WHERE Y'AT - JUNE "Open For Business" Issue - 2020

OPEN FOR BUSINESS June 2020 | WhereYat.com

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CONTENTS June 2020 Publisher/Editor-in-Chief: Josh Danzig Creative Director: Matthew Desotell Executive Editor: Kathy Bradshaw

Features

Food & Drink

6

The Doctor is In(sane)

18

Patio Dining

8

Local Social Media Influencers

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Restaurant Guide

10

Dancing With Death

24

$20 & Under

14

Finding Love in the New Normal

16

New Orleans Parks

Movie Editors: David Vicari & Fritz Esker Contributing Writers: Emily Hingle, Kathy Bradshaw, Phil LaMancusa, Debbie Lindsey, Kim Ranjbar, Burke Bischoff, Steven Melendez, Kimmie Tubre, Julie Mitchell Director of Sales: Stephen Romero Cover Artwork by: Dr. Bob Photographers & Designers: Gus Escanelle, Kathy Bradshaw, Kimmie Tubre, Emily Hingle, Vi Conway, Kyla Veal Interns: Graham Andreae, John Glover, McKenna Smith, Sofia Gomez Alonso, Caroline Hebert, Clara Lacey, Bianca Soto, Amanda Gomez

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Film Reviews Columns

Logo © 2020 All rights reserved Bruce Betzer, Legal Counsel: (504) 304-9952 Where Y’at Magazine 5500 Prytania St., #133 New Orleans, LA 70115 (504) 891-0144 info@whereyat.com WhereYat.com

Letter from the Publisher Enjoy our “Open for Business” issue and responsibly patronize our local establishments. Please remember to be safe, so that we can again enjoy the wonderful things about this fine city.

Dr. Bob of “Be Nice or Leave” fame shares his thoughts on how local artists have survived during the pandemic. His cover painting is a true representation of what makes our city unique; Stay tuned as to how you can get your own print!

We mourn those who have been lost during these times. Burke Bischoff examines New Orleans’s relationship with death while touching on epidemics, Hurricane Katrina, and more. Did you know that over 40,000 New Orleanians died from yellow fever?

Don’t forget to celebrate Dad for Father’s Day. Columns “Tales from the Quarter” and “Po-Boy Views” both pay homage to the men who raised us.

Let’s remember that everyone who lives here is an integral part of what makes this city the greatest in the world. Continue the fight for equal rights and justice.

–Josh Danzig, Publisher

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WhereYat.com | June 2020

5

THE DOCTOR IS IN(SANE): Dr. Bob Makes Art That’s as Crazy and Fun as He Is

By Kathy Bradshaw

“Didn’t your mama ever tell you not to slam the door when she’s baking a cake?”

–Dr. Bob

Whether or not you know Dr. Bob by name, you’re surely familiar with his artwork. You can see his iconic “Be Nice or Leave” signs all over town, as well as his many vivid paintings with bottlecaps adorning the frames. You may have enjoyed a concert by your favorite band at the House of Blues, in the midst of décor custom-painted by Dr. Bob. Or, your kids might have played in the scale model of Mr. Okra’s famous truck, designed and built by Dr. Bob, which is now the most popular exhibit at the Louisiana Children’s Museum.

He makes paintings of flying alligators, of scenes from the delta, of juke joints. He’s crafted a life-sized skeleton out of bottlecaps (named Mr. Onion Head) and has carved an alligator-shaped stringed musical instrument out of wood, which he likes to call a “ga-tar.”

And everything that Dr. Bob creates is colorful, quirky, and fun—much like the artist himself.

Dr. Bob is quite a character. A self-described hippy weirdo and proud member of the Old Farts’ Club, he’s the type who makes margaritas with Gatorade and peels out in a Rolls Royce on Bourbon Street. He once hit someone with a paddle for “messin’ with his gumbo” and used to do laps around his backyard on his motorcycle. While blaring country music. Recently, he bought 50 pounds of marbles that he slingshots off his front balcony (aimed only at inanimate objects, it should be noted). He’s gone through 20 pounds of marbles so far.

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Dr. Bob has had a life as intense and vibrant as his artwork—and appropriately so, because everything that he has lived serves as inspiration for his pieces.

“I’ve had a great life; I’ve got to tell you. I load that shit up in my mind, and I paint it,” he says.

Wearing a t-shirt printed with a picture of Mona Lisa wearing a facemask, and accompanied by his dog George, Dr. Bob welcomed Where Y’at at his “gallery/studio/junk shop” to discuss his life as an artist and how he and his fellow creatives are dealing with the pandemic.

Dr. Bob—who is so-named because he helped deliver his son via Lamaze—found his love of found art when he was only 12 years old. He took part in a competition against his fellow classmates to see who could score the most IGA food labels off of boxes and canned goods.

The kid who brought back the biggest stack would win a trip to Six Flags Over Texas. Dr. Bob

quickly realized that he could fast-track his label gathering by rifling through the trash, where he found a plentiful supply and ultimately earned the coveted prize. “I won a trip by dumpster diving!” he says. “And I got into this making art out of stuff.”

And so began a lifelong career of collecting junk, and debris, and odds and ends—a harvesting process that he likes to call “going junkin’—and turning it into his masterpieces. Almost all Dr. Bob’s materials are repurposed. He paints on the back sides of old signs rather than using canvases. He spray-paints over lace, using it as a stencil for his paintings’ backgrounds. He pulls the embellishments off of worn-out furniture to use as trim on his pieces, and he can make a three-dimensional turtle out of old aluminum salad dishes.

And what about those emblematic Dr. Bob bottlecaps? He’s got baskets and bins full of them—probably at least 100,000 caps, he estimates—that he’s accumulated over the years.

In the beginning, he would pay the gutter punks to deliver boxloads of bottlecaps to him, in exchange for a ticket worth a free breakfast at Shoney’s. But now, friends and art connoisseurs bring him theirs to contribute to the cause, and, of course, Dr. Bob has also drunk his fair share of bottled beverages to get caps for his collection—though, he’s not pulling caps off of beer bottles these days. Dr. Bob quit drinking 15 years ago.

He nails the caps down to his frames, incorporates them into his pieces, or makes entire sculptures out of them. And, what’s more, Dr. Bob points out that the designs and graphics on the caps are really an artistic element of their own.

Dr. Bob never had any formal training in art; he learned just by watching. “You have to learn stuff, or you hurt yourself,” he says. “They didn’t have none of that DIY crap on no computer—YouTube and stuff. That BS didn’t exist back then. We found out the hard way most of the time.”

His grandpa owned a gas station when Dr. Bob was growing up in Kansas, and he learned painting by watching the workers there pinstriping and detailing cars. “I had no idea I’d end up holding a paintbrush in my hands someday,” he says.

He also lived next-door to a framing shop as a kid and learned the picture-framing business there—knowledge which still serves him today, since he frames all his paintings himself.

Once Dr. Bob moved to New Orleans, he continued his informal training by immersing himself in the local art scene. “We would go and get a couple of muffulettas and go to Jackson Square after mass and look at all the art,” he says. “I was very inspired by that.”

Then, he latched on to New Orleans artist Rain Webb and would hang out for hours just watching him paint. He saw him paint a mural on the wall of the Apple Barrel bar. He watched him painting the old Coffee Pot Restaurant. And Dr. Bob would bribe Webb with lunch, just to have the right to be near such artistic genius.

“I was the guy who would go get the avocado or the artichoke Rain wanted while he was lying on his back in the Coffee Pot, painting the ceiling on the second floor,” he says. “I’d run down to the French Market and run back, tickled to death to be there.”

Rain Webb and his paintings were a major influence on Dr. Bob’s art, his esthetic, and his choice to become an artist at all. “I’d watch him do that and think, oh, man, I wish I could do art,” Dr. Bob says. “And now, here I am. You’ve got to watch what you wish for! I’ve been damn lucky, man.”

Although Dr. Bob is able to count his blessings, it can nonetheless be hard to stay positive these days. And the art world, like many other industries, has been hit hard by the pandemic.

Dr. Bob explains that a lot of artists are “in a hard way,” suffering from both financial woes and a lack of inspiration.

“I got nothing right now,” he says. “It’s been two months, and I haven’t made a nickel. I’ve got big overhead; I have utility bills.” While desperately trying to hold onto his beloved studio and shop, he admits that money is really tight now. He fears that he may be forced to let the space go in order to cut back on expenses.

As for the way that the coronavirus is killing creativity among artists, Dr. Bob says, “I just don’t have it. Most of my friends just can’t get rolling. One of them told me, ‘It ain’t in me.’ So, stuff is kind of on hold.”

However, like everything else that Dr. Bob has experienced thus far in his life, COVID-19 will surely end up in his art as well. For instance, he says that he’s done some sketches of people leaning over to peer into their mailboxes to see if their stimulus checks have arrived. If nothing else, the pandemic provides a wealth of subject matter for artists.

Toulouse-Lautrec painted ladies with tuberculosis, Dr. Bob reminds us. Edward Munch painted a self-portrait after surviving the Spanish flu. And Keith Haring did AIDS-related art.

“Artists were always painting pictures of hell and the end of the world and all that sort of stuff, during these outbreaks.” Dr. Bob says. “One artist said he wished that he’d gotten tuberculosis, because it probably would have made him a better artist. You have to suffer to do good art.”

If that’s the case, then 2020 might prove to be a great year for art yet.

Through it all, Dr. Bob always manages to keep his sense of humor. The sign right outside his studio reads: “Welcome. Free Corona with purchase.” Another one says, “Stimulus paintings, only $1,200.” Beside it, there’s the sign that warns: “Buy now, before the artist dies.”

“Life’s satire,” he says. “This whole damn city’s been satire since the day they put a foot on the ground here.”

And what would he most likely tell the coronavirus that continues to plague us all?

“Be nice or leave.”

“This whole damn city’s been satire since the day they put a foot on the ground here.”

Celebrating the bounty of southeast Louisiana!

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WhereYat.com | June 2020

7

LOCAL SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS: Still Influencing Us Through Trying Times

by Kimmie Tubre

West Assured:

Here we are facing a new and constantly changing reality. Not only are there looming fears around us, but there are several adjustments being made. With situations changing by the minute, there is one thing that has remained pretty consistent through it all.

That thing is social media.

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@bmike2c

@tracey_wiley

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In this quarantined, socially distant world, social media has become a great outlet. It is a place to entertain and be entertained. It has become a way to cope with what has been deemed as "the new normal.”

Whether you use social media to shop, find fitness routines, learn new recipes, watch dynamic concerts, view the arts, or just scroll, there are several New Orleans influencers that are worth your quarantined time. “Influencers” are like social media mentors. They use digital media to let their followers know what’s cool, popular, fun, trendy, and worth doing or trying—in realms from photos to fitness. Think of it as glorified peer pressure, but in the best possible way.

The Influencers of New Orleans New Orleans has always been an influential city. It’s a place that tends to stray from the beaten path. Because of the originality of the city and its citizens, local influencers gain popularity much quicker than usual. New Orleans & Company (@visitneworleans) was one of the first companies to gain a large following on the social media platforms.

While not what one may consider a social media influencer, the site has an influence on what the city has to offer. With over 200,000 followers, @visitneworleans is an excellent go-to for all things NOLA. Brandan (@bmike2c) is a New Orleans native visual artist. With over 58,000 followers, Brandan put not just his artwork out there, but also his philanthropy and his involvement in his community. Not necessarily aiming to be an influencer, @bmike2c started gaining attention after painting a series of murals and hosting various art projects with the theme “Paint where it ain’t.”

For Brandan and for so many other influencers, the task of influencing was not necessarily an intentional choice, but more of a place where they just landed.

“The key is authenticity. You must be true to yourself and be open and honest with others,” says Tracey (@tracey_wiley). A hard-working mother of two, she admits that she never set out to be an influencer; the gig just somehow fell into her lap. Tracy, who currently has over 10,000 followers, believes that the key to her success is her honesty. “I talk about everything, from my family to anxiety to fashion to health.” Her posts started to rise in popularity after she began to showcase her fitness routines on social media. A personal trainer at the time, @tracey_wiley saw it as an opportunity to gain clients for her business.

Another very popular influencing skill is knowing a good photo opportunity when you see one. That ability was an easy task for @davidnola. Some call him the “New Orleans ambassador and future king” of the city, and David takes on that title with pride. With over 32,000 followers, David has an eye for all things colorful around the city, and it

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@davidnola

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shows through his esthetically pleasing photos. His goal is to capture the true charm of our wonderful city while also giving us little pieces of his personal life.

While David shows us beauty through his photos, other influencers tend to express that beauty in other ways. Some of the most popular types of influencers to grace Instagram are the beauty influencers—the ones who display their skills in makeup artistry, hairstyling, and anything related to appearance. Rocio (@risarizos) grabbed her spot on the influencer scene when she realized that there were several hair-care influencers, but not enough that focused on her texture of curly hair.

As a local model and activist, Rocio started using Instagram and YouTube to share her hairstyling techniques, trying different curly-hair products and skin-care routines. As her popularity grew, she began to travel more, while also giving the world some inside views of her family life and love life. Rocio’s warm personality won everyone over and gained her over 34,000 followers on Instagram.

As New Orleans continues to influence the "As New Orleans world, even during a pandemic, the influencers continues to influence are continuing to show us a different side to the world, the the city. Some of those influencers, like @ gonola504, had to slightly alter their posts from influencers are showing us where to go and what to do, to continuing to show us occasionally showing us recipes and cooking a new side of the city." our favorite local dishes, while also spotlighting the people and things we miss about the city.

Adjusting to the new rules and limitations, many local workers, performers, and artists are reinventing the way they do things. Robin (@neworleanssongbird) went from having a steady schedule of gigs to creating her own Monday-night live show via Instagram.

Like Robin, many musicians are currently lacking a venue or bar to perform in. While Robin is a singer and jazz star, she is also an influencer who not only displays her musical talents, but also lets her almost 24,000 followers into her world, which includes travel, family time, and her new baby.

The influences and the influencers of New Orleans are impacting the world around us—keeping the city alive during a far-from-normal time. In addition to those mentioned here, there are so many other local influencers worth viewing: @amournola is helping us fall in love with New Orleans, and @twomack and @nola_val are capturing the city's spirit through photography. When it comes to the best food around town, you can visit @eatingnola, and if you’re thirsty, @drinkingnola is the one to follow.

If you ever forget why you love this cool city in the first place, they are always here to remind us.

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WhereYat.com | June 2020

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DANCING WITH DEATH: New Orleans’s Dark History

By Burke Bischoff

While stereotyped as a party city, New Orleans has experienced more tragedy than most people realize. With more than 300 years of experiencing death, destruction, and epidemics, the city has figured out interesting ways of dealing with and even embracing all of the moroseness it has faced.

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Most recently, New Orleans (as well as the rest of the world) has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. While this virus is certainly painful for everyone currently dealing with its effects, this is not the first time that the city has been through a major epidemic. During the 18th and 19th centuries, New Orleans was continually ravaged by diseases such as malaria, dengue, cholera, smallpox, and yellow fever.

Yellow fever, in particular, was quite devastating to the city, killing around 41,000 between 1817 and 1905 (approximately 7,849 people died in 1853 alone). New Orleans was a hot bed of disease because of its status as a prosperous port city. The city saw ships and cargo from all over the world that usually brought in mosquitos carrying different diseases from West Africa and the Caribbean. Considering that almost everyone had water cisterns (thus giving the mosquitos places to breed), sanitation all over the city was awful, medical knowledge of diseases back then was subpar, and the climate was humid, it’s not too much of a shock that a new plague would regularly arrive in New Orleans.

While being beset with so much pestilence, the city was also getting hit just as hard by many natural disasters. During Spain’s rule over the city, New Orleans experienced two great fires, one in 1788 and the other in 1794. The first started at 619 Chartres St. and, in five hours, engulfed nearly the entire city, with 856 of 1,100 buildings being destroyed.

The colonial governor of Louisiana, Esteban Rodríguez Miró, reported at the time, “The tears, the heartbreaking sobs, and the pallid faces of the wretched people mirrored the dire fatality that had overcome a city, now in ruins, transformed within the space of five hours into an arid and fearful desert.” While devastating, these fires actually helped shape, architecturally, what New Orleans looks like today because the French-styled buildings were replaced with Spanish ones.

The most consistent natural disaster the city has had to face over the years is the hurricane. New Orleans, as well as most of Southeast Louisiana, is like a magnet for this kind of storm, due to its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricanes have been hitting the city since its inception. Two of the most devastating, Hurricane Betsy in 1965 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, played out similarly to each other, with the failure of the levees causing most of the city to flood. Katrina, in particular, flooded about 80 percent of the city and killed somewhere between 1,200 and 1,800 people.

So, New Orleans is no stranger to death. But with all of these casualties throughout the years, how does this affect New Orleanians whenever they’re faced with loss? Well, as the common stereotype might suggest, a good number throw a party. More specifically, a jazz

New Orleanians love life, and, when their time comes, they welcome death with a little bit of jazz. funeral. A tradition that’s unique to New Orleans since the 20th century, jazz funerals blend the stylings of European military brass bands with West African spiritualism. Typically, these funerals (usually for a local African American musician) begin with the family and friends of the deceased marching to where the funeral ceremony is taking place, while a brass band plays mournful music. After the body is entombed and loved ones get to say their goodbyes, the band starts playing more upbeat music as a way to celebrate the deceased’s time on Earth. Typically, random strangers join in the festivity and form a “second line.”

These jazz funerals show that while death is still a sad occasion, it can also be a celebration of the deceased’s life and the memories they shared with their loved ones.

One aspect of death in New Orleans that is more recognizable than most is the numerous cemeteries found around the Greater New Orleans area. Often called “Cities of the Dead,” New Orleans’s cemeteries are unique when compared to other American graveyards because of the many above-ground tombs that are used. After early settlers had numerous problems with coffins getting flooded and washing right out of the ground, the dead were eventually placed in Spanish-style tombs to account for being below sea level (it also saved space and money because multiple remains could be placed in one tomb).

These tombs not only provide a unique visual reminder of loved ones’ past, but they also show the level of respect that New Orleanians have for their dead. They build “cities” where the dead can enjoy their new afterlife.

Another way death is reflected in New Orleans culture is through the many different ghost stories and folklore that people tell. Whether because of the city’s spiritual connection to Catholicism and Voodoo or because the city’s European look is an interesting setting for these stories, New Orleans has so many macabre tales associated with it that locals just love retelling. From the curse of the Delphine LaLaurie mansion to the tale of the Sultan’s palace massacre, these stories of death and murder (and the enthusiastic locals who give tours of the city while telling these stories) help further cement New Orleans’s fascination with death.

In 1936, the New Orleans City Guide referred to New Orleans as “The City That Care Forgot.” In one way, it could mean that the city is largely neglected, but it could also mean that the people are carefree. New Orleanians, no matter what generation they belong to, have experienced some form of hardship or loss. Regardless of what happens, though, they always pick themselves up and continue living. They love life, and, when their time comes, New Orleanians welcome death with a little bit of jazz.

UPTOWN

BRING THE HEAT THIS SUMMER

WhereYat.com | June 2020

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UP-TO-DATE DATING: Finding Love in “The New Normal”

by Julie Mitchell

Well, there may be a global pandemic with no known cure, murder hornets, and a painfully recent toilet paper shortage, but we are all still looking for love! It’s a tale as old as time—you simply cannot squash the desire of human beings to mash their parts together.

But with the restrictions on public spaces and human interaction (don’t do it!), we are looking for new and innovative ways to date.

Welcome. This guide will show you how to navigate the online waters of romance and help you make even the most mundane of sites a personal dating experience. So, crack open a Mango La Croix (seltzer is the new bread!) and buckle up.

other for skills. They won’t let you write non-work-related ones like “butt stuff” (I have tried), but there’s a lot to infer from what they do offer. Good at blogging?

That person has a mood disorder.

Event planning? They’ve been divorced.

Copywriting? A liar! It’s all there.

Tinder/Bumble/Hinge/OkCupid

Facebook

We’re gonna go obvious first: actual dating sites. I’m mentioning them up top so that no one asks about them later. These are useless. Throw them out the window.

If they didn’t work when the world was normal, they’re not going to work now.

You think you’re going to find the love of your life because you both like the Frank Ocean cover of “Moon River”? (Beautiful, but unhelpful.) Love isn’t a compatibility Spotify playlist; love is gritty and hard work.

Radical problems call for radical solutions.

We have to look to a new dating horizon. It will be like Robocop, but with none of the bad stuff.

This is already a popular social media site, so it makes perfect sense that it would transition to dating at some point.

Facebook has its own dating interface, but I wouldn’t endorse it. Everything they do seems to be a way to mine our data, so after a week of chatting, your targeted ads would probably be so specific that it’d be violating.

The best way that Facebook allows us to find love is the comments section of news articles. Find an article. Maybe you agree, maybe you don’t. Is the Earth flat?

Some people think the jury’s still out.

Look in the comments. Find someone who says something really spicy—this tells us they have passion. Second, we know they can read. That’s not something you’re guaranteed of on an in-person date! Once you both connect, it’s easy as pie. There are so many talking points you can find easily on their profile: where they went to high school, if they own a gun, how many of their aunts are still alive, etc.

Good luck!

LinkedIn This seems like an obvious choice.

People want a successful partner, so why not pick your dates based on their resumes? LinkedIn has a messaging feature. In between “Tony Robbins says that the path to success is to take massive, determined action,” and “Are you prepared to make a real impact on the world around you? Become a creative force for social change with Emerson’s MA in Media Design,” there’s room for you to slip in and say, “Hey, do you like margaritas? What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made?

Who’s the last person who saw you cry?”

And we’re off! It’s that simple. With a little vulnerability in a sea of inhumanity, you will stand out.

LinkedIn also lets contacts endorse each

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Instagram Instagram is huge for dating because it’s a visual app, and as men love to say, they’re “visual creatures.” No one knows what that means, aside from, “I’m gross,” but we don’t have room for judgment now that the population is threatened by an incurable viral disease.

The trick to finding love on this

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platform is one of two ways: Either make a Finsta (an Instagram separate from your main account, where you post nudes or more vulnerable content than on your main), use enough hashtags to make that profile searchable to strangers, and wait for someone in Bulgaria—who is perfect for you in every way—to find you on the “Capricorn_bitches” discover page. Or, you can be the first to comment under every celebrity picture and wait for them to fall in love with you. Either way.

Twitter Perhaps the purest choice, Twitter is where you can fall in love with someone’s mind. Think of the weirdest, most personal thought you’ve ever had. Now, search it. Has anyone tweeted it before? That’s your soulmate! You can also learn about the world while you’re here, and internal growth makes us better partners to others and, more importantly, to ourselves.

Eventually, if you get a lot of followers on Twitter, you won’t even have to *look* for dates. They’ll reply to all your tweets with propositions that vary from awkward to vaguely threatening. The magic of the internet!

Houseparty This is a video chat app where you can also play a knock-off version of Cards Against Humanity and Pictionary or trivia, while seeing other people. You can enter “rooms” that are already going, which has a real early aughts chatroom vibe, and if that wasn’t a hotbed for love, I don’t know what is. Roll the dice! Play a game with a stranger. Everyone is a stranger before we meet them. What’s so much better about hitting on someone in a café while they try to write a bad screenplay than crashing their intimate video chat

with their friends and family? We can’t jump out of a plane or shoplift right now—why not try this unconventional substitute? Live a little. You can also pick your username, so make it something intriguing. Mine is ButtDiva because I want people to know I have a butt and love Mariah Carey.

Zoom This is everyone’s new fave: the video conferencing platform taking the quarantined masses by storm. They have zero ethical barriers to prevent or punish breeches, such as hate speech or hacking, when people dump child porn in a call, but what do we expect? We don’t punish racists in real life. Why would we punish them online?

Racism aside, this feels like a fun one.

You can go on little video dates, and you also have the option to record every call, so send it to friends! Ask them what they think. Make a podcast out if it. Now we’ve redefined what love even is.

Animal Crossing No love exists on this app! Just kidding.

I just don’t have $60 for the game or $200 for a Nintendo Switch. But have fun on your little islands or whatever.

All right, that’s the end of our list. Any site can be for dating, because love is everywhere. The real lesson I hope that you all take from this is to be open and kind in all spaces, because at the end of all computers is another person who has also suffered and is searching for the comfort of connection, just like you. Also, why would you farm online? Truly insane.

But good luck and invite me to your virtual wedding!

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WhereYat.com | June 2020

15

LIVING IN NEW ORLEANS IS A WALK IN THE PARK: Exploring the City’s Best Green Spaces

by Steven Melendez

Even amid the height of the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns in Louisiana, the region’s parks remained a safe haven for people looking to get out of the house and get some exercise while still practicing social distancing. As things slowly begin to return to normal, they remain pleasant attractions for people from throughout the area. Here’s a list of some of the region’s most distinctive park areas and what they have to offer. Remember to check relevant agencies’ websites to know for sure what’s available to do within the various parks.

City Park Pandemic or no pandemic, City Park has remained a popular place for New Orleanians to stroll, exercise, and explore nature. That’s no wonder, given the park’s large size and diversity of spaces, with fields, water, and even a forest stretching across its 1,300 acres, as well as take-away food options from Café Du Monde’s beignet stand. Check the park’s website to see the latest admission policies for attractions like the park’s golf courses and the New Orleans Museum of Art and Botanical Garden.

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Crescent Park Stroll or cycle through this waterfront park spanning the Marigny and Bywater, with access points along the Mississippi River throughout those downtown neighborhoods. The path is wide enough to keep a comfortable level of distance from those around you. Dogs are welcome to walk, though they must stay on a leash except within the fenced-in dog park. Keep in mind that the park closes at 7:30 each night.

Coliseum Square Park The first thing to know about this Lower Garden District park is that there is no coliseum there or nearby. Such an event space was originally intended for the park when it was created in the 1800s, but it was never built. That may be a good thing for visitors to this seldom-crowded but inviting urban space, where fields and paths are lined with distinctive, comfortably spaced benches and beautiful oak trees. It’s a welcome respite from the usual crowds of nearby St. Charles Avenue and Magazine Street.

Louis Armstrong Park Just outside the French Quarter in the Treme neighborhood sits this beautiful park named for the Crescent City-born jazz great.

Large enough to feel far removed from the surrounding city and seldom crowded, yet small enough to quickly explore, the park can be a great place to take a lunch or coffee break on a trip Downtown. It’s also home to the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts (as well as the now-shuttered Municipal Auditorium, a possible future home for New Orleans City Hall). Check out the sculptures and other public art honoring Armstrong and other New Orleans luminaries, as well as the site of historic Congo Square, central to the development of the city’s musical culture.

Lafreniere Park The largest park in Metairie, constructed in the 1970s after the Jefferson Downs Racetrack once on the site was effectively wrecked by Hurricane Betsy in 1965, Lafreniere Park is a popular attraction for those who live or work in Jefferson Parish. But its sprawling walking trails, along with fields for activities such as soccer, baseball, and even frisbeepowered disc golf, are worth a visit, even from New Orleans proper. Bring your pooch to Lafreniere’s dog park or stroll along the trails and observe the wildlife around the park’s beautiful lagoons.

Audubon Park The largest green space in Uptown New Orleans, Audubon Park attracts visitors to stroll and jog down winding paths, spot the diverse array of bird life in the park’s fields and ponds, and take advantage of amenities including golf, tennis, and soccer facilities. Take a trip through the park, marveling at the beautiful houses that abut its edges, often without fencing separating their yards from public areas, and take a look at the park’s website to see which of the park’s facilities are currently operating.

Alcée Fortier Park Named for a prominent Tulane University language scholar of the late 19th and early 20th century, this peaceful park near the Fairgrounds is a relaxing oasis along Esplanade Avenue, one of the neighborhood’s prominent shopping and dining streets. Tables with built-in chessboards provide a place for local residents and those simply passing through to enjoy a moment’s relaxation or even a friendly game of chess or checkers. Oak and palm trees help to beautify the park and environs while also providing a measure of shade even on the hottest summer days.

Brechtel Park This sprawling Algiers park is perhaps less well known to East Bank dwellers, but its more than 100 acres include walking trails worth a visit from across the Mississippi River and even from surrounding parishes.

The trails and the park’s lagoon are also a prominent attraction for birds and, therefore, for birdwatchers willing to visit the park early in the day to see what avian visitors are present.

If you’re coming from across the river, it’s most accessible by car, but it is also possible to reach the park via public transportation.

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WhereYat.com | June 2020

17

TAKE ITAlOUTSIDE: Fresco Dining

by Emily Hingle

Summers can be scorching in Southern Louisiana, but with the right amount of shade, breeze, and icy drinks, outdoor dining can actually be delightful on even the muggiest days. These eateries feature wide-open spaces for dining outside.

Just enter through the gates at 617 Piety St. between Pizza Delicious and Euclid Records to find the charming biergarten that is Bratz Y’all. The festival favorite vendor-turned-Bywater institution has a full menu of authentic German dishes, such as bratwurst, schnitzel, and sausage, but also more contemporary fare, including a vegan sausage and grilled veggie pita.

Everyone loves a big salty pretzel, which is particularly tasty with one of Bratz Y’all’s many imported beers.

Another meat-centric restaurant and Bratz Y’all’s sister location features large, open patios perfect for outdoor dining, and your furry friends are invited to join you. Dat Dog’s two Uptown locations at 3336 Magazine St. and 5030 Freret St. have a menu that includes more exotic meats, including alligator sausage and crawfish sausage, and even some innovative meats like vegan sausages. Choose your wiener, then choose from a variety of toppings to make it your perfect dog.

Bordeaux Restaurant at 4734 Magazine St. is not so much a restaurant with a patio as it is a wall-less restaurant. The extensive patio that is the entrance of the contemporaryFrench-fare and rotisserie restaurant is as luxurious as the cuisine. The menu includes dishes such as maple leaf duck, white tail pheasant, and grilled venison.

Further up the river, French-inspired restaurant Chais Delachaise at 7708 Maple St. invites diners to eat under the stars, with favorites like charcuterie plates, moules frites,

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Cowbell

Chicken Toulouse, and fish ‘n’ chips. They also offer vegan fare, including aloo gobi and cauliflower hot wings.

It may be on one of New Oreleans's busiest streets, but it feels like a world away. Poydras Street is home to Copper Vine, which sports a sunny, plant-draped patio and is the place to be seen and to eat some of the most talked-about cuisine in the entire city. Boozy brunches are particularly memorable when you’re sitting in this urban oasis, located at 1001 Poydras St. You can choose to dine on something simple yet bold, such as the Chef’s Charcuterie and Cheese Board, or something totally Instagram-worthy, like the 8-ounce Wagyu beef burger and the Smothered Rabbit and Mushroom Fricassee. Did I mention the complimentary popcorn with a variety of flavorings?

Green Goddess is nestled in a picturesque French Quarter alleyway at 307 Exchange Pl. and is a favorite for locals wanting to escape the more tourist-inclined eateries nearby. The tiny restaurant features a variety of dishes for every taste and diet preference, such as the flawless Local Sausage Plate and Italian meatloaf or plant-based favorites like the rolled uttapam.

Café Amelie, on the other side of the French Quarter at 912 Royal St., is tucked away in a vine-lined, spacious courtyard.

The menu is known to rotate, but you can find such locally loved items as chicken and andouille jambalaya pasta and Plaquemines citrus roasted organic chicken, and continental dishes like seared rare ahi tuna with honey soy ginger sauce.

Underneath a veil of trees on Harrison Avenue, you’ll discover Velvet Cactus at 6300 Argonne St., where you can sit outside on the patio or inside, where the garage door walls may be up anyway. Start off with the Get Your Freak On Queso or cauliflower nachos. The combination plates are quite popular for the entrée course, especially the Rico Sauve.

As you can imagine, there’s a long margarita menu, but the Mojitorita rocks margarita is the best.

Back Uptown, Barracuda Tacos & Tortillas at 3984 Tchoupitoulas St. is situated right in the brewery corridor.

You can have a seat at one of the several picnic tables in the backyard to enjoy your fare. They have a small but innovative menu of tacos, any of which can be made into a bowl. Don’t forget to add on some chips and salsa.

We would be remiss not to mention Porch & Patio, located at 512 Williams Blvd. in Kenner, which, as the name suggests, features a large inviting porch for dining and drinking. The Cajun burger is seasoned with crab boil, and The Allie Cat has a patty mixed with jalapenos and bacon.

Right on the parish line and downriver from Porch & Patio, Cowbell at 8801 Oak St. serves upgraded comfort food in a fun and casual setting. Try the Adult Grilled Cheese, made with grilled asparagus, goat cheese, and house tomato jam; the Midnight Skirt Steak with roasted plantains, mango salsa, and house black sauce; or the Locally World-Famous Cowbell Burger. Consider getting the Riverbend Fries and Fanny & Earl’s Back Porch Ice Cream with every order.

The lakefront area has particularly perfect patios for outdoor dining during the day and night. You’ve also got the added benefit of the lake breeze to keep you cool. The Blue Crab, Felix’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar, and Landry’s Seafood House along Lakeshore Drive are always popular choices for long, lazy lunches.

Just beyond Lakeshore Drive, you’ll find Sala at 124 Lake Marina Ave., a loungey restaurant with shareable small plates, to-die-for entrees, and perfectly paired cocktails and wine to go with all of it. You’ll love the Golden Fried Fish Almondine with lemon butter sauce and Brabant potatoes with a side of herb truffle fries, but the panéed veal with crawfish sauté over angel hair pasta is a showstopper.

Take it outside and stay a while at these patio restaurants this weekend.

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RESTAURANT GUIDE American Shaya is open again and offering their iconic bread and hummus and so much more. The restaurant is home to an award-winning blend of Israeli and Southern influences, which together create something completely unique. Shaya will also be enforcing an increased level of sanitation, to ensure a safe dining experience for all. 4213 Magazine St., 504-891-4213, shayarestaurant.com Bennachin is open right now with limited hours, offering their taste of African cuisine to those looking for a little bit of flavor. The restaurant is serving food from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. as of now. They are home to some really great traditional dishes, such as fish pie and Banana Tropicana. 1212 Royal St., 504-296-2154, bennachinrestaurant.com Crescent City Steakhouse is a New Orleans staple.

This iconic steakhouse has been around for 85 years and is currently open Tuesday through Thursday with altered hours. Dishes like the batter-fried wings are reasons to show up on their own. The restaurant is taking reservations today at their usual phone number. 1001 N. Broad St., 504-821-3271, crescentcitysteaks.com Daisy Dukes serves Southern and Cajun classics.

Fan-favorites include the country-fried steak, shrimp and grits, and alligator omelet. They have a great early-bird special, but if you miss it, don't worry— breakfast is served all day. Now offering limited indoor seating and outdoor seating, Daisy Dukes is also continuing their delivery and takeout services.

Multiple Locations, daisydukesrestaurant.com Gattuso's Neighborhood Restaurant and Bar serves everything from steaks, seafood, and burgers to po-boys and clubs. Guests dine around picnic tables on a large outdoor patio. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., serving on their outdoor patio or their private parking lot across the street. 435 Huey P. Long Ave., Gretna, 504-3681114, gattusos.net Lakeview Harbor is a family-friendly restaurant that offers classics such as po-boys, juicy burgers, buildyour-own pizzas, and sizzling steak entrees in a pub setting. In addition to hearty meals, Lakeview Harbor also has an extensive cocktail list. For those hoping to score a good deal, the restaurant is now offering 25 percent off if you dine in. 8550 Pontchartrain Blvd., 504-486-4887, lakeviewharbor.us Liberty Cheesesteaks is your best option for Phillystyle cheesesteaks here in New Orleans. The Wiz is a classic cheesesteak filled with New York strip and topped with colby jack and cheddar cheeses. The Buffalo Chick adds a New Orleans twist by adding crab-boil seasoning. The restaurant is open for service every day starting at 11 a.m. 5041 Freret St., 504-875-4447, LibertyCheesesteaks.com Riccibono’s Panola Street Café has been an Uptown favorite of locals and students since 1998.

They have returned with their fantastic Bloody Marys, specialty Eggs Benedict dishes, and delicious Belgian waffles. Arrive early on the weekends to beat the rush. 7801 Panola St., 504-314-1810, PanolaStreetCafe.com The Duke specializes in the best of American comfort food, offering a tantalizing array of homemade burgers, hearty pasta dishes, and fried desserts. They currently offer in-restaurant dining with seven tables, available between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. There will be a period of takeout only, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.. 2740 Severn Ave., Metairie, 504353-4227, thedukerestaurant.com

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Willie Mae's

Willie Mae's has been serving classic soul food since 1957. This culinary institution has won a James Beard Award and was recognized by the Food Network and the Travel Channel as the home of "America's Best Fried Chicken." You can order online or by phone to get your fried chicken fix. Multiple locations, WillieMaesNola.com

Asian Green Tea is a Chinese restaurant that aims to serve good, healthy food at a reasonable price. They have a big and varied menu, with highlights such as a lunch special for $7.50 and a combo plate, which includes an entree, a side, and an appetizer or a soup, for $9.50. Though currently available for takeout only, the restaurant maintains its regular hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 3001 Napoleon Ave., 504-899-8005, greenteanola.com Kyoto 2 serves big portions of fresh sushi in a strip mall close to the AMC Elmwood movie theater. They also offer bento boxes, tempura, soups and salads, and noodles. As of today, Kyoto offers lunch, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., and dinner, from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., with limited dine-in options. 5608 Citrus Blvd., 504818-0228, facebook.com/Kyoto2Nola Mikimoto has an extensive menu of sushi, soups and salads, appetizers, and rice and noodle dishes. The beef tataki, wasabi mussels, and tuna steak are all standouts. For dessert, try the mochi, cheesecake, or tempura fried ice cream. The restaurant’s hours are 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Fridays, 4 p.m. - 10 p.m. Saturdays, and 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Sundays. 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-488-1881, mikimotosushi.com Origami on Freret serves Japanese cuisine that blends traditional and modern cooking styles in a stylish indoor space with an outdoor wraparound porch. Their sushi is delicious and beautifully presented, and they serve a variety of yakisoba and udon options, dinner entrees, and lunch specials. The restaurant is currently only offering takeout. 5130 Freret St., 504-899-6532, origaminola.com

Bars With Great Food Backspace Bar and Kitchen serves great food late into the night in the Quarter. They've got creative cocktails, a good selection of wine and beers, and diverse food options, including sliders, poutine, burgers, and wings. The restaurant is now open from 4 p.m. to midnight every night at 25 percent capacity. 139 Chartres St., 504-322-2245, backspacenola.com Buffa's Bar and Restaurant is a 24/7 casual bar located on the border of the Quarter, offering pub grub such as burgers, wings, and specialty sandwiches. Perhaps their claim to fame is the extensive breakfast menu offered all day and all night.

And Buffa’s is livestreaming their no-audience livemusic shows. 1001 Esplanade Ave., 504-949,0038, buffasbar.com Copper Vine Wine Bar & Restaurant serves brunch, lunch, and dinner in a modern space full of lush greenery in Downtown New Orleans. The lunch and dinner menus offer an array of appetizers, such as jumbo lump crab deviled eggs and duck-fat fries, and hearty main courses, including herb-roasted mushroom pasta and Gulf fish bouillabaisse. 1001 Poydras St., 504-208-9535, coppervinewine.com DMac's Bar and Grill is a neighborhood hot spot located in Mid-City that offers burgers and

Open For Business | Where Y'at Magazine

bites. DMac's serves up pub-food favorites, like taco pizza, as well as quesadillas, barbeque, and sandwiches. Additionally, there are low-carb and healthier options, such as fresh salads and wraps. Check their website for their calendar of livestreaming music concerts. 542 Jefferson Davis Pkwy., 504-304-5757, dmacsbarandgrill.com The Jimani has been New Orleans locals' latenight spot for food, drinks, and sporting events since 1971. The beloved sports bar has a great location in a historic old building that just might be haunted. The Jimani serves pub grub, including wings, jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks, fried crawfish balls, and nachos, and is currently open for takeout and curbside pickup. 141 Chartres St., 504-524-0493, thejimani.com

currently offering takeout and dine-in options. 615 Kepler St., Gretna, 504-365-1225, Cafe615.com Café Navarre is a Mid-City landmark near Delgado, popular for its fantastic outdoor patio. Visit them for brunch or to enjoy their delicious family-style meals for dinner. Just a short walk from City Park, Café Navarre also offers a tasty Tito’s Frozen Screwdriver to quench your thirst. 800 Navarre Ave., 504-4838828, CafeNavarre.com Caffe! Caffe! Is the perfect spot to enjoy a delicious meal without breaking your diet. Choose from a variety of refreshing salads, wraps, and Eat Fit NOLA options to keep you fueled throughout the day. The Clearview location currently has both curbside pickup and patio seating. Multiple Locations, 504-885-4845, CaffeCaffe.com

Rivershack Tavern has been serving up Cajun pub grub for years. Located on River Road adjacent to the Mississippi River, this funky roadhouse offers "shack-a-tizers" such as alligator sausage and fried green tomatoes, as well as po-boys, deli sandwiches, burgers, salads, and more. The restaurant is open with outdoor and indoor seating from 11 a.m. onward. 3449 River Rd., 504-8344938, rivershacktavern.com

Carmo introduces guests to the tropical flavors of the world. This casual and friendly spot has something for everyone, from vegans to meat-eaters, and is committed to providing customers with the freshest ingredients in an environmentally sustainable way. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., offering takeout only. 527 Julia St., 504-875-4132, CafeCarmo.com

Shamrock Bar and Grill is all about games and grub. Enjoy burgers, wings, cheese sticks, or nachos, or go fancier with a 12-ounce choice ribeye, while challenging friends to a game of pool at the city's largest neighborhood bar. Shamrock is following all social distancing and capacity protocols. They are now open from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. 4133 S. Carrollton Ave., 504-301-0938, shamrockparty.com

Liberty's Kitchen believes in both serving delicious food and helping the community. This casual café dishes out tasty classics, including BBQ shrimp and their signature black-bean burger, all while training local young people to achieve their dreams through the common connection of food. Come in for breakfast, lunch, or coffee on weekdays, for an experience you can truly feel good about. 300 North Broad St., 504-822-4011, libertyskitchen.org/ broadstreetcafe

Tracey's Original Irish Channel is a low-key Irish pub that offers a variety of beer and po-boys. In addition, Tracey's menu has a selection of specialty sandwiches like no other, along with seafood plates and sides. They are open between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., with dine-in and lots of patio seating. 2604 Magazine St., 504-897-5413 traceysnola.com

Cafés Bearcat Cafe's quirky breakfast and lunch menu has something for everyone. Obey your inner "good cat" with the café's healthier options, like chia pudding or the tofu scramble, or indulge in the decadent "bad cat" menu, with hearty choices like brisket hash or chai pancakes. 2521 Jena St., 504309-9011 bearcatcafe.com Café 615 (Home of Da Wabbit) has been a local favorite since its beginnings as a retro drive-in in 1948. Having been voted "Best Restaurant— Westbank" by Where Y'at readers, Café 615 has a classic American menu and feel-good charm that will be sure to keep you smiling. The restaurant is

NOLA Caye is a new Carribean hot spot taking New Orleans by storm. Enjoy menu highlights such as crispy shrimp tacos and satisfy your sweet tooth with classics like banana cream pie and tres leches cake.

The restaurant is fully open with dine-in, takeout, and brunch on Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., and is open all week as well. 898 Baronne St, 504-302-1302, nolacaye.com

French Café Degas is a French bistro that serves authentic French cuisine, such as cheese plates and French onion soup. This hidden gem currently holds the title of "Best French Restaurant in New Orleans” and is open for dine-in, both within the restaurant and on the patio, in addition to their takeout options. 3127 Esplanade Ave., 504-945-5635, cafedegas.com

Italian Andrea's Restaurant is the place to go for a classic

Neyow's Creole Café

Italian dining experience. Head chef Andrea Apuzzo serves up a wide variety of decadent dishes from his native Northern Italy. Andrea's has won countless national awards for the past 30 years. The restaurant offers service from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m., with a full menu, dine-in service, cocktails, and covered outdoor seating. 3100 19th St., Metairie, 504-834-8583, andreasrestaurant.com Josephine Estelle is the award-winning osteria located in the swanky Ace Hotel. Run by two James Beard Award-nominated chefs, this Italian eatery serves Southern-Italian fare with a fresh take on comfort food at an affordable price. The restaurant will be serving brunch and dinner Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with takeout service every day. 600 Carondelet St., 504-930-3070, josephineestelle.com Mosca's embodies the familiar, feel-good atmosphere of Italian home-cooking that we all love. This familycentered spot has been serving generous portions of some of Italy's most beloved dishes since 1946, solidifying its status as a neighborhood staple. The restaurant is currently offering takeout only, with plans to adjust during Phase 2. 4137 US-90, Westwego, 504-436-8950, moscasrestaurant.com

Mexican Carreta's Grill has been bringing locals authentic Mexican food for over 20 years. Their menu is full of Mexican classics, including burritos, enchiladas, and quesadillas, alongside exciting new options, like the creamy avocado fries served with house chipotle sauce. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 2320 Veterans Blvd., Metairie, 504-837-6696, CarretasGrillRestaurant.com Luna Libre specializes in "Ark-La-Tex" Mexican cuisine, highlighting a unique blend of flavors that stems from those regions. The restaurant will be open Tuesdays, as well as Thursdays through Saturdays, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., for dinner.

Luna Libre is also open every Saturday and Sunday, between 8 a.m. and 12 noon, for breakfast tacos.

3600 St. Claude Ave., 504-237-1284, facebook. com/lunalibrenola

Middle Eastern Lebanon's Cafe is one of NOLA's top Middle Eastern spots. This beautifully decorated location's most popular dishes include kabobs, chicken shawarma, and rosemary lamb chops. The restaurant is now open for takeout only, between the hours of 11 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. daily (10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays).

1500 South Carrollton Ave., 504-862-6200, lebanonscafe.com

Pascal's Manale has gained world-wide fame for being the creator of the original BBQ shrimp, but this restaurant's value goes far beyond seafood.

With a menu full of Italian classics, Pascal's truly has something for everyone. The restaurant is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Thursday and Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. 1838 Napoleon Ave., 504-895-4877, pascalsmanale.com

New Orleans Restaurants

PIZZA domenica offers specialty gourmet pizzas with an impressive menu of toppings, along with a variety of antipasti, salad, and desserts. The Uptown and Mid-City locations will be open from noon to 9 p.m. every day. Customers can dine in but must use face masks and adhere to socially distant table placement. Multiple Locations, 504-301-4978, pizzadomenica.com

Chef Ron's Gumbo Stop has racked up an impressive number of culinary awards for good reason. The humble spot offers some of the best Louisiana comfort food in the city, with highlights including boudin balls, classic seafood gumbo, and crawfish étouffée. The restaurant is open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. with dine-in options available. 2309 N. Causeway Blvd, 504-835-2022, GumboStop.com

Red Gravy brings a whole new meaning to "familyrun," offering a menu entirely based on recipes handed down from Italian grandmothers, aunts, and mothers.

Try their famous spaghetti and meatballs. Family meals are now being offered, but orders must be placed via Facebook Messenger or the restaurant’s Facebook page, where the latest menu information will be. 125 Camp St, 504-561-8844, redgravycafe.com

Coterie NOLA Restaurant and Oyster Bar serves chargrilled oysters, blackened shrimp, crab and corn bisque, and crawfish étouffée, and more. They have a standout dining room with a gleaming gold ceiling, wood floors, and brick walls. The restaurant is currently open between 10:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily. 135 Decatur St., 504529-8600, coterienola.com

Venezia, located in Mid-City, has been serving hearty Italian dishes since 1957 and is the place to go for authentic Italian cuisine. Famous for their friendly staff and extensive menu, Venezia is the perfect spot to bring the whole family. Don't miss out on favorites such as the eggplant parmigiana and muffaletta. 134 N. Carrollton Ave., 504-488-7991 Venezianeworleans.com

Neyow's Creole Café has endless options for Southern-style comfort food and seafood, with appetizers ranging from file gumbo to crab claws and crawfish balls, and pork chops, fried chicken, ribs, and seafood pastas for entrees. The restaurant is currently open for takeout orders, for those wanting to fulfill their Southern cravings. 3332 Bienville St., 504-827-5474, neyows.com

WhereYat.com | June 2020

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Max Well

New Orleans Creole Cookery has a chic French Quarter atmosphere and courtyard seating. Enjoy starters such as gator bites and hush puppies, along with a range of entree options, including grilled duck and New York strip, fried or boiled seafood, pecan-crusted redfish, shrimp and grits, and red beans and rice. The restaurant is open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., with dine-in available. 508 Toulouse St., 504-5249632, neworleanscreolecookery.com Parran's Po-Boys & Restaurant serves delicious po-boys on French bread baked by John Gendusa Bakery, one of the original po-boy bakeries. Choose from prime rib, roast beef, pastrami, smoked sausage, fried shrimp, and catfish, and pair your po-boy with potato salad, fried pickles, or dirty fries, among other sides.

They are open their regular hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, now with limited dine-in options. Multiple Locations, 504-8754620, parranspoboys.com Sala Nola is a popular destination in West End known for great cocktails paired with delectable small plates and entrees. Sala also features an impressive wine list that makes it a great choice for date night. Enjoy the breeze of the lake on their outdoor covered patio. 124 Lake Marina Ave., 504-513-2670, SalaNola.com Short Stop Poboys has been serving sandwiches in Metairie since 1966 and makes more than 30 different kinds of po-boys. They also feature some of the city's best seafood gumbo, and, unlike many po-boy shops, they include jalapenos in their dressing. Short Stop is now offering takeout with their full menu. 119 Transcontinental Drive, Metairie, 504-885-4572, shortstoppoboysno.com

Seafood Briquette serves tasty coastal cuisine, putting contemporary twists on seafood classics such as Faroe Island salmon, Louisiana redfish, and fresh butter-glazed scallops. Located in the renovated Rodd Brothers Molasses Refinery, the

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restaurant is offering dinners every night, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., except Mondays. 701 S. Peters St., 504-302-7496, Briquette-Nola.com Felix's Restaurant & Oyster Bar represents one of the most beloved New Orleans institutions, having served locals fresh and delicious oysters and more since 1940. Whether you like your oysters raw, chargrilled, or fried, Felix's has something in store for you. Open from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. every day for dine-in, the restaurant can satisfy your seafood hankering with ease.

Multiple Locations, 504-304-4125, Felixs.com Landry's Seafood has been a family favorite across Louisiana since 1947. Their fun-filled dining experience is centered around the mission of family, warmth, and exceptional seafood.

Open every day between 11:30 a.m. and 9 p.m., the restaurant has both dine-in and patio seating.

620 Decatur St, 504-581-9825, landrysseafood. com/location-french-quarter.asp Tito's Ceviche and Pisco brings a taste of Peru to the Big Easy in a cozy Uptown environment.

Diners can take a seat in the elegant dining room or enjoy their meal on the lush sundrenched terrace. Whether you're craving the fan-favorite ceviche or the perfectly grilled octopus, Tito's will take you on a global culinary journey you are sure to love. 5015 Magazine St., 504-267-7612, titoscevichepisco.com

Vegetarian Max Well is a health-conscious cafĂŠ that serves soups, salads, and nutrient-rich bowls.

The plant-based restaurant offers vegan and gluten-free foods, as well as cold-pressed juices. For lunch or dinner, try the Banh Mi or La Bonita Power Bowls, and choose from an array of protein-packed sides, including French green lentils or quinoa cranberry stuffing.

They are now open from 11 a.m. until 8:45 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and closed on Sundays. 6101 Magazine St., 504-301-0510, maxwellneworleans.com.

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$20 & UNDER

Hot Chefs. Cool Flavors.

A few of New Orleans’s finest chefs share nostalgic sno-ball stand memories and new favorites.

By Kim Ranjbar

If there's one thing summer stirs, it's the childhood memories of cool, sweet treats. Though any kid from Los Angeles to Manhattan can enjoy creamy ice cream and fruity popsicles, only New Orleans kids (both young and old) are blessed with snoballs. A super simple confection at its core—finely shaved ice soaked in cane-sugar syrup—sno-balls are an ideal and relatively inexpensive treat on an oppressive summer day in the city.

Whether you have lived here all your life or were transplanted from someplace else, being inducted into the wonderful world of sno-balls is like a rite of passage.

Newcomers, beware: Gasps of shock and awe will greet your remark if you admit you've never tried one. It's more than likely your friends and/or co-workers will hasten to rectify the situation as soon as the stands open up. You'll be flooded with recommendations for the best stands and flavors, and fond memories will come rushing out along with them.

Because our city's born-and-bred chefs are so totally “in the know” when it comes to great flavors and quality ingredients, we asked some of them about their sno-ball stand memories and how their tastes have changed since childhood.

Frank Brigsten, Brigsten's Restaurant Before opening his eponymous Riverbend restaurant in 1986, Brigtsen began his culinary career at Commander's Palace under the tutelage of famed chef, restaurateur, and personality Paul Prudhomme. Brigtsen even followed him when he left the Garden District restaurant to open K-Paul's. Up until the recent crisis, he and his wife Marna were the heart and soul of their neighborhood spot, serving up inventive takes on Creole cuisine and making diners feel like members of the family.

The esteemed chef claims he's “too old” to remember his very first sno-ball or where it came from, but he's positive it was somewhere in his neighborhood.

“My favorite flavor forever was nectar, often with a drizzle of condensed milk,” says Brigtsen, simultaneously recalling his father's favorite spearmint that left his mouth green. Proving it's never too late

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to learn new things, Brigtsen admitted that on the advice of his niece Sophie, his new favorite is currently mandarin orange at Ro-Bears SnoBalls & Soft Serve on Jefferson Highway.

Aaron Burgau, Patois Restaurant and Central City BBQ Famed New Orleans chef and restaurateur Aaron Burgau, who earned his chops working in kitchens with local greats like Susan Spicer and Gerarad Maras, is currently co-owner of upscale neighborhood joint Patois along with Central City BBQ on S. Rampart Street. He fondly recalls his first sno-ball at Casey's, a baby blue stand on W. Esplanade Avenue in Metairie. It's not a huge surprise to learn that Burgau's first sno-ball flavor at the tender age of five was spearmint, considering it was one of the first flavors available, but today, he prefers almond and hibiscus from the 81-year-old stand on Tchoupitoulas Street, Hansen's Sno-Bliz.

Jeffery Heard Sr., Heard Dat Kitchen Jeffery Heard Sr., the owner of Central City soul food restaurant Heard Dat Kitchen, distinctly remembers his first sno-ball. “When I was 10, my friend and I would ride our bikes to City Park and go perch fishing,” says Heard. “We'd stop at Pandora's on N. Carrollton.” When he was just a boy, Heard loved bubblegum-flavored sno-balls, but he also enjoyed his mother's

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homemade versions, created with fruit punch and fruit cocktail and called a “hucka-buck,” “zip,” or “frozen cup.” More recently, Heard preferred the less sweet coconutflavored sno-balls at the now-closed Miss Anne's off West Metairie Avenue. “As you get older, the sugar ... doesn't work for you,” Heard says with a laugh.

Eric Cook, Gris Gris Growing up “in the Parish” (St. Bernard Parish), combat veteran and acclaimed New Orleans chef Eric Cook recalls family outings to get sno-balls at a stand called Kool-Kat (now located in Slidell) when he was seven years old. “We loaded up in our Griswald station wagon, heading out on an adventure,” Cook remembers. “Dad wouldn’t let us eat them in the car, so it was a sidewalk party, and then Mom would do the old napkin-to-the-face move to clean us up. I hated that.” A stuffed strawberry-flavored sno-ball (usually with soft-serve ice cream) is still Cook's favorite, but these days, he heads straight for Pandora's in Mid-City.

Jordan Ruiz, Munch Factory Chef and owner of The Munch Factory (located in the Lower Garden District and Gentilly), Jordan Ruiz was—and still is—a big fan of Rodney's Sno-Ball stand on Lake Forest Boulevard in New Orleans East. As a tyke, the Fat Boy’s beloved local Pizza chef was amazed by his first strawberry sno-ball, but these days, he ups

the ante with the addition of wild cherry and condensed milk.

Alison Vega-Knoll, Station 6 Alison Vega-Knoll, a talented local chef who trained under masters like Daniel Bonnot and Susan Spicer, remembers a chocolate and condensed milk sno-ball as her first, when she was five years old, at Sal's. “We'd walk down the street and sit on the old tree trunks,” says Vega-Knoll. “During the summer, the neighborhood kids would put our money together to get the big $5.00 bucket.” Not surprisingly, Sal's is still her favorite spot, as nothing stimulates the appetite like nostalgia.

Jason Seither, Seither's Seafood Self-taught chef, restaurateur, and son of a Louisiana fisherman Jason Seither associates his first sno-ball experience with baseball. “It had to be when I was playing ball during the summer at Delta Playground,” recalls Seither. “I used to love the grape snoball and the rainbow ones, too, because those looked the coolest.” As he grew up, Seither's taste in sno-balls leaned away from the “cool factor” and more towards flavor.

He still enjoys mixes, such as half pineapple and half orange stuffed with ice cream, plus other fruity options, including coconut, watermelon, and blackberry. “One of my favorite sno-ball stands, Ro-Bears, is just a few blocks from my restaurant in Harahan,” says Seither. “They make a specialty snoball called vanilla orchid cream.” Getting it stuffed with soft-serve ice cream is highly recommended.

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FILM REVIEWS We’re Open!

Capone

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The Willoughbys

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By David Vicari

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Shot in New Orleans two years ago, director Josh Trank’s Capone does not prove to be worth the wait.

Trank avoids the common biopic pitfall of trying to cover every moment of a famous person’s life. Here, he focuses on the final year of gangster Al Capone’s (Tom Hardy) life. After being imprisoned for income tax evasion, he suffered such physical and mental deterioration from neurosyphilis that he received a compassionate release from jail. In a Florida estate with his wife (Linda Cardellini), family, and henchmen, he is monitored by the feds and suffering from multiple hallucinations.

There’s talk of $10 million that Capone hid away, but otherwise, there’s very little plot here. It’s a meandering, aimless film. Hardy is heavily made up and commits to speaking in a high-pitched, ultra-raspy voice for Capone, but there’s no depth to his character. The audience is left to draw on what they’ve read of Capone (or seen of him in movies like The Untouchables), rather than anything in the script.

Another problem is one that befell the final act of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman.

Capone, like Robert DeNiro’s Frank Sheeran in The Irishman, is a decidedly unsympathetic character. He’s a mass murderer and a brute. So, it’s hard to feel much of anything for him in his dying days. Capone ends up being 103 minutes of watching a horrible person suffer a horrible fate. None of the hallucinations are trippy enough to linger in the mind for purely visual reasons, either.

Capone is now streaming.

Now streaming on Netflix is the new computer-animated film The Willoughbys, based on the satirical book by Lois Lowry. The Willoughby children—Tim (voice of Will Forte), Jane (voice of Alessia Cara), and the twins, both named Barnaby (voice of Seán Cullen)—are fitted with the absolutely worst, most self-centered parents ever (voiced by Jane Krakowski and Martin Short). The children come up with a plan to orphan themselves by sending their rich idiot parents on vacation to perilous places where something terrible might befall them. However, Mom and Dad are one step ahead and hire an untrained nanny (Maya Rudolph) to watch after the kids. Also thrown into the mix is a reclusive candymaker (Terry Crews), an orphaned baby named Ruth (Brian Drummond), and Ricky Gervais as a cat who narrates the story.

There is some clunky storytelling here. Baby Ruth is just a plot device, so we never find out about her origins. Maybe they are saving that for a proposed sequel. Also, some of the very dark humor may be upsetting to some children.

What's good here is the colorful animation, which blends the style of computeranimation with classic stop-motion animation. The stylized look of the characters is fun, and the set pieces, especially the candy factory, are pure wonderment.

No, this isn't a Pixar masterpiece, but The Willoughbys is a charming little movie about finding your true family.

Now streaming on multiple platforms, Antrum is purportedly a 1970s-shot horror movie that is actually cursed. People who watch it die. Theaters that show it burn down. This is all bunk because I watched it and I haven't died—at least, not yet. The gimmick that this movie kills would bring a tear to William Castle's eye, yet it's not a good movie.

Like Cannibal Holocaust (1980), we get a framing story—presented here as a documentary—about the murky history of the cursed and elusive film and how a print was recently discovered. So, then we get to the evil movie-within-a-movie, Antrum, which tells the tale of a boy (Rowan Smyth) and his teenage sister (Nicole Tompkins), who trek into a forest to dig a hole to hell in an attempt to rescue the soul of their recently deceased dog. Soon, strange things begin to happen, and it appears the forest is infested with little demons.

The movie-within-a-movie actually isn't bad, but it is ruined by two things. First, it's the hokey stunts presented throughout, trying to convince us that this is an evil movie. The supposedly satanic black-and-white images spliced in work mainly as a distraction. Next, there is the movie-within-a-movie's ending. Just before the credits role, we have a satisfying emotional scene that even has a poetic feel to it, but then, in the middle of the end credits, the filmmakers slap us in the face with a wet towel and show “the real” ending, which is rather mean-spirited and depressing. Instead of a shocking surprise, it felt to me like directors David Amito and Michael Laicini just revealed their contempt for their intended audience.

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Tales from the Quarter

By Debbie Lindsey

My Dad

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t is not just Father’s Day that reminds me of Dad. It’s often the smallest of things, like a folded newspaper, that causes me to reflect on my life with him.

He was never bored or impatient while waiting for someone, as long as he had his newspaper or Time Magazine to read.

I might be late to meet him somewhere, but I could rest assured that he’d have his reading material with him.

I also think of him when I swim, for he loved swimming. He was not an athletic man by any means, but he could sure tread water (he swore it cured his bad back).

From the time I was able to swim, he and I would set off in search of some sort of watering hole (not a bar—well, maybe years later), be it a creek, bay, lake, or pool.

These outings would continue for as long as I lived in my hometown. I never did have a car, so he’d pick me up at my apartment. We’d take off in his Volkswagen Bug and head toward an extravagance my folks allowed themselves: a pool at the Grand Hotel situated at Point Clear, Alabama, about 35 miles from Mobile. We would gab like mad every mile of the way to and from, often stopping off to visit my Aunt Ethel who lived along the way, and then she would out-gab us. Talking seemed to run large on my dad’s side of the family, a trait I fully inherited (much to the chagrin of my friends). In fact, I was the only one who could out-talk her, and therefore, when she telephoned my folks, they would hand her over to me to wind her down and give their ears a rest. She was my favorite aunt.

Dad gifted me the love of musicals. I was totally smitten by show tunes and suspect that my folks regretted, at times, infecting me with song and dance when their visiting friends were held hostage by me, a precocious eight-year-old with absolutely no musical talent. I was born to entertain—or so I thought. It would be years before I realized just how tone-deaf I was and that my two left feet would be an embarrassment to Fred Astaire.

Going for walks with Dad was a ritual we began when I was little and would always continue. He was a talker like I was and enjoyed sharing his time with me. I would later learn that some of those earlier walks were a crucial time for him to decompress. His business was going under, and the worry and weight of this must have been intolerable, what with a family to support and all. Yet all I remember from those strolls was how pleasant they were.

Dad was my moral compass. (Of course, my mom was stand-up and a great role model, but her story will wait another day.) Right and wrong was not something he preached; it was something he lived, with the good surpassing his

flaws. In fact, he gave me a sense of good being attainable, even in conjunction with selfishness or ego. When I was a bit older, one of my heroes was Ralph Nader, the consumer crusader (that is, before the idiot cost Gore the election years later). And Dad, in response to me beating myself up about not feeling totally altruistic in some matter, said, “Don’t think Nader isn’t driven by a large ego. He would have to be, and that’s fine, because it propels him in his work.” Dad wasn’t particularly a Nader fan, but his point was well given and taken. Common sense was Dad’s mantra. And it has guided me, along with his absolute honesty.

My favorite story about Dad’s integrity was the time he found a small change purse with 20 or so bucks in it and no ID. He took out a classified ad in the newspaper under “Lost & Found” and told me that if no one claimed it, he would give it to me. That act of honesty was above and beyond, and it has guided me more times that I can count.

It’s the little things that make a person soar. Currently, during this pandemic and economic collapse, the acts of generosity truly define the better angels.

And we are reminded that one mere act of thoughtfulness can make someone’s day—perhaps even save a life. Dad would have worn a mask (in between puffing his Camels), donated, and volunteered, finding ways to give back to the community.

Dad would never raise a hand to my sister or me and yet was never indifferent to our misbehaving or to any of our transgressions. He told me that his dad didn’t communicate or talk much with him, so he promised himself that he would talk to his kids. His lectures were punishment enough. As an adult, I can appreciate his desire to discipline with verbal reprimands. But as a kid, ears burning from these talks was tedious at best. I am afraid that I learned the art of lecturing to the point of nagging—just ask my husband.

Dad’s one trait that I can not reflect back on as positive was his temper. He could “fly off the handle,” as they say, and while never physical about it, he certainly could put me on edge. That too was inherited. I have a lousy temper. Righteous anger is fine, and I have plenty of that—no apologies. But my hissy-fits and short temper are plain stupid. Dad would probably lecture me about that.

I could go on forever with saccharinelaced antidotes. I will simply end with the wish that Dad could read this or that I could pick up the phone and tell him thanks.

Martin Philo Lindsey was born November 11, 1908, and continues to live in my heart.

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Po-Boy Views

By Phil LaMancusa

User’s Manual or Dad’s Dilemma

T

o paraphrase Shakespeare, “Some are born Fathers, some achieve Fatherhood, and some have Fatherhood thrust upon them.”

When some of us find ourselves in the role of fatherhood, some of us (although cute, smart, witty, and pretty) haven’t a blessed clue as to what baseball bat just blindsided us with a blow of intimidation, impotence, insecurity, and total ignorance about how to deal with a biped that we’re gonna be responsible to/for—perhaps for the remainder of our lives. It can be a lot of water to carry.

Sure, it’s fun to be with someone whom you knocked up and go through the nine months of chaos that the carrier of this little miracle-to-be experiences.

You’ll run the gamut of emotions and physical upheavals that accompany that little angel on its trip from innocent zygote to uterus-ripping howler monkey, and then, it’s yours—forever. A red-faced, breast-sucking, crying, and orificeexpelling little bundle of joy. You didn’t realize that it’s gonna take months before the little cherub can even look you in the eye—hopefully, by that time, it turns cute. Mine, at birth, looked like a cross between the inside of a boxing glove and Edward G. Robinson.

Sure, everyone around you says that the little ones are cute and precious, but they’re not woken up every two hours until Babykins is able to sleep the night through. Forget about a sex life; that’s way down the road. Your ballroom days are over. At first, I thought my bundles of joy were willful, spiteful, and selfish, until I got hip to that behavior being inherently a human rite of passage from uterus to university—self-examination taught me that, in fatherhood, all bets are off. Have more than one child, and your confusion expands exponentially. Three or more will drive you sober.

You see, nobody explains to you how to be a dad. I got my clues from television shows, movies, and the confusion of fathers around me who were making mistakes on a daily, if not hourly, basis.

What I imagined was that somewhere, dads were cowboys, office workers, shopkeepers, cops, and firemen, who never went to the bathroom or smoked unfiltered cigarettes, never smelled like booze or had the body odor of a gorilla, and the worst thing that could happen was that they would look sad and say, “Son, I’m very disappointed in you.”

The dads around my way would knock you into next week for looking cross-eyed at them. Where was I headed? All the kids around me were little monsters who were sly, crafty, cunning, and out to get away with mayhem, mischief, and, if possible, murder. Was I going to fit that “dad as

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storm trooper” mold, and would my kids turn into the Brady Bunch or a chapter of Hells Angels?

Well, I threw all the balls up in the air, I threw caution to the wind, I sailed the spaghetti at the wall and watched what stuck and what hit the floor. In short, I tried everything. I was an authoritarian, best friend, mentor, gang leader, wise guy, and sage. It didn’t make any difference— they loved me anyway, and I came to find them precious and unconditionally ensconced in my heart. We were good, we were bad, we had fun, we cried and yelled and threw things, got dressed up and dressed down. I’m certain that their mother thought that she was raising me as well. I used to say, “I can’t help it. Nobody issued me The Dad Manual!”

These days, there is rarely a thing called a stay-at-home parent, so we all have to do our part. You have to keep those Coke-suckers busy: ballet, soccer, music lessons, arts and crafts. There are trips to the zoo, the beach, the park, and that awful thing that they call a “play date,” until they get old enough to get to school on their own, be sent to camp, or go to a sleepover at some unsuspecting and less seasoned parent’s house.

Then they start to grow up—from the terrible twos to the terrorist teens. By this time, you’ve become a workaholic and let their mother raise them. You become the chauffer, the money bags, and that guy who burns things on an outside grill while they play in the kiddy pool or on the Slip ‘N Slide. You become the “Wait ‘til I tell your father!” father.

All the while, you have given up your privacy, and your relationship with Mom can really become strained. There may be spats, when that glass of wine at dinner turns into a bottle. You take up jogging just to get out of the house. You stay later and later at work, and Mom is left holding the bag, and now she is heading for a nervous breakdown. Face it, kids can drive you crazy, and being a dad is not like you see on television, where nobody seems to have money problems and dinner appears miraculously, as you sit around and wisecrack, waiting for the laugh track and another character to barge through the door and amuse everyone.

Then, they learn to drive, and then they drive away from home to start their own lives and families. You reminisce about the good old days and frame old photographs in which everyone is smiling. Then you become friends, and when they have a little bundle of joy of their very own, they’ll ask you for advice and tell you that they don’t know how you “did it.” And if you’re really, really honest, you’ll give them a big hug and say, “Listen, kid, don’t ask me. I never had a clue. Ask your mother.”

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