EAT: New Orleans is all about the throwback charm, from horse-drawn carriages clattering through the Quarter, to the early 20th century tunes echoing from jazz clubs, to the gorgeous architecture of the shotguns in the Marigny. But we’ve yet to find anywhere that kicks it old school quite like Angelo Brocato’s, an Italian ice cream parlor in Mid-City whose founder and namesake learned the art of crafting fine desserts in his native Italy before crossing the pond to open his own shop in New Orleans back in 1905.
To this day, stepping into the darling little storefront is like falling into the pages of a history book – except way tastier. Angelo’s own descendants serve up monstrous, puffy pastries, authentic Italian lemon ice and spumoni, and velvety gelato in to-die-for flavors like gooey, glorious praline. Ride the streetcar up to their Carrollton location for the ultimate old-fashioned outing. 214 N. Carrollton. Tuesday – Thursday 10:00am-10:00pm, Friday and Saturday 10:00am-10:30 pm, Sunday 10:00am-9:00pm, closed Mondays. 504-486-1465.
GO: We know there are some of you out there that cannot be bother until you’ve had your morning cup of coffee. Man do we have the place for you to be! It’s the 2nd Annual New Orleans Coffee Festival! As part of the Feret Street Market, this interesting fest is just right for those caffeine connoisseurs out there. Over 100 vendors will be on hand for those who love to celebrate, learn about and most importantly, drink coffee! Saturday, November 6th. 12:00pm-5:00pm. Feret Market.
SEE: We are sure that many of you enjoyed the awesome art and artists that were part of Prospect 1 New Orleans. Well, this Saturday Prospect 1.5 New Orleans kicks off a hole new round of new art and instillations, music food and fun. Head down to the Julia Street Galleries for the kickoff party at the Le Mieux Gallery. If you can’t make this one, don’t fret: there will be plenty more show to see over the next few months. 6:00pm-9:00pm. 332 Julia Street.
GO: Word nerds rejoice! The New Orleans Book Fair fast approaches, starting with a kickoff partyat Sound Cafe on Friday night. A veritable bookworm-palooza, the evening will feature live readings by Sarah K. Inman from her novel The Least Resistance, set in post-Katrina Uptown, and Jordan Flaherty, author of the radical activism tell-all Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena 6. And as if that weren’t delightful enough, the always-scrumptious Cake Cafe and Bakery will provide refreshments. Be there and be square! Friday, November 5th. 6:00pm. FREE. 2700 Chartres Street.
LAGNIAPPE: Katrina & Beyond – Much has been said, written, sung, painted, and performed to express the impact Hurricane Katrina has had on New Orleans, but no project has been quite as comprehensive and, most of all, interactive, as the Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond exhibit at the Presbytere on Jackson Square. The 6,700 square-foot multimedia spectacular opened last week through the Louisiana State Museum, aspiring to be “the world’s definitive hurricane exhibition.” The exhibit fuses the personal, the political, the scientific and the artistic in a series of immersive environments and installations in an attempt to give the visitor an in-depth understanding of Katrina on both a local and national level. The interactive component is extended into cyberspace as the Museum invites those with stories, videos and photos relating to Katrina to share them on their Facebook page. Hit “like” and peep the wall for posts from locals and updates on all of LSM’s exhibits. 751 Chartres Street. Open Tue-Sun 10:00am-4:00pm.
Sloane Berrent is a cause-based marketing and social branding consultant, nonprofiteer and budding social entrepreneur. She uses social media, product evangelizing, fundraising and community development services to help for-profit and nonprofit companies with a focus on social action campaigns. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, she has lived in Burlington VT, Boston MA, Rome Italy, and Los Angeles, CA. She spent 2009 as a digital nomad, traveling the world experiencing life and volunteering including stints in South America, New Orleans and three months in the Philippines as a Kiva Fellow.
She co-created “Cause It’s My Birthday” a campaign to raise money (over $19k to date) and awareness for malaria prevention in Ghana. Sloane moved to New Orleans as her new home at the end of 2009 and co-launched NOLAlicious, a weekly newsletter of events in New Orleans. She was recently named the citizen journalist to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland for the MySpace and The Wall Street Journal communities. Her consulting practice, Answer With Action, focuses on strategic integrated marketing consulting. She speaks frequently on building community and blogs at The Causemopolitan.
