Chicken and waffles at luke. This is how we live. Happy fourth!

2009 Essence Fest begins Friday in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — When the Essence Music Festival kicks off in New Orleans on Friday, singer Lionel Richie says the celebration of black music and culture will provide some comfort following Michael Jackson’s death.

Richie, a longtime friend of the pop superstar, says going to New Orleans for Essence is a homecoming of sorts that will give him and others comfort and a chance to regroup.

The festival, held at the Louisiana Superdome and Morial Convention Center beginning Friday, will include a tribute to Jackson, as well as performances by Richie, Beyonce, John Legend, Ne-Yo, Anita Baker and others.

Organizers say they are still planning the tribute, so details were not immediately available. The festival runs through Sunday.

On the Net: Essence Music Fest,: http://www.essencemusicfestival.com 
From the AP

Dams Are Thwarting Louisiana Marsh Restoration, Study Says

Desperate to halt the erosion of Louisiana’s coast, officials there are talking about breaking Mississippi River levees south of New Orleans to restore the nourishing flow of muddy water into the state’s marshes.

But in a new analysis, scientists at Louisiana State University say inland dams trap so much sediment that the river no longer carries enough to halt marsh loss, especially now that global warming is speeding a rise in sea levels.

As a result, the loss of thousands of additional square miles of marshland is “inevitable,” the scientists report in Monday’s issue of Nature Geoscience.

The finding does not suggest it would be pointless to divert the muddy water into the marshes, one of the researchers, Harry H. Roberts, said in an interview. “Any meaningful restoration of our coast has to involve river sediment,” said Dr. Roberts, a coastal scientist.

But he said officials would have to choose which parts of the landscape could be saved and which must be abandoned, and to acknowledge that lives and businesses would be disrupted. Instead of breaking levees far south of New Orleans, where relatively few people live, Dr. Roberts said, officials should consider diversions much closer to New Orleans, possibly into the LaFourche, Terrebonne or St. Bernard basins.

“It’s going to be an excruciating process to decide where that occurs,” Dr. Roberts said of the levee-breaking.

Continue Reading at the NYTimes

Army Corps of Engineers releases study on New Orleans levee failures

New Orleans could avoid catastrophic flooding in the long run if barrier islands and wetlands, which were used to protect the city over the last century, were restored, according to a study commissioned by the Army Corps of Engineers. The research assesses the failure of New Orleans levees during Hurricane Katrina. Study authors concluded that building new levees and floodgates will not adequately mitigate the risk from future disasters. Insurance Journal (06/29)

From SmartBrief

If you are ‘from the south’ and use ‘yall’ all the time are you ‘ripping off’ hipster runoff?

Blogger NYC Food Guy has undertaken to eat every item on Shopsin General Store's 900-strong menu and blog about it

DISCLAIMER: There’s nothing like eating at Shopsin’s General Store and that’s because most people feel awkward, uncomfortable and offended upon merely entering the vicinity of the place. One thing that holds true is that if you don’t feel any of those three undesireable emotions upon arrival, or at any point during your meal, then you know you belong.  And then you’re in for one hell of a meal.  In the end, Kenny Shopsin is a great dude; if he feels like being one.  If not, well then be polite, know what you want to eat ahead of time, and if Kenny curses at you, feel free to curse back.  If you go to Shopsin’s and you’re not prepared for this, please don’t mention you found out about it from me.  Read this article by Calvin Trillin to understand what I’m talking about.

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Awesome and awe-inspiring.  Both words describe the two defining characteristics of Shopsin’s General Store:  its menu and its owner/chef, the inimitable Kenny Shopsin.  And with a constantly changing menu (the massive Mexican skillet combo is already gone) and equally unpredictable maker, every trip to Shopsin’s provides a new opportunity for edible adventure.

This post features three dishes:

• Treif: 3 Jewboy (brisket, onions, jack, Swiss) Egg Sliders ($17)
• Moe II: Maple bacon French toast sandwich, eggs on top ($14)
• Fried Potato Shreds with melted Jack and Hatch chile ($11)

Treif: 3 Jewboy (brisket, onions, jack, Swiss) Egg Sliders ($17)

If you’ve never considered combining brisket with eggs and cheese, this is a great place to start. Shopsin’s brisket is tender and meaty but the real key are the sautéed onions, the greasy flavor bridge between the brisket and scrambled eggs. The airy, slightly steamed bun add a little sweetness but tend to disintegrate under the juiciness of the other ingredients.

Moe II: Maple bacon French toast sandwich, eggs on top ($14)

“Exactly what I wanted to it be. No more, no less,” said my friend Veronica, a satisfied smile slowly appearing across her face. For something that looks so decadent, this is actually one of the plainer offerings on Shopsin’s menu. It’s nothing you couldn’t get elsewhere but there’s something special about having it the way it’s served here, sandwiched all together. Crispy, syrup-covered bacon wedged between two slices of fluffy egg-crusted French toast, all crowned by two eggs, sunny side up. Simple yet sumptuous.

Fried Potato Shreds with melted Jack and Hatch Chile ($11)

Fried potato, a mountain of melted Jack cheese and spicy Hatch Chile from New Mexico; how could you possibly go wrong? Well, you can’t, but the fried potato “shreds” were a little too thin and deep fried to provide any substance.

I try to get something different every time I go to Shopsin’s, but if I ordered these again I’d go for the hash brown potatoes (deep fried chunks like in the now defunct Mexican skillet combo). With any sweet or savory main course, you may want to consider ordering a potato side with Hatch Chile and cheese. It’s a welcome addition.  If you’re as excited about this food as NYC Food Guy is, you can buy Kenny’s book: “Eat Me: The Food & Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin” by clicking here.

http://nycfoodguy.com/2009/06/29/lower-east-side-adventure/

http://bit.ly/16Zyme

Really good snowballs today at the corner muse on terpsichore and magazine. Espresso snowballs!

Huge second-line honors King of Pop Michael Jackson

Jennifer Zdon, The Times-PicayuneDonna Llopis, from New Orleans, holds up a picture of Michael Jackson as she joins in with hundreds of other fans along St. Bernard Avenue to honor the legendary pop star with a second-line led by the Revolution Social Aid & Pleasure Club Sunday

They gathered on a 7th Ward corner to offer a traditional, raucous New Orleans send off befitting a king.

Just before dusk Sunday, the Revolution Social Aid & Pleasure Club began its march down St. Bernard Avenue, leading a second-line parade to honor Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, who died Thursday at age 50.

Joe Black, Revolution founder and organizer of the parade, said his initial estimate of 1,500 people was probably low.

Jennifer Zdon, The Times-PicayuneSome of the exuberant crowd in Sunday’s second-line parade to honor the legend of Michael Jackson.

The huge crowd said everything about Jackson’s enormous popularity. Black said he couldn’t estimate just how large the crowd grew, only saying it was a “very successful” day.

Despite the number of marchers, New Orleans police said no arrests were made along the mile-long route.

Like any second-line, the crowd swelled as it made its way down St. Bernard Avenue. Eventually, it spilled over the neutral ground into oncoming traffic headed toward the river.

Neighborhood residents joined in from side streets. Others set up chairs on the curb. Some drivers pulled their cars onto the neutral ground, got out and joined the celebration.

They danced to the sounds of the Rebirth Brass Band — joined in time by other brass bands, such as the Free Agents — and their renditions of Jackson’s hit songs, such as “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.”

Jennifer Zdon, The Times-PicayuneDianne Bourdreaux holds up her one sequinned glove, a Michael Jackson trademark, as she second-lines with other fans on Sunday.

Many wore T-shirts emblazoned with the performer’s face. Others carried umbrellas with the King of Pop’s likeness.

Marcher Shack Brown did one better.

He wore one of Jackson’s staple outfits: a black fedora, jacket, pants and shoes, accented by a white T-shirt and socks, and the famous glove.

“I’ve been wearing this for three days” to celebrate Jackson’s life, Brown said.

At the end of the parade, he hopped on a pickup truck and started to dance in Jackson’s inimitable style.

“Mike had some kind of impact in everyone’s life,” he said. “Some of his life we didn’t like, but a lot of it we loved.”

Gail Collier marched the entire mile-long route.

She said that although she never met Jackson or even saw him live in concert, his music was the soundtrack of her life.

“I’m 46. It’s like I grew up with him,” she said minutes after the second-line ended at St. Bernard and North Miro Street. “It was like a childhood schoolmate I lost.”

NOLA>COM

Nola brewery scavenger hunt ! ‘so you think you know new orleans?’