These 6 New Orleans Restaurants Are a Must

Brennan’s

You can’t visit New Orleans without having Breakfast at Brennan’s.  Located in the French Quarter, Brennan’s is the breakfast tradition. This is not breakfast you can rush through.  No quick cup of coffee, two fried eggs and toast.  Make sure you have enough time to leisurely enjoy your meal, which starts off with an “eye opener,” an alcoholic drink such as a Cajun Bloody Mary or Brandy Milk Punch.  Then try the New Orleans Turtle Soup as an appetizer followed by one of Brennan’s famous dishes such as Eggs Hussarde (poached eggs on homemade English muffins, coffee cured Canadian bacon, hollandaise and marchard de vin sauce).  Even if you’re stuffed and you probably will be at this point, you must finish with dessert.  The world famous Bananas Foster is insane. (Of course if you’ve already had an early breakfast, you can get away with an eye opener,  Turtle Soup and Vanilla Scented French Toast, which I did this go-round since I experienced the more traditional breakfast on an earlier visit to NOLA.  

Dessert for breakfast! Photo: Gerrie Summers

Brennan’s has recently undergone a few renovations, so be sure to walk off your breakfast by taking a moment to peek at the restaurant’s Courtyard, the Murphy Room (a chess room) and other dining rooms (each “tells a specific story”.)  The front room, which once served as a kitchen, is now a lovely dining room with views of Royal Street and the Supreme Court House of Louisiana.

Musicians performing on Royal Street. Photo: Gerrie Summers

Brennan’s, 417 Royal Street, 504-525-9711,  www.brennansneworleans.com. 

SoBou

SoBou, described as a “spirited restaurant south of Bourbon,” is inside the W Hotel on Chartres Street in the French Quarter.  I was offered a sampling of signature dishes, such as the Yellow Tuna Cones (from Snacky Things on the menu). The cones are designed to pop the whole thing in your mouth, if you can, and are delicious. From the Small Bites, I had the YellowFin Tuna En Escabeche (grilled onions, pickled fennel and local citrus) and the Gumbo Du Jour, which on that night was 7 Greens Gumbo, a 100% vegan gumbo, with seven different greens, including black and red kale.  If all vegan food tasted this good, I’d be vegan.  Finally from the Big Bites, I tried the Saffron Butter Glazed Geaux Fish (toasted garlic blackened shrimp, beurre monte blanched heirloom carrots with onion-lemon wilted black kale.)  It’s also a great place to go for Happy Hour, with a number of tasty cocktails. The Georgia O’Keefe II (Cathead honeysuckle vodka, elderflower, hibiscus, citrus and cava) has quite a kick.

Georgia O'Keefe II cocktail. Photo: Gerrie Summers

SoBou, 310 Chartres Street, 504-552-4095, www.sobounola.com. 

Arnaud’s

Arnaud’s Restaurant, also located in the French Quarter, has been family owned and operated since 1918, and is the place to splurge for creole cuisine.  I experienced a special menu that featured the signature dish, Shrimp Arnaud (Gulf shrimp marinated in Creole Remoulade Sauce) served alongside boiled Louisiana Crawfish Salad, Turtle Soup, Trout Amandine (Fried filet topped with sliced almonds and lemon butter sauce), ending with Bananas Foster (bananas sautéed in butter, cinnamon and brown sugar, flamed with rum and served over French vanilla ice cream.)  

Arnaud's dining room. Photo: Gerrie Summers

There’s also a Mardi Gras museum on property, open for customer viewing.

View costumes, vintage photos and more at the Mardi Gras Museum.

Photo: Gerrie Summers

Arnaud’s, 813 Bienville Street, 504-523-5433, www.arnauds.com.  

Dooky Chase’s Restaurant

Dooky Chase’s Restaurant features cajun/creole cuisine and is one of the oldest African American restaurants in the nation, in one of the nation’s oldest African American neighborhoods, Treme.  Chef Leah Chase, considered the Queen of Creole Cuisine, has served up classic dishes like red beans and rice, gumbo, fried chicken, serving several presidents, including President Obama. When I visited, back in 2010, there was a portrait of Barack Obama with a huge, satisfied grin. I knew I was in for a treat.

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Edgar Lawrence “Dooky” Chase, Jr., husband of Leah Chase and owner of Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, on November 22, 2016.

Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, 2301 Orleans Avenue, 504-821-0600, www.dookychaserestaurant.com. 

Cochon

Cochon, located in the Central Business/Warehouse District, is run by chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski, and is described as pork-centric, Louisiana cuisine and inspired by the Cajan and creole traditions passed down by the grandparents of Chef Link.  The restaurant serves locally sourced pork, fresh produce and seafood to create authentic cajan cuisine in a rustic, but cozy interior inside a renovated warehouse.

A dish at Cochon. Photo: Gerrie Summers

Cochon, 930 Tchoupitoulas Street, 504-588-2133, www.cochonrestaurant.com. 

Peche Seafood Grill

Peche Seafood Grill. Photo: Gerrie Summers

Peche, Chef Link and Stryjewski’s seafood restaurant, is also in the Central Business/Warehouse District. The menu is inspired by South American, Spanish and Gulf Coast cuisines, with fresh, local fish grilled over hardwood coals. Feast on smothered catfish or the whole grilled fish of the day, as well as fresh oysters at the oyster bar. Let’s say Peche does for fish what Cochon does for pork.  A lot.

  An oyster shucker at Peche. Photo: Gerrie Summers

Peche, 800 Magazine Street, 504-522-1744, www.pecherestaurant.com. 

Robben Island: A Monument to the Triumph of the Human Spirit

This article was originally published on June 13, 2008 for a now defunct travel website and entitled, Robben Island: From the Ashes of Apartheid, a Monument to the Human Spirit.  On a trip to Cape Town, I visited the island and the cell where Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned. He was released on February 11, 1990 and four years later became the first black president of South Africa (1994-1999). 

I wrote this article the same year of a presidential election that would make history, as the United States elected our first black president. The election of a black president, I’m sad to say, was something that I didn’t believe was even possible in the United States. Eight years later, race is still a volatile issue, and law and justice can still be determined based upon the color of your skin.

I was walking with a group of journalists to the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Across the bay was the notorious Robben Island. 

The Gateway was officially opened by former South African President Nelson Mandela on December 1, 2001. With multimedia exhibits, an auditorium, restaurant, museum and shop, it serves as the embarkation point to Robben Island. The tour begins with a half hour ferry ride across Table Bay.

Ferry heading to Robben Island/Photo: Gerrie Summers

From a distance Robben Island looks like any island -- beautiful, in fact -- but the video of the island's history reminds you that most people who were en route saw no such beauty as they took this journey in shackles and chains.

South African Airways had invited us on this visit to South Africa, to promote tourism to a country that for years has been seen as a pariah, and for good reason. After the end of apartheid many wanted Robben Island closed forever, but others saw it differently, viewing it as a "triumph of the human spirit." 

Robben Island, which means "Seal Island," was declared a World Heritage Site on December 1997 and now functions as a museum and serves as a reminder and tribute to the courage of people who fought against a racist regime at their own peril. But as former political prisoner Ahmed Kathrada stated: 

While we will not forget the brutality of apartheid, we will not want Robben Island to be a monument of our hardship and suffering. We would want it to be a triumph of the human spirit against the forces of evil; a triumph of wisdom and largeness of spirit against small minds and pettiness; a triumph of courage and determination over human frailty and weakness.

For nearly 400 years, colonial and apartheid rulers banished political troublemakers, the sick and social outcasts to this rocky island. Slaves, political and religious Muslim leaders who opposed colonialism, African leaders who resisted British rule in South Africa -- all have left footprints upon the shores. During the 1800s it was a dumping ground for the sick. There were three hospitals for the chronically ill, leprosy sufferers and for the mentally disturbed. It was a military base in 1936, a military training center in the 1950s, and in 1961 the apartheid government opened it again as a prison. 

The Maximum Security Prison was known as the "hell-hole" of apartheid and described by Nelson Mandela as "the hardest, most iron-fisted outpost in the South African penal system." It was built by the prisoners, over graves from the leper period, using slate from the stone quarries in which they toiled.

Former political prisoners now work as tour guides on the island. Our guide was Laloo Chiba, who seemed surprisingly serene to me -- a gentle, wise soul, the only hint of his ordeal reflected in haunted gray eyes. 

Laloo Chiba/Photo: Gerrie Summers

We followed him into the courtyard of B section where leaders of different groups were sent to be held in isolation in single cells, separated from the general prison population. Political prisoners who posed the greatest threat to the apartheid system like Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, amongst others, were banished here in an attempt to crush their ideas and break their spirit.

We walked past 30 empty isolation cells of the B-section corridor, pausing at #5, the tiny cell of Nelson Mandela. Mandela was moved from his original cell #7 to #5, which is the one shown to tourists and where he was held just before his release.

Prison door of Nelson Mandela's cell./Robben Island prison yard./Inside Nelson Mandela's cell. Photos: Gerrie Summers

Before his release, I still had the image of Mandela as a young, handsome man with a dark, shortly cropped Afro and a look of determination. I remember watching the news footage when he was freed, seeing an elderly gentleman with gray hair and frail, thin body . . . and I gasped.  And I was so angry.  His youth, his life, had been taken away from him. But they had not destroyed his spirit nor his sharp mind, and there was so much strength within him. And I did not hear words of anger come from him, nor from our quiet guide.

Jaded by what I consider to be a slow process of racial relations in the States, I was stunned when Nelson Mandela was elected president and I wondered if I would ever be a witness to a black president in my own country.

Nelson Mandela circa 1937/Public Domain

We moved on, taking a 45-minute bus tour of the island past the prison house of Robert Sobukwe, founder and leader of the Pan Africanist Congress, to the lime quarry, where prisoners toiled in the blinding, hot sun. Prisoners were not allowed to wear any protection for their skin or eyes. The glare of the sun on the limestone was damaging to the eyes, and when chemicals from the limestone came in contact with sweat, it burned the skin. But the lime quarry was where political prisoners mixed with other prisoners and where political education and communication amongst prisoners took place.

We saw other buildings on the island and then were left to wander and reflect. I gazed at Cape Town across the bay. Turning back, in the distance, I could see bashful antelope keeping their distance. Even nature had responded to the island's rebirth. Life was flourishing again. 

On the way to the former prison, we had spotted a lone Cape Jackass Penguin, peering cautiously behind the brush as we passed. The Cape Jackass penguin, once abundant in the 17th century, had disappeared from the island due to human activity. In 1983 the penguins reestablished themselves as a breeding population, along with the African Oystercatcher, which, at one time, was on the list of endangered species.  There are 74 bird species recorded on the island and small herds of rare South African bontebok, springbok, and European fallow deer.

I am thinking about the U.S. presidential elections now. I hope that a vicious and divisive campaign will not be waged, with the different camps purposely placing negative spins on things that have nothing to do with the true issues and concerns of the American people. Will this election bring up old wounds and old hatreds? I wonder if one day we will see triumph of wisdom and largeness of spirit against small minds and pettiness.

Take A Look: Peter Som For DesigNation Preview

Fashion designer Peter Som's spring/summer 2014 DesigNation collection for Kohl's will be available April 10, but you can get a few of the pieces now at the preview sale going on today and tomorrow.

Here's a look at some of my favorites.

Wrap Maxi Dress ($78)/Wrap Top ($40), Maxi Skirt with Slit ($64)/Tank Maxi Dress ($78)

Drawstring Eyelet Top ($68), Sporty Eyelet Skirt ($54)/Moto Jacket ($78), Eyelet Ruffle Dress ($74)

Moto Vest ($78), Graphic Tank ($38), Elastic Cuff Soft Pant ($50)/Solid Tapered Jumpsuit ($88)

Bowler Jacket ($78), Flare Skirt ($54)/Mermaid Dress ($68)

Drawstring Eyelet Top ($60), Flat-Front Eyelet Shorts ($44)/Romper ($64)

To purchase items from Peter Som's DesigNation for Kohl's collection, visit Kohl's or Kohls.com.

Peter Som for DesigNation Event

Designer Peter Som and Gerrie Summers

Wednesday night I got a sneak peek at some of the pieces from the new Kohl’s DesigNation collection featuring the designs of Peter Som at an event held at the Kohl’s store in Jersey City.

The Peter Som for DesigNation collection was inspired by St. Barths, which happens to be the designer’s favorite vacation spot.  The collection includes dresses, skirts and tops that are reminiscent of the sandy shores and charming and colorful shops and cottages found on the island.  On the other hand the collection has a lot of black and white pieces with interesting striped patterns.

Peter Som Event staging area.

The event included three challenges in which we were to create 3 – 5 outfits by mixing and matching Peter Som pieces with other clothing items we’d normally find in our closets, occasion dressing (like Easter brunch, weddings, Mother’s day) and spring trends.  Peter Som was on hand to help. (Guess who needed lots of it!)

Photo 1: Romper ($64) paired with a denim jacket and bright red bag. Photo 2: My fave - the Moto Vest ($78) (over the Solid Tapered Jumpsuit) with a Jennifer Lopez necklace.

The full limited edition collection goes on sale April 10 at Kohl's and Kohls.com.

You can read more about the collection and the event at my Examiner Home & Living column.

Note: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Kohl's. I attended a live event and received a promotional item to thank me for participating.

The End of Plumber Pants and Mom Jeans

I have a collection of low-rise jeans that probably have a permanent crease from where they’ve been folded over hangers because I seldom wear them. Why? Because they’re as uncomfortable as a pair of thongs and just as revealing when you bend over or sit down.

I didn’t intend to buy so many of those annoying pants. In fact, I searched high and low for high-waist stretch jeans, but at one time, low-risers were the trend, and the only ones available in most stores. Even if you were tired of low-rise jeans, you didn’t want to wear the much derided mom jeans.

If you’re on the hunt for the perfect jean that flatters your figure but doesn’t reveal more than you intended, consider the Serene High Waist Jean from CJ by Cookie Johnson. The Serene features a contoured, straight leg cut, a double button closure, five pockets, and is made of stretch denim (97% cotton/3% spandex) for a comfortable fit. The jean is available in three washes: Deep Velvet, Optic White and Pitch Black and sizes 24-38. You can find the Serene High Waist Jean ($158) at Saks and Neiman Marcus. For more information visit CJbyCookieJohnson.com.

Am I Aries or Pisces?

The whole “controversy” over the so-called new zodiac had me thinking about the first line in “Controversy,” the 1981 Prince hit--I just can’t believe all the things people say.

Am I Aries, or am I Pisces today?

So it was fortunate that I had been given a Cloud 9 Living gift card and could choose from a selection of “experiences” across the country, which, depending on the region (and monetary value of the card) could be anything from hang-gliding to dance lessons. Once I picked the fencing class, there was $95 left, so as part of the “experience” I chose a 30-minute Phone in Astrology Reading.

Before discussing my chart, Vedic astrologer Steven Stuckey asked if I had been listening to the news reports about the new zodiac. He explained that Vedic astrology is calculated differently from the Western zodiac. So the gist of it is, I am Pisces in the Vedic system, but still Aries according to Western astrology.

“Things move back in this system in order to sync up with the actual star field," he began. "All astrology used to be based upon observation in the past where people would just look up at the stars and they would see the planets in the star field. Well, today the planets and the star field don’t align anymore. They’re about one sign off. This is due to the fact that the Greeks started calculating astrology a little bit differently. The Western world is basically using Greek astrology. If you could have seen the sun the day you were born, it would have been in a star field in the constellation of Pisces. This is the difference that a lot of people don’t understand. Anyway a lot of the things will still be similar. You’ll find out.”

Photo: Sagredo/Wikimedia

He started the reading with some general things about my chart. I was born at a full moon. People born at a full moon are very sensitive, very conscious and more aware. “So it’s usually an indication of higher awareness and it brings about a lot of knowledge,” he said. “Your life has been blessed in a certain sense with the pursuit of knowledge and understanding." This knowledge and awareness often has a lot to do with the things I do in life “in terms of your work and that kind of thing. A lot of times people born under a full moon are more intuitive just because they’re generally more aware and conscious. That means their feeling levels are usually higher as well. [The moon represents the feelings.] You also have Scorpio rising which is considered to be another very sensitive placement, intuitive, and sometimes psychic.

“You’re blessed with a beautiful Jupiter. Jupiter represents knowledge and wisdom. It represents high teachers. Your Jupiter is in the ninth house of the chart, which is the house that represents long distance travels, higher learning institutions, foreign trade. It represents people that are teachers, people who might be involved in legal matters. You’re fortunate in life and you get good teachers. You also may be a teacher yourself.”

Photo: Fulcanelli/Wikimedia

There were teachers in my mother’s family. One of my sisters is a teacher. I even considered the profession until I realized that I could possibly be under appreciated and underpaid. So I became an under appreciated and underpaid writer, but at least I love what I’m doing and the writing quite often involves long distance travel.

After talking about some of the topics I write about, Steven looked at my chart again. “The moon is in the sign of Virgo,” he said. “Virgo is a mental sign ruled by Mercury. The planet Mercury (which is involved with writers and communication) was involved in the full moon.” So I have a moon and Mercury opposition in my chart. The Moon represents the subconscious mind and Mercury represents the conscious mind. “What happens with moon/Mercurys is that they have a lot of knowledge. They have a lot of information going through their head all the time. This can be a creative thing for writing because there’s just so much information that is coming through. The other side can be more technical because the moon in Virgo is a stickler for detail and they’re intellectually oriented, but the Mercury factor brings in a creative factor.

“In this chart I would say you’re also disseminating knowledge in your writing. With this Jupiter factor, which means a person who bestows knowledge, a person who has access to knowledge, what that might mean to you is, within the context of that writing, you’re a teacher in some way or another.”

Although I’m finding it hard to believe (because in laymen’s terms, Saturn is totally messing with me, making life, quite frankly, suck) Steven told me that I have “a certain amount of grace in life" so I'm fortunate. "There are obviously ups and downs like everybody has, but generally you have a good amount of luck which is brought about from previous lifetimes of good work.”

Not everybody has this kind of a chart, he added. “Normally when I see charts like this, the person has been initiated by a guru and they are practicing heavy duty involvement in higher knowledge, especially connected to the East and things like this.” It’s possible that I haven’t met my “teacher” yet.

There’s also hamsa yoga in my chart. “Hamsa means swan-like, and it refers to people who are blessed with certain amounts of knowledge and information. So there’s a blessing in your chart and that’s one of the reasons why, if you’re in trouble, something happens to help you."

People used to explain some of the otherworldly help I’ve received at times with the saying “God protects babies and fools.” Lately I’ve heard such comments as “You asked and the Universe answered.”

"There’s more to it than that,” he continued, and suggested ways in which I could pursue a certain path, which, oddly, the month before I had actually started looking into.

And it seems there’s a deeper reason for the large collection of books about yoga, tai chi, meditation, feng shui, holistic and Chinese medicine, among other things that line my bookshelves.

So whether I’m Pisces or Aries is still in debate, in my mind at least. Maybe I’ll think more about it after my yoga class today. Or perhaps I’ll just let the Higher Teacher guide me.

For more information read New Zodiac Signs in 2011?

SoftSheen Announces Bria Murphy as New Global Brand Ambassador for Dark and Lovely

(l to r) Nia Long, Bria Murphy, Eddie Murphy

PHOTO: Courtesy of SoftSheen Carson

Eddie Murphy’s daughter, model Bria Murphy is Dark and Lovely’s new Global Brand Ambassador. The appointment was revealed at an event held by SoftSheen Carson at West Chelsea lounge, Juliet Supperclub.

Dark and Lovely Healthy-Gloss 5 Relaxer and Maintenance System

PHOTO: Courtesy of SoftSheen Carson

“I grew up using Dark and Lovely products and I am so proud to be part of a brand that celebrates the diversity of African American women and inspires them to be self-confident, glamorous and fun,” Bria told the guests which included mom and dad, Nicole Mitchell and Eddie Murphy, and actress Nia Long.

Nicole Mitchell, Bria Murphy, Eddie Murphy and little sis Shayne Murphy

PHOTO: Courtesy of SoftSheen Carson

Bria, 21, will be the face of Dark and Lovely’s new Healthy-Gloss 5 System which includes Healthy Gloss 5 Relaxer in Regular, Super and Color Treated formulas and maintenance products that include shampoo, conditioner, a leave-in treatment and hair crème.

Bria, who is signed with L.A. Models, will appear in television and print campaigns, as well as consumer and other events promoting the new product line.