arts, books and music

Octavia Books hosts Dillard University recipe book signing

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Food historian, educator, and author Zella Palmer will present her recently published “Recipes and Remembrances of Fair Dillard, 1869-2019” this Sunday, March 8. Using recipes and research, Palmer’s book documents the African American culinary history of New Orleans through the lens of Dillard University. She will be signing copies of her work for 2 p.m. at Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St. The event page describes the collection as follows:
This cookbook shares over eighty years of international and indigenous New Orleans Creole recipes collected from the community, friends of the university, campus faculty, staff, and students, providing readers with a glimpse into the rich food culture of African-Americans in New Orleans. Recipes and Remembrances of Fair Dillard is dedicated to Dillard University alumni, faculty, staff, friends, and family who enjoyed past campus festivals, dinners, picnics, Monday red beans and rice with fried chicken, and Friday fish frys in Kearny Dining.

business

Canseco’s Market set to open soon on Oak and Carrollton

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The electricity was turned on this week at former drugstore at Oak Street and South Carrollton Avenue — soon to open its doors as a Canseco’s Market. General Manager Sisi Canseco said he’s aiming for an opening on Wednesday (March 11) or Thursday, but the timing depends on what the city inspectors say. Now building has electricity, the health department and the fire marshal can come in to inspect and sign off on market. In the meantime, the shelves are stocked and fixtures moved into position. “We’ll be a full-service grocery — full-service meat department, full-service bakery,” Canseco said, discussing his plans in between supervising crews and meeting with vendors.

church

Where to find a Lenten fish fry Uptown

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Lenten fish frys at Catholic churches and schools start today and continue throughout Lent. Here’s some local fried-fish dinners from a list compiled by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Knight of Columbus 3411
Where: Blessed Pauline Center, 4219 Constance St. When: Fridays from Feb. 28 to April 3; after 6 p.m.
Menu: Fish and fries or crawfish pasta, coleslaw, vegetable, dessert, drink.

food and drink

Uptown taco hotspots to defend Top Taco titles

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Barracuda, winner of the 2019 Top Traditional Taco award, has announced it will return to the one-night only taco and tequila throw down in March to defend its title. Barracuda, a walk-up taco restaurant with a tequila garden, opened at 3984 Tchopitoulas St. in 2019 after winning the Top Taco award. Also returning to defend a 2019 Top Taco title is Tacos & Beer, which won the Critic’s Choice for Best Creative Cocktail. Tacos & Beer is located at 1622 St.

food and drink

Kristine Froeba: Centuries-old Creole Bread Pudding, an easy and decadent New Orleans holiday tradition

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In New Orleans, family recipes that date back several generations are being pulled from well-worn family journals and put into play. We are a city that holds an unflinchingly tight grip on our family traditions and history. With Louisiana’s unique food culture and some family roots going back 300 years, that history includes old Creole recipes that have been passed down for well over a century. We already know our tablescape differs from the other 49 states on any given day. But on the holidays, our fare is markedly different from the rest of the nation.

arts, books and music

What’s open and what’s closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

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By Sue Strachan, Uptown Messenger

After the gift giving, feasting and family bonding – hopefully without a dose of politics over the dinner table – the stir crazy hours set in. To keep good tidings this holiday season, this list shows what is open and closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It includes major attractions, movie theaters and events. Christmas Eve
Attractions
Aububon Nature Institute (Audubon Zoo, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.; Aquarium of the Americas, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Theater last show, 3:40 p.m.; Butterfly Garden & Insectarium, 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.; and Nature Center, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., trails 3:30 p .m.)

Holiday Spectacles
Miracle on Fulton Street: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.

NOLA Christmas Fest (Ernest N. Morial Convention Center): 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The Polar Express Train Ride (Union Passenger Terminal): First ride 10:40 a.m.; last ride: 8:40 p.m.

CLOSED: Audubon Zoo Lights, Celebration in the Oaks

Museums
Hermann-Grima & Gallier Historic Houses, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

New Orleans Museum of Art, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Ogden Museum of Southern Art, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, 10 .m. – 3 p.m.

CLOSED: Contemporary Arts Center, The Historic New Orleans Collection, Louisiana Children’s Museum, Louisiana State Museums (Cabildo, Presbytere, 1850 House, Madame John’s Legacy), McKenna Museum of African Art, National World War II Museum, New Orleans African American Museum

Farmer’s Market
Crescent City Farmers Market at Tulane University Square: 9 a.m to 1 p.m.

Movies
The Broad Theater: “Cats,” “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” “Frozen II,” “Queen & Slim” and “Parasite.”
Check schedule online for times.

business

Prytania Theatre seeks to serve alcohol during showtimes

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The Prytania Theatre may be a single-screen movie house in a multiplex world, but there is one movie-house trend it does want to join: serving alcohol. The treasured Uptown institution got one step closer to that goal this week with approval from the City Planning Commission of a zoning change that could allow the theater to add adult beverages to its menu of drinks and snacks. “The Prytania is a single-screen movie theater, which is practically non-existent in the United States,” theater operator Robert Brunet told the commission on Tuesday. “It’s one of the only in Louisiana and the only New Orleans. We are looking to serve alcohol so that we can be competitive with every other theater in the metropolitan area.”

business

New wine store planned for Carrollton near Oak

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By Sue Strachan, Uptown Messenger 
For Allyson and Milton Hernandez, the dream of opening a wine shop just off Oak Street started fermenting back in June. “We live in the neighborhood and didn’t see anything like it,” said Milton Hernandez, with Allyson Hernandez adding: “We thought ‘why not us.’”
Their business, Vino Wine and Spirits, is tentatively scheduled to open at 1124 S. Carrollton Ave. in March 2020 if a zoning change and permits are approved. A City Planning Commission hearing, scheduled on Jan. 14, is for a specific zoning request for a conditional use to permit the retail sale of packaged alcoholic beverages, according to the business’s land-use application.

business

Rouses on Tchoupitoulas builds avocado mountain, goes for world record

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By Nicholas Reimann, Uptown Messenger

The world record for the largest display of a Mexican fruit has been set by a Thibodaux-based grocery chain’s Uptown store on Tchoupitoulas Street. If that sounds strange, here’s another way of saying it — Rouses shipped in 112,000 avocados, and put every single one on display. The behemoth layout went up Wednesday at the Tchoupitoulas location, with images of it quickly spreading across social media after shoppers encountered the most avocados they had ever seen. Rouses marketed the event as a new festival of sorts, saying Wednesday marked the start of the four-day “Avocado Fest,” which included chefs preparing avocado dishes, free samples of avocado and, yes, a photo opportunity with an avocado character. The display and surrounding activities were all essentially a store promotion, albeit on a much larger scale than Rouses normally does, organizers said.

business

NOLA.com: Pascal’s Manale sold to Ray Brandt

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The century-old Pascal’s Manale Restaurant is ending four generations of family ownership with a sale Tuesday to car dealer Ray Brandt and his wife Jessica Brandt, Ian McNulty reported on NOLA.com. The restaurant where barbecue shrimp was created will be managed by the Brandts’ nephew Carmen Provenzano, who spent 12 years working at Pascal’s Manale. “They assured us they want to continue the restaurant in the same family tradition as we’ve maintained it,” longtime proprietor Sandy DeFelice told McNulty.