Can a food capital recover? (9/21/05 update!)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Brooks is so right, it appears!

[Gifted Gourmet]

article from NY Times

Fresh Start, With Chain Saw and Foie Gras

By PABLEAUX JOHNSON

"Our packing list was simple," Ms. Vines-Rushing said. "Sweetbreads, foie gras and light beer on ice, and three dogs in the bed of the truck." They returned 10 days later to find their house crushed by uprooted pines but the restaurant untouched by wind-toppled trees.The creamy Rappahannock shellfish found its way into Ms. Vines-Rushing's trademark dish, oysters Rockefeller deconstructed. Ms. Vines-Rushing carried each course from the kitchen, delivering slabs of spoon-tender poached escolar or perfectly seared duck breast to appreciative diners.

"I really wanted to be here for the first night, and I got lucky," said

Excellent article ....

[Gifted Gourmet]

Mardi Gras 2006 will be on!

Yes, Virginia, there will be a Mardi Gras.

Luminaries from across the Carnival spectrum marched into City Hall on Wednesday to decree that they stand ready to stage a scaled-down, post-Katrina version of the Greatest Free Show on Earth in 2006 that will serve notice that the Crescent City is alive and well.  The news was greeted with glee by New Orleans City Council members, who pledged their collective support to make it happen.

"Mardi Gras is the spirit of New Orleans and we thank you for bringing this to us," a beaming Councilwoman Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson said as she greeted representatives of the krewes of Rex, Zulu, Endymion, Proteus, Muses, Shangri-La and Pygmalion. "We feel privileged to be saying, 'Go for it!' "

Good news because Mardi Gras pumps literally a billion dollars into the economy of New Orleans

[Mayhaw Man]

Mardi Gras 2006 will be on!

Yes, Virginia, there will be a Mardi Gras.

Luminaries from across the Carnival spectrum marched into City Hall on Wednesday to decree that they stand ready to stage a scaled-down, post-Katrina version of the Greatest Free Show on Earth in 2006 that will serve notice that the Crescent City is alive and well.  The news was greeted with glee by New Orleans City Council members, who pledged their collective support to make it happen.

"Mardi Gras is the spirit of New Orleans and we thank you for bringing this to us," a beaming Councilwoman Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson said as she greeted representatives of the krewes of Rex, Zulu, Endymion, Proteus, Muses, Shangri-La and Pygmalion. "We feel privileged to be saying, 'Go for it!' "

Good news because Mardi Gras pumps literally a billion dollars into the economy of New Orleans

←

Well, it may pump dollars in at the best of times, but at this point I don't know what it will do. Sure, it would be great to see a parade rolling through Uptown or down Canal , but in reality we are missing several of the components that will make this all possible.

1) There is no one here, and believe me, no one will be here in 5 months. There is NOWHERE FOR ANYONE TO STAY. The rooms are all taken up by contractors, many of the krewes are missing members and the ones that have plenty of members, well, many of those guys aren't going to be able to pony up for the ride, as they have to spend their money on places to live.

2) There is no one to clean up. Normally, prisoners from the OPP are allowed to follow the parades, under guard, and clean up. This also involves tons of trucks from Streets and Parkways, The Fire Dept., The Police Dept., and the State Police.

3) Where will the tourists stay if they do come? All of the hotels are booked, many of them until well into next year, with clean up crews, insurance adjusters, and the like.

4) Where will the money come from? Well, as Eddie Sapir, sleazebag councilman suggested, we should lift the ban of corporate sponsorship for Mardi Gras in Orleans Parish. Sure you could do that. And you could pretty much write off much of what many people consider to be "right" and "cool" about Mardi Gras. Do you really want to go see the "Coca Cola Rex Parade" or the "Bacchus Pepsi Parade"? Instead of a the Bacchagator, we could have some out of town stars riding on each float. Just like Superbowl Halftime!

Hopefully cooler heads will prevail here, but I just don't know anymore. No one is really in charge. This is pretty much a situation where anarchy is raining supreme and the Mardi Gras announcement is just one more example of it. Have they consulted with anyone about the logistics? No. It's just Blaine Kern (a great guy by the way) hoping for the best and promoting Mardi Gras because that's what he does. We already had a Mardi Gras with The National Guard and The State Police hanging around (the NOPD was on strike), it wasn't alot of fun.

I am a parade kinda guy, and I will be the first one on the neutral ground when the first parade starts rolling, but at this point there are alot more things that I think need to happen first. After all, you can't stop Carnival. It will be a small, spontaneous clebration no matter what happens, and it will be fun and probably more meaningful than ever-but giant parades every night for two weeks with millions of people lining the streets? That's just crazy dreaming.

[Timh]

I much preferred the Gras in Houma, local and not so "spring breaky" but in NO, I seem to remember Toth being funky. This one has the potential to be a most meaningful one if outsiders will just leave it alone.

[Gifted Gourmet]

click here to read full article

After 8 Weeks, La. Oysters Being Harvested

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY ASSOCIATED PRESS

Louisiana oysters are being harvested again, although it may be another week or more before people can belly up to an oyster bar and order a dozen on the half-shell.  Harvesting began in some areas on Saturday, and the entire state will probably be open in the next week to 10 days ... 

This is yet more good news for those of us who appreciate Louisiana oysters ..

[Mayhaw Man]

Nice piece by Ian McNulty in this week's Gambit (which just started publishing last week) concerning the oyster bidness in Louisiana

How'd ya like dem ersters? Extra points for being able to identify the source of this quote.

[TAPrice]

More on oysters from the TP today:

Brett Anderson reports on oyster availability

Brett's tribute to Joseph Casamento

There is supposed to be an article on the difficulties of finding oyster shuckers. I can't find it on the Picayune's Web site.