 
 "Eating, drinking and carrying on..." -- Adelaide Brennan
"Plan Calls for $3.5M Katrina Memorial" Um ... no.
No. No Arc de Triomphe, no millions wasted on something like this. Not until every home is rebuilt, ever family is back home, every school is back, the cracked pipes are fixed, the city is safe from storm surges, and every musician's lost instrument is replaced. Any private donor who would give money to this and not to rebuilding efforts and local charities should just keep it. Jazzfest '07, Day 3. We had a bit of a food hangover from Becky's JazzFEAST, unsurprisingly. Eating was a bit light at Fest today, although what it lacked in quantity we certainly made up for in quality and fabulosity. Although I'm only featuring two dishes here in the photos, I must point out that I did start my Jazzfest day as always with another Creole's Stuffed Bread, washed down with a Strawberry Lemonade, one of the best things to drink at Fest. (I don't know why people waste their time with that crap beer they sell.) Between our own experience, recommendations from friends and also from local food writers, we were determined to not only try new stuff but to also hit the "Best of Fest" food items, two of which we covered today. 
Pheasant, Quail and Andouille Gumbo from Préjean's Restaurant in Lafayette is a don't-miss dish. Rich and smoky and full of dark, flavorful game bird meat, with a nice dark roux, Cajun-style (natch). So, so good, and a perennial favorite (except for last year ... our serving was way too salty last year, which was a bizarre anomaly we were glad to see had been fixed this time around). Then came ya piece o' da resistance .. 
The Soft Shell Crab Po-Boy had gone up to $9 this year, and it was still worth every cent. This is one of the ultimate examples of taking a fantastic ingredient, treating it simply and letting it speak for itself. A battered and deep-fried whole crab, unbelievably crabmeaty and loaded with crab fat to boot, very un-greasy, on perfectly crisp and airy French bread as only New Orleans bakers can do properly, with just a little hot sauce. Heaven ... I'm in heaven ... and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak ... and I seem to find the happiness I seek ... when we're out together eatin' soft shell crab! (Um, sorry Irving.) Oh, um, and I had another Chocolate Eclair too, and a smooth, icy Mango Freeze when it got really hot. The freeze is another must-get, and proceeds from freeze sales support WWOZ, the greatest radio station in the universe. Okay, music now! A sampling of photos is below; you can see the entire Day 3 set here. First off were The Bluerunners from Lafayette, a Cajun "garage rock" band that play some pretty raucous songs but also excel at doing traditional Cajun music, in their own offbeat style. One commenter on my Flickr stream expressed surprise that they were still around -- not only are they still around, but their two most recent albums, Honey Slides and Live at the Triple Door are two of the best.  
Next a brief sojourn in the Gospel Tent (which you should always try to do every day if you can, because not only is the music fantastic but those of us who are not as young as we used to be can get out of the sun and off our feets) for one of my long-time favorite gospel groups, Betty Winn and One-a-Chord. The tent was crowded but not nearly as crowded as it'd be next weekend ... more on that later. 
Then we were off to Congo Square for two great acts in a row -- local Latin superstar Fredy Omar. He's from Honduras, but he and his very talented banda play music from all over Latin America and the Caribbean. ("Fredy Omar con su Banda" is how they're usually billed, and fortunately this year there was no idiot stage emcee introducing them as "Ladies and gentlemen, Fredy Omar and Consubanda!" We're still makin' fun of that guy.) Next was a wonderful set of African music from a Guinean musician named Ba Cissoko. He plays the kora, a 21-stringed harplike instrument from west Africa made of a large gourd. I love this stuff, and have loved African music since my days doing my radio show right before "The African Beat" (Hi CC, Solomon and Ade!), back when KCRW used to be good. Two kora players, a bassist and a percussionist, and that was an incredible amount of music to come from just four guys. 
On to the Grandstand, where I finally got to see the legendary Bobby Lounge, whose absurd, sarcastic songs delighted Jazzfest audiences for the first time only last year (and of course, I missed it, including his Big Entrance in which he was wheeled to the stage in an iron lung). No iron lung this year, but plenty of great songs, laughs and silly antics, such as when the "Squirrelsquatch" (a mythical Mississippian beast) arrived incarnate, snatched a young lady's dress off and ran away with it. They ended up dancing on stage together ... all part of the show, of course. Bobby's a bit too much to explain here; follow the link and learn more about him. Get his two albums too, they're wonderful. 
Mango freeze in hand, we headed off to the Fais Do-Do Stage to catch Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. I love these guys, and was glad to see them booked at the Fest. They were certainly the quietest artists I'd seen the whole time, perhaps ever, but I'm a huge fan and hey, we need a little relaxation amidst all the funk. 
Moving right along ... and making up for the music that I didn't see yesterday with all these acts, next was the fabulous Miss Leigh "Little Queenie" Harris and band, a highlight of my Jazzfest for a long time now. She always puts together an all-star band, which featured several longtime collaborators, including Jimmy Robinson of Woodenhead and Twangorama, C.C. Adcock from Lafayette, Matt Perrine on sousaphone, The Pfister Sisters on vocals, Joshua Paxton on piano, plus her hubby Rick Ledbetter on bass and her son Alex McDonald on rubboard. This was a great first course for a long-awaited Little Queenie & the Percolators reunion that'll be happening later in the evening at Southport Music Hall out past the Riverbend.  
 
By the way, Leigh and fellow Percolator John Magnie (now of the subdudes) have compiled a CD of Percolators studio and live rarities entitled Home. Yeah you rite! Given that the only Percolators record ever to come out was a 45rpm single of "My Darlin' New Orleans" b/w "Wild Natives" (included on the CD), this is not to be missed for any Percolators fans. Buy it at the Louisiana Music Factory. We split up here for a bit -- I forgot who Wes went to see, but I wanted to catch a bit of C. J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band at the Blues Tent. It'd good to see him carrying on the family tradition from his father The King. So few young zydeco bands nowadays, if any, even seem to acknowledge the existence of Clifton Chenier. 
Headed out after four or five songs to catch some of Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles at the Jazz and Heritage Stage. Monk's one of the great Indian chiefs, and a great singer too. His band, as always, smoked. 
Then to wind down with some vocal jazz ... Topsy Chapman and Solid Harmony, accompanied by Don Vappie on the bass and among others, Craig Klein (of Bonerama and more) on the trombone ... one of the hardest working musicians in the city, whom I saw playing at least three or four times a day every day. As my old classmate Tim Laughlin says, "There are 10,000 bands in New Orleans but only 10 musicians." Heh. 
Then home again home again, to scrape off the Jazzfest gunk, get some dinner and head out to see Li'l Queenie and the Percolators! [ Link to today's entries ]
"I thought you were dead!"
I first saw Charles in the sitcom "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," as the nervous and twitchy Claymore Gregg, when I was about six years old. watching his "Match Game" appearances after school every day, in which he was funny funny funny. The risqué elements to his humor went over my head at the time, but I could still tell he was being naughty. One MetaFilter comment put it best: "It always felt like I was watching a fun grown up party that I wasn't supposed to be awake for." (It always looked like a lot of fun too. Indeed, a friend of mine once sat next to Brett Somers at a show, who told him that "Match Game" was the best job she'd ever had -- she got to hang out and crack jokes with her friends all day, not infrequently after a tipple or three.) Charles was also the title character of what's got to be one of the best hours of television I've ever seen, the episode of The X-Files entitled "Jose Chung's From Outer Space." "And though we may not be alone in the universe, in our own separate ways, on this planet we are all alone..." I was also very fortunate to have seen him at the Falcon Theatre a few years ago in the career-defining one-man play he wrote and performed during the last decade of his life, the phenomenal "Save It For The Stage: The Life of Reilly," which I just discovered was made into a film; I can't wait for its DVD release. It was funny and touching, hugely entertaining and enlightening as well with regards to his career. While some may dismiss him as just some guy on a game show, he's been a respected Broadway theatre and opera director for decades, directed Miss Julie Harris ("The First Lady of American Theatre") in 15 productions, and was a longtime acting teacher. (His acting school classmates, under the tutelage of Uta Hagen, included Jason Robards, Geraldine Page, Hal Holbrook, Charles Grodin and Jack Lemmon, and in later years he taught at the same school; his students included Lily Tomlin, Christine Lahti and Bette Midler.) Watch some clips from the film, especially the one called "Television. One of my favorite CNR anecdotes (which I wish I had seen) involved one of his many appearances on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. Another guest, who was talking about Shakespeare, "dismissed Reilly's attempts to join the conversation," according to the Los Angeles Times. "He silenced her by delivering Hamlet's 'the play's the thing' monologue straight, with depth and passion." Charles recreates the moment here, in another scene from "The Life of Reilly." "The world is a slightly less funny place now," said Paul Linke, Charles' friend and the director of his one-man show. "He made people laugh along the way, and that's a legacy that lives on long after the game shows." But speaking of the game shows, last night Wes and I watched tons of clips from "Match Game" and laughed and laughed. I grew up watching Charles Nelson Reilly, who he made me laugh a lot, sometimes every day, and I'll miss him. Thank you, Charles! We love you! (And by the way Charles ... while many headlines indeed reported your passing with the phrase "'Match Game' Regular", I think more of them led with "Tony Award winner." So there ya go.) [ Link to today's entries ]
Good food news! I got an email (thanks, Carolyn!) with great news ... the Bistro at Maison de Ville is reopening! They had a special reopening celebration yesterday and are now taking reservations for a an official reopening on May 29. Woo!
That's fantastic news! The Bistro has always been one of my favorite restaurants in the city, and the prospect of its not returning was depressing. I wonder if they'll be able to coax back their longtime maitre'd Patrick van Hoorebeek from his new gig at Peristyle? That'd be the perfect finishing touch to this great restaurant's return. JazzFEAST 2007! It's become somewhat of a tradition over the past several years for Wes and me to get together with a bunch of my oldest friends during Jazzfest, hang out, drink wine and have a sumptuous meal. The venue has always been the home of our friends Dean and Becky -- Dean and I have been friends since our tender teenage years. We both worked at Da Show (i.e., the Village Aurora Cinema 6 in Algiers) and the rest is, as they say, history. Dean's wife Becky is a fabulous cook, so this is generally one of the highlights of our year. Wine fan that he is, Dean's cellar is always full of tasty stuff. This year was no exception. 
Acquired at a charity auction, this 1981 Château Mouton Rothschild, a very intense Bordeaux, officially became the oldest wine I've ever tasted. (In fact, if I recall correctly, it came from the same year I met Dean.) I'd never tasted anything quite like it. There was a lot going on in there -- oak and leather in the nose; dried plums, toasted spices and flavors of coffee and tobacco and even a little bitter chocolate on the palate. Wow. Some Champagne came out too, and cheese, and sausages, and pâté ... and the meal was as fabulous as we expected. 
I'm not sure this dish had a name, so I dubbed it "Oysters Becky" -- fried oysters and creamed spinach atop artichoke bottoms, with Hollandaise sauce and crispy bacon. Yay! 
Next, Cream of Portobello and Garlic Soup, with goat cheese and a drizzle of truffle oil. The goat cheese had a tendency to sink, so it's not terribly visible in the picture, but boy did it taste good in this. 
Main course -- Filet of Beef Tenderloin with veal demiglace, oyster mushroom cream sauce and haricots verts. That demiglace had reduced all day. Oh my. 
Finally, dessert! Louisiana Strawberry "Jelly Roll" and homemade Angel Food Cake drizzled with Chambord. Becky made the cake (which was a great idea -- a lighter dessert after a big beefy creamy buttery meal), and Guy and Kimberly brought the jelly roll, which was super-good. She also brought us each a jar of her homemade Louisiana strawberry preserves, and I'm currently debating whether to save it for a special occasion or just, maybe, pig out on it this weekend. We're already looking forward to Jazzfest '08! Sigh. I've been feeling a growing dissatisfaction with my food photography lately. It's overly documentary -- yes, there's the meal, but taking a flash picture of a plate looks flat and awful, and I feel pretty self-conscious popping off a flash in a darkened restaurant (you'll hear lots more about that when I tell you about our meal at Restaurant August). I need some better equipment, for one -- a little table tripod that'll allow me to keep the camera still for long, low-light exposures. A camera with far greater low-light sensitivity than mine (just setting the effective ISO speed at 400 introduces boulder-sized "grain" and noise, and unwanted artifacts). The ability to actually SEE through the lens and FOCUS images myself! Although my camera is considered "prosumer", it is not a single lens reflex. I despise autofocus. I come from a 35mm still photography background, and if I'm going to get serious about digital photography I need serious equipment, not what's basically a point-and-shoot with a few bells and whistles on it. I've also been doing some reading about food photography, which is a beast unto itself. All this to say, I'm going to start working on improving the quality of my food photography as soon as I can. I hope this means that the dishes will look even tastier, and the food porn even more gloriously obscene. [ Link to today's entries ]
Jazzfest '07, Day 2. It was a comparative lazy day and a short one as well, as that evening we had been invited to the home of our old friends Dean and Becky for the annual event we're now calling JazzFEAST -- good friends, lots of wine and great food. But we did manage to eat a lil' bit to eat at Fest though (natch). 
The Fried Soft Shell Crawfish Po-boy is one of the Jazzfest Food Areas' many works of art. It's a very different experience from the soft shell crab po-boy, and yet another food item that I must not miss. Farm-raised soft-shell crawfish, battered and fried in their entirety, dressed with a little hot sauce and scattered with battered, deep-fried jalapeño slices ... all on perfect French bread, of course. Then there was ... The Eclair. We had actually had this yesterday on Fest Day 1, but I was so flummoxed by it, so flabbergasted, so gobsmacked, so astonished and delighted that I just stood there right in front of the stand (probably in the way) until it was gone, allowing myself no time to photograph it. The mistake was not repeated today. 
The eclair was a new thing this year, from an old vendor -- Angelo's Bakery in Metairie, who'd had a booth at Jazzfest for over 15 years selling brownies, coconut macaroons and other baked goods. This year, though, they introduced two new products -- the chocolate eclair and the cream puff. Both perfect, classic French pastry, with textbook pâte à choux iced with chocolate ganache and filled with pastry cream ...or so I thought. 
No, my friends, not pastry cream ... but chocolate bavarian cream! And the whole thing ice-cold out of the refrigerator. I had one of these almost every day this year. Later on at the Gospel Tent we met up with Michael, who'd be at dinner with us that night. "I just talked to Dean, and he gave me the rundown on what Becky's fixing tonight," he said. "If I were y'all I'd stop eating now." Uh-oh ... but, but ... I was still hungry! There were more dishes to try! But the last thing I wanted to do was "sperl my appetite," as my Granny would say. This dinner gathering is one of the highlights of our Jazzfest. So we decided to try one thing big enough to share among four, and got some help from Sarah and Peter. 
A combo platter from Li'l Dizzy's Restaurant on Esplanade up by Claiborne, the latest joint run by the well-known Bacquet family who've been cooking locally for years. Trout Bacquet, a classic going back to Eddie's Restaurant on Law Street, is a nice, big, well-seasoned piece of trout pan-roasted in butter and topped with lump creabmeat. (Oh my.) Accompanying it was a bowl of Louisiana cuisine's most labor-intensive dish, Crawfish Bisque, a thick stew dotted with stuffed crawfish heads (the stuffing made from chopped crawfish meat, onions, bread crumbs and seasonings) served over rice. There were four heads in there, and four of us eating it ... the ideal dish to share! We did hear some music that day, although we had to leave early in order to get showered and changed and deep into the Westbank by 7:00, starting with another of our don't-miss acts at the Gospel Tent:  
This is The Johnson Extension. (Okay, okay ... go ahead and giggle, you sixth-graders! To be honest, we giggled too, first time we heard the group's name). They're all one big extended family called Johnson and they all sing together, get it?! They're one of THE best acts at Jazzfest. Interestingly enough they're Catholic, which I didn't know until this year; I like seeing the inclusion of black jubilee gospel music into Catholic tradition, thinking of the dirgelike, soporific music at the church I grew up going to). We never miss them. We trudged down to the cursed Gentilly Stage to catch some of the Charmaine Neville Band set, of which we caught about 2/3. It was mellower than last year's set, more jazzy and bouncy and with less of the passion and anger she expressed a mere eight months after the flood. Oddly enough Jazz Fest Live recorded this year's set for release on CD, when last year's would have been the way to go. We relaxed on the blanket and under the umbrellas clipped to Peter and Sarah's chairs, and could hear well but couldn't see a thing -- we were way, way in the back. We did manage to get a little closer for the next act that I had been hoping to see ... and hoping would actually show up. Bobby Charles, whose big hit was "See You Later, Alligator" and who wrote piles and piles of great songs in his career. There was some question as to whether he'd make it, though; he's a notoriously reticent performer and private person, and he's been suffering from debilitating back pain over the last several years. They'd pretty much had him talked into it, his pain situation willing, but then he started feeling bad and to deliver the death blow had a dream in which he showed up to perform at Jazzfest and got shot. (Um ... okay.) So, sadly, no Bobby Charles when we arrived at the stage. But what we did get was a Bobby Charles Tribute, featuring Marcia Ball, Sonny Landreth, Dr. John, Shannon McNally, David Egan, Parker James and Pat Breaux playing a bunch of Bobby's songs. 
It was mighty good. Keith Spera has a few more details. It was at this point when we picked up our trout and bisque, did a little bit of shopping and heard part of Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys' set, and then headed out to scrape the Jazzfest muck off of us and head to dinner. (And we ain't seen nothin' yet muckwise.) JazzFEAST post tomorrow, I think. :-) [ Link to today's entries ]
Mr. Go, you've got to go! FINALLY! "The Army Corps of Engineers plans to recommend the immediate closure of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a corps representative told a cheering crowd of about 100 at a town hall meeting Saturday in Chalmette."
Options 2 and 3 are completely unacceptable. Option 1 is the only way to go, and it must be done ... yesterday. But do we trust the Army Corps of Engineers not to screw it up? Bonsoir, Bois Sec. Creole accordionist and singer Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin has passed away at the age of 91. 
I was very fortunate to have seen Mr. Bois Sec (a nickname which means "dry wood," which stuck to him as a young man due to his penchant to being the first guy on the farm to head to the farmhouse when it started to rain) play on a number of occasions, with his longtime musical partner the late Canray Fontenot (who had the brightest smile in the world), alone or with Balfa Toujours. (Here's a photo of him performing with Balfa Toujours 5 years ago, and here are a bunch more.) Merci bien, Monsieur Bois Sec, pour toute la bonne musique. Fats is back!! Yay, Mr. Fats!
Well, some can go fuck themselves, and should be asked if they would so easily declare the same for their own neighborhoods should they become similarlly devastated. Keith Spera in the T-P points out one detail that the AP story left out:
So what, though? I would have cherished those 30 minutes. I saw Mr. Fats at Jazzfest several years ago, and he was fantastic. [ Link to today's entries ]
KCSN Pledge Drive! In case you hadn't noticed, it's been going on since last Friday, and we need to raise us some money! I'll be fundraising during my "Down Home" shift tonight, plus playing more great tunes from Jazzfest, more great New Orleans new releases and throwing a few other things into the gumbo as well. You can call during my shift tomorrow, 1-800-795-5276 (that's 1-800-795-KCSN), or pledge online at kcsn.org. I've got a nice little pack of CDs to offer as a thank-you gift for your pledge as well; a pledge of $120 gets you all five (or you can pick one or more for lesser amounts). Here's what we've got:
Public radio, especially internet radio, needs your help now more than ever. If you've ever listened to "Down Home" or any of the other programs on KCSN, it's time to do your part. We give you the best music on public radio for free; all we ask is that you help us keep doing it. Pledge today! And tell 'em your favorite show is "Down Home"! One Restaurant and Lounge. On every trip back home to New Orleans I want to try at least one new (to me) place, and I had been reading about One for a while now. Open at the Riverbend for a little over two years now, it's been a big hit both in the neighborhood and beyond, packing in folks from inside and outside the neighborhood, and getting a "Best New Restaurant" nod from both New Orleans Magazine and the Gambit in '05. That, plus co-owner/executive chef Scott Snodgrass was the former chef at Clancy's, one of my favorite restaurants ... good enough for me. One is in a former residence on Hampson Street, just a few buildings behind the newly-reopened Camellia Grill and walking distance from where we've been staying in town. Its atmosphere is neighborhood but upscale -- it's definitely a destination restaurant, but casual and friendly and a really great place to walk to from anywhere in the Riverbend area. Well-stocked bar and talented bartender to boot; we asked for Harold Lloyd Cocktails, as they call them at Lucques in West Hollywood but probably nowhere else, and they're easy enough to ask for. A Hendrick's sweet martini, about 5:1, garnished with a cucumber slice. Our server offered that chef had come up with a cocktail for a regular that involved a huge rosette of thinly sliced cucumber in the bottom of the glass, and would we like to try that instead of a slice? Sure! You get a great perfume of cucumber as you're sipping, and I think we'll try that at home soon. Now, on to the business at hand. 
Being the sweetbreads fanatic that I am, I started out with what was perhaps the most unusual sweetbreads preparation I'd ever seen: Sautéed Sweetbreads on Collard Greens with a Buttermilk Biscuit. This is far more of a "down home" treatment for those luscious little glands than I'd ever seen before; I do love this ingredient, but it sometimes lends itself to haughtier preparations. This could've been a smoked ham hock with greens and a biscuit (and I'd have loved it), but that extra level of creaminess and intensity took this dish to another level. (Hmm, I wonder if anyone's cold-smoked sweetbreads before sautéing them?) Taking a brief detour for others' dishes ... here's what Robin had to start: 
This looked tempting, but I was too tempted by the sweetbreads and I thought I'd be having plenty of oysters elsewhere. Char-Grilled Oysters with Roquefort Cheese and Red Wine Vinaigrette, a bit of a variation on the more Italian-seasoned charbroiled oysters you see around the city (and especially at Drago's in Metairie), but with a French twist here. I didn't get a bite, but they sure smelled wonderful. 
This was Wes' entrée: Fried Soft Shell Crab & Escargots on Herbed Risotto with a Bacon-Leek Meunière Sauce. Wow! This was just ... nuts. Crazy good! Wes tends to fixate on soft shell crabs and duck while we're in New Orleans, and as soon as I saw this on the menu I knew he'd get it. Soft shell crab with snails, who'd'a thunk it? I'd never seen this combination before, and it worked really well -- it also shows a chef who's not afraid to take some chances. And that sauce ... omigawd, I could smell it from all the way in the kitchen; I could tell as soon as they sauced his plate! Now, back to me me me ... 
"This is why I came!" shouted Harrison Ford in the film of Paul Theroux's Mosquito Coast, and while I wasn't making ice in the jungle, I sure as hell was eatin' me some pig. As soon as I read about this dish I knew I wanted it. Cochon de Lait and Fava Beans on Stone-Ground Grits with Pork Cracklins and Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage is Chef Scott's signature dish, and when someone's signature dish is pig I want it. It did not disappoint. In fact, as I recall, it made my eyes roll back in my head for a bit. This was the best cochon de lait I'd had in the city, better even than what's served at Jazzfest (which is really, really good). Almost butter tender, intensely porky, nicely smoky and full of juice ... I was a happy boy. I understand that One uses whole suckling pigs for this dish, instead of smaller cuts of older pork, and it makes all the difference. The large slice of cracklin provided a porky and crispy counterpoint to the meltingly tender pork, the grits rooted it even more firmly in the South and gave you a little starch with your protein, and the crisp acidity of the cabbage gave a bit of balance to the creamy richness of the other ingredients without asserting itself too much (it's mostly a garnish). Yep. This is why I came. This is why you should go too. (Well, and the other stuff ain't chopped liver.)  
Desserts were very conventional, as they can be at a number of local restaurants. The Louisiana Strawberry Shortcake with Caramel Sauce was superb, though ... due in no small part to the fact that Pontchatoula strawberrie |
He was told that by people for many years, people who thought his only job was being
a "Match Game" panelist, and who hadn't seen him on their televisions in years after having seen him on TV several
times a day in the past. Sadly it's now true ... Tony Award-winning actor, director of television, opera and
Broadway theatre, sitcom and children's televsion star and (most infamously) "Match Game" regular ("When I die,
it's going to read 'Game Show Fixture Passes Away'") Charles Nelson Reilly has 