TAPrice

Here are some details from the organizers:

I don't know enough about the cemeteries to know why so many food people are buried here. I suspect that it's because Metairie cemetery is one of the newest. It was founded after the Civil War on the site of an old race track. Tombs are still being built in the newer sections (we saw a few under construction). You might be right about the culinary aura, although I'm distressed the Al Copeland and Ruth Fertel seem to have equal measures of culinary aura to mess with my camera. And Al's not even dead yet, although maybe he already buried some of his old hairpieces there.

Save Our Cemeteries and the non-profit behind Tales of the Cocktail created a culinary cemetery tour of the Metairie cemetery. At the moment, they're running the tour free for people in the culinary industry. In October, however, they plan to offer the tour a few times for the general public. Here are photos and quick notes on the tour. (I was shooting these photos through a rain-splattered bus windows and my camera was acting strange. For that reasons, the colors are off in some photos.) Someday, this will be the final resting place Al "The Chicken King" Copeland. Considering that Al is one of the state's tackiest residents, his tomb is surprisingly tasteful. This one is a little hard to read (and I can't explain the Led Zeplin colors), but Ruth Fertel, founder of the Ruth's Chris chain, rests here. There was no physical evidence that she turned over in her grave when the company abandoned New Orleans after the storm, but it's hard to believe that she didn't spin a few times. The family that founded Delmonico's, now an Emeril operation. The man who started College Inn, which became Ye Olde College Inn when the owner of Bruno's, which was also called College Inn at the time, complained. The Brocato family tomb. Angelo Brocato is still making gelato over 100 later. Count Arnaud of Arnaud's restaurant. Founder of Broussard's, another old-line restaurant. The Guste family, which still runs Antoine's. One of the Brennan family tombs. Adelaide is buried here. In proper Brennan-family fashion, there is another family tomb across the street. I forgot to snap of picture of that one, which holds of the remains of Owen Brennan. One of the families that started the United Fruit Company. The other family had a tomb next door. Owner of Pascal's Manale. A fruit seller who eventually bought a controlling interest in the United Fruit Company. He also has some responsibility for a Honduran revolution, but I can't remember the details. Ok, this one isn't food related. It's Louis Prima's tomb. Notice the angel playing trumpet on top. The lyrics to "Just a Gigolo" are printed under Prima's name. Diamond Jim Moran. He was born an Italian, but the Irish controlled the boxing business and he was a fighter, so he changed his name to Moran and became Irish. The guide said that his restaurant is now the location of Peristyle. Can someone confirm that? Monteleone, of the French Quarter hotel. The family still owns the hotel. I forgot to include the photo, but there was a tomb for the family that started that hotel that eventually became the Fairmont. Anybody know about the fake cave in the basement of that hotel? Sounds really cool.

I was watching NBC last night (hey, no comments about why I was home on a Saturday), and at 9 p.m. central time they announced "an all new episode of Top Chef." Turns out the new episode was just a rerun of the show that ran on Bravo the Wednesday before. Was this just in my market? I know that NBC and Bravo are part of the same company. The fact that the network ran a cable rerun either says something about the rising interest in food or the declining status of the networks. I'm not sure which.

Yep, that was pretty much what Berry said. The garnishes were very simple at both Vic's and Beachcomber. Does the Trader Vic's book give any recipes for Polynesian platters? Looking over my notes from an interview I did with Berry, he said that Beachcomber basically served Cantonese food. Trader Vic's, on the other hand, was more adventurous. He introduced sushi in 1950s and also had Thai and Middle Eatern dishes on the menu.

I'm only going on what Jeff Berry said at a recent talk, since I'm too young to have visited a Beachcomber and I understand that standards have slipped considerably at the remaining Vic. Reading Berry's book, though, it sure sounds like the made some great drinks back in the day.

Chris, Have you seen Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's books on Tiki drinks, culture and food? Taboo Table covers the food and Sippin' Safari, his latest, is a cool history of tiki culture in the U.S. And Holly, turns out the good tiki drinks, at places like Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's, were never garnished with an umbrella.

It's back and as good as ever.

Do you have geographic limits? Price range? How sophisticated is her palate? The Vietnamese places are great around here and completely family friendly.

Things are much better. I bought a (small) bottle of Martini and Rossi. It tastes just fine. Now it will go straight into the fridge.

TimH: The chefs are David Slazzo and Torre Bagalman, who worked with Gerard Maras at one point, I believe. syoung68: We actually stuck to appetizers, salads and pastas, so I can't comment on the mains.

Thanks John. I've only recently learned to treat vermouth like wine, but it's still not clear to me what off vermouth tastes like. I've never found a peroxide flavor in wine. Would other off flavors of vermouth be similar to those in a old bottle of wine? I'm assuming the signs of bad sweet and dry vermouth are different.

Tess, Is the off taste similar to what I'm tasting, or is it something different?

I've got a bottle of dry Noilly Prat vermouth. For some reason, it has a finish that tastes like hydrogen peroxide. This comes through when I drink it straight and in cocktails, although it dissipates after the first few sips of a cocktail. The bottle was bought recently (within the last 3 months), but initially I stored in on the shelf and not in the fridge. At the time, I didn't know any better. Has the vermouth gone bad? Or do I have some odd sensitivity to vermouth? Or maybe I'm just crazy.

I gathered together a crew last Friday and we ventured across the world's longest bridge to check out Ristorante del Porto on the Northshore. I hadn't been since before the storm, when I wrote a review for Gambit. It's a bigger location now, and the food is just amazing. It's light and carefully crafted. The quality of ingredients is stellar. I wish that I had made notes afterwards, because I can't remember enough details a week later. Everybody else should go and come back with a report. Or maybe I should go again as an excuse to make some detailed notes.

What is that? Who makes it?

Thanks. It looks like there are some used copies on Amazon. Does anyone know if he published a collection of his NYT pieces?

That was my first thought as well, but I just don't know if it's the same thing.

I love both the preserved lime and salted plum drinks at my local Vietnamese restaurant. They're sweet, salty, tangy...yum. The drink arrives with either item at the bottom of an ice filled glass and a bottle of soda water to mix with it. Can someone tell me how to make these? Is the preserved lime probably sprinkled with sugar in the drink? Are there other uses for these ingredients?

I've been digging through the Times Select archives recently. It's a great tool for a tracing a subject all the way back to the 19th. When I reached the 1960s and ran across an article by Craig Claiborne, it's amazing what a breath of fresh air he is. His writing is very crisp and engaging. I'd like to read more, but I don't see any published collections of his work. Everything on Amazon looks to be cookbooks. Any suggestions? I could just search through the Times archives, but that wouldn't be a very efficient approach.

Well, I don't think there is a rule about talking to chefs. And no computers there, just little slips of paper. I agree that talking to the chef is wonderful part of the experience. We lived in Dallas briefly, and there we discovered a sushi place where the chef was very chatty (he was also Vietnamese). He introduced us to lots of off-menu items. A great experience. I won't argue that our neighborhood place is stellar. It's merely good. We go because it's convenient. And even without the direct interaction, we still get all the other advantages of sitting at the bar (quick delivery, etc.).

As rule, I just haven't found this to be true. At least not where I live. When I sit at the bar, I still interact only with the waiter, who sweeps in to take my order. We're regulars at a neighborhood sushi place (eating there at least twice a month), and have never had luck engaging the sushi chefs. There is a major language barrier and a clear vibe from the chefs that they don't want to talk. This is the case at other places that I've been to around town. I don't doubt that dealing directly with the chef would give me a better experience. It's just not an option.

So you completely forgot about getting a muffuletta with Wayne and me at Central Grocery? And that delicious meal was only $7 a piece. I think the Bourbon House is a great place for oysters, but those are actually some of the most expensive oysters in town. At most places, $7.50 will get you a dozen. Come back at the height of oyster season, and I'll take you to Casamento's.

Looks like I'm the last eGullet member to final read Heat. What can I say, I'm cheap. I waited for the paperback. I enjoyed it tremendously, although I thought that it drifted at times. Other people above mentioned that we don't get enough motivation for his quest to learn the secrets of Italy. I also think the book is a little disjointed. It started as a profile of Batali and his kitchen (which I thought was amazing) and morphed into the personal journey of the author (which was good but not as great). Buford is a fine reporter, but the Italian section felt less vivid than the New York section. Honestly, a big problem might be Buford's weak Italian. He just couldn't get to know these Italians as well as the New York cooks, because he literally didn't speak the language. A couple of things struck me. First, I was surprised by how quickly the staff started cutting corners when Mario wasn't there. It seemed clear that they and Buford didn't think these minor shortcuts affected the food. But if Batali can't train his staff to meat his standards at all times, then what chef with multiple restaurants can? The description of Ruth Reichl's visit while she was reviewing for the New York Times made me wonder if attempts at anonymity by critics are just a waste (Fat Guy, I'm starting to come around to your way of thinking). They seem to know when she was there. They also performed at a higher level until the review came out. If Reichl, with all her disguises, can't outsmart a restaurant, then who can?

I'm not sure if it's exactly what you had in mind, but Old New Orleans Rum is putting out a nice product. It's certainly artisan. They're rolling it out nationally in the fall. You can stop by any time for tour. Here is a link.