Carnivale du Vin 2001 is live and out the door! I’ve had such a great time working on it and I’m so happy with the way it turned out!

Carnivale du Vin is the Emeril Lagasse Foundation’s signature annual fund raising event, which has raised millions of dollars since its inception in 2005. Carnivaleduvin.com uses HTML5 (Boilerplate) and CSS3 along with textural design elements. I’ve also added a splash of responsiveness for browser/device widths.

• Check out the new site here Carnivale du Vin 2011
• Follow them on Twitter here: @CarnivaleduVin
• Like them on Facebook here: Carnivale du Vin on Facebook

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3qbB4Kq3Y0

Surely not this.

There’s a new URL shortener in town, and this one is for culinary related links! Actually you can use it for whatever link you want, but I think it’s best suited for food type URLs.

Just drag THIS LINK to your browser’s bookmark area to shorten any URL using etr.cc!

Link: Use etr.cc!

I love food and I love eating out in restaurants. If there’s one thing that annoys me the most about searching information about the restaurants I potentially want to visit it’s their websites.

I randomly ran across this website which sums up my hatred for restaurant websites perfectly. Thanks to The Oatmeal for doing their part in making this public.

Link: What I want from a restaurant website

After a few years of throwing cook-offs, we decided to create a website for them! It’s about time! This’ll soon become the main hub for all cook-off related info and discussion.

For those of you who don’t know about us, we’re a group of people who put on food themed events. CookOffBoard.com is a place where friends/fans/chefs can interact with each other and get the most updated news on what’s happening in the world of the Cook-Off Board. We’re not actually a official “board” per sé, but we just liked the name we decided to call ourselves that. I think this quote pretty much sums it up though:

We’re friends who care about food, parties, and competition and are endlessly thinking of ways to blend the things we love.

• Check it out new site here here CookOffBoard.com
• Follow us on Twitter here: @TheCookOffBoard
• Like us on Facebook here: The Cook-Off Board on Facebook

So my friend Alexis Tirado and I are turning 30 this year and we’re combining forces to celebrate and raise money for the Gulf Coast oil spill. All proceeds from the party will go to Gulf Aid, a non-profit that is focused on providing relief to the families (fishing community) and environment (coastal wetlands) affected by the oil spill. For more info go to: gulfaid.org

Times are tough so we wanted to charge people a reasonable amount to attend our party. Since we’re turning 30 we’d like to charge $30. We’re going to auction off items as well and give giftbags at the end of party.  We are estimating that we’ll be raising $5,000 to $10,000 for this cause. Hopefully we’ll exceed our goal!  See you there!

DETAILS:

CONTACT:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1NR7oGzcEg

I like it when he points. This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

Mardi Gras 2010 has come to an end. There were major highs (Saints Super Bowl winners!) and major lows (cancelled flights and lost luggage), but this Mardi Gras has definitely gone down as one of the most fun and exciting!

I wish I could say the trip went off without a hitch, but that’s the farthest from the truth.  From 2 flight cancellations to spending 10 hours in La Guardia airport to having our luggage lost, this trip was doomed before we even left New York.  It sounds bad, but once we saw all of our friends and family and got in that Mardi Gras spirit, we pretty much forgot about all the previous drama (well, almost).  Anyway, we had such a blast!  Go ahead and check out all of the photos and video we took of Mardi Gras 2010!

Flick Photo Sets: Click here

YouTube Videos: Click Here

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w6VLkSiG2Q

The New Orleans Saints won their first Super Bowl with a surprise 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Miami… and I was there.

Who dat?! Who dat?! Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?! Oh my god, I can’t describe the feeling I felt when the 23 year old rookie kicker, Garrett Hartley, kicked the game winning field goal in overtime to send the New Orleans Saint to the Super Bowl. 

It was probably the happiest moment of my life (second to my wedding of course ). That moment wouldn’t have been as memorable if it wasn’t for my favorite bar, Clancy’s, and the big group of NYC friends that joined in to share in this momentous occasion. I know that the Saints may not be your team or that you may not even follow football at all, but it meant a whole lot to have everyone there with us through every up and down of that game. But mostly, it was so great to celebrate the win and share that emotion with you. I’m pretty sure I hugged a few strangers amidst all of the excitement, but i doubt they minded.

I realize that football is just a sport, and this was just a game, but to a New Orleans Saints fan, this is bigger than that. This team is a part of New Orleans, sewn in it’s fabric. The Saints are just as much a part of this city as gumbo, Bourbon Street, and Mardi Gras. When the Saints do well, the city gets injected with life.

As I’m sure everyone knows, New Orleans was trampled by hurricane Katrina 5 years ago and ultimately deemed lost. It takes a lot to bounce back from something like that, but New Orleans is making a comeback. With our Saints in the Super Bowl and a potential win on the horizon, we might just move past that stigma and be thought of as the city that won.

I think the Saints head coach, Sean Payton, said it best after winning the NFC Championship:

This is for everybody in this city. This stadium used to have holes in it and used to be wet. It’s not wet anymore. This is for the city of New Orleans.

In the team’s 42 years, this is their first chance at a Super Bowl victory. This is history in the making.

I believe in The Soul of New Orleans.

Who Dat, indeed.

And if you ever don’t feel pumped enough, watch this highlight reel:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=evf2z_gFY_g