While many of us are focusing on Valentine's Day this weekend, it might be easy to forget that we're in the heart of Mardi Gras season. Fat Tuesday, in fact, is just a few days away.
But down in the valley, the folks at Potawatomi Bingo Casino haven't forgotten. While showgirls and Dixieland bands roam the casino floor entertaining guests, the property's restaurants pull out the stops.
Dream Dance Steak features a crawfish etouffe on Fat Tuesday (Ru-Yi is busy celebrating Chinese New Year this very busy weekend) and The Buffet has a chef-manned Cajun food station.
But Chef Michael Nagovan is outdoing them all at The Fire Pit Sports Bar & Grill.
At lunch today, he wowed us with an okra and chicken gumbo that was tasty and laced with subtle fire. His jambalaya had andouille, chicken and ham.
Best of all, to my taste buds, were the crispy breaded and fried catfish fingers with a remoulade sauce. The fish was so tender and the breading so light that I could have kept eating these all day long.
Stop in and try it yourself on your way to see some of the most famous living New Orleans musicians over the next couple days in the Northern Lights Theater.
Who else can boast a line-up that includes Cowboy Mouth and Junior Brown (earlier this week), Allen Toussaint with Beausoleil and Michael Doucet tonight at 8, Buckwheat Zydeco (with Paul Cebar) on Monday at 8, and no less than Dr. John & the Lower 911 and The Neville Brothers on Fat Tuesday.
Heck, if they're all here, that means they're not even playing in New Orleans!
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
