Martha Stewart Visits Lucullus Antiques - Patrick Dunne - New Orleans

     Martha Stewart and Patrick Dunne at Lucullus Antiques

"Aware of the publicity value of such a visit, Lucullus’ staff posted Martha’s picture as fast as a drunk tourist can eat a Lucky Dog..." (Virginia Billeaud Anderson tells readers about Lucullus Antiques' new location in the Bywater section of New Orleans, where Martha Stewart recently visited owner Patrick Dunne and staff.)

Jimmy Domengeaux Chats about His Louisiana Wetlands Photography Exhibition - Jimmy Domengeaux - Wetlands - Interview

Jimmy Domengeaux, Bayou Benoit Day's End, 2016, ink jet print

"Jimmy Domengeaux on the other hand cut through the crap and stated rather succinctly the reason he photographs Louisiana wetlands..." (Interviewed Jimmy Domengeaux about his Wetlands Photography Exhibition. Jimmy photographs south Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin, swamps and marshes.) 

Rejiggering Blue Dog Café, George Rodrigue, Approachable Annie Café & Bar

Blue Dog's Burger Special on Burger Night

"...Reading between the lines, Blue Dog is placing bets on a younger hipper crowd..." (Virginia Billeaud Anderson highlights changes at Blue Dog Café where specialty cocktails, imported beer and live music will appeal to a younger hipper crowd. George Rodrigue's art remains. Similar changes made Annie Café and Bar in Houston more "approachable.")

Sharon Kopriva: No Small Thing - Hilliard University Museum - Damn, I Missed the Dinner

     Sharon Kopriva, Breaking Bonds, 2019, 5 Panel Piece, 

          graphite and collage on paper, 80 x 113 inches

"...My Mom’s back was hurting from having to stand in the gallery, and she was becoming impatient for her martini, so I decided to decline Sharon Kopriva’s invitation to a dinner..."

Sharon Kopriva, Hilliard University Art Museum, To Hell with Time and Space

Sharon Kopriva, The Cardinal, 1994, Papier Mache and
Mixed Media, 50 x 48 x 48 inches

"...I’ll bet you an expensive bottle of booze, Sharon did exactly that when she floated through walls.."

Avesta Persian Grill's Pomegranate and Walnut Stew, Cyrus the Great, and Tajikistan

Avesta Persian Grill's wall mural with images of relief
carvings from the citadel of Persepolis

"Assyria, Greece, Mesopotamia, Babylonia, Central Asia, parts of India, Cyrus hoped, would roll over, or spread their legs in exchange for favorable terms as tribute-paying satrapies and vassals." (Virginia Billeaud Anderson - BoudinandBourbon.com visits Avesta Persian Grill to taste the pomegranate and walnut stew called Fesenjān, a dish that dates back two and a half thousand years and was prepared in the Persian Empire's royal kitchens at Persepolis.)

Mick Jagger at the Menil Collection, Marcello’s Cafe, and Bobby Keys’ Saxophone

Mick Jagger, Courtesy of the Menil Collection 

"...I categorically avow that Keys’ Pythian saxophone solo in “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin” is the finest sax arrangement in the history of Rock n roll..."

Spending Time on the Patio at Hugos Restaurant, James Beard and Giotto

Chuleta de Puerco, double-cut pork chop with
winter squash-chapulin butter crust and roasted vegetables

"...wanted good marijuana from Oaxaca. Back then we called that coveted weed Oaxacan Gold. Now I’m an old broad who gets giddy over Oaxacan mole sauce.." (BoudinandBourbon.com writes about having food and booze on the patio at Hugos Restaurant, with some culinary history.) 

I Love Console Tables, Marie of France, King of Poland, Jayne Wrightsman and Italy

Chatsworth: The Attic Sale October 2010, Italian carved giltwood
console table, made in Rome, mid 18th century, Sotheby’s Auction

"Why, you might ask, do I give a damn about a frou-frou gilded, curly-leg, marble-top table, the sole purpose of which, is to be displayed against the walls of grand rooms..." (Fun historical background to a console table sold by Christies's Auction. It had been owned by Stanislaw, King of Poland, father of Queen Marie, who was Louis XV's wife.) 

Interviewed Mark Morales of Shutter Source Houston about Custom Made Shutters

Custom made bedroom shutters manufactured and 

installed by Mark Morales - Shutter Source Houston

"...Caesar would have looked through shutters to scrutinize torch lights below, while augurs read a sheep's liver for indications of trouble..." (BoudinandBourbon.com - Virginia Billeaud Anderson interviews Mark Morales about his custom made shutters. Article includes fun history of shutters used by ancient Persians, Greeks and Romans.)

Long Live Irma Thomas

Irma Thomas 2019 The Advocate.com
Photo by Sophia Germer

"...There can’t be a more poignant statement of loss than Irma's 'Wish Someone Would Care'... (Virginia Billeaud Anderson - BoudinandBourbon.com pays tribute to Soul Queen of New Orleans Irma Thomas with a few words about her life and music.)

Dr. John’s Second Line Jazz Funeral - New Orleans - A Closer Look

"Dr. John’s second line funeral ... with horse-drawn hearse to carry the coffin, jazz musicians, enormous New Orleans crowd.." (Image: by Brett Duke NOLA.com/The Times Picayune (Virginia Billeaud Anderson - BoudinandBourbon.com writes a few words of tribute to Dr. John.)

Slobbering Cow: Questions for Amita Bhatt - Interview

Amita Bhatt, “No Straight Answers,” 48 x
48 inches, Oil on Canvas, 2015

"...you take partial inspiration from the Greek maenads, drunk frenzied bitches who’ll tear you to shreds..."

My Visit to Rays Real Pit Bar-B-Q Shack in Houston - A Closer Look

Rays Real Pit Bar B-Q Sample Mix of Brisket, Ribs, Sausage

"The first thing I did was walk to the back of the building, to try to snoop around. I wanted to see the pit.." (Virginia Billeaud Anderson - BoudinandBourbon.com visits Rays Real Pit Bar-B-Q Shack in Houston, owned by Herb Taylor, Ray Busch and Maxine Davis. Learn about the food, River Falls, Rays House Rub and some Bar-B-Q History.)

Notes on Irises, Van Gogh, Walter Annenberg, Louisiana Politics - Essay

Pam Zuschlag, "Irises," Photograph taken la Louvre
Garden, Bonnieux, Provence, facebook 5-13-19

"...In 1987 Annenberg had a hankering to own van Gogh’s Irises (1889)..." (Virginia Billeaud Anderson - BoudinandBourbon.com tells readers about Van Gogh's irises, Walter Annenberg's  painting of irises, and how the iris became the official Louisiana state wildflower.)

A Few Thoughts about van Gogh - Vincent van Gogh: His Life in Art - Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - Essay

Vincent van Gogh, Roses and Peonies June 1886, Oil on
canvas, 23 ½ × 28 ½ inches (59.8 x 72.5 cm), Kröller-Müller
Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands.

"How sad to think he never knew he blasted through the art market stratosphere, never knew Christie’s auction attendees yelled like drunk hockey fans..."

Shrimp and Grits at Beaux Coo Daiquiris and Cajun Eats - One Year Anniversary

Beaux Coo's Sangria Daiquiri

"My Shrimp and Grits story reaches back to 1974, when as a college student in south Louisiana..."

Breathtaking Jewels, Elizabeth Taylor, Wallace Simpson, Christie’s Auction - A Closer Look

Sapphire and Diamond Ring, The octagonal step-cut sapphire is
 50.55 carats, surrounded with baguette-cut diamonds.

"...the sight of Wallis' 206-carat sapphire pendant would have sent me straight to the bar..." (Boudinandbourbon.com shows readers a few of the jewels Christie's will auction in New York, with mention of special jewels owned by Wallace Simpson and Elizabeth Taylor.)

Hôtel Lauzun, Hôtel Lambert on Île Saint-Louis - Charles Baudelaire, Alexis de Redè - A Closer Look

Hôtel Lambert when Guy and Marie-Hélène de
Rothschild Resided from Alidad Instagram

"Who wouldn’t want to know about the characters who commissioned and designed the structures, or inhabited them, who ate, drank, did drugs, wrote..." (BoudinandBourbon.com discusses two Île Saint-Louis townhouses, Hôtel Lambert and Hôtel de Lauzun, their history, architects, interiors, owners, artistic and literary occupants.)

St. Patrick’s Day Devilry - A Closer Look at “da Channel” Irish Channel New Orleans

Halfway to St. Patricks Day March

"In honor of the Saint, I’m hell-bent on Jameson Irish whiskey.  That’s the drink for me..."

Krewe of Rex - Hail Rex - St. Charles Avenue New Orleans Mardi Gras - Essay

Photograph Rex Ball Sheraton Hotel, year unknown,
photo by Mike Posey. Image from Krewe of Rex website.

"It wouldn’t do for King Rex to toast at some inelegant venue..."

Epicure Café's European Pastries - Habsburg Vienna - Persian Empire - Essay

                           Epicure Café’s Tiramisu Cake

"I’ve been going to Epicure Café ever since it opened in 1990, occasionally for lunch, but much more frequently for wine..."

(Virginia Billeaud Anderson - BoudinandBourbon.com tells readers about Epicure Cafe's  European style pastries. She discusses their Sacher Torte which originated in Vienna during the Habsburg Empire, Persian Empire culinary antecedents, and other fun history.)

Sotheby’s On-line Sale Offers Lower Priced Old Masters

"Messy restoration aside, it’s gorgeous..."

La Grange Bar - Fresh Pineapple, Memories of Whorehouses - Essay

La Grange Bar Watermelon Fresca

"...Zindler helped to put the Chicken Ranch whorehouse on the outskirts of La Grange Texas out of business."

Billeauds No. 3 - Grilled Bar-B-Q Meats and the New Orleans Saints

"...Beef Brisket, good booze and record-holding quarterback Drew Brees..."

My Tour of Menil Drawing Institute - An Unguarded Picasso - Where is Edouard Kopp - Essay

Image: Pablo Picasso, Spanish, 1881 – 1973, Portrait of André Salmon,
1907, Charcoal on paper, 24 ¾ × 18 ¾ in. (62.9 × 47.6 cm),
Work on paper (Drawing), V 9100. (Courtesy of the Menil Collection)

"It was a surprise to come upon a gazillion-dollar Picasso drawing propped up on..."