A Look inside Antoine's

A few years ago, we wrote a history of Antoine's, one of the oldest restaurants in America and a New Orleans institution. A few years ago, CBS This Morning took a tour of the famous restaurant. Enjoy!

Mardi Gras 2021?

Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, there isn't much of a Mardi Gras season this year. There will be no balls, no parades, no large-scale celebrations in the French Quarter or anywhere else in the city. There will be masks, just not the ones that New Orleanians are used to wearing. 

Despite the challenges presented by COVID, New Orleanians are still finding ways to celebrate--in ways that won't shock anyone familiar with the magic of the Crescent City. First, since there are no parades this season, intrepid natives are turning their homes into "house floats." Instead of decorating floats, people are decorating their own homes instead. 

Secondly, New Orleans residents are eating king cake. Lots of king cake. King cake sellers and bakeries were expecting a tough year following the cancellation of most of the city's Mardi Gras events. Instead, however, residents are taking refuge in one of the few, safe and responsible Mardi Gras traditions--king cake. 

Chaya Conrad of Bywater Bakery, a small, locally owned bakery, relies on king cakes to stay profitable every year was worried about a lack of sales.  Instead she said, "It's madness. It's through the roof. Thank God for king cake season." 

Local restaurants, struggling to stay open with reduced seating capacity, are relying on king cakes to help boost their chances of survival. Brennan's, the famous local restaurant chain, has produced their first ever king cake this year. Patrick Brennan, the chain's bakery manager, said "We've pulled servers, cooks, dishwashers, everyone, they're getting hours they wouldn't have had. We're lucky we had the facility and the equipment we needed ready to go so we could keep doing this." 

Even when we can't gather together for Mardi Gras, New Orleanians still find a way to les bon temps rouler. 

Crawfish Boil Flashback: Better Call Doug

A few years ago, our friends the Mighty Pelicans recorded "Better Call Doug" a song in honor of DGA's very own, Doug Green. The song is available below along with pictures from Crawfish Boils Past. Enjoy! 

Some More of Olive & Mabel

Back at the beginning of the pandemic, we shared some dog videos from UK announcer Andrew Cotter. Then in September, we shared a few more. Marshaling all of his announcing prowess to the task of gently mocking his dogs, Cotter has developed a loyal following, gotten a book deal, and reminded us all just how much we love our dogs--no matter how much grass they eat. 

Here's a few more of his videos that have come out in the meantime. Enjoy! 

 

DGA Crawfish Boil 2021?

Normally, this would be the time when we'd announce the date and theme of our yearly crawfish boil. There is, however, nothing normal about the present and we regret that there will not be an in-person crawfish boil this year. 

HOWEVER, just because there won't be an in-person boil this year doesn't mean all is lost. Keep an eye out in the mail for this year's T-shirt and an invitation to join us next year at the crawfish boil. By then we all should be vaccinated and it will be safe for us to gather again. We are looking forward to it as much as you are. 

Stay safe and wear your masks! 

Welcome back King Cakes!

2020 sucked. But now that it's 2021, that means only one thing--king cake season is upon us. And while we're still in the midst of a pandemic, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy king cakes, provided we do it in the comfort of our own homes with our pod or somewhere outside appropriately socially distanced.  Hell, we could all just buy king cakes separately and eat them over Zoom together. However we enjoy king cakes, let's do it safely. 

Cake to celebrate these guys? Sure, why not? 

King cake season lasts from January 6 until Mardi Gras. Why January 6? January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany, celebrating the visit of the Three Magi (or Kings) to the infant baby Jesus. The first king cakes appeared in France during the Medieval period as a way to celebrate this important moment in the Christian calendar. They soon became an important feature of Carnival (otherwise known as Mardi Gras). 

When the French came to New Orleans in the early 17th century, they brought their holidays and traditions with them. Explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville landed on the coast about sixty miles south of present day New Orleans on March 2, 1699—the day before Mardi Gras. The holiday and the subsequent French colony stuck. 

The king cake, however, did not take hold until the early 1870s. French immigrants brought their king cake recipes with them and in classic New Orleans fashion, a new tradition merged with the old to create something wonderful. It took until about 1950 for the king cake to become a popular staple of New Orleans cuisine. In the past decade or so, king cakes have really come into their own. Popular interest in all things New Orleans grew after Hurricane Katrina and next day shipping have allowed king cakes to be shipped across the country, spreading their influence and deliciousness.

Is that the baby Jesus there?

Now let’s talk about the cake itself. The King cake began as a circular bread dough topped with sugar with a bean inside. Over the past several hundred years, however, the king cake has evolved into a sweet cake covered with sugar and icing. The dough, previously hollow, is now braided and stuffed with cinnamon, cream cheese, or other fillings.  The colors atop a King cake are the same as the ones of Mardi Gras—purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power.  

King cakes also feature a small plastic baby hidden somewhere in or underneath the cake. Tradition holds that the person who finds the baby is responsible for buying the next cake. Some claim that the baby represents the baby Jesus and that McKenzie's Pastry Shoppes, a New Orleans area bakery, were the first to put the baby in the cake. In 1990, McKenzie's owner Donald Entringer Sr. denied that the baby had anything to do with Jesus. He told the New Orleans Times-Picayune, “I've heard people say it's supposed to represent the Christ Child, but that's not true. Why we picked this, I don't know. It was cute. It was just a trinket that happened to be a baby.” Whatever the truth may be, watch out for the baby when you bite into your first slice of King cake.

 

Unsurprisingly here at DGA, everyone has their own king cake preferences. Bill is a big fan of the King cakes from Butter Krisp Diner in Covington. He prefers homemade king cakes and ones filled with strawberry cream cheese. 

Benson has a lasting affection for the king cakes once made by McKenzie’s. Luckily, the Tastee Donut chain in-and-around New Orleans purchased McKenzie’s old recipe and sells them at their stores. McKenzie’s consists of a simple brioche without cinnamon or filling. There’s only colored sugar topping the cake. 

Matt prefers the Mandeville Bake Shop because it's near his house, though the best one he’s ever had came from Randazzo’s. 

Doug’s favorite king cake is whatever one appears at his house. 

All Your Yamadori Questions, Answered

The video below comes from Underhill Bonsai's Third Thursday program and covers every aspect of collecting deciduous trees in the wild. We begin with the basics including necessary tools and ethical collection practices. Then we go through how to lift the tree and transport it home. Finally we processed three trees, removing them from the field soil, pruning the roots, chopping the trunk and putting them into bonsai soil. If you are interested in yamadori collection, this is the best 2 hours you can spend in preparation!