An expatriate of New Orleans – and professional chef – who has lived in Los Angeles since her childhood, blogs about the journey from New Orleans to Los Angeles back to New Orleans, and points along the way.

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Uncle Manuel Perez

Posted by on Aug 11, 2018, 3:14 pm in History, Personal Reflection | 6 comments

I was in high school, and had just joined the band and selected my instrument – the trumpet – when learned that Manuel, my father’s uncle, had been a trumpet player, and a very influential one , at that.

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Visiting Natchez, Mississippi

Posted by on Nov 2, 2017, 3:50 pm in History, Travel | 0 comments

An easy drive from New Orleans, Natchez, MS offers a perfect getaway with river views and the nation’s largest stock of antebellum homes.

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Visiting the Whitney Plantation

Posted by on Oct 9, 2017, 3:23 pm in Historic Places, History, Personal Reflection, Travel | 0 comments

I returned to River Road this past weekend to spend an aptly cloudy afternoon visiting the Whitney Plantation, the United States’ only plantation dedicated to the enslaved.

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A Visit to Washington DC – and the New African American Museum

Posted by on Jun 28, 2017, 4:00 pm in Historic Places, History, Restaurants, Travel | 0 comments

A summer escape to the Washington DC area with a visit to the new National Museum of African American History.

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New Orleans’ Confederate Monuments

Posted by on May 22, 2017, 4:00 pm in Current Affairs, Historic Places, History, Personal Reflection, Travel | 0 comments

Mayor Mitch Landrieu gave a moving speech Friday afternoon, as the last of the city’s four Confederate was coming down. He mentioned in his remarks all the people that had left New Orleans because of exclusionary attitudes – people like my parents, and indeed much of my extended family, who joined the tens of thousands, and perhaps more, in leaving the city for a better life.

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Cuba Revisited: Day 1 – The Rolling Stones

Posted by on Apr 1, 2016, 12:02 pm in Historic Places, History, Personal Reflection, Travel | 5 comments

My second visit to Cuba, at this historic time, begins with seeing The Rolling Stones.

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Celebrating Dooky Chase’s Restaurant and Ms. Leah Chase

Posted by on Jan 9, 2016, 1:49 pm in Historic Places, History, Personal Reflection, Restaurants | 0 comments

Ms. Leah Chase’s 93rd birthday celebration, and the 75th anniversary of Dooky Chase’s restaurant.

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Meet Alon Shaya

Posted by on Aug 17, 2015, 10:03 am in Chef Interviews, History, Restaurants | 3 comments

Meet Alon Shaya, who happens to be having a great year. Now, I’m looking back 10 years, when he and John Besh re-entered New Orleans right after the storm.

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A St. Joseph’s Day Celebration

Posted by on Mar 19, 2015, 2:48 pm in Celebrations, Food and Drink, History | 2 comments

This week saw the festival celebration of St. Joseph’s Day, celebrated initially by Sicilians, and then quickly adopted by the other citizens of Catholic New Orleans.

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