For me one of the highlights of Mardi Gras time is always the brief, seasonal reunion of the Panorama Brass Band, the carnival-time offshoot of Panorama Jazz Band. Band leader/founder/Clarinetist Ben Schenk started Panorama to focus on Clarinet heavy brass music, and the band plays raucous numbers from all over the world, with Balkan, Caribbean and Klezmer influences, as well as homespun New Orleans selections. Their shows are always totally jumping, with audience members ranging from gutter punks to old school New Orleans brass aficionados. One of my favorite Mardi Gras memories is following Panorama around in the St. Anthony parade and even watching them in a bizarre standoff with a bunch of rabid Christian protestors who, for whatever reason, Read the rest of this entry »

Local eating habits, never a paragon of restraint under normal circumstances, tend to bottom out at Mardi Gras, when cold fried chicken, mangled finger sandwiches and bloody Mary garnishes can make up a shockingly high percentage of nutritional intake for some people, myself included.

But this year I’ve spotted a small measure of gastronomical salvation along the parade route, in the form of the World’s Healthiest Pizza. This is the local company formed in 2006 by health and nutrition writer Jeff Leach and his business partners with a serious mission to make the nation’s most popular take-out food something that is actually good for you. The fiber-loaded crust is the heart of the matter, and the center of the boast implied in the company’s name.

The company has done well enough to expand with two shops now open in the Uptown universities area, and this carnival season World’s Healthiest Pizza vendors can be found hawking their pies from a wagon they drag along the St. Charles Avenue parade route. If you’ve been curious about this pizza but perhaps reluctant to try it, the parade route is actually the perfect opportunity to give it a whirl. Read the rest of this entry »

 by Sam Winston

You gotta give the guy credit for putting New Orleans in the spotlight. Whether it’s genuine is probably besides the point because Edwards is apparently bowing out of the race for President. New Orleans and the recovery in the national political news, rising with Edwards’ announcement from the 9th ward and plummeting after the national debate snub, has officially vanished as a campaign issue.

While Edwards as a candidate has been overshadowed by the Clinton and Obama campaigns, he has managed to steer the policy debate for the Democrats quite a bit. He definitely brought up New Orleans more often than any other candidate. It’s probably wishful thinking but perhaps in trying to gain his endorsement Clinton or Obama will once again take up the plight of New Orleans and create a much more visible and active federal plan. The Democratic candidates think they own this issue but it would be nice if they’d belly up to the heavy lifting of it the way Edwards advocated instead of just using it to bap their Republicans foes with it for an easy score.

According to Edwards’ website, its going down at noon at

Musicians’ Village
4000 North Roman Street (Intersection of Roman and Bartholomew)