9/23/2006 Community Gumbo

Democracy Now (9/20/06)

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• One Day After Complete Exoneration, Maher Arar Yet to Receive Apology From Canada, US for Year-Long Imprisonment, Torture in Syrian Jail

Terence Blanchard, "Over There," Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert, Blue Note, 2005.

Angelo Brocato's is Back!

Angelo Brocato's Ice Cream & Confectionary (214 N. Carrollton Ave. @ Canal St.), is re-opening today for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.

Angelo Brocato was born in Cefalu on the northern coast of Sicily in 1875. After helping to support his mother and siblings working in the finest gelaterias in Palermo, Angelo emigrated to the United States. He worked on a sugarcane plantation in Donaldsonville before opening his own gelateria in the French Quarter, which, by 1905, had become another Little Italy.

The business found a new home on Carrollton Avenue a little over twenty years ago in the Mid City neighborhood where a third generation continued to lovingly create hand-made Italian cookies and ice cream.

Brocato’s is a landmark in the cultural geography of the city, not just because of the fresh cannoli, biscotti, and gelato, but because generations of New Orleanians have made the shop a regular destination for their families, dated their future spouses there, and running into friends waiting in line is a common occurrence. New Orleans and the Brocatos have grown up together.

In 2005, the Brocato family celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the business the family patriarch started. Just a month later, however, Hurricane Katrina delivered a blow that almost destroyed the family business. Five feet of floodwater inundated the shop.

Some friends of the family said they couldn’t return to New Orleans without Angelo Brocato’s, but New Orleanians are tough people. Just as his grandfather did almost a hundred years earlier, Arthur Brocato and his wife, Jolie, joined brother Angelo, and the rest of the Brocato family, to rebuild the business from scratch.

Some of the equipment was restored, and original handwritten recipes were salvaged.

The Brocato family invites friends and neighbors to celebrate the re-opening of an iconic New Orleans establishment.



Angelo Brocato


Angelo Brocato, and sons, Angelo, Jr., Joe, and Roy.




Angelo Brocato's, after the floodwater receded.

Here's another good photo showing what the shop looked like, with the sign on the sidewalk, shortly after the floodwater receded.


A new batch of specialty Italian cookies on new shelves.


Shiny new cases for gelato and pastries.


The old cappucino machine was restored.


Jolie and Arthur Brocato are ready for their friends and neighbors to return.

Related:

Rhonda Finley, "Going To Brocato's For Ice Cream," Emerils.com.

Brett Anderson, "The Ice Cream Cometh," The Times-Picayune, 6/16/2006.

Judy Walker, "Battered, not beaten," The Times-Picayune, 3/16/2006.

"Brocato's sets sights on July," The Times-Picayune, 6/16/2006.

Judy Walker, "A scoop of history," The Times-Picayune, 7/28/2005.

Kathryn Jezer-Morton, "Brocato's to reopen famed N.O. gelato shop," City Business, 9/07/2006.

BizNewOrleans, Arthur Brocato interview, 7/20/2005.

Slow Food USA, Terra Madre Katrina Relief Fund to Benefit Gulf Region Food Producers.

Angelo Brocato New Orleans Traditional Sicilian Cookies - Cuicidatti & Biscotti Regina, Slow Food USA.

2005 eGullet Society review.

NPR -- Owners Debate Fate of Century-Old Bakery.

Ian McNulty, "Rising Above," Gambit Weekly, 12/6/2005.

La Spiga Bakery.

Ron Scherer, "A long road to reopen New Orleans companies," Christian Science Monitor, 12/2/2005.

Fred Buscaglione, "Juke Box," Italian Cafe, Putumayo, 2005.

In the Brown Zone with Mother Cabrini

A reading by Mark Folse, from Wet Bank Guide.

On Monday, the New Orleans Saints will play their first at-home game since Hurricane Katrina. They'll be playing to a sold-out Superdome -- which was in the days after Hurricane Katrina, the scene of so much despair. The Superdome was designed by the Curtis & Davis architectural firm. It was there that Sydney J. Folse designed such unique New Orleans structures as the Rivergate, and Mother Cabrini Church. His son, Mark Folse, was a journalist for many years in New Orleans before moving to Fargo, North Dakota. After Hurricane Katrina, he returned to New Orleans, and now offers thoughtful essays on post-Katrina New Orleans at Wet Bank Guide. He reflected on his father's architecture in a late June post.

Johnny Cash, "Love's Been Good to Me," American V, American Recordings, 2006.

Ernie K-Doe, "Come on Home," All These Things, Bandy 70007.