Etcetera

Drink : Winter is upon us. However, that doesn’t mean we have to (or should) stop drinking daiquiris; this is New Orleans, after all. Sylvain has recently updated its fall cocktail menu with a ‘winter daiquiri’ — comprised of aged rum; a citrus-cinnamon elixir; ginger and molasses syrups, and triple sec with warm, wintry spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamon.

Eat : Pumpkin pie on pumpkin pie on pumpkin pie. I know, I know, the pumpkin dessert trend is nothing new, but Thanksgiving without some iteration of a pumpkin pie is just plain sad. Don’t be the Grinch Who Stole Pumpkin. P’s and Q’s has been banging out innovative variations of the pumpkin classic — from pumpkin cream to pumpkin ginger to pumpkin chiffon — these guys should have something, even for the biggest pumpkin pundit.

Meet : the Besh Box. John Besh really is everywhere these days. Now, he can arrive in your mailbox. Each ‘Besh Box’ is constructed to help its recipient execute an exceptional meal, both culinarily and socially . The monthly boxes’ include: recipes, relevant cooking tools, specialty ingredients, music playlists, cocktail pairings, and fun seasonal items to create ambience. The first box ships out December 6th; boxes can be purchased singularly or as part of 3, 6, or 12 month packages.

Read : Rebecca Solnit and Rebecca Snedeker’s Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas. The topographically oriented book is comprised of place-based essays, accompanied by corresponding maps — each concerned with historically, socially, and environmentally iconic spaces across the New Orleans landscape. Contributing writers span from musicians to environmentalists to prison activists. You can catch the Rebeccas next Thursday, from 6 – 7:30 PM, at the Garden District Book Shop, for a book discussion and signing.

Laugh : at failed cooking attempts. You think your Midwestern aunt’s Thanksgiving spread — unofficially sponsored by Campbell’s condensed soups — isn’t palateable? Instagram user Cookingforbae regrams anti-foodporn that will give her creamed catastrophes a run for their money. Hell, Cookingforbae’s archive gives Friskies’ ‘gravy sensations’ a run for their money. I’d offer nominal descriptions of the pictorial content; however, in most images, the alleged ‘food’ contents have lost any and all visual relation to recognizable food items. Suddenly, Campbell’s doesn’t sound so bad.

Chelsea Lee is associate editor of NolaVie. Email comments to her at chelsea@nolavie.com.