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Gris-Gris and Saint John restaurants are excited to announce their annual Mangé Loa Holiday Menus – available December 1–24 at both restaurants (dinner service only). Mangé Loa – meaning ‘the feeding of the Gods’ – is a Haitian Voodoo ceremony and large annual feasting of the gods (‘loa’) featuring a variety of animal offerings, drinks, desserts and more. This holiday menu aims to encompass the many different cultures that shape our local cuisine as we welcome friends and family for the holidays.
Saint John Price: $75++ (Optional wine pairings + $35) Reservations: Book online via Resy or call the restaurant at (504) 381-0385. Menu:
Price: : $75++ (Optional wine pairings + $35) Reservations: Book online via Resy or call the restaurant at (504) 272-0241. Menu:
 King Brasserie & Bar at Kimpton Hotel Fontenot will join in the New Orleans tradition of Réveillon, offering a special four-course meal highlighting King Brasserie’s appreciation for Gulf seafood, seasonal ingredients and French flavors often found in this holiday feast. This year, King's Réveillon menu, priced at $65 per person, will be available from December 1 through December 25 during dinner hours.
The menu has been carefully curated by Executive Chef Samuel Peery and his team to capture the essence of this cherished New Orleans celebration. The meal will begin with an Escargot 'Casino' – a Réveillon classic featuring Benton's bacon, garlic and parsley butter, and crispy breadcrumbs. For the second course, guests will enjoy a Gulf Seafood Gumbo with crispy oyster and Louisiana rice. The third course presents a decadent duo of Braised Short Rib & Seared Scallops, served with roasted squash, Brussels sprouts, and a hazelnut gremolata. To conclude the meal on a sweet note, diners will indulge in Pastry Chef Lanna Talley’s Sweet Potato Crème Brûlée with tahini, cardamom, pomegranate, and caramelized white chocolate. King Brasserie, along with Peacock Room, will be featuring special holiday cocktails available now through New Year’s Eve. King’s holiday cocktails include the Jingle Bell Mingle, Papa Noel and a Mulled Wine with a house blend of wine, mulling spices, brandy and spiced rum. They also offer vintage library flights of Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge for something extra special. Reservations for Réveillon are recommended and can be made online at kingbrasserieandbar.com.  Chef Edgar Caro and co-owner Antonio Mata are thrilled to announce Brasa Downtown in Canal Place will reopen for Friday lunch starting on November 29 at noon. The new Friday lunch menu includes appetizers of tuna ceviche, empanadas, and short rib mac and cheese. Three salads are featured: lechuga, remolacha, and Caesar, and chicken, skirt steak, shrimp, or crabmeat ravigote can be added. Entrees include a Brasa burger, pescado, choripan, and camarones al ajillo. Chef Edgar also includes items from the grill: entraña, picanha, entraña gruesa, lomo fino, bife de chorizo, and ojo de bife. Several side dishes can round out a full meal, including al gratin, aligot, parmesano fries, grilled carrots, broccolini, and mushrooms al ajillo. Reservations can be made online at BrasaSteak.com/Downtown. For more information or to make reservations for groups of over eight people, please call (504) 371-5553.
 Nearly two years after arriving at the Audubon Aquatic Center on the Westbank of New Orleans, a critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle is back in the Gulf of Mexico.
The young turtle came to the Audubon in December 2022. It was part of a group of cold stunned turtles found and originally treated in New England. Cold stunning happens when turtles are exposed to cold temperatures. They can become weak, unable to swim, and potentially drown. This little turtle came to Audubon for extended recovery and was nicknamed “Cilantro”. In addition to being treated for cold stunning, Cilantro had a bone infection in the left shoulder joint that required an extensive treatment plan including cold laser therapy and physical therapy. Cilantro is all healed now and was released into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico at Grand Isle by Audubon Aquarium Rescue team members. Tonight's dinner (Wed 20th Nov) series raises money for rebuilding efforts in Asheville, NC. On the menu:
Chicken & Rice Dumpling pineapple chow chow, fresno chile, nori by CHEF SOPHINA UONG, MISTER MAO Wood Fired Octopus aguachile, Mawi cool ranch chips by CHEF BRETT MONTELEONE, HUFFT MARCHAND HOSPITALITY Pork Belly braised Greens, persimmon agrodolce by CHEF JARED HEIDER, JUNIORS ON HARRISON Pollo Asado sofrito marinated chicken by CHEF WILFREDO AVELAR, MAWI TORTILLA Falooda chia, sev, pomegranate, azteca chocolate gelato by CHEF SOPHINA UONG Tickets are $100 per guest + tax, which includes four courses and one Cathead Satsuma Vodka welcome cocktail. Additional beverages to be charged a la carte pricing. Ticket price does not include gratuity. All ticket sales are final (no refunds). Book here  Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans invites families to start a new holiday tradition during Beignets with Santa at Miss River. Every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon beginning November 30, guests can celebrate the magic of the season with delicious food, holiday fun, and an unforgettable encounter with Santa Claus.
The event offers a two-course brunch for adults and children alike. Each adult ticket includes one cocktail alongside a brunch menu featuring some of Miss River’s signature dishes. To start, adults can select from appetizers like Crab-Stuffed Deviled Eggs with Paddlefish Caviar or an Oyster Patty with shiitake mushrooms and truffles. Entrée selections include Buttermilk-Fried Chicken and Biscuit with dipping sauces, decadent Pain Perdue with bananas and pecans, and classic Shrimp & Grits with Anson Mills corn grits. For more details and the complete brunch menu, visit Miss River’s website. Children (12 and under) can enjoy a two-course brunch of their own and have fun at a special Beignet Bar with do-it-yourself toppings like chocolate sauce, sprinkles, and candy.  It's all Poping off: Conclave
Review by Jeff De Rouen “You know what’s missing from my life? A good papal thriller,” said no one ever and Hollywood, as far as I know, hasn’t scratched that nonexistent itch since Godfather III (for the record, I love Godfather III but, apparently, it’s just me and one other guy in Peoria). The world of Vatican intrigue was indeed ripe for the pickin’ and director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) delivers unto us the compelling, taught, and beautifully shot thriller, Conclave. We’re thrust right into the story: the pope is dead and Cardinal Lawrence, played meticulously by “definitely will be nominated for everything this year,” Ralph Fiennes, must organize and run a conclave to choose the next pope. From the beginning, we have games: power moves are executed, loyalties are tested, and secrets are uncovered. The movie’s pace never slows, and it’s a delight to watch some of our best actors (Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Lucian Msamati – in a stunning performance – to name a few) chew the scenery and bring their A game. That being said, the movie is VERY GOOD but misses some big opportunities. They basically waste the iconic Isabella Rossellini (her “big” scene merely repeats what we already know despite a magnificent opening line) and the big reveal at the end felt like artists trying to say something important but playing it safe so that it’s more palatable, completely diluting the message. In my opinion, they should have really gone for it. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it and you absolutely should see it ON THE BIG SCREEN. Berger’s film expertly uses space and color as the foundational canvas for the actors and one shot in particular, a sudden occurrence of violence, is breathtaking. Conclave will not go down as one of the best films ever made, and who knows what you would actually call this genre, but it’s a perfect addition to the “let’s have a really fun time at the movies without anything like a Pixar-induced full-blown emotional catharsis” genre that pairs perfectly with popcorn.  LET US PREY: HERETIC
Behold the timely arrival of a new A24 horror film as the nights start to get darker. It’s holding the cinematic door open for us, all we have to do is nose into the shadows of the rickety old house…just ignore that there’s only flickering candles and no real light. Slice of pie while we watch? I don’t mind if I do. Providing the chills in this creepy three(ish)-hander is Hugh Grant, starring in his first flick from this particular genre since Ken Russell’s The Lair of the White Worm, all the way back in 1988. The innocents knocking gingerly at his door are Mormon missionaries Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, here with a mind to convert non-believers to the Mormon cause. It begins simply enough, the disciples welcomed by Mr Reed (Grant), who is doing his best, genial Brit schtick to great effect. It’s a dark, crumbling cottage with lots of strange doors and idiosyncrasies, but his wife is purportedly making blueberry pie in the kitchen. She never does seem to appear, though, much to the growing consternation of the holy sisters. As Grant’s religious cynicism and theoretical challenges start to become more intense, the girls' safety slowly recedes, and the weird, remote house becomes a kind of ecumenical escape room. Mr Reed has lured the girls here with the intention of skewering their beliefs, or at least scaring the girls into questioning their realities. The film is quite dialogue heavy, and you can almost imagine it as a stage play. There’s a lot of rhetoric in the first two acts, with some fairly predictable takedowns of organized religions. Grant has so much of a twinkle in his eye, though, that we get swept along by pure charisma. Thatcher and East are the foils, but they hold their own as the situation intensifies. The climax has the audience questioning if supernatural forces are actually at work, Grant toying with them relentlessly as the Mormon elders start to notice that two of their number are missing and a ticking clock starts. It’s a psychological horror as much as anything, and though some of the arguments are philosophically sophomoric, the performances and twists keep it elevated above schlocky. I’m enjoying late-career Hugh Grant almost as much as he evidently is. (PO)  Country music legend Lorrie Morgan is celebrating her 40th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member and is taking her dozens of memorable songs and decades of memories on the road this year with a Ruby Anniversary Tour. She will be in the New Orleans area for one night only on Thursday, November 21, at Jefferson Performing Arts Center in Metairie.
Morgan is known for her lustrous vocal phrasing unforgettable storytelling. A Nashville native who is the daughter of Country Music Hall of Fame member George Morgan, she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage at age 13, singing "Paper Roses." Lorrie Morgans is the first woman in the country music genre to begin her career with three consecutive Platinum albums. "Where I am in my life right now, I'm not afraid to express what I feel," she says. “I'm not afraid to express my views on anything, especially on being a woman and my experiences in this business and in life.” "My dad used to say, 'You should never take yourself too seriously,' and I got my sense of humor from my dad. I love to have fun. I've reached the age where I feel that I deserve good company around me, people who can make me laugh, who love music and who love to have a good time.” Parking is free at the concert venue: Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 6400 Airline Drive, Metairie, LA 70003. Visit www.jpas.org for directions and information.  King Brasserie & Bar is hosting a Book Signing Happy Hour with local author Beth D'Addono for her new book, "City Eats New Orleans" profiling more than 50 chefs and restaurants on Wednesday, November 13. All are invited, and this free event open to the public will take place from 5 to 6pm. at King Brasserie at Kimpton Hotel Fontenot. There will also be drink specials and light nibbles from Executive Chef Samuel Peery.
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