Feeling Riche

Currently sitting at Riche in the Harrah's hotel with about six other journalists in town to cover the Fest...folks from Philadelphia, Lexington, Washington D.C., and parts farther afield: Corinna Metcalf from The Washington Times, Joseph Blake (formerly of the Philadelphia Inquirer), the married travel and antiques writers Angela Wibking and Virgil Fox, the former New Orleans travel writer Patti Nickell, who is thriving in Lexington, Ky., and Bonnie Warren, who reps the hotel and writes for a lot of local publications. (Photo: Bonnie's lobster bouillabaisse.)

This is typical Festival stuff--people have spent 10% of their time talking about books and 90% of their time drinking wine, yakking politics, gossiping, and chowing down.

Steak frites, mac-and-cheese, and a nine-onion soup. The best thing was escargot served on flatbread with chèvre, like a little snail pizza. And the service: outstanding. (Full disclosure: I ain't paying for this one, but believe me: it's good.) Verdict? Chef Todd English knows what he's doing.

After the meal, a couple of us went into the 528 jazz club next door to hear the excellent John Boutté, who has a voice like Sam Cooke, or maybe Jackie Wilson--but jazz-inflected and New Orleans through and through. Midway through the set my old neighbor Margarita Bergen appeared at our table with news; she's a columnist for Bayou Buzz and her biography lists her as the diva of culture, entertainment and epicurean delights of the New Orleans area," which is as good a description as any. (Photo: Joseph Blake and Margarita Bergen.)

And now it's 5:30 am, I have insomnia, and there's a whole day of master classes, plus a play and a reception at Tennessee Williams' old house tonight....