by Alejandro de los Rios

Anyone who was conscious between 5 and 7 last night witnessed a patented New Orleans downpour. While most people did the sensible thing and stayed inside, a dozen or so media folk trekked out to Zephyrs Field.

Baseball? You may ask. How is it anyone could play baseball yesterday?

Well the storm came and went and, though voluminous, the rains couldn’t drown the Zephyrs brand-new $1.2 million field — at least the part in between the foul lines. In all fairness, though, the field drained impressively and it took a second glance to confirm that yes, it is indeed real grass.

But the real wonder of the night wasn’t that the Zephyrs players could go out and actually hold a practice, but that there was actually a small smattering of fans in attendance.

OK, maybe “smattering” is a bit generous. It was four people. But four devoted people nonetheless. Read the rest of this entry »

THOU still unravish’d bride of great savings,
Thou foster-child of Dealerships and Junkyards,
Sylvan mechanics, who canst thus express
A greasy tale more slick than our rhyme:
What gasket-fringed legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Metairie or the dales of Jeff Parish?
What men or gods are these? What vehicles loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and exhaust? What wild combustion? Read the rest of this entry »

Last night, we attended a Spring Mountain wine dinner at Dominique’s at the Maison Dupuy which is hosting a series of dinners for the French Quarter Wine Festival. The wines were marvelous and well-paired with Chef Dominique’s sublime cuisine. Winemaker Jac Cole was here for the event and it was enlightening to hear him not only discuss Spring Mountain wines, but the Spring Mountain AVA (American Viticultural Area) and mountain fruit in general. Spring Mountain, which is home to Pride, Cain Five, Keenan, and a host of other premier wineries, sort of flies under the radar, or clouds, and doesn’t seem as well known to wine lovers as other Napa mountains such as Howell, Diamond Mountain, Mount Veeder, etc. Last night again proved what terrific, concentrated wines are produced on Spring Mountain, and especially by the area’s namesake winery. I will be featuring Spring Mountain Cabernet as a Wine of the Week in a forthcoming column.