NOLA Without the Beads

On the Cheap, That Is




The Cotton Market

Estelle Musson

SEARCHING FOR EDGAR DEGAS

By RICHARD CARREÑO

[WC News Service]

NEW ORLEANS -- What's Edgar Degas, the well-known 19th century French Impressionist, doing in this city, a place otherwise more notably recognized worldwide for its jazz, Mardi Gras, and out-of-towners publicly puking and urinating in the renowned French Quarter? For the casual admirer of Degas (1834-1917) and his iconic ouevre of ballet dancers en déshabillées, female bathers, and louche racetrack railbirds, more natural habitats would surely be the tony bits of Paris, say at the Opéra Garnier, Longchamps, and the intimate boudoirs of the gratin. For ardent and seasoned picture punters, the Musée d'Orsay would do nicely, as well.

Degas Self Portrait

Though better known by its monikers the Big Easy and Crescent City, New Orleans is also a big chunk of 'Degas country,' thanks to a five-month family visit the artist made here in 1872. Since then, local commercial interests have milked and churned the brief sojourn into tourist fodder for more family-oriented visitors, at least those whose primary interests don't include getting drunk and getting laid.

Voilà! The house where Degas lived with relatives (and where he painted a bit as well), at 2306 Esplanade Avenue, in the leafy Mid-City precinct near the Vieux Carré, has been converted into an upscale bed-and-breakfast. And visitor site. Not far away, at 3127 Esplanade, is the Café Degas, an out-door bistro where 'nobody makes egg dishes better than [its] French chef.'

Mardi Gras

Despite the Accents

No Bronx Cheer nor Boston

Chowder in Who Dat Nation

Dressed for Excess

By Don Merlot

[Writers Clearinghouse News Service]

New Orleans

Once I left New Orleans what was normal for me was not normal to mainstream America. I had to learn another Language, menu, and cultural origins. That is not bad, but sometimes you get tired explaining why we have habits are so different to that of the rest of the States and why we talk funny as if we were from Boston or the Bronx.

Now that the Mardi Gras is upon on it makes me think how much fun it is to be a New Orleanian again. This year the Super Bowl-bound Saints and Mardi Gras all hit within the same ten-day period and what a celebration it will be.

Does one really have to dress to the occasion? Remember that the Fun stops on Ash Wednesday. Lent starts that day, and the one thing one gives up is the partying mode. So when you are partying during Carnival dress for fun, eat for fun, and drink for fun.

So in New Orleans the official start of Carnival is Epiphany, the 6th of January, the day that the three kings visited the Christ Child. In the mind of the French Colonist of la Nouvelle Orleans it was to recognize that its citizens are bidding farewell to winter and getting ready for natures renaissance. Europe did and the colonist should have it too. Social and economic levels were key as to who partied where.

It depends on how much history we took and what we remembered, but the main Mardi Gras tradition started in Mobile (now Alabama). As the French settled there between Spanish Florida and northern Spanish Mexico (Texas today); and that Eastern part of Louisiana that looks like the toe of the boot and Western part of the panhandle from Florida were the line that divided French Louisiana northern border to the English colonies that are today the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast; they are called the Florida Parishes in modern parlance that is where Hurricane Katrina hit.

So In French Mobile the first Mardi Gras in the French American colony started. What is so popular during that yearly event from Epiphany and Mardi Gras is a celebration of dancing, drinking and joviality. The epitome of every party is the King Cake that is cut at the apex of the party and a ceramic doll is hidden in the pastry of the cake at baking time and the lucky person that finds that in their piece of cake which one would drink with Champagne at the noble or high society gatherings, would have to give the next party. Outside of Louisiana, this ceremony is not popular. Yes, in Spanish America and Portuguese America there is Carnival, but in Europe it is linked more to the Roman Catholic practices. English know it as Shrove Tuesday, the Germans as Fasching.

Mardi Gras, the French for Fat Tuesday, is the day one has the last drink (alcohol) and certain foods for Lent, and it is the day before Mardi Gras.

So When we celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans we are enjoying a tradition set up by our French forefathers.

Today the King Cake is enjoyed by all revelers and it is not just washed down with Champagne. New Orleans is also famous for inventing the cocktail. Many rum punches are popular at these gatherings. Today a most favorite is the Pat O'Brien Hurricane.

With the Saints winning the Super Bowl, the party will last until Ash Wednesday: February 17. Remember that New Orleans is now the 'Who dat Nation.'

(Don Merlot, otherwise known as Ron Alonzo, writes about food and dribk for The Junto).

A Fly on the Wall

Wine and Dine
in Old San Juan
By Don Merlot
[Writers Clearinghouse News Service]
San Juan, Puerto Rico
As I walked down the streets of Viejo San Juan, a huge flash back came into my mind. I first was here 42 years ago and arrived to this Colombian city the day the Bobby Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan. Except for the assassination the remembrance was warm and friendly. I found myself in a great Tapas bar and found a fabulous wine list.


Forty two years ago I would not know what to do, but this time I knew exactly what to do. With all of the years of traveling Spain and living in Colonial Iberoamerica I felt that I was in chez moi as the French say. It is Bodega called Toro Soloa and it fits like an old comfortable shoe.

As I observed the little restaurants, I decided that if I ever wanted to have a Spanish designed restaurant for me this was it. The ambience: Flamenco, the fiesta taurina, the sherry, the port wine, the vinos de mesa blancos y tintos. The reservas and the Spanish brandies and cognacs. I just have walked back in time.

As I looked around the streets of old San Juan, I can picture the restaurant I would want to open if I could get the money together in the old French quarter in New Orleans near the plaza de Armas (Jackson Square) as being just like this. Sometimes I feel New Orleans ignores its Spanish history. My father always told me, tell me where have you have been and I will tell you where you are going.

I guess Americans –- the Anglo Saxon branch of the Europe immigrants that settled the USA and gave us our values -- do not see their Spanish side when they look in a mirror. Yet the French quarter like Old San Juan has soaked up Spanish history in all of their buildings in their old section of their city. The Spanish were there for almost 60 years; Nueva Orleans under the Bourbon Kings of Spain.

As I looked over the menu it consisted of hot and cold tapas: strictly traditional Spanish cuisine. There was no nouvelle fusion cuisine on this menu; the tapas did have the new world ingredients that the forefathers who came over with Columbus and Ponce de Leon had mixed the old world with the new world by blending their cultures. The Cantinero is working on his sommelier certificate and knew his wines and really made us feel part of the glowing ambience. He recommended a Mauro from Toro, which was 90% Tempranillo and 10% Shiraz. None with me knew about this wine so we plunged ahead. It was red and rich, and complex but with a smooth silky balance. Even though it was a full bodied wine it did not over power the tongue or food: very delicate and velvet in texture.

Later, I looked up the wine on the internet and found that it had a great pedigree. The vintner of MAURO was none other than the former oenologist of VIGLIA SICILIA of Ribeiro del Duero fame, who went over to the area of Toro to open his own vineyard. The renowned Robert Parker identified it as a 90 rating and when that happens the bottles elevate in price and fly off the shelf.


As I was doing business and measuring the economy, I get the feeling that the US economy and the North and South American Economies are still trying to wind their way through the economic storm when it comes to wine sales. I have no clue who is buying those wines but they are not necessarily on the shelves of wine retailers. I looked for a bona fide pinot noir Burgundy from France’s Cote d’Or the other day, and found none. I asked the staff why they did not carry more, and the answer was clear, no one is buying them anymore.

When I walked through those streets of Viejo San Juan, I was interested in what the American tourists or the local young students were drinking, and I noticed the MOJITO – a Cuban item that replaced the CUBA LIBRE as the Cuban mixed drink is very popular. 42 years ago we use to say a Cuba – because Cuba is not libre anymore The use of white rum is popular in making the Brazilian drink CAIPIRINHA. White rum drinks seem to be in now in Puerto Rico.

What I learned is that the Iberoamerica culture latches on to Spanish tradition and cultural roots, as in the case with wine. The Spanish wines dominate and over shadow California, France, Italy, and Chile and Argentina. The Tempranillo varietal which comes from Spain’s western side is a leading red wine with famous reputations of matching the Cabernet Sauvignon of France in style and grace.

It reminds me of the way I was taught in the ‘60’s: the Socratic method. Ask a question and use the answer to teach the class. I cannot imagine how many US Americans visit Puerto Rico, and try their foods and beverages. The word Spanish food in Florida and in the northeast is synonymous with Puerto Rican food, yet Puerto Rican food does not equal Spanish food. Puerto Rican food has Caribbean ingredients that have been used since Columbus found Puerto Rico in 1493 on his second voyage to the New World. In Looking at the micro economies and cultures of Caribbean Spanish America, Puerto Rico stands out a US Commonwealth. Although bi-lingual it mother tongue is Spanish. It is its own Persona.

The Viejo San Juan area is a wonderful place to start one’s education of Iberoamerica history. The food and wine are excellent and the ambience warm and friendly. It is a great place to learn about yourself and your culture.

(Don Merlot is Ron Alonzo's nom de plume. Contact him at Writers.Clearinghouse@comcast.net)

Who Dat Fly on the Wall?

Who Dat? Don Merlot!

By Don Merlot

Junto Staff Writer

New Orleans.

Once I left New Orleans what I had accustomed myself to as normal was not normal to mainstream America. I had to learn another language, menu, and cultural origins. That is not bad, but sometimes you get tired explaining why our habits are so different to that of the rest of the "States" and why we talk funny as if we were from Boston or the Bronx.

Now that the Mardi Gras is upon us, it makes me think how much fun it is to be a New Orleanian. This year the Super Bowl winner Saints and Mardi Gras all hit within the same 10-day period and what a celebration it is.

Does one really have to dress to the occasion? Remember that the 'Fun' stops on Ash Wednesday. Lent starts that day, and the one thing one gives up is the partying mode. So when you're partying during Carnival dress for fun, eat for fun, and drink for fun.

So in New Orleans the official start of Carnival is Epiphany -- The sixth of January the day that the three kings visited the Christ Child. In the mind of the French Colonist of la Nouvelle Orleans , it was to recognize that its citizens are bidding farewell to winter and getting ready for natures renaissance. Europe did and the colonist should have it too. Social and economic levels were key as to who partied where.

It depends on how much history we took and what we remembered but the main Mardi Gras tradition started in Mobile (now Alabama).  As the French settled there between Spanish Florida and northern Spanish Mexico (Texas today); and that eastern part of Louisiana that looks like the toe of the boot and western part of the panhandle from Florida were the line that divided French Louisiana northern border to the English colonies that are today the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast.

They are called the "Florida Parishes" – - in Modern parlance that is where Hurricane Katrina hit. So In French Mobile the first Mardi Gras in the French American colony started. What is so popular during that yearly event from Epiphany and Mardi Gras is a celebration of dancing, drinking , and joviality. The epitome of every party is the "King Cake" that is cut at the apex of the party and a ceramic doll is hidden in the pastry of the cake at baking time and the lucky person that finds that in their piece of cake which one would drink with Champagne at the noble or high society gatherings, would have to give the next party.

Outside of Louisiana in the USA, this ceremony is not popular. Yes, in Spanish America and Portuguese America there is Carnival, but in Europe it is linked more to the Roman Catholic practices. English know it as Shrove Tuesday, the Germans as Fasching.

Mardi Gras the French for 'Fat Tuesday' is the day one has the last drink (alcohol) and certain foods for Lent, and is the day before Mardi Gras.

So when we celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans, we are enjoying a tradition set up by our French forefathers.

Today the King Cake is enjoyed by all revelers and it is not just washed down with Champagne. New Orleans is also famous for inventing the 'Cocktail.'  Many rum punches are popular at these gatherings. Today a most favourite is the Pat O'Brien Hurricane.

With the Saints winning the SuperBbowl, the party will last until Ash Wednesday:  February 17. Remember that New Orleans is now the 'Who dat? Nation.'

(Don Merlot is Ron Alonzo, who now lives in Florida).