The Connected Table

01/09/2025

Our thoughts and prayers are with the residents of businesses impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles. Sadly, some restaurants have been destroyed. Many others have been closed. When they reopen, please support these restaurants and other independent businesses who have been affected.

Here is a Running List of Los Angeles Restaurants Impacted by the 2025 Wildfires provided by Eater LA

Reel Inn, Duke’s Malibu, Fox’s, and more have been impacted by the ongoing fires

01/09/2025

What Are We Eating & Drinking in 2025? Trends To Watch.

January 8, 2025 • 50 mins
•
Played
Dirty sodas, freezer martinis, alcohol-free drinks, functional beverages, pistachios, kataifi, conchas, Turkish ice cream, stuffed croissants, Asian snacks and desserts, Yemeni coffee and Dubai chocolate bars. These are examples of foods and beverages we will be eating and drinking in 2025 according to the annual Trends Report jointly published by integrated marketing agencies, Carbonate Group and af&co. Candace MacDonald, cofounder and managing director of Carbonate, discusses findings.

The Connected Table is broadcast live Wednesdays at 2PM ET and Music on W4CY Radio

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Dirty sodas, freezer martinis, alcohol-free drinks, functional beverages, pistachios, kataifi, conchas, Turkish ice cream, stuffed croissants, Asian snacks and desserts, Yemeni coffee and Dubai chocolate bars. These are examples of foods and beverages we will be eating and drinking in 2025 according...

01/06/2025

Trends! Trends! Trends! Everyone is talking about what we will be eating and drinking in 2025 and where we will be traveling and spending our hard-earned money. And that is the topic of our first show of 2025-with our special commentary twist, of course!

Our guest on The Connected Table Live will be Candace MacDonald, cofounder and managing director of . The Trends Report is produced jointly each year by Carbonate and &co, two integrated marketing agencies with expertise in food, beverage and hospitality. The reports are always engaging, and there are always some surprises.

A few examples:

Fave flavor for 2025: pistachio on everything from pizza and pasta to martinis and luxury chocolate bars. We are fans of Sicily's Bronte Pistachio grown in the Etna region.

Coffee continues to draw a big buzz from lattes to martinis, sweets and savories/

And what are we eating with our coffee drinks? Croissants, conchas and flaky layered pastries.

Asian fare, especially snacks and street foods, continue to capture our interest. But Turkish food is not far behind in trends among the treats.

No, low and functional beverages. You can’t ignore the no-and low-alcohol movement It’s a growing for an audience of abstainers and occasionally drinkers. Dirty sodas laced with fruit sweet and savory flavors- and no alcohol- are popular as are adaptogen and CDB beverages.

But we are still mad for martinis, especially dirty martinis, and freezer martinis, pistachio martinis and espresso martinis. (check out our next post on this!)

As with last year’s report. social media continues to influence consumer decisions, and those influencers expect to be paid to create and promote your brand. It’s time to rethink and reallocate marketing budgets.

Learn more. Tune into our conversation on The Connected Table Live Wednesday, January 8, 2 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. CDT on W4CY Radio. Listen anytime post show on your preferred podcast channel.

Photo: Freezer Martini at in New Orleans. Photo credit: Amanda Robichaux. Featured in Esquire Magazine's 44 Best Martinis in America 2024.

01/04/2025

01/03/2025

Our hearts go out to the victims and their families and to our beautiful, magical city of New Orleans after this terrible terrorist attack.

This photo of St. Louis Cathedral at Jackson Square was taken after the midnight fireworks on New Year's Eve. We were lucky to have departed the French Quarter at 2 a.m. on New Year's morning.

Please do not change your travel plans! The city needs its visitors and guests now more than ever. ⚜️💜

01/03/2025

We always start the New Year and Melanie's January 1st birthday slurping oysters on the half shell. One of our favorite oyster happy hours in New Orleans is at on St. Charles Avenue in the Garden District! $15 for a dozen oysters. Plus $5 glass of wine and $20 bottles🍾⚜️

💜⚜️

01/03/2025

Thank you .nola Executive Chef Tom Branighan and for a delicious New Year's Eve dinner to kick off ' birthday.

01/02/2025

Nominations are OPEN. 📨 We’re awarding two $2,500 grants to creative leaders in hospitality, sustainability or food justice in the Greater New Orleans community.

Click to nominate (or self-nominate!) today ➡️ bit.ly/2025lftha

Deadline for nominations is 1/18/25.

01/01/2025

We 💜 New Orleans, our home. Peace ⚜️

01/01/2025

Such a devastating tragedy has struck our beloved city. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and everyone affected by this senseless act on Bourbon Street. Holding the city in our thoughts and prayers. 💔

⚠️🩸 Note: The Blood Center and New Orleans EMS will be holding a blood drive Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Two blood mobiles will be located at 2609 Canal Street. The Blood Center is located one block past LCMC, between S. Galves and S. Broad Street. The entrance is behind the building on Iberville.

12/31/2024

Katie's Restaurant in Mid City was hopping last night with Georgia Bulldawg fans in town for the Sugar Bowl and locals out for a pre NYE feast. Always a fan favorite. Here is what we ate. Dig in!

⚜️Chargrilled oysters
⚜️Crabcakes
⚜️Crawfish beignet
⚜️Shrimp and artichoke pizza
⚜️Blackened redfish topped with crabmeat

12/28/2024

Dear Yannick Benjamin - We feel your emotion in every word you write. We know how hard this has been and you speak for many communities.

This one section that you wrote really fill us with WTF rage at our healthcare system:

"I get why independent restaurant owners can’t afford to do the right thing by all their employees, especially those with long-term medical needs or disabilities. I’ve used a wheelchair since 2003, when I was paralyzed in a car accident, and cannot pay for it without private insurance. My chair costs about $13,000 out of pocket, some $6,000 of which later gets reimbursed by my provider. In a comically dark turn, my insurer doesn’t cover the wheels."

Read more here

My Restaurant Was Named One of New York City’s Best. Here’s Why It Closed.

My story is one small part of an ongoing struggle for restaurant workers and culinary culture.

12/27/2024

Check out these New Orleans hotels.

Vogue’s ultimate guide to the Big Easy.

12/27/2024

Sliced Seared Tuna and a Salmon club sandwich- lunch at Palm Valley Fish Camp. Christmas Eve day.

12/26/2024

Making a list. Checking it twice
Time to order King Cakes in New Orleans. Look at this beauty from Ayu Bakehouse

King Cake pre-orders are officially open for the season. Here we goooooooooo!

Fulfillment begins January 6th.

12/20/2024

Réveillon! A special Creole holiday dining tradition throughout New Orleans dating to the 19th century. Réveillon meals were traditionally served after midnight mass in Christmas Eve. The work Réveillon means "awakening."

Réveillon dinners (now during normal dining hours) are held in dozens of New Orleans restaurants. We have tried a few. Last night's réveillon dinner was at Galatoire's which is always ready for a celebration and especially just before Christmas and Mardi Gras.

The restaurant was decorated with poinsettias and packed with people. Many were dressed to the 'nines in sparkles and sequins. Lots of birthdays and the staff would ask us to all join in to sing "Happy Birthday To.." There must have been six birthdays last night!

What we drank: French 76 (a French 75 champagne cocktail made with cognac).

Prix fixe $60 pp. Plus tax, tip, wine, cocktails

First:
Shrimp Remoulade, smoky with paprika (photo)

Fried oyster with Herbsaint cream

Second:
Pumpkin squash salad with pumpkin seed brittle

Corn & crab bisque with Armagnac

Third:
Amandine and crab encrusted trout with spinach Rockefeller and watercress crème (photo)-Melanie

Fried Demi Pork Chop with smoked sweet potatoes and andouille gravy (photo)- David

Dessert:
Figgy pudding with Christmas brandy sauce snd vanilla crunch ice cream (photo)

Black bottom pecan pie with whiskey caramel sauce and whipped chantilly cream

We had such a lovely time with that special Galatoire's service. After dinner we strolled over to the Roosevelt Hotel to look at the beautiful holiday decorations and a crowd of festive fashion forward celebrants of all ages.

We hope everyone is enjoying this special season!

12/19/2024

We are blessed to be invited to taste many sparkling wines from different producers and importers. For us, a refrigerator or cooler is not complete without a bottle of chilled sparkling wine ready to pop open when friends stop by or when we just want Fine Bubbles.

This week on The Connected Table Live we spotlight a few
Sparkling Wines Around the World for the Holidays- all made in the traditional method. These are wines we have recently tasted. We focused on international wines and decided to discuss domestic sparkling wines in a separate show to give them their own spotlight. Here is the link

The Connected Table Live! - December 18, 2024 • 41 mins
Sparkling wines produced in the traditional method (mêthode champenoise) are made around world. Champagne remains the benchmark and a protected designation. But elsewhere in France one can find crémants made in the same method with second fermentation taking place in the bottle. Italy has Franciacorta DOCG, and Spain has Cava D.O. Melanie and David discuss sparkling wines from England, Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Austria, as well as a few Champagnes on their holiday sipping list.

Sparkling wines produced in the traditional method (methode champenoise) are made around world. Champagne remains the benchmark and a protected designation. But elsewhere in France one can find crémants made in the same method with second fermentation taking place in the bottle. Italy has Franciaco...

12/19/2024

Happy 89th Birthday Jacques Pepin..we 💜 you!