Found in New Orleans:
Cozy Corner, No Help, And A Million Years Later
Back in January 2015, Cozy Corner in Memphis suffered a fire, and in March opened a temporary location across the street at Encore Cafe.
The ‘old’ Cozy Corner had its own unique atmosphere. The new space is open but somewhat dark, and has a different vibe. When Shugie dropped an entire container of baked beans which splattered in a large area in the middle of the restaurant on the way to the trash container, no employee (they were watching) came to help me clean it up. Other customers just watched. In fact, another patron came to the very table I was kneeling beside and I was just about to say, “oh, it’s so kind of you to help me with this, but you don’t have to” when he reached over me to grab some napkins out of its dispenser and walked off. Know how we all help someone with a spill or somesuch? No camaraderie that day.
And when we were leaving, some people in the parking lot were arguing loudly (not enough to call the police, but enough that I shuffled the boys to the car in a hurry).
It was just a different mood all-around. And while I’m piling on, they serve the food in big full-size styrofoam containers whether you’re eating in or not, so there goes a million+ years in the landfill.
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The overall taste is something I didn’t ‘get’ either (and I’m in the minority on this). The meat of the cornish hen had no flavor, smoke or otherwise, and was dry. There was so much sauce on top and all around that it seemed as though the inside was just a vehicle for sauce delivery.
We also ordered for the table: bologna sandwich, beef sandwich, and a rib / wing plate. The beef sandwich was the best among them, but that’s not saying much.
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We’re working our way through Memphis barbecue — besides Cozy Corner, we’ve been to Rendezvous, Neely’s (now closed), Corky’s, Tops, Jim Neely’s Interstate, and Central.
We still need to get to BBQ Shop, Elwood’s, Pollard’s, Leonard’s, A and R, One and Only, Marlowe’s, and Germantown Commissary.
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Last month, Dan Conaway in the Memphis Daily News went on abut how ‘if it doesn’t involve a dead pig, it’s not barbecue’ — a sentiment widely held outside Texas, but he does bring up some universal truths:
…Barbecue is not a verb. You don’t barbecue anything. If you’re fortunate enough to be given the skill, and you have a whole pig or some portion thereof, you can cook, or smoke, or make, or fix a whole mess of barbecue. You don’t eat a process.
Barbecue is not a place or a device. I’m not going to a barbecue, just like I’m not going to the corner of steak and onion rings. If there’s anything red hot on my patio, I’m not calling it a barbecue, and I’m not putting anything on a barbecue except slaw and sauce. You don’t eat an event. Or grill. Or cooker. Or pit.
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Myron Mixon with Jack’s Old South won Memphis in May again this year.
‘Life to Live!’ – Seth Globe-Painter in Baton Rouge
In collaboration with the Museum of Public Art: a Seth GlobePainter mural in Baton Rouge
Galveston Beach
We took one day from Houston to show the boys Galveston beach:
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Lots of fun playing, but we stayed in very shallow water this visit as the current was strong.
Since we were headed elsewhere, we didn’t stay in a hotel at the beach (the hotels are generally across the street from Seawall Blvd anyway, so it’s not as though you can walk through a lobby and step onto the sand — you still have to cross the street); there was a lot of public parking available and to use the space, you just use the Pay by Phone app which is super easy.
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The new “Babe’s Beach” in Galveston opened this week and is named in honor of A.R. “Babe” Schwartz, a state senator who fought for the Open Beaches Act, guaranteeing free public access to Texas beaches on the Gulf.
Commander’s And Toile
Lunch at Commander’s Palace:
Turtle soup, with sherry:
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Shrimp and grits — Gulf shrimp crusted with black pepper, garlic, and lemon zest over Gruyere smoke roasted grits with grilled asparagus and yellow tomato courtbullion:
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Could live in those grits.
Tournedos of Black Angus beef — whiskey smoked onions, roasted mushrooms, and Creole smashed new potatoes with spicy tasso marchands de vin:
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Creole cream cheese cheesecake:
There’s cheesecake and there’s cheesecake, and then there’s Creole cream cheese cheesecake. It’s hard to explain how it’s different than, say, a New York cheesecake like Carnegie, but is does have a bit more robust flavor. You can make your own Creole cream cheese or buy it (Dorignac’s), then make your own cheesecake.
I’ve admired the toile at Commander’s for a while now — it was put in by Silver Hill Atelier, then embellished by Richard Saja (who was commissioned for this by Anya Hindmarch). This is in the front room at the restaurant:
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The women’s room is upholstered with New Orleans toile from Hazelnut (so funny because I upholstered some of my bookcases with this same pattern from them!).
I used to be a lot more into toile than I am now, but really enjoying these designs at Spoonflower.
National WWII Museum
Every summer, and if I’m lucky, every summer forever, I take a day to visit the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Â When I first visited, it was called the D-Day Museum but in 2003, Congress gave it the current designation.
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All the hanging aircraft and such are impressive — but I really go for the displays which are so well done.
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Enter the main building, part of the experience now is that you receive your dogtag and begin your ‘journey’ in a Union Pacific Train Car to get a sense of what your soldier went through. This portion is optional, though, and what I like to do is time it so that I get my ticket and head straight over to the Solomon Victory Theater for the 4-D film, ‘Beyond All Boundaries‘.
Every year, I see people bringing kids in for the film. It’s wonderful — immersive, so informative — but not geared for children as there are graphic and understandably heartbreaking scenes. If you have children under, let’s say 15 or 16, I’d give this a pass. But if you’re an adult, don’t miss it.
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The newest exhibits are those in this building, including the Road to Berlin and Road to Tokyo.
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Enigma machine
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There are spaces in the museum in which I feel so close to my late grandfather, who fought in the Army during the war. To myself: PawPaw, thank you for helping save the world. 
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Many more photos from other visits here.
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The Fighting for the Right to Fight: African American Experiences in WWII has been up for almost a year and closes on May 30.
Johnny Sanchez
Lunch at Johnny Sanchez in the CBD — an Aaron Sanchez / John Besh project. And while the food was okay, the decor was the best part
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Better than standard chips-and-salsa fare, getting these tortilla + plantain chips along with deep-smoky, and verde salsas was nice
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Those are some pretty tacos. Prettier than what I’m usually handed outside a taco truck on styrofoam with lime wedge and pickled veg (although they’re gorgeous too). But this one wasn’t better, though it was lovely to look at. It’s been rotated off the JS menu.
Or maybe it’s better to order their crawfish enchiladas, or hanger steak with pumpkin mole and papas bravas with epazote-miso butter. Now that sounds amazing.
On Thursday, May 26, they’re doing a ‘Johnny Sanchez and Terrazas de los Andes dinner‘:
Ember Roasted Beet Salad
Whipped Goat Cheese / Stone Fruit / Jalapeño Cilantro Pesto /
Terrazas, Reserva, Torrontes, 2014
Lamb Barbacoa Sope
Chipotle-Pecan Romesco / Shaved Asparagus / Epazote Chimichurri
Terrazas, Reserva, Malbec, 2013
Wood Grilled Mangalista Pork Loin
adobo rub / smoked squash puree / charred avocado / salsa macha
Terrazas, Reserva, Cabernet, Sauvignon, 2013
Coconut Flan
Mexican Vanilla / Toasted Coconut / Dulce de Leche
Terrazas Single Vineyard Malbec 2011
Sign me up.
William And Olivia
Without even knowing the people at Alabama Home Respiratory in Greensboro, Alabama, I love them.
They keep their storefront windows in downtown populated with the antics of this sweet couple, whom I’ve photographed on and off since 2009
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The detail is precious — not only her pill bottles, but her CVS fiber capsules
and you know the inside of her bag smells just like Juicy Fruit
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So hard to photograph this one, but she was set for the holidays with her knee-highs on
This time they were doing a little Bible study at home
And last summer, they were at services
Kawaii And Ijele
Last year, the Kawaii: Japan’s Cute Culture exhibit at Japan World Showcase, Epcot opened.
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The lighting here makes photographing the exhibit a little difficult, so apologies on that.
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Surprise
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Here, Melty-Go_Round (Harajuku Girl) by Sebastian Masuda — it’s filled with all kinds of little tchotchkes
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16′ tall Igbo Ijele (“e-bo e-gelay”) Mask at Animal Kingdom Lodge
This is the only one known to exist outside the Igbo lands in Nigeria
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See you with ‘regular’ DFK next week! And ‘This Week’s Various’ will be back later this month!
Try The Grey Stuff, It’s Delicious
Both years, we have purchased Disney Dining — our plan is set up so that we receive one snack, one quick-service meal (at which one orders at a counter generally), and one sit-down meal. Because many of these restaurants reserve months ahead of time, as soon as our window for booking opened, I set up all the meals. We were able to get in every single restaurant we wished, which was terrific.
Some days we needed to eat carefully as it was during Passover, but we brought matzah and it was fine. We saw and met mannnny other families during the same thing, and Disney is fine with bringing outside food in to the parks. Other days, it wasn’t during the holiday so we could carb-out again.
Below are images from both this year and last year’s visits to WDW.
Here, the poutine at Le Cellier, in Wold Showcase at Canada. We wanted to come here since Av loves a good steak and that’s one of LC’s strengths. While everything was quite good, the steak fell a little short.
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Although in general we eschew buffets, Boma is an exception. It’s at Animal Kingdom Lodge and features many items with African flavors. We had a supper at Boma both years — it’s that good.
Tangierine Cafe at Morocco Epcot was the best counter service — good shawarma.
I had higher hopes for Chefs de France at Epcot, but it was only average. Les Halles was just okay.
We heard wonderful things about Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge, but none of it was particularly interesting or tasty. This malva pudding was good:
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…but the best part of the meal was actually these coconut macaroons that came with the check, so what does that say?
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Because we wanted reserved seats for Fantasmic, we purchased the Fantasmic Dinner Package, with our meal being at Mama Melrose. We had low expectations for a Disney Italian restaurant, but surprise — this was the best steak Av had at Disney either year! Our waiter was fantastic and gave great advice about where to sit during the show.
One night, we reserved Tokyo Dining so we’d have a great view of the Epcot fireworks show (if it weren’t for the fireworks view, we would have chosen to eat elsewhere). Turned out we watched the show the night before when we were in the park, but the boys still got a big kick out of being served in monorail dishes:
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…and the sushi was fine.
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For both trips, we had our last supper at ‘Ohana at Polynesian Village. I made the reservations so we would be seated in time to watch the Wishes fireworks from MK. Both times we requested a table by the window and we got them. When the show begins, the lighting in the restaurant goes down, and the music plays over the dining room speakers. It is timed perfectly with the fireworks. So, so special.
Another great thing about ‘Ohana is that it is served a la Brazilian steakhouse, so the servers bring around chicken, beef, etc and it is all delectable. An entertainer gets people dancing and doing some hula moves, and last year, the boys swept coconuts around the restaurant. Can’t even say how fun this is.
One of our favorite places to eat is at Beauty and the Beast — it’s a counter service credit for breakfast and lunch on the Disney Dining Plan. You can order beforehand via the Disney app rather than standing in line. The food is good (here, their version of a cronut):
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pastries are brought to the table with breakfast
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a little charcuterie:
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One of the days after Passover, we were there for lunch and ordered a cupcake with the ‘grey stuff’ — and it was pretty good!
What makes the restaurant so endearing is how well it’s themed
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There are three dining rooms — this one features Belle and the Beast dancing (the middle piece turns like in a jewelrybox)
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The ballroom
and the Beast’s west wing study, where it’s always darkÂ
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and features the rose
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We’ve decided to skip Disney for at least the next two or three years. When the boys are older, though, I think we’ll be sure to gift them with Dine with an Imagineer, and Backstage Magic or Backstage Tales. Maybe Epcot Aqua Tour or the Dolphin experience — or if Papa comes with us and the boys are already certified, I know they’d love to do the Epcot DiveQuest. Those kinds of add-on experiences are probably what keeps Disney fresh to people who visit every year. And I’ll dream about reserving the chef’s table at Victoria and Albert’s too.
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