Week in Review – April 12th, 2026

Monday began with a stroll down to Bistro  Aquilla for coffee and breakfast.  I ordered a San Giovanni sandwich which came on a base of beet dip.  Diana found how much of that ended up on my fingers quite entertaining.

We had an impromptu visit from Kenny and Squirrel later in the morning.  Duane picked up the name squirrel many years ago thanks to a football coach.  He had been out for a bike ride with Kenny and Ray when Ray took a fall and had to head home with some sore ribs.  So the duo made their way over to see us.  A nice surprise and our first visitors after being gone so long.

Diana met Jeff, Merry Lee, Jeff’s nephew and his wife at the Columns later int he afternoon.  I was mostly asleep on the couch and feeling jet lag too much to venture out.

I enjoyed the NCAA basketball championship on Monday night.  Michigan did not score as they did throughout the rest of the tournament but managed to eke out a win.

Diana and I walked down to French Truck coffee on Tuesday morning, the newspaper delivery starting up again just in time for us to enjoy it with our coffee.  From there, we strolled down magazine to pick up a card to Walgreens and then made our way home in time to meet Robert, the foundation repair guy at home.  We’ve noticed some new cracks and wanted to make sure all the foundation piers were still looking good.  Robert reports that all looks good and we are just experiencing some normal “settling.”

A new month of pickleball clinics started up and Laurie picked up Diana to get that all started again.  I walked over to Aidan Gill for a haircut while they ran around the court.  Aidan was in fine form with his banter about my trip.

We met with Jeff and Merry Lee for an early dinner at Tacos del Cartel on Tuesday evening.  Early so that we could eat before jet lag kicked in too much and also so that I could attend trivia if I thought I could last that late.  I was too sleepy to face the couple of hours of trivia and called it an early night.

Diana’s Wednesday began with yoga a new location on Freret Street.  She seemed to enjoy it.  We met Kenny and Kara for the parsimonious Happy Hour at Cafe Degas.  We followed that with a brief stop at the new business that opened where DMAC’s was, “True South”, and finished up at the Twelve Mile Limit.  I loved this place – a true craft cocktail maker in a slightly divey bar.  Their history is interesting:

“The history of Twelve Mile Limit is actually layered—it’s not just a modern bar, but a spot with over a century of local history tied to New Orleans development, baseball, and post-Katrina recovery.

🏗️ Early history (1910–1920s)

• The building was originally constructed around 1910 as a pumping station, part of the city’s effort to drain swamps and expand New Orleans.
• By the 1920s, it had already become a bar.

⚾ Baseball-era hangout

• The bar sat near Pelican Park, once a spring training site.
• In the mid-1920s, the New York Yankees trained there—during the era when Babe Ruth had just joined the team.
• Local lore suggests Ruth (famous for drinking) may have frequented the bar.

🍻 20th century → early 2000s

• The location stayed a bar for decades, usually named after its owner.
• Its last pre-modern incarnation was “Marvin’s”, run by “Marvelous Marvin” starting around 2000.

🌊 Hurricane Katrina impact (2005)

• The building was badly flooded during Hurricane Katrina, like much of Mid-City (which was deeply underwater).
• It reopened, but struggled to fully recover afterward.

🍸 Modern era (2010–present)

• In 2010, bartender T. Cole Newton bought the bar, renovated it, and reopened it as Twelve Mile Limit.
• His concept: a “cocktail dive”—high-quality drinks in a laid-back neighborhood setting.
• Since then, it’s become a well-known Mid-City spot, often listed among top bars in New Orleans.

🍹 Where the name comes from

• The name “Twelve Mile Limit” references:
  • A Prohibition-era concept—people had to go offshore beyond U.S. jurisdiction to drink.
  • The distance was extended to 12 miles in 1924, inspiring a cocktail called the “Twelve Mile Limit.””

Diana had a haircut on Thursday  and I suggested that we should have lunch at the world famous Domilise’s before.  This is regularly mentioned as the best po’boy spot in New Orleans – oscillating with Parkway.  We didn’t love it.  The food was good and plentiful – just nothing to blow me away.

I left Domilise’s and took care of the grocery shopping.  Diana ran into Roeland at the Parlor getting her hair done.  New Orleans seems to become a smaller city ever day to me..

Here’s a lot of information on the history of Domilise’s.  It’s interesting how easy it is to find this versus other types of important New Orleans history.

• Establishment: Founded by Peter and Sophie Domilise in 1918.
• Original Concept: It started as a corner bar serving the local workforce, including dockworkers and longshoremen from the nearby Mississippi River wharves.
• Transition to Food: Sophie began cooking “plate lunches” for these workers, which gradually morphed into a sandwich-focused menu. During the 1929 streetcar strike—the era when the “poor boy” sandwich was famously named—Domilise’s maintained its working-class roots by extending credit to laborers until they received their paychecks. 
  Culinary Backstreets +4

• Family Transition: After World War II, the business passed to Peter and Sophie’s son, Sam, and his wife, Dorothy “Miss Dot” Domilise, in 1947.
• A Local Legend: Dorothy Domilise became the face of the establishment, known for her sharp wit and warm hospitality. She personally prepared po-boys behind the counter well into her 90s.
• Survival and Reopening: The restaurant briefly closed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as the family evacuated. Its reopening was seen by many locals as a sign of the city’s recovery.
• End of an Era: Dorothy passed away in 2013 at the age of 90, having worked at the restaurant for over 65 years. 
  Domilise’s Po-boys +5

• Generational Ownership: The shop is currently run by the third and fourth generations of the family (led by Ken and Joann Domilise), with members of the fifth generation also involved.
• Famous Patronage: The walls are covered in photos of celebrity visitors, including the Manning family (Peyton and Eli), who are such regulars they have their own dedicated “Manning Wall of Fame”. The late Anthony Bourdain also famously visited and praised their off-the-menu “surf-and-turf” po-boy (shrimp, roast beef gravy, and Swiss cheese).
• Traditions: The menu remains simple and focused on high-quality ingredients, specifically using Leidenheimer French bread delivered twice daily. Many staff members have been with the restaurant for decades, including Ray the bartender (45+ years) and Gayle the sandwich maker (35+ years).

I accompanied Diana to her pain management group appointment on Friday.  The conclusion was that she will get two steroid shots later this month. –

Saturday was busy.  We started with an early walk/run in Audubon park.  That was followed by a visit to Tartine.  Nicoise salad for Diana and quiche for Keith.  We stopped at the hardware store on the drive home and had extra keys made, since the fancy locks are not reliable.  All that activity finished up with us hanging Miles Davis behind all the albums:

He looks a bit lonely and we’re in discussion about who to add to his band.  Bill Evans?  Dizzy?  What do you think?

 

I wanted to share some detail about the guy who made Miles: “Mikel Casal, a local San Sebastian illustrator with work sold through Lance & Malone.  “My father, uncles and cousins would come back to port with mementos from faraway places such as Canada, South Arivvca, Brazil, Norway and even Hong Kong.  SOme of those mementos that would come from sacks soaked in saltwater and diesel fuel were marvelously illustrated books and magazines.  I went wide eyed every time I would open them and it was at that moment I knew that when I grew up I wanted t be a draftsman.  Later i found out that what I really wanted to be was an illustrator.”

We relaxed in the afternoon at a crawfish boil hosted by Alex and Laura.  Wonderful food and company as always.

Sunday was very mellow.  We drove over to City Park so that Frank could show us the ultimate frisbee competition.  Those guys expend a lot of energy running around during a game.  After that we watched the Masters gold tournament.

We’re skipping books and music as this post is so late.