Et cetera

Meet: Red’s Chinese. Forgive me if I offend your Chinese stand-by (we all need somewhere to order in from on Fat Tuesday), but the native San Franciscan in me has to say it: Chinese food in this city leaves something to be desired. Red’s Chinese, a delivery-only pop-up in the Marigny (delivery to the Bywater also), might be a new exception. The new joint — formed by two New York ex-pats, one from Pittsburg, one from Oregon — is taking traditional Chinese dishes and reinterpreting them with Cajun and Creole twists. Expect dishes like “Bywater eggplant”: merlitons, gochujang, pepitas, mint and “Kung Pao pastrami”: mesquite pastrami, rice cake, bell pepper, smoked oyster sauce. Dishes priced between $5 and $15, cash only. They are open 6 PM – midnight, Tuesday through Saturday. Call 504-377-1444.

Eat: Your St. Patty’s liquor. Or at least some of it. Yeah, so we were recently ranked the fourth fattest state in America — we can supplement our diet of beignets, gumbo, and pecan-crusted gulf fish with, well, kale, I suppose, in hopes of sneaking out of the “fat rankings” for 2015 (or at least sliding out of the top 5); or, we could eat our feelings in the form of boozy desserts. It’s a tough choice.

If you go the latter route, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, Cochon Butcher has been baking up individually-sized (because we’re not aiming to be the fattest state by next year), liquored desserts: Bailey’s Irish Cream brownies (3.95) and whisky cakes ($5). Have your St. Patty’s shot and eat it too.

Drink: From dressed-up go-cups. As we cruise into fest season, glass and ceramic drink ware take a back seat to go-cups. Miss Smarty Pants (5523 Magazine) offers ten-packs ($12.95) of stylish, dishwasher-safe (in case any ever disprove the standard 24-hour go-cup lifespan estimate), portable drink ware that you can carry in public without feeling like you belong on the lawn of a shoddy frat house, playing beer pong and calling everyone “bro.” The extra-sturdy gold cups are each printed with white text that fittingly reads: “In the South we don’t hide crazy we parade it on the front porch and give it a cocktail.”

Wear: Art-inspired, printed dresses by Clover Canyon. There’s nothing like a oversized, frumpy grey ensemble to get you feeling excited about a Monday morning at the office. Break up your black, navy, grey-heavy work wardrobe with springish dresses from LA-based (California L.A., that is) clothing company Clover Canyon — available at Haute boutique (725 Magazine). Clover Canyon’s dresses — A-lines to sheaths, tunics to shifts — are predominately work-friendly, yet fashion-forward and timely for spring, consisting of structured silhouettes and fabrics that fuse together multiple art-inspired patterns (from geometric designs to Asian-influenced nature scenes). Prices start at $228.

Laugh: Recently-opened Crescent Park is characterized by contemporary architectural details, such as the arced bridge at the entrance.

Accordingly, the children who play at the park have upgraded their toys of choice (or weapons of mass destruction, if you will) from normal-sized twigs to wooden lightsabers.

Well played, young Jedis.

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