L. A. in LA

Last night was interesting.  A friend of mine from college is in town from Los Angeles where he’s a producer.  He worked on Godzilla, Eight Legged Freaks (yeah, it really shoulda been Eight-Legged Freaks), and so on.  He’s in town scouting for a TV movie he’s doing with Noah Wyle called the Librarian.  E is pretty psyched to meet him when they come back to shoot.  Despite the mundane title, it sounded pretty cool.

I’ve never had a dinner quite like that.  There were 9 of us, including E and me, and Jacques-Imo’s was booked, so we went to Emeril’s.  Everyone else was involved with the movie, including other producers, the cinematographer, a cameraman, and the director, who happened to be Jonathan Frakes (Riker on Star Trek).  I’m not a trekkie, but I have some friends and a brother-in-law who will be envious.  He seemed like a nice guy.  It was interesting to hear them talk business and talk about shooting in New Orleans, even though I know nothing about making movies.

They said that tax rebates make it very attractive to shoot here, but it’s become so popular that it’s hard to put a crew together.  But they seemed to be enjoying themselves and really scouring the city for locations.  And they were heading to see Rebirth at Howlin Wolf afterward too.

The guy who picked up the tab (thanks, Phil) is a member of the Director’s Guild, who just quickly reached an agreement on Internet issues, so it was interesting to hear his take on the writers’ strike.  He contends that sharing Internet proceeds would actually be a bad deal for the writers because people who buy on the web won’t buy DVDs, so the take will shrink.  So a fair proportion will yield less money.  I don’t know enough to tell whether that’s right or just a party line from a guy who’s frustrated with the strike, but it was an interesting perspective that I hadn’t heard before.

As always, Emeril’s did us right with the veggie option.  Really good combination of vegetables and flavors.

I was hoping we might be more help with their scouting, but they seem to have most things pretty well figured out.  They did need an old-looking library setting, and I suggested checking out Latter Library.  Also, heads up, because they haven’t settled on “the mysterious Simone” yet, so local hotties should be sending resumes.

For what ales ya

I know things are tough around here, but the good people at Abita have made it a little easier by finally making an IPA.  Jockamo (yeah that’s how they spell it) is pretty good stuff.  I’ve never been a fan of their amber; it seems strangely dusty tasting to me, and I can’t explain what I mean by that.  No one else seems to agree with me.  Restoration ale was, to me, their best brew by far, although Andygator rocks too (don’t get me started on Turbodog, a great name but mediocre beer, IMHO).

Jockamo won’t replace Sierra Nevada or other good IPAs in my rotation completely, but I love me some hops, and they finally put some more in there.  Frankly, I could use a little more bite, but it always feels better drinking something almost-local.

What I Learned from Blogging this Weekend

If you’re talking to someone who’s starting to blog, and he or she just wants people to find the page, here’s a recommendation: Include some reference (inadvertent or otherwise) to sex or drugs. I wish I could attribute my big spike in hits on either a sudden interest in my posts, or in supporting a good new gelateria, but alas, I fear that the visitation is the result of my inclusion of the word “ecstasy” in the title. Oh well.

I don’t get a lot of business, which is fine, but these stats really cracked me up. Still, go to La Divina!

Update:  I ended up with 281 views that day.  Sheesh.

La Divina Gelateria–Ecstasy with a Purpose

Alright, I haven’t done much plugging here, but I’m encouraging you to visit La Divina Gelateria (3005 Magazine, near Washington).

I’ve now tried several of their flavors–all wonderful–and my current favorite is creme brulee (the chunks of burnt sugar really make it). The others I’ve had and loved are stracciatella, mint stracciatella, pistachio, and cookies. We have some pretty good treat selections in town now, but you need to make this place a part of your circuit.

These fine folks on the left are old friends of mine, Carmelo and Katrina Turillo, with their son Nicco. They’re some of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet, and I’m thrilled to see them launching their new business in New Orleans. I met them in grad school at Tulane (no Nicco at that point), when they were some of the main forces behind the Mystic Krewe of Spermes. After Carmelo got his PhD, they moved to Madrid where he taught and did a stupendous job hosting us on a visit.

They missed New Orleans though, and, they returned with the dream of opening a true gelateria. They remained undaunted by the tragic coincidence of Katrina’s name, so these are real boosters of the city. You need to visit for a lot of reasons, and one of the main reasons is that these are good people who love the city and deserve our business; they’re the kind of business owners and citizens we all want here in New Orleans.

But I’m here to tell you that you’re sacrificing nothing in giving them your business. They make everything in the place from scratch, which you can imagine is highly involved and unusual. The gelato is unbelievable, and they have more flavors than you would expect from a new family-owned establishment. Carmelo showed me the guts of the operation and explained the process, which was fascinating. (the machine that heats the mixture is named Purgatorio, the fridge where they age is called Dante, and so on) One thing that makes the place different is that they make each recipe completely differently, rather than from a base, like a lot of places would do. Even their recipes are written in Italian!

These folks also take their coffee seriously. I’m a tea man myself, and I had a terrific Assam there (lots of other premium teas to try, so maybe something that sounds more Italian would be in order), served with a sand timer to tell me when to plunge & pour. But their espresso looked different from what I’ve seen before, perhaps because of the gorgeous glasses they’re served in. With free wi-fi and some high-level brews, this could be a nice coffee shop hangout for you too.

La Divina also has a selection of fresh panini and salads. I had the verdura, which was outstanding, with fresh mozzarella and grilled vegetables with a little basil. On the side was a garbanzo salad that knocked my socks off. They also have sandwiches with LA crawfish, pancetta, tuna, and so on, and they all look great.

In fact, the whole place if beautiful and classy; they’ve gone all out. Yeah, I’m biased and want to support my friends (this is not a sponsored post), but I promise you’ll be impressed with the attention to detail and the tasteful decor.

Again, you’ll be treating yourself and contributing to the revitalization of the city. Give La Divina and the Turillos your support! Grazie!