A killer Georgia festival

Summertime means tomatoes and in the South we grow ‘em, eat ‘em and celebrate ‘em. In Atlanta, they even throw a killer festival.
            Literally.

            The eighth annual Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival serves up all things tomato —bruschetta, salsas, sauces, entrees, you name it. There’ll be spirits as well, including Bloody Mary’s and other tomato-enhanced drinks. Proceeds benefit Georgia Organics and The Giving Kitchen, a non-profit that provides financial support in times of unforeseen crisis for people in the Atlanta restaurant community.

            This year’s festival will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 17, 2016, at the Park Tavern of Atlanta and will feature dozens of chefs and mixologists, plus live music. An after party follows at 5 p.m. at Park Tavern. Check out the list of participants here.

            Last year's festival raised $60,000 for Georgia Organics and this year the goal is $100,000. Come on tomato lovers, start seeing red for a good cause!

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

The eyes have it in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky

            Ventriloquist dummies are like those paintings where the eyes follow you around the room. You’ll feel like someone's watching you at the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

            The Vent Haven Museum is the only museum of its kind in the world — dedicated to the art and history of ventriloquism and offering 800-plus ventriloquists’ dummies on display, from Edgar Bergen’s Charlie McCarthy to Shari Lewis’ Lamb Chop. There’s even Miss Piggy!

The museum started as a private collection by William Shakespeare “W.S.” Berger who served as president of the International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists for about 20 years. Berger donated his extensive collection, including Tommy Baloney dating back to 1910,  to create the museum.

Tommy Baloney

Opened on June 30, 1973, the non-profit museum now showcases dummies and thousands of video clips and photos of ventriloquists and their creations, some of which date back centuries. The museum also hosts an annual international ConVENTion where hundreds of ventriloquists attend each year. In 2014 Bill Geist spotlighted the ConVENTion in an episode of CBS’ Sunday Morning. This year’s event will be July 13-16, 2016, at the Cincinnati Airport Marriott Hotel in Hebron, Kentucky.

The museum is only open May through September and all tours are guided and by appointment; contact them for more information or to schedule a time. Admission is $10 per person, $5 for seniors, children 12 and under and groups of 10 or more.

Photos courtesy of Vent Haven Museum

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

Shell Yeah! Inaugural event planned June 20 in Fort Myers and Sanibel Island, Florida

            There’s a national day for everything, it seems, so why not National Seashell Day?

The 50 miles along the pristine beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel Island, Florida, is among the best places to find seashells in the country, if not the world. So it only makes sense that they would proclaim a nice summer day — June 20, 2016 — as the inaugural National Seashell Day. In addition to beachcombing for shells, there will be special travel deals, seashell attractions, shelling lectures and tours, workshops with local shell artists and much more.

Some hotels, vacation rentals, beachfront accommodations and vintage RV parks are offering the fourth night free during this time. Certain properties are also offering add-ons, such as free shelling cruises to barrier islands, shell guides and bags, free breakfast and more. Visit www.nationalseashellday.com for a full list of properties participating in the fourth night free deal and to check out special events.

Don’t miss out on the chance to enter the Shell Yeah! Sweepstakes to win a three-night stay at Sanibel Inn with a Captiva Cruises shelling excursion to Cayo Costa.

Here’s some shelling tips from tourism folks:

“The best shelling locations are on Sanibel Island (Bowman's Beach and Lighthouse Beach), named the best shelling beach in the U.S., and also in less populated areas such as the uninhabited Cayo Costa, Big Hickory Island and Lovers Key State Park.  Peak shelling season in the Fort Myers/Sanibel area is May–September and shelling is best an hour before and after low tide, or high tide after storms. Walk the high tide shell line where the highest waves stop, as this is where groups of shells arrive. Another good spot is the slight drop in the surf line, where gentle waves break before rolling to the beach. It's prohibited to collect any shell with a living mollusk or creature inside. Beachcombers work to preserve this natural resource and protect live shells from being over-harvested and endangered.”
            For weather information, web cams and shelling news, visit Sanibel Island artist and ‘shell-ebrity’ Pam Rambo at www.iloveshelling.com.

The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel

Celebrate St. John's Eve with vodou ceremony

Forget Hollywood. Vodou — or what most people call voodoo — is an authentic religion with origins in Haiti and it’s practiced in New Orleans by Vodou priestess Sallie Ann Glassman. Close to the Summer Solstice, St. John’s Eve on June 23 is celebrated in New Orleans as homage to Catholic St. John the Baptist mixed with Haitian Vodou and other traditions. In New Orleans, St. John’s Eve remains the highest holy day of the Vodou calendar.

In honor of this day, the International House will celebrate St. John’s Eve from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 22 (one day early), at the boutique New Orleans hotel. The occult summer ritual will include a head-washing ceremony by Glassman along with drumming, dancing, chanting, Haitian rum and a bottled elixir.

Most people know that New Orleans has ties to Haitian Vodou. French colonists developed Haiti, once called Saint Domingue. Many French citizens, their slaves and free people of couple fled to New Orleans in the early 19th century when slaves revolted on the island. The faith came with them, and was made famous by a 19th century hairdresser named Marie Laveau, now known as the “Voodoo Queen.” She always honored the biblical St. John in her occult ceremonies, with thousands in attendance held on the banks of Bayou St. John, where she performed head-washings, a ritual akin to baptism that leaves the participant feeling refreshed.

A Maine native but current New Orleans resident, Glassman has been ordained in the Haitian Kreyol tradition and ministers to many from her Island of Salvation Botanica and Bywater temple on St. Claude, across from the St. Roch Market (both worth a visit!). Her altar in International House’s lobby is dedicated to Marie Laveau. The June 22 ceremony will also feature a 10-foot papier mache statue of Marie with billowing white sheers bearing her insignia that dance in the summer breeze. The sheers signify the porous veil between the spiritual and the physical worlds.

            To enhance the occasion, “spirit handler” and barkeep Alan Walter, local artist Britney Penouilh and Glassman have also co-created John’s Way, a limited-edition bottled elixir in a handmade wooden box with custom vodou accessories and charms.  

“I created it as a handmaiden to personal reinvigoration — the new ways and fresh starts in life that we all need,” Walter said in a hotel press release. The bottle contains purifying Florida water; genepi and Boomsma Clooster bitters, both rife with herbs; and liqueurs featuring thyme, honeysuckle, caraway and Spanish moss, among other ingredients.

            “It’s a composite creation,” Walter said. “It should be poured into tiny glasses in ritual fashion. A bottle ought to serve at least 12.”

Bottles of the elixirs will be sold at $100 each.

International House hosts seven local rituals throughout the year as a way of sharing with locals and visitors alike an authentic taste of New Orleans. Hotel officials encourage visitors to bring offerings for Marie of blue and white candles, flowers, hair ribbons, brushes, barrettes and Creole foods, and take a white scarf as a symbol of spiritual rejuvenation and a reminder that we are all spiritual beings on a human journey.

            The St. John’s Eve schedule is as follows:

            6 p.m.: Introduction by Priestess Sallie Ann Glassman

            6:30 p.m.: Toast to St. John by Alan Walter
            7–8 p.m.: Ceremony honoring Marie Laveau by Sallie Ann Glassman

John's Way elixir

Glassman's homage to Marie Laveau at her Island of Salvation Botanica 

Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. She is also the co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Best and worst places to 'staycation' this year

WalletHub looked at 150 of the country’s largest cities and, based on 28 key metrics, measured the most enjoyable and wallet-friendly staycation spots in America. It’s no surprise that in 2016’s Best & Worst Cities for Staycations Orlando, Fla., took the No. 1 spot. With DisneyWorld, Universal Studios and other attractions in your backyard, and discounts for annual passes, who wouldn’t want to staycation in Orlando?The worst place for a staycation — in other words, if you live there, save up and get the hell out — is Chula Vista, Calif. Actually, quite a few California cities nabbed the bottom, including Los Angeles at No. 143.

Southern states that fared well were:

Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, at No. 2 and 3;

Atlanta at No. 6;

            St. Petersburg, Fla., at No. 9;

            New Orleans at No. 15;

            Jackson, Miss., at No. 16;

            Knoxville, Tenn., at No. 20;

            Miami, at No. 21;

            and Chattanooga, at No. 27.

            Here’s a few more statistics to ponder, thanks to WalletHub.

            New Orleans has the most museums per 100,000 residents, 23.34, which is 79 times more than in Aurora, Colo., the city with the fewest, 0.29.

            Columbus, Ga., has the most parks per 100,000 residents, 213.37, which is 22.5 times more than in Hialeah, Fla., the city with the fewest, 9.47.

            Seattle has the most coffee shops per 100,000 residents, 109.43, which is nearly 30 times more than in Laredo, Texas, the city with the fewest, 3.67.

            Orlando, Fla., has the most ice cream and frozen yogurt shops per 100,000 residents, 57.15, which is 13 times more than in Detroit, the city with the fewest, 4.31.

            Columbus, Ga., has the most tennis courts per 100,000 residents, 70.11, which is 26 times higher than in Gilbert, Ariz., the city with the fewest, 2.69.

Columbus, Ga., has the lowest cost of house-cleaning services, $110, which is four times less expensive than in Salt Lake City, the city with the highest, $454.
You know what we think? Forget Orlando. Visit Columbus, Ga., and enjoy the parks, play tennis and let someone else do the cleaning.

Chattanooga

Biscuits, pour-over coffee, poetry and love at Greenhouse on Porter in Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits.

Carl Sandburg

When someone tells me there’s a new restaurant serving homemade biscuits and pour-over coffee, I don’t hesitate to haul my butt out of the chair. Couple that with the quaint Mississippi Gulf Coast town of Ocean Springs, and you’ve got a winning deal.

            Greenhouse on Porter only serves coffee, beer and delicious crispy homemade biscuits. The day I visited I sampled a savory cheddar and mushroom biscuit that was out-of-this-world good, followed by a sweet potato biscuit with honey butter. The insides were soft and chewy while the outer skin a nice brown crust. Perfection. They serve Reve coffee out of Lafayette, my town where said chair is located, so I was familiar with this craft coffee roaster and knew of their rich, smooth javas.

            The Ocean Springs restaurant is located in an actual greenhouse. Co-owner Kait Sukiennik said the greenhouse had existed on the spot for years, fallen into disrepair. She and partner Jessie Zenor lovingly renovated the greenhouse, although it still owns a rustic ambiance — no air conditioning but fans, plants everywhere, free books inside an old suitcase and poetry lining the walls and hanging from the ceiling.

Kait Sukiennik

            Sukiennik sold her biscuits at farmer’s markets and other places and when she decided to open a storefront did so with only $10,000 to her name. The front of the house (which is air conditioned by the way) contains a tiny kitchen and seating area for about six to eight people, plus a restroom. The seating was made by hand using bare particle boards (although you hardly notice) and the front of the counter is an old door, glass knob still attached. Sukiennik said they used lots of recycled architecturals in the design and enlisted the help of family and friends to help build the interiors.

            The walls are filled with local artwork, various works of poetry and posters by Amos Kennedy. Greenhouse also offers special events such as meditation classes, benefits, cat bingo and live music.

            If only I lived closer!!

Poetry lining the walls at Greenhouse on Porter.

The tiny kitchen with a door as the counter.

 

The South's official cocktails — and a mint julep recipe for this week's Kentucky Derby

Give it to the South to come up with official cocktails for their towns.

First, the Louisiana Legislature named the Sazerac the official New Orleans cocktail, a drink that hails back to 1838 and apothecary owner Antoine Peychaud, named for his favorite French brandy, Sazerac-de-Forge et fils. The brandy toddy included Peychaud bitters and was mixed using a jigger then known as a coquetier, pronounced ko-k-tay. Many people believe this is where the word cocktail comes from and New Orleans, of course, claims the city as the cocktail's birthplace.

You can find the delicious drink with a peel of lemon all over the city but especially at the Sazerac Bar of the Roosevelt Hotel, my personal favorite with its Depression-era murals and Huey Long history. You can read more about the hotel and bar in a previous blog post by clicking here.

Louisville got in the official spirits act in 2015 and chose the Old Fashioned for its official drink of choice. According to the Louisville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, legend contends that Louisville’s Pendennis Club created or reinvented the Old Fashioned in 1881. “Though other historic reference point to bourbon cocktails being made in the ‘the old fashioned way,’” the Bureau insists, “the Pendennis recipe was the first to name the drink and has been on the menu ever since.” 



And not to be outdone by either town, Lafayette, Louisiana, where I reside, created its own official cocktail, this one from scratch. Called the “Rouler” — as in “Laissez les bons temps rouler” or “Let the good times roll” — the drink is comprised of Sweet Crude Rum produced by Lafayette’s own Rank Wildcat Distillery. Add sweet and sour, simple syrup, bitters and club soda, then serve over ice, and you’ll want to roll with the good times too.

Want to know what your home state calls its signature drink? According to Buzzfeed.com, here are the spirits of the South:

Alabama - The Alabama Slammer (amaretto, Southern Comfort, Sloe Gin, and orange juice), also known as the signature drink of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. We LSU fans would call that a sissy drink.

Arkansas - The Arkansas Razorback (rum, vodka, amaretto almond liqueur, Kahlua coffee liqueur), another nod to the SEC, this time the University of Arkansas Razorbacks.

Florida - The Rum Runner (Captain Morgan, blackberry liqueur, creme de bananes and orange juice), originating at the Holiday Isle Tiki Bar in Islamorada, Fla., when the bartender was dared to make a cocktail out of the liquor surplus.

Georgia - The Scarlet O’Hara (typically Southern Comfort, cranberry juice, and a lime wheel), that will make you forget everything until tomorrow.

Kentucky - The Mint Julep (bourbon, sugar, water and mint), best made with Woodford Reserve, the official drink of Churchill Downs. See recipe below.

Mississippi - Mississippi Punch (dark rum, bourbon, brandy/cognac, fresh lemon juice and sugar), first noted in Jerry Thomas’ “The Bon Vivant’s Companion,” attributing its location in Mississippi, according to BuzzFeed.com.

North Carolina - Dirty Beetz (vodka, local beet syrup, lime juice and orange juice)
originating from Raleigh’s The Fiction Kitchen, but we have to ask why?

Jaleberry Strawpeno

South Carolina - The Hemingway Mojito (Bacardi, sunset-red Italian Campari, muddled mint and grapefruit, soda water and grapefruit juice), a colorful drink that looks like a Key West sunset, born from Charleston’s Amen StreetFish and Raw Bar. Shouldn’t that be a Florida drink?

Tennessee - Lynchburg Lemonade (Jack Daniel’s whiskey, Triple sec, sweet & sour, and Sprite), because JackDaniel’s is made in Lynchburg, Tennessee. I’d say that anything with Jack would be a proper Tennessee drink.

Texas - The Mexican Martini (tequila, Cointreau orange liqueur, sweet and sour mix, lime juice, orange juice and Sprite), served straight up in a cocktail glass. On a recent visit to Austin, I had a jaleberry strawpeno made with strawberry jalapeno tequila, lime and agave at Searsucker and I vote for that drink as the official Texas cocktail!

Just in time for the Kentucky Derby, here’s the Woodford Reserve recipe for a traditional mint julep. I got to watch a demonstration of the making of a mint julep at Churchill Downs. The key here is to use fresh mint and muddle the leaves in the bottom of the glass to release that delicious taste.

MINT JULEP

2 ounces Woodford Reserve
1/2 ounce simple syrup
3 fresh mint leaves
Crushed ice

Directions: Express the essential oils in the mint and rub them inside the glass. To the same glass, add simple syrup, bourbon, and crushed ice. Stir. Garnish with more ice and fresh mint.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. She is also the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.