Friday, February 8, 2013.
The Townhouse On The Parade Route.
Every Carnival season Kevin Kelly throws a series of parties at his townhouse on St. Charles Avenue. He needs several of them to accommodate his many friends. Among other things, he's the owner of Houmas House Plantation, which in recent years proved that it's possible to bring a major plantation house into the modern age while keeping its integrity. He's even been able to make money with it, which is something of a miracle.
The parades that pass in front of Kevin's townhouse are attraction enough, especially since he has a high second-floor balcony for better viewing (and more efficient catching of throws). The party engages us further with a buffet, two bars, and a hot dog stand. But even with all those attractions, what I look forward to most is digging on the premises. His conversion of two houses from 1828 is brilliant and magnificent. Especially considering that by the time he got to them, they had degenerated into auto repair shops, giving the harshest abuse to the grand old structures. You would never know that now.
All this interests me. I used to live in a structure of about the same age and style, a block away. I wish I still lived there, and I keep trying to figure out a way to do so. (One of the deterrents is that I would have a hard time leaving the Cool Water Ranch behind. )
One of the other guests had an idea along those lines. Eddie Boettner told me that his office is now in the classic Hibernia Bank tower. That iconic building has been mostly empty since Katrina, but no more. Eddie said that the whole place has been converted into apartments, and all of them are taken. I wouldn't mind living there.
Eddie is a seldom-seen friend from another era. He launched the used-car-selling News On Wheels in the late 1970s. For a few years, I set the type for the whole publication every week, usually very late on Monday night. I had a typesetting shop in those days (in addition to a dozen other jobs, including this newsletter), operating out of a great old townhouse in the 700 block of Camp Street.
Kevin's chef Jeremy Langlois was there, serving up his famous sweet potato and andouille bisque, roast beef for poor boys, duck confit mini vol-au-vents (patty shells to Mary Ann), and a dozen or more little desserts.
The Krewe of Hermes kept its tradition of being the speediest parade of them all (Hermes is the Greek name for Mercury, the god with the winged feet) and brought its glittering floats right on through. It was followed by Krewe d'Etat, the modern-day replacement for the famously satirical Knights of Momus. Krewe d'Etat poked fun at the usual suspects, most particular a newspaper they called "The SomeTimes Picayune."
A lady who goes by the name "Mrs. Judy" is the most entertaining tour guide at Houmas House. But what people remember most about her is that she's a terrific singer, too. She proved that point with an all-evening concert of jazz songs, accompanied by an excellent and much younger trio. When I encounter a situation like this, I'm always thinking of ways to get up there and do a song myself. I'm sure that if I tried that here I would have been booed off the stage for interrupting Mrs. Judy's amazing performance.
To browse through all of the Dining Diaries since 2008, go here.
