Emeril's Special On New Orleans...

[black chef]

this show was great!!!

if you don't know the history of new orleans, this show covered quite a bit.

i hope y'all caught it!!

 

[amber]

I watched part of it (was in the middle of a movie at the time), but New Orleans is a great city, that has rebuilt itself one day at a time. It's great to see all the bands there again, the restaurants opening, the community coming back, and the people coming together.

 

[Michael in FtW]

I lived in N'awlins for the better part of the first 5 years of my life .... part of the time we lived in the quarter ... the last year in an area just on the north end. But, I've been back many times since them ... ever dine in the Blue Room of the Hotel Roosevelt (that was South of Canal) where they had live radio broadcasts? I don't remember the radio station call sign - seems like it was WWL ... but had Peter Toma and his orchestra - playing live each night ... I remember I used to listen to it at night after we moved back to Texas up until I was 16-18 - they had a BIG AM radio signal!!! And, I lived there long enough to believe that Marie Laveau would "get me" at night if I wasn't a good boy ...

Mom and Dad used to take me to Preservation Hall to get me to go to sleep (I think the last time I heard Moms Mabley playing the piano and singing there was when I was about 12) - or just put me in my stoller and wheel me down Bourbon Street to listen to the music. I couldn't begin to guess how many beignets I've scarfed down at Café du Monde or Morning Call. LOL - Café du Monde and Morning Call both had café au lait (coffee with chicory and steamed milk) but one was 1/2 coffee and 1/2 milk - the other was 2/3 milk and 1/3 coffee.

I remember the trolley rides out to the West End (on Lake Ponchartrain) to eat and ride the Merry-Go-Round .... and I remember the smell on Sunday morning when the JAX brewery would vent their brewing tanks (those memories flooded back when I moved to Golden, CO and had to endure the same olfactory assault every Sunday morning). There was a fantastic place, Tony's ... that had a great shrimp spaghetti sauce - and we ate there frequently ...

I remember Dad had a bunch of other little "out of the beaten path" spots to eat in the Quarter ... one I remember was just off the north-west side of Jackson Square ... just North of the "Old Soldier's Shop" - which was about a block North from the French Perfume Shop where Dad used to buy perfume for Mom ... I can remember the name - but I don't know how to spell it (phonetically - something like "Twa em Wa") - Dad ordered a bottle every year for Mom's birthday for about 20-years - untill he ran off with his bubble-brained secretary.

Anywho ... the big easy is such a great place ... Emeril could never do it justice without having grown up there ... IMHO.

 

[VeraBlue]

I almost started crying when they showed Liuzza's By the Track! The last time Lou and I were in NOLA it hadn't reopened yet and feared they'd never be able to reopen.. Without a doubt, that shrimp po'boy you saw him make (the one where the shrimp was stuffed into a hole in the bread) is quite possibly the best shrimp po'boy in the world. His gumbo is to die for. Never had better.
Now, if Ugelsich's would just reopen, too....

It was an excellent show and spotlighted how much work is yet to be done. Very little insurance money has made it to the people yet. Many places still haven't reopened yet because they lack the funds to restore or repair. Volunteers and private assistance are still the backbone of the help effort.

It's 6 months before I can go back again. I'm counting it down..

Don't forget them, and please, visit if you can. The vieux carre is beautiful, you'll be so happy you went.

 

[VeraBlue]

Anywho ... the big easy is such a great place ... Emeril could never do it justice without having grown up there ... IMHO.

Michael, Emeril didn't grow up there. He's from Rhode Island, of portugese decent. He didn't get to NOLA until he petitioned old lady Brennan, the matriarch of Commander's Palace (and all the other Brennan restaurants, like Palace Cafe on Canal, and Brennan's on Royal, etc), to let him be the executive chef. He followed Paul Prudhomme, a tough act to follow. She wasn't even going to consider him till a mutual friend spoke so highly of him. Once he got to the city, he became like an adopted son because he did the town so right.

 

[cjs]

We saw it and it was a wonderful tribute to a wonderful city!!!