Day Nine After The Storm
Wednesday, September 7, 2005 Personal Notes. We drove back to our home in Covington and saw no significant damage to the house, although it was a close call--quite a few trees down, one narrowly missing the carport. But there was no flooding. Power lines are down everywhere in a fantastic jumble. This will take some time. That means not only no power but, since we get our water from a well, no water either. We cleaned out the refrigerators (P-U! Chicken turns to a liquid after a week!) and cleaned up the place.
Our neighbor Lee has been taking care of the dogs and cats, as well as keeping an eye on things. I think the house is pretty safe. So we returned very tired but at least feeling good about our home. Who knows when we will live in it again?
We drove back to Atlanta, and after taking a day off to catch up on writing things like this, we’ll head for Washington, DC to deliver Mary Leigh to her school and check on Jude, who is already there. We may get an apartment there, although I remain on call to return to the radio station in Baton Rouge or elsewhere to get back to work. So far they have not needed me, although I’ve volunteered. WWL has done an astounding job of staying on the air with great information. Kaare Johnson has been particularly tireless. Every time I turn the radio on, he’s calling in a report from somewhere.
The bottom line is that while things have stopped going downhill, they are so bad that nobody can say with assurance when the city will be livable again. It is being said that certain areas--notably St. Bernard and the Lower Ninth Ward--will have to be entirely bulldozed, so total is the damage by the inflicted (in more ways than one) floodwaters.
Day Ten After The Storm
Thursday, September 8, 2005
I cannot believe the number of people who have written asking me for food advice. I’ve already had two requests for the Ping-Pong recipe, and many people want to know about the restaurants of Dallas, Houston, or wherever they’ve landed. This tells me that even in the depth of this disaster, people are thinking about how it will be when they get back to normal. That is a very good thing.
I have been actively seeking information from every restaurateur I can, but have made contact with very few. Here are some new
ones:
Brigtsen’s Not Moving To Shreveport. According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Frank Brigtsen has escaped the city safely, and is now considering reopening--not in New Orleans, but in Shreveport. Frank contacted me this morning and reports that his restaurant is in good shape and so is his home, and that he expect that he will reopen as soon as it’s possible to do so. Good News.
Galatoire’s To Open In Baton Rouge. That sounds like something out of one of my April Fool restaurant reviews, doesn’t it? But it appears to be true. Although I have not been able to contact anyone from Galatoire’s directly, I hear from a very well- connected source that the staff of Galatoire’s will take over a Baton Rouge restaurant temporarily, serving the same menu. It makes a lot of sense. Many of their customers are now in Red Stick, and this will allow the restaurant to keep its staff together.
Sam Urrate and Bruning’s. Sam is the fifth-generation owner of Bruning’s, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Georges in 1998, and never made it back into its original quarters. He wrote me this morning to say--as we already knew from the satellite photos--that truly nothing is left on West End Park but pilings. He added that he has not made any plans yet, but that he hopes to revive Bruning’s, there or somewhere else in the city. Bruning’s opened in 1859, and would be a great loss. I know most Orleanians are pulling for it to return.
DC Chefs Make Poor Boys For The Cause. Acadiana Restaurant, a Louisiana-style fish house opening in a few days in Washington, DC, will be serving a Poor Boy Fundraising Dinner on September 12, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., at 901 New York Avenue, NW. It’s being done by some of the best chefs there, including Jeff Tunks, who was the fantastic chef at the Windsor Court Hotel a few years ago. (He now owns three restaurants in DC.) Other chefs include Robert Wiedmaier (Marcel’s), Michel Richard (Citronelle), Roberto Donna (Galileo), Ris Lacoste (1789), Cesare Lanfranconi (Tosca), Frank Morales (Zola), Todd Gray (Equinox), Cathal Armstrong (Restaurant Eve), RJ Cooper (Vidalia), John Besh (Restaurant August, New Orleans), Jeff Buben (Vidalia and Bistro Bis), Kevin Scott (New Orleans Bistro), John Wabeck (Firefly), Bryan Voltaggio (Charlie Palmer Steak DC). Christophe Poteaux (Aquarelle at the Watergate Hotel).
You get a brown bag carry-out poor boy meal: a roast beef with a side of shrimp remoulade for a donation starting at $25. All proceeds from this fundraiser will be given to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (established by Governor Kathleen Blanco).
A Great Website for New Orleans Foodies. The Southern Foodways Alliance, based at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, is keeping track of New Orleans chefs and other food people. It also has news of fund-raising events to help the recovery, and job postings for New Orleans chefs looking for work. Go to http://www.southernfoodways.com/.
