The Short List: Sat Feb 5th

Soul Rebels @ Blue Nile - 11pm

John Boutte @ dba - 8pm

Dirty Dozen Brass Band @ dba - 10pm

Groovesect @ Donna's on Rampart - 10pm

Cafe Nino - finally! good pizza

New Orleans lacks in four major areas of delicious food: Mexican food, Deli (po boys are not deli food), Chinese food and Italian pizza parlors. As far as Italian goes, the options are limited to shoddy replicas of New York-style pies, "hipster" pizza(which isn't always bad), healthy cardboard crust pizza, and bs American chain restaurant garbage.

Luckily, one place stands above all of that disappointment. Cafe Nino rivals most of my favorite pizza places up north and puts the rest to shame. The marinara makes the parlor, and Nino's has it covered. Nino, an old Italian dude who runs the place and can be found sitting at the counter most afternoons, listening to Louis Prima and watching soccer on TV.

The building looks like an old, converted Subway sandwich shop. You can grab a slice of pizza, order one of the daily entrees and a side of pasta, or order something off of the menu to be made for you. I usually get a cheese calzone, which is always amazing.

Their selection of wine is as follows: "red" or "white." But for 4.50 you get a 20oz styrofoam cup full - which is a great compliment to the food (and a trip to drink with a lid and straw). (If Nino is working, chat with him. Sometimes he'll give you a little free wine (read: about a normal glass size) "for the digestion.")

What else can I say? Go there. You won't be disappointed.

The Short List: Fri Feb 4th

Mia Borders @ 12 Bar - 10pm

Kermit Ruffins @ The Blue Nile - 11pm

Good Enough for Good Times @ The Maple Leaf -11pm

The Blue Party @ Republic - 10pm

Ellis Marsalis Quartet @ Snug Harbor - 8pm

Rebirth @ Tipitina's - 10pm

Mardi Gras Indians on my mind

I've been doing a lot of reading about the Indians lately - so I thought I'd share some of the cool stuff I've found.

First a link to a great interview with Bo Dollis from Blues Access Magazine (which has since been cancelled):

Wild Indians Down in New Orleans: An Interview with Big Chief Bo Dollis of the Wild Magnolias

And here's one of my favorite Bob Compton shots of one of the Red Hawk Hunters

 

(no one ever notices my favorite part: whitey hanging from a tree in the bead work)

 

The Short List: Weds Feb 2nd

Khris Royal and Dark Matter @ The Blue Nile - 10pm

The Tin Men @ dba - 7pm

Walter "Wolfman" Washington @ dba - 10pm

I'll be at Tin Men if anyone gets bored...

The Columns Hotel/Bar

The Columns is a gorgeous old hotel located on St. Charles and General Taylor. The ample outdoor patio seating and the bar on the first floor provide you with the perfect setting to pretend you've traveled back a hundred years in time. If you're looking to add a little genteel New Orleans culture to your life, this is the place to go.

The Good:
-There are tons of comfortable nooks in the bar area to hide in.
-The bartenders can make your drink, whatever it is and they have pretty decent happy hour prices.
-The appetizer-style menu is as good as any other upscale bar.
-Ladies, don't bother with the bathroom in the bar area, go to the one to the left behind the hotel desk - two clean stalls+a sitting room.

The Not-As Good:
-They're a little overpriced for upper shelf liquor.
-The bar tends to get crowded with frat graduates on gamedays and later on weekend nights.
-The cocktail waitresses are awesome girls, but have a hard time keeping up when the bar gets busy.

Good to Know:
-As of 2011, the bar area is officially non-smoking (which is either good or bad depending on who you are).
-Dress up or dress down - anything from a t shirt to a cocktail dress is considered acceptable (although cocktail dresses are a lot more fun).

The Short List: Tues Feb 1st

John Mooney @ Chickie Wah Wah - 8pm

Rebirth @ The Maple Leaf - 11pm


A full calendar can be found at wwoz.com