Back home with a vengeance

So the whole family made it back home...including my 8-months-pregnant wife. The drive from wintry Chicago was a 3 day affair with the 2 kids, but all is well now.

I'm writing this from Cafe Luna in uptown New Orleans. Right now, I'm lookig across the street at the abandoned Starbucks. Fine, Starbucks, don't come back. We don't want you. Everything going on, and I mean everything, has convinced me to support the locals first when at all possible. That's why I'm drinking coffee at a local coffeeshop, not a national chain.

New Orleanians, as a rule, don't fall for that chain psychosis, like the rest of the country. When we do like chains, they tend to have local origins: the much lamented Schwegmann's, K&B, Canal Villere, and Ruth's Chris. But as for me, I'm never darkening the doors of any Ruth's Chris ever again.

These bastards abandoned New Orleans as soon as possible after Katrina. I call them Evacuees #2. Evacuee #1 is, of course, Tom Benson.

So if you want a good steak, might I recommend The Crescent City Steakhouse. If you're in the quarter, try out Dickie Brennan's when it reopens. Just don't encourage those who want to take the money and run, like the corporation that owns Ruth's Chris.

Finally, this should be a blog entry with no profanity! Huzzah! The thing is, only by dropping an f-bomb every third word can I convey my hatred for everything going on wrong around here. I'm trying to stay in the angry mode, though, because right after this comes the worst stage: hopelessness. By staying angry, I'm avoiding hopelessness.

However, driving down Chef highway in Gentilly, and going through mid-city, I sometimes feel like hopelessness may be winning the fight.

Don't forget us...

Comments

[Ray]

This never would have happened if Ruth Fertel were still alive.

[Mr. Clio]

Glad you're here! l've posted on the Ruth's Chris topic. See pic. http://worldclassneworleans.blogspot.com/2005/11/world-class-city-deserves-world-class.html

[Tim]

Yeah you rite, Crescent City Steakhouse always was better than Ruth's. Now that it flooded, Crescent City might even redecorate the place for the first time since Truman was in office!

And I'm with you for dumping Starbucks on Magazine. When I got back to town, it still had plywood all over it and some wag had spray painted on it something like "We're closed--we don't care." Cafe Luna opened up pretty quickly after the storm even though a car almost ran into it.
Peace,
Tim

[Steve T.]

Though the coffee beans they sell are pretty good, Starbucks's reputation for coming in like the mafia and muscleing aside the locals has earned them a lot of bitterness and resentment across the country.

It has delighted me to see that this strategy just will not work in New Orleans. Local tastes, and local loyalty to the companies that service those tastes, far outweigh Seatlle trendiness.

BTW, I'm a California native who first visited NOLA in 1980, when the process of getting utterly hooked by the place began. In the end, I couldn't resist, and moved here full time in 1994. So we have that in common. Just can't stay away.

OK, the fact that my house in The Valley was thoroughly whacked by the Northridge earthquake did have SOMEthing to do with it.

[Sara]

Guess I'm a little late at seeing this post, but thanks for supporting us at Cafe Luna. We appreciate your business!

Sara and Ernesto
Cafe Luna owners

[glendale medical marijuana]

The possibility are bigger than before. I have faith on this one.

[Asif]

- Estoy verdaderamente iaptcamdo por la alta calidad del trabajo que realizaron con nosotros Es increible el talento que tuvieron que desplegar para realzar lo mejor de nosotros y los paisajes donde se realizaron las tomas. Siempre he dicho que mi esposa es demasiado bella, y pocos pueden captar el total sentido de su extraordinaria hermosura. Ahora veo que hay dos mas que han sabido captar precisamente eso, pero con solo dos camaras de fotos: USTEDES. Eso solo lo puede producir un verdadero ARTISTA, mas que simplemente un profesional de la fotografia. Esto que ustedes realizaron es mas que simplemente sacar una bonita y bien lograda foto lo que ustedes hicieron es una verdadera y delicada obra de arte. Los felicito de todo corazon, porque no tengo dudas de que van a llegar muy lejos. No me cansare nunca de decirles siempre: MUCHAS GRACIAS por darnos estos hermosos recuerdos!!!

[Yogendra]

I heard you come read to us students at Occidental College in 2005, and I still reemmber how awesome it was. Thanks!Now I am a student teacher, slinging English at eighth-graders. Some of them already love poetry. I am going to pull your books off my shelf to help them love more.

[Ito]

new moon hasnt even started fimilng yetso its either a fan made one which it probably isor youve watched the twilight one and got comfuxed(although that trailer sosnt have any wolfes init)xx

[Vasile]

I think you would like Austin more than N.O.Besides being below sea level and waiting for the next flood is not my idea of serctiuy.Personally I like to visit N.O. but the crime is too much for me to stay there.