Two Uptown chefs advance to the James Beard finals

The coveted James Beard Awards finalists were announced last week, including “Best Chef in the South Region” and “Emerging Chef.” Two of the finalists in that number are in Uptowns restaurants. And both are relatively new on the local food scene. Chef Ana Castro of Lengua Madre was honored in the “Best Chef in the South” category, which includes Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi and Puerto Rico. 

And in the “Emerging Chef” category, chef Serigne Mbaye of Dakar NOLA advanced to the finals. The James Beard Awards, established in 1990, sometimes referred to as “the Oscars of the food world” are the highest honors in the U.S. food industry. The finalists were announced on March 29; and the winners will be announced on June 5.

Toxic fumes still plague Uptown neighborhoods, Irish Channel residents say

On a pleasant spring evening last week, Irish Channel residents Kimberly Terrell and Justin Vittitow met at Parasol’s to plan a presentation on the air quality in their neighborhood. They were sitting outside the bar, but soon had to go in. Fumes that had drifted in from across the river were burning their throats, Vittitow said. 
Nearly two years after the City Council passed a resolution in support of Irish Channel residents’ efforts to rid their neighborhood of toxic fumes from industry on the Mississippi River in Jefferson Parish, Vittitow and Terrell — members of JOIN (Jefferson, Orleans, Irish Channel Neighbors) for Clean Air — were back in Council Chambers. They spoke Tuesday (March 28) to the Joint Climate Change and Sustainability and Governmental Affairs Committee. “We still have this.

Domilise’s po-boy shop scores a role in ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’

Keen-eyed New Orleanians watching Amazon Prime’s new miniseries “Daisy Jones & The Six” are noticing many of the scenes are shot – if not set — in New Orleans. The city stands in for New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Albuquerque, among others. Episode 9 of the 1970s rock ‘n’ roll fable features Uptown’s Domilise’s Po-boy & Bar as a Chicago sandwich shop. The idea to film in New Orleans came from local film location manager Batou Chandler. Chandler told Uptown Messenger she wanted to support local small businesses and a favorite film location, City Park, all in need of a financial boost during the Covid-19 pandemic.

NOLALove Spring Student Rally brings inspiration to New Orleans students (sponsored)

We had to do it again! We gathered students from our InspireNOLA schools and schools throughout the city of New Orleans to show the community just what we mean by #NOLALove! Our second NOLA Love Spring Student Rally was a day of inspiration and motivation for the students of New Orleans, and we were grateful to have motivational speaker Eric Thomas spark a fire in each of our students and remind them that YOU OWE YOU. This initiative, launched in October 2022, continues to be for our students and by our students and their vision for a safer, healthier, and more loving life in New Orleans. NOLALove is and will always be for our students, for our city, and for our future.

Bertie’s Intergalactic Diner takes up residency at Carrollton Station

A new out-of-this-world food spot is popping up at Carrollton Station. Bertie’s Intergalactic Diner serves an array of comfort-food favorites and new inventions by owner and chef Trey Rintala. Rintala is from Slidell and was previously the sous chef at the now-shuttered French bistro Meauxbar. While he enjoyed his six years there, he admits that fine dining isn’t quite his style. “I appreciate my time there and utilize the techniques I learned working in a French kitchen,” Rintala said.

Community Lighthouses begin to shine; hubs will provide aid and energy during disasters

A rousing performance from the Roots of Music marching band kicked off the opening ceremony Saturday (March 25) for the Community Lighthouse project at Bethlehem Lutheran Church on Washington Avenue. An initiative of Together New Orleans, the Community Lighthouse project is envisioned as a citywide network of solar-powered hubs with backup battery capacity throughout the city, so that every New Orleanian is within walking distance of an energy and aid source during power outages. The pilot phase of 24 community lighthouses is expected to be fully operational ahead of the 2023 hurricane season. The event Saturday celebrated the completion of the first two lighthouse:, one at Bethlehem Lutheran and another in Broadmoor Community Church. Together New Orleans is a coalition of faith-based and community institutions all over New Orleans.

Maple Street Starbucks workers hold one-day strike over stalled negotiations

Workers at the Maple Street Starbucks took to the picket line last week for a one-day strike over stalled contract negotiations. When the Maple Street shop unionized in early June, it was part of a meteoric increase in unionized Starbucks across the U.S. After the first store unionized in Buffalo, New York, less than two years ago, 287 stores have successfully held union elections, while another 91 have held elections where the union did not garner enough votes to win. 

The striking Maple Street workers said Starbucks has refused to bargain with the union to establish a contract, which is why they decided to go on the one-day strike. They also said they want full staffing at the coffee shop. 

“We want to be met at the bargaining table and we want Starbucks to stop cutting labor,” one striker said. “We don’t have enough staff to keep up with growing demand at the store.”

As the workers and supporters gathered for the picket line on the sultry Wednesday morning (March 22), cars driving by honked their support. One friend of the organizers passed out bottled water and cups of vegetable soup. 

Rowan Bienes-Allen, sat by the storefront door with a laptop and a sign saying “Ask me about the strike.” So I did. As we spoke, she was asked to move by a manager wearing a Black history month shirt.