in the Classroom. New Orleans Hilton Riverside Grand Ballroom, 2 Poydras St. 11am.

267-9527. neworleansopera.org.

23 Open House for All Grades. St. Martin’s Episcopal School, 225 Green Acres Rd, Metairie. 5-7pm. 736-9913.

23, 24 Classical Mystery Tour: Music of the Beatles. Orpheum Theater, 129 Roosevelt Way. 7:30pm. 523-6530. lpomusic.com.

26 Third Sunday Concert Series.

Southeastern Women’s Chorale and Concert Choir with Alissa Mercurio Rowe, conductor. Christ Episcopal Church, 120 S. New Hampshire St, Covington. Doors open, 4:30pm. Free. 892-3177.

31-April 1 Hogs for the Cause. Music by a record number of top billed bands on three stages, amateur and professional BBQ competitors and local beer.

Benefitting families fighting pediatric brain cancer. UNO Lakefront Arena Grounds, 6801 Franklin St, New Orleans. hogsforthecause.com.

31, April 2 Faust. New Orleans Opera.

529-3000. neworleansopera.com.

Parade dates and times are subject to change. Send your event information to scoop@insidepub.com to have it

featured in an upcoming issue of Inside New Orleans.

30

Inside New Orleans

INside Story

by Michael Harold MY FRIEND BILLY AND I were reminiscing at a New Year’s Eve party about growing up and attending grammar school in New Orleans. We discussed how intoxicatingly unique our city was compared to the rest of America, but when it came to classrooms, they all looked the same—dull chalkboards, alphabets on the walls and the standard holiday decorations featuring pumpkins, pilgrims, and snow men. But when February came around, we had something no one else had. We had Mardi Gras. Who cared about cupids, hearts and Valentine cards when you had beads, doubloons and makeshift carnival floats constructed from shoe boxes and lids? To a school kid, however, nothing represented Mardi Gras more than the enormous, racetrack-sized king cakes from McKenzie’s.

baby.” They were initially not amused by the remark, having no clue about our strange, local traditions.

If you think about it, what other food item in the country encourages hiding a piece of plastic liability inside of it? You might as well stamp, “Put the Womack on that!” Nowadays, bakeries ship cakes with large warning labels. Unfortunately, even those don’t always work. In the early 1990s, one of my high

Until bakeries like Gambino’s and Haydel’s entered the fray with various fruity fillings and icings, the quintessential king cake was the dry version covered with green, purple and yellow granulated sugar. Only the very brave or the poor child at the back of the line ended up with the slice no one wanted, the one topped with crunchy sprinkles and florescent red cherries. Personally, I could barely look at that ugly piece, much less eat it. My father’s insistence on spreading half of a stick of butter on that particular slice formed a putrid, mound of yellowy glitter on top.

I don’t want to offend the die-hard aficionados, but let’s face it. When you get down to it, the king cake is basically a glorified cinnamon roll. What makes it unique, aside from its shape and color, is—ironically—the part you can’t eat. I’m referring to that pink, plastic baby, which has the power to transform simple pastry dough into a New Orleans icon.

If you’ve ever heard a good king cake story, it’s likely to involve the baby more than the actual cake itself. During The Great Depression, I was told that one mother kept her kids home from school on King Cake Day for fear that one of them would get the baby and have to bring the next one to school.

My friend Billy told me that his mother forbade him to eat a piece of king cake after he got the baby three weeks in a row.

Once, a young New Jersey graduate student at Tulane phoned her parents from a king cake party to tell her that she “got the

school friends, Kate, entered into a marriage on the rebound with a New York lawyer who turned out to have serious mental issues, including a diabolical addiction to sweets that included quarts of chocolate milk, Three Musketeers bars and powdered store-bought doughnuts. It goes without saying that a package from his mother-in-law containing a Randazzo’s king cake had massive appeal. In the middle of the night while my friend Kate was asleep, her husband snuck into the kitchen, opened the box and viciously inhaled the king cake, leaving only one piece for her. Moments later, she awakened to a strange retching noise and a nudge on the shoulder. “Wake up. I almost choked to death.”

In his hand was the grinning plastic baby. As you can imagine, Kate’s scornful laughter that night didn’t help in divorce court.

I’ve seen king cake baby earrings, ornaments, cartoons, you name it, and all of them have that taunting smile as if to say, “Haha. You have to buy the next one.” One cheap doctor I knew used the X-ray machine in his office to determine where the baby was located so he wouldn’t have to buy one for the office. Personally, I like the excitement of picking the slice with the baby. Not only am I singled out as the winner, but I also get to choose the bakery for the next one. As for naming the best king cakes in town, no way. I’m not about to crack open that subject. If you think the baby is a formidable topic, try arguing with a New Orleanian about the best place to get a king cake. I’ll just take the cinnamon roll, thank you.

It’s King Cake, Baby!

February-March 2017 31

This meticulously restored French Quarter 1,304-square-foot upstairs condo has two bedrooms and two baths, original cypress floors, exposed brick and beam, and historic details throughout. The unit, which wraps around a lush courtyard, features a rooftop deck for entertaining.

by Kelly Rasmus

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Inside New Orleans

Fully restored in 2013, this two-level home has a bedroom on each floor, offering a family-friendly layout or enough privacy to host guests for the weekend. The balcony off the master overlooks a lush courtyard with a soothing fountain.

Throughout the home, original cypress floors keep the warm character time has imbued into the historical space. Large windows bring sunshine and warmth throughout, and exposed brick walls and soaring ceilings add to the charm. There is even a rooftop terrace that takes in the city views.

photos courtesy: JENNIFER RICE AND TEAM REAL ESTATE

FRENCH QUARTER LIVING

WHEN FIRE DESTROYED most of the structures in the French Quarter in 1788, an opportunity was created for the next generation of residents. Keeping to the original grid of streets set up by Bienville in the early 18th century, a neighborhood that comingled business and family living emerged.

The building where our featured condominium is located on St. Phillip is a great example of those structures. Current residents of the neighborhood enjoy great restaurants and shopping right outside their door.

When my husband suggested we consider a pied-à -terre in the French Quarter, I was curious and cautious. We had two young daughters, the parking was impossible, so much going on all the time—the list of my reservations went on and on. We actually rented a flat with a beautiful gallery porch on Decatur. After nearly a decade in the neighborhood, I can say it is just that, a neighborhood. Yes, the people-watching from our balcony beats any other. Do enough peoplewatching, and you soon realize that mixed in with visitors experiencing >> February-March 2017 33

“Each new listing or selling opportunity in the French Quarter gives me a fresh burst photos courtesy: JENNIFER RICE AND TEAM REAL ESTATE

of professional excitement. The romantic and historical context of the Vieux Carré blends with an architectural integrity that produces one of the most alluring residential experiences in the world,” says listing agent Jennifer Rice of Dorian Bennett Sotheby’s International Realty.

time in the Big Easy are real neighbors— couples, families, people of all ages and interests. It was a wonderful surprise.

As the oldest neighborhood in the city, it should not have come as such a surprise. Many of the buildings still retain the structure of retail below and a residential living space above. The family that lived upstairs most often owned and operated the business below. In fact, some of those families and businesses still exist. But there 34

Inside New Orleans

are many different ways to live in the French Quarter, ranging from a studio apartment to a stately home complete with a private courtyard and garage.

The building where we rented has been in my sister-in-law’s family since the 1800s.

Her great uncle was the secretary of the French Market Corporation, and his offices were located in one of the buildings the family owned. Her family sold produce in the French Market and over the years expanded >>

February-March 2017 35

photos courtesy: JENNIFER RICE AND TEAM REAL ESTATE

to own three buildings that backed up to the market. Though no longer in the produce business, the family still leases the ground floor spaces to retail operators and has converted the upstairs into apartments. Sitting on the balcony in the early morning, you can see the service staff making their way home and business people making their way to the business district on the other side of Canal Street. It is a way of life that is unique in our driveeverywhere world.

The compact area that is the French Quarter has advocates that work to ensure the environment doesn’t change along with everything around it. The Vieux Carre Commission weighs in on everything from paint color to balcony style, but that vigilance is what has kept the neighborhood’s charm a part of its daily life.

Welcome to the neighborhood.

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Inside New Orleans

Wine Cellar

by Bill Kearney WINE CAN OFTEN BE DIZZYING, confusing the very people for whom it is allegedly meant to create a sense of ease. Port should be one of the easier aspects of the wine world to understand and become comfortable with.

Yet, multiple levels and archaic laws give us a byzantine structure of Port wines that can indeed be confusing.

All Port must come from one relatively small area in Portugal that is the third-oldest wine region in the world: the Douro Valley, which was given a legal boundary in 1756. (Only Chianti from Italy and Tokaji from Hungary have older lineages.) There are many different levels, yet there are fundamentally only five different categories of Port that consumers generally focus on. Each is quite different from the other, and the laws governing production are specific. One might argue that these legal structures ensure levels of quality that protect the consumer, but Americans have regrettably turned to other categories that are more practical. The downside of this is that Port can be extraordinaryly enjoyable for both the beginning and advanced consumer who desire a nostalgic post-dinner consumption of fortified wine. The addition of sugars to Port, referred to as fortification, creates a hedonistic affect on quality, vintage Ports.

The largest production is certainly Ruby Port, which is not surprisingly also the most moderately priced. Ruby Port is blended and fortified in either very large cement or stainless steel tanks for aging purposes. Unlike other Ports, the aging process is not seen as beneficial to the evolution of Ruby Port. After maturing in their tanks, it is bottled and distributed for immediate consumption. Ruby Port gets its title from its color, as it is often reddish, evoking the ruby stone. Longer holding times for Port that involve barrels ensure both a higher quality and darker color.

Tawny Port, very popular with Americans, is very approachable and easy to drink. It is stored for longer periods of time, although exposure to open air allows for oxidization. This causes loss of deep color and creates a distinctive nutty flavor profile. This nuttiness is very appealing too many as an after-dinner cocktail; l enjoy it with certain desserts.

As we move on from the entry level area of Port, we notice a change in color and style of flavor. The aging

process begins to positively affect the deepness of color and intensity of taste. Colheita Ports differ in that they are singlevintage wines. Both Ruby and Tawny Ports can be blended with multiple vintages without regard to quality or other mitigating factors. The single-vintage Colheita Ports are stored for a minimum of seven years in barrels before bottling. In Colheita, we begin to understand the important designation that comes each year in Port, as the critical reference of a “declared vintage” surfaces. A “declared vintage” is granted by the government and allows for certain years to have a qualitative advantage. Each Port House determines whether it will follow the “declared” status.

Vintage Port must be from a single vintage that rises to being a “declared vintage.” It is not uncommon to see a quality Port age for 30 to 50 years, and the evolution of this fortified wine occurs in the bottle. The deep, dark

Port

color gives way to extraordinary flavors that are worthy of high praise. A handful of quality producers includes Cockburn, Dow, Sandeman, Taylor and Warre; each has an illustrious history replete with beautiful wines.

Late-bottled vintage Port is one of the consumer’s best friends. While it does not hope to replicate the layers and structure of a true vintage Port, many LBVs offer a cousinlike richness that have afforded many of us to have an intiial appreciation of these great wines.

An LBV is a worthy, though more moderately priced, Port than a true vintage Port, though generally it will not improve with age. Staying in storage longer creates a cessation of the aging that occurs in a vintage Port.

I highly recommend that you try a true vintage Port to enhance a magical, excellent meal. It is a great substitute for dessert. And I hope that you are ready to lift a glass of Port in toast of that wonderful time of the year we know as Mardi Gras.

February-March 2017 37

Above: The Natchez steamboat. Natchez has been the name of several steamboats, and current one has been in operation since 1975.

Right: Riverboats unload cotton and other goods on the levee in New Orleans, Louisiana. Chromolithograph ca. 1884.

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Inside New Orleans

image courtesy: EVERETT HISTORICAL

Livingston and Fulton’s The Clermont, which made its maiden voyage up the Hudson River in 1807.

Steamboats

by Kate Brevard

photo: PIERRE JEAN DURIEU

of the Mississippi

image courtesy: EVERETT HISTORICAL

PICTURE A STEAMBOAT chugging sleepily along the Mississippi River and imagine the word associations.

Impressions flood in—Showboat, the Natchez, the sounds of a calliope, Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn, the muddy Mississippi, commerce, trade, New Orleans …

The riverboat with its trailing plume of smoke conjures up romantic visions of life along the Mississippi.

These steam-powered riverboats not only inspired artists and captured the public’s imagination but also led to the rapid expansion of port cities along the river. The vessels could navigate in shallow waters up-river against the waterway’s currents, which encouraged the movement of larger freight loads. Travel became easier as people found themselves completing trips in weeks as opposed to months.

In addition, as steamboats linked cities all over the young United States, the Mississippi became an integral route of trade and travel.

John Fitch was the first person in >> February-March 2017 39

and supplies at the Vicksburg landing, c. 1905.

Above: Birds’ eye view of New-Orleans in 1880, with dense riverboat traffic on the Mississippi River.

40

Inside New Orleans

images courtesy: EVERETT HISTORICAL

Top: Riverboats on the Mississippi River receiving cargo

the United States to build a steam-powered boat. In 1787, members of the Constitutional Convention watched as he sailed it down the Delaware River.

Fitch built four more vessels, but they were expensive to construct and to operate and thus proved unsuccessful.

In 1803, Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston met and outlined an agreement to build a steamboat to ply a route on the Hudson River between New York City and Albany, New York.

Livingston owned extensive land on the Hudson River. Because of this, he was able to facilitate a monopoly on Hudson River traffic. This monopoly could make their boat, The Clermont, named after Livingston’s estate, profitable. The Clermont made its maiden voyage up the Hudson River in 1807.

The steamboat traveled 150 miles to Albany in a little over 32 hours and made the return trip in about eight hours. After this successful first voyage, the boat made regular trips from Albany to New

York. Livingston and Fulton’s timing was perfect, and they benefited from the new technology as well as the worldwide political changes that were happening. The United States bought the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803. As a result, the United States was now free to expand westward out of the Ohio valley and into the Great Plains and the Southwest.

The Clermont’s success proved the concept of the steamboat. In 1811, Fulton and Livingston commissioned the New Orleans. The boat left the dock at Pittsburgh and steamed down the Ohio River to the Mississippi and on to New Orleans. It was then that New Orleans became the great port on the mouth of the Mississippi.

Once steam navigation was shown to be profitable and practicable, the number of steamboats in service increased rapidly. The Treasury Department’s annual reports of commerce and navigation show this dramatic rise over a 43-year period, from 1817 to 1860. According to Steamboats on the Western Rivers, by Louis C. Hunter, there were 17 riverboats in use in 1817, 187 boats in 1830, 536 boats in 1840 and 735 boats in 1860.

Freight as well as passenger carriers such as the Cincinnati and the Belle of the South, which were referred to as “opulent floating palaces,” connected enormous stretches of the Mississippi River. The river ranks as the fourth longest and ninth largest in the world by discharge; it meanders southwards for 2,320 miles from northern Minnesota to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico.

With its many tributaries, the massive Mississippi’s watershed drains all or parts of 31 states and two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. >> February-March 2017 41

The Canal Street levee on the Mississippi River in New Orleans, photochrom by

image courtesy: EVERETT HISTORICAL

William Henry Jackson, c. 1900.

Captain Clarke “Doc” Hawley is uniquely qualified to speak about the Mississippi—he has worked on it and its tributaries for over 60 years.

Captain Hawley has served as mate, pilot and captain on the Avalon, Belle of Louisville, Delta Queen, sidewheel

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Inside New Orleans

President, Natchez, Mississippi Queen and American Queen, all steamers, as well as on several diesel sternwheelers. Not only a river legend but a New Orleanian for over 40 years, Captain Hawley taught river history at Tulane University and co-authored Moonlite at 8:30. He has seen more of the Mississippi system than any living boatman, having worked on nine rivers in 17 states. Captain Hawley’s pilot’s license extends over 1,300 miles. And, last but not least—he can play a mean calliope. Playing the calliope and popping popcorn were his first jobs on a steamboat on the Kanawha River when he was 16 years old. Captain Hawley fell in love with life on the river—and eventually with New Orleans.

“I worked on the Delta Queen (See sidebar.) for 10 years before I worked on the Natchez. During those 10 years, I must have made over 70 trips from St. Louis or Cincinnati down here to New Orleans. Every time we’d arrive here in New Orleans, I realized how special this place was. The wharf used to be where the Moon Walk steps are now, and, you’d smell the beignets and the coffee roasting in the air. You’d walk over to the levee and there would be Jackson Square,

river, “The Mississippi has fascinated people from the get-go. I attribute this to two big things that put the Mississippi on the map. First, the writings of Mark Twain were read in every school at that time. And, in 1870, there was a famous non-stop steamboat race from New Orleans to St. Louis called ‘The Race Between the Natchez and the Robert E. Lee.’ It was famous all over the world. Bookies sold tickets for that race in London, Paris and St. Petersburg. The writings of Mark Twain and that 1870 race are what made the Mississippi River famous.” In addition, Currier and Ives immortalized the 1870 race in a print. This cemented steamboats and the Mississippi River in the iconography of America.

Steamboats created prosperous and glamorous years in Louisiana’s history. Everyone who lived near the Mississippi, or on one of the river’s >>

Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, c. 1864.

image courtesy: EVERETT HISTORICAL

and you could see all of the beautiful buildings and the architecture and hear the music.”

Before becoming a writer, the young Samuel Clemens worked as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi. The river was to be a central theme in many of the works he wrote as Mark Twain.

It’s not an easy thing to become a river pilot. Clemens meticulously studied over 2,000 miles of the ever-changing river before receiving his pilot’s license.

Like Clemens, Captain Hawley received his riverboat license when he was 23 years old. “You have to memorize the river and draw a map of the river by memory. You want to know what’s under the water so, for example, if you drop the anchor, you don’t want to bust into a gas line. There aren’t many captains, especially for steam-powered boats.”

Hawley explains the appeal of the

February-March 2017 43

Belle Pike at the Bluff, oil on canvas

by Robert M. Rucker.

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Inside New Orleans

a shared nostalgia for a bygone era. The Friends of Louisiana Public Broadcasting named Rucker a Louisiana Legend in 1997, four years before his death in 2001. His work is in the permanent collections of many museums, including the Historic New Orleans Collection, and the collections of Louisiana governors David C. Treen, John J. McKeithen, Jimmy Davis, Edwin Edwards, Representative F. Edward Hebert and the screen star Eva Gabor.

The golden age of the steamboat seemingly evaporated into thin air like smoke from its storied smokestack, but the boats’ place in history as one of the world’s most important inventions is assured. The coming of the railroad, car, truck and airplane may have made the majestic boats obsolete long ago, but the steamboats embody apple-pie wholesome Americana that will always appeal across the board. Whatever your interest in the steamboat, if you have a hankering to go steamin’ on the river, hop aboard the Steamboat Natchez for one of her daily cruises on the Mississippi.

You may just luck out and run into Captain Hawley.

On occasion, he still plays the calliope and gives tours of the river on the Natchez. Bon voyage!

image courtesy: JEAN BRAGG JEANBRAGG.COM/ DOWN ON THE LEVEE, ROBERT MALCOLM RUCKER, PAINTER OF LOUISIANA

tributaries, depended upon the riverboat not only for commerce but also for communication. The residents would ask the captains of the craft to deliver messages to certain ports of calls. Back then, the river was like the highway of today. According to Captain Hawley, “The river had excursion boats, overnight boats where people could spend the night, sawmill boats, steamboats, showboats, railroad transfers or ferries that took whole trains across the river. There was every kind of boat that you could imagine.”

Mark Twain wasn’t the only artist influenced by the Mississippi and the steamboats that plied her murky waters. Robert Rucker, the well-known Louisiana landscape artist, often made the sentimental boats the subjects of his paintings. Rucker, born in New Orleans in 1932, painted the landscape, history and customs of his native state in an impressionistic style. Descended from two generations of riverboat captains, Rucker had an innate fascination with the river and steamboats. His paintings of famous boats, such as the J.M White and the City of Cincinnati provide a glimpse into the grandeur and gentility of the Antebellum Southern lifestyle. These vessels represent

photo: JOSEPH SOHM

The Delta Queen “Most Endangered” The National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Delta Queen steamboat to its 2016 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. This annual list spotlights important examples of the nation’s architectural and cultural heritage that are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage. In 1989, the Delta Queen was named a National Historic Landmark, and in 2013, as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1926 in California, the Delta Queen has a storied history as an overnight steamboat vessel carrying passengers on the nation’s rivers, first in California and later on the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland and Arkansas rivers. During World War II, she transported troops.

The Safety of Life at Sea Act, enacted by Congress in 1966, prohibits overnight excursions on wooden vessels. The Delta Queen was given an exemption eight times, but the last expired in 2008.

From 2009 to 2014, she operated as a dockside hotel in Chattanooga. Leaving Chattanooga in March 2015, the Delta Queen arrived in Houma, Louisiana, in April 2015 for repairs and upgrades. After restoration, the Delta Queen is expected to move to Kimmswick, Missouri, near St. Louis.

But first, Congress must allow her to cruise the rivers.

Bipartisan legislation is pending that would allow the Delta Queen to carry more than 50 overnight passengers safely. If the exemption does not pass, the Delta Queen will not be restored, and a remarkable piece of our nation’s history will be lost.

Once an exemption is granted, about $10 million in repairs will be completed—and from her new home in Kimmswick, Missouri, the Delta Queen will once again cruise the Mississippi and its tributaries from Pittsburgh to New Orleans.

If you would like to help the Delta Queen sail again, contact your Congressmen and Senators urging them to support HR 1248 and S 1717 bills.

February-March 2017 45

Trailblazing

by Karen B. Gibbs

Women of God The Ursulines in New Orleans Ursuline Sisters boarding a streetcar on Dauphine Street in the Bywater for their trip to their new home in Uptown New Orleans, 1912. photos: M. Marie de la St. Croix, O.S.U., 1884-1912, Ursuline Convent Archives and Museum of New Orleans

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Inside New Orleans

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN about the history of the Ursulines in New Orleans, you can look in a book; but if you want to really FEEL their story, you should ask an Ursuline sister—and we did. They offered us an insider’s look into their centuries-old story.

“We’re trailblazers, that’s what we are!” says Sr. Carla Dolce, not even trying to disguise the love and pride in her voice.

“Oh, yes!” echoes Sr. Donna Hyndman, as she lists some of the

>>

February-March 2017 47

the Dauphine Street steps. Below: The museum at Ursuline Academy.

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Inside New Orleans

photo above: M. Marie de la St. Croix, O.S.U., 1884-1912, Ursuline Convent Archives and Museum of New Orleans

photo: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

Above: Students on

accomplishments of these remarkable sisters: first woman druggist in the United States, first nuns in Louisiana, first and oldest school for girls in the country, and more. Impressive by today’s standards, it’s even more so considering these women were living in a time when they had little control over their lives.

So how did these particular women break free from this stereotype? Through their foundress, St. Angela Merici. “She must have experienced the unconditional love of God,” says Sr. Carla. “She knew she was valuable to God and saw herself as equal to men.” And she engrained that philosophy

in the women who joined her Company of St. Ursula (the Ursulines). In turn, they instilled it into the spirit of the girls that they taught.

“Ursulines are strong, know who they are, have a sense of purpose and know no limits,” says Emilie Leumas, Ursuline alum. “They teach their students that through education they can do and be whatever they want. In a male-dominated world, the Ursulines ARE trailblazers,” she reiterates. Archivist for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Leumas is worldrenowned for her archival work after Katrina.

The influence of the Ursulines in New Orleans began in France in 1727, when the sisters agreed to send missionaries to the Louisiana territory.

Although their primary ministry was the education of young girls, the sisters agreed to staff the hospital in New Orleans. Leaving behind the love of family and the comforts of life in France, 12 religious pioneers braved a five-month journey to an untamed frontier.

“They were grounded twice, faced pirates and endured terrible storms,” recounts Sr. Donna. This delayed their arrival by two months. When they did

disembark from the ship to begin a six-day pirogue ride up the Mississippi River, they entered into the annals of history as the first nuns to set foot in Louisiana.

This was the beginning of many “firsts” they accomplished in New Orleans. As part of their contract with the Company of the Indies (the governing body of the new French colony), the Ursulines became the first sisters to administer a military hospital and care for its sick. Unfortunately, because the sisters were semicloistered and not allowed to leave their convent grounds, they couldn’t begin this ministry until a convent was built adjoining the hospital, something that took seven years to complete.

In the meantime, they pursued their first love, education, opening a boarding school for young girls in their temporary quarters in 1727.

Starting with 30 boarders, Ursuline Academy would become the oldest continuously operating girls school in what is now the United States, as well as the oldest Catholic school in the country. The sisters’ rationale was simple: since women were the

primary educators of their young, they should be well educated. This was essential to the growth of a spiritually-sound, civilized society. To afford this privilege to slave and Indian girls, the Ursulines also founded the first free school in America where they taught religion, reading and writing.

The sisters also opened the country’s first orphanage in November 1729 to care for children whose parents were slaughtered by Natchez Indians at Fort Rosalie. Initially, the city paid the sisters five dollars per month per child, to clothe, feed, teach and tend to their medical needs. Later, the sisters made the orphanage a free facility, one >>

Above: Sr. Rosemary

photo: The Historic New Orleans Collection, acc. no. 1950.51

Meiman, Sr. Donna Hyndman and Sr. Carla Dolce.

Below: Drawing by draftsman Henry Grabau of the principal building of the second Ursuline Convent on Dauphine Street.

February-March 2017 49

that remained in operation for 183 years. During that time, the sisters taught the orphans French, English, history, geography, arithmetic, catechism, writing, sewing and housework.

The first Ursuline Convent

St. Ursula, Virgin and Martyr. Patron of the Order of Ursulines, one of two stained-glass windows from the Dauphine Street convent that are now at Ursuline Academy. Created by F.X. Zettler of Munich, Germany, they were purchased in 1892.

In 1734, seven years after their arrival, the sisters moved into the first Ursuline convent on the corner of Conde (Chartres Street) and Rue de l’Arsenal (renamed Ursulines), next to the military hospital.

Since they only had to walk across monastery grounds to reach the hospital, they could now undertake their hospital ministry and still remain cloistered.

Because of humidity and insects, the wood and brick convent was already showing signs of decay when the sisters relocated there. The structure was dismantled and reconstructed on the same grounds in 1751. This building, which still stands today, is the oldest in the city, having survived the Great Fire of 1788. The Ursulines believe they were spared from the fire through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Sr. Rosemary Meiman, archivist for the museum

at Ursuline Academy, explains that, as the fire roared toward the convent, the sisters placed a small statue of Our Lady, which they affectionately call Sweetheart, in the window facing the blaze. Almost immediately the flames abated, and the building was left unscathed, only one of 244 buildings to survive the conflagration. Today, Sweetheart is kept in a small room next to the chapel in the Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor.

During their years at the Chartres Street location, the sisters did their best to remain self-sufficient by raising their own chickens and livestock and growing many of their own fruits and vegetables. It was here that one of the sisters, the country’s first woman druggist, grew medicinal herbs for use in the hospital.

While herbs were certainly beneficial, sometimes, the best balm the sisters could supply was of a spiritual nature. Such was the case when they comforted family members of five men sentenced to execution for leading a revolt against Spain at the time of the cession in 1789. Tragically, the executions took place on a street bordering the chapel. As gunshots shook the windows, the sisters >>

Sweetheart, a small statue brought to New Orleans in 1786 by Sister Felicite in gratitude for her being allowed to serve as a missionary in New Orleans. During World Wars I and II, returning soldiers brought their medals and awards to Sweetheart in thanksgiving for her interceding with God for their safety.

Above: This magnificent vestment, made with gold, silver and silk thread, was hand sewn by the Spanish Ursuline sisters in the 1700s during the period when Spain ruled New Orleans.

Used by priests to celebrate Mass in the city for over 200 years, it is now on display in the Ursuline Academy museum.

Right: Lining both sides of the private (or inside) chapel in the Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor are the individual prayer stalls used by the sisters during Mass and for community prayer.

The stalls flank the pews where Ursuline Academy students sit.

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Inside New Orleans

prayed with the grieving families inside.

The Ursulines played a critical role in caring for the sick and injured, especially during the Acadian exile in 1755, the revolt against Spain in 1769, the yellow fever epidemic in 1822 and the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. During this conflict in particular, the sisters not only cared for the wounded; they also prayed without ceasing to defeat the enemy.

Sr. Rosemary describes how the Davidand-Goliath match held little promise for an American victory against the well-disciplined, well-armed British. “But, the British were unfamiliar with the geography of the area.

They thought they could easily cross the river to attack at Chalmette. They also didn’t know the land was swampy. So, they came in their spic and span red coat and white trousers.

Our men knew what to do to defeat them.”

Meanwhile, frightened women and children of New Orleans gathered in prayer at the Ursuline convent. Their future lay in the balance. If General Andrew Jackson and his rag-tag troops did not succeed, British General Packenham’s promise to his soldiers of “booty and beauty” would become a reality.

Facing fear with courage, the Ursuline nuns prayed with the women throughout the night, beseeching God, through the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, for the British to be defeated.

“Very early the next morning, as the Bishop was celebrating Mass, a courier came from Chalmette with the news, ‘Victory is ours!’” Sr. Rosemary continues.

“At the end of Mass, they sang the Te Deum in thanksgiving for winning the battle.

The Prioress vowed that each year we’d celebrate a Mass on January 8th and sing the Te Deum to thank God.” And for the last 202 years, the Ursulines have kept that promise.

After the war, the sisters cared for wounded soldiers from both sides, setting up makeshift wards in classrooms to handle the hospital’s overflow. The sisters were

so compassionate, it’s reported that even the British soldiers wept like children when it came time to leave their care.

The second Ursuline Convent As the steady growth of the city encroached upon their peace and privacy, the Ursulines knew they could no longer stay on Chartres Street. As detailed in the welldocumented book, A Century of Pioneering: A History of the Ursuline Nuns in New Orleans 1727-1827, by Sister Jane Frances Heaney, in 1818, they purchased land for a new convent on Dauphine Street, two miles downriver from New Orleans.

Three years later, the city, disputing the Ursulines’ title to the Chartres Street property,

announced plans to cut a street through the convent grounds. Although the Ursulines appealed to President James Monroe to halt the construction, by the time the U.S. Attorney General decided in favor of the nuns, the city had already laid the street. This was the first of several times the local government—either French, Spanish or American—usurped or tried to usurp what rightfully belonged to the Ursulines.

Now, more than ever, it was important to relocate to new quarters. Because the sisters had lived frugally, worked hard, and invested wisely in several pieces of property, they were able to finance much of the new convent. It’s important to realize that the sisters had always managed their own finances—this at a time when women >>

In the Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor are two altars.

The main altar (on the right) features the gilded statue at its center. The Sacred Heart altar (seen on the left) was used by visiting priests when celebrating Mass privately. The private (or inside) chapel is to the right of the main altar. The altar table, situated in front of the main altar, is constructed of wood from the grille that once separated the inside chapel from the public one.

February-March 2017 53

were traditionally barred from doing so, explains Sr. Rosemary.

In 1823, construction began, based on the sisters’ meticulously drawn plans for the new convent, chapel, school and priest’s residence. Eighteen months later, 72 boarders and the last group of sisters moved in. Most of the sisters had never left the convent grounds since entering, years before. Whatever dreams they had about the Dauphine Street complex could not have prepared them for what they saw. A magnificent example of plantation architecture, the two-story building measured 180 feet long and 50 feet wide, with covered porches across its entire length.

The beauty of the structure and the gracious lifestyle of its residents were captured by Mother St. Croix, a talented French Ursuline photographer who resided here from 1873 until the convent was moved in 1912.

The Ursuline Academy Museum Sr. Rosemary, curator of the museum in Ursuline Academy, knows firsthand the works of Mother St. Croix. Her photographs, along with some antique 14” X 17” glass negatives, are among the priceless treasures she displays. So also, is the massive camera Mother St. Croix brought from France to photograph the Ursuline Academy campus for an exhibit at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.

Other Ursuline artifacts in the museum include the original handwritten document from Louis XV in 1726 allowing the nuns to come to Louisiana.

In addition, there is an exquisite painting

of St. Catherine, given to the sisters by Louis XV and marked on the back with his coat of arms. Also on display are letters from U.S. presidents Monroe, Madison and Jefferson, and a marble bust of Andrew Jackson, as well as his letter of thanks to the Ursulines for their prayers during the Battle of New Orleans.

Many of the items in the museum are from the Dauphine Street convent and are written in French. “All classes were taught in French,” explains Sr. Rosemary. “It was only after the school moved to State Street that they started teaching in English, too.” For a yearly tuition of $180, the girls learned academics and the finer things of life like needlework, china painting, music (instruments, vocals and orchestra for an extra fee), water color, porcelain, and wax figures. Some of the students’ work was exhibited at the Columbian Exposition. Well respected for its fine teaching, Ursuline Academy was where many wealthy Central and South American families sent their daughters to learn English and secretarial work.

The State Street Convent In 1912, the government purchased the Dauphine Street property to construct the Industrial Canal. For the third time in nearly 200 years, the sisters had to relocate and, as always, they built on the outskirts of the city. This time it was on an 11.5-acre tract of land bordered by State Street, Willow Street, Nashville Avenue and S. Claiborne Avenue. “At the time,” says Sr. Rosemary, “Nashville Avenue was a canal, a dump, but it was available and not too far from Jesuit schools— Loyola and Holy Name. The Jesuits >>

The Shrine The National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, built in 1924, enshrines the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Patroness of New Orleans and Louisiana. Declared a national historic landmark in 1976, it’s composed of two chapels built at right angles to each other and joined by a common altar. One chapel was for the cloistered sisters and their students, the other for the public.

Above the main altar is the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor that was brought to New Orleans from France in 1810 by Mother St. Michel Gensoul. She promised to have a statue carved in honor of Our Lady if the then-exiled Pope would quickly give her permission to serve in New Orleans. When her prayers were answered, she fulfilled her promise, naming the statue “Our Lady of Prompt Succor” (meaning quick help).

The stained-glass windows are by Emil Frei and Associates—the only commercial craftsmen in the country who use mouthblown colored crystal for their stained glass. This method, which produces deep, vibrant colors, requires eight to 10 men to blow a two-by-three-foot sheet of glass.

have helped our sisters from day one in 1727. Even today, a Jesuit celebrates Mass for us three to four days a week.”

The Nashville Avenue building originally housed the infirmary for the sisters and the students, including a room outfitted with a dental chair. There was a laundry building, too, for the sisters had to wash all the sheets, towels and clothing of the sisters and the students.

Today, there are no boarders at Ursuline Academy, nor do the sisters teach there. They do, however, oversee the school, assuring that Ursuline values still guide its daily activities.

Each girl is instilled with the school’s motto: Serviam, I will serve—not only in school but also throughout life.

Currently, 750 girls attend Ursuline Academy—from the Early Childhood Learning Center through high school. Each receives an excellent academic education as well as diverse extracurricular opportunities like dance/yoga studio, weight room, cardio room, two athletic courts, indoor elevated track, on-campus softball field, upgraded science labs, two tennis courts and renovated art studio.

The future For the past 290 years, the Ursuline/New Orleans partnership has brought much good to the city, including educating over 30,000 girls.

However, with only eight active Ursuline sisters remaining in New Orleans, who will take their place? “Maybe the United States can get missionary sisters to come again as they did in the 1700s,” responds Sr. Rosemary, adding that Poland, Indonesia and South Africa have a ready supply. If so, then perhaps it’s time to ask Our Lady of Prompt Succor to put in a good word for us with God. After all, we can really use some “quick help” once again.

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Inside New Orleans

For the Powder Wolf Creek Hounds Ski Area WHILE THE AREA IS LARGELY UNKNOWN outside of Colorado, Wolf Creek Ski Area in south central Colorado is beloved by the powder hounds.

Wolf Creek boasts epic snowfall, generally more than 430 inches of the fluffy white stuff each year, more than any other ski resort in Colorado. Nothing compares to a winter forest buried in waist-deep powder, dampened silence, crystal-clear air and breathtaking vistas shrouded in sun-sparkling snow.

Snow is so prolific here that the resort typically opens in October, giving it one of the longest seasons in the ski industry nationwide.

Wolf Creek is a three- to four-hour easy, scenic drive from Colorado Springs, where you can access nonstop flights—avoiding the crowds and hassle of Denver.

And Wolf Creek is so affordable you can stretch a two-day vacation budget for other areas into at least four days here.

Downhill skiers and snowboarders alike will love the family-oriented atmosphere and short lift lines. With 1,600 acres of terrain, seven chair lifts provide access to 77 trails, with 20 percent for beginners, 35 percent intermediate, 25 percent advanced and 20 percent for experts. Adult lift tickets are only $66 per full day ticket. Yes, really!

Wolf Creek also offers individual and group ski lessons for all ability levels starting at the age of 5. The Wolf Pup center is for smaller children, where access to the “magic carpet” Nova lift and private kid-friendly lodge create the perfect haven for youngsters to learn a new sport. The Hot Shots program is specifically designed for adventurous children ages 9-12.

There are several restaurants and bars at the >> February-March 2017 57

mountain base for après ski, including Alberta Grill and the Pathfinder Bar. The Raven at the top of Raven chair is a local favorite, and you can warm up at the espresso shop at the top of Treasure Chair. At the numerous Powder Portraits locations, professional photographers take your memory photo for you to take home at the end of the day.

South Fork, located 18 miles down The Wolf Creek Pass, is the nearest town to the ski area. Lodging options, restaurants, grocery store and gift stores are found in this quaint town. Check out the three ski rental shops in South Fork for deals and equipment rental discounts. 8200 Sports is located on Highway 160 on the way up to the ski area from South 58

Inside New Orleans

Wolf Creek Pass.

Fork. It offers excellent pricing on the performance ski and snowboard packages. This is a one-stop-shop for all of your ski and snowboard gear, apparel, t-shirts and souvenirs.

Lodging options are abundant in South Fork, from hotel rooms to cabins to family homes. Rio Grande Vacation Rentals is South Fork’s premiere lodging accommodation service. Luxury rentals with soaking tubs, entertainment-style floor plans, master suites, garages and fireplaces are among some of the amenities these homes have to offer. They also offer concierge services for those looking to have the kitchen stocked with groceries before arrival, maybe a catered dinner or two while on vacation, or planned recreation

days while taking a break from the slopes. Snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ice fishing, and sledding are other outdoor activities, as is snowmobiling on 255 miles of groomed snowmobile trails with innumerable off-trail opportunities on wide open ridges, rolling parks and steep climbs. Access to Colorado’s most scenic wintertime vistas at 12,000+ feet will take your breath away! Affordable snowmobile rentals will not. And when staying with Rio Grande Vacation Rentals, you get the advantage of discounted lift tickets for your group as well.

For more information, visit RioGrandeVacationRentals.com, southfork.org, and 8200Sports.com.

Health & Wellness EVERYONE HAS A REASON to live a healthier, longer life. Why? Life is why.

So, what is your reason?

Each person’s ‘why’ is different. Maybe it’s walking your daughter down the aisle. Watching that perfect sunset with your spouse. Or simply giving your grandchild a big hug. Ask yourself this: What are those moments, people or experiences that you live for? What brings you joy, wonder and happiness? What is your ‘why’ in life?

Whatever your ‘why’ is, hold it close to your heart. When you think about it, let it drive you to seek preventative care, know your key health numbers, exercise for 30 minutes a day and eat a healthy diet.

Your health is in your hands. Take action now to make your life more healthy—and make your ‘why’ a reality.

P.S. Don’t miss the story on page 86 of Tulane’s medical school teaching kitchen, the world’s first, where med students and others learn the basics of healthy cooking and food as medicine.

February is Heart Month, the time when we focus on ending heart disease as the number one killer in New Orleans.

For valuable heart-healthy information, go to heart.org.

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Inside New Orleans

Wellness Resources Choosing the best healthcare options can be daunting, but our community is blessed with good sources across a range of specialties. Here are some to consider.

Dermatology

M’liss Hogan M.D. LLC

Dr. Eric Tabor, M.D. 985-641-5198

909-1106

northshorederm.com

mlisshoganmd.com

Lupo Center for Aesthetic and

Sterling Surgical Hospital

Northshore Dermatology

General Dermatology 777-3047 drmarylupo.com

Dentistry and Oral Surgery

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Multi-Speciality Surgical Hospital 985-690-8200 sterlingsurgical.net

Center for Dental Reconstruction

Surgical Specialists of Louisiana

Dr. Michael S. Block 833-3368

Hormone Replacement Therapy

centerfordentalreconstruction.com

877-691-3001

Dr. Block’s services include, removal of

whyweight.com

teeth, reconstruction of bone loss with

Research has proven that restoring

grafts, missing teeth replacements

hormone balance, coupled with

with implants and correction of TMJ.

nutritional therapy, can positively impact the aging process. Paula

Metairie Family Dentistry

Licciardi, NP, has extensive experience

Dr. Lisa Wyatt, D.D.S. 885-1039

in hormone replacement therapy

lisawyattdds.com

including extended-release pellets and customized dosing.

More Smiles Dental Spa Dr. Jim Moreau 985-809-7645 moresmiles.com

Senior Care

Lambeth House Retirement Living Center 865-1960

DeFelice Dental

LambethHouse.com

Dr. Tré DeFelice 833-4300

A full-service retirement center

dentist-metairie.com

offering independent living for

DeFelice Dental provides

active adults (ages 62+) plus a

comprehensive care in a relaxed

full continuum of care, including

atmosphere with preventative

Assisted Living, Nursing Care and

measures and patient education.

Memory Care.

Surgery

Home Care Solutions 828-0900

Surgery 899-2800

Home Care Solutions specializes in

breastcenter.com

compassionate in-home care and

Center for Restorative Breast

HomeCareNewOrleans.com

Alzheimer’s care, in addition to Aging Khoobehi & Associates

Life Care Management services to

Plastic Surgery 517-7804

help elderly loved ones extend their

khoobehi.com

independence.

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February-March 2017 61

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Inside New Orleans

Health & Wellness 2017

Wellness Resources Hospice Care

sensibleportionsmeals.com

Canon Hospice 985-626-3015;

We give you the food you like,

818-2723

portion sizing it, shipping it right to

CanonHospice.com

your door, and giving it to you for

Canon Hospice is dedicated to

the best price around!

helping patients and their families accept terminal illness resourcefully

Fitness Expo 887-0880

and positively, to preserve dignity

fitnessexpostores.com

and to endure the challenges

One of the most reputable and

during this critical time of their life.

oldest fitness retailers in the

Pediatrics

Children’s Hospital 899-9511

country for home or commercial equipment.

chnola.org/CHNOLAServices

Moore Metabolics

With the largest group of

Dr. Rachel L. Moore – Metabolic

fellowship-trained pediatric

Surgeon and Obesity Medicine

specialists in the Gulf South,

Specialist 475-0726

Children’s Hospital has the

mooremetabolics.com

expertise to provide every child with the most comprehensive and compassionate care in the region.

Beauty

MetaGlow Health & Beauty Dr. Emma Kruger – Aesthetics and

Surgical Specialists of Louisiana

Metabolic Medicine 225-767-0646

Childhood Obsesity 877-691-3001

metaglow.net

whyweight.com Dr. Sophie Lanciers, Board

Hair Restoration of the South

Certified in both Pediatrics and

315-4247

Obesity Medicine, will develop

hairrestorationofthesouth.com

a customized treatment plan for your child based on the American

Le Visage Day Spa 265-8018

Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines.

levisagedayspanola.com

Nutrition and Fitness

Mia Bella Beauty Lounge

Core Meals 985-542-3121 buycoremeals.com

510-5963 miabellabeautylounge.com Mia Bella Beauty Lounge is a high end

everyBody Wellness 287-8558

boutique salon that offers an extensive

everybodywellnessnola.com

service menu including men, women

New Orleans leading Ideal Protein

and bridal services in one location.

provider. We believe everyBody deserves their IDEAL body!

Sensible Portions Weight Loss Meals 985-290-9757

Women

Center for Women’s Health 985-249-7022 cwhnorthshore.com

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February-March 2017 63

Health & Wellness 2017

Wellness Resources Hancock Women’s Center 228-467-2555

Vein Care

La Bella Vita Laser and Vein

hancockwomenscenter.com

Center 985-892-2950

Dr. Duplantier is the only

labellavitavein.com

Mississippi Gulf Coast provider

Dr. Randall Juleff and his

of MonaLisa Touch® treating

staff are fully committed to

patients with Vulvovaginal Atrophy,

providing modern vein care

Dyspareunia, Vulvar Atrophy,

in a friendly and relaxed

Dysuria and UTI.

atmosphere.

CHOOSING A PERSONAL TRAINER: FACTORS TO CONSIDER NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS The personal trainer you choose should maintain a national certification from an accredited institution such as the American College of Sports Medicine or National Strength & Conditioning Association.

TRAINING EXPERIENCE Experience should be viewed as a very important aspect of the overall safety of the training experience.

PROVEN TRACK RECORD The trainer should possess a proven track record of working with clients safely and successfully.

PICK A PERSONALITY In choosing a trainer, define what type of personality will work best for you. Do you need a “drill sergeant” who will push you? An “encourager” who will be your coach? Or an “empathizer” who will be compassionate? If you select a trainer with the kind of personality you need, you will have more fun and be more likely to stick with it.

KNOWLEDGEABLE The health and fitness industry is known for its fad diets and latest trends. Make sure your trainer knows the facts and is current on new trends and training protocols.

ABLE TO MEET YOUR SPECIFIC NEEDS Make sure that your trainer possesses the specific skills needed to help you achieve your goals safely and effectively. For example, if you are a diabetic, search for a trainer who has specific knowledge and experience with diabetics.

CREATIVE PROGRAMMING Your trainer must possess the ability to keep your program diverse and educational. Your results and overall success will heavily depend on this.

GET RESULTS Can the trainer get the job done? Make sure that your trainer can ultimately help you achieve results. There is nothing worse than spending money on something that simply does not work.

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Inside New Orleans

Health & Wellness 2017

IN The Bookcase

by Terri Schlichenmeyer

Over the decades, because farms needed to feed more people (and make more money), livestock was genetically made to grow faster. They range less, too, and since chicken, pigs, and cows are what they eat, our meat is blander than it was even half a century ago; the same goes for many fruits and vegetables. So it’s not your imagination: food really doesn’t taste the same as it once did.

Then where did the goodness in last night’s dinner come from?

Chances are, says Schatzker, it came from a laboratory.

Beginning with snack food in the 1960s, scientists have understood that you can make almost anything taste like something else—or you can enhance its taste—by adding flavors. Our palates are hungry for those flavors, which are as addicting as tobacco; in fact, tobacco can be flavored.

Schatzker calls it “The Dorito Effect”; it’s “what happens when food gets blander and flavor technology gets better.”

It’s how a corn chip can taste like salad dressing, how many restaurants can offer a large menu and serve it quickly, and SALTY OR SWEET? This time of year, it barely matters. Over the holidays, you’ve had your hands in bowlfuls of both. How could

it can explain why we eat things that are bad for us.

It also makes nutrition a lie, which “may be the most compelling lie humans have ever told.”

The Dorito Effect:

you resist? The office lunchroom was rarely empty, bakers

When I first saw the cover of The Dorito Effect, I

The Surprising New Truth

practiced their hobbies on you—it all tasted so good. In the

wanted to raid my pantry. Now, after reading the book, I’m

About Food and Flavor

new book The Dorito Effect,” by Mark Schatzker, you’ll find

not so sure. I’m not sure about anything I eat anymore …

by Mark Schatzker

out why.

This year, you’ve resolved to lose weight—again. It’s the same resolution you had last year, and for the past five

though there are parts that you might already know (or

years, but for some reason, you just can’t—nor can ninety

sense). Yes, it’s complicated, but author Mark Schatzker

million of your neighbors. But the fault might not be

makes it readable through the use of metaphors, food

entirely yours.

history and humor that’s wry and sometimes hollow.

Look at cookbooks from the turn of the last century, Schatzker says, and you may notice that people used spices,

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Inside New Orleans

This is the kind of book that makes you call someone up and read passages aloud because it’s so shocking—even

Still, his final determination to have a meal sans added flavorings can’t be missed.

but not much and not always; in many cases, only salt and

If you plan on shopping for food this year, you’re

pepper were recommended. The reason was that a recipe’s

going to want to read this book. For foodies, snackers,

main ingredient itself was filled with flavor, which isn’t

noshers or between-meal nibblers, The Dorito Effect might

often the case today.

be a better treat.

At the Table

illustration: GRETCHEN ARMBRUSTER

by Tom Fitzmorris

NEW ORLEANS IS A RICH PLACE for soup lovers to find themselves. And there’s no better time to get a steaming saucepan going than the cooler months. At our house, we make two or three homemade soups a week when we see a mist inside the windows.

The various versions of gumbo dominate the soup sections of most restaurant menus. Turtle soup—whether it’s made with turtle meat or one of the many common substitutes—gives us another defense against the cold outside. That it has a distinctive flavor, one not found anywhere else in America, makes one feel even more secure.

But these signature Creole soups are so often encountered that I would probably get fired for filling magazine space with more recipes for them.

Which is why I present the following selection of soups for your wintertime enjoyment. All of these have the robust flavors of our locale, while at the same time a certain uniqueness.

will be baked. “Petite marmite” has come to mean an intense, clear soup based on a consommé, with beef and vegetables. The best of these have an amazing flavor and are at their best when infused with a good shot of black pepper. I love this one. It’s no little project to make it (in fact, it’s so ambitious that cooking schools give this to chefs as a test of their skills). But don’t let me scare you off. The results are wonderful, even elegant.

Stock Stage:

Consommé Stage:

6 lbs. oxtails

1 lb. ground round, chilled

1 large onion, cut up

1 medium carrot, chopped

2 ribs celery, cut up

1 rib celery, chopped

1 carrot, cut up

1 small onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

2 egg whites

1/4 tsp. thyme

4 eggshells, well broken

1/4 tsp. marjoram

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black peppercorns

1/4 tsp. Tabasco

Soup Stage:

Petite Marmite Serves eight to twelve.

A marmite is a covered crock, usually made of earthenware, designed to hold a soup or a stew that

4 small carrots, sliced into thin sticks 4 small potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice 2 ribs celery, cut into thin sticks Salt and pepper

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February-March 2017 67

1. In a large kettle over high heat, brown the oxtails until rather dark. Add the onion, celery, carrots, bay leaf, thyme, marjoram and peppercorns, along with a gallon of water (or more if necessary to cover). Bring the pot to a low boil. Cook for two hours (or longer if possible). Skim the fat and scum from the surface as it cooks.

2. Strain the stock. Remove the oxtails and reserve.

Discard the vegetables. Set the strained stock aside to cool. (You can do this a day or two ahead and refrigerate the stock. It should congeal into a jelly, with any remaining fat easily removable from the surface.)

3. When you’re ready to go to the consommé stage, rinse the stockpot and put the stock back into it over medium heat.

4. While waiting for the stock to boil, combine the ground round, the chopped carrot, onion, and celery.

Flatten it out into a sort of gigantic hamburger patty.

Float this on top of the stock. (It might sink, but the boiling will make it rise.) Pour the egg white over this raft, and break the eggshells atop that.

5. When the pot comes barely to a boil, punch a few holes in the raft so that the stock bubbles up and over the raft. Keep the stock at a very light boil for about two hours, punching the raft down every 68

Inside New Orleans

now and then. Add the salt and Tabasco in there somewhere.

6. While waiting, pick the lean meat from the oxtails and make small bundles of it, tied with a thin green onion or a chive. Set aside.

7. Remove the raft and anything else floating in the stock, which should now be clear or close to it.

Carefully skim the fat from the top of the pot. Strain the soup through a very fine sieve or (better) double cheesecloth.

8. About a half hour before serving, bring the consommé to a simmer. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook until tender. Ten minutes after adding the carrots and potatoes, add the celery. Add salt and pepper to taste if necessary.

9. Place a bundle or two of the oxtail meat on a soup plate and ladle the broth with its vegetables around it.

Pasta Fagioli Soup (Pasta and White Bean Soup) Serves eight.

This is the famous bean soup of Southern Italy, the one referred to in the slang Italian expression “pasta fazool.” It’s a hearty, delicious, very healthful

potage, great in the wintertime in particular but light enough that it can be eaten throughout the year. What makes it particularly good is the use of fresh herbs, especially basil. Or even pesto, if you made a bunch of that before your basil plants froze last winter. This recipe is adapted from La Cucina di Andrea’s, which Chef Andrea Apuzzo and I collaborated on.

4 oz. cannellini beans (Great Northern white beans) or borlotti beans 1/4 cup olive oil 2 strips pancetta or bacon 1/2 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup chopped carrots 1/4 cup chopped leek, bulb only 2 tsp. chopped garlic 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper 1/4 cup dry white wine 1/2 cup peeled, seeded, and crushed canned Italian tomatoes, with lots of juice

tender, cook the pasta, drain it, and add it to soup.

Stir well and serve with grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the soup at the table.

Brisket and Vegetable Soup Serves about eight, with lots leftover for the next day.

I love homemade vegetable soup. My mother used to make this from time to time—which was never often enough for me.(She also served us Campbell’s vegetable soup, which instructed us in the differences between prepared and homemade.)

I rediscovered this style of vegetable soup when, in my twenties, I developed a liking for old places like Tujague’s, Galatoire’s, and Maylie’s, where they used the stock from boiling briskets to make the soup.

The way to give this soup a great modern edge is to boil all the vegetables except the carrots (which lend a nice color to the soup) separately, not in the soup itself. That way, when you add them right before serving, they’re all vivid and firm and full of flavor.

6 cups chicken stock 3 cups veal stock Tops (with leaves) of 2 ribs celery, chopped

1 1/2 gallons beef stock (preferably from boiling a brisket)

1 1/2 tsp. fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried)

A pound or two of boiled beef brisket (optional)

1 1/2 tsp. shredded fresh basil (or 1 tsp. dried)

1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, crushed by hand, with

2 cups small shell or tube pasta, cooked al dente

juice 1 small cabbage, cored and chopped coarsely

1. Sort through beans to pick out bad ones and foreign matter, and soak beans in water three hours to overnight.

2. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook onions and pancetta in olive oil over medium heat until onions become brown slightly. Add carrots, leeks, garlic and crushed red pepper and sauté until tender.

3. Add beans and wine, and bring to a boil. As soon as bubbles appear, add tomato, three cups of the chicken stock, all the veal stock, celery, oregano and basil.

4. Let soup simmer slowly for at least two hours, stirring every now and then. Add the rest of the chicken stock and three cups of water as needed to keep the soup liquid. Skim excess fat from the soup, but don’t be too thorough about this—a little fat adds richness. The aroma should be wonderful.

5. When the beans in the soup begin to get

1 onion, cut up 1 turnip, peeled and cut into half-inch cubes 2 lbs. carrots, cut into coins about a half-inch thick 2 lbs. red potatoes, peeled and cut into half-inch cubes 1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into oneinch pieces 4 ribs celery, cut into three-inch-long, narrow sticks 2 ears corn, kernels cut off the cobs 1/2 tsp. basil 1/4 tsp. thyme 1/2 tsp. Tabasco 2 Tbs. salt

1. Put the brisket stock into a kettle or stockpot.

Add the canned tomatoes and juice, after crushing them with your fingers. Bring the stock to a light boil, then lower to a simmer. Cut the brisket (if you’re >> February-March 2017 69

including it) into large cubes, removing any interior fat. Add the meat to the stock.

2. Bring a separate stockpot three-quarters full of water to a light boil. As you cut the vegetables in the order given in the ingredient list, add them to the pot.

(Some vegetables take longer to cook than others.)

3. When the potatoes and carrots are soft, strain them and add them to the brisket stock. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for at least a half hour 4. When ready to serve, season to taste with Tabasco and salt. Add all the vegetables and return to a light boil until everything is heated through.

Crawfish Bisque Serves six to eight.

Crawfish bisque—one of the greatest dishes in all of Cajun cooking—is not like any other bisque.

It’s not creamy or thickened with rice, as in the classic French style, but made with a dark roux. Most of the ingredients, even the crawfish, are made into a rough puree, which further thickens the soup. This may seem like a long, involved recipe (it’s the longest one in my cookbook, Tom Fitzmorris’s New Orleans Food, but there are no great challenges in it. What comes out is unforgettable. Serve it with crawfish boulettes, instead of those wretched stuffed heads.

5 lbs. boiled crawfish 1/2 medium onion, cut up 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 rib celery, cut up chopped 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/2 cup brandy 1 small lemon, sliced 70

Inside New Orleans

2/3 cup flour 5 sprigs Italian parsley leaves, chopped 2 green onions, sliced finely Salt Tabasco

1. Rinse the boiled crawfish with lukewarm water to remove some of the salt, which will otherwise get concentrated later. Peel all of the crawfish and reserve the tail meat and the shells separately. Get some kid to pull off all the claws from the shells. Put all the claws into a heavy plastic bag. Using a meat mallet, bash the claws enough to break most of them.

2. In an eight-quart (or larger) saucepan, sauté the onions, garlic, celery and bell pepper over medium heat until the vegetables are browned at the edges.

3. Add the crawfish claws, shells and wine, and bring to a boil. When most of the liquid has evaporated, pour the brandy over the shells. If you are comfortable with flaming dishes and have a fire extinguisher nearby, carefully touch a flame to the brandy. Let the flames die out. Otherwise, just let the brandy boil away.

4. Add the lemon and enough water to cover all the shells. Bring it to a boil, then lower to the lowest possible simmer. Simmer for thirty minutes, spooning out the scum from the top of the pot every now and then.

5. Strain the stock into another saucepan and discard the solids. Simmer until reduced to about three quarts. Strain through a fine sieve. (At this point, the stock can be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for later use.)

6. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, make a dark roux with the flour and butter, stirring constantly to avoid burning. When the roux is the color of chocolate, stir it into the crawfish stock with a wire whisk until completely blended.

7. Add parsley and green onions. Reserve six large crawfish tails per person. In a food processor, chop the rest of the crawfish tail meat to a near-puree.

Add this to the soup and return to a simmer for five minutes. Add salt and hot sauce to taste.

8. Place the whole crawfish tails in soup plates, and ladle the bisque over them. Add crawfish boulettes (optional) to the bisque at the table.

Flourishes

3 2

1

4

5

1. Handcrafted 35” jester doll with stand by Katherine’s Collection. Arabella, Mandeville, 985-727-9787. 2. Mardi Gras-themed plate

by The Parish Line, $11. Judy at the Rink, New Orleans, 891-7018. 3. Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts cookies!

Call your Louisiana East Girl Scout Troop for cookies, $4 a box. 4 Mardi Gras floats hand-crafted and hand-painted by local artist Lorraine Gendron, starting at $50. Rug Chic Home Décor, Mandeville, 985-674-1070.

5. Indoor/outdoor handpainted Mexican pottery, 12” diameter, $45. Outdoor Living Center, Covington, 985-893-8008.

February-March 2017 71

Flourishes 1

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1. Bronze crown wind chime, $29. deCoeur Gifts & Home Accessories, Covington, 985-809-3244. 2. 3rd annual Mardi Gras poster by Gretchen Armbruster. Exclusive to Nonna Randazzo’s. 13” x 19”, unsigned and unnumbered, $25; signed and numbered, $50. Artist proof signed and numbered 18” x 24”, $75. Nonna Randazzo’s, Mandeville, 985-898-2444. 3. Handmade cookies also available for special order, $2.50 each or

4

$2.75 pre-bagged. NOLA Beans, New Orleans, 267-0783. 4. Large gold pillar base, $104. EMB Interiors, Mandeville, 985-6261522. 5. Handmade Lux silk pillow scented sachets, $38. The Linen Registry, Metairie, 831-8228. 6. Hand-painted chest made in the USA, 42” x 52” x 20”, $3,850. The French Mix, Covington, 985-809-3152.

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February-March 2017 73

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Flourishes 2 1

1. Round platter with voodoo doll toothpick holder, $130. Niche Modern

3

Home, Mandeville, 985-624-4045. 2. Jill

4

Shampine yellow shotgun house zipper bag, $20. The Shop at The Collection, The Historic New Orleans Collection, 598-7147. 3. Hand-crafted and -painted festive burlap Mardi Gras wreath.

Water Street Wreaths, Madisonville, 985-792-7979. 4. Optic crystal and resin gold leaf lamp, 23.5� high. American Factory Direct, Mandeville, 985-871-0300.

5. Cutting board of Louisiana sinker cypress, purple heart and rare yellow heart woods, $80. Hand-turned corkscrew, $40; handmade card, $8.

NOLA Boards, New Orleans, 516-2601.

5

February-March 2017 75

FOR 70 YEARS, St. Martin’s Episcopal School has prepared its

Protestant Episcopal School opened as the first day school

students to thrive in college and in life by instilling in them the

established by the Episcopal Church in Louisiana. The school,

values of faith, scholarship and service.

located on Metairie Road, was led by its first headmaster, the

Since its inception in 1947, St. Martin’s has been a training ground for leaders. Its combination of academic rigor, healthy

grew from a group of kindergarteners to 225 students. By 1950,

competition, spiritual devotion, and selfless giving provides a

the new campus at Green Acres opened with nine two-classroom

strong foundation for a lifetime of success.

cottages, a gymnasium, a temporary cafeteria and an office. For

One such example is alum John Eastman. His passion for his

brought many long-standing traditions, such as the honoring

school during this its 70th year, Eastman said, “At St. Martin’s, the

of two seniors for their outstanding loyalty and devotion to St.

St. Martin’s Episcopal School

students, the teachers, the coaches, the administrators—everyone

Martin’s by being named Mr. and Miss St. Martin’s. The school

wanted to see every student succeed. The learning environment

held its first commencement, established its first Board of Trustees

was encouraging and united in love. I remember my Spanish

and hired the highly revered Ellsworth O. Van Slate as the school’s

teacher Mrs. Anglade told me, ‘John, you cannot catch the football

second headmaster. He would become the school’s longest-

if you don’t pass the Spanish. We will do it together.’ And that’s the

tenured leader, retiring in 1975.

kind of support we felt.”

Eastman is not alone in his enthusiasm and emotion for

For the next thirty plus years, St. Martin’s thrived. Facilities were added to the campus: an Olympic swimming pool, a stand-

the school—this seems to be true with most alumni. Many of

alone chapel, a 500-seat theater, an amphitheater, an all-weather

Eastman’s classmates joined in celebrating him, sharing a laugh

track and the list goes on. In all of these ‘new’ buildings and athletic

with this likable and popular member of their crew. During his

arenas is the heart of the school—the family John Eastman refers to—

remarks, his self-deprecating humor brought knowing smiles to

the faculty, the coaches, the administrators and the students, united

their faces; they knew the kind of boy Eastman was in school and

by the loving spirit that is St. Martin’s Episcopal School.

the outstanding man he is today. Eastman said, “Our school spirit

Today, St. Martin’s is led by Merry Sorrells, who became

was high, and we were a proud FAMILY—and from what I can tell,

the school’s ninth permanent Head of School and its first female

that is the way St. Martin’s continues to operate.” His exuberant

head in 2011. Under her direction, the George Cottage has

personality and approach to life was contagious during his years

expanded and an international program was begun; St. Martin’s

at St. Martin’s and still are today. “When you add faith to the

and Yanzhou High School of China were established as partner

equation, you have something uniquely special.”

schools in international education. Our region’s first-of-its-kind

On Ash Wednesday, February 19, 1947, St. Martin’s 76

the first time in the school’s young history, it had 12 grades. 1951

alma mater is palpable. As he was being honored recently by the

70 Years of Faith, Scholarship, and Service

by Anne Honeywell

Rev. David C. Colony. Within just a few years, the student body

Inside New Orleans

Idea Lab was opened, launching the school’s Innovation +

Design Program. The program is designed to equip students

transitioning to the reserves, where he served for five years.

with the skills and mindsets necessary to succeed in college

Eastman is co-owner, with brother Perry, St. Martin’s class of 1962,

and in life, such as problem solving, adaptability, empathy

of Auto-Chlor Services in Jefferson. Having served in numerous

and collaboration. Students solve real-world problems through

leadership roles in the community, Eastman is currently on

design projects integrated into their classes. Construction was

the boards of the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation

completed last summer on the new Gibbs Family Center for

and the Louisiana Restaurant Association Greater New Orleans

Innovation + Design, the most comprehensive space of its kind

Chapter. Passionate about education, he serves on the board of

in the area. The building includes a production studio, build-and-

the Education Foundation of the National Restaurant Association.

wood shops, a digital lab and other resources.

Eastman Auto-Chlor scholarships have been established at

During the past 70 years, St. Martin’s has seen changes

Louisiana Tech University, Nicholls State University and Oklahoma

in leadership, expanded curricula,

State University. Eastman and

won athletic championships and

his wife, Kathy Bannon Eastman,

continued to expand and improve

are active members of Trinity

upon its 18-acre campus. It has

Episcopal Church, where he has

served, as intended, as a springboard

been involved in a variety of church

for its graduates to succeed in college

outreach programs and services. He

and in life. Many of its alumni

has also served as a chalice bearer

remain in the New Orleans area and

and Eucharistic visitor and on the

continue to make a positive impact

Vestry and several committees.

on and in their communities.

As he was being honored,

In 1990, to honor such

Eastman said, “The students of St.

individuals, the school established

Martin’s Episcopal School are part

the Martin de Tours Award. This

of an amazingly unique educational

award is given annually to an

opportunity. St. Martin’s instills

exemplary alumnus who has

lifelong moral and ethical character

consistently served the community

in its students to live a meaningful

and has a demonstrated commitment to St. Martin’s motto:

and purposeful life, and that is exactly what I have tried to do with

Faith, Scholarship, and Service. Named for the patron saint of the

my life. My faith walk was strengthened through the loving spirit,

school, this is the school’s highest alumni honor. Martin de Tours

compassion and support I received here. I am so proud to see

is best known for his ability to find God in the simple joys of life.

these timeless values carried on today, 52 years after I graduated.

While serving as an officer in the Roman army, he met a shivering

Faith, Scholarship, and Service. It is a winning combination.”

beggar at the gates of the city of Amiens in Gaul. Moved with compassion, he divided his cloak into two parts and gave one to

Past Martin de Tours Award recipients include: Robert L.

John Eastman

the beggar. Martin de Tours exemplified the aspect of service that

Livingston Jr., Sue Ruppel Laudeman, Hans A.B. Jonassen, Julie

received the St.

is valued so highly at St. Martin’s.

Hogue McCollam, Gwynne Bowman, W. Brooks Emory, James

Martin’s Episcopal

O. Gundlach, Robert W. Merrick, S. Ford Rowan Jr., Patty Habeeb

School’s highest

receive the Martin de Tours Award. Eastman graduated from

Muehlemann, Carlos Zervigon, John M. Girault Sr., Robert J.

alumni honor, the

St. Martin’s Protestant Episcopal School in 1964 and earned a

“Bobby” Whann III, Antonio Cabrales, John Gage, Peggy Higgins

Martin de Tours

bachelor’s degree in business administration from Louisiana

Sewell, Betsy Threefoot Kaston, Walter E. Blessey Jr., Donald K.

Award, during the

State University. He served in the U. S. Army for one year before

Marshall, Cynthia Phillips Schmidt and William E. Wright Jr.

school’s 70th year.

During its 70th year, the school chose John Eastman to

February-March 2017 77

INside Look 1

2

Think Pink 1. Mignon Faget chain link pearl bracelet, $150. The Shop at The Collection, The Historic New Orleans Collection, 598-

3

7147. 2. 18K rose gold, pink opal, tourmaline and diamond ring, $60,000. Adler’s, New Orleans, 568-0610.

3. Pabla sheath dress in double-face viscose blend with mock neckline, sleeveless with

4

ruffle at one side, fully lined, 5

center-back hidden zipper, $345. Elizabeth’s, Metairie, 833-3717. 4. Milly Floral print mini dress, $385. FeBe, Metairie, 835-5250. 5. Classic capri pant with matching mock scuba top in Mini Geo print.

Pants, $110; top, $76. Kevan Hall Sport, kevanhallsport.com.

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Inside New Orleans

February-March 2017 79

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Inside New Orleans

INside Look

3 2

4

1

Think Pink 1. Handcrafted bead, agate and cross necklace, $68. mélange by kp, Mandeville, 985-807-7652. 2. Fantasie Caroline bra with

5

side support, Swiss-designed embroidery and two-tone bows, $66; girl short in Pink Haze, $40. Bra Genie, Mandeville, 985-9518638. 3. Antique-style ruby and diamond ring in 18K white gold. Boudreaux’s Jewelers, Metairie, 831-2602. 4. PJ Harlow Rudy satin

6

knee-length gown with spaghetti straps and gathered back, $72. The Lifestyle Store at Franco’s, Mandeville, 985-792-0200. 5. 18K white gold and pink Kasumiga freshwater cultured pearl earrings with diamonds totaling .43ct., $4,500. Lee Michael’s Fine Jewelry, Metairie, 832-0000. 6. Stuart Weitzman NearlyNude block heel sandal with adjustable buckle strap and padded insole; shown in Geranium Suede and Naked Suede, $398.

FeBe, Metairie, 835-5250.

February-March 2017 81

INside Look

2

1

3

4

Think Pink 1. Tacori Dantela engagement ring in 18K rose gold. Boudreaux’s Jewelers, Metairie, 831-2602.

2. Joseph Abboud 100% Egyptian cotton signature wrinkle-free, tailored fit dress shirt, $59.50; plaid bow tie, $49.50. 100% cotton Traveler Collection tailored fit dress shirt, $79.50 with tie, $59.50.

Jos. A. Bank, Metairie and New 5

Orleans, 528-9491. 3. Charcoal Detox Pedicure soothing foot treatment, $65. Mia Bella Beauty Lounge, New Orleans, 510-5963.

4. DeeDee Swing Jacket in Tiki Pink Shake It Up, $108. Weekender Legging in Tiki Pink Space Dye, $98. Palm Village – A Lilly Pulitzer Store, Mandeville, 985-778-2547.

5. Mardi Gras Gator girls’ high-low shirt, $24. Mardi Gras Gator onesie, $20. Mardi Gras Gator dress, $28.

Auraluz, Metairie, 888-3313.

82

Inside New Orleans

February-March 2017 83

B U S I N E S S

P R O F I L E

Erin Saucier, Trey Woods, Jeremy Pichon and Caleb Didriksen.

Didriksen, Saucier, Woods & Pichon, APLC Didriksen, Saucier, Woods & Pichon Law Firm is a general civil litigation firm that focuses on liability determinations of many types,

30 years of experiences as a civil lawyer, with heavy emphasis on

including torts, professional malpractice, product liability, insurance

complex and technical litigation, and he has an excellent win/loss

and corporate defense, and subrogation. The firm is an outgrowth

firm record, including some of the largest cases litigated in Louisiana.

of Didriksen Law Firm, PLC. The new corporation was formed

Caleb is a general litigator. He prides himself on being an

effective January 1, 2016 with the goal of providing a larger scope of

effective generalist. He uses his technical and engineering knowledge

ownership and the superior work product its clients have learned to

for the benefit of his clients, whether it be on a tort case, a property

expect from the lawyers.

defect case, builder’s risks, engineer defense, or first- and third-

Founding partner Caleb Didriksen, his partners Erin Saucier,

party casualty, liability and property coverage and defense cases. His

Trey Woods and Jeremy J. Pichon, and associate Michael Finkelstein

insurance cases include environmental claims, including class actions;

bring their diverse backgrounds and viewpoints together for problem

defense of personal injury claims arising out of construction, industrial,

solving in a way that provides unique benefits to clients. The boutique

highway, and automotive accidents; defense of construction defect

size allows them to work closely together, providing clients with the

and design defect claims; and subrogation prosecution.

kind of personal attention that they need and deserve. Didriksen, Saucier, Woods & Pichon clients know who is serving them.

Unique to the firm is its background and long exposure to technically complex issues. Caleb has a degree in engineering, which allows the firm to provide clients with legal advice supplemented

84

a license as a general contractor and a pilot’s license. Caleb has

Caleb’s undergraduate degree was a B.S. in General Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Campaign. He worked as a process control engineer in glass manufacturing plants before entering law school.

Erin Saucier, the managing partner of the firm, graduated from

with technical training and experience—a great choice of counsel

Tulane University in 2002, Summa Cum Laude. She was a member of

for companies on the leading edge of technology, and a great choice

Order of the Coif, and served on Tulane’s Law Review as a Notes and

of counsel for companies with technical risk issues. Caleb also holds

Comments Editor. She specializes in complex, multi-party personal

Inside New Orleans

B U S I N E S S

injury, asbestos and products liability cases. She also handles succession

P R O F I L E

Carl “Trey” Woods is a trial attorney and general litigator, who

and insurance defense cases. Prior to joining Didriksen, she was an

works on the firm’s first- and third-party property, casualty and liability

associate at Phelps Dunbar in their general business group. Erin will be

coverage and defense cases, as well as in the areas of tort litigation,

featured at length in the upcoming Women IN Business special section.

complex trial litigation and appellate litigation. Trey’s diverse liberal arts

Jeremy J. Pichon leads the firm’s litigation department. His diverse

education and background position him for success for each new case

background in law, finance and business enables him to provide high-

and issue presented, whether it is a class action, a personal injury claim,

quality integrated legal services across practice areas. Jeremy has

construction disputes, commercials insurance defense or subrogation

successfully tried many jury and bench trials before state, federal and

prosecution. Trey has successfully tried many cases as a first chair

military judges throughout Louisiana. On average, Jeremy and the team

attorney in both state and federal courts. He has also successfully

at Didriksen, Saucier, Woods & Pichon try over ten jury trials a year.

prosecuted and defended appeals in all Louisiana appellate courts.

Before becoming a law partner with Didriksen, Saucier, Woods &

Trey has experience managing all aspects of numerous personal

Pichon, Jeremy was an associate with Alvendia, Kelly & Demarest and

injury, wrongful death, insurance, and commercial contract dispute

before that was the sole owner of Pichon Law Firm, L.L.C..

cases on both the plaintiff and defense side. Trey worked two years

Jeremy has worked with other law firms and government agencies,

with the trial team on the BP MDL under the co-liaison counsel. He also

including the Office of the Louisiana Attorney General, on major civil and

provided oral and written opinions for the BP Settlement program’s policy

criminal litigation. Jeremy has also been involved in several high-profile

decisions and to the Third Party Seafood Neutral on multiple issues and

class action trials and has represented hundreds of clients.

interpretations. He has provided litigation support on numerous mass

In 2003, Jeremy deployed for one year in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has over 17 years of military service. He currently is a part-time soldier in the Judge Advocate Corps of the Louisiana Army National Guard.

tort litigations and Multi-District litigations including the BP MDL, Chinese Drywall MDL and the West Texas Fertilizer Explosion.

Trey is the Founder and President of the Red Shoe Society of New

In his capacity as a Judge Advocate, Jeremy has prosecuted and defended

Orleans, sits on the executive Board for Ronald McDonald House of

soldiers under the Louisiana Code of Military Justice. He has also served

Southern Louisiana and has served as Court Appointed Special Advocate

as the 1-244th AHB Command Judge Advocate during the high profile

for Children in Orleans Parish. Trey also provides pro bono representation

investigation of the March 2015 UH-60 Helicopter fatality involving soldiers

to indigent clients in Orleans Parish Criminal Court. In addition to his legal

from the 1-244th Assault Helicopter Battalion and United State Marine

degree, Trey also received a Masters in Business Administration from

Corps. Jeremy has been acknowledge by the Louisiana Army National

Loyola University and has an extensive background and education in the

Guard for his role in conducting the first Article 32 hearing held by the

fields of business administration and economics.

Louisiana Army National Guard. He has also has been recognized for his role

The lawyers of Didriksen, Saucier, Woods & Pichon were recognized

in representing a soldier in the first Special Courts Martial conducted before

by the Times Picayune Louisiana’s Top Lawyers for 2016. In the next issue

a panel in the Louisiana Army National Guard.

of Inside New Orleans, Didriksen, Saucier, Woods & Pichon will introduce

Jeremy holds a B.A. from Loyola University. He received his Juris

Erin Saucier in the Women IN Business special section.

Doctor from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge. He also attended The Judge Advocate General’s School where he became certified to represent soldiers before a military court.

Jeremy regularly speaks at local schools and universities and is an active member in his community. Jeremy currently serves as a board member on Congressman Cedric Richmond Service Academy review board. Jeremy is also on the board of directors of the Cincinnatus Club. The Cincinnatus Club is a New Orleans social club and carnival organization that was established in 2013, to honor the past and present members of the Armed Forces, their families, and to provide the citizens of New Orleans a military-themed Mardi Gras Krewe.

Didriksen, Saucier, Woods & Pichon, APLC, is located at 3114 Canal Street in New Orleans. 586-1600. dswplaw.com.

February-March 2017 85

AT FIRST GLANCE, they just looked tired. Very, very tired, like they’d expended most of what they had—mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. No surprise, for a group of first-year medical students. As they took their places around conference-style tables at the new Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University, there was nary a smile among them. As the chef in resident began a spirited knife safety demonstration, their reactions were stoic at best.

students and their future patients.

Here within the world’s first teaching kitchen affiliated with a medical school, Chef Sarris and her team spend days like this teaching med students, residents, doctors, chefs and members of the community about selecting food, deciphering nutrition labels, preparing meals, calculating portion sizes, choosing healthy food alternatives and achieving flavor without saturated fat and sodium—in general, the basics of healthy cooking and food as medicine.

Standing to one side, on this particular day, were

Tulane’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine But fifteen minutes later, as they gathered in teams of three in the gleaming 4,600-square-foot showcase kitchen, a low murmur of voices began. A stray chuckle and a few tentative questions. Fingers fumbled with apron strings, and twenty-somethings looked dubiously at the implements assembled in front of them. Set out before each group were a recipe card and an assortment of pots, knives, measuring cups, a cutting board, a dish towel and the ingredients to make three servings of spaghetti with lentils.

As they began to measure and mix, Executive Chef Leah Sarris tossed out questions like, “What’s the recommended sodium intake for one day?” and “How many calories are in a tablespoon of olive oil?”

Nobody knew. She offered the answers and explained why the information is important to the

86

Inside New Orleans

The world’s first medical school teaching kitchen

two practicing local physicians. “Many times, we’re asked to advise our patients about diet,” one said. “We know the stats: two in three Americans are overweight.

We know most of us could stand to eat better. But this class makes us realize how little we actually know about food nutrition. And how can we advise our patients about something we ourselves don’t know?”

According to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, the typical American diet exceeds the recommended intake levels in calories from solid fats, added sugars, refined grains and saturated fat.

And about 90 percent of Americans eat more sodium than is recommended for a healthy diet.

But does your doctor know the >>

by Mimi Greenwood Knight

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food photo: CANDRA GOERGE mycreativereality.com

- Hippocrates

February-March 2017 87

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Inside New Orleans

teach his patients how to make healthy food choices within their budget that can have a positive impact on their health.

In one class, students prepared a typical supper of spaghetti and meat sauce using four recipes, with each recipe including progressively fewer calories, more nutrition and more fiber per serving. At the end of the class, students ate their work together as they went over the nutrition content of each dish, learning how traditional recipes can be easily altered to reduce calories and increase nutrition without losing any flavor. In fact, in many cases the favor is improved.

At the Tulane Clinic, one pilot study on diabetes care is offering half its subjects nutritional information and counseling alone and the other half the same information as well as hands-on cooking classes at The Goldring Center to track patient progress and help determine the success of the program.

Community classes are tailored to different groups, such as seniors, Spanish-speakers, children and others.

Medical students cook alongside them and lead discussions on the importance of the things they’re learning, while at the same time bolstering their own confidence in counseling with patients. The Goldring program also offers corporate team-building classes and continuing-education seminars for doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dieticians.

“It’s like Home Ec for the 21st century,” says Chef Sarris. Well, it is if your Home Ec classroom included eight highly professional cooking stations, where any five-star chef would feel at home, and a fully outfitted chef’s presentation area with overhead LCD screens. “Most of us aren’t learning to cook at home anymore, so few of us

photos: CANDRA GOERGE mycreativereality.com

recommended levels?

In fact, less than 25 percent of U.S. physicians say they feel confident talking to their patients about diet, and fewer than one in eight medical visits include any nutritional counseling. With help from The Goldring Center, the Tulane University School of Medicine is attempting to change all that. Its goal is to help doctors feel confident in their knowledge about food so they can pass that knowledge on to their patients, doing more than simply advising patients to “eat better.” They can teach them how practical dietary changes can improve their health and wellness, beginning with the food they buy and the ways they prepare and consume it.

“Our goal is to teach medical students and residents how to cook and how to translate the information they learn into the conversations they’re going to have with their patients about food,” says Dr. Timothy Harlan, a Tulane internist, former chef and executive director of The Goldring Center. The program’s philosophy is based on the Mediterranean diet, which includes more vegetables, beans, fruits, nuts, whole grains, fish and healthy plant-based fats, while limiting dairy, meat, and alcohol.

“First-year students are required to take three mandatory classes, but can opt for a total of nine,” says Chef Sarris.

“We also have fourth-year students doing internships with us, assisting in the teaching. We can accommodate up to 200 medical students a year.”

Students learn about food allergies and food-related autoimmune disorders they’ll encounter in their practices, such as celiac disease. They also work in groups on case studies to practice applying what they’re learning. Med student David Ly says the class taught him to shop more efficiently, so he can

feel confident in the kitchen,” says Sarris. With her degree in culinary nutrition, she also offers popular six-week classes free to the community and oversees a lush on-site community garden.

One neighborhood resident who participated in the community classes was Janell Perry. She credits the classes with teaching her to shop healthier and to cook food that helps her medicate her diabetes and hypertension, rather than relying on so many pharmaceuticals.

Medical student Dennis Ren says the program offers him concrete information he can offer his future patients. “Rather than just telling them to lower salt and fat, I can tell them, ‘Why don’t you go from whole milk to two percent; instead of using all that salt, why don’t you try to add a little acid like lemon juice or vinegar, which will bring out the flavor just as well?’”

Another neighborhood resident, Kathy Read, says the classes taught her to snack differently.

“Rather than reaching for potato chips or chocolate, I can make healthier choices, and I learned to really enjoy cooking for the first time.”

The Goldring Center, a 501(c)(3) organization, is funded by celebrity chef dinners, other fundraisers and a spattering of grants. As a world leader in culinary medicine, it has generated a curriculum that is used by other schools and offers one-on-one, physician-referred nutrition counseling with patients.

“This is something new for us,” says Sarris. “Just like the doctors, patients are learning nutrition, not from a book or a pamphlet, but from hands-on experience, preparing food and eating what they themselves prepared.”

Sarris began working with a farm-to-school program in her native Rhode Island, and then went on to teach culinary nutrition at Johnson & Wales University College of Culinary Arts. When local philanthropist and Tulane graduate Bill Goldring donated the seed money to establish The Goldring Center, she was brought in to help run it. The school began in a much smaller facility, but in August 2015 relocated to North Broad Street at Bienville Avenue in New Orleans within the ReFresh Project in what was once an urban food desert.

“We like to consider ourselves a community health hub now,” says Sarris. “ReFresh includes one>>

SEVEN TIPS FROM EXECUTIVE CHEF LEAH SARRIS • Rethink your drink. Ditch the soda and sugarsweetened beverages. A 20-ounce Coke contains the equivalent of 17 packets of sugar.

Be wary of fruit juice and processed orange juice, which are surprisingly high in sugar. A tasty alternative is water with citrus.

• Make your own breakfast. Go-to staples are high-fiber cereal with bananas or egg sandwiches with spinach and feta on a wholewheat English muffin.

• Opt for whole grains instead of processed carbs. That includes brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and whole-grain bread.

• Eat less meat and load on the veggies.

Substituting half the meat in a recipe for more vegetables reduces costs while raising nutritional value and fiber content. Avoid too much meat. It’s high in saturated fat and calorie-dense.

• Measure your salt before you use it. Most of us easily eat two to three times the 2,300 milligrams daily recommended limit of salt.

• Use more plant-based fats to improve heart health. This includes olive oil, vegetable oils and nut-based oils.

• Become label conscious. Learn how to read nutrition labels, paying close attention to serving sizes, total calories and the amount of sugar, salt and trans fats. Look for foods high in fiber and try to raise your fiber intake to 30 grams per day.

February-March 2017 89

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Inside New Orleans

photo: CANDRA GOERGE mycreativereality.com

of only a few urban Whole Foods in the nation, with food that’s priced lower to accommodate the neighborhood, and Liberty Kitchen, which provides employability and life skills training to vulnerable New Orleans youth while offering freshly prepared, nutritious meals to area school children.

Upstairs are the main offices of the First Line Schools; Sprout NOLA hosts farmer’s markets in our lobby.”

The project takes up a full city block; surrounding it on three sides are gardens, some available to the neighborhood and others growing the food for Liberty Kitchen and The Goldring Center. “Plots are available free of charge to anyone in the neighborhood who wants to try growing their own food, and all the herbs and flowers grown outside the fences are there for the neighborhood to pick,” says Sarris. “We host field trips for schools and homeschool parents and run a popular summer camp free to neighborhood kids. More and more, physicians are referring their patients for classes, and we’re hoping to be working soon with insurance companies who’ll be underwriting our cost.”

Across the country, other medical school are starting to take note of the Tulane program. Twenty-seven schools and a handful of healthcare centers have licensed Tulane’s culinary medicine curriculum to begin their own programs. Sales of the curriculum with help fund the center.

Meanwhile back in the kitchen, the med students were ready to try their creations. One admitted she’d never tasted lentils, but liked them. Another said he cooked at home every night, but often just cooked chicken, without any sides.

There’s much more conversation now and lots of questions.

The excitement is mounting, as students look forward to the next installment of the class, where they’ll garner more culinary medicine knowledge. Soon, they’ll be imparting that information to their patients, helping to foster a new mindset where Hippocrates’ millennia-old vision can be realized. Food truly will become our medicine, and our medicine will truly become our food.

Macaroni and Cauliflower Cheese Bake

Serves: 8 ½ medium cauliflower (or approx. 3 cups frozen cauliflower) 8 oz. low-fat shredded cheddar cheese 4 oz. shredded parmesan cheese

1. Wilt spinach in a steamer and set aside. Rinse cauliflower well, cutting off outer green leaves and stalk, and then chop into bite-sized pieces. Add together cheeses, sour cream, salt and pepper.

2. Bring slightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cauliflower. Cook according to package directions (usually 6-8 minutes). While the macaroni is cooking, place the bowl of cheese mixture over the pot and stir occasionally to incorporate melting cheese and sour cream. Once melted,

4 oz. baby spinach 10 oz. dry whole-grain macaroni 8 oz. sour cream or crème fraîche ¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp ground black pepper

remove the cheese from the heat.

3. Drain macaroni and cauliflower, reserving one cup of the cooking liquid. Return pasta to the pan with the wilted spinach. Stir to integrate spinach. Pour on melted cheese, and stir well to combine. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of the reserved liquid.

4. Serve the macaroni as is. Or add 2/3 cup of the reserved liquid, stir well, and transfer everything to a 9×13 baking pan. Bake in a preheated 400° oven until golden and bubbling (5-10 minutes).

IN Great Taste

photo: YVETTE JEMISON

by Yvette Jemison

92

Inside New Orleans

AFTER HOSTING A CRAWFISH BOIL, there’s always an overabundance of well-seasoned crawfish, corn and mushrooms. These leftover ingredients add a nice pop of flavor to a variety of dishes. Savory cheesecakes are a delicious treat that make great use of your excess ingredients. The creamy blend of spices and crawfish is rich and worthy of any special occasion. When served whole, the cheesecake makes an impressive make-ahead party dish. When

served as a wedge, this pepper jelly-topped treat is a great addition to any cheese platter. Simply serve with crackers or crudité for a crowd-pleasing spread.

Deviled eggs are a classic appetizer and another clever use of crawfish. Give your deviled eggs an upgrade after the crawfish boil with your leftover crawfish tail meat. The filling for these eggs is studded with crawfish, capers and green onions for a flavor blend that makes the perfect one-bite appetizer.

After the boil CRAWFISH CHEESECAKE Servings: 10-12 Crust 2 ½ cups crushed butter crackers ½ cup butter, melted

3. Press the mixture into the bottom of springform pan. Bake just until crust is lightly brown, 6-8 minutes. Set aside.

1 egg white, beaten Filling Filling 2 Tablespoons olive oil ½ cup green onions, sliced 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced 2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves ½ teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 ½ lbs. cream cheese, softened ½ cup sour cream 3 eggs ¼ teaspoon Tabasco pepper sauce 2 cups crawfish tails ½ cup corn kernels, cut off boiled cob ½ cup mushrooms, coarsely chopped ½ cup pepper jelly Special equipment: 9-inch springform pan

1. Heat olive oil in small skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions and bell peppers until bell peppers are softened, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, eggs and pepper sauce until well blended.

Scrape down sides of the bowl. Fold in bell pepper mixture, crawfish, corn and mushrooms until well combined. Spread filling over the prepared crust, and bake until firm in the center, 45-50 minutes.

3. Spread pepper jelly on top of cheesecake.

Bake until jelly is heated and cheesecake is brown around edges, about 20 minutes. Cool cheesecake completely in springform pan on a rack. Carefully unmold the cheesecake, and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Crust

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 2. In a medium bowl, mix crackers, butter and egg white until well combined.

Do ahead: Cheesecake can be made up to 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated and serve chilled with crackers and crudité. >>

February-March 2017 93

IN Great Taste

INside Dining

Neighborhood Café, 3000 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-866-3683

New Orleans is home to more great restaurants than we could hope to list here. For a comprehensive listing of restaurants in the New Orleans metro area, please refer to Tom Fizmorris’ nomenu.com. In this guide, you will find

CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT Blue Room aaa American, 123 Baronne, Roosevelt Hotel. 504-648-1200 Bon Ton Café aaa Cajun, 401 Magazine St., 504-524-3386

some of the best bets around town.

Borgne aaa Seafood, 601 Loyola

Tom’s fleur de lis ratings are shown.

Ave. (Hyatt Regency Hotel), 504-613-3860

CARROLLTON, RIVERBEND AND BROADMOOR Babylon Café aaa Middle Eastern, 7724 Maple St., 504-314-0010 Barcelona Tapas aaa Spanish, 720 Dublin St., 504-861-9696 Basil Leaf aaa Thai, 1438 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-862-9001 Boucherie aaaa Southern Barbecue, 1506 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-862-5514

photo: YVETTE JEMISON

Brigtsen’s aaaa Contemporary Creole,

CRAWFISH DEVILED EGGS Servings: 24

723 Dante St., 504-861-7610 Cooter Brown’s Tavern aaa Sandwiches, 509 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-866-9104 Cowbell aa Hamburgers, 8801 Oak St., 504-866-4222 Dante’s Kitchen aaaa Eclectic, 736 Dante St., 504-861-3121 Dat Dog a Craft Hot Dogs,

12 large eggs 1/3 cup mayonnaise 1 Tablespoon capers 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper 4 dashes Tabasco hot sauce ½ cup crawfish tail meat, coarsely chopped ¼ cup green onions, chopped

1. Place eggs in a medium pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, and transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water. Let sit until cool enough to handle, 1-2 minutes.

Peel eggs and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix mayonnaise, capers, mustard, salt, pepper and hot 94

Inside New Orleans

sauce until well blended.

3. Halve eggs lengthwise.

Scoop yolks into mayonnaise mixture and place whites on a plate.

4. Mash yolks, and stir until well blended. Fold in crawfish and green onions.

5. Fill egg halves with yolk mixture. Garnish with green onions and fresh cracked black pepper.

5030 Freret St., 504-899-6883

Hana aaa Japanese, 8116 Hampson, 504-865-1634 Jacques-Imo’s aaa Cajun, 8324 Oak St., 504-861-0886 Lebanon’s Café aaa Middle Eastern, 1500 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-862-6200 Louisiana Pizza Kitchen aaa Pizza, 615 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-866-5900 Maple Street Café aaa Creole Italian, 7623 Maple St., 504-314-9003 Mat & Naddie’s aaaa Eclectic, 937 Leonidas St., 504-861-9600 Mikimoto aaaa Japanese, 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-488-1881 Mona’s Café aa Middle Eastern, 1120 S. Carrollton Ave.,

Do ahead: Eggs can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate egg whites and filling separately; fill just before serving.

504-861-8174 Panchita’s aaa Central American, 1434 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-281-4127 Pupuseria La Macarena aaa Central American, 8120 Hampson St., 504-862-5252 Riccobono’s Panola Street Café aa Breakfast, 7801 Panola St.,

For more recipes go to Ydelicacies.com and @y_delicacies on Instagram.

Café Adelaide aaaa Contemporary Creole, 300 Poydras St., 504-595-3305 Chophouse aaa Steak, 322 Magazine St., 504-522-7902 Desi Vega’s aaaa Steak, 628 St. Charles Ave., 504-523-7600 Domenica aaaa Italian, 123 Baronne St. (Roosevelt Hotel), 504-648-6020 Drago’s aaaa Seafood, 2 Poydras St., 504-584-3911 Herbsaint aaaa Creole French, 701 St. Charles Ave., 504-524-4114 Horinoya aaa Japanese, 920 Poydras St., 504-561-8914 Liborio aaa Cuban, 321 Magazine St., 504-581-9680 Lucky Rooster aaa Pan-Asian, 515 Baronne St., 504-529-5825 Lüke aaa French, 333 St. Charles Ave., 504-378-2840 MiLa aaaa Eclectic, 817 Common St., 504-412-2580 Morton’s The Steakhouse aaa Steak, 365 Canal St. (Canal Place Mall), 504-566-0221 Mother’s aaa Sandwiches, 401 Poydras St., 504-523-9656 Poppy’s Crazy Lobster Bar & Grill a Seafood, 500 Port of New Orelans Pl., Suite 83. 504-5693380 Poppy’s Time Out Sports Bar & Grill. Hamburgers. 1 Poydras St. (Riverfront). 504-247-9265 Restaurant August aaaaa Eclectic, 301 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-299-9777 Ruby Slipper Café aaa Breakfast, Neighborhood Café, 200 Magazine St., 504-525-9355 Ruth’s Chris Steak House aaa Steak, 525 Fulton St., 504-587-7099 Windsor Court Grill Room aaa American, 300 Gravier St., 504-522-1994

504-314-1810 Vincent’s aaaa Italian, 7839 St. Charles Ave., 504-866-9313 Ye Olde College Inn aaa

FRENCH QUARTER Acme Oyster House aaa Seafood, 724 Iberville St., 504-522-5973

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Antoine’s aaaa Creole French, 713 St. Louis St., 504-581-4422 Arnaud’s aaaa Creole French, 813 Bienville St., 504-523-5433 Bayona aaaa Eclectic, 430 Dauphine St., 504-525-4455 Bombay Club aaa Contemporary Creole, 830 Conti St., 504-577-2237 Bourbon House aaa Seafood, 144 Bourbon St., 504-522-0111 Brennan’s Contemporary Creole, 417 Royal St., 504-525-9711 Broussard’s aaaa Creole French, 819 Conti St., 504-581-3866 Café Giovanni aaaa Creole Italian, 117 Decatur St., 504-529-2154 Court of Two Sisters aaa Creole French, 613 Royal St., 504-522-7261 Crescent City Brewhouse aaa Pub Food, 527 Decatur St., 504-522-0571 Criollo aaa Creole French, 214 Royal St., 504-681-4444 Dat Dog a Craft Hot Dogs, 601 Frenchmen St., 505-309-3362 The Davenport Lounge Small bites and cocktails, 921 Canal Street (The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans) 504-670-2828 Deanie’s Seafood Seafood, 841 Iberville St., 504-581-1316 Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse aaa Steak, 716 Iberville St.,

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921 Canal Street (The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans) 504-670-2828 Mr. B’s Bistro aaaa Contemporary Creole, 201 Royal St., 504-523-2078 Muriel’s aaaa Contemporary Creole, 801 Chartres St., 504-568-1885 Napoleon House aa Sandwiches, 500 Chartres St., 504-524-9752 New Orleans Creole Cookery Classic Creole, 510 Toulouse St., 504-524-9632 Nola aaaa Contemporary Creole, 534 St. Louis St., 504-522-6652 Palace Café aaa Contemporary Creole, 605 Canal St., 504-523-1661 Pelican Club aaaaa Contemporary Creole, 312 Exchange Place, 504-523-1504 Port of Call aaa Hamburgers, 838 Esplanade Ave., 504-523-0120 R’evolution aaaa Creole French, 777 Bienville, 504-553-2277 Red Fish Grill aaa Seafood, 115 Bourbon St., 504-598-1200 Rib Room aaa American, 621 St. Louis St., 504-529-7045 SoBou aaa Contemporary Creole, 310 Chartres St., 504-552-4095 Stanley aa Breakfast, 547 St. Ann St., 504-587-0093 Tujague’s aaa Creole, 823 Decatur St., 504-525-8676

504-522-2467 El Gato Negro aaa Mexican, 81 French Market Place, 504-525-9752 Frank’s aaa Creole Italian, 933 Decatur St., 504-525-1602 Galatoire’s aaaa Creole French, 209 Bourbon St., 504-525-2021 Galatoire’s 33 Bar & Steak aaa Steak, 215 Bourbon St., 504-335-3932 Gumbo Shop aaa Creole, 630 St. Peter St., 504-525-1486 GW Fins aaaa Seafood, 808 Bienville St., 504-581-3467 Irene’s Cuisine aaaa Italian, 539 St. Philip St., 504-529-8811 K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen aaaa Cajun, 416 Chartres St., 504-

GARDEN DISTRICT Commander’s Palace aaaaa Contemporary Creole, 1403 Washington Ave., 504-899-8221 Coquette aaaa Creole French, 2800 Magazine St., 504-265-0421 Delmonico aaaa Contemporary Creole, 1300 St. Charles Ave., 504-525-4937 Juan’s Flying Burrito aaa Mexican, 2018 Magazine St., 504-569-0000 Mr. John’s Steakhouse aaaa Steak, 2111 St. Charles Ave., 504-679-7697 Sushi Brothers aaa Japanese, 1612 St. Charles Ave., 504-581-4449 Tracey’s aaa Sandwiches, 2604 Magazine St., 504-897-5413

596-2530 Kingfish aaaa Cajun, 337 Chartres St., 504-598-5005 Louisiana Bistro aaa Contemporary Creole, 337 Dauphine St., 504-525-3335 Louisiana Pizza Kitchen aaa Pizza, 95 French Market Place, 504-522-9500 M Bistro aaaFarm to Table Restaurant

LAKEVIEW Café Navarre aa Sandwiches, 800 Navarre Ave., 504-483-8828 Cava aaaa New Orleans Style, 785 Harrison Ave, New Orleans LA 70124, 504-304-9034 El Gato Negro aaa Mexican, 300 Harrison Ave., 504-488-0107 Lakeview Harbor aaa Hamburgers, 911 Harrison Ave., >>

February-March 2017 95

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504-486-4887

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Houma Blvd., 504-457-4188 Ristorante Filippo aaa Creole

Munch Factory aaa Contemporary

Italian, 1917 Ridgelake Dr.,

Creole, 6325 Elysian Fields Ave., 504-324-5372

504-835-4008

504-888-3600

504-822-9503

Sandro’s Trattoria aaa Creole Italian, 6601 Veterans Blvd., 504-888-7784 Shogun aaaa Japanese, 2325

Tony Angello’s aaa Creole Italian, 6262

Veterans Blvd., 504-833-7477 Taqueria Corona aaa Mexican, 3535 Severn Ave., 504-885-5088 Vincent’s aaaa Creole Italian, 4411

Acme Oyster House aaa Seafood, 3000 Veterans Blvd., 504-309-4056

Chastant St., 504-885-2984 Zea aaa American, 4450 Veterans

Andrea’s aa Italian, 3100 19th St., 504-834-8583 Austin’s aaaa Creole, 5101 West

Veterans Blvd., 504-837-6696;

504-486-0078 Café Degas aaa French, 3127

504-305-4833 Casablanca aaa Mediterranean,

Esplanade Ave., 504-945-5635 Café Minh aaaa Vietnamese, 4139

3030 Severn Ave., 504-888-2209 China Rose aaa Chinese, 3501 N. Arnoult St., 504-887-3295 Crabby Jack’s aaa Sandwiches, 428 Jefferson Hwy., Jefferson, 504-833-2722

Canal St., 504-482-6266

Drago’s aaaa Seafood, 3232 N. Arnoult Rd., 504-888-9254 Heritage Grill Contemporary Creole, 111 Veterans Blvd., 504-934-4900 Impastato’s aaaa Creole Italian, 3400 16th St., 504-455-1545 Little Tokyo aaa Japanese, 2300 N. Causeway Blvd., 504-831-6788 Martin Wine Cellar Deli aaa Deli, 714 Elmeer Ave., 504-896-7300 Mellow Mushroom aa Pizza, 30 craft beers on tap, 3131 Veterans Memorial Blvd., 504-644-4155 Mr. Ed’s aaa Neighborhood Café, 1001 Live Oak St., 504-838-0022 Mr. Ed’s Oyster Bar & Fish House aaa Seafood, 3117 21St. Street, 504-833-6310 Parran’s Po-Boys aaa Sandwiches, 3939 Veterans Blvd., 504-885-3416 Peppermill aaa Creole Italian, 3524 Severn Ave., 504-455-2266

96

Inside New Orleans

speciality, 10826-1/2 Hayne Blvd., 504-244-8446 Deanie’s on Hayne aaa Seafood, 7350 Hayne Blvd., 504-248-6700 Messina’s Runway Cafe Creole

Seafood, 208 Lee Lane, Covington, 985-875-0432 Nuvolari’s aaaa Creole Italian, 246 Girod St., Mandeville, 985-626-5619 Ox Lot 9 aaa Contemporary, 428 E Boston St., Covington, 985-400-5663 Pardo’s aaaa Contemporary Creole, 69305 Hwy 21,

Acme Oyster House aaa Seafood, 1202 US 190, Covington, 985-246-6155

Covington, 985-893-3603 Ristorante Del Porto aaaa Italian, 501 E. Boston St., Covington, 985-875-1006

Café Lynn aaaa Contemporary Creole,

Sal and Judy’s aaaa Italian, 27491

2600 Florida St., Mandeville, 985-

Highway 190, Lacombe, 985-

624-9007 Carreta’s Grill a Mexican, 1340

882-9443 Zea aaa American, 110 Lake Dr., Covington, 985-327-0520; 173 Northshore Blvd., Slidell,

Covington, 985-871-6674

985-3270520

1 Collins Diboll Circle, 504-482-1264

Canal Street Bistro aaa Mexican, 3903 Canal St., 504-482-1225 Steak, 1001 N. Broad St.,

Mall), 504-304-7005

Castnet Seafood aaa Seafood

0020; 70380 LA Hwy. 21,

Crescent City Steak House aaa

Veterans Memorial Blvd. (Lakeside

Creole, 36440 Old Bayou Liberty

Lindberg Dr., Slidell, 985-847-

4426 Transcontinental Blvd., 504-885-6885

Mandeville, 985-626-5566

Cafe NOMA Contemporary Creole,

Cypress aaa Contemporary Creole,

Dat Dog a Craft Hot Dogs, 3301

190, Covington, 985-327-5407 N’Tini’s aaa Creole, 2891 US 190,

Rd., Slidell, 985-643-0443

Stripes Blvd., 504-241-5300

Coffee, 214 N. Carrollton Ave.,

craft beers on tap, 1645 N. Hwy.

New Orleans Food & Spiritsaaa

504-780-9090; 1655 Hickory Ave.,

Angelo Brocato aaa Dessert and

985-892-0708 Mellow Mushroom aa Pizza, 30

Fortier Blvd., 504-254-4109

NORTHSHORE

Carreta’s Grill a Mexican, 2320 1821 Hickory Ave., Harahan,

NEW ORLEANS EAST

Homestyle, 6001 Stars and

MID-CITY

Gibson St., Covington,

Cafe Trang Vietnamese, 4637 Alcee

Harahan, 504-738-0799

Café East aaa Pan-Asian, 4628

Mattina Bella aaa Breakfast, 421 E.

Nathan’s aaaa Contemporary

Blvd. (Clearview Mall),

Esplanade Ave., 504-888-5533 Rye St., 504-888-0078

Carrollton Ave., 504-488-7991 Chicken, 2401 St. Ann St.,

Creole, 888 Harrison Ave.,

METAIRIE

Venezia aaa Italian, 134 N.

Steak, 3633 Veterans Blvd.,

Steak Knife aaa Contemporary

Fleur de Lis Dr., 504-488-0888

Carrollton Ave., 504-252-4999

Willie Mae’s Scotch House aaa

Contemporary Creole, 900 City

504-488-8981

504-483-1571 Toups’ Meatery aaa Cajun, 845 N.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House aaaa

Ralph’s On The Park aaaa Park Ave., 504-488-1000

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Pho Orchid aaa Vietnamese, 3117

Mondo aaa Eclectic, 900 Harrison Ave., 504-224-2633

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504-821-3271 Dooky Chase aaa Creole, 2301 Orleans Ave., 504-821-0600 Five Happiness aaa Chinese, 3605 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-482-3935 Juan’s Flying Burrito aaa Mexican,

The Chimes aaa Cajun, 19130 W. Front St., Covington, 985-892-5396 Dakota aaaa Contemporary Creole, 629 N. US 190, Covington, 985-892-3712 DiCristina’s aaa Italian, 810 N. Columbia St., Covington, 985-875-0160 Fazzio’saa Italian,1841 N. Causeway Blvd., Mandeville, 985-624-9704 Gallagher’s Grill aaaa

4724 S. Carrollton Ave.,

Contemporary Creole, 509 S. Tyler

504-486-9950

St., Covington, 985-892-9992

Katie’s aaa Neighborhood Café, 3701 Iberville St., 504-488-6582 Little Tokyo aaa Japanese, 310 N. Carrollton Ave., 504-485-5658 Liuzza’s aaa Neighborhood Café, 3636 Bienville St., 504-482-9120 Mandina’s aaa Italian, Seafood, 3800 Canal St., 504-482-9179 Mona’s Café aa Middle Eastern, 3901 Banks St., 504-482-7743 Parkway Poor Boys aaa Sandwiches, 538 Hagan Ave., 504-482-3047 Ruby Slipper Café aaa Breakfast, Neighborhood Café, 139 S. Cortez St., 504-309-5531 Rue 127 aaaa Contemporary Creole, 127 N. Carrollton Ave.,

George’s aaa Mexican, 1461 N.

OLD METAIRIE Byblos aaa Middle Eastern, 1501 Metairie Rd., 504-834-9773 Café B aaa Contemporary Creole, 2700 Metairie Rd., 504-934-4700 Chateau Du Lac aaaa French, 2037 Metairie Rd., 504-831-3773 Galley Seafood aaa Seafood, 2535 Metairie Rd., 504-832-0955 Porter & Luke’s aaa Creole Homestyle, 1517 Metairie Rd., 504-875-4555 Vega Tapas Café aaa

Causeway Blvd., Mandeville, 985-

Mediterranean, 2051 Metairie Rd.,

626-4342

504-836-2007

Keith Young’s Steak House aaaa Steak, 165 LA 21, Madisonville, 985-845-9940 La Carreta aaa Mexican, 812 Hyw 190, Covington, 985-400-5202; 1200 W. Causeway Approach, Mandeville, 985-624-2990 La Provence aaaa French, 25020 US 190, Lacombe, 985-626-7662 Lakehouse aaa Contemporary Creole, 2025 Lakeshore Dr., Mandeville, 985-626-3006 Mandina’s aaa Italian, Seafood, 4240 La 22, Mandeville, 985-674-9883

UPTOWN Amici aaa Italian, 3218 Magazine St., 504-300-1250 Ancora Pizzeria aaa Pizza, 4508 Freret St., 504-324-1636 Apolline aaaa American Gourmet, 4729 Magazine St., 504-894-8881 Atchafalaya aaaa Contemporary Creole, 901 Louisiana Ave., 504-891-9626 Baru Bistro & Tapas aaa Caribbean, 3700 Magazine St., 504-895-2225 Bistro Daisy aaaa Creole French,

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5831 Magazine St., 504-899-6987 Casamento’s aaa Seafood, 4330 Magazine St., 504-895-9761 Charlie’s Steak House aaa Steak, 4510 Dryades St., 504-895-9323 Clancy’s aaaa Contemporary Creole, 6100 Annunciation St., 504-895-1111 Dat Dog aa Sandwiches, 3336 Magazine St., 504-894-8885; 5030 Freret St., 504-899-6883 Dick & Jenny’s aaaa Contemporary Creole, 4501 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-894-9880 Flaming Torch aaa French, 737 Octavia St., 504-895-0900 Gautreau’s aaaa American, 1728 Soniat St., 504-899-7397 High Hat Café aa Creole Homestyle, 4500 Freret St., 504-754-1336 Joey K’s aaa Neighborhood Café, 3001 Magazine St., 504-891-0997 Kyoto aaa Japanese, 4920 Prytania St., 504-891-3644 La Crepe Nanou aaaa French, 1410 Robert St., 504-899-2670 La Petite Grocery aaaa French, 4238 Magazine St., 504-891-3377 La Thai Cuisine aaaa Thai, 4938 Prytania St., 504-899-8886

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Creole, 1016 Annunciation St., 504-568-0245 Café Reconcile aaa Lunch Café, 1631 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 504-568-1157 Cochon aaa Cajun, 930 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-588-2123 Emeril’s aaaaa Contemporary Creole, 800 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-528-9393 Grand Isle aaa Seafood, 575 Convention Center Blvd., 504-520-8530 La Boca aaaa Steak, 870 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-525-8205 Mais Arepas aaaa South American, 1200 Carondelet St., 504-523-6247 Pêche Seafood Grill aaa Seafood, 800 Magazine St., 504-522-1744 Rock-n-Sake aaa Japanese, 823 Fulton St., 504-581-7253 Root aaaa Eclectic, 200 Julia St., 504-252-9480 Tomas Bistro aaaa Creole French, 755 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-5270942 Tommy’s Cuisine aaaa Creole Italian, 746 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-581-1103

Lilette aaaa French, 3637 Magazine St., 504-895-1636 Mahony’s aaa Neighborhood Café, 3454 Magazine St., 504-899-3374 Martinique aaa French, 5908 Magazine St., 504-891-8495 Midway Pizza aaa Pizza, 4725 Freret St., 504-322-2815 Mona’s Café aa Middle Eastern, 4126 Magazine St., 504-894-9800 Pascal’s Manale aaa Creole Italian, 1838 Napoleon Ave., 504-895-4877 Patois aaaa Creole French, 6078 Laurel St., 504-895-9441 Rum House aaa Caribbean, 3128

WEST BANK Kim Son aaa Vietnamese, 349 Whitney Ave., 504-366-2489 La Fiesta aaa Mexican, 1412 Stumpf Blvd., 504-361-9142 La Providencia aaa Central American, 2300 Belle Chasse Hwy., 504-368-5724 O’Brien’s aaaa Steak, 2020 Belle Chasse Hwy., 504-391-7229 Panda King aaa Chinese, 925 Behrman Hwy., 504-433-0388 Pho Bang aaa Vietnamese, 932 Westbank Expy., 504-872-9002

Magazine St., 504-941-7560 Salú aaa Eclectic, 3226 Magazine St., 504-371-5809 Slice aaa Pizza, 5538 Magazine St., 504-897-4800 Sukho Thai aaa Thai, 4519 Magazine St., 504-373-6471 Taqueria Corona aaa Mexican, 5932 Magazine St., 504-897-3974 Upperline aaaa Contemporary Creole, 1413 Upperline St., 504-891-9822

WEST END AND BUCKTOWN Blue Crab aaa Seafood, 7900 Lakeshore Dr., 504-284-2898 Brisbi’s aaa Seafood, 7400 Lakeshore Dr., 504-555-5555 Deanie’s Seafood aa Seafood, 1713 Lake Ave., 504-831-4141 New Orleans Food & Spirits aaa Seafood, 210 Hammond Hwy., 504-828-2220 R&O’s aaa Seafood, 216 Old Hammond Hwy., 504-831-1248

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT AND CENTRAL CITY American Sector aa American, 945 Magazine St., 504-528-1940 Annunciation aaaa Contemporary

Two Tony’s aaa Creole Italian, 8536 Pontchartrain Blvd., 504-282-0801 Wasabi aaa Japanese, 8550 Pontchartrain Blvd., 504-267-3263

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M A R R I A G E A N D I N

Casi Michel Francis and Cedrick David St. Julian exchanged vows at St. Patrick’s Church in New Orleans.

The bride wore an ivory tulle and Chantilly lace gown by Lazaro, a floral corsage at back and a cathedral-length, double-layered French Chantilly lace veil with Alençon appliques designed and handmade by Ellsworth; she and the bridesmaids carried bouquets by Dunn and Sonnier.

The eight bridesmaids’ dove grey tulle dresses were from Amsale; the eight groomsmen wore black tuxedos.

After the ceremony, the bride and groom rode off in a vintage Rolls Royce following the Hot 8 Brass Band, while guests formed a second line to the Contemporary Arts Center for the reception. As the guests arrived, they were greeted by hosts in top hats who directed them to the champagne wall, where they were given a glass of champagne passed through by a mysterious gloved hand. Violinist T Ray entertained in the lobby while hors d’oeuvres were passed. Quail eggs with caviar and chicken wrapped with cotton candy were all the rave.

After being presented, the bride and groom danced their first dance atop a custom stage.

The dining area’s modern vintage décor featured flowers by Dunn and Sonnier. Mixing candles, chandeliers and illuminating spheres layered the space in light. Silver and gold were paired together in the table settings and linens. The seated dinner from Palette New Orleans culminated in the serving of the bride’s almond wedding cake from Haydel’s Bakery and the groom’s cream cheese carrot cake from Bittersweet Confections. Music for the reception was by At Fault Band and DJ Ram. Following a honeymoon in St. Martin, the couple returned to their home in New Orleans.

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photos: BRANDON O’NEAL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

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Francis-St. Julian

photos: NORRIS GAGNET

An Evening of Mythical Proportions An Evening of Mythical Proportions at the Orpheum Theater honored eight debutantes: Lainey Delouche, daughter of Mary Daire and Marcus Delouche; Annalee Gardner, daughter of Carro and Billy Gardner; Caroline Johnson, daughter of Mary and Eddie Johnson; Adele Layrisson, stepdaughter and daughter of Claire and Jean-Paul Layrisson, with aunt Virginia White as a co-host; Rachael Moss, daughter of Mary Ann and Peter Moss; Callie Nelson, daughter of Megan and William Nelson; Olivia Rufty, daughter of Melissa and Alfred Rufty; and McKain Williams, daughter of Stacey and Richard Williams.

It was the first time the theater hosted a debutante party, and its classical architecture inspired the party theme.

The die-cut laurel wreath invitation by Melissa Rufty was a custom illustration with hand-painted components.

Dunn & Sonnier’s creations, which gave the party a Mediterranean feel and enhanced the theater’s beauty, included antique olive jars, classical busts adorned with greenery, climbing vines and other arrangements. Some tables had tall columns with greenery and lights.

Living statues dressed in Greek costume greeted the guests. The focal point of the party was a life-sized Pegasus with four-foot wings and a bridle of leaves and greenery.

The specialty drink was nectar of the gods. Guests enjoyed food from Bella Luna and danced to the band Jessie’s Girl.

February-March 2017 99

INside Peek Richardson Society Dinner

photos courtesy: OGDEN MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN ART

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art held its annual Richardson Society Dinner at the museum. This year’s dinner celebrated the exhibition Simon Gunning and the Southern Louisiana Landscape and the accompanying publication. The Helis Foundation Gallery on the museum’s fifth floor, where two dozen of Gunning’s masterful paintings of the Mississippi River, the bayous of South Louisiana and the Port of New Orleans are currently on view, served as the setting for the dinner provided by Joel Catering. Décor by Urban Earth utilized cypress trunks, moss and native flowers to create a stunning tablescape for the 50 guests. Attendees included artist Simon Gunning and wife Shelly, Board of Trustees Chairman Allison Kendrick, Executive Director William Andrews and wife Stacie, Arthur Roger, Charles Urstadt and David Bernard, Roger Ogden and Ken Barnes, Anna Beth Goodman, Coleman Adler, Greg Morey and Scott James, and Mary and Roland von Kurnatowski. The Richardson Society is he Museum’s highest level of membership.

The Spirit of Stuart Hall Luncheon gathered over 200 current and alumni Stuart Hall School for Boys mothers at Ralph’s on the Park. The luncheon, chaired by Anne Barnes, Karen DeBlieux and current mother Jessica Waguespack, honored two alumni mothers for their outstanding service to the school while their sons were students. Karen served as the mistress of ceremonies followed

by Anne, who spoke on the luncheon’s history and the scholarship endowment.

This year’s honorees were Sam McAloon and Laurie Valentino. The luncheon, which was founded 14 years ago, benefits scholarship endowment at Stuart Hall.

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photos courtesy: STUART HALL SCHOOL FOR BOYS

The Spirit of Stuart Hall Luncheon

1. Elizabeth Boh, Chad Berg, Jude Swenson and Mary De La Barre enjoying dinner at the Caribbean Room in the Pontchartrain Hotel following designer Ippolita’s appearance at Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry at Lakeside Shopping Center. 2. Jewelry designer Ippolita

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and Joyelle Adolph. 3. Patty Finan, Murray Valene, Gerri Valene, John Finan and Chad Berg. 4. Ben Schoenfeld and Bob Schoenfeld at Superior Seafood’s happy hour to celebrate Beth Cook’s birthday hosted by Bob and Genie Schoenfeld. 5. Jan Wootan, Denise Schimeck and Genie Schoenfeld.

6. Beth Cook, Alma Dunlap and the happy hour’s entertainer, Phil Melancon.

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photos courtesy: NOMA

Odyssey Ball The New Orleans Museum of Art’s Odyssey Ball marked its 50th anniversary.

For the patron hour, Timothee Lovelock performed on violin and as the DJ (he was then the DJ for the late night party), followed

by Karma in the Great Hall. 1718 Catering & Events/Hyatt Regency New Orleans Hotel catered the cuisine. Cocktails by the Grand Bevy were served in champagne coupe glasses with a liqueur logo on top!

A fabulous silent auction featured vacations, jewelry, home furnishings, and art. Included was artist George Dunbar, whose “Elements of Chance” exhibit, along with “Seeing Nature: Landscape Masterworks from the Paul G. Allen Family Collection” were featured for this ball, presented by IberiaBank.

Event co-chairs Susu and Andrew Stall, along with their committee, NOMA staff, volunteers, Z Event Company and other vendors created a stunning, one-of-a-kind setting for guests to enjoy.

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1 1. Bill and Alma Roohi at St. Martin’s Founders’ Reception. 2. Lisa Davis with Mémé and Bert Wilson. 3. Elexa Ruth, Roots Staff Shoan Ruffin, Roots Crusader photo: HUNTER HOLDER

D’Shoan Ruffin and Tanya Boswell at the Band Together for the Roots Celebration at Ashe Powerhouse. 4. Roots Executive Director Anne Messner, Kirk Coco, Morgan

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Stewart, Sophie Gavin and Trey Monaghan.

5. Diane Buckley, Opera Guild President Penny Baumer and Party Co-chair Robin Adams at the Opera Guild Home for a festive eggnog party. 6. Ogden Museum Curriculum Coordinator Suzzana Gidley Ritz and Ogden Museum Education Manager Ellen Balkin pose with Miki Glasser of the International School of Louisiana and Megan Neelis of Lusher Charter School after presenting the

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schools as the first Ogden Museum Schools.

7. Natchez Capt. Clarke “Doc Hawley, Kerri McCaffety and Gabriel Gutierrez at the Steamboat NATCHEZ book signing.

8. George Rucker, Greg Hoffman, Peter Moss, Claude Silverman and Jim Laporte.

9. Alayna Misty Bruno, Samantha Claire Montalbano, Sarah Virginia Davis, Ashley Marie Deshotel, Mallory Jane Barraco, Mallory Rachael Bruno, Erica Joan Ingraham,

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Ainsley Mae Pizzaloto and Vivienne Eve Davis at The Elenian Club’s Ballo di Natale.

10. Gina Pieri, Eileen Clesi Boudoin, Virigina Eckholdt, Marian Montalbano, LeeAnne Leopold Savoie, Maria Mire, Marita Romano, Faith Peperone and Barbara Chifici. 11. Paul McGoey, Randy Fair, Chef Robert Bruce, Earl Michie and Becket Becnel at the opening of Legacy Kitchen’s Steak + Chop.

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photo: HUNTER HOLDER

INside Peek

photos courtesy: M.S. RAU ANTIQUES

M.S. Rau Antiques Napoleon Exhibition Opening M.S. Rau Antiques hosted the opening party of Napoléon: General.

Emperor. Legend. surrounded by Napoléonic pieces from the M.S. Rau collection and from around the world. Guests enjoyed an audio tour and a live “Napoléon Bonaparte.”

The exhibition, the fifth presented

by M.S. Rau, told the intimate story of Napoléon through his collection of art and design pieces. “We found Napoléon’s way of legitimizing his power through the decorative arts very intriguing,” says Curator Amanda Wallich, “and also the rich Napoléonic history we have in New Orleans. It was an opportunity to bring to light his influence here.”

1. Anne Honeywell, Lisa Smith, Karyn Kearney, (standing) Stacey Williams, Margo Whiteside, Dana Hansel and 1

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Jill Nalty celebrating Kappa Khristmas at Galatoire’s. 2. FestiGals Shelly Ruffin and Stephanie Burks enjoying cocktails at the Historic New Orleans Collection. 3. Ginger Crawford, Rita Miller and Janet Schwary at the Jefferson Performing Arts Society Leading Ladies Guild Champagne

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Membership Tea. 4. Michael Hickman, Sally Trufant, Remi Ottelin and Michael Harold celebrating Devan Pailet’s birthday at the home of Tom Parrault and Sal Giambanco. 5. Becket and Kathryn Becnel with Brian Ary. 6. Devan Pailet and Charles-Antoine Allain with Tom Perrault and

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Sal Giambanco.

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INside Peek

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1. Caleb Didriksen with Judge Tiffany Chase at the Didriksen, Saucier, Woods and Pichon LLC Christmas party. 2. Carl Woods, Jeremy Pichon, Erin Saucier and Caleb Didriksen. 3. Kathleen Roevens and Kaki Smith at Brother Martin High School’s Celebration of the Crest.

4. Mark Bonis, Tommy Mitchell and Beau Keller.

5. George and Delores Arnold; Capt. Mike Kinler, JPSO; Faith Peperone and Lise Nacarri at the Republican Women’s Club of Jefferson Parish’s

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luncheon at Chateau Country Club. 6. Sandra Dartus, Barry Kern and Sandra Lindquist at the NOLA Christmas Fest. 7. Kelly Hasney, Kim Hasney, Anita Sivernail and Howard Bennet at the Jefferson Performing Arts Society Leading Ladies Guild’s Holiday Party. 8. Councilman Paul Johnston, Maestro Dennis Assaf, Steve Dwyer, Councilwoman Jennifer Van Vranken. 9. Marty Sachs, Cassie Worley and Chaney Tullos at the

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New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane party honoring Herschel L. Abbott Jr. 10. John Boyd with Shauna and David Grissett.

11. Larry and Marian Gibbs with Kathy and David Weidner at Longue Vue House and Garden’s 25th annual Essence of Style Design Symposium.

12. Carolyn and Kevin Gravely with Lisa Ruello.

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Inside New Orleans

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photos courtesy: THIBODAUX REGIONAL WELLNESS CENTER

Thibodaux Regional Wellness Center Dedication Thibodaux Regional Medical Center recently dedicated its new $73 million Wellness Center. This innovative, stateof-the-art, 242,000-square-foot-facility is the first of its kind in the state and one of the best in the nation. Hundreds of community members and business leaders gathered with the Thibodaux Regional Board of Commissioners, team members and physicians as well as special guests Governor John Bel Edwards, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, Congressman Garret Graves and other local and state elected officials to mark the momentous occasion. The Wellness Center addresses wellness at every level, including prevention, education and rehabilitation, combined with medically directed services.

photos courtesy: MCGEHEE SCHOOL

Mathilde Hall Dedication The ribbon cutting and dedication of Mathilde Bernard Villere Hall made it the fourth alumnae name to grace McGehee School’s campus. Mathilde Hall houses seven Little Gate classrooms, collaborative playspaces and an atelier. Thanks to generous leadership gifts from donors Fran and the late George Villere; Marsha Miller Wedell, ’59, and her husband Henri Wedell; and a grant from the Edward G. Schlieder Foundation, led by lifetime trustee Betsy Shaw Nalty, ’60, McGehee’s youngest students are now learning in this beautiful building. The Villere family is a four-generation McGehee family. Mathilde Hall earns its name from George Villere’s sister, Mathilde Bernard Villere Young, ’53. Mathilde was a passionate early childhood educator at McGehee, the daughter of a McGehee girl and mother of Yvette Young Semmes, ’77, and Coco Young Bancroft, ’83.

The building also honors Fran and George Villere’s daughter, Mathilde Bernard Villere Currence, ’89, who cut the ribbon. She is the parent of Lucy Morrison Currence, ’17, and Frances Villere Currence, ’20.

February-March 2017 105

Nonna Randazzo’s

IT’S KING CAKE SEASON! At Nonna Randazzo’s, home of the Authentic Randazzo Family King Cake Recipe, they’re celebrating more than just king cake season—they’re celebrating Felix Forjet’s 30th anniversary with Randazzo’s!

“I can’t believe it’s been that long.

Everything I learned about baking was from my father-in-law, Lawrence Randazzo. I love that I work with my family. My wife, children and son-inlaw all work at the same location that I do. Hopefully, our grandchildren will eventually want to learn about the bakery business so we can keep the family tradition. I teach my kids like I learned—no cutting corners on ingredients.”

Nonna Randazzo’s now has four locations where Felix and his family enjoy developing customer relationships. “This is more than a job to me; younger generations come in and talk about their grandparents going into Hi Lan Bakery and how they enjoy some of the same traditional bakery products that they did, like Italian cookies. That’s why we keep the bakery open year-round, because we enjoy being a part of the customers’ family tradition.”

Some of Felix’s favorites to bake are Belgian slice cookies, lemon meringue pie, lemon fried pies and strawberry shortcake. Have a sweet tooth yet? Visit one of Nonna Randazzo’s to pick up a king cake (and maybe a few more sweet treats).

by Leah Draffen

photo: THOMAS B. GROWDEN

Last Bite

Felix enjoys baking and tasting new desserts to keep up with bakery trends. He

Nonna Randazzo’s has locations in Covington, Mandeville, Chalmette and Pontchatoula. 985-893-1488. nonnarandazzo.com.

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Inside New Orleans

invites you to try one of Nonna Randazzo’s king cakes this Mardi Gras season!