[Terra Nola documents the long-distance love affair between a New Yorker and New Orleans.]

Well, if I hadn't read it with my own eyes I would not have believed it (not that we should believe everything we read). Looks like there is to be a second Camellia Grill, this one in Destin, Florida, beloved by teenagers on spring break everywhere.

As I said to Kelly Leahy, co-blogger here at bloggingneworleans, there can be only one. Even if the reopened version in Nola is doing well enough, the new owner is messing with some pretty serious karma to try and duplicate his success outside of the Crescent City. It was a miracle the Camellia Grill reopened at all given the devastation and destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Why tempt fate?

But, that said, if you're going to tempt fate, you might as well do it in the pan handle. If a greasy spoon operation is going to make it anywhere, it can make it in Destin. Not that Destin is lacking in diners--to the contrary, they're everywhere.

In fact, one of my favorites (besides the Camellia Grill, of course) is the Donut Hole. There are two locations of this fine dining establishment, and I can pretty much guarantee you both will be getting a run for their money once the new CG opens.

As much as I eschew the idea of taking something native to Nola out of it and trying to achieve success with it elsewhere, I can't help but hope the venture is a successful one. If the new outpost is a hit then surely there will be enough money to sustain New Orlean's (dare I say it?) favorite diner.

Either that or the new establishment will be a total money pit that will be the financial ruin of the owner which will lead the original Camellia Grill to ruin.

The thing is, either way, you simply can't recreate the Grill. Everybody knows it's not the food that people really go for. You can get eggs and a side of bacon anywhere--especially in Destin, Florida. It's the people at the Camellia Grill that make it the special place that it is. And I can assure you they won't be popping up in Florida any time soon to make you an omelet.

I don't know off the top of my head how many of the original staff returned to the, uhm, original Camellia Grill. From what I heard some had returned, others declined, and some, of course, we just never heard from again. Who knows what happened to them. Perhaps, just perhaps, fate will bring them to Destin.

My concern is that the owner will turn his attention away from the original CG and spend too much time (and money) worrying about the new outpost. It's a thin line everyone in Nola walks these days given the shaky economy, the lack of people to do the work, oh, and why not--the crime. To step over that line--oh, I shudder to even think about it.

What's even more concerning is that the opening of the new CG is really just a metaphor for what's happening all over New Orleans: everyone is turning their attention elsewhere and setting up show somewhere, anywhere else.

After two years all I can offer you is my exasperation. And, sadly, in a way, my compliance in this matter. When and if I'm ever in Florida again, I know I'll visit the new Camellia Grill. And I'll complain that it's not the original and it's not the same--and it won't ever be the same. And maybe that's the point.

I'll eat the food and hark back to days long, long past when I was basically just a kid eating with some friends after a wild night (or two). I'll remember a time when I actually had the time to just hang out, to relax, to have a good time, without having to think about the future of New Orleans and then feeling bad about the whole thing to the point where I didn't even want to eat my meal anymore. It just felt wrong.

And it will feel so very, very wrong at the CG in frickin' Destin, Florida. But, on a positive note, if I can get myself to the CG in Destin, then I can get myself to the real deal in New Orleans. Hopefully others will feel the same way.

Thanks to Ashley Morris for the head's up.

Photo of omelet (not from Camellia Grill) by nickgraywfu.

Tonight on MyNetwork TV (formally UPN54 in New Orleans) you can watch the HD Documentary 'Going Back to New Orleans' at 8:00 PM EST. This movie tells the stories of various New Orleans musicians and their return to the city they love after Katrina from the point of view of Deacon John. Of course you might not want to wait and thanks to AOL (who owns Blogging New Orleans) you can watch the full documentary online on their True Stories site. Or you could just click through after the jump on this post. Unfortunately the video is in Windows Media Format so I and the rest of you Mac users can't see it, but we'll just wait till tonight.

via netscape.

What's going on here? Why am I posting so much? Today, in honor of Katrina I am attempting another 24 hour 24 post blogathon.

And now the return of a once weekly feature where we pick a great New Orleans video on Google Video, YouTube, Netscape or any other video sharing service and post it with a link to the original here and a short discussion. Be sure to check back here in the future for another NOLAvid.

Today's NOLAvid is a promotional trailer for a new non-profit theater company in New Orleans, the Cripple Creek Players. According to the video, Cripple Creek seeks to produce dramatic works for the public (all shows are ten bucks of less to get in) to provoke social action and help inspire us to continue to rebuild. Currently they are getting ready for their second season with works by Irwin Shaw, Arthur Miller and others. This company helps build on what New Orleans is all about. Deep down we are a strong and dedicated arts community with a great background in theater, TV, movies, studio art, and music.

[Recovery Pen chronicles the simple pleasures and gratuitous joys of living in New Orleans.]

With the foul breath of hurricane season prickling the backs of our necks, optimism is as elusive as dry land during a flood. Still, I am thrilled to report that this June 1st not only marks the official beginning of storm season, but also ushers in a major recovery benchmark: Fair Grinds Coffeehouse opening for business.

Even if you don't think you're familiar with Fair Grinds, you probably are: it's that place by the old Mid-City Whole Foods which has inspired both locals and tourists, old and young, hip and square, all to ask: "What the hell's going on over there? Are they open, or what?"

The Fair Grinds has earned its confusing reputation. Clearly coffee has been served at this establishment, as locals regularly gather around the benches out front and hold forth with the passion and loquacity that only caffeine inspires. The careful observer will also notice people carting laptops to and fro, as well as Friday night guitarists and Saturday morning AA members. Yet, when one tries to buy a cup, or god forbid, ask for some tea, she is rebuked.

But no more! Starting tomorrow, anyone with a few bucks can buy anything on the menu at the newly-renoved caffeine emporium. To celebrate this once-unimaginable event, I stopped by the other evening and chatted with owner Robert Thompson. I took notes while he painted the finishing touches on the outdoor trim, stopping numerous times to chat wiith the parade of friends and neighbors "just stopping by."

It's easy to be a journalist in post-Katrina New Orleans: start with the storm, and the story writes itself. This is how I learned that the Fair Grinds had been open for exactly three years when Katrina hit. Owners Robert and his wife Elizabeth hadn't planned any special celebration for the anniversary on August 29, 2005, and in the end, they marked that day like the rest of us: staring at our TVs in another city.

With the help of Big Al, proprietor of the nearby Asian Pacific Cafe, Robert first snuck back into the city during the Rita evacuation to check on his shop. Although they were spared much wind damage - Robert told me that he'd inflicted more damage by his panicked storm preparations - they got two feet of water inside. They hadn't been looted, but someone had broken in, took a single oat bar, and left a dollar for it on the counter. "I don't know why they didn't take all the food," Robert told me, annoyed: "it just rotted anyway."

He sprayed the fridges down with Microban, but without electricity, there wasn't much more he could do. He returned to Houston to continue waiting. A few weeks later, another neighbor informed him that the electricity was back, so he returned with Elizabeth. Sure enough, the neighbor had electricity at his house, but the Thompsons' house stayed dark for three more weeks.

The gas was on at the Fair Grinds, so they began offering hot showers to the few grateful souls who'd made it back to town. When their electricity came back, they gave out free ice as well. As Robert surveyed his inventory, he found a good supply of dry, vacuum-packed coffee. Using bottles of Red Cross water, they began brewing again.

When you're the only spot around with coffee, and free coffee at that, you make lots of new friends. Robert told me of the kids he met with the National Guard, the Verizon Wireless tech guys, and even the clean-up contractors with Philips-Jordan. FEMA even registered them as a grass-roots community center. I asked Robert what that meant, practically speaking. "They dropped off lots of pamphlets," he replied. "That's all we got from them."

With only a two, three month supply of coffee, Robert had to get resourceful if he were to continue his coffee relief. Fortunately, Dean's Beans, his pre-storm coffee vendor, donated a huge box of coffee when they learned what he was doing. Each one of the Dean's employees personally donated a five-pound bag to the cause. Orleans Coffee Exchange sold him coffee for cheap, and the locals who'd begun to trickle back donated coffee also. As the Red Cross got stingier with the water bottles, Robert worried that they'd have to start using city water. Just when they were about to run out, a truck from the Vernon Parish Miller brewery pulled up. They had a truck full of water, but no one would accept it because all their bottles were glass. Robert offered to take it off their hands, and the brewing continued.

Even though he's not a religious man, Robert had to admit that instances such as the water truck from Providence, er, Vernon Parish, gave him pause. Another time, when he and Elizabeth were too exhausted to clean out the shop in time for its scheduled gutting, a group of volunteers from Allegheny College showed up out of the blue. They boxed, marked, and organized the inventory in perfect order, according to Robert, doing better than their one remaining employee could have done. (That employee soon quit, after opening a box of french-press coffee makers filled with Katrina water. One whiff and he was out on the street, vomiting into the gutter.)

Because they didn't get help from the government or their insurance company, the Fair Grinds renovation process has been long and slow. Working as his own contractor, Robert is quick to point out that he's also "Katrina-damaged," which makes it hard to get going some days. Also, with free coffee comes free freeloaders, whose problems and dramas tend to get in the way of an efficient renovation. The Fair Grinds already had a reputation for attracting weirdos; post-Katrina's dearth of psychiatric resources only increased the population of mentally-ill free coffee drinkers.

Still, Robert doesn't like to send anyone away. Since all of the help he has gotten has been from individuals, he doesn't want to risk losing a possible friend. One depressive hanger-on donated $500 to the renovation effort. As well, a plasterer donated about $10,000 worth of work. The amazing lamp hanging over their counter was also donated by local junk artist Adam Dowis.

So the process has taken time. Although it was easy for Robert to ignore passers-by asking about a reopening date, when his construction helpers began getting on his case, he knew he had to reopen soon. And, bless the gods, that time has come. Not only is the shop itself beautifully renovated, but the upstairs will continue running as a meeting space for local nonprofits and other community organizations such as AA. A Mid-City collective plans to assist Robert in running the meeting area, under the new name Fair Space, to allow him to focus his efforts on running the shop. To be sure, there will still be plenty of challenges: finding local bakers to make pastries, training neophyte staff, and keeping the psychos at bay, but as the storm season approaches, New Orleanians can be proud of one more goal accomplished: another neighborhood home has relit its fires.

Every Sunday we pick a great New Orleans video on Google Video, YouTube, Netscape or any other video sharing service and post it with a link to the original here and a short discussion. Be sure to check back here every week for another NOLAvid.

Today's NOLAvid is a short documentary on the experiences of post-Katrina New Orleans small business owners. This was created with help from the New Orleans Video Access Center and part of a series of short independent films about the ongoing recovery of the city.

Every Sunday we pick a great New Orleans video on Google Video, YouTube, Netscape or any other video sharing service and post it with a link to the original here and a short discussion. Be sure to check back here every week for another NOLAvid.

Today's NOLAvid is a short interview with Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews in the historic Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. Treme is located right across Rampart from the French Quarter and is the oldest Black neighborhood in America. Since this video is from Netscape be sure to vote for it if you enjoy it.

Every Sunday we pick a great New Orleans video on Google Video, YouTube, Netscape or any other video sharing service and post it with a link to the original here and a short discussion. Be sure to check back here every week for another NOLAvid.

Today's NOLAvid is a great satirical look at a Chalmette based MTV Cribs sent to me by a family member who shall not be named.

Every Sunday we pick a great New Orleans video on Google Video, YouTube, Netscape or any other video sharing service and post it with a link to the original here and a short discussion. Be sure to check back here every week for another NOLAvid.

Today's NOLAvid is a trailer for the documentary 'Cult of Personality' about the 2006 New Orleans Mayoral election. I seemed appropriate in this last week before a special election in our fair city. And I found it on Revver.

Every Sunday we pick a great New Orleans video on Google Video, YouTube, Netscape or any other video sharing service and post it with a link to the original here and a short discussion. Be sure to check back here every week for another NOLAvid.

Today's NOLAvid is a commercial for my college alma mater University of New Orleans. It is part of a series of commercials advertising the school that should be out right now. It is also part of five commercials for the school uploaded by YouTuber unovideo.

Every Sunday we pick a great New Orleans video on Google Video, YouTube, Netscape or any other video sharing service and post it with a link to the original here and a short discussion. Be sure to check back here every week for another NOLAvid.

Today's Nolavid was videotaped by me at last night's Endymion parade. We watched in on Canal St. downtown and I managed to get a quick video of one of this super-krewe's extra long double floats. If you can't make it to Mardi Gras this year, at least you can say you saw Endymion after watching this video. Since this is a Netscape video be sure to vote for it if you like it.

Every Sunday we pick a great New Orleans video on Google Video, YouTube, Netscape or any other video sharing service and post it with a link to the original here and a short discussion. Be sure to check back here every week for another NOLAvid.

Since today's NOLAvid is a little late, I figured you deserved three. Today we have an Uptown night parade, an afternoon on Saturday (also Uptown) parade and finally... Barkus, of course as found on YouTube. Check out the second two videos after the jump.

Mardis Gras '07: Saturday 2/10 for the Kids... by tjl1972

and Mardis Gras '07: It's gone to the dogs... by tjl1972

Every Sunday we pick a great New Orleans video on Google Video, YouTube, Netscape or any other video sharing service and post it with a link to the original here and a short discussion. Be sure to check back here every week for another NOLAvid.

Click To Play

Today's NOLAvid is a normal street musician show from the French Quarter found on Blip.tv. If you've never experienced a French Quarter street show, you've never experienced New Orleans.

Every Sunday we pick a great New Orleans video on Google Video, YouTube, Netscape or any other video sharing service and post it with a link to the original here and a short discussion. Be sure to check back here every week for another NOLAvid.

Today's NOLAvid is a signature tune from Rebirth Brass Band found on Google Video. I am hoping it will lift your spirits (as it did mine) after today's blowout in Chicago. Remember this year was just the beginning of a rebirth of our team. Next year we'll be in the Super Bowl. Go Saints.

Every Sunday we pick a great New Orleans video on Google Video, YouTube, Netscape or any other video sharing service and post it with a link to the original here and a short discussion. Be sure to check back here every week for another NOLAvid.

Today's NOLAvid was shot by me at the very end of the Saints game last night. I was sure to get the last plays and the crowd's extended reaction. Where did you watch? Are you hoarse and hungover, like me? Go Saints!

Since this is a Netscape video, be sure to vote for it.

Starting today, each Sunday we will pick a great New Orleans video on Google Video, YouTube, Netscape or any other video sharing service and post it with a link to the original here and a short discussion. Be sure to check back here every week for another NOLAvid.

Today's NOLAvid was shot by me at the very end of the route for the first parade of Mardi Gras 2007, Phunny Phorty Phellows. I thought posting it here would give everyone the experience of the start of carnival and get all of you ready for the season. What is the first parade you plan on going to? Did you go to any Twelfth Night parties last night? Are you ready for King Cake?

Since this is a Netscape video, be sure to vote for it.

Right after I wrote up the Rotolo's viewing party for tonight's Studio 60 I found a video on Netscape of an interview with Trombone Shorty. Enjoy.

via Google Video. This clip includes a couple highlights from Reggie Bush's high school and college football careers. What's interesting is the play he runs aroung 25 seconds in. He is running towards the opposing team after catching a kick. He then backs up about twenty yards and succeeds in getting out of a large group of defenders and making it all the way into the endzone. The interesting part is where you see the running play he is constantly trying to run with the Saints, except in the NFL he gets clobbered before making it back off those twenty yards. Hmmm, maybe college isn't as easy as pro ball...

This video of a couple guys in the quarter who are hitching around the states, Wish I could of come across them. Apparently they are trying to visit everyone of the 50 capitols around the USA in 50 days. They are constantly looking for rides so be sure to check out their site if your willing to pickup a couple hitchhiking bloggers. Here's their blog post of the Big Easy visit. Video via AOL's UnCut