File under 'Only in New Orleans:' receiving French feves with Bombay Club Ojen Carnival cocktails

Mardi Gras is only one week away and here’s a new cocktail to enjoy during Carnival festivities, thanks to The Bombay Club. The Ojen Cocktail features Legendre Ojen, a liqueur flavored with anise, and is now the unofficial krewe cocktail for the Rex Organization, and the drink used to toast the King of Carnival on Mardi Gras Day.

But if you’re wondering what the Rex business is all about, here’s a quick explanation. Krewes are organizations that host Carnival balls and parades in New Orleans. The Krewe of Rex is one of the city’s oldest and most prominent (the Mardi Gras colors, doubloons and other traditions date back to Rex) and on Mardi Gras Day, the Rex king toasts the Queen of Carnival at the reviewing stand at the Hotel Intercontinental of New Orleans.

Back to that cocktail – Ojen was first produced in the mid-1800s by a distiller in Spain, but the production of the liqueur ended when the distillery closed in the late 1980’s. The Sazerac Company revived the classic cocktail with a new production here in the United States in early 2016. (Read more here.)

“Ojen had gained popularity in New Orleans at the beginning of the last century, and over time had become the standby cocktail, especially during Carnival season,” said Bombay Club Bar Manager Blake Kaiser in a recent press release. “In fact, some believed that New Orleans’ consumption of Ojen surpassed that of all of Spain, and considering that New Orleanians like a good drink every now and then, I’d believe it.”

Kaiser serves the Ojen Cocktail up with a traditional French feve. Similar to tiny babies found in New Orleans king cakes during Carnival, the fève is a porcelain trinket. Like king cakes, in which the person who nabs the baby must buy the next king cake, the person who finds the feve becomes “king (or queen) for the day” and must provide the next Ojen Cocktail. The Bombay Club feves are musically themed figurines, and a full collection makes up a 10-piece jazz band.

“We just thought this was a fun way to celebrate our favorite holiday in New Orleans,” said Kaiser. “If you get all ten, it’s a great collection, and it’s a unique souvenir by which to remember carnival 2017.”

THE BOMBAY CLUB OJEN COCKTAIL RECIPE
2 ounces Legendre Ojen
7 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
1/2 ounce Orgeat or Simple Syrup

Method: Fill a rocks glass with crushed ice. Pour Ojen over the ice and add four dashes of Peychaud's bitters, then swizzle. Fill with more crushed ice and top with three more dashes of Peychaud's. Swizzle until the glass frosts.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in South Louisiana who is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire and the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Save the world with beer!

Dave Rathkamp

In Marble Falls, Texas, Dave and Quynh Rathkamp are attempting to save the world, one mug of beer at a time.

The couple, who met at Tulane during their medical residency, spent vacation time visiting impoverished areas of the world. Dave loved to brew beer and Quynh loved to donate to charities so the two left medicine behind and started Save the World Brewing Company.

The makeup of Marble Falls, Texas, water is akin to Belgium, so Dave creates Belgium-style beer. Since both have a Christian calling, the beers reflect Latin names such as Agnus Dei Witbier, a wheat beer with orange and coriander hints that means “Lamb of God” and the Humilus Filius (“The Humble Son”) pale ale, what Rathkamp calls his “meat and potatoes beer.”

Visitors are welcome in the brewery’s tasting room on Fridays and Saturdays to enjoy standard and seasonal brews. Profits help Food for the Hungry, Habitat for Humanity and Meals on Wheels and the couple works hard to maintain a small carbon footprint. There are solar panels on the roof, they recapture greywater from the brewing process to use in irrigation, recycle about 40 percent of the breweries’ waste and use LED lighting. Grains used in the brewing process are donated to local farmers for livestock feed.

Want to read more? I wrote a story about the couple in Louisiana Road Trips magazine this month. Read it here.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in South Louisiana who is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire and the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

The red badges of Fiesta

San Antonio explodes with colors and flowers every spring for its annual Fiesta, an 11-day celebration unique to Texas that began as a way to honor the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto. Organizers hosted a horse-drawn parade of women in 1891, and said females pelted each other with flowers. Today, there are more than 100 Fiesta events sponsored by local non-profits with money raised pouring back into the community.

This year, the fun takes place April 20-30 with parades, art fairs, exhibits, concerts — you name it, all throughout San Antonio, including on boats traveling up and down the San Antonio River.

And then there are the medals. 

iPhone Pokemon Medal

Official Fiesta 2017 Medal

Almost every event, organization or participant creates a medal that they pin on to sashes, lapels, and coat jackets. Some are simple and neat while others vibrant and extravagant. Some are officials and some are created by sponsors. 

You can tell who’s involved heavily in the annual festival by the number of medals pinned to their chest. They wear them proudly. And it's a sport to see how many you can nab each year.

Tourists can snag a medal or two if they're lucky or purchase them at the Fiesta Store. Easier than a medal are the faux flowers sold on the streets of San Antonio, or the confetti eggs people break to add even more color to the festivities. 

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in South Louisiana who is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire and the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Doesn't get weirder than this — Abita Mystery House

You would think that a Weird South writer living in South Louisiana would have put the Abita Mystery House at the top of my list. And you would be right. A museum dedicated to all things odd? Sometimes, those amazingly weird attractions in your own backyard are the ones hardest to visit; I could never find the time or be in the right place to visit.

I finally found an opportunity.

And the heavens sang.

The Abita Mystery House is a rambling collection of buildings, centered around one main house, all filled with thousands of collectibles, found objects, unusual memorabilia, weird taxidermy, animated displays and so much more. It's the brainchild of Abita Springs artist John Preble, who assembled these items into a somewhat coherent fashion:

Shard House bathroom wall

• Religious postcards and artwork next to a Reed Organ.
• The Louisiana plantation home display complete with oil and gas industry next door.
• Taxidermy hybrids such as Buford the Bassigator, a combination gator and bass fish, or Darrell the dogigator.
• Push a button and the Mardi Gras diorama parade comes to life.
• The Shard House is literally a house made up of pottery, glass and mirror shards and contains one of the most interesting bathrooms you will ever find. Make sure you hold it until you get there.
• And then there's the endless number of paint-by-number pieces, yard and street signs and collections of everything from combs to old radios. 
• Play the Marble Machine to watch marbles fall down a wooden maze created by Preble.
• An Airstream filled with more craziness.
• And then there's my favorite, the Hot Sauce House, filled with bottles of — you guessed it — hot sauce.

Oh heck, we'll just show you the photos:

Mardi Gras Diorama

Old postcard collection

Diorama of a trailer park hit by a tornado

Leroy the Large-mouthed bass

More weird taxidermy

Hot Sauce House

Be sure and take in the gift shop as well, featuring a wide collection of funny gift items as well as artwork by Preble.

The Abita Mystery House is located on Hwy. 36 East in Abita Springs, Louisiana, one block from the Abita Springs traffic circle and about an hour outside of New Orleans. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except major holidays. Admission is $3 for those over 3 years old.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in South Louisiana who is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire and the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Bugs that stare back

There’s a new man in town, at the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium of New Orleans. The man-faced stink bugs, otherwise known as Catacanthus incarnates, will have visitors doing a double-take. Their colorful patterns resemble a human face.

"We are excited to have these large and beautiful stink bugs – there’s a phrase you don’t hear every day – to show our guests," said Zack Lemann, Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium’s Curator of Animal Programs. "Only a few zoos or museums in the U.S. have ever imported man-faced bugs up until now."

Man-faced bug nymph "babies" were born from eggs on Dec. 22, 2016, followed by an even larger set on Jan. 3 this year. Man-faced bugs have never been successfully raised in human care, and Audubon is hoping to be the first to do so. 

"It's a huge testament to the expertise of Audubon's entomologists that we could be the first in the world to rear such an incredible insect," said Ron Forman, Audubon Nature Institute president and CEO. "We hope these rare bugs will act as remarkable ambassador animals to educate our visitors about the diversity of wildlife and the importance of protecting it."

Man-faced bugs range from India east into most of southeast Asia. They are akin to large stink bugs and come in four different colors: red, orange, yellow, and cream. Man-faced bugs produce foul odors for defense like other stink bugs. Also, the bold colors are likely a defense mechanism, warning predators that it is bad-tasting or poisonous.

Wanna see more? Check out this cool video.

Note: Most of the information for this post was derived from an Audubon Institute press release.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in South Louisiana who is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire and the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.