Friday Night “Dinner & a Movie”

Vintage (4523 Magazine St., next door to The Savvy Gourmet)

7:30 p.m. Fri., July 18

Tickets $5 for both films

Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover is the darkly disturbing story of a thief (Michael Gambon) who spends his evenings brutally tormenting those around him, which includes the mesmerizing Helen Mirren as his wife. The setting is in a London restaurant and nothing is off-limits to the thief. Many critics claim Greenaway uses his art to make a statement about Thatcher’s politics. Even with politics at its base, the film’s violent and sexual nature tempted the MPAA to give The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover an X rating. However, Miramax (which released the Greenaway film in 1989) opted to issue the film as “unrated.” The costume design is by Jean-Paul Gaultier, who did it for free just to work with Greenaway. The all-but-unwatchable violence crossed with the seminal set and light design (watch as the room colors change the shade of Mirren’s dress) makes for a film that is enviable to directors such as Tarantino who aspire to mix violence and design so skillfully. The late movie (10:30pm start), Less Than Zero, features ’80s Robert Downey Jr. pre-Iron Man. Dinner is available for the early show (menu to be announced on Thursday) with a full bar (wine, beer and cocktails). Visit Savvy Gourmet’s Web site for reservations.

I went to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s press conference today at Handelman’s on Dryades Street, where he announced the signing of Act 775, the so-called “No Wrong Door” law. The act sounds like a good thing. It aims to cluster state social services agencies under one roof so that people in need of such services don’t have to run all over town trying to get help. The concept started in Louisville, KY, as “The Neighborhood Place.”

 

Some of us couldn’t help but notice the irony, however, of Jindal coming to Central City to ballyhoo the signing of a social services law a few blocks away from the Dryades YMCA — practically in the shadow of the Y, in fact. Jindal vetoed two legislative appropriations for the Dryades YMCA in the past two weeks — roughly $1.15 million worth. Why?

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Reading this week’s cover story by the Gambit Weekly’s Sarah Andert – called “Beyond Organic,” an examination of the levels of value in locally-produced food – had me craving the fresh tastes and undeniable terroir of Louisiana produce. So did reading chef Anne Churchill’s menu for her latest “locavore” dinner planned this Thursday at St. James Cheese Co.
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The urban blogosphere was abuzz throughout the weekend with conflicting reports that Hollygrove’s hottest son (at least these days) had gotten himself in a dust-up in the club last Thursday night that resulted in getting tossed in OPP. By Saturday morning, multiple blogs were in disagreement across cyberspace as to when (Thursday night?), where (the Club Dream - now Club Hush - on Lower Decatur, or Austin, Texas?) and who (an “up-and-coming” rapper called Lil Dee?) was involved in the alleged incident.

Always one for gossip, I holla’d at Bob Young, the officer in charge of public affairs for the NOPD, who had apparently already fielded a couple of calls trying to confirm the theoretical lack of love in the club. Monday afternoon, Young confirmed that one Dwayne Michael Carter, D.O.B 1982 - a.k.a. Weezy F. Baby - hadn’t seen the inside of a NOLA lockup since 2005. And considering he was onstage as planned by Friday night in Dallas, the odds of a Texas arrest seem low. (A search of Travis County, Texas’ inmate population found no Weezy behind bars.)

The moral? Haters will be hating. Fly free, Li’l Wayne. Fly free.

In May, New Orleans opened its first official bike lane, a 3.5 mile stretch along St. Claude Avenue. The city, of course, is behind the times compared to towns like Boulder, Colo. and Portland, Ore., where foot pedals seem to outnumber gas pedals in some neighborhoods. Groups like the Metro Bicycle Coalition are trying to make New Orleans more of a pedal-friendly place, and voters approved a capital improvements bond in 2004 that promises to bring more bike lanes all over town.But the bike-friendly West Coast seems to be undergoing a spasm of driver-biker hostility. No less than three major bicycle/car incidents have occurred in Portland in the last week (including this bizarre one between a cycling advocate who happened to be driving, and a bicyclist who actually hit the guy with his bike), and now comes this horrific tale from Los Angeles (warning: graphic photos): Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Faithful Readers,

I am reporting to you from the brink of a monumental precipice. As I sit at my desk, picking the remnants of a Starburst fruit chew from my teeth, I’m looking ahead to the future — a future in which there are no starburst, dots, tootsie rolls, skittles, twizzlers, jelly beans, Mike & Ikes, Swedish fish or a single Reese’s peanut butter product. Only the cavities they leave behind. (How will I survive without gelatin, hydrogenated palm kernel oil or high fructose corn syrup?)

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(Note:  This has been slightly revised and updated from an earlier post. Note one correction: the start date of a veto session would be Saturday, Aug. 2, not Monday, Aug. 4, as previously posted. That gives lawmakers only 13 days to decide whether to have such as session.)

 

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s “record-breaking” 258 vetoes seem contrived to give him some cheap headlines while actually having a miniscule impact on the overall state budget. The political backlash from lawmakers, however, could be huge. There is open discussion among lawmakers — including some of Jindal’s top legislative allies — about the possibility of a veto override session.

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As Gambit food writer Ian McNulty reported this week, tonight’s episode of the Food Network’s Throwdown With Bobby Flay (8 p.m.) will feature the chef facing off with New Orleans native and slow-food doyenne Poppy Tooker. The dish? Seafood gumbo.

No advance word on who wins — but Flay’s gumbo recipe has been posted online, and it features two tablespoons of honey and a cilantro garnish. Hmmm.

Here’s Ms. Tooker demonstrating her own gumbo recipe: 

  

File this one as either one of the most inept excuses ever, or as sheer genius. When Gambit Weekly called New Orleans Affordable Housing (NOAH) http://www.noahinc.org/ and requested information about a contract they have with the city and records for the work completed, the interim director explained she didn’t remember the exact amount of the contract and that some of the records would difficult to locate.

     Why?

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After a forgettable six months in which Republic seesawed between desperately retro indie kitsch (solve a Rubik’s Cube at “Throwback” dance night for a free bar tab!) and red-carpeted stabs at faux exclusivity (shiny shirts and hair gel rejoice!), the South Peters Street venue is finally getting back to what it does best: hosting rock bands. If last night’s Black Angels/Warlocks show is any indication, the comeback of good old-fashioned live music just might be a permanent one. The smoky psych/rock display came courtesy of Aquarium Drunkard, a Los Angeles-based music blog with unimpeachable taste that has teamed with bookers Infectious Publicity as Republic’s last, best hopes against the viselike factions of Old Wave and New Rave. Already confirmed AD-curated shows include the Afrobeat modernists NOMO with local ensemble Antenna Inn (Sunday, July 20); Southern-rock revivalists the Whigs (Friday, Aug. 22); a Theresa Andersson CD-release party (Friday, Sept. 5); and the certifiable coup de grâce, a perfect summer sendoff with Austin, Texas, heartrenders Okkervil River (above, performing my favorite song of 2007, “Unless It’s Kicks”) and Crooked Fingers, the croaky folk project by former Archers of Loaf firebrand Eric Bachmann (Tuesday, Sept. 30). It’s almost enough to make you forget “Models and Bottles.”