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I was aiming for sarcasm but must have just missed. Several years ago, I was working at a new restaurant and we got a call from Mrs F for a reservation. T never called, never stopped by in advance and never asked for special favors. Mrs F did request a special table and made sure we knew who she was...

This is unfair. As our friend has explained many times before, he is simply too famous and the New Orleans restaurant scene he operates in is too small for him to maintain anonymity. He reassures us that his dining experiences are no different than any other person off the street. How could he possi...

and I would miss group A. I have eaten at many branches of the upper end chains over the years and without exception, everyone has failed to live up to expectations. Doesn't mean that the food was horrible or the service was worse than sub-par. It just means that I have never had a meal at any of th...

and the Rushings at Mila own the Dirty Bird in New York, Frank Brigsten owns Charlies in Harahan, Paul Prudhome owns a spice company (among other things). So, yes they are slowly becoming chains. Given the choice and the preference, I will go to the single operator outfit over the chain. My turn for...

wish I still had the cookbook. I first made his recipe about 20 years ago and now make it (more or less) by memory. I usually use about 8 cups of homemade double strength stock (make a chix stock, strain, cool, de-fat and then make another batch of stock using the first batch instead of water). Desp...

Anger comes from years of watching the New Orleans food community being taken over by chain restaurants. I don't want to give my money to the Applebee's chain nor do I want to give it to the Emeril chain. Yes, Emeril, Besh and the Brennans have done some wonderful things for the city and they are ou...

There is an error in Collin's cookbook recipe for seafood bisque. It was one of the first real, fancy things I was going to attempt to cook. It came out the consistency of almost dry concrete. The amount of liquid in the recipe is far less than needed for soup. Once I remedied the problem, it was on...

The Underground Gourmet, Richard Collin, passed away a few days ago. His death raises the question of why there are no real food critics in New Orleans. We have reviewers and food writers, not food critics. Most (if not all) reviewers are well known and easily recognized, thus given special treatmen...

Go park at another restaurant, one owned and operated by locals. Skip Emeril's and all of the other upscale chains (Besh, Brennan clan, etc) and eat someplace where the owner is there and cares about the people.