Chef Nina Compton’s flagship restaurant, Compère Lapin is inviting diners to embark on a culinary tour through the Caribbean in honor of National Caribbean American Heritage Month (June). The month-long series - aptly named Island Hop – will showcase the cuisine of a different Caribbean island each week.

Inspired by Chef Compton’s sister Fiona Compton, a Saint Lucian Caribbean historian, visual artist, and cultural ambassador, the series is set to launch on Saturday, June 1, 2024, and will highlight a different island each week throughout June. “Fiona and I wanted to put this dinner series together so we could shine a light on the typical local cuisine of various islands throughout the Caribbean,” says Compton. “We’re excited to expose customers to the traditions of different regions that are rich in culture through food and cocktails.”

In addition to the a la carte menu, the weekly dinners, priced at $60 per person (excluding tax and gratuity), will include three courses, with an optional $25 cocktail pairing curated by recently appointed Bar Lead Erika Flowers. For week one, Compton will spotlight the island of Haiti, whose influx of immigrants from France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Denmark, Syria, Egypt, and other countries played a significant role in shaping Haitian culture and cuisine. The Haitian-inspired feast will feature Bouillon – a traditional soup with beef, malanga, spinach, plantains, carrots, and dumplings; Griot – seasoned, tender fried pieces of pork served with pikliz, a spicy pickled vegetable condiment; and Pain Mais – Haitian cornbread with coconut and rum. Libations featuring Clairin, Haiti's national spirit, include tropical flavors showing the range of flavors in this country's fruitful history.

Additional islands showcased throughout June will include Guyana, Jamaica, and Belize.

The Haitian-themed dinner menu will be available during dinner only from Saturday, June 1 - Friday, June 7, 2024. Compère Lapin is located in The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery at 535 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans, LA 70130. For more information or to make a reservation, please visit www.comperelapin.com or call (504) 599-2119.

For the first time ever, Sazerac House whiskey experts will lead a tasting of BTAC whiskeys, which is a series of limited edition and rare whiskeys from the acclaimed Buffalo Trace Distillery, brother homeplace to the Sazerac House. Other events include a celebration of the Sazerac Cocktail’s official cocktail of New Orleans status and a tasting of summer’s best batched cocktails.

Drink & Learn: A Punch Perfect Summer, Friday, June 14th
Join for an evening of cocktail exploration as diving into the art of batched cocktails, perfectly suited for summer gatherings. This elevated experience will be led by local Drinks Historian Elizabeth Pearce. Participants will enjoy four iconic cocktails as they discover the secrets behind balancing flavors, selecting quality ingredients, and mastering the art of batching cocktails for entertaining. $45 per guest, includes four cocktails.

BTAC Whiskey Grid Tasting, Saturday June 15th and Sunday June 16th, 2024
Indulge in an evening of bourbon exploration, guided by Sazerac House's very own Bourbon Expert, Gregg L. Triche. Embark on a sensory journey through the world of the 2024 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection during this exclusive 90-minute tasting experience, timed perfectly for Father’s Day celebration. During the event, guests will be treated to five meticulously selected 3/4 oz pours of some of the most esteemed bourbons, designated as this year’s Buffalo Trace Antique Collection: Sazerac 18 Year Old, Eagle Rare 17 Year Old, William Larue Weller, George T. Stagg and Thomas Handy.  $175 per guest, includes appetizers and whiskey samples.

Sazerac Cocktail Day, Sunday, June 23rd, 2024
In celebration of the day in 2008 that the Sazerac Cocktail was named the official cocktail of New Orleans by the Louisiana State Legislature, guests will experience an elevated museum experience during regular hours and special Sazerac Cocktail Classes featuring Sazerac de Forge Cognac. During this special day, guests will be welcomed into the Sazerac House with a Coffee House cooler before transitioning to special Sazerac Cocktail Day only tastings of the spirits that make the Sazerac Cocktail so special, including:
§  Peychaud’s Bitters and Peychaud’s Aperitivo Spritz Samples in Peychaud’s Apothecary
§  Sazerac de Forge Cognac sampling in the Sazerac Cocktail section of the museum
§  Herbsaint cocktail and Sazerac Rye sampling on level 2 of the museum experience
Admission to the Sazerac House will be $10 per guest, Sazerac Cocktail classes will be $45 and include a Sazerac de Forge Cognac Sazerac.
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Tickets are available online at tickets.sazerachouse.com.

Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans and Miss River have announced a line up of new programs celebrating the installation of a wood-fired oven on the patio, a nod to Chef Alon Shaya’s time as a pizza apprentice in Italy. 
 
The mosaic-tiled oven will serve as an action station for pizza parties akin to the backyard affairs the Shaya’s enjoy hosting in their own home. One pizza is named for Chef Shaya’s pizza mentor Chef Enzo DeSantis. In celebration of these enhancements to Miss River, Chef Enzo will travel to New Orleans from Parma, Italy for a series of events:
 
Pizza Party featuring Chef Enzo the Pizzaiolo 
Thursday, May 30 at 6 p.m.
Join the Shaya’s and Chef Enzo DeSantis for a special evening on the patio featuring a modern Italian aesthetic, aperitivo and a three-course Italian menu. Limited tickets are available on OpenTable for $100 per person, $50 for children ages 12 and under.
 
“Ciao, Enzo!” Festive Friday lunch
Friday, May 31 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Since opening, the Festive Friday lunch has become a tradition at Miss River, known amongst locals as the place to kick-off the weekend early with friends. Guests are invited to celebrate the start of summer with a special “Ciao, Enzo!” Festive Friday lunch in Miss River. The Italian-themed lunch will feature live music, Italian spritz cocktails, and wood-fired pizzas by Chef Alon Shaya and Chef Enzo the Pizzaiolo. Table décor packages, including a festive runner, placemat and accessories, are available by calling the restaurant. Reservations are available on OpenTable.
 
“Ciao, Enzo!” Jazz Brunch
Saturday, June 1 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
On the weekends, Miss River’s dining room turns into a social affair with live music and reimagined brunch classics. In celebration of Chef Enzo’s visit, the restaurant will offer wood-fired pizzas as a special on the Miss River Brunch menu. Reservations are available on OpenTable.
 
Kids’ Pizza Classes
Thursdays, June 13, and June 20, at 5 p.m.
Chef Alon Shaya will lead two pizza-making designed for children ages 4 through 12 years old. Keep your youngest chefs entertained with an introduction to pizza-making while parents enjoy culinary delights and classic cocktails on the patio. Registration for the class is $50 per child and includes one kid-sized pizza and a root beer float. Limited spots are available on OpenTable.
 
For more information on Miss River or to make a reservation, please visit www.missrivernola.com or call 504-434-5701

Revisers on the storm: The Tempest Reimagined
Review by David S. Lewis

As hurricane season approaches the Gulf Coast, late May is the perfect time to enjoy William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the eponymous storm of which forms the catalyst for this English take on Italian commedia-dell'arte. Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan—now marooned on an enchanted island with his teenage daughter and a bevy of supernatural entities—marshals all his magical tricks (and some Machiavellian manipulation) to reverse the coup engineered by his rival and brother a dozen years prior. 

Written around 1610, The Tempest may be seen as Shakespeare’s commentary on his own career in theater, as well as a lens by which to examine the expansionist tendencies of the burgeoning British Empire; as outlooks on colonialism have evolved, characters such as the monstrous Caliban and the more powerful, subversive spirit Ariel have been used to explore conversations of power and the obligations of those who would govern. The play has also been used to examine paternalistic relationships and the political ramifications of chastity cults.

James Bartelle’s light rewriting recasts characters in ways that contrast with the heyday of the Globe Theater, where women’s roles would have been performed by men. Characters here are portrayed gender-blind. The program notes imply that colonial mindsets have also been “reimagined” to reflect modern viewers’ sensibilities, challenging instances of misogyny, colonialism, and racism in the staging.

Caliban, rendered as a race-ambiguous monster, an indirect stand-in for 'supernatural' inhabitants of resource-rich colonial targets, is still given a comedic reading, if rather a sad one. He eagerly accepts the libations proffered by the shipwrecked buffoons Stephano and Trinculo, and entices them into a conspiracy against Prospero, who easily thwarts his primitive machinations. Nevermind that Prospero seized his native island and enslaved him, or that the sorcerer coerces Ariel, another powerful island spirit, to do his bidding by dangling the promise of freedom: so long as they or their resources are valuable to his quest for power, in his sway they shall remain.

Bartell makes wonderful use of a limited stage and minimal production, and wisely leans on the talents of his cast, many of whom are, like him, core members of the NOLA Project ensemble, all with impressive theatrical backgrounds and stacks of regional and national awards.

The musical numbers, composed and shaped by Sweet Crude’s Alexis Marceaux and Stephen MacDonald, are delivered beautifully by the entire cast, particularly Leslie Claverie’s enchanted chanteuse, the spirit Ariel. Monica R. Harris’ Prospero churns wrathfully around the stage, their wizarding staff wielded wonderfully as weapon in active fight scenes, with punchy choreography.

Prospero has always been a coveted role, with as many interpretations as actors have approached him. Harris imbues the sorcerer prince with just a touch of menace, juxtaposed judiciously against Prospero’s many handsome and contemplative lines.

Alexandria Miles brings humor, warmth, and humanity to Miranda, whose wide-eyed love affair with Zarah Hokule'a Spalding’s Ferdinand (the first person she has ever met that’s neither her father or an island spirit) is endearing, as is the chemistry she shares with the prince. Even the lightly-swarming nighttime insects cavorting preternaturally in the glow of the stage lights offered a naturally-enhanced production effect.

This is bring-your-own-chair Shakespeare in the finest traditions of community theatre. As such, The Tempest Reimagined hits all the right notes. Bartelle has perhaps discovered a sweet, rather dreamy spot with his interpretation, but the actors’ spirits don’t merely “melt into air, thin air”: theirs is the stuff that offers substance to this pageant. 

The NOLA Project's 'The Tempest Reimagined' runs at Lafitte Greenway through May 25th. Click here for show information, times and tickets. 

Hermann-Grima + Gallier Historic Houses is to host the upcoming presentation of 'Two Elizas' by Jenny Mercein, running from May 16th through May 19th. Hailed by critics as a "one-woman tour-de-force", this acclaimed solo show delves into the true story of Jenny's ancestor, Eliza Mercein Barry, and her groundbreaking 1847 U.S. Supreme Court case, Barry v. Mercein, which secured a woman's right to retain custody of her child. This 80-minute production, co-directed by Lori Elizabeth Parquet and Ryder Thornton, candidly addresses themes of mental illness and miscarriage, adding depth and emotional resonance to the performance. Click here for more information and tickets

With only 19 seats available, the intimate and exclusive dinner, crafted by Chef de Cuisine Kathryn Searcy, will feature perfectly prepared dishes paired with vintage wines from Do Ferreiro. The family-style tasting will feature an array of specialty plates not found on the Costera menu, as well as some signature classics. Priced at $95 per person (excluding tax and gratuity). 
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First Course 
Vermouth marinated olives
Boquerones on sourdough with olive tapenade
Crispy sweetbreads with lemon caper relish
Jamon Iberico
 
Second Course 
Seafood Paella
Gulf fish with charred scallion aioli, roasted cauliflower & pepitas 
Papas bravas
Escalivada with roasted summer vegetables
 
Third Course 
Chef's choice of desserts
*Wine pairings forthcoming
 
The Costera wine dinner will occur on Wednesday, May 22nd, at 6:30 PM. For reservations, please call 504-302-2332. Costera is located at 4938 Prytania Street.