The Geuse is loose! So excited to announce the first ever Geuse & Gold productionā¦
āCatherine OāHara āLiveā: A Drag Tributeā at Jacqueās Cabaret
@solidstephen and myself are gathering the deadliest cast of performers to celebrate the life (and afterlife) of our Delia departed Catherine OāHara. Come laugh, cry, and fold in the cheese with us on May 17th at 8pm. $10 presale tickets available at the link below or through the link in my bio ($15 tickets at the door)
https://bit.ly/cathy-ohara-live
I found the best SC pimento cheeseburger between ATL & Charlotte. Got it to-go to keep making time but took one bite in the parking lot & ended up just eating most of it right there. Got to Queen City, great dinner at Artisanās Palette, drinks at the hotel speakeasy, left town early the next day. Before hitting Virginia had a religious experience over some NC burnt ends w/ sweet potatoes āĀ & that vinegar sauce wut..ā¦ A beautiful drive up 85/95. The trees just kept getting taller & taller. After two tries trying to find a wee VA mug for Lindsey I was about to give up & scored one. šŖš¼ Went through the very southernmost tip of D.C. over the Potomac on 395 crossing from Jones Point, VA to Rosalie Island, MD en route to Baltimore. Drinks the next night at one of the oldest bars in town after hanging around Fells Point, my bartender being a fellow Stephen & a quite well-versed Baltimorianado. Told him I wanted a crab cake before heading to Philadelphia & he pointed me to the Thames (pronounced ātamesā importantly) Street Oyster House & the cake they served was the size of my face. Was totally, totally outstanding. The evening trip was easy & in the morning I woke up early, excitedly heading into old town with āT.S.O.P.ā playing loud as I drove through the city. In 2001 I performed in ā1776ā at the Palmdale Playhouse ā our set being flats of Independence Hall. Iād always wanted to visit the real thing. Youād have thought that post-pandemic Iād learned simple things like checking if you need reservations or tickets for things but NOOOOO. Luckily I bumped into a gentleman that got in me in with a tour that was missing some people!!! I couldnāt leave without having some whiz & miraculously got a perfect seat & sandwich at Sonnyās, āloaded.ā Then headed north to hang with an old, dear friend. Arrived just in time to watch RPDR. Heād made a *fabulous* charcuterie board to watch the show & catch up over. The next day we went to the Grey Towers, High Point, & the tri-state rock. Ended the night with an incredible meal at the Hotel FauchĆØre. In the morningā¦ I left for my new home!
Morning of the 7th, my co-pilot, Andrew, flew back to Los Angeles. Myself: it was time to start recharging my quite-depleted family batteries. Headed northeast over Lake Pontchartrain to Diamondhead, MS where I finally got to spend time with my cousin, Gabe, whom I havenāt gotten to see in way too long, and his awesome other half, Michele, plus my Aunt Bev, who is one of coolest people ever, period. They treated me to my first baked oysters down at the beach of the Mississippi Sound. Then I headed northeast again along the beach through Biloxi before getting back on 10 and going through the swamps to Atlanta toward my dad, sister & fam. I arrived late, everyone was already asleep, but Lindsey had decorated the room I was staying in with 100 cat faces, inflatable cats, a cat selfie background and cat streamers. šÆš¤£ The next day was my birthday and the solar eclipse. I spent the day putting around their bucolic town, Acworth. We gathered in the front yard and Ray chatted with his neighbors while we waited for the bus which would drop Lallo off from school. We made a pinhole camera to watch the 60% totality. We rode around the forest in a golf cart (literally). They took me out for a birthday dinner. Happy, happy. Joy, joy. The next morning Lindsey and I tried to get a pedicure but instead souvenir shopped and I snapped one last pic with her at the Acworth sign before hitting the road again bound for Charlotte.
For over 2,000 miles @halladay1 co-drove and co-adventured with the best of āem. Itās impossibly rare to have friends like this guy. We were a pandemic pod. Weāve seen countless shows, had countless meals, and had even more countless bottles of wine together. Laughed and cried. The rest of the trip wonāt be nearly as fun and daily life wonāt be the same without you buddy. Thank you for your time to help us pack and clean and finally get me across the country. Everyone give him three cheers ššš
I ruptured my right patella horsing around with a neighbor kid when I was 13. The first two months of recovery I didnāt get to move much and thatās when I remember really becoming fascinated with Emerilās show. I watched it constantly. The animation of his logo scrawling across my screen is indelibly imprinted. Then he started the show where he had guests sit up at the bar with him while he cooked. There you saw how food can affect people, because you saw it happen in real time. I was accepted to the California Culinary Academy out of high school but due to reasons beyond my young control, I wasnāt able to pursue that exact path. Though, as many of you have experienced, Iāve not abandoned the dream of cooking. I have always attributed a lot of why I like to cook to Emeril and it was always a bucket list item to go to his restaurant one dayā¦. and I have absolutely never had a better dining experience than I did at @emerils on Saturday night. They gave us a table with an IMAX view of the stunning kitchenā¦ watching @ejlagasse and his team is like going to a ballet. They brought us back to the kitchen for amuse-bouche and to show us the operation. When we came back to our table my shoulder bag Iād sat at the foot of my chair was now sitting on its own tiny stool. If I told you pickled mustard seeds were now my favorite thing to eat, would you think Iām crazy? From 8:30 until nearly midnight the team there gave us everything they had. We were literally the last two people out. They even sent us home with little chicory coffees and coffee cakes for the next morning. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to Jason and the whole team. Yes, itās expensive, but thereās folks who dine like that because they can, and thereās those who dine like because they *want* to. I really think they could see how much it meant to meā¦ and they really went beyond. If I get to go to Emerilās again I cannot imagine I wonāt be just as thrilled as I was the first time.
We left Houston eager for NoLa. Stopped at Buc-eeās Baytown because I had to get some fresh jerky. Made it to the Big Easy easily, got a couple 75s at our hotel bar and went right out into the French Quarter, which is unlike anywhere Iāve ever been. Itās just a constant rager! Dined at Sylvain then walked around the streets with a Hand Grenade. In the morning had beignets & cafe au lait before trucking around the Quarter more. Went back to the hotel and took a moment to put stickers weād collected starting at Morongo on the roof box and extracted a bottle of La Cuvier Chrysos that was stashed in the car before heading to dinner at Emerilāsā¦ā¦.. to be continuedā¦..
Made it to Tucson uneventfully Tuesday night. Totally excellent meal at @theparishtucson . Between @halladay1 and myself we then did the ā13hrs straight through to Austin, arriving well after the hotel bar closed š« . Took a meeting from said bar in the morning before making our way to Cooperās for a quick sample of BBQ. Time was short so we had to pretty soon head north, going through Temple, TX where we both experienced our first Buc-eeās. š¤Æ A little further on and we made it to Waco where my uncle and aunt gave us a tour of town before we sat on their porch with a little wine. Weāre now on 6 toward Houston.
