Everybody hates stains, but we love the people, places and moments that lead to them. Find New Orleans' best spots for those 'stain-making moments' because Ultra Tide is there to make sure families can have fun worry--and stain--free.
Things I miss: being asked "Where did you go to high school?," getting anywhere in town within 15 minutes, working street lights, normal business hours, bread pudding souffle at Commander's...
It's been a year, and we still measure our lives B.K. and A.K.--before and after Katrina.
"How did your home and family make out?" remains the "new" question of the day. Getting across the Crescent City Connection in record time seems to be but a memory. Even replacing "Gotta Have Faith" swag with "Make Levees, Not War," and other memorabilia containing unmentionable four-letter expletives (No, not FEMA) hasn't gotten old, not within my circle of friends, anyway.
But, there have been glimmers of hope (You know, the same spark die-hard Saints' fans get at the start of each season.). Rebuilding continues, people slowly are coming home, and our favorite restaurants are re-opening daily. Mosca's is back; Brennan's, too. Let's not forget, we still have sno-balls. The spirit of our community also is being strengthened--though it never really wavered.
And it hasn't gone unnoticed. Events are happening around the country to commemorate the year-long-and-counting struggle, including Share Our Strength's Restaurants for Relief II, which combines two things we do best--eating and celebrating.
Meanwhile, we're throwing parties of our own. Wynton Marsalis and Stevie Wonder jazz up the Arena, and Emeril cooks with music at the Convention Center.
Though we never need a reason to celebrate, now's the time to get out of your FEMA trailer and laissez bon temps roulez; it's starting to feel like home, again!
Click here for more Katrina events.
This blog was brought to you by Citysearch Editor and New Orleans native Jodi Cararas.
From local favorites to tourist traps, the best restaurants in the heart of New Orleans.
Mardi Gras: The morning-after
Aaaaah, sweet Wednesday.
Across the city, the day after a shortened but active Carnival season, residents of New Orleans celebrated the-day-after Mardi Gras in the traditional ways.
We nurse the various ailments that come with seven straight Saturday nights in a row. There's "Catcher's Croak"--ridiculously strained vocal cords from days of yelling--to float riders. Successful bead catchers wear their imaginary wealth, resulting in often-severe cases of "Beadneck"--abrasions from 10-pound necklace collections. And of course, the garden-variety maladies: chronic weeklong hangovers, long-term sleep deprivation, ringing ears, sore feet and a few additional pounds from King Cake nibbling.
And this year, we can spend Ash Wednesday thinking about how Mardi Gras 2006 helped recharge our spirits and strengthen our resolve. For all the dire predictions, New Orleans pulled off a party that paid homage to the tragedies of 2005's hurricane season while providing cultural continuity.
Despite the damage and often-too-slow recovery process, Zulu and Rex rolled down St. Charles Avenue to cap off the season. Barbecue grills sent fragrant smoke underneath the Claiborne Street overpass, tempting revelers with grilled sausages and chicken plates as a throng waited for Mardi Gras Indians to appear with a second-line parade. The anarchic St. Ann's parade made its way from the Bywater through the Quarter just like any other year, treating gawkers and other costumers to inspired satire, exquisite costume design and truly inventive nudity.
They might not be for everyone, but these traditions are both important and affirming. They'll keep us focused on next year, and the next, until life gets back to our "abnormal normal." As soon as the brain haze lifts, we'll start work on next year's Carnival.
But for now, we rest.
See you next year?
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