A comment from the proprietors of La Divina
Category: Food and Restaurants

The wonderful folks at La Divina Gelateria came across my blog entry about Sucré and their environmentally unfriendly gelato dishes. If I had a gold star, I would give it to Mr. and Mrs. Turillo of La Divina for sending in a note about their Earth-friendly efforts.


I hope it's not inappropriate for us to write in to this, but your thread got picked up on our google alerts. At La Divina, our to-go dishes for the gelato are made from corn and are completely biodegradable. The little pallettine spoons are too. If you turn the containers over you can see that there is a sort of recycling arrow picture and an ear of corn. In fact, everything served "to-go" is in some sort of biodegradable container.

Katrina & Carmelo Turillo, La Divina Gelateria


As a side note, the most relevant symbol I see on the bottom of Sucré's gelato dishes is the universal symbol for "dishwasher safe". While I understand we are just coming back from a long weekend, I was hoping my e-mail to Sucré would have been answered by now. It makes me super happy to see local business people setting such a positive example that other, even larger, local businesses can learn from.

9:53 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Sucré
Category: Food and Restaurants

Ya know, I'm not the greenest person out there, but I try to do my part. I might drive an old van to work, but I keep it down to 20 minutes round-trip. I bring my own bags when I go shopping and reuse the plastic stuff when I forget. I buy products with the least amount of packaging and I recycle as much of the waste as possible. I like to think I'm being a responsible consumer, but I always feel a little guilty whenever I patronize Sucré, the popular "sweet boutique" on Magazine.

I must admit, Sucré charmed the skirt off me upon my first visit. It was all dressed up for the holidays, dangling her cute little plastic sugared gum drops at me. Everything was sooo pink, which just happens to be one of my favorite colors. Considering it was December, I skipped the gelato and indulged in one of their impressive chocolate desserts. It wasn't until my return visit in the spring did I notice that all of their frozen desserts are served in adorable pastel tulip-shaped plastic cups. As I was nearing the end of my nectar cream sorbet (which tastes mighty fine, by the way), I couldn't help but look around the shoppe, wondering what everyone was doing with their empty dessert cups. I almost had a coronary when I figured out that everyone was throwing away these thick, hard plastic cups (check their gallery for photographic evidence)!  I couldn't believe that they would not be reusing these, but would rather throw so much plastic right into the garbage. During my last visit, an employee was picking up trash and empty plates from the tables. When he attempted to take my plastic dessert cups, I told him I wanted to keep them, because I hated to throw them away. I don't think he quite understood what I meant, because he offered to take the dirty ones and get me some fresh cups, stating that, "I wouldn't be the first person." While I appreciated the offer, I had to pass.

So, what did I do about this blatant waste? Not too much, at first. I've since introduced several friends and family members to Sucré, all who enjoyed the place as much as I knew they would. When I am done with my gelato or sorbet, I take the cups to the restroom and wash them out so that I can bring them home and reuse them. They are the perfect size for when I want to exercise portion control (which isn't too often, but whatever). Now, what am I going to do about this? I am going to forward this piece to the fine folks at Sucré and hope that they can find an alternative to the cute-yet-wasteful dessert cups they currently use. I also encourage new and old patrons of Sucré to speak with someone at the shoppe and ask the same of them. I know they stay quite busy, so I can only imagine the amount of plastic they toss out every day. Perhaps they can save the used cups and try a new twist on the holiday decorations next year.

Stay tuned for some more gelato when I write about my experience at La Divina Gelateria!

5:28 PM - 4 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Collecting Prom Dresses for Hope Haven’s Prom
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

The salon I work for, Salon Couvie,  and the owner/Senior Stylist Jan Galatas, loves organizing events for the community. Last month, we reached our goal of $1,000 to support the Gulf Restoration Network, a local organization working to protect and restore the resources of the Gulf of Mexico region. This month, we have a new goal.

Salon Couvie is collecting new & gently used special occasion dresses for Hope Haven's Prom, an event for the residents of Hope Haven sponsored by St. Elizabeth's Guild. Hope Haven is a residential treatment facility for children and adolescents who have mild to serious behavioral, educational, emotional, and/or family problems. The prom is attended only by those who have earned it by exhibiting good behavior. We're collecting the following items for the girls:

♦New or gently used formal or semi-formal special occasion dresses. Volunteers will alter the dresses for the girls, but all sizes are needed. The girl's ages range from 10 to 18.
♦Prom-appropriate jewelry, handbags, hair accessories & gently used dress shoes
♦New hosiery & special occasion undergarments (slips, strapless/convertible undergarments)
♦Perfume, toiletries & new cosmetics -- travel sizes are great!


The boys attending will receive a gift certificate to redeem for a tux/suit rental, but we can still use the following:

♦Toiletries & cologne
♦Gift cards of $5 or $10 denominations for movies, video rentals, fast-food, etc.


Donations will be accepted through the end of May. You can drop off your donations at Salon Couvie, 2701 Airline Drive, Suite M., Metairie, 70001 (corner of Airline & Labarre Road, directly past the Causeway). If you cannot find us, call us at (504)835-2700. We're in the Rouses shopping center between Smoothie King and Bella Brew (who has awesome coffee). Thanks in advance to all those who help and please spread the word!

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Owner of Bacchanal & wife in car accident
Category: Life

7:56 AM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Al Copeland: 1943 - 2008
Category: Food and Restaurants

Love him or loathe him, local fast-food pioneer and business man Al Copeland passed away today. He was undergoing treatment for cancer of the salivary glands in Munich, Germany. For those not in the know, Copeland was the founder of Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken and Biscuits. For the full story via nola.com, click here.

While I am not a vegetarian, I am a meat reducer. My visits to Popeyes has decreased from weekly to those occassions when I am having a crazy craving for it. However, since we are on the subject, it reminds me of a memory I will always keep with me. When we evacuated from our former Broadmoor residence in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, we were welcomed by my partner’s family in Fort Lauderdale. After getting sick and tired of watching the news all day, we ventured out to one of the many mega malls in the area. While walking past the food court, we spied a Popeyes, the only thing in the whole damn city that had any semblance of home. While my partner grabbed a table with our 2-month-old baby, I stood at the counter and stared at the menu. From the speakers I could hear "Mardi Gras Mambo", a song I didn’t know if I would ever hear it in my home town again. As the Popeyes employee approached me to take my order, I started crying. The cashier looked at me like I was insane, and I attempted to apologize and explain that I wasn’t. The chicken just wasn’t the same there.

8:03 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Uses for an Elmer’s Gold Brick Egg & Other Easter Stuffs
Category: Food and Restaurants

Group member and reader "Louisiana" wrote to me with this helpful hint:

If you melt that Goldbrick in the microwave and pour it over ice-cream it will harden back (like Magic Shell).  It’s wonderful, you have your chocolate and nuts all in one. Try it and let me know how you like it!  It’s my favorite way to eat ice-cream. I’ll be in Wal-mart the day after Easter to buy 5 or 6 cases of the stuff.

While I am not a fan of the things myself (I’ll take the Heavenly Hash, please), I do like to find multiple uses for household items. I  prefer to use shoestring licorice as an alternative to that nasty Easter basket grass. What are you supposed to do with that stuff, anyway? Does anyone else have a recipe or handy tip they would like to share?

8:47 AM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Mardi Gras Mumble
Category: Life

First of all, please forgive me for my lack of updates. I wasn't working one job, let alone two, this time last year. My time has been so divided that when I think about writing here, I just stare at the monitor.

I've also been unable to get into any sort of Carnival spirit. While I have never been a fan of parades, Lundi Gras night has always been a date with a big circle around it on my calendar. While Quintron & Miss Pussycat's annual gig is the highlight of the evening, not even that has motivated me to make any plans or throw together a costume. So (this is where the food part comes in), in trying to get into the Mardi Gras mood, I've tasted a few king cakes the past couple of weeks. I'll spare you the details as I didn't care for any of them. Fortunately, I've got a Maurice French Pastries 3 minutes from my house. Before the season is done, I will be snatching up one of Maurice's delicious cakes. Perhaps this will do the trick. Happy Mardi Gras to me! Oh, yeah...to all of you, too

9:16 PM - 0 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

FINAL DETAILS for NOLA Eats breakfast
Category: Food and Restaurants

I FINALLY have the whole weekend figured out. The breakfast will be at Lüke THIS SATURDAY the 13th. We should be sat for 9:30 AM. Reservations are required, so please contact me to guarantee a seat.

Additionally, the Historic New Orleans Collection has an interesting exhibition titled, What's Cooking In New Orleans? Culinary Traditions of the Crescent City. This short exhibit is free and open to the general public. If you would like to visit the exhibit after our breakfast, please state so in this post. Thanks to Cat for the tip!

7:36 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

NOLA Eats breakfast @ Lüke
Category: Food and Restaurants

The next NOLA Eats gathering will be a breakfast at Lüke. You will be able to order from the regular breakfast menu or the buffet, which is $15/pp. The date is sort of set, but it looks like it might change in order to accommodate some of our regular participants. We're looking at mid-October. If you are interested in joining us, please send me a private message or reply here. Reservations are required and seating is limited.

-Leslie

9:07 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Sooo....
Category: Life

....

Yeah.

Happy anniversary.

7:43 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Not NOLA specific, but service industry-related
Category: Food and Restaurants

I found this awesome website, passiveaggressivenotes.com, where photos and stories are posted by disgruntled roommates, neighbors and co-workers, showcasing the passive aggressive notes they leave for one another. I came across this service industry-related thread and thought it to be pretty, pretty, pretty funny.

While Example A seems a bit too extreme for me, I actually approve of Example B. I once had service so poor at a Metairie sushi joint that I wrote a note on the credit card receipt, in lieu of a tip, explaining why they sucked so hard. Passive aggressive? Perhaps. But I didn't bother speaking to management because I knew I would never return, regardless of what they had to say.  Incidentally, I posted about this over at the Tribe.net NOLA Eats forum and then, weeks later, received hate mail from what I assume to be an employee at said sushi joint. Glad to see they are keeping up with us amateur food critics!

8:59 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Absolut to name Vodka flavor after New Orleans

Absolut Vodka is creating a special-edition flavored vodka to honor New Orleans, and the proceeds will go to Gulf Coast charities, the company announced Wednesday.

Absolut made the announcement and previewed the mango-with-black-pepper flavor at the annual New Orleans culinary festival, Tales of the Cocktail.

Absolut New Orleans, which goes on sale Aug. 1, commemorates the second anniversary on Aug. 29 of Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans. The company plans to make 35,000 cases, with 100% of the sales — an estimated $2 million — to go to the charities.

A national print ad shows people returning to the city to rebuild. Absolut is known for print ads highlighting U.S. cities, a campaign it started 20 years ago.

7:51 PM - 11 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Dining for Life fund raiser for NO/AIDS
Category: Food and Restaurants

My friend Daniele is spreading this around. What's better than donating to a great organization by just eating good food?


Next Thursday (the 19th) is the annual Dining for Life fund raiser for NO/AIDS.  All you have to do is go out for dinner and 25% of your bill will be donated to them.  More info and a list of the participating restaurants here.

According to the website, when you dine out and donate, you AND your waiter are entered in a drawing for a stay at the Intercontinental Hotel.

12:25 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Hey, look. It's an update!
Category: Life

Yeah, I've been MIA for a while, but everything is kosher. I had gone back to work after a two-year hiatus, worked long hours and came down with an illness that didn't leave me much energy to want to do much else. Both of those issues have been rectified, so here I am, back to about 95% and trying to catch up with all my e-stuff.

The regular NOLA Eats-ers have thrown out a few suggestions for our next gathering, and we may be having a breakfast or brunch. While newbies are not allowed to officially vote for an upcoming dining destination, feel free to throw out some of your favorites. If you are interested in joining us for the next gathering, drop me a line and I will keep you informed of any future plans.

I mentioned in previous posts that I was pretty sick of the spam I was getting here. I took the advice of one of my readers and left my blog entries public, but comments can only be made by subscribed readers. Hopefully this will alleviate any problems I had.

I hope that everyone had a pleasant holiday. Eat and live well!

Cheers,
Leslie

8:28 PM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Blog entries now FRIENDS ONLY! (but you can read this one)
Current mood: annoyed
Category: Blogging

Thanks to the crappiness that is MySpace's security, one of my blog entries was hit by a spammer. Unfortunately, I could not delete the malicious/viral comment and MySpace has done nothing about the issue. From now on, all blog entries will be viewable by my subscribed readers only. I had all intentions to keep my entries public, but I've already got enough viruses on my laptop and I certainly want to keep this a safe place for my readers. Sorry for the inconvenience, guys & gals.

-Leslie

9:27 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment