“New Orleans – amazing music on every corner”
Monday was a day of rest and recovery after a very busy previous few days.
We invited Kenny to join us to see the documentary “Last Class” on Tuesday. This is about the last semester that Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, taught his “Wealth and Poverty” class at the University of California in Berkeley. The class is about the widening income and equality gaps, but I think the most poignant parts of the film are when Reich reflects on his teaching career and what it means to retire. As the son of two highly dedicated educators, this film really resonated with me. I strongly recommend seeing this film if you can find it.
If you’d like to know some more about Reich’s life and the positions he held in government over many, many administrations, you can check out this blog post that I put together after watching the film:
My Robert Reich blog – biography and links to his writings and podcasts
Trivia Tuesday was a mediocre performance. Thom had some correct answers that we didn’t use for various reasons – mostly that he wasn’t emphatic enough that he really knew the answer. We did get the last question correct and added twenty points to our total, breaking one hundred:
Do you know the order, North to South?
It’s Oslo, Ottawa (we had a lot of debate over which was further north), Oklahoma City, and then Ouagadougou. If you’re like me you’re wondering where the heck that last place is. Well, it’s the capital of Burkina Faso. Not helpful? I know. Here’s the location in West Africa:
Don’t forget that for the next time it comes up in trivia (ten years from now.)
Diana began Wednesday in typical form – a run in the park followed by yoga. She always seems pumped and energized on return. This time she stopped at Whole Foods and brought me some delicious Indian food for lunch. That might have been my reward for attempting to strap the silly Halloween spider to the porch column – I realized it was a two person job after my third attempt. It took about a minute with Diana’s help.
Having completed “project spidey”, we took on replacing a can light in the kitchen. The hardest part was hauling the very heavy “little giant” ladder in from the three car garage (small ToughShed) and setting it up for McD to scale. She had the replacement installed very efficiently.
In the evening I half watched the “America’s Got Talent” show while reading – that was until this crazy trapeze performance. I’ve never seen anything quite like that.
A street singer busker from New Orleans, Jordan Blue, won third place in the finals.
I started watching a Netflix series, Black Rabbit, with Jude Law and Jason Bateman later in the evening. It’s very dark but very good. Most episodes are directed by either Bateman or Laura Linney, with somewhat of an “Ozark” feel.
We tried to play pickleball at the New Orleans Athletic Club on Thursday morning. It’s outdoor and it had rained a bit in the morning – so it was a no go as the court was too slippery. We decided to take a look anyway and it took some work to find the thing. Make a turn at the vending machine by the stairs to the pool. We did and it didn’t seem right – no signs and an outdoor walkway that customers would never be allowed to use in other states – and there it was:
The hidden joys of a very old athletic club – we’ll be back to play in a few days. I do have to wonder why they have big speakers spaced every few feet around this courtyard space.
Kenny invited me to go to lunch and shopping for Kara’s milestone birthday. He very efficiently procured something from Kiki Huston, one of Kara’s favourites. Kiki is quite the artist with silver and gemstones.
The Dutch Alley artist co-op was an interesting place – painters, sculptors, photographers, jewelry and others all in one place.
Next stop was Port O’ Call for lunch. Your choice is a burger or a big steak. I opted for the mushroom cheeseburger.
There are no fries, salad or other side choices. Only a baked potato and choice of toppings – cheese, chives, bacon, mushrooms, sour cream. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a baked potato.
The burger and potato were both delicious and I had nice leftovers for post-nap afternoon snack time. The newspaper had their “Best of New Orleans” issue this week and I wasn’t surprised to see Port O’ Call with a few mentions:
I really enjoyed this Diane Millsap canvas painting of Port O’ Call:
Looking into her other works, I found this very nice St Charles streetcar painting:
Diana had read something online about a “one day only” tasting of five different sashimi grade tunas at GW Fins on Thursday evening. I shuddered to think how much that would cost, but decided to go with it. We’ll sit at the bar and if it’s ludicrous then we can just have a drink and leave. I was still pretty full from the burger and tater but would try something if forced to. It turns out the sashimi was reasonably priced and amazing.
Diana declared the cognac French 75 that the bartender created for her “the best I ever had.” Seems like we were off to a good start. She loved all the sashimi tuna. I tried her favourite and it was very fresh and delicious, albeit not my go to food group.
I gave into pressure and ordered the fried oyster “Bahn Mi.” I put quotes on that because it was brioche toast and not a steamed bun. This was ridiculously tasty:
Diana, not having sucked down a burger and tater at lunch, was still hungry. She had the tuna tartare tarts – I sampled one and they were also ridiculously good.
One has to wonder why we have never been to this restaurant before. We loved everything about it. Answer – there are just too many amazing places in this city. Look at all these “best of” awards this place won this week in the newspaper polls:
You’ve read my musings about number 2, Peche, and I do think for pure seafood, GW Fins is superior.
Ahead of Galatoire’s? I have so many wonderful memories of number 2 – bachelor party, Cowboys-Saints game with the maître d wearing my Cowboys jacket, Halloween with Diana. I don’t agree that GW Fins comes out ahead of the overall Galatoire’s experience. And that is just what it is – my opinion versus the readers. They can’t get them all correct.
Another disagreement so soon? Yes! Commanders is the place to get dressed up and go and do the fine dining with fun. GW Fins was certainly fine dining but without the je ne sais quoi (pizzaz) of Commanders .
I’m going to let this one slide. And if you’re not from New Orleans, I know you’re tired of reading these debates already. I love the garden at N7, as you would have read last week. Diana did mention the semi-circular booths at GW Fins that she thought were “very romantic.”
One last “best of” – Diana’s favourite New Orleans place, Cafe Degas, was voted best French restaurant. And it’s the antithesis of what that term might evoke – very casual and reasonably priced with wonderful food.
I awoke Friday, picked up my phone, and noticed the cards in the back sleeve sliding around unusually – where’s my usual credit card that locks them in there? Oh no – I left it at GW Fins. How could that have happened? I have a system, a best practice even – put the card away before signing the check. Ugh! I locked the card and went about my business for a while. We had a walk and run in Audubon park (humidity down now and almost bearable.) After that we went to Martin wine store to put together a gift basket for Kara’s birthday on Sunday. While waiting on Diana to choose things, I made a call to GW Fins – yes they had my card and, although not open, would be happy to bring it out to me, if I called them on arrival.
We decided to go and get the card while the basket was being assembled and shrink wrapped. They always say fifteen minutes and take at least thirty. I was so excited to drive up Bourbon Street and into the French Quarter for a second time in two days – it’s a lot of work to avoid all the human obstacles. I retrieved my card and we drove back to Martin to pick up the gift basket.
The basket was not to D’s standards – they had a package of something with a big price tag in the middle. Everyone agreed it obviously needed to be redone. Said Andrew, “they gave me a lot of wine training and not much gift wrap training.” We sat in the parking lot and waited for the redo – nicely done.
I went for a haircut on Friday afternoon, and was looking forward to hearing about Derek’s (barber) update on his trip to a wedding in Australia. I was surprised when he told me that the Australians tried to ruin his trip – they see Trump on TV all day and assumed he was a disciple – such a sorry global situation. I felt badly for him as Diana and I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with the Australian population. Times change.
I had a coffee and picked up a “puzzle” for Diana on my way home. Aquila bistro has these “blind date with a puzzle” offerings. I was hoping the “surreal” piece wasn’t going to be another Salvador Dali puzzle. Let’s see:
No, not Dali, but a lot of detail in that tiger’s neck. The puzzle has already been started with pieces being organized in the drawers of the puzzle board. I predict significant progress while I’m watching football today.
Due to the summer humidity, it’s been a while since we spent time on the Columns porch or patio. The evenings are now great for patio sitting, and so we decided to support the NOLA x NOLA music week offering of River Eckert and Matt Perrin on the Columns porch.
River is fifteen and plays and sings like an old veteran, and has for a couple of years now:
Here’s one of my favourite of his videos. That’s our favourite New Orleans artist, Frenchy, painting away behind him:
For more about River Eckert, check out this post:
River Eckert – videos and biography
I love this video of Matt Perrin doing the “Baby Elephant” walk in a club on Frenchmen:
We started Saturday with a trip over to the Bywater Bakery. This is about a fifteen minute drive from home, and close to Elizabeth’s. As previously discussed, we thought fifteen minutes was “close by” in McKinney, while in New Orleans it’s almost outside the acceptable drive circumference.
Kyle Roussel, genius level local pianist, was advertised to be playing at the bakery. I expected an old upright piano, a la Booker session at the back room in the Maple Leaf (Andre Bohren last week.) No – this was the grand piano in a pickup situation. Note the ladder to get in the bed and sunshade.
The bakery is amazing. Always in the running for best King cake and with some amazing looking sandwiches and pastries – I’m coming back for lunch soon.
Kyle is one of my favourite pianists – so creative and with such a unique touch and style:
Here’s a track from his album, “Church of New Orleans”, with John Boutte:
Diana, Kara and Nina enjoyed the cabana and pool at Merry Lee’s condominium on Saturday afternoon – early birthday celebration for Kara. Diana took two kinds of Chantilly cream cakes from Bywater bakery to the pool. Apparently they were well received by all three girls.
I saw a piece about Major General Joseph McNeil on a Sunday news program. He was one of the “Greensboro Four”:
“On February 1, 1960, McNeil and his fellow activists, Ezell Blair, Franklin McCain and David Richmond, walked together from the university’s library to the Woolworth‘s store in downtown Greensboro.[12] Once there, the men purchased some items, and then sat down at the “whites only” lunch counter, where the group was refused service. McNeil and the group stayed until the store closed, and then left to return the next day.”
I visited that Woolworth’s on a trip to Greensboro while working for AIG. Such a sense of history looking at it.
More here:
I’m watching football now – the Saints are actually almost hanging in there with the Buffalo Bills. I had predicted a massive blowout for the Bills. Football is so slow with so many commercials that I usually catch up on my magazine reading during a game. The cover of the New Yorker this week made me laugh:
I finished up “I Might be in Trouble” by Daniel Aleman this week. Lots of entertaining twists in the tail. I really enjoyed this read, but be careful if you don’t like the dark and different stuff.
This showed up on one of the final pages:
““How is—” “Listen, I was thinking,” he says. “Would you want to go grab dinner? Or drinks? I just… wanted to celebrate with you, unless you have other—”
Begin rant – When did the “grab” verb insert itself into these kind of phrases? I don’t ever want to “grab” dinner or drinks. I want to sit down, relax and leisurely enjoy them. I see it in buttons to click to buy tickets for a movie or a show – “Grab your tickets now.” I’m fine with “buying” a ticket but not really interested in “grabbing” one. Rant over.
I also read “Kermit Ruffins and Vaughan’s Lounge” by Jay Mazza, inspired by his turn as an interview host for the book talk at Octavia last week. This was wonderful and reminded me of my first night in New Orleans and is a short manifesto on why we moved here.
A quote prior to my first visit to New Orleans:
“Kermit’s gig at the tiny Bywater club has become the spot for up and coming and established jazz stars to jam in a low-key setting to a truly appreciative crowd. You never know who’s going to show up, and this night proves to be incredibly special. Pianist Henry Butler sits in for the entire second set and leaves the keys burnin’ and smokin’ with his monstrous chops. Probably the single best soloing of the entire year. Kermit was good too.”
On my first ever night in New Orleans, Henry Butler sat in with Kermit. I could not believe the piano virtuoso I was hearing in this tiny dive bar – not to mention Kermit on the trumpet, the ridiculous bass, and the strong drumming. After reading this book, I understand a bit more of all that went into creating that.
And thanks to Anne for stopping to introduce Mr. Butler to me on her way to getting him a cab (he was blind.)
I’m glad I finally made it to the city I knew I should be in after that first night.
I enjoyed this piece in the New Yorker by Zadie Smith about writing essays for tests and otherwise:
Zadie Smith – on the impersonal essay
I like to read “five albums that I can’t live without” on Spin magazine’s site. This week made me smile. The comments on Springsteen’s Nebraska from a metal guy were so on point with my feelings and so well articulated ahead of the new movie about this album starring Jeremy Allen White (of the Bear):
His second choice reminded me of a night in New York with the late Greg Holowach. We arrived at a cigar bar and the bartender put on this album. I started talking to the guy next to me about it and he went DEEP into the musical technicality of it. I can’t remember a good example. I finally asked him what he did for a living. “I write symphonies, and my latest is being premiered by the New York Philharmonic tonight. I’m too nervous to attend.” Huh – feel free to critique Radiohead with me then…
And lastly, the third choice from this metal dude, I listened to extensively in my bedroom, fascinated by how these guitar and jazz parts went together:
Weird that all those three parts were in different sizes and different fonts on the same technology – not my IT problem anymore. I did remind Diana that we saw Johnny Depp perform with Jeff Beck shortly before he died (Beck, not Depp). “Isolation” was the song they swaggered through together.
I love the trombone rhythm section on this:
And finally something from the master:
Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all.