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5 ways to prevent bike theft; 3 things to do if yours is stolen | NOLA.com

FQ additions:

#6: make sure that the fixture that you lock it to is secure and not able to be able to be pulled out of the ground or apart by thieves. Many of the sign posts have been chipped away at the bottom or carefully cut to make it easy for a regular round of thievery, hence known as sucker poles.

#7: Do your best to not leave bikes out overnight, even locked. The number of fresh bike carcasses still locked to a pole but without wheels or seats or handlebars that I see in the morning is quite disheartening. 5 ways to prevent bike theft; 3 things to do if yours is stolen | NOLA.com.

(and maybe soon, this type of theft-deterrant system will be available for regular bikes…)

GREAT tips here

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New food at 2015 French Quarter Fest: April 9-12

let’s hope the food is spread out a little more this year so there is a possibility to get near the booths when the Fest is rocking:

Here’s the lineup of other new foods available at the big free festival this weekend. (Oh, and Plum Street Snoballs will be serving “adult snowballs.” Choose Chambord, Southern Comfort Caramel, Finlandia, Jack Daniel’s or Herradura.)

Patois: Boudin Stuffed Fried Chicken, $7; Smoked Chicken & Sausage Gumbo $6.

Squeal: Pulled Pork or Chicken over Roasted Corn & Cheese Grits, $7; Pulled Pork Sandwich, $7; Pulled Chicken Sandwich, $7.

Rue 127: Deep Fried Vanilla Cupcakes, $5; Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese Tots, $4; Crispy Confit Pork & Watermelon Salad, $6.

Koz’s Restaurant: 5-inch Toasted Muffuletta, $6; Spicy-Sweet & Savory Oysters en Brochette, $7; Pecan Pie Cheesecake, $5.

Westin New Orleans Canal Place: Cayenne Crawfish Tamales, $5; Acadiana Cajun Cracklin’, $4; Combo Plate, $8.

McHardys Chicken & Fixin’: Two pieces Fried Chicken with Potato Salad or Coleslaw, $8; Two Chicken Strips with Potato Salad or Coleslaw, $7; Bayou Bite Po-Boy, $5.

Voleo’s Seafood Restaurant: Smothered Rabbit Po-Boy, $8; Crawfish Enchilada with Green Chile Meat Sauce, $8; Crawfish Rolls with Sweet & Sour Sauce, $4 or 2 for $7.

Voleo's Seafood Restaurant of Lafitte among new vendors at 2015 French Quarter Fest | NOLA.com.

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Dear readers, a new site

I will continue to work on the French Quarter block by block blog, which is still really meant to be a try out of the larger project that will also offer broadsheets, maps, essays and maybe a book detailing the 24/7 world of the French Quarter as it lives and breathes now.

I am adding a new smaller project called “A job, a gig and a hustle” which will feature oral interviews, written essays, reviews and some correspondence on what is called the “new economy” in other cities, but here, is bidness as usual. As my pal Mary Rowe says, New Orleans is truly a prophetic city.
The way that many of us knit together the many into one life is fascinating to me and I think also closely follows my “job” in the farmers market field. I might migrate this new project to a website as WordPress looks like crap when you don’t want to follow a linear chronological design, or maybe I just suck at designing it. Either way, I expect it to be better soon, but since it is my gig and not my job or hustle, deal with it.

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Tennessee, so long

What is probably my favorite weekend in the Quarter is over. I would say that it is all over but the yelling, but that is prolly still going on at the Stella contest that ends the TWLF. (Although I’d like to know when they stopped ending this day with the happy birthday toast to Tennessee?)

I spent the big bucks for the mid-level pass this year, which gave me access to all panels and master classes. Not sure if I’d spring for the master classes next year, as I’ll wait ’til those become more of a class and less of a one-person panel. I did see some great panels, two of which featured my pal Nancy Dixon, editor of N.O. Lit, which in my opinion, was the book that should have been one of the 2015 books of the year. Lauren Cerand, literary publicist was another standout as a thoughtful and prepared presenter, as was Bryant Terry, author of Afro-Vegan and social justice warrior.

My available cash for this event is always limited but I do spend it. I wish the organizers understood how to give great value to the least as well as they do to those who spend the most. I’d suggest creating more focused tracks for a writer or a scholar to follow throughout the weekend, and maybe even offering a special price for those with LA i.d. to get more working writers there. Additionally, I’d recommend a salon room for writers and bloggers with access to internet and maybe some authors stopping by to keep the buzz moving in between the panels.
The highlight of this is usually the theater offerings, which for the first year ever (of around 20 for me) I did not attend any. Funds and scheduling were the issue there.

Having done all that complaining (as my grandmother would say), I urge every working writer to spend a little time at this event in future years, even if it is just to roam the halls or volunteer at an event to get a panel pass. You’ll walk away with a few nuggets and a renewed belief in New Orleans as a destination for readers and writers.

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Bacchus in the Bywater

A chef linked this link on Facebook today; Chris Rudge’s unexpected passing has made us all spend some time thinking about what an innovator and fun guy he was. This piece by local writer Sara Roahen written back when Bacchanal first opened is a great reminder of what they started in the downtown neighborhoods. Sometimes it seems like that change has grown out of proportion and scale, but Bacchanal is certainly a respite in that area.The loss of another young entrepreneur is unfortunate and shows how important it is to do your best to take care of oneself while working and playing as hard as people like Chris do.

Bacchus in the Bywater Gambit – New Orleans News and Entertainment.

Rudge’s obituary

A second line for Chris Rudge, the founder of Bacchanal wine shop, bar and restaurant, is scheduled for this Sunday (March 22). The second line will begin at Bacchanal at 1 p.m. Bacchanal will, however, not be silent on its rare day off; it will be the site of a post-second line party in Rudge’s honor. Plans are still taking shape, but Rodas said several chefs who’ve cooked at Bacchanal in the past, including Dan Esses of Three Muses and Nathaniel Zimet of Boucherie, will be contributing to a potluck buffet. There will also be live music.

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Sign, sign, everywhere a sign

An amusing and mocking piece linked below written by a local writer lamenting the loss of free access to St. Louis #1 and how it results from our “clickbaiting of history.” Of course, his title aligns him as a user of that same system, and so he is awarded props for his excellent use of irony, which I am sure he meant.
I love how this guy writes, even if I don’t always follow his line of reasoning; after all, he points out how more than 50 years ago, hippies had their free access and fun there too. I prefer to lay the blame at the marble feet of the patriarchal institution that has activated the locking of the gate without a great deal of effort to reduce the littering of tombs before hauling out the padlock.
The truth is, we live in a time where little respect is paid to the past by those who happen by or even by many of those entrusted with their care. Whether one believes that the lack of respect comes from the increasingly informal, chaotic communication age that we live in or from those damn hippies (whom I admire and honor as a child of the late 60s and early 70s) or someone else, the sad truth is the Catholic Church has made a high-handed decision that probably won’t end the vandalism but will limit the viewing of those who love history.I’d prefer to do what we do in the Quarter proper: be the eyes on the street that we promised to be and to stop nonsense from happening by stepping in when safe to do so, or to create more security if necessary rather than shuttering one of our places. St. Louis #1 is not the only cemetery in the U.S. with this issue and yet it is one of the few that just made access only possible (as Wayne writes colorfully) “behind a paywall;” as a matter of fact, THAT does seems like clickbaiting to me.
Clickbait History

“Signs”
And the sign said anybody caught trespassin’ would be shot on sight
So I jumped on the fence and-a yelled at the house, “Hey! What gives you the right?”
“To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in”
“If God was here he’d tell you to your face, Man, you’re some kinda sinner”
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?

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