Saturday, 12 October 2013

Is Food Art? Let's do Research at the Three Muses

On Thursday evening, the Southern Food and Beverage Museum invited food historian, Ken Albala to the Old U.S. Mint to discuss the topic, "is food art?"  The audience was in for a real treat as he began to wax lyrical about the aesthetic qualities of food and the transformative effects of consumption.  I think Ken's appreciation of food stems from his historical background: he largely studies food in Early Modern Europe - a period when Enlightenment ideals ignited a profound appreciation for the inherent beauty of food (see information on 18th century foodie, Jean Anthelme Briallat-Savarin.  If he were alive today, he would probably be living in Brooklyn, wearing horned rimmed glasses and consignment shop flannel shirts on a daily basis).  Ken's lecture covered topics ranging from the philosophy of taste to the Proustian experiences triggered by our grandmothers' cooking.


After the event, Theresa and I met up with some of my colleagues at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum to listen to live music on Frenchmen Street.  Theresa had heard good things about a gastro jazz pub called The Three Muses (which turned out to be an excellent choice).  We somehow secured a spot at the bar with a perfect view of the stage.  We spent our evening nursing cocktails like the orange blossom sazarac and Louisa's husky revenge while sampling small plates of Quebec-style poutine and sun dried tomato and arugula pizza.  Later on, we made our way over to R Bar in the Marigny (known for showing movies on a big screen above the bar).  Here is a sample of the music we heard at the Three Muses:



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