Writer documenting life in New Orleans 9th Ward. I'm eating 500 po boys at 500 different restaurants, gas stations, corner stores and cafes in New Orleans

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The Birth Of Iced Tea In The American South (extended Luzianne biography)

Luzianne Coffee and Tea advertisement. July 1911

A cold glass of iced tea is the saving grace that carries southerners through the sweltering days of summers that seem to stretch on forever in the American South.

And it’s due to the efforts of an 18th century French botanist and a Louisiana entrepreneur who built a beverage empire in the first half of the 20th century that ice tea is the common language of southerners across the United States.

Cowboy’s 5th Annual Treme Gumbo Pop Up

Cowboy’s 5th Annual Treme Gumbo Pop Up

This Sunday Feb 15, I’ll be hosting my 5th annual Treme Gumbo Pop Up at Little People’s Place, the oldest barroom in Treme, and one of the few surviving chitlin’ circuit bars in the entire Deep South.

It’s a family bar and this is a family affair. If you bring Lil Ray Ray nobody’s gonna say one word.

It’s our annual daytime party. We start ladling out big hot bowls of Cajun gumbo at 1pm and finish up when we drain the kettle.

I hired DJ Seprock to spin a nice long set of vintage 45 vinyl. Old school, two turntables and fat slabs of New Orleans Mardi Gras wax.

Tickets, free admission

Sunday February 15th, 2026

1pm

Little People’s Place
1226 Barracks St.
New Orleans

Add to your calendar right here

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16th Anniversary Scrumptious Chef New Orleans Gumbo Party at Tamale House East in Austin

16th Anniversary Scrumptious Chef New Orleans Gumbo Party at Tamale House East in Austin

It’s hard to believe it’s been 16 years since we started throwing big gumbo parties in Austin. But here we are. What started as small backyard gatherings in the French Place neighborhood slowly turned into big affairs at Tamale House East on 6th st.

What a wonderful ride it’s been. Thanks for supporting us over the years.

Sunday January 18th 2026
16th Anniversary Scrumptious Chef New Orleans Gumbo Party
Tamale House East
1707 e. 6th st
Austin, Texas
78702
5:30pm cocktail party
6:30pm dinner

65 Years Ago Today Ruby Bridges Strode Up The Stairs At Frantz Elementary In New Orleans 9th Ward

William Frantz Elementary. 3811 North Galvez Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70117

John Steinbeck was on the scene, November 14th, 1960. He described the assemblage of racists thusly:

“Their words written down are dirty, carefully and selectedly filthy. But there was something far worse here than dirt, a kind of frightening witches’ Sabbath. Here was no spontaneous cry of anger, of insane rage.

Perhaps that is what made me sick with weary nausea. Here was no principle good or bad, no direction. These blowzy women, with their little hats and their clippings, hungered for attention. They wanted to be admired. They simpered in happy, almost innocent triumph when they were applauded. Theirs was the demented cruelty of egocentric children, and somehow this made their insensate beastliness much more heart-breaking. These were not mothers, or even women. They were crazy actors playing to a crazy audience.”

The Evolution of Swans Down Flour Packaging

Swans Down Flour. May 31st, 1886.

When I tell the story of a brand with a history as long and vivid as Swans Down flour the tale must begin with the people behind it, and just as importantly the development of the marque.

Swans Down branding leans on imagery of softness and purity: swan down evokes feathers, lightness, delicacy—qualities desirable in cake baking.

Field Report: 2025 Krewe De Boo Halloween Parade

2025 Krewe De Boo Halloween Parade

I had resigned myself to missing the 2025 edition of the Krewe de Boo Halloween parade as New Orleans was socked in with the first rain storm we’d had since August. Then, as life on the Gulf of Mexico often does, the clouds parted and the city was bathed in sweet sunshine. Time to motor up to the French Quarter for one of our town’s best parties of the years. This is what I saw

2025 American Cured Meat Championships In Kansas City Missouri

American Association of Meat Processors, American Cured Meat Championships

Over a long weekend in late July, the premiere cured meat shootout in the US took place in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, at the 50 year old Kansas City Convention Center.

A total of 76 meat companies submitted 873 products across 30 different classes at the American Cured Meat Championships [est. 1949]

I’ve been in the cured and smoked meat game since the late ’80s. I am a charcutier but in no way on these gentlemen’s level. Give me another 20 years of practice.

This shootout is the Superbowl if you’re in the meat scene or meat adjacent.

Strick’s Specialty Meats in nearby Hattiesburg took home two Grand Championships. Otherwise the old south that we love was blanked out.

Here are the winners:

Green Spaghetti Party Saturday June 14th at Tamale House East in Austin Texas

Mexican Green Spaghetti party at Tamale House East in Austin, Texas

2025 marks Tamale House restaurant’s 67th summer serving Tex Mex to friends and neighbors in Austin, Texas.

Saturday June 14th, 2025 at 7pm the East Austin mainstay rolls out their brand new menu item: Green Spaghetti aka Espagueti verde.

All of the regular menu items like Texas-sized tamales, “best in the the city” fish tacos, chile con queso and frozen margaritas will be on offer as well.

Look forward to seeing y’all.

Free tickets here

Cowboy’s 4th Annual Treme Gumbo Pop Up at Little People’s Place

Cowboy’s 4th Annual Treme Gumbo Pop Up at Little People’s Place

Famed 9th Ward New Orleans cook RL Reeves Jr aka Cowboy returns to Little People’s Place, in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana for the 4th annual edition of his Cajun Gumbo Pop Up.

There will be roasted duck/chicken/DD hot sausage gumbo, Louisiana rice and fresh French bread on the menu alongside a fully stocked bar of spirits, cold beer and wine.

Cash Bar and Cash Food

Free admission

$12 regular size gumbo

$15 Cajun-size gumbo

New Orleans legend DJ Seprock will be spinning old-school New Orleans r&b, soul and hip hop vinyl.

Little People’s Place is one of the most important bars in the Deep South; the oldest barroom in the Treme neighborhood, and one of the last juke joints in the state of Louisiana.

1226 Barracks Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70116

Mr. Shrimp Founder, Larry G. Thompson, Jr. Wins Super Bowl Crawfish Boil

Larry Thompson Jr is the undisputed fried shrimp po boy king of New Orleans. Now he is also the undisputed king of the seafood boil.

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