Mayhaw Man

True enough, I think. I walked out the door of my wife's family's place last night about 11 (on my way to Frenchman St., 2 blocks away) and there were 25 tourists blocking my way taking a "ghost tour" of the neighborhood. We kind of take this stuff for granted (or get annoyed by tour guides yelling in the street in the middle of the night, but the guides have improved their methods and I don't mind them so much now) but for an American city New Orleans has a rich and old history, much of it dealing with death. Our funerals here are more like celebrations really, as I think that they should be everywhere. (I mean really, everybody should have a brass band and second line dancing their way from church to graveyard-there is nothing more joyous that when the band closes out "A Closer Walk with Thee" and the drummer strikes up the first few beats of "Didn't He Ramble?" on his snare. You might not be glad your friend is dead, but you are damn sure glad to be alive!) Certainly much of the literature coming out of here has been dark (most recently Ann Rice, but she is hardly the first to deal with the subject of the dead in New Orleans). Everything here rots, is eaten by bugs, or otherwise falls apart in a short period of time if it is not maintained. I think that this adds to the perception that New Orleans is obsessed by death, as all things, animate and inanimate, are constantly in a state of demise. This is probably why we spend such a rediculous amount of time dedicating ourselves to having fun while we are upright-we all know that we will, soon enough, be in a big concrete box to be observed daily by tourists on holiday. Say what you want, but you don't get lonely in a New Orleans cemetary. Between the tourists and the spirits wandering around our burial grounds, there is not much time for the departed to get lonely. Also, I think that the fact that New Orleans is primarily Catholic adds to it's obsession with death (as the acceptance of various saints as more or less living spirits lends itself to this). The whole Catholic thing is mixed up with Afro-Carib traditions involving spirits and the undead and many of these things and traditions are part of daily life for many here. So yeah, I could go on but I basically agree with the assertion. Although I don't know if obsession is the right word, probably the situation is more like a healthy acceptance of the circle of life and an attitude of "live it while you can, because tommorrow you might be the one in the hearse". It's one of the reasons that I love the place.

That storm looked pretty familiar, something like the one that dumped 12 inches on us Friday. I saw that Tomball took a beating yesterday. I hope that you guys fared a little better than that. Nice looking shrimp though. When you grill those butterflies do you skewer them or just throw them on the grill? I like to skewer them and put them in a fairly hot water smoker. They don't take long to cook and usually have just the right amount of smoke flavor.

The Sunday Magazine section has a standard series of articles about travel in New Orleans. The author does mention some interesting places, however, and the read might be worth your time if you are planning a trip. Oddly, he spotlights the Spotted Cat. This place is a tiny hole in the wall on Frenchman that has an odd assortment of music and can be a pretty interesting place to get a cocktail and listen to a little music without paying a cover. I was there last night and there was a girl singing 30's and 40's caberet type stuff while backed up by a small band that was in a time warp set in about 1935 Berlin or Paris. The author does get one thing however and I, of course, agree wholeheartedly with this assertion New York does New Orleans

I don't know how easy it will be to find for those of you in Northern Climes, but this stuff makes awesome vinegar for salad dressing. It is particularly delicious in Poppyseed Dressing and vinagarettes- Steen's Pure Cane Vinegar

I use epicurious all the time as a recipe search tool. Can't say that I have ever spent much time investigating the rest of the sight, however.

Quint Davis, Co Founder of the Festival, sums yesterday up nicely with this: It takes a foot of rain to stop the show in New Orleans Yesterday was a disaster for food vendors and the Festival itself, but anybody with a little giddyup in their step probably had a pretty good time. For example, the lovely Mrs. Mayhaw was in the city and decided to "invest" the money that she was saving by not going to the Fairgrounds into a lunch at Lillette. Now I am certainly happy that she is able to have fun without me and that she can give a good report of her dining experiences I honestly feel that she should have called me and told me that she was miserable without me. Instead she called to tell me about the wonders of braised beef cheeks over beet greens. I wasn't jealous or anything, I enjoy pizza ordered in for the kids at least as much as I am sure that I would have enjoyed poached oysters or creme brulee . Reports of packed bars and lots of impromptu musical happenings were ringing my phone off of the wall (my friends have no more sympathy for good fathers or babysitters than my wife does). The weather is looking a little better today and hopefully we will get by with just a few showers. The food vendors are the ones who really lose on this rain out stuff and they need a couple of decent days to at least break even, so I am pulling for them. I will need to eat extra today. THis is a nice piece on Lorretta-The Praline Queen of New Orleans Ya'll have fun. Hopefully I will be meeting Bleachboy and his Krewe sometime today at the Farigrounds. I owe him lunch, so I know he is going to be looking for me. Photos of Thursday (between showers)

For those of you follwing along-for only the third time in thirty five years the Fairgrounds is closed today. For all of the Food Vendors this pretty much represents a disaster-especially for those folks who buy seafood a day ahead of time for service. On the other hand, if you happen to have a bar or a restaurant this is about as good as it gets. Captive tourists with money to burn, weather that keeps them inside, and people who came for a good time! That, friends, is a target market! In the mid eighties (I think 1985) they cancelled on a Friday and it was, literally, the busiest 12 hours I have ever spent working in a bar. By the end of the evening all we had left was a bottle of bar vodka that we had held back and a half a bottle of Chartreuse. We made cocktails for shift drinks and sat around and laughed about the whole thing. Many places in town were equally as busy. I am sure that will be the situation today. It looks a little better for Saturday and pretty crappy again for Sunday. Oh Well

Welcome to eGullet and thanks for the great report! I am glad that you were here last weekend as it looks like we are in for a wet one this weekend (first time in a very long while that rain is not only predicted, but imminent, for the jazz fest). Yesterday was nice and not very crowded (good for festers, bad for Quint) and it was a good day for eating as the lines were short. What did you eat at the Fairgrounds that you enjoyed?

Welcome Susan. I hope you caught a couple of dry days while you were here. It's raining here and people in town will be looking for something to do that does not involve mud, sand, and raincoats. Here are a few things going on under a roof. Tonight the Touro Synagogue will be holding their 13th annual Jazz Shabbat at 7 in thier stunning dome shaped sanctuary on St. Charles Ave. The Touro "house band", THe Panorama Jazz Band, will be doing the backup duties for Jeremy Davenport. Davenport, a very talented old school trumpeter, will be leading the band and a couple of Cantors with beautiful voices will be brought in to lead the services. I have been to this event a couple of times and it is well worth the time and trouble. If you have ever been to a Southern Religious Full Gospel Event, this is the Jewish equivelant of that kind of service. The place is beautiful and the crowd will be SRO-so go early to get a good seat. Touro Tunes (Goyim Welcome) If you have the tickets and you decide that you have to go to the fairgrounds, there are several worthwhile food things that you can do (besides eat)-I reccomend going into the grandstands and getting a good seat in front of the Food Heritage Stage. Both big shot chefs and talented amateurs give lessons and tips on making our classic dishes and some new ones that you may be unfamiliar with. Susan Spicer (among others) is scheduled to appear today. Food Heritage Stage Info Food Heritage Schedule And, as long as you don't mind slogging around to get the stuff, these vendors will be happy to sell you some of the new items appearing at the Fairgrounds (I highly reccomend the oysters and blue cheese salad) New Stuff at the Fairgrounds Here are a couple of articles about what local food folks look for at the Fairgrounds. THe first article is new, and the second one is kind of old, but I like it because it features, well, ME. Chef's Favorites Offbeat article from '96 featuring me and the conroversial E.L. Please do the no rain dance at your desk this morning. The economic disaster that is looming over lots of food folks this weekend is pretty huge.

As John Hiatt wrote once a song about New Orleans-"It Feels Like Rain". I am pretty sure that we are going to have another wet one today. What the hell, I am fairly waterproof. We're loading up and heading out. Took the boys out of school for the day and are dragging them along (happily I might add, they love it at this point-it used to be quite a chore-but they have both been every year sonce they have been born and are pretty used to hippy mom and dad and all of their aging, alternative lifestyle friends , they are not easily embarrassed). Hopefully it will be another great day. I'm hungry and will be starting off with Red beans and sausage today along with strawberry lemonade. There was another good article in the Picayune about food vendors at the Fair. This one covers the logistics of serving fest goers.

Are you sure that wasn't a half slab? 8 oz. for 9 bucks seems a bit steep. Although in some cases ribs can be worth that much (to me anyway )

I don't even drink anymore and I like this scam! P.T. Barnum was right. A day in the life of a Food Vendor at the Fairgrounds Kill some time reading this article and kill some more time making crawfish bisque. Crawfish Sacks are Good! Read about 'em here. Jazz Fest Photos from the Picayune I am pretty much going to be in and out starting today at 5. The marathon is about to hit "heartbreak hill" and I have to do a little carbo loading.

Those fish tacos in San Diego are pretty swell. Easy to eat, tasty, and cheap. Actually, given the state of the Padres most of the time, the fish tacos are the best thing about the game. In New Orleans (New Orleans Zephyrs, AAA) we can get a plate of Jambalaya or a Hot Sausage PoBoy and both are pretty good. Actually, Jambalaya is pretty good ballpark food.

Alleged Axe Grinding Here I don't know what happened to her in this place, but apparently the lounge is a bit "lusty".

The Steakhouse at Harrah's is a really nice place. Pretty much a typical steak place, good meat and good sides and a decent list of wines. I don't know how it will work in Shreveport, but they make it very difficult for non gamblers to get a reservation (out of design, I think, rather than ineptness). The best way to get one is to go to the casino and get the reservation in person, unless you enjoy being transferred about 10 times before (maybe) getting the right person. Brett Anderson, reviewer for the Picayune , had the same reservation issues but he still managed to like the place. It was a three bean, going on 4, review. I had the "oxtail marmalade" that he mentions and the stuff was great-but I am a sucker for that kind of dish. Anyway here is my main thought on the place- I still like the Original Ruth's Chris on Broad Street as my "go to" steakhouse, but that probably has as much to do with tradition as it does with the food (I do love those potatoes though), but Besh is probably running the best Steakhouse in town (and there are too many of them at this point, IMHO) and I would reccomend it to anybody who is downtown and doesn't have the time or the inclination for a ride to Mid City.

will reserve judgment until I try one of those or Brooks comes here to try one of ours . . . perhaps another pig pickin' will be necessary . . . I'm standing by happily waiting to be corrected. It is a pretty fine sandwich, though. Proper BBQ or not. Whole roasted and chopped pig with some pretty good slaw on great bread. What's not to like?

Current price is $21 ahead of time/$25 at the gate. 7 stages plus a myriad of side stuff (cultural and musical) to keep you entertained. General admission. No extra charge for dancing. Given that the average price for a mid level show in a club is $20-$30, this represents one of the great entertainment bargains of all time.

Maybe I wasn't clear- Sara said, in the course of her chat, that Emeril will continue to be the centerpiece of Food Network (they are paying him a ton, on top of his being very bankable). He is the king of Food TV, like it or not, and he sells ads. That is what it is all about. It ain't PBS.

Yes, crabs can be frozen whole after cleaning, although you rarely see then that way along the Gulf of Mexico. It is quite common, however, to see them quartered and sold in bags as "gumbo crabs". They work out nicely for soups and stocks.

I saw Sara Moulton speak (along with John T Edge) in New Orleans last month during the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. She was funny, outspoken, engaging, and opinionated. Her take on the direction of the Food Network (which she clearly has mixed feelings about) was that the daytime in the near future would be the only time that anything like instructional cooking shows would be on (with the exception of maybe Alton Brown and clearly their big star-E-which seems to be true) would be daytime. Primetime was about to be given over to "infomercial/best of" type programming and big production numbers like Iron Chef. She seemed to think that this is what the big shots thought would draw the numbers and that is what they would do, as they are clearly there to sell advertising (as are most networks aside from PBS and the like). Perhaps a change in leadership means that this may not work out the way that she thought, but after reading the press releases about the new CEO it is hard to believe that the network will not go even farther in the direction she indicated in New Orleans. It would be nice to see some shows with some interesting educational content from a food standpoint, but I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon.

CRABS BOILED ALIVE-film at 11 I am with FFOR. I have never seen anyone do anything BUT cook them alive. Dead crabs deteriorate quickly for one thing (dead crabs are only surpassed by shrimp in their ability to stink up the place), and for the other if they are not alive how do you know that they are fresh. Come to think of it, I would have to consut a biologist on how to kill one (short of gassing it with co2, which would work but seems kind of pointless.

One of the big "freak outs" for grocery managers is having sales guys/shelf setters take pictures of "their shelf space" (or someone elses) with designs towards whining or complaining that someone is cheating on comdbody else's territory. They don't know who you are and don't want any trouble from the other vendors or their bosses. Of course, they may just be camera shy.

With a name like Mindymoo I would think that you might have 4. That couchon de lait poboy is great, although kind of odd. It is sort of like a version of one of those Carolina sandwiches that Varmint has for his avatar. They have this vinegary slaw on them with some great pork. The portion size is about right as well. With a little homemade mayo and some hot mustard this would be a world class sandwich (it's still pretty good with blue plate and Zatarain's, though) I am not writing anymore about the softshell poboy as too many people are eating them anyway and they keep running out at 6 p.m.-I don't want one until it is time to go home and they have been out 2 days in a row at 6:45 (although the catfish is a pretty good sub).

Next time, instead of the Coconut Shrimp, try out the BBQ Oyster poboy. The small is 4 bucks and worth every penny. A very tasty sandwich.

I am putting this into Louisiana Food and Reviews in "Food and Media" but I thought that it would be appropriate to link it to this thread. A contributing writer for the Picayune, Mary Tutwiler, has written an excellent article about "meat and threes" in South Central Louisiana. I have written several times about the abundance of great, cheap lunch places in that part of the world and she has done a good job of writing about a number of them. Plate Lunch Paradise is neatly accompanied by my friend David Grundfeld's fine photography work. David is a world class photographer and were the world right he would be selling this stuff somewhere besides the Picayune. You have to click on the "today's photos" line to get to them, but it's worth the trouble.