Beware the Ides of March

Roast beef po-boy from Parasol's.

When the soothsayer uttered those fatefal words to Julius Caesar, I am 99% certain that the fortune teller was not speaking of the potential dangers of a debilitating hangover caused by overconsumption of green jello shots. But the same warning applies to those revelers who will be attending the Irish Channel Block Party which kicks off today around 10:00am, when the 1000 block of Third Street will be rife with revelers who refuse to believe that today is just another Thursday. Good luck to those brave enough to drink green beer all day long.


Of course, the two anchors of this celebration are Parasol's and Tracey's, two neighborhood bars forever linked by history, controversy, and roast beef po-boys. It's been a while since I partook in the Irish Channel Block Party, so I can't say which bar I would prefer to make my homebase for the block party today and parade on Saturday. But in comparing roast beef po-boys, I can say that Parasol's reigns supreme, with it's debris-style beef and thick gravy on toasted bread whose top layer has a smear of garlic butter and heavy dash of parsley flakes.



For those in search of a more tame and traditional celebration, I have a few suggestions as well. Chef Matt Murphy has dedicated an entire week to his heritage, and the festivities continue at The Irish House through Saturday. Lovers of corned beef might venture out to the Fair Grounds for an afternoon at the races and a lunch consisting of the only guaranteed winner at the track: the corned beef po-boy. The tender, thick-sliced corned beef are piled high on french bread which you are required to slather with plenty of Gulden's spicy brown mustard. Another suprise option for corned beef: Parkway Bakery, make sure to ordered it dressed with creole mustard.

May the luck of the Irish be with you and your March Madness brackets.

Da Fair Grounds

Dear Male Readers,

Please brace yourself for this shocking revelation: Football season is... gulp... over.

We have entered this dreaded spring and summer doldrums when no longer is there an excuse to lay around the couch all day Saturday listening to Lou Holtz's incessant blatherings on how Notre Dame is finally going to turn it around this season. No more Sunday fun days consisting of hours upon hours of listening to "Stand Up and Get Crunk" and following Rene's Saints gameday emotional highs and lows on Twitter. The only pig skin that you will be seeing for the foreseeable future is on the table at Cochon.

So what's a guy to do with all of this free time?  Wouldn't it be great if there was a special place where one can spend an entire afternoon drinking beer, analyzing data like Beyer speed figures and the effect of equine bowel movements on velocity, and engaging in 90 second episodes of pari-mutuel wagering.

Welcome to the Fair Grounds, one of the most underutilized forms of entertainment in New Orleans. On a typical day, the racetrack is home to more characters than Sesame Street and Bourbon Street combined. Well-heeled women in fancy hats, "experts" pouring over their daily racing forms, and the local riff-raff betting every 10 cent superfecta possible except for the one that actually hits. No betting strategy is frowned upon, whether it be the young girl who picks her horses by name or the long shot specialist who whole-heartedly believes that the #4 horse in the 6th is due for a good run, even though that gelding is one race away from the glue factory.

But the hottest tip at the Fair Grounds is found at the concession stand, where the corned beef po-boy has been a consistent winner for a number of years. The thick-sliced corned beef is tender and has the perfect amount of fattiness. The slices are piled high on french bread which just begs to be slathered with at least 4 packets of Gulden's spicy brown mustard. And at the $7.50 price tag, you will have enough change to order the bread pudding for dessert, making for a daily double that always pays out big.