Food & Wine picked the best chicken wings in America and Nola here in New Orleans made the cut. Read who else made the finals here Chef Emeril Lagasse said he so dearly loved the wings a Vietnamese cook once made for him at NOLA that he put them on the restaurant’s menu in 2000 and hasn’t taken them off. The wings are stuffed with a mixture of ground pork, chopped shrimp, mushrooms, onions, celery, cilantro and fish sauce.

The BLTs turned out as I hoped (delicious) but what I wanted to mention is the two major ingredients that made this sandwich great; Rouse's brand bacon and the sour dough bread also available from Rouse and with their name on the label. This sour dough is probably the best I have had since I left San Francisco. I baked the bacon on a cookie sheet at the recommendation of David Gallent our magazine photographer and trained CIA chef. I got this bacon baking tip from the Jul/Aug issue of Louisiana Kitchen & Culture pg. 17.

Some of the best whiskey in America, food from Dickie Brennan, and beautiful women in various states of undress, do I really need to say more to entice you to one of premiere parties of the Summer here in New Orleans?  But there is more, the party also features aerialists, a lingerie fashion show, music with Linnzi Zaorski and Jayna Morgan, and topless oysters serve by a mermaid… seriously.  All of this fun and more is to support the Contemporary Arts Center.

The CAC was founded in 1976 as an artist-run and artist-driven community collective, today it is one of a handful of nationwide arts organizations that has remained solvent and successful while serving a truly multi-disciplinary mission.  Their mission remains dedicated to the presentation, production, and promotion of the art of our time

Earlier this month, I was invited to a wine dinner at Besh Steak featuring the wines of the Trinchero Family Estates. My friend Chef Todd Pulsinelli took over the kitchen at the restaurant a few months ago, and used this opportunity to show off what he can do in the kitchen. Dinner was fantastic- see pictures from the evening here.

Better news, this was the first of a series of dinners. For now, they're planned for the third Thursday of every month; the next one is slated for June 20 and will feature the wines of White Oak Winery. Reservations are being taken now.

Besh Steak
504-533-6000

Library Journal selected Louisiana Kitchen & Culture as one of the best magazine launches of 2012. We competed in a field of 227 other new magazines and are extremely proud of our accomplishment. 

Library Journal had this to say;

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!  No Andy Williams, not Christmas, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the unchallenged greatest music and culture event on the planet.  I hope you remembered your sunscreen yesterday and were not fooled by the perfect temperature and cloudy skies.

My hot picks, dedicated to Callie –

Ease into today with a bite to eat and a seat in Economy Hall for the 101 year old Lionel Ferbos.  Then there is the only in N. O. band Bonerama and the Panorama Jazz Band.  Throw in some Rebirth Brass Band, Jon Cleary, and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band’s tribute Bob French, whom we lost this year.  If you are the sort to plant yourself in one spot, I present, for your enjoyment either Fais Do Do (Lost Bayou Ramblers, Dwayne Dopsie, and Andrew Bird) or Acura (Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars, Allen Toussaint, and The Bard of Oyster Bay, Billy Joel).  Today’s “Who dat?” pick is Magary Lord of Bahia.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!  No Andy Williams, not Christmas, Day 1 of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the unchallenged greatest music and culture event on the planet.

My hot picks, dedicated to Callie –

Print this out and stick it on your refrigerator door.

Lafayette, La. – Lafayette has been named one of the Top 10 Foodie Cities by Livability.com, a national website that ranks quality of life and travel amenities of America’s small and mid-sized cities.