Tuesday, December 15, 2020

A Talk with George Graham of Acadianatable.com about his new cookbook "Fresh From Louisiana: The Soul of Cajun and Creole Home Cooking" - Interview

George Graham in his Kitchen. Courtesy George Graham

"...I poured a glass of bourbon and thought about George Graham..." (Virginia Billeaud Anderson interviews George Graham about Acadianatable.com and his new cookbook Fresh from Louisiana: The Soul of Cajun and Creole Home Cooking. And learned about Graham's food marketing background which evolved into a wide array of marketing services such as content creation, food styling and photography and video production and ad placement.)

Friday, September 25, 2020

Antoine’s Restaurant Re-opens Friday September 25


"Antoine’s survived the War Between the States, two World Wars, Prohibition, the Great Depression and Hurricane Katrina..."

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Morvant’s Bar & Grill - Formerly Bero's Youngsville Louisiana - Interview - 97 Year History

Morvant's Bar and Grill - Youngsville Louisiana

"...a cold beer and eat a hamburger or a fried shrimp po-boy or a tray of boiled crawfish and hit the dance floor while the Cajun band “Alligator Blue” performs “Tee Na Na” at Morvant’s Bar and Grill in Youngsville Louisiana.." (Interviewed Chip Hebert about the history of Morvant's Bar and Grill, formerly Bero's, established in 1924 in Youngsville Louisiana.  Cajun food, cold beer, dancing.)

Sunday, July 5, 2020

Interviewed Carolyn Simon at Vermilion Bay Seafood, Tony Chachere Recipe

Vermilion Bay Seafood fresh shrimp
bought from shrimpers

"...Your alternative is a tasteless imported sorry excuse for a shrimp that was harvested in a pond farm in another country..." (BoudinandBourbon.com - Virginia Billeaud Anderson interviewed Carolyn Simon at Vermilion Bay Seafood about the history of her shrimp business.)

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Ryan Baptiste - The Light Beyond The Blight - Redbud Gallery - Echoes of New Orleans

Ryan Baptiste, “Southern Hospitality,” 2018, Oil on canvas, 38 x 46

"...she told me she considered Ryan’s Baptiste’s paintings to be exceptional..." (Virginia Billeaud Anderson interviewed Ryan Baptiste about his "Light Beyond the Blight" exhibition at Redbud Gallery. Ryan's light-filled images of human figures and New Orleans architecture allegorize spiritual essence.)

Sunday, May 31, 2020

Bar Boheme - Houston Bars - Drag Brunch - Architectural Preservation


"How admirable that Bar Boheme preserved its building, which dates to 1930..." (Discusses Bar Boheme in Montrose neighborhood, its architectural preservation of as well as its splendid patio, cocktails, kid-friendly drag brunch on Sunday.)

Bar Boheme - Houston Bars - Drag Brunch - Architectural Preservation

My friend Hugo Ovalle has a talent for finding interesting places to drink. Abu Dhabi, Kazakhstan, Buenos Aires, anywhere he goes, Hugo’s radar plops him into interesting spots.

It was Hugo who introduced me to Bar Boheme, years ago. The night he did, I fell in love with a particular red leather couch, located on the right side of the large bar. Boheme patrons carry on about the fancy patios, and I’ll admit the patios are splendid, comfortably laid out and decorated with sculpture and greenery. In fact Houston Press readers rank Boheme’s patios “Best Bar Patio” in 2019. Nevertheless, when I go to Boheme, I always highjack my favorite red couch.

The virus, of course, interrupted that ritual for now. I believe though that very soon Governor Greg Abbott will open the bars, and things will get back to normal here in Montrose neighborhood.


Having two Louisiana brothers who own restaurants, makes me particularly aware of how painful these times are for bars and restaurants. Boheme’s response to the lockdown was to boldly service its customers with curbside pickup and free deliveries, until it was allowed to reinstate patio service, doggies included. On Sunday May 31 Boheme will host its kid-friendly Brunch with Drag Bingo, on the patio from 1pm to 4pm. The eye shadow and lashes on Angelina, Cyn City and Chloe give me a deep yearning to go to an expensive salon for pretty makeup.



Despite Houston’s sorry reputation for architectural preservation, my neighborhood has many preserved historic structures. The house I live in, for instance, dates to 1925. There is a house on my block that dates to the 1910. How admirable that Bar Boheme preserved its building, which dates to 1930. When you go, notice the striking asymmetrical brick patterns on the façade. Then shift your gaze to the roof to see, in my opinion, the building’s most stunning architectural feature, a decorative pineapple-style roof finial. I’m guessing the finial is made of limestone. Other historic buildings in the neighborhood have decorative features of this type. Perhaps you noticed the finials on the building that Hugo Ortega restored when he built Hugo’s Restaurant. I think that building dates to 1925.

The other Hugo, my friend with radar for interesting places to drink, lives in the neighborhood. Hugo and his beautiful family have an architecturally preserved home that dates to 1905.


Images are from Bar Boheme’s Facebook and Instagram.

Bar Boheme
307 Fairview St
Houston, Texas 77006
Barboheme.com


(Selected Articles on BOUDINANDBOURBON.COM)

Consciousness Screwing with Us: Rice University’s 2023 Archives of the Impossible Conference

Garland Fielder Weighs In on Architectural Design and the Creative Process

A Talk with Angie Dumas About Her Blog "Da'Stylish Foodie" - Interview

Eating Garlic Beef at Mai's Vietnamese Restaurant - Mai's Immigrant Story

Discovering S.P.Q.R. and Miraculous Oil at the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere

Visiting Azienda Agricola Casamonti in the Chianti Classico - Wine and Cinta Senese Pigs
My Visit to the Houston Farmers Market

ShyKatz Cafe Galveston Island

Romano’s Pizza - Houston Italian Restaurant - Vinny Quarto, Frank Fragale - History of Calabria Italy - Montrose Neighborhood Houston

Unraveling Mint Juleps, Pat O’Brien’s Patio, Julep Bar, Anvil Bar and Refuge

Eating Oysters at Topwater Grill in San Leon at Galveston Bay

A Tribute to Legendary Wildcatter Jim Bob Moffett

Morvant’s Bar and Grill - Formerly Bero's Youngsville Louisiana - 96 Year History
https://www.boudinandbourbon.com/2020/07/morvants-bar-grill-formerly-beros.html

Carolyn Simon, Vermilion Bay Seafood, Tony Chachere Recipe

Bar Boheme - Houston Bars - Drag Brunch - Architectural Preservation
https://www.boudinandbourbon.com/2020/05/bar-boheme-houston-bars-drag-brunch.html

Bayview Inn, Cypremort Point Louisiana, Cranking Up
https://www.boudinandbourbon.com/2020/05/bayview-inn-cypremort-point-louisiana.html

Billeaud's Too, Calvin Trillin, and Jacking with Cajun Boudin
https://www.boudinandbourbon.com/2020/04/billeauds-too-calvin-trillin-and.html

Martha Stewart Visits Lucullus Antiques - Patrick Dunne - New Orleans
https://www.boudinandbourbon.com/2019/10/jimmy-domengeaux-chats-about-his.html

Jimmy Domengeaux Chats about His Louisiana Wetlands Photography Exhibition – Interview
Avesta Persian Grill's Pomegranate and Walnut Stew - Cyrus the Great - Tajikistan - Essay


Notes on van Gogh’s Irises, Walter Annenberg, Louisiana Politics - Essay
https://www.boudinandbourbon.com/2019/05/notes-on-irises-essay.html

A Closer Look at Christy Karll’s Painting “Swerve” –  Interview

A Closer Look - Beef Empanadas with Olives - Seco’s Latin Cuisine - Essay

Giacomo Restaurant's Foradori, Rotaliano, Trentino 2015" - Red wine produced by Elisabetta Foradori in Trentino Italy - A Closer Look
https://www.boudinandbourbon.com/2018/06/giacomo-restaurants-teroldego-foradori.html

Thursday, May 21, 2020

Bayview Inn on Vermillion Bay at Cypremort Point Louisiana - Cranking Up

Bayview Inn - Cypremort Point - Vermillion Bay - Louisiana

"...Bayview Inn at Cypremort Point on the Louisiana coastline has had miserable luck. Last summer Hurricane Barry walloped the establishment..." (After a hurricane forced the owners to rebuild, Bayview Inn at Cypremort Point on Vermilion Bay is reopening. The fuel dock, market and bar & grill with live music are back in business on Memorial Day weekend.)

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Billeaud’s Too, Calvin Trillin, and Jacking with Cajun Boudin

Traditional Boudin links at Billeaud's Too

"...By way of its prototype sausage, boudin has an honorable history that reaches back to ancient times. Homer mentions goat sausage..." (Virginia Billeaud Anderson - BoudinandBourbon.com writes about Calvin Trillin's New Yorker article about boudin which mentions Billy Billeaud's boudin, the history of boudin, boudin makers' innovations.)

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Francis Bacon: Late Paintings - Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - A Tour with Alison de Lima Greene, Didier Ottinger Centre Pompidou

Francis Bacon, Triptych August 1972, 1972, oil and sand on canvas, Tate. © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved. / DACS, London / ARS, NY 2019

"...Conceivably it served Bacon for Dyer to be wasted in the Paris hotel room..." (Virginia Billeaud Anderson - BoudinandBourbon.com previews the exhibition Francis Bacon: Late Paintings with MFAH curator Alison de Lima Greene, and Centre Pompidou’s Didier Ottinger.)