New Orleans Bar Blog
A bi-weekly series of libations with Becca-approved design or flavor. Perhaps both.
Name: Pork Belly Bourbon Old-Fashioned
From: Wayfare | 4510 Freret St.
Pair it with: happy hour (everyday from 3-6 p.m.)
Made with: pork-belly infused Buffalo Trace bourbon, maple syrup, Angostura bitters, house-candied bacon and orange peel
Until recently, I thought the word wayfarer was solely for the style of sunglasses. But it’s an actual word that means “a traveler, especially on foot.”
*Title of post from “Clueless.”
Like this foreign exchange student, I have a page in my phone notes dedicated to words I learned and want to remember:
insouciance: lack of care or concern
Example: “I would live all my life in nonchalance and insouciance, were it not for making a living, which is rather a nouciance.” —Ogden Nash
salty: slang for angry
Example: I’m so salty the Saints lost!
extra: slang for performing unnecessary and confusing actions
Example: He showed up to my birthday dinner, gave me flowers, then broke up with me. Why did he have to be so extra?
drivel: nonsense
Example: All of Donald Trump’s answers are drivel.
Netizen: Internet user
Example: Everyone born after 1990 is a netizen.
Sac-a-Lait: the name of this restaurant, white perch fish
Example: Sac-A-Lait has a great bar space. I need to come back to try their other cocktails and dishes.
Vibe: fancy cabin, restrained glamour, sophisticated rustic
Drink menu: $1 martini for lunch, great cocktails, some beer
Food Favorites: blackened redfish, fig & honey (dessert)
Address: 1051 Annunciation St.
Gina Rodriguez from Jane the Virgin started Movement Mondays on her Instagram to garner support for working Latino actors. She points out that studios feel more confident in hiring Latino actors for high-profile roles if the numbers back it up. TV shows and movies with Latino actors need to pull in higher ratings and more revenue.
This approach is the same for all minorities and extends beyond the acting community—into all aspects of creative professions. Inspired by Gina, I am starting the series Monday Meetings to highlight Asian movers, shakers, and makers. We should be seeing them and hearing from them more often—not just sporadically.
♦ ♦ ♦
Meet Constance Wu, the actress who plays Jessica Huang from “Fresh Off the Boat.” She is continually sparking conversation about diversity in Hollywood. From her interview with The Cut:
It shines a light on how invisible Asians were previously in the industry. The fact that one show makes a person excited! If you watch any show that stars white people, white people aren’t coming up to them like, ‘Thank you for showing my face on the big screen.’ Because they see their faces in popular culture all the time and many different iterations of their face, whether they’re the cool girl, the nerd, the hardworking girl, they get many things. We get one or two stories. So my biggest hope is that this gets the ball rolling in terms of different Asian American perspectives.
I’ve read the mean comments and criticism directed at her. But there is no progress when you stay quiet.
Fun fact: I was her body double in Parallels, but you can only see my wrinkly, scaly hands in the scene.
Top photo by Nicholas Hunt for Getty Images. Bottom photo by ABC’s “Fresh Off the Boat.”
With my experience of social media, I thought that idiots were going to idiot. But what can you say? That’s the way the world is.
—J.K. Rowling’s response to the negative reactions of Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger
Image from collider.com.
A bi-weekly series interviewing people and their drinking habits.
Watch:
Read:
Listen:
A bi-weekly series of libations with Becca-approved design or flavor. Perhaps both.
Name:Honker’s Ale
From:Goose Island Beer Company of Chicago, Illinois
Type: english bitter
Pair it with: a broken heart
Emphasis on: flavor
Usually, it’s a walk down the grocery aisle, with no story about how I discovered a beer. But this time, I was in Chicago, with my pregnant aunt and three uncles, who were attending a conference, while I tagged along under the guise of researching graduate schools. Looking back, it was an odd traveling group.
I remember this story so clearly, because anything that happens when you’re 22 is Korean-drama dramatic. It was my first major breakup coupled with another brief relationship thereafter. Devastation (so it seemed at the time) had struck my heart.
During dinner one night, I followed my method of ordering something I can’t get back home and picked out a Chicago-brewed beer. That first sip of Honker’s Ale momentarily dissipated my sadness. I was so delighted to discover something new that I liked. I finished the beer and left the pity party.
If I’m invited to a group dinner and the place has three dollar signs or more on Yelp, I’m busy that night. On a Valentine’s date, I was treated to a steak restaurant and wanted to order pasta. I wasn’t even paying. When we met up at N7, Ly and I ordered only one drink each and shared appetizers. Eating out at nice places reminded me of this Friends episode.
This is a great read on finance. I especially love the part:
A lot of people spend money they shouldn’t (on brunch, on a Louis Vuitton purse) because it signals to other human beings that you have value. But you don’t need to do this. If you can’t afford to go out to brunch, please pre-eat before you go. It’s okay. I do it.
Vibe: cozy, vibrant, secret garden
Drink menu: full bar, lots of wine, some beer
Food Favorites: escargot tempura, fries
Address: 1117 Montegut St.
Gina Rodriguez from Jane the Virgin started Movement Mondays on her Instagram to garner support for working Latino actors. She points out that studios feel more confident in hiring Latino actors for high-profile roles if the numbers back it up. TV shows and movies with Latino actors need to pull in higher ratings and more revenue.
This approach is the same for all minorities and extends beyond the acting community—into all aspects of creative professions. Inspired by Gina, I am starting the series Monday Meetings to highlight Asian movers, shakers, and makers. We should be seeing them and hearing from them more often—not just sporadically.
♦ ♦ ♦
Meet Alice Gao, an in-demand freelance photographer with an enviable wardrobe. She said peace out to her corporate job and arrived at her calling. And arrived, she did. It’s hard to keep quiet when your work is remarkable. Major brands like Cereal Magazine, Gap, and Skagen have commissioned her talent and almost a million followers have taken notice.
The most distinguishing feature of her photography is her use of light and shadows. Some people never have a bad hair day, she never has a bad light day. Scroll through her blog Lingered Upon and lust after her outfit and travel photos. Her life is everyone’s #goals.
Photos by Alice Gao.
Jonah: “Look who it is. It’s your favorite Jonah.”
Amy: “You’re not even your mom’s favorite Jonah, Jonah.”
—HBO’s Veep
Image from HBO’s Veep.
A bi-weekly series interviewing people and their drinking habits.
Watch:
Read:
Listen:
A bi-weekly series of libations with Becca-approved design or flavor. Perhaps both.
Name: Luchesa Lager
From: Oasis Texas Brewing Company of Austin, TX
Type: kellerbier
Pair it with: an outdoor movie viewing
Emphasis on: design