Page 3 - Robert Peyton News Today

My New Orleans 03/04/2021   I would first of all like to thank those of you who’ve already sent me birthday wishes. This year the celebration of my entry into the world falls on a Sunday, and I am told that because of the pandemic the parade has been canceled. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I hope that you will all celebrate in your own way and at your own pace. For my gift to myself, I bought a blender. It’s a Vitamix that I found on sale online and it has been refurbished, but it...

My New Orleans 02/25/2021   My wife and I have, for the most part, been ordering takeout rather than dining in restaurants because there is a pandemic and we have family at a higher risk of bad outcomes from exposure to the virus than most. Including, as my wife points out, me. I have, however, had two meals in the last week or so about which I can report. The first was with my son, at the Dat Dog location on Freret Street. There’s really no better place to eat a hot dog than that patio, and...

My New Orleans   Carnival is upon us, despite the restrictions. We are all, I hope, looking for ways to celebrate the season without undue risk. Let us not forget that we’re celebrating, ostensibly, the last day we can before we start 40 days of fasting for lent on Ash Wednesday. We are having to do a lot of things differently these days, and we’re adapting as we always do. The House Float movement has been fantastic, and it’s spread all over the City. It’s more than just folks decorat...

My New Orleans   Before you know it, it will be Carnival. My wife and daughters recently visited the King Cake Hub and I am told it was delightful. They came home with a cake from Haydel’s, and I was well pleased. “It’s like what I imagine McKenzie’s used to taste like, except not dry” is what I said. I liked McKenzie’s king cakes, for the record. It’s a great idea: a central location you can go and buy a king cake from a bunch of different bakeries. It’s the Tsukiji fish marke...

My New Orleans   It does not feel like Carnival. It is Wednesday as I write this. I know that because I have a phone, but over the last few months I’ve had trouble keeping up with the day of the week. I’m not alone, I know. Working from home and attending to kids who are learning “virtually” tends to bleed one day into the next. We’ve also had other things to worry about. Things like the pandemic and the political situation. This is not the venue for politics, but I do want to mentio...

My New Orleans   I now weigh 157 pounds. That is not, statistically, a lot for a man of my age and height. The problem is that whereas some people can wear weight well, at 157 pounds I look something like a pincushion. A beautiful, blue-eyed pincushion, but a pincushion nevertheless… I would blame the pandemic, but I worked from home before we had to start sheltering in place so that’s probably not it. I have been exercising less, I suppose, and that could have something to do with it. But...

My New Orleans   Last week I apologized for the light tone of the piece I was writing in the context of ever-rising numbers of COVID infections and the prospect of a mutated strain that would be even more infectious. I was naïve, or as another famous man said recently, “WHAT A SCHMUCK I AM!” Yesterday was Epiphany, the 9th anniversary of my marriage and the day my father-in-law got his vaccine shot. As is our habit, my wife and I enjoyed a meal from Ancora, which was delicious as always, ...

My New Orleans 12/17/2020   I like Donald Link and have since I first met him. He wrote a letter to the editor that was published in The Advocate the other day, and I think he pretty effectively expressed the issue a lot of restaurants have. There are risks in everything, and dining indoors is not something I would do at the moment, but private gatherings have been a larger source of infection than restaurants, which when managed properly, have a lot more control over the environment and can ...

My New Orleans   “Haute Plates” has been a column in which I’ve related news about restaurants, written recipes and made comments on food culture generally. That has become problematic – particularly the part where I write about restaurants. There’s news, but it’s not good news for the most part and there are only so many ways to say “takeout” or “Yes, there are outdoor heaters.” Restaurants keep opening, though; for example, Bywater Brew Pub opened recently at Royal and Mo...