In an interesting new twist to a story we don’t fully understand, a 10% interest in Galatoire’s of New Orleans was sold by 75% (now 65%) owner Jean Georges to Bollinger Shipyards founder Donald “Boysie” Bollinger and Red River Bank Chairman John Simpson. Both of those men were, but are no longer, part of Bourbon Investments, a group that had attempted to purchase Galatoire’s in 2009 and lost out to Mr. Georges. Bourbon Investments is now suing Galatoire’s over the sale.
Author: Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle (Page 38 of 61)
After threatening to revoke the pharmacy license of Bauder’s Pharmacy of Des Moines, Iowa, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy has renewed their license. Former owner and pharmacist Mark Graziano began serving a sentence at Leavenworth on Sunday for selling addictive painkillers on the side. He sold his half of the business to his sister, Kim Robertson, but the ruling says his sister can no longer be the pharmacist in charge. Ms. Robertson is facing administrative charges of her own. Mark Graziano, convicted drug felon, still owns the nationally famous soda fountain half of the business, which is the part of the business that most interests us.
If you are not already in Hawaii, or at least on your way, this is pretty short notice. But it sounds like fun! The 8th annual Maui County Agricultural Festival takes place on the Maui Tropical Plantation in Wailuku this Saturday, April 4th. The festival’s goal is to raise awareness of Maui agriculture by bringing local farmers, ranchers, food producers, and chefs together in a festive environment where they can talk story (Hawaiian for chat) with the public and demonstrate their unique talents. Continue reading
All things considered, we think Danny’s Diner is the most Binghamtonian place for breakfast in the Southern Tier. Staffed almost completely by women, this Depression-era Sterling diner is remarkably gleaming and shipshape. These folks serve basic diner renditions of eggs, hash, potatoes, toast and coffee at low, low prices and dish out a warm and friendly rendition of diner sass. Continue reading
HAPPY NATIONAL TATER DAY!
True, not everyone loves oysters, but for those who have a true passion for the bivalve, the Fort Pierce Oyster Festival taking place this coming Saturday, April 4th, features a menu sure to satisfy: oysters grilled, Mexicali, casino, and, of course, raw on the half shell. Don’t eat oysters? Here’s a partial list of what else you’ll find: conch fritters and conch salad, crabs, coconut shrimp, chowder, lobster bisque, a grouper basket, jambalaya, crawfish platters… It ain’t all seafood either – you can score some BBQ, burgers, Italian sausage, gator – but, yeah, it’s mostly seafood. Continue reading
REVIEW
Start with one of America’s finest pizza makers: De Lorenzo’s Tomato Pies on Hudson Street in Trenton, NJ. Add a selection of salads and a bathroom (there was none on Hudson). What do you get? The finest pizzeria in New Jersey, and one of the top ten in America, De Lorenzo’s Tomato Pies in Robbinsville, NJ. Yes, Robbinsville may be the suburbs, and the new restaurant sure is spacious and modern, but the pizzas that emerge from those ovens are identical to the ones formerly served on Hudson Street. Continue reading
HAPPY TURKEY NECK SOUP DAY!
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the restaurant opened by Robert and Virginia O’Steen in St. Augustine, Florida. O’Steen’s has always been known for their local Florida seafood and, especially, for their fresh, locally harvested shrimp, which they shell, clean, and butterfly in-house before frying. Today the restaurant is overseen by Lonnie Pomar, who began working at O’Steen’s as a kid, and Lonnie’s wife Barbara. Continue reading
A new Tony Luke’s, popular South Philly purveyor of cheesesteaks and Italian roast pork sandwiches, will be opening on 33rd Street in Ocean City, Maryland in May. The restaurant will remain open year-round, i.e., it’s not a summers-only venture as is the practice of many businesses in Ocean City. Read more in this DelmarvaNow story.
At 11:11 a.m. Saturday morning, the memorial for Mike Hardin, owner of Hodad’s in San Diego, began at Petco’s Park in the Park. It was a public event, open to all, including the many friends he made along the way. Some of them spoke at the memorial, including Guy Fieri, U.S. Navy Chaplain John Owen, and his fellow Messlords, a group of chefs who cook for American troops around the world. A common theme was Mike’s kindness, generosity, and humanity. Continue reading
Attman’s Deli on Lombard Street in Baltimore turns 100 years old this year. Today’s Attman’s is famous for their sandwich menu but what most fans don’t realize is that, for about the first 50 years of its existence, Attman’s was really a Jewish grocery that fixed the occasional sandwich for those customers who asked. It was founder Harry Attman’s son, Seymour, who turned it into a true restaurant in the ’60s. Continue reading
Tell a regional food aficionado about a festival that features fried catfish fingerlings, frogs legs, gator tail, and swamp cabbage stew, and she’s sure to know that festival will be happening somewhere in The Sunshine State. Those Florida specialties and much more will be on the menu at the 37th annual Catfish Festival put on by the Rotary Club of Crescent City, Florida, on Crescent Lake, about halfway between Orlando and Jacksonville. The festivities begin 5 p.m. Friday, April 3rd and continue during the day on Saturday, April 4th. Continue reading
REVIEW
Take a former USC quarterback who has completed his two years of missionary work for the LDS church, and place him in a pizzeria in a wealthy suburb of Las Vegas. This does not sound like a promising formula for pizza greatness. Yet that is exactly what owner Brad Otton has achieved at Settebello. Continue reading
HAPPY NATIONAL LEMON CHIFFON CAKE DAY!
REVIEW
We’ve encountered a style of hamburger cookery in the Midwest that we rarely see in the East. Many of these places use fresh, coarsely ground beef and smoosh it down hard on the cooktop, resulting in a thin, irregularly formed patty with crisp edges and the chaw of real beef which hasn’t been pulverized to a pulpy paste. The Kansas City chain Winstead’s makes such a burger. Continue reading
HAPPY SOMETHING ON A STICK DAY!
Msn.com’s getting in on the act – everyone wants to present their list of America’s best fried chickens! From #50 Hill Country Fried Chicken of New York City to #1 Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken of Tennessee (and currently expanding nationally), they present all the usual, and worthy, suspects interspersed with a goodly number of out-of-the-box picks. Have a look!
We were saddened to hear the news earlier this week that Betty Lassard, founder of Betty’s Pies in Two Harbors, Minnesota, recently passed away. Why not remember Ms. Lassard by baking the first pie she ever baked? The Lake County News Chronicle has posted the recipe for that inaugural pie, a fresh strawberry number topped with whipped cream, and a pound of lard in the crust (lard produces the flakiest pie crusts)! The story is more than a recipe – read about Betty Lassard here.
REVIEW
Phillips Grocery in Oxford is a branch of the original in Holly Springs. The one in Holly Springs is a can’t miss stop. This one, while not really a grocery, or even a former grocery, is a genuinely old wooden house south of town, converted into something reminiscent of the Holly Springs original, in an impressionistic sort of way. There are some picnic tables out on the front porch, and they can be a very pleasant place to spend some time munching on first-class hamburgers. Continue reading