    "Eating, drinking and carrying on..." -- Adelaide Brennan Shop New Orleans! Help the city of New Orleans and its people by doing your Christmas shopping there, online, from these links. You'll be adding much-needed dollars to the local economy. Thanks!!
Auld lang syne. It's been a rough year. The debacle of this nation's government and its behavior notwithstanding, for the first eight months it was a pretty damned good year, actually. The last four months have been ... difficult. In part, this weblog has served as great therapy for me, allowing me to feel as if I was doing something for my city, no matter how small. Helping keep people informed and in touch with the local situation, if by no other means than pointing them in the right directions, helped me and from the volume of email I've received, helped a lot of other folks too. Thank you all. Thanks to the participants in the comments section, too. (Well, all but one or two ... for those others, who seem intent on wallowing in their own blindness and hatred, I can feel pity, but that's about it.) In New Orleans, they're partying in the Quarter and lowering the gumbo pot at midnight. At our place, we're going to spend New Year's Eve at home, in the company of some of my oldest friends from New Orleans and their kids, eating and drinking and talking about old times and the new challengess we all face, and being thankful for all that we have; everyone's safe and healthy, and that's what's important. Have a happy, safe and healthy New Year, y'all. Be good. Punch! If you're going to throw a party, make punch. It's easy, tasty (if you pick the right one), and you don't have to spend all night mixing drinks for people. The key is finding the right punch. As our friend Dr. Cocktail points out in his excellent recent post on punches, simply go to CocktailDB, enter the word "punch" in the search box and you come up with 98 of them. I found even more looking through some of my old cocktail recipe books. Still, as interesting as many of them looked, I wasn't exactly lighting up with excitement. We had some folks over for a holiday party last night, and the punch was the talk of the living room. This is yet another of the pleasures of life for which we must thank Dr. Cocktail, who in the above article finally provided the recipe for the best punch I've ever had, one that dates back to the early 19th Century and which in 1893 was named "Columbian Punch" at the first world's fair, the 1893 Columbian World Exposition in Chicago, which celebrated the near-quadricentennial (so they were a year late, big deal) of Columbus' "discovery" of America (Natives: "Um, you can't discover us, we already live here!" Columbus: "Do you have a flag?"). I'll research and attempt a few other punch recipes that looked interesting, but out of at least two dozen recipes I studied this week, none was as interesting as this. It's fantastic.
This is unbelievably good, and not for the faint-hearted either (i.e., it's mostly booze). Rather than shriek, "J'accuse! You stole me idea, you young cur!", Doc was, of course, flattered that I had made the punch, as to the best of his knowledge no one other than him had made this stuff in the last hundred years or so. For the rum I used a fifth of Appleton Estate, topped off with some Myers' Dark to make a quart. For the brandy I used Courvoisier VS, which was on sale for $19.99 for a 750ml, in a lovely gift box with two narrow brandy-and-soda glasses (such a deal). You, of course, have a bottle of green Chartreuse in your bar (along with a bottle of the yello variety) because, although pricey, they last a long time and are indispensible for any number of truly extraordinary cocktails. Green Chartreuse makes an excellent post-prandial digestivo as well. "How long did it take you to find that tea?" Oooo, long. (God, that was bad. You are allowed to strike me now.) That was, in fact, one of Doc's questions last night ... "And where did you manage to find the oolong tea for the punch?" "Well, it was kind of a bitch, actually." In my ignorance, I kept looking for little boxes of it in supermarkets, actually expecting to find oolong tea bags. No go. Even the big, expensive yuppie grocery paradise that is Gelson's didn't have any (although white tea seems to be the big trendy thing now). I knew that there was only one place that'd take care of me, and should have gone there in the first place: Bamboo Tea House in Pasadena. Not only did they have oolong tea, they had eight different oolong teas for me to choose from. Fortunately, the nice lady behind the counter was an expert, and helped me choose the Amber Oolong from Taiwan, after describing the characteristics of the different teas and allowing me to smell all of them. I admitted that it didn't have to be particularly delicate or special, as it was an ingredient in a punch (she seemed a bit nonplussed at that), and a standard, garden-variety oolong would do just fine. I was fascinated by the tea's appearance; it seemed to come in little dark green rocks. The "rocks" were actually tightly curled whole tea leaves, which unfurl beautifully after the boiling water hits them. About a tablespoon per cup, she advised, and give it several minutes in the leaves. The leaves are also apparently good for four batches of tea. "Drink the first cup," she said. "It's good ... but second cup is better." She was right. We saved the leaves in the fridge and brewed another pot this morning. Lovely, lovely stuff. We'll have more later tonight. The Green Family tree. "Imagine this was your mother," said Rena in her dKos diary highlighting CNN's extraordinary story of the Green family of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward. "Every scourging lash Hurricane Katrina could hurl landed on the Green family's back. Broken levees, shredded houses, a dead matriarch, a drowned baby, Convention Center cruelty, sniper fire, oblivious officials -- across four generations, they lived it all. Theirs is a story of loss and love." 
From Rena's diary:
This horror, and all the other stories like it, prompt the biggest question of 2005 for me: How are we ever to be the same after this? (The short answer: We won't be.) George Bush's "moral clarity". Via Greg Saunders at "This Modern World" weblog, and Atrios: "Former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray is defying a gag-order and publishing torture memos on his blog relating to the coordination between the Uzbek, British, and American governments. As Kos says, it's brutal."
Saunders: "Here's what the partnership looks like in action."
Saunders again:
Answer these questions, apologists. It's gonna be a bad year for the Bugman. An outstanding piece of reporting by the Washington Post tells us more of the things Tom DeLay is going to have to answer for in 2006:
And they say it's all legal. Uh huh ... well, DeLay's a genius at laundering money, but then the money from this so-called "grass-roots advocacy group" was used to buy attack ads aimed at Democrats? And paid a bullshit salary to his wife? And he bought a house to hang out in? And he was bought off by the Russians? And Abramoff is in the middle of it all? "When Abramoff sings," said Steve M. in an email this morning, "it's going to be Wagnerian." Squash him, Brunnhilde. [ Link to today's entries ]
O'Neil Broyard, 1937-2005. I had heard a rumor of this a few days ago, and was waiting for confirmation before I said anything. Sadly, that confirmation came this morning from the Times-Picayune via Michael. O'Neil Broyard, the owner of the legendary Saturn Bar on St. Claude Ave. in the Ninth Ward, passed away on December 22, five days shy of this 68th birthday. He had been sick on and off for the past four to five years, and had been known to close the bar as early as 8pm on a Saturday night because he wasn't feeling well. 
Back in October I posted a wonderful, long interview with O'Neil from the Southern Folkways Alliance, and it's time to read it now if you haven't before. Here's the excerpt I posted in October:
Thanks for the Saturn Bar and all those beers, O'Neil. Meme time. Bored at work? Me too. I ain't got no vacation time left, so I'm stuck here; the place is nearly deserted and my phone hasn't rung once all week (except for Mom and Dad calling yesterday, and that certainly wasn't work-related). I meant to bring in a few DVDs to watch today, but I forgot, so I crave distraction. I rarely participate in these blog-meme things that keep going around like common cold viruses and their resulting phlegm, but unfortunately found myself sucked in. I saw this one on Poppy's journal, and it looked like fun. Here's how our game is played: Open your music player and set it to shuffle. Write down the first line of lyrics from each of the first 25 songs that come up. (Skip any instrumental pieces.) Let people guess, and then underline or strike out songs as they are correctly identified. Well, I cheated a little, 'cause I just went backwards from the current song I was listening to on my iPod through the previous 25, instrumentals excluded. I weeded out songs that give away the title in their opening line, to make it more challenging. I've also included songs that are in languages other than English as bonus items. I'll still count it if you guess a song that has a zillion versions, even if you don't guess who did the version I was playing (as if you'd have any way of knowing anyway). And no Googling the lyrics, or else you're a big cheatin' bastard. Ready? Okay!
Okay, there are a few hard ones in there ... Game of four. Argh! More meme madness! Everyone must be seriously bored this week; even Tom Tomorrow is doing it. Okay, well, this'll fill three minutes:
Okay, now what? [ Link to today's entries ]
Can the restaurants save us? You know, that hoary old saying that New Orleanians don't eat to live, we live to eat, has probably never been truer than it is now.
Read the whole thing, about the crowds outside Parkway Tavern, the daily party that is dinner at Clancy's, the restaurant regulars tearing up and telling wait staff how much it means to them that they're there, open and that everything -- at least inside the restaurant -- is perfect. Food goes a long way toward healing the soul, now more than ever. Yum yum yum. Ah, it's time for those endless year-end Top Ten lists (I'll undoubtedly add one or three of my own), but it's okay when they're as luscious as this. Here's the list of the top ten recipes from the Los Angeles Times' Food Section:
I remember reading several of these and thinking, "Ooh! I want to try this!" and never getting around to doing it. Now's my second chance (man, I wanna do that pork shoulder next weekend after New Year's). Quote of the day. From Roy at Alicublog:
How things change ... [ Link to today's entries ]
Mr. Bingle saves Christmas. Over the last four months the Los Angeles Times has been doing a great job keeping New Orleans in their headlines, pointing out the still dire situation there and making sure that their readers don't forget what New Orleanians are still going through. Today they posted a surprising and touching story of our beloved Mr. Bingle, and how he helped save what would have been a pretty dismal Christmas this year.  We also come to find out that the voice of Mr. Bingle, the symbol of Christmas to three generations of New Orleanians, was Jewish. How 'bout that? (Oscar Isentrout died 20 years ago, alone and penniless, and was buried in an unmarked grave; just this month, a donated headstone, engraved with the image or Mr. Bingle, was placed at his grave in Hebrew Rest Cemetery.) And then, there's this. Happy holidays. Fear destroys what bin Laden could not. An op-ed by Robert Steinback from the Miami Herald:
I'd give almost anything to hear a presidential candidate speak like this. [ Link to today's entries ]
Cocktail of the season: It's official! The yet-unnamed holiday cocktail I came up with the other day now has an independent taster, a thumbs-up and a name! Paul Clarke at The Cocktail Chronicles was kind and trusting enough to give my new drink a whirl and came away impressed. (Thanks!) He doesn't think I should tinker with it any more, so I won't. Given that it has a similar development history to the Hoskins Cocktail, in that I wanted no one ingredient to predominate and for them all work together toward the whole, and that in both cases Wes tried the first attempt, said "ehh" and suggested swapping proportions between two ingredients whereupon the bell rang, the lightbulb lit and we shrieked "Eureka!", I ain't touchin' it no more. I wanted the holiday season in a glass, and I guess I did all right. (I like it, anyway.) The acid test, of course, will be when I make one for Dr. Cocktail next Friday. Oh, and the name? Just as I was about to bestow upon this drink the well-intentioned yet supremely dopey name "Bingle Cocktail" (named, of course, for Mr. Bingle, beloved New Orleans Christmas mascot), Wes thought better of it. The name he suggested evokes Christmas, especially Christmas eve, but also the recent New Orleans spin on the old tradition that expands the feasting of la veille de Noël all season long ...
Serve on Christmas Eve, throughout the Twelve Days of Christmas ... or whenever you want. "And why the feck are you posting to your weblog on Christmas Eve?! Flat on my back sick since I got home from the radio station Thursday night, all day yesterday (killing my plans for my day off) and although feeling a tad better today, still staying inside and taking it very easy. Going a little stir-crazy to boot. I'm medicated up the proverbial wazoo, resting rather intensely and hope that I'll be able to drag my slightly-recovered carcass out of bed in time for Christmas Eve services tonight, and dinner at Saladang Song (gotta love the ethnic restaurants that are open Christmas Eve ... beheaded ducks optional). Joyeux Noël! Nollag shona dhaiobh! Feliz Navidad! Mele Kalikimaka! [ Link to today's entries ]
Happy Holidays to everyone! (Well, almost everyone.) Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Good Solstice, Joyous Kwanzaa ... whatever holiday you celebrate, I hope you have a happy one (except if you're Bill O'Reilly). And to all my fellow New Orleanians ... 
(Thanks to Peter for sending the picture.) "All right, that's it ... everybody get dressed. We are going OUT ... to eat!" (In the immortal words of Darren McGavin.) For the first time in my life, that's what we're doing on Christmas Day. (Nobody felt like cooking.) No, we're not going to the Chop Suey Palace for beheaded duck, but behind the Orange Curtain for New Orleans food. Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen is open, and this is the guy behind Mr. B's, Bacco, The Red Fish Grill and Ralph's on the Park -- great stuff. We've been to the Jazz Kitchen a number of times (and I still dream about that Pannéed Veal topped with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat and Artichokes), and I love it. It'll make me feel better to be there, since I couldn't make it home to New Orleans for Christmas this year. I'll have food porn on this by next week. Y'all have a great holiday meal! New Orleans foodblogging. Via Robert, a new food weblog called On the Line in New Orleans offers a behind-the-scenes look at the state of food in the city. It's written by Betsy Andrews, a writer for Food and Wine magazine who's on assignment to do this in New Orleans for the foreseeable future. What a fantastic idea.
She ends up volunteering in many restaurants, spending a day or more working the line and finding out how the scene survives. It looks great, and I've got some catching up to do! Cocktail of the day. Brandy's a particularly wintry spirit, and sipping it during the holiday season makes perfect sense. However, if you're not in the mood for sipping the pure drop neat, try one of the most classic of cocktails, The Sidecar. The link's to an article from Epicurious.com, where it's the featured Cocktail of the Month, and the subject of argument (of course) about proportions between King Cocktail, Dr. Cocktail and Drinkboy (a.k.a. Dale, Ted and Robert). I've often had it in the "classic" proportion of 4:2:1, but we are reminded by the scholarly gentlement in the article that the original proportion was equal parts (only 3/4 ounce each!) of brandy, lemon juice and Cointreau, back when cocktails were a civilized size rather than in cocktail glasses so large they could keep a goldfish alive for days. Try a wee cocktail sometime, sip it and enjoy it. And you'll be finished with it before it's done laughing at you. Not-tequila from Temecula! J.B. Wagoner, who's from wine country in Temecula, California, is about to release Temequila, the only 100% pure agave spirit made in the United States, which by law he cannot call "tequila". Fascinating story, but at $58 per bottle for the silver, I think I'll stick with the Mexican spirit for a while. Uncivil liberties. Slate's Dahlia Lithwick wonders why the Bush administration won't obey the law. The answer is appalling, but unsurprising.
For me, the slogan of 2006 (or
beyond, if we need it that long) is: Resumed development? The cable network Showtime is currently in talks to rescue "Arrested Development", after it was cancelled by the idiots at Fox who don't know a good thing when they have it (cf. Firefly, Profit, etc.). That'll be great if they do, but as we don't get Showtime I guess I'll have to wait for DVD ... [ Link to today's entries ]
Christmas in Louisiana tonight on "Down Home". Tune in to my radio program tonight, locally in Los Angeles on KCSN 89.9 FM, or via our online stream at kcsn.org. We'll feature Christmas music from New Orleans and southern Louisiana, including such artists as Allen Toussaint, Art Neville, Aaron Neville, Charmaine Neville, the subdudes, Fats Domino, Michael Doucet, Clifton Chenier, Paul Sanchez, Dr. John, Johnny Adams, Louis Armstrong, plus a few visits from The Pogues, Ella Fitzgerald, John Lennon, some Hanukkah blues, and more. And of course, the immortal Benny Grunch and the Bunch. It's going to be very difficult to fulfill my annual tradition of playing "The 12 Yats of Christmas", because half of the places they sing about in the song, as Benny himself would say, "ain't dere no more." So tonight, get yourself some hot wassail or a rum toddy, snuggle up and listen to some great Christmas music from down home. Cocktail of the day. I wanted to come up with something original that evoked the flavors of the holidays. This is still a work-in-progress, but we rather enjoyed the latest incarnation I came up with. In order to make it you'll need to have made a batch of pimento dram, or Jamaican allspice liqueur. (This is because these days I seem pathologically incapable of concocting new cocktails unless they contain one or more very obscure ingredients.) Go ahead, it's easy; all you need are whole allspice berries, 151 proof Demerara rum, brown sugar, water, a sealable jar and 40 days. Make some; you won't regret it. You can use regular sweet vermouth in this, but if you use one of Carpano's high-end vermouths like Antica Formula or Punt E Mes, you'll get even more wintry, spicy nuances in your drink. Angostura bitters will be easiest to find, but Fee Brothers' "Old Fashion" aromatic cocktail bitters work a little better. As Dr. Cocktail said, "Fee's Bitters have one note, and that note is cinnamon." That note happens to work very well for this drink. Of course, if you happen to have any Abbott's Bitters -- which haven't been made in over 50 years but are obtainable if you're obsessed and look -- which are redolent with the "apple pie spices", the flavor is beyond amazing.
I still may tweak this some. Once I finalize it, I'll give it a name. Happy Holidays, from your government. Billions in tax cuts for the wealthy, immediately followed by a big "fuck you" to the poor and middle class.
The CDC? Are they insane? The CDC were Shrub's best friends a few weeks ago, when he could use the avian flu to keep the nation's fear level up (his favorite pastime).
Remember, he's the Education President!
Nice of Cheney to take a break in his busy schedule of roasting and devouring small children to cast a tiebreaker to stick it to the poor and elderly. What I have to say to these people who hold the power in our goverment and the majority in Congress, and to the people who voted for them, would be characterized as "unprintable" by most newspapers, and is something I'm reluctant to utter three days before Christmas. One friend, who for the moment shall remain nameless, put it rather succintly in an email late last night:
I have nothing to add. All this on top of this administration's other lovely Christmas present to the nation, a president who belligerently declares that he has violated the law by using super-secret foreign intelligence agencies to spy on American citizens without warrant, and says he'll keep doing it as long as he damned well pleases with no oversight from Congress or the courts, wiping his ass with the Constitution all the while. Jim McDonald at Making Light points out:
Speaking of Bribery ... I can't wait until they flip Abramoff. Cartoon of the day. Tom Toles, via Steve (thanks!):  Yep, that whole "spreading democracy" thing is really working out well for you, isn't it? Aaron Sorkin, on John Spencer. Via Rick (thanks!), posted on Television Without Pity's "West Wing" message board:
Thank you Aaron, and everyone else on "The West Wing" (and John Spencer especially). I wonder if Sorking will return to write the episodes dealing with the inevitable -- the death of vice presidential candidate Leo McGarry. [ Link to today's entries ]
Vegas, baby, Vegas! Hey, our friend Rick wrote a book. It's called Moon Handbooks Las Vegas, which makes perfect sense since Rick is a giga-expert on Las Vegas and truly loves the city. In an email yesterday he pointed out the review in the book of which he's most proud, of a nightclub called "The Beach", near the Las Vegas Convention Center:
You can see you're not going to be in for a staid, dull, or God forbid, typical travel guide. Rick's a riot and tons of fun, and undoubtedly his book will be too. I'm ordering mine today, and if you're thinking of heading to Vegas anytime in the foreseeable future, order yours too! "Our New Orleans" video. I never noticed this before, but when I was catching up on Josh's weblog last night I saw a pointer to a website for the "Our New Orleans 2005" benefit album, which includes a 20+ minute video on the record's production and interviews with several of the musicians involved (including the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's John Brunious' harrowing tale of his rescue and its aftermath). I also saw at the end of the liner notes booklet that "Our New Orleans, Volume II" will be released next year, featuring performances from Jon Cleary, Leigh "Little Queenie" Harris (love ya, dawlin'!), Chris Thomas King, Kermit Ruffins, Marva Wright and many more. Can't wait fo' dat! Réveillon, la veille de Noël. Today's Los Angeles Times Food Section writes about the old French tradition of réveillon, a sumptuous, luxurious meal served on Christmas Eve after midnight Mass. Typically the meal features oysters, caviar, foie gras and ends up with bûche de Noël, the fabulous chocolate cake decorated to look like the Yule log. There are tons of recipes in the article as well -- braised chestnuts with fennel and onion; scallop ceviche with caviar; truffled capon; orange-date salad from Joël Robuchon; and of course, bûche de Noël. Of course, this old French tradition became a long-standing old Creole tradition as well, and in recent years it's taken on a slightly different identity. For years New Orleans restaurants have had their own adaptation of the réveillon tradition, which some clever person thought up back when tourism tended to dry up during the winter holidays. Restaurants developed special multi-course menus for a low to reasonable price, and hotels offered specials, and it turned out to be extremely popular. At its height there were up to forty restaurants with réveillon menus. Unfortunately, this year there are only fourteen, but given the circumstances that's still plenty of choice -- Begue's at the Royal Sonesta, Bacco, The Bombay Club at the Prince Conti Hotel, Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House, Café Adelaide, The Gumbo Shop, La Côte Brasserie, The Bar & Bistro at La Louisiane, Muriel's at Jackson Square, Ralph's on the Park, The Red Fish Grill, The Rib Room at the Royal Orleans Hotel, Tujague's and Upperline. Not bad at all. Check out most of the menus at French Quarter Festivals Inc.'s Réveillon 2005 page. Category 4? Um, no, not so much. As we had heard before, new data confirms that Katrina was only a Category 3 storm when it hit New Orleans.
Let's write this on the side of a two-by-four and apply it forcefully upside the heads of the Army Corps of Engineers people who kept saying that our levees were supposed to withstand a Category 3 storm, and to the federal officials who think that rebuilding them to supposedly withstand another Category 3 storm -- they didn't woik, you idiots. Mary points out that this bolsters what her friend Rob back home said to her: "The thing is, Mary, this storm itself was NOT THAT BAD." (I.e., the real problem was not the hurricane proper.) He and others said that they had more physical damage from Dennis. The directness of the hit didn't help, certainly, but we can't help but recall what a neighbor in their Faubourg St. John neighborhood said -- no water on their street at all, until the levees broke. So much of this disaster was man-made. A step toward justice. Yes! Via the Times-Picayune:
Excellent news. It's only part one, though ... now those two need to go to jail. (Updated story from CNN.) Comic strip of the week. This week's edition of Tom Tomorrow's "This Modern World" entitled, "The Year in Review 2005, Part One: A Heckuva Job". I particularly like the sixth panel, featuring a very familiar face behind bars, and the caption, "May 1: Downing Street Memo is published, pretty much proving that Bush lied us into war. In a parallel universe somewhere, he is impeached and imprisoned. "But not here." [ Link to today's entries ]
Yay! The streetcars are back! Limited service on New Orleans historic streetcar lines resumed on Sunday, with Car No. 930 rolling out of the barn and down Canal Street. This is great news. Unfortunately the red streetcars on the new Canal line were badly damaged by floodwaters, and will require extensive repairs. More good news, though -- $70 million in federal money is available for streetcar repairs. That'll get the city looking and feeling a few more steps towards itself. Now, if we can get $70 million for streetcars, we ought to be able to get lots more for housing, shouldn't we? UPDATE: Although eight of the cars from the St. Charles line are currenly running down the Riverfront and part of Canal, the main St. Charles line won't be back until at least next fall, perhaps as late as next December. Cyril Neville: Why I'm not going back to New Orleans. Now for the bad news (although this story is several days old): Cyril Neville has bought a house in Austin and says he's never going back home. I know a lot of people who are mad at him about this, but ... all I can feel is sadness. "The press has moved on too fast." Editor and Publisher, the journal that covers the newspaper industry, goes to New Orleans:
A New Yorker magazine poking up from the silt, or maybe a Pam Grier DVD. (Don't miss my friend Michael's post-Katrina photos of New Orleans, taken primarily during long bike rides through the city from his Marigny home and beyond.) I'm glad they wrote this article, as it seems these days that people in this country (including the media) have the attention span of a two-year-old. I agree with the writer -- everyone in America should see the destroyed neighborhoods of New Orleans. We need people to come back to the part of New Orleans that survived relatively unscathed and partake of what we still have to offer you with regards to food, music and history. (We need the money.) We also need people to see what happened, to keep it fresh in their minds, and to tell everyone they know, and to attach themselves to the backs of their congressional representatives and not let go. That's why I'm so torn about these Grey Line bus tours through neighborhoods like Lakeview that are going to start in January. I think people should see the destruction, but I'm offended by the commercialization of it, and if I were a Lakeview resident trying to gut my house, save what few possessions I could or, God forbid, remove a body from my home, and I saw a bus full of gawking tourists come by pointing cameras out the window, I'd reach for the nearest rock and throw it as hard as I could at that bus. I might have to let up on that a bit. A victory for science and the Constitution. The judge in the Dover, PA case has ruled that so-called "intelligent design" is a poorly camouflaged way to attempt to teach religious creationism in schools, couched in fake science, and has ruled that it may not be taught in public school biology classes. It wasn't just a win; it was a huge win. From now on, if you want to teach "ID", fine -- teach it in church, not public school.
That's unsurprising, really; the right-wing, religious or not, seems to have no qualms about lies and misdirection in order to further their agendas. Comic strip of the day. Sunday's "Doonesbury". Here's the dialogue, in a medical examination room, between a doctor and patient:
Heh. [ Link to today's entries ]
The joy of the season? God, what I wouldn't give to be able to post pleasant, holiday-themed posts all this week. If it weren't for the fact that we're currently governed by a president who, according to Reuters, was just surveyed as the worst president out of the last ten and who perpetrates new outrages on a near-daily basis. However, I shall try ... Weeski! I've been remiss in keeping up with the excellent weblog Martini Republic, which keeps us abreast of its writers' thoughts on arts, music, life in Los Angeles and especially ... drinks! They're a tasteful, hard-drinking lot, and we mustn't forget occasional contributions by our dear friend Dr. Cocktail. His most recent missive, posted way before Thanksgiving, is an entertaining treatise on the current status of whiskey in America, whiskey being one of my very favorite things. Quote of the day. Nope, no anti-Semitism here! (Via Steve M., in this morning's email.)
"All I can say is, 'Whew!'' said Steve. "For a minute there I was worried." Quote of the day, part deux. Via Tom Tomorrow:
Tom: "If our democracy survives the next three years in any recognizable form, it will be in spite of morons like that." Back in the U.S.S.R. You don't know how lucky you are, boy ... (via Billmon)
Constitutions are not to be ignored. [ Link to today's entries ]
RIP John Spencer, a.k.a. "Leo McGarry". The actor who portrayed President Josiah Bartlet's Chief of Staff on "The West Wing" died suddenly yesterday, of a heart attack, four days shy of his 59th birthday. 
I was a huge fan of his, and of his "West Wing" character. We're badly behind on the show, unfortunately; we never got in the habit of watching or taping it when it was on, and are now watching the DVDs. (The other night we just watched the season finale of Season 2, when President Bartlet began his press conference to annouce that he had MS.) I've been trying to avoid finding out what's going on with the show now, but I do know that Leo was the current Democratic vice-presidential nominee. I'll really miss him. Quote of the day. During his first State of the Union address, President Josiah Bartlet participated in an old ritual -- picking a member of the cabinet to watch the speech from a hidden location, in case something happened to everyone in the joint session of Congress, so that he'd still be alive to assume the presidency. The Secretary of Agriculture is chosen, and Bartlet briefs him while, unbeknownst to him, his chief of staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), has returned to his own office next door to retrieve his coat and overhears:
Again, we wish that the wonderful characters these wonderful actors such as John Spencer portrayed could have real-life counterparts who were wonderful people. Alas. Now, moving on from (sadly) fictional, honorable men in the Bartlet White House to the (sadly) real men in the real-world White House ... and those who do their bidding without thought to the consequences. Bush vows to continue secret eavesdropping. Posted this morning at DailyKos:
Do we have a president, or a king? Do we have a president and a government that's answerable to the people, or do we have authoritarian rulers? Can they just crumple up the Constitution whenever they want to, with the excuse that it's "for your own protection", and will you just sit there and buy it? New York Times self-censorship, AKA "The President's Press". The Times may have broken the story about Bush's unconstitutional orders to spy on American citizens on American soil without warrants, and that may ultimately do some good, but the Times has had that story for a year, before the November 2004 elections. I have very little doubt that if they had published this story when it was fresh, as was their journalistic duty to do, that we might very well have a different president right now. However, they didn't do that. They caved to White House demands, and sat on the story ... for a year. Read this post, lifted in its entirety from DailyKos (with blanket permission):
God, what happened to journalists? Or, to use a somewhat sexist and outmoded term, what happened to newspapermen? What happened to the quest for the truth, led by writers who wouldn't be intimidated by the likes of a bunch of bullies who want to rule by intimidation and fear rather than govern ... of the people, by the people and for the people? What's going to be left of this country, its history and traditions, and what it stands for, in another three years, if these people and their ilk aren't removed from office before then? Think about this every time you head to the polls between now and 2008, and for that matter every time you vote, for the rest of your life. [ Link to today's entries ]
Actual scientists: "NOLA levee repairs impossible in one year." While Mayor Nagin is dancing in the streets, telling New Orleanians to come on back home after the White House offered the city a Band-Aid (i.e., less than 10% of what the region actually needs, and nothing to restore the wetlands and marshes). BushCo reconstruction czar Donald Powell says the levees will be "better and stronger than in the history of New Orleans." However, according to an NPR report yesterday, actual non-governmental scientists say that it will be impossible to rebuild the levee system by next year or strengthen it within two years. After being presented with the opinions of scientists and experts that say it'll take a minimum of five years to reconstruct levees, especially along the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers replied that he's "heard all the critics, but the Army Corps has can-do spirit, and we will make New Orleans safe by next year." "Can-do spirit"? That makes me feel ever so safe. Bad news. I got an email from Mary Katherine yesterday ... Stevenson Palfi, the New Orleans-based documentary filmmaker best known for his amazing film "Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together" (featuring performances from Tuts Washington, Allen Toussaint, and Professor Longhair two days before his death), took his own life a few days ago. He had lost his home, his office and almost all of his possessions, presumably including several years worth of work he had done on an unfinished in-depth biography of Allen Toussaint. This isn't the first suicide I've heard about in post-Katrina New Orleans. Another New Orleanian wrote a while back about a friend of hers, father of three, who hanged himself. The Gambit currently has a story on how New Orleanians are wigging out with stress, depression and suicidal thoughts. Speechless, and unsurprised. In case you hadn't heard yesterday ... this was in the New York Times. Read it.
One more little tiny detail ... this was illegal.
The president of the United States has unconstitutionally ordered violations of the law. Furthermore, the Times had this story for an entire year, but held it at the insistence of the White House.
This is big. Presidents have been impeached for less. If this report is true (and according to inside sources, it is), then he should be impeached and removed from office. No American, liberal or conservative, should tolerate this. Quote of the day. From a former president of the United States:
Oh yeah? Look what happened to him. Quote of the day, part deux. Jack Cafferty, on CNN today. (Transcript, video)
(Via Atrios.) Republicans lied? I don't believe it! 'Member how Bush and all of his GOP stooges have been repeating ad nauseam all along that the Congress always saw the same intelligence as the president when it came to determining whether or not to go to war? Well, guess what. They all lied. Color me surprised. Novakula joins FOX under their rock. The winner of the most-amusing-news-of-the-day award ... TV pundit and planarian Bob Novak is leaving, who haven't let him on the air since his outburst of profanity a few months back, and joining the intrepid team of hatemongers, right-wing shills and bullshit-spewers at FOX "News", apparently his true native habitat. He'll feel right at home, no doubt. [ Link to today's entries ]
Bush, Feds announce $3.1 billion for levees. Nagin apparently met with Bush in the Oval Office and later announced the levee reconstruction/strengthening package.
Well, it's a start, but it's $31.3 billion less than what we actually need. Levees alone aren't enough, if they're going to ignore and refuse to fund the plan to rebuild the marshes, wetlands and barrier islands. And Ray ... nobody from New Orleans calls it "The Big Easy." "Our New Orleans" tonight on "Down Home." Tune in to my radio program tonight from 7-9pm PST, locally in Los Angeles at 88.5 FM or streaming live on the web at kcsn.org. I'll be featuring the entire album "Our New Orleans 2005", featuring fantastic New Orleans and south Louisiana artists, all proceeds from which will benefit Habitat For Humanity's forthcoming work in New Orleans. If you haven't bought one (or several) yet, here's a chance to give it a listen and you'll hear how superb it is. Listen tonight, then buy lots of them from the Louisiana Music Factory. It's the perfect Christmas gift! Exploring the tequila trail. In this week's column, Gary Regan gives our cocktailian bartender, The Professor (a.k.a. Gary's alter-ego), a break. Gary himself embarks on a trip with Julio Bermejo ("The tequila ambassador to the United States"), a co-owner of the new Tres Agaves Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Lounge in San Francisco. They head down to Jalisco, touring distilleries, sampling agaves, and coming back with lots more knowledge of tequila and a new recipe featuring blanco tequila, lemon juice, agave syrup and avocado! Perhaps the most tantalizing part of the article, though, was a passing mention of Tres Agaves bartender Charles Vexanat, who makes his own grapefruit bitters ... I want some!! Incidentally, my favorite new tequila is called El Charro, but I have yet to find it anywhere. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? [ Link to today's entries ]
"Our New Orleans 2005". The best benefit album of the year is now out. Best album period, probably.  "Our New Orleans 2005" features a host of the top New Orleans (and a couple of southwest Louisiana) musicians, some of whom no longer have homes. Studio time was donated, and the musicians recorded these songs in less than a month. The result by no means sounds rushed -- it sounds joyous, melancholy, sad, heartfelt and ultimately hopeful. All net proceeds from this album are being donated to Habitat for Humanity, whom I hope we'll be seeing lots of in New Orleans over the next several years. Here's the lineup of talent:
Buy it now from the Louisiana Music Factory in New Orleans, which will help the city even more. "We're having Mardi Gras, and that's final." I hadn't gotten to the Times-Picayune yet today when my old friend Peter sent along this opinion piece by Chris Rose, with Peter's own introduction: "For those of you not down here, there's a debate going on about whether or not we should 'hold' Mardi Gras this year, what with all the people still displaced, the devastation still in evidence throughout the city, and so forth. "That's like debating whether or not the people in this country should 'hold' Christmas because we have troops in Iraq. Mardi Gras IS Mardi Gras, whether we have parades or not. "The article below sums up my attitude. I remember the year that Mardi Gras was 'cancelled' in Orleans because of the police strike. Yeah, there were no parades; but people still came out on St. Charles, dressed up, promenaded, did the open house thing, etc. Truth be told, it was one of the best Fat Tuesdays I remember, 'cause the only people there were the real natives. I walked all the way downtown and back and everybody there was having a good time. "People outside of N.O. think that Mardi Gras is one big debauch. That's mainly the idiot tourists and college kids who come here to make asses of themselves. For most of us, Mardi Gras is a big street party, the New Orleans equivalent of what July 4th used to be everywhere else, the day on which we come together to affirm the essence of life here, to celebrate our membership in the great big Social Aid and Pleasure Club which is New Orleans. And we don't need cops, and we don't need garbage collectors, and we don't need tourists or college students to have ourselves a good time ... but I can guarantee you that any cop or National Guardsman or soldier or Cajun-out-da-bayou-wit'-his-boat or first responder from anywhere in the world who came down to help out after Katrina will be shown a good time." Thanks, Peter. I couldn't have said it better myself, and in fact you said it considerably better than I could have. Now, here's Chris Rose's column, in its entirety (because it's important; emphases mine).
Yeah you rite, bra. Rally for New Orleans at the White House tomorrow. Two New Orleanian evacuees have organized a rally in Washington D.C. tomorrow, the same day that Congress reconvenes to take up the supplemental appropriations bill that could fund the rebuilding of New Orleans. Here's the bit that I like:
If they won't do what needs to be done, then they need to be whooped upside their heads until they do. Via This Modern World, an update from organizers: Rally has been rescheduled from noon to 2 pm. Sen. Landrieu tentatively scheduled to speak at 1 pm. If you're anywhere near D.C. tomorrow, GO. "I've heard a few people say New Orleans is below sea level, it shouldn't have been there in the first place. But it's been there 200 years. [287 years, actually.] What are we doing to do after the next earthquake hits San Francisco, just leave it? We're supposed to be taking care of each other. Indeed. [ Link to today's entries ]
Bush advisor to reporter: Katrina "has fallen so far off the radar screen, you can't find it." This according to Washington Post reporter Mike Allen yesterday on "Meet the Press". This unnamed shitbag is lucky he didn't say this in front of a New Orleanian, because if he had he might not have gotten out of the hospital for a long, long time. The outrage is building to a level of overload such that I have never experienced in my life. This president is about to kill a major American city. MY city. Call the White House today. If you've already called them, call them again. Call your senators and congresspersons. If you've already called them, call them again. We are about to lose New Orleans. An editorial in the New York Times warns its readers what New Orleanians already know: the city is being murdered as we speak by Bush administration and congressional neglect.
"We are about to lose New Orleans."THIS MUST NOT HAPPEN. Why the fuck is this president so much more interested in rebuilding Iraq than in rebuilding New Orleans? Because 77% of them didn't vote for him? Because it's predominantly black? Because it's a "city of sin"? Why are they balking at spending $32 billion to protect a major American city from further destruction while they seem to have had no trouble passing four tax cuts in the last week that totalled $95 billion? CALL THE WHITE HOUSE AND CONGRESS NOW. CALL EVERYONE YOU KNOW AND TELL THEM TO CALL THE WHITE HOUSE AND CONGRESS NOW. Hope this helps. I was thinking about something like this, but a bunch of Lakeview residents of course thought of it already.
If the ad doesn't work, then perhaps a large club upside their heads ... Rename the storm:
Turns out it wasn't just USACOE, though. Keep reading. Canal dredging doomed New Orleans. More depressing news ... and this time it wasn't the Army Corps of Engineers, it was the Sewerage & Water Board, Orleans and Jefferson levee boards. The dredging of the 17th Street Canal in the early 1980s contributed to the failure of the levee. This is a .pdf file showing how the disaster happened. Jesus Christ. Holy Cross School's campus: 1879-2006. And the final blow of bad news in the last few days ... my high school, although it will reopen in January with about 60% of its previous student body, will abandon its 126-year-old campus in the Lower Ninth Ward as of the fall 2006 semester and seek a new campus elsewhere in Orleans or Jefferson. This represents a possible death knell for the Lower Ninth, as that school was the cornerstone of the neighborhod, not to mention the loss of all that history on that campus where I spent five years, starting in the 8th grade. I can't even think about this. Richard Pryor, 1940-2005. Quote of the day:
Thank you for everything, Richard. [ Link to today's entries ]
To Mardi Gras or not to Mardi Gras?
There's a huge I heard a story on NPR last night during which they interviewed an evacuated New Orleans resident named ChiQuita Simms, who's now living in Atlanta. She's vehemently against the idea of a Mardi Gras celebration and thinks it's "insulting," and that we should be rebuilding New Orleans intead of having a party. She's followed by the president of the New Orleans Marketing and Convention Visitors Bureau, who reminds us that the city can't rebuild itself with no income, no revenue whatsoever, and that in a normal year Mardi Gras brings $1 billion into the New Orleans economy. Then there's this view: a New Orleans native who's now a newspaper editor in northwest Indiana wrote in the Times-Picayune, "As a native of New Orleans who has had to watch from afar the pain of his city, I don't want to see tax dollars go toward fun and frivolity when people are suffering and struggling,", to which New Orleans author Poppy Z. Brite replied, "THEN STAY THE FUCK IN INDIANA AND LEAVE US THE FUCK ALONE, YOU MONGOLOID." As you can see, things can get a lil' touchy. Yes, I know that tens of thousands of people are hurting. To some it might seem insensitive to have a parade. But y'know ... having parades is who we are. There were impromptu parades in New Orleans as soon as people started coming back home; in fact, there were parades thrown by some who never left. God knows the people remaining in the city need a little joy and celebration in their lives, something to let off some steam and allow them to both have a little fun and be grateful for anything they've got right now. I also can't help but notice that the anti-Mardi Gras complaints tend to come from people who haven't come home yet, mostly because they have no homes to come back to. I can understand why they're bitter, certainly, after spending a week mucking out the house where my family has lived for the past 25 years as well as seeing the house we lived for 15 years before that, which was got six feet of water and not "only" 4-1/2. I think, though, that those folks are forgetting the people who have come home and started to rebuild, and those folks need a break. If you don't want to celebrate Mardi Gras, then don't -- stay home, stay away, stay wherever you are. If people who are back want to celebrate Carnival, let them. And as one local points out, "We plan to have Christmas, too." Frankly, though, it all boils down to this -- we need the money. We need tourist dollars, and we need to rebuild our tourist and hospitality industries as soon as possible, if this city is to survive and become self-sustaining at any point in the foreseeable future. We need warm bodies in the Quarter, Garden District and Uptown, any place where the damage was minimal. We need them to see that part of the city is very much alive, and we need them to tell people that New Orleans is not a place for them to write off when it comes to tourism. If the city needs help with support, infrastructure and funding for police overtime, well ... they're actually considering seeking a corporate sponsor to underwrite costs for the first time ever. As much as I want to react against that, and against the encroachment of any corporate sponsor for what has been a private party open to the public for the last 150 years, I'm beginning to think that we should consider doing whatever it takes to make it work, and hope that the corporate sponsorship won't be needed once the city is back on its feet again. Yes, great swaths of the city are still without power (about half, although it's supposed to be up to about 80% by the end of the year), and a lot of people haven't come home yet. However, the people who are offended by the idea of Mardi Gras have to realize that a city without revenue, with no tax base, ain't gonna last. If those folks want a home to come home to one day, we need to have as big a Mardi Gras as we can manage, and we need to hav an even bigger Jazzfest. The Cocktailian. In today's installment of Gary Regan's fornightly column, the Professor, our cocktailian bartender, notes that 1838 is a very good year for rum and yellow Chartreuse. Hmm ... rhum agricole, yellow Chartreuse, falernum, pineapple and lime juices ... that sounds good! Obituary of the day. Eric "Alberta Slim" Roberts died in Canada the weekend after Thanksgiving at the age of 95. He was a "cowboy crooner", the Yodeling Cowboy of Canada who pioneered the early days of Canadian country music (hey, they have prairies in Alberta and Saskatchewan, too). I'd never heard of him, I must confess, and neither had Mary Katherine, who sent me the obit today. She pointed to one particular paragraph:
"I mean," she said, "does this not sound like my kinda of guy?!" Mine too, sweetie. Rest in peace, Alberta Slim! Yodel-ay-yee-HOOOOOOOOO! (Hey, I've actually been to Regina!) Propaganda vs. spin. Via Wes, who asks, "Does Dubya really believe his own bullshit?" Jacob Weisberg writes in Slate: "Beyond Spin: The propaganda presidency of George W. Bush".
Pardon me for Godwinizing this post, but everytime I hear the word "propaganda", I can't help but think "Joseph Goebbels." [ Link to today's entries ]
White House abandoning New Orleans. This editorial made me so angry I could barely speak, not so much for what it says but for why it says what it says. What does it say? "Giving up on New Orleans: We may as well abandon the Big Easy because the White House is killing a plan to protect the city from the next Katrina." Mike Tidwell, author of Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana's Cajun Coast, writes in the Los Angeles Times:
They must not be allowed to get away with this. Obviously we cannot abandon New Orleans. The very idea is unthinkable. Yet Tidwell has a point -- for Bush and his administration to abandon New Orleans by abandoning the entirely affordable project that will protect it is tantamount to murder -- the murder of an entire city and its residents. They must not be allowed to get away with this. Call the White House today -- (202) 456-1111. Call and write your senators and representatives today. UPDATE: The Pentagon is now asking for another $100 billion for Iraq, bringing the total to $420 billion. And they won't allocate $14 billion, three and one-third percent of that total, to protect not only a major American city but the entire surrounding metropolitan and rural areas and three states' worth of coastline. This has got to stop. Cocktail of the Day. This wonderful drink was supposedly created at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, and has become a favorite of ours. While you may certainly use an absinthe substitute/pastis such as Herbsaint or Pernod, it's at its best when you use real, quality absinthe. We like native New Orleanian Ted Breaux's Absinthe Nouvelle-Orléans, made by his company Jade Liqueurs, available from Liqueurs de France, Ltd. Don't let this drink's name become something more meaningful. Reread the above article and do what I say.
You really should visit the Jade Liqueurs site, and I can't recommend their products more highly. They're expensive, but worth it -- a truly handmade product that's the result of years of miraculous research (revist the articles about Ted in the Gambit and Wired to learn about how he did it). Ted also could use the income, as he lost his New Orleans home to Katrina. Friends of the Times-Picayune. I got an email the other day from Susan Feeney, who's a senior editor at National Public Radio. She's an alumna of New Orleans' sole daily newspaper, the Times-Picayune (or as we say back home, "Da Papuh"), with which you are undoubtedly familiar. You may also have noticed that in the last three months that little picayune of a newspaper has been doing some absolutely stunning, world-class reporting and editorializing both during and after Hurricane Katrina. A lot of their folks, as is the case with tens of thousands of locals, are hurting. She and three of her colleagues have set up a web site and trust fund called Friends of the Times-Picayune, and I'll let her do the talking ...
I know you may be Katrina'ed out when it comes to parting with money for donations, but ... if you read the NOLA.com website, then give. Mid-City restaurant news. The Gambit's Ian McNulty has a mixed bag of news from Mid-City and Faubourg St. John. Lola's, Café Degas and Ralph's on the Park are open and doing well, but there are whole neighborhoods just blocks away that still don't have electricity yet. The future is very uncertain for places like Angelo Brocato's too, sad to say. Jerry Thomas' Bar-Tender's Guide online! Professor Jerry Thomas was the first professional bartender to write a book about his profession, the first edition of which came out way back in 1862. It's very collectible; I've got a couple of vintage copies, as well as a couple of excellent modern reproduction/facsimile editions. However, if you don't want to go through the trouble of acquiring one of those, we find out today via the Ardent Spirits newsletter that Darcy O'Neil has put the entire contents of the book online. The rest of the site is worth checking out too, and regularly. This just in: Bill O'Reilly still batshit insane. Via Media Matters: "'The Radio Factor' host stated that he would 'use all the power that I have on radio and television to bring horror into the world of people' who 'diminish and denigrate the [Christmas] holiday.'" Um, yeah ... that's exactly how Jesus would have wanted it. [ Link to today's entries ]
Dinner last night. We'd gotten these lovely kabocha squashes in our box from Organic Express, and the thought of that fantastic roasted kabocha squash and braised bacon was still fresh on my mind. I knew I'd roast them with some lovely seasoning (Chinese five-spice came to mind) and sprinkle them with bacon, but I didn't want to serve it on greens, and decided to Google for some accompaniment ideas. To my surprise, I found inspiration at some vegan food site. I've always been put off by vegan food, not because it contains no meat but because it frequently fakes meat and dairy ingredients, becoming what I consider to be "fake food." The idea I got for accompanying the roasted squash was a tzatziki sauce (the tangy Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce) but made with zucchini instead of cukes. Hmm, sounds interesting. However, the vegan recipe called for the tzatziki to be made with "soy yogurt" and "Tofutti sour cream". (Er, no.) It was also missing some key ingredients, like the lemon juice and dill. Real yogurt and sour cream were called for (but in a concession to my Weight Watchers' methods these days, I used a nonfat yogurt and "light" sour cream, which when combined actually tasted lovely). The garlic was tripled, of course, the juice of half a lemon added, and since I didn't think that dill would go with the spices on the squash, I added some tarragon instead. Perfect.
This was good. Sorry, no photos ... we were hungry. Hmmm ... Hey, I think I like this idea.
Yeah ... this is a great idea. I think they should get started on it as soon as possible. The only thing we have to insist on is that those houses look like New Orleans houses, and not generic Habitat boxes. Ginny gin gin. (Good lord, I wrote this post ages ago, never posted it and just found it in my /looka directory. Sheesh.) We tried a relatively new gin a while back -- Broker's Premium London Dry Gin. It's got a lovely assortment of botanicals as the source of its flavor -- juniper, lemon peel, coriander, nutmeg, cassia, cinnamon, orange peel, angelica and orris root. (I have no idea what orris root tastes like, but I'll take their word for it that it's in there.) At 94 proof it packs quite a punch, too. What it is is a bloody fine gin, not shy with the juniper but with a complex flavor that doesn't make you think you're gnawing on a chunk of pine bark. It was Gin of the Year in 2003, according to Food and Wine magazine, noting its bold flavor. It is definitely not one of those "soft" gins like Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray No. 10, although I like those too. It does flaunt its Englishness quite a bit -- each bottle wears a plastic bowler hat -- which is fairly amusing. (Now, if it had a plastic Margaret Thatcher purse, that'd be another story.) I whipped up a couple of Martinis to take this gin on its maiden voyage in our house, in my favoured proportion of 6:1 plus a dash of orange bitters. In deference to Wesly's taste I shook the hell out of it instead of stirring, 'cause he really likes that little flotilla of tiny ice chips on the surface of his Martinis. *sip* ... man, there's a lot going on in there. The citrus and spice definitely come through, but this is no wimpy gin -- the juniper practically slaps you in the face and challenges you to a duel. I accepted ... and after the glass was drained and olive consumed, considered myself the victor (but only just; two of these and I'd flat on me arse). Broker's is a welcome addition to our pantheon of gins; at last count, we also had Plymouth, Bombay, Tanqueray, Beefeater, Tanqueray No. 10, Citadelle, Hendrick's and Magellan (the blue one, tinted with iris petals). GOP Justice Department "Fixing the Game". The New York Times takes a look at Alberto Gonzales "de Torquemada"'s Justice Department.
This is because the current majority party, no matter now much they love slinging the word around, really don't care one iota about democracy. The Bugman's about to be squashed. Things are looking bad for Tom Delay, and the age-old scenario of extreme hubris leading to a catastrophic downfall never seems to stop working. He's been ordered to stand trial, and now according to a new Gallup poll he trails a "generic Democrat" hypothetically running his his district by 13 points. Latest speculation is that he might not even run again; he'd have to file by January, and he hasn't done it yet or shown signs that he's going to. He's going to have a hard time running for re-election while preparing a defense and being on trial. So much for "the most powerful Republican in Washington." As they said on dKos, "stick a fork in him, he's done." Supreme strategy. From Slate, via Wes, by Dahlia Lithwick:
This country gets scarier by the day, and more people need to wake up. It's starting, but we have a long way to go. Call or write your senators and insist that these questions be raised of Alito, and insist that those senators vote "no" if they're not answered adequately. Do you think any end justifies the means of this country being known around the world as a country of torturers? Land of the free? Yeah, right. [ Link to today's entries ]
Cocktales. No, it's not porn ... get yer minds out of the gutter, ya daerty feckers! It's the latest article by Gary Regan for Cheers, the beverage industry trade publication, subtitled "the stories behind the world's classic drinks (by someone who should know)." Learn the (mostly) true stories behind the creation of such classics as the Sazerac, Manhattan, Martini, Margarita, Negroni, Rob Roy, Bronx and even the Cosmopolitan (which I myself would prefer to leave back in 1992). [ Link to today's entries ]
Café Adelaide. Since we're celebrating the reopening of Café Adelaide, I thought I'd post some long-overdue food porn generated during my last two visits there. It's quickly become one of my favorite restaurants in New Orleans, and you'll soon see why. This first visit was back during Jazzfest (yep, there's still stuff from Jazzfest, eight months ago, that I haven't yet posted. I am not called Gawd Emperor of Procrastination for nothing.) 
The Swizzle Stick Cocktail, Café Adelaide's original house cocktail and namesake of their Swizzle Stick Bar -- amber rum, fresh lime juice, bitters, soda and a "secret ingredient". They brought us these nifty little trees with sample-sized servings so we could all get a taste. It's that great trick behind the old New Orleans concept of lagniappe (i.e., "a little something extra" for free). You give 'em their first taste for free, and they keep coming back for more (which, I suppose, is the same principle used by crack dealers, although restauranteurs are much nicer and more fun). I, of course, quaffed two more, as they were so delicious, and kept trying to guess the secret ingredient (Cane syrup? Vanilla?). Café Adelaide owner Ti Martin just kept smiling, shaking her head and saying, "I'm not gonna tell ya." Well, fine then. I'll show her. I'll just keep drinking them until I figure it out! 
Corn Fried Oysters "B.L.T." -- Perfectly crunchy oysters with an oyster and bacon velouté sauce, crushed tomato ragout and a chiffonade of Romaine lettuce, served on a fried green tomato. It has since become a signature dish of the restaurant, although I don't know what'll happen to it now that Chef Kevin is leaving. This was an amazing dish; essentially simple, but very creative and clever. You almost want to giggle while you're eating it. It reminds me of how well the flavor of fried oysters and bacon go together (as in Oysters en brochette), and the lettuce and tomato touches are perfect. It also reminds me of how much I loves me some bacon on an ersta poor boy ... 
"Liver and Onions" -- Pan-seared foie gras with caramelized spring onions, red wine syrup and truffle cream. The serving is "modest", alas, and Wesly declined to give me a bite. In fact, when I got my hand too close to his plate I nearly got stabbed with his fork. Suffice to say that this dish is wonderful enough to defend it with whatever weaponry is at hand. 
Hot Island "Daiquiri" Shrimp -- from Chef Kevin's "Cocktail Menu", dishes inspired by the flavors of classic cocktails. This mindbogglingly wonderful dish featured pepper-sautéed "lacquered" shrimp with diced bacon (ahhhhhh) and a salsa made of watermelon, mango, red onion and cilantro, in a rum-lime sauce with some sweet potato hash. This is one of the best dishes I've tasted in New Orleans in recent memory, and I really hope we see it again somewhere. 
Pannéed Veal and Crabmeat -- One of my favorite dishes, in its infinite variations, and I get it almost anytime I see it. In fact, I love pannéed veal just plain, nuttin' on it. If you're unfamiliar with the term, to "panné" something means, in New Orleans, to coat it with seasoned bread crumbs (and often with grated Parmigiano cheese mixed in) and pan-fry it. Veal is the classic, quintessential such preparation, and it's a a Platonic dish. I loved this version, too -- topped with jumbo lump crabmeat and a garlic crostini, drizzled with pesto sauce. Lovely. Then ... there was the dessert bomb. This is a thing we always love at Brennan restaurants, and it helps to get one when one of your party knows one of the owners. In case I haven't mentioned it before, a "dessert bomb" is when they bring one of every single dessert on the menu (and then some) and plop them all down on the table at the same time. The dishes then begin orbiting the table; everyone takes a bite and passes it on, and lingering excessively or bogarting a dish is an invitation for assault. (In fact, I'll tell you that I've taken my very life into my hands by taking the time to photograph these dishes, and I only mananged to get a few of them before the threats of bodily harm were hurled in my direction.) 
Creole Cream Cheese Crème Caramel, with fresh berries. Monumentally good, and a wonderful use of that almost-lost, quintessentially New Orleanian ingredient, Creole cream cheese. 
Creole Rice Calas, with strawberries and cane syrup. Calas are the little fried rice fritters that are a grand old Creole tradition in New Orleans, and one that almost died out. A hundred years ago and more, you could hear the Creole women pushing their calas carts up and down the streets of the Quarter, shouting, "Ca-LAAAAAAAS! Ca-LAAAAAAAAAS!! TOUT chaud, TOUT chaud!" The restaurant also sometimes serves this dish as "Coffee and Doughnuts", a takeoff on another great New Orleans tradition; the calas are served with a cappuccino mousse and biscotti. 
Marshmallow Chocolate Turtle Pie -- Chocolate mousse, cookie crust and topped with a thick layer of browned housemade marshmallow. Fabulous. They call it a "pie" but it looks more like a cake. Cakepie? Or piecake? 
Pineapple Upside-Down Bread Pudding with Tahitian vanilla sugar and vanilla bean ice cream. Oh my. A few months later I made a return visit, this time with my parents and grandmother. They're big fans of the Brennan restaurants (on both sides of the Brennan family) and had never tried Café Adelaide. I knew they'd love it, and I wasn't wrong. These are mostly just my own dishes in the photos; as is often the case with New Orleanians, the folks attacked their dishes before I could get any shots off. 
This is another signature dish from Chef Kevin, and I hope it sticks around after he's gone, 'cause it's superb. Jumbo lump crabmeat, green onions and sautéed mushrooms in "eggplant buckets", topped with Béarnaise sauce. Well, how can you go wrong starting off with jumbo lump crabmeat and Béarnaise sauce? Everything in this dish comes together so perfectly well, and it's yet another of the whimsically-themed dishes that are as delightful to look at as to eat. 
Pannéed Veal. Here I go again. What can I say, I'm a breaded-and-pan-fried-baby-cow fanatic. This preparation was slightly different from the last time I had pannéed veal there, a little simpler, with grilled Creole tomatoes, asparagus and a beurre blanc sauce. 
Blueberry bread pudding with créme anglaise. Dad's serving. I didn't get any. (*grump*) 
"Cookies and Cream" -- Brandy milk punch ice cream served with assorted cookies and (usually) a chocolate swizzle stick (although not this time). Mmmm, brandy milk punch ice cream. I'm totally stealin' that idea. It'll be a while before we get Mr. B's Bistro ("Spring 2006", they say) and Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse back (April 1, 2006 on the latter). The Palace Café will be reopening New Year's Eve (yay!), Commander's by Jazzfest we hope! In the meantime I'll be chowing down at Café Adelaide as often as I can, whenever I'm in town. I wish the best of luck to Chef Kevin, and I'll be checking out his own new place as soon as I can, and I'm excited for Chef Danny too ... hey, if we can get two good restaurants out of this, that'll be a double bonus! Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar ... and Shrub. Quote of the day, from Thursday's New York Times editorial regarding the first in a series of speeches on Iraq (about which Salon comments, "Nobody likes reruns.):
Salon asks, "How many times can the president deliver a "major" speech on Iraq?" As many times as it takes for him to transmute lead into gold, maybe? [ Link to today's entries ]
Cocktail of the Day. Ever since I began experimenting with my Pimento Dram (a.k.a., allspice liqueur) recipe I'd been wanting to play more with the lovely, rich, sumptuous, dark and caramelly Demerara rum that I used to make it. Demerara rum is made exclusively in the nation of Guyana, with Demerara sugar -- large crystals, golden-colored, rich with molasses but not as moist as typical American brown sugar. The most readily available brand is Lemon Hart, which is fine stuff (and, as Dr. Cocktail points out, the makers of the only palatable 151 proof rum on the American market; the only cocktail for which Bacardi 151 is suitable, by comparison, is the one made by Mr. Molotov). I picked up a bottle for a mere $16 at Topline Wine and Spirits in Glendale, and it was off to CocktailDB to look for interesting suggestions for the use of this fine rum. Here's the first one that came up. It's good.
It didn't specify a garnish; you could plop in a cherry (although that's easy), but I think an orange twist would suit the drink better. When I'm feeling extravagant I'd love to try this with a dash of vintage Abbott's Bitters. Commander's Palace: Worse than I thought. When I went home in October for my first post-Katrina visit, I drove over to Washington Ave. to see what was what and shoot some pictures. I did notice some roof damage, but most of the outside of the building looked pretty good, and I even managed to get a shot of the inside, which almost looked as if it was ready for service. It turns out that the roof damage was far more serious than it looked, and now it turns out that the best-case scenario for the reopening of Commander's Palace is March, at the very earliest. :-(
Sigh. This is sad in so many ways. That beautiful old building, the ambience inside, some of the best food in the city, and this can't help but make me think about Chef Jamie, Commander's former exec chef who passed away a few years ago. At least we know they're rebuilding and reopening, and that's comforting. Chef Tory is keeping busy and isn't going anywhere. If we're lucky, maybe they'll be open by Jazzfest, but we'll be content to wait as long as it takes. Better to take their time and do it right than rush it. That's also great news about Café Adelaide, which I adore (and it's the restaurant's namesake, Aunt Adelaide Brennan, from whom I stole this weblog's current below-the-title tag line). Actually, it's good and bad and good news about Café Adelaide. They've reopened. However, they're losing their wonderful chef, Kevin Vizard, who's bailing after only a year to open his own restaurant on St. Charles. What, we moan, will become of such great dishes as the Daiquiri Shimp and the Crabmeat Traps?! I'm a bit annoyed at him, actually, 'cause I love going there and I love his food, but I'll still love his food at his new place, plus there's this... His replacement will be Commander's Palace chef de cuisine Danny Trace, whom we remember well from our last big group visit to Commander's -- he came over to our table and asked us where we had eaten and a bunch of other questions and nearly ended up coming to Jazzfest with us, as Mary reminded us yesterday. I'm excited to see what his menu will look like. I neeed a visit to Commander's in Vegas, and I can't wait to get back to Café Adelaide. That reminds me ... I'll be posting some food porn from both Commander's and Café Adelaide in the next few days. Scotty on the way out? Via Cursor: "Wondering what happened to Scott McClellan [who hasn't given an on-the-record press briefing in three weeks], ThinkProgress refers to a PR Week article in which a former White House correspondent said: 'I've been through a lot of press secretaries. There are some really good ones ... some average ones ... And there are a few who have no business there. I would put Scott in that last category.'" I hope the door hits him in the ass, really hard, on his way out. [ Link to today's entries ]
Shop New Orleans! "Jingle jangle jingle, here comes Mr. Bingle, with another message from Kris Kringle ..." Mr. Bingle, the little snowman and Santa's helper, has been our city's own symbol of Christmas season for decades -- not so much the spiritual portion of the holiday season but certainly the shopping portion, as he was created for the late, lamented Maison Blanche department stores in 1948. I think it'd be a great idea if you did some (if not most or all) of your Christmas shopping in New Orleans this year. The city's businesses badly need your patronage and your dollars, and you'll be doing your part to help keep the city afloat. You can do it online, and if you need some help, look no further. Here's a sampling of local businesses with online sales, compiled by my friend "Baconwrapped" Mary with several additions from me.
For more history about Mr. Bingle, see the Gambit article entitled "In Search of Mr. Bingle", and especially the history page from the Mr. Bingle Fans site. Mr. Bingle's "assets" have been taken over locally by Dillard's department store, and although unfortunately you can't buy plush Mr. Bingles online, you can get them at local Dillard's in Kenner, Slidell, Hammond, Baton Rouge and Lake Charles (are there any open in Orleans Parish yet?). Mr. Bingle will also be appearing at the Celebration in the Oaks in City Park this year! I know it's too early for this, and the my inner Scrooge (who is already thoroughly sick of the Christmas music he's been hearing on the radio and in every feckin' store I've entered since the day after Thanksgiving) rebels at the idea of saying it this soon, but I wanna get some shopping going back home, so ... early Merry Christmas, y'all! (And early Happy Hanukkah ... buy eight gifts from eight N.O. vendors!) Why New Orleans Matters. From this week's Gambit Weekly (and promoted from the comments; thanks, growler!), an excerpt from local author Tom Piazza's new book Why New Orleans Matters, in which "the author argues that forsaking the hard work that it will take to make New Orleans great again will cause irrevocable harm to the city's -- and America's -- soul."
Another good book to get for yourself and as Christmas gifts -- important Christmas gifts. I just ordered mine from Octavia Books in New Orleans. Skip Amazon this time. December 1, 1955 ... our freedom movement came alive. Fifty years ago today, Rosa Parks of Montgomery, Alabama refused to give up her seat to a white man and move to the back of the bus when ordered to do so by the bus driver, who actually had the law on his saide at the time. We all know what happeend then. It's a shame she couldn't be here for the anniversary.  Seems like I was just saying this the other day, but ... thank you, Miss Rosa. The "speech" and the "plan". Fred Kaplan of Slate analyzes Shrub's P.R. release-- er, speech yesterday, and the "plan for victory" it described, and pronounces them both failures.
It's all downhill from there, nothing but what Kaplan describes as "an ill-defined muddle". Finally:
What did this country do to deserve someone so thoroughly full of shit as its current leader? How much worse will it get in the three more years he'll be leading? (Unless he's impeached, of course.) November Looka! entries have been permanently archived. [ Link to today's entries ]
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