Mayhaw Man

This is so far out of my experience in life I have a hard time explaining it, but somehow your post and those photos were very comforting and made me smile. We get our sugar from giant fields of sugar cane (full of every thing in the world that crawls, flies, and bites) which is harvested by giant machines and crushed by even bigger machines and it is a miracle that they get something white out of the end of the process-that whole maple process looked remarkably peaceful and pleasant in the extreme. Thanks

I don't know how many of you have an interest in this, but Emeril's show tonight is a taped episode of him visiting a bunch of places and going shrimping with the guys from R and O Seafood. You will see a very calm Emeril talking about some things that he loves (as do I, for that matter) and it is a pretty decent foodlogue of primarily inexpensive and interesting places to eat in New Orleans. It is on now and will repeat later in the evening. I reccomend it as he doesn't yell Bam even once and is extremely repsectful of the people he is dealing with. I wish that there were more shows like this one. I might start watching him again.

First of all-Welcome to Clothier. I know him from another part of the net world and he will be a valuable poster. Glad to see you around. I do not have the schedule yet, but the Ponderosa Stomp at Rock n Bowl is getting to be kind of legendary with us music nuts. Google on it and you will find tons of stuff from nerds like me who are in love with the event. It is on Monday Tuesday Wednesday between the weekends. ALso the city is having music in Waldenburg Park (or at least they did last year) and it is free and they had a pretty good lineup last year. As the music calenders come out for next month I will be posting stuff around those. As far as secret food I intend on listing a bunch of places where you go eat after the Fairgrounds. There are lots of places to go where the 8ish dining crowd is not too bad. Glad to see you here

As someone who ran the only micro in New Orleans for a very long time I am well aware that the beer selection sucks. Beer, unlike the food, is controlled by the Fairgrounds itself and the profits go to various groups like Kiwanas, Lions, Social Aid and Pleasure CLubs (it's a N.O. thing), etc. I have a collection of letters containing funny responses from the Jazz Fest sent to me over the years as we tried to get Abita into the Fairgrounds. I once paid for a banner dragging plane that circled the Fairgrounds extolling the virtues of our fine product and the fact that you could not buy it at the Fairgrounds. All to no avail. I guess that will all change one day, but not in the forseeable future. It is apparently a very complicated issue involving politics and bribery (I suspect, with good reason). A good example is the ice tea at the Fairgrounds. You cannot imagine what went on when Coke came in and announced it would only sponsor the Festival if they were the only caffiene on the Fairgrounds. Giant stink, but fortunately cooler and smarter heads prevailed and the tea lady (who makes her ENTIRE living for the year off of 7 days of Fairgrounds sales) remains with two booths vending both caffienated and herbal teas in large quantities at very reasonable prices. Coffee is still an issue, although there is some very high quality iced coffee available (at decent prices compared to cokes and water). I never drank much at the Fairgrounds when I used to drink alot (although I will be happy to tell you a story when we meet involving my brother, alot of beer, some rum, a little old lady and some homemade lasagna, and her son the cab driver-it's a great story of poor behavior, bad planning, and luck ). Remember-It's a marathon, not a sprint. Getting bombed in the middle of the afternoon in the hot sun makes for a very long night.

No Hot Dogs, No Hamburgers, No Funnel Cakes (not that that would be a bad thing ), No Corn Dogs. We have Hot Sausage poboys instead of hot dogs, COuchon Del Lait Poboys instead of Hamburgers, Crawfish Beignets instead of funnel cakes, and Alligator Sausage on a stick instead of Corn Dogs (these things are better than they sound, picture a corn dog with teally top quality corn dogs ). Just real food for real people at real prices. And they have some music to enjoy while you dine al fresco. No wine though. Beer and soft drinks only (and rediculously priced water-don't get me started ).

Personally, I would just hit the sign in sheet and bail-but I do not get any points for my convention and continuing education ethics

No it's not needed to buy them in advance, although it will save you a bunch of time (and a little money). They are sold by the weekend, not the day (any ticket for weekend one is good for any of the days). No. They never run out. THey will sell them until they have to stack us in there like cordwood. Actually, there was a day two years ago when Mystikal and Dave Matthews were playing at the same time and there was a not so harmonic convergence of hip hop fans and hippie kids. There were 127,000 paid through the gates that day and frankly it was a nightmare that no one including the management hopes to ever repeat. Most days it is one of the most manageable and interesting crowds you are ever going to deal with. There are virtually no cops there, as they just aren't needed except to support the medical staff. It is a very cool group of people of mixed ages, backgrounds, etc. Well, I would suggest getting lots of small servings of everything. My favorites include the couchon de lait po boy, BBQ oyster salad, crawfish sacks, cannolis from Angelo Brocottas, Quail Gumbo, and my ultimate, every single afternoon for the last 15 years favorite.....da de da....The Softshell Crab Po Boy from the Seafood Galley. I can't help it. I love those damn things. Let me repeat-For seven days a year it is the best ala carte dining establishment in the World. Period. End of Story. Love to. As time gets closer we can figure it out and see who's up for it. I love the Jazz Festival.

Boiled Shrimp potatoes, asparagus, carrots, french bread Orange Sorbet for dessert

I love amberjack- (much like king or spanish mackerel-Anybody who has a friend who dives the rigs to shoot fish sees lots of it, as it is a very popular shooting fish. It is great cooked over coals and even better smoked like redfish in a slow smoker. It makes AWESOME fish dip. Lemon Fish-ling-whatever-is my favorite eating fish in the world. I love it. I could eat it every day. It is hard to find and even harder to catch(once again the rig shooters bring it to me alot). I would rather eat lemon fish than crabmeat.

Oddly enough, the Boudreaux's Buttpaste guy is IN my office complex in Covington, LA (George Boudreaux, a guy who made a ton on a funny idea-great t-shirts incidentally). How much do you want? I am sure that I can get a butt load

The visuals on this are just magnificent (and possibly mildly disturbing)

I forgot about pecans. Pecans are a welcome addition to the well made tuna fish sandwich. Has anyone noticed all of the "gourmet tuna" adds being thrown up by google on this page? Anybody ever tried any "Maryland Hand Packed Tuna"?

Julia Reed has an excellent piece in today's New York Times concerning the lowly tuna fish sandwich. She describes the kind of tuna fish she grew up eating and not suprisingly it is exactly like the stuff I ate. I honestly thought that water packed tuna, mayo, onion, celery, and sweet pickles (all in the correct "Mom made" proportions, of course) was the way that everybody ate the stuff. Anyway, I now know better and so, apparently, does Julia Reed. I eat tuna salad sandwiches about once a week or so for a quick afternoon snack when I get home from work and I was wondering if any of you urbane gourmets would admit to doing the same? And while we're at it- I am a Bumblebee packed in water-large chunk kinda guy. What kind of tuna do you buy and what kind of bread do you eat it on? What goes into your tuna fish spread? There are so many fascinating things to talk about concerning lowly tuna fish. Who knew? Incidentally, she also mentions Southern Sideboards, The Jackson, MS Junior League Cookbook. THis book, along with the Cotton Country Collection from Monroe, LA are the two finest (imo) examples of the genre.

Of course. That's what we are all here for. You might want to start by going here, to the Louisiana Forum and see what recent visitors thought about their trips. I would be happy to be much more specific id you could give me a general idea of what kind of money they are talking about and whether they will have a car or not. Is this dinner only or do they need to know about lunch as well?

Comus, along with Momus and Proteus (Rex, the olther old line parade never stopped) ceased rolling in 1989 thanks to some political correctness and some serious personal vendettas by a single councilwoman named Dorothy Mae Taylor (now deceased). Ms. Taylor decided to make the destruction of private carnival clubs her personal mission. She succeeded in a backhanded kind of way. The old line Krewes ceased parading for a number of years(Comus, the traditional last parade of Mardi Gras and also the club with the most secret traditions in all of Mardi GRas, still does not parade. It's ball, which coincides with Rex on Mardi Gras night, is still the culmination of all festivities. THe final event of Mardi Gras is the meeting of Rex, the King of Carnival and Comus-a really old money white guy), although Proteus has taken back it's traditional night parade spot on the Sunday before Mardi Gras.-which leads us to Harry Connick, Jr. Harry had two main things going for him when he wanted to start his own parade 1) His dad has been the DA in Orleans Parish for 30 years and arguably was the most powerful guy in town b) Harry had a bunch of money and a bunch of rich friends from out of town who were willing to commit financially to a new parade. Harry took a name of a defunct New Orleans Krewe and an active Mandeville Krewe, ordered giant floats from Blaine Kern (the king of giant floats) and got a Monday night spot that had been left empty by the departure of an old line krewe. Everybody in town was overtly critical of this attempt to bring in out of towners and yankees and let them pelt the public with plastic trinkets (we like to think we are the only qualified pelters .) Everybody shut up after the first parade. The floats are gorgeous (and have only gotten better) there is a band between every float (and sometimes on them), weird marching groups get asked to walk (so he gets the hippy/artist vote-including mine) and they throw a ton of stuff (making it very popular with kids and tourists-this is my children's favorite parade behind Muses, the all women's krewe that runs on Wed. night). Orpheus is a really good parade and good on Harry COnnick. He is homegrown and while he seriously strayed into that lounge singing business, he seems to be getting it back on track. After all, he had James Booker (the best piano player in the history of the world-IMO) as a teacher and can really slap the ivories when he is in the mood. Now you know.

Well, since you asked.... I stopped and got some tails on the way back across the lake from N.O. and I am in the middle of concocting Martha's pie dough (it is the best and the easiest directions ever). I will be using said dough to construct a couple of crawfish pies which will be served with bread from Binder's Bakery in the Faubourg Marigny in N.O. and a spinach salad with locally grown baby spinach. Strawberry Ice Cream for dessert (fresh local strawberries and milk from the dairy up the road )

Nope. School's are out for a week. All of the colleges in the state are closed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Banks closed Monday at noon. The only things open (pretty much) are grocery stores, restaurants, and bars. Nobody works unless they have to and it is a paid holiday for most. We had fun this week, but the weather kinda blew it on Monday and Tuesday (for the second year in a row). Tommorrow you will see all kinds of people with ashes on their face at work (if they have to go) or in the store as all of the Catholics (I'm not one of them) will be hitting Ash Wednesday services in the morning.

Cold, Wet, Rainy, Kinda Yuck. Mardi Gras 2004 Here is a link to this morning's St Anne's Parade (photos currently there are from last year, but it should be updated sometime today. The photo in my avatar is from this parade in 2003) St Anne's Parade This is a link to something completely different. A small town marching parade in my little town that is a whole lot of fun, but it in a different, much more casual and thrown together kinda way. Krewe of Puch Mo Parade There will be photos added to this over the next couple of days (as soon as the webmaster sobers up ). I will now proceed to watch the end of the day on TV. The last part of Carnival is the meeting of Rex and Comus at Municipal Auditorium-a very traditional and stupifyingly dull ceremony that is shown for three hours on public television every Mardi Gras. I watch it every year as some kind of pre lenten punishment. To the unitiated it might be fascinating, but to everybody else it is something you go to if you have to. Happy Mardi Gras to all. May the weather be better next year!

Chicken Livers (just don't bring any back to Jason, although Rachel might appreciate them ) Alligator Cheesecake (if they have it, the stuff is delicious-makes an excellent take home item to be ordered at the end of the meal as it reheats really well) His desserts in New Orleans are part of the experience, and it is hard for me to imagine them being any worse in New York.

Carnival Parade Progress Report It is 6:45 cst and raining like hell in New Orleans. I am stuck at our apt. in N.O. and there will be no parades tonight. This is bad for everybody but bar owners and people with food to sell, they will be packed. Hopefully we will have better tommorrow, although it is not predicted. We had a beautiful weekend and I don't suppose there is much right to complain. It rained last year on Monday night and there was the same prediction for Tuesday, but it turned out to be a gorgeous day. Happy Lundi Gras, ya'll!! Dinner tonight will be sandwiches and stuff from the World Famous (thanks to Bourdain and his show from N.O.) Verti Mart. Which is conveniently located directly across the street from our apt. If you saw the show that's where he ordered up the "gimme your cheapest bourbon, a pack of smokes, and a muffaletta". I have ordered pretty much that same thing many times. THe best part about the place is that they get the NYT early in the morning and they are open 24/7/365.

Northwest Arkansas, that strange little micro climate that exists around Fayetteville, produces some champion mushrooms and there are some very avid hunters up there. My brother, who hunts and spends losts of time in the woods in the fall and winter, has a whole group of guys who run them down on the weekends (this is always coupled with fishing). They sell some, but end up eating most of them. He says that you can usually find them during the season at the farmers market in Fayetteville (a wonderful farmers market-complete with real farmers as opposed to resellers).

I'm with maggiethecat. Eggs are somehow very reassuring. Then again, so is a big bowl of Raisin Bran or a couple of toasted english muffins with extra butter and Mayhaw Jelly. I think that I must equate comfort and breakfast. I didn't realize that until just now

I used to like Piccadilly, but the quality seems to have suffered in recent years. I still have very fond memories of jello with fruit cocktail in it, okra and tomatoes, mustard greens, roast beef (carved, it was very cool when I was 10 y.o.), corn bread sticks accompanied by "green drink" and finally- boiled custard in green ceramic ramekins. They also had one of those cool cash registers that made change and spit it down the ramp into the little stainless cup. Toothpicks and junior mint patties on the way out. Great place to be a kid. When I was a kid a trip to Luby's was a huge deal after church. My grandparents (Germans who were about as far away from gourmets as you could be ) thought it was serious cuisine and it was, in fact, pretty good for what it was.

I was thinking the same thing when I read it. I am pretty sure that I have never seen a news article (especially in the august NYT) that ends with an advertisement. Good for them I guess, although I don't really think they need the help. People are so hot to eat in that place that they would have sat through the fire if the smoke wasn't too thick to see the plates.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The schedule is out, the menu is set. All that is left is to order some tickets, get out the big hat and the sunscreen, and slide that little card into the mini bank and wipe out the available balance. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will be held as usual on the last weekend in April and the first weekend in May at the New Orleans Fairgrounds. This event is, in fact, the best of it's kind in the world. The thing is organized as well as any military invasion and generally goes off with out a hitch. Even though the prices have steadily risen ove the last years, it is still an incredible bargain. You will never find a larger selection of music at this price anywhere, ever. For the price of what it costs you to get into a weeknight show to see one act, you can see (literally) 100 acts per day (as long as you can move really fast and run like the speed of light-I reccomend staying for a while and dancing-but it's your choice). Even if you are as deaf as a hammer or you just don't care about music this can still be an enjoyable experience. There are food booths after food booths and not a hot dog in sight. Local specialties and lots of international food rule the day. Don't eat meat? No big deal. There are plenty of things for even the pickiest of eaters to nosh on . Everything is served ala carte and most items come in large and small sizes. A few of the vendors with more than one offering have a combo plate and if you are looking for a one stop shop for a meal, they are often the way to go. For those of you that have a copy of Calvin Trillin's "Alice, Let's Eat" you will find an excellent description of the food scene at the Fairgrounds (albeit twenty years old, things have grown quite a bit) and I have attached a few links for your surfing pleasure. Be sure to click on "Food" at the top of the home page and check out the menu for this year. You might rethink your springtime travel plans if you stare at that list long enough. If you are a regular, you may want to check out the "Chat" and "Concierge" forums on the home page. There is lots of good info (including where hotwire is sending people, cheap lodging, ticket deals, etc.) provided by some incredibly single minded (obsessed might be a more accurate term) festheads whose mission in life is to get you to the Jazz Fest (and then complain about it when you show up ). I have been more or less everyday for the last 21 years. I may have missed ten days or so due to work or something else not very important. That means that I have spent roughly 5 months of my adult life at this event, and I do not regret a minute. If you are looking for a great eating vacation that allows you to sample the best that we have to offer-there is no better way to do it. This town runs 24 hours a day during the fest. You can go to shows that START at 3 in the morning. It is a completely different vibe than Mardi Gras and many, many people find it to be much more fun. The problem with Mardi Gras is that if you are not connected somehow you will never get past the surface, but with the jazz fest you can just wade on in with everybody else and whoop it up just like the vets. It'll change your life for the better if you just relax and let it. Happy People Living Free NOJ and HF Home Page A cool New Link on the Home Page with lots of Music Louisiana Food Terms-A Handy List