We went to the Ogden last night for a wonderful tribute and celebration of Eudora Welty. Three folk musicians were on stage in the new addition, which is grand sandstone building designed by the 19th century architect Henry Hobson Richardson (a Louisiana native whose designs are sprinkled around the east coast and this is the only gem he left for his beloved city of New Orleans). The museum has tunneled over to the building and when you climb the narrow staircase and pop up in the round double story height room with beams that end in dragons you feel as if you’ve been transported to another world.
Kate Campbell, Caroline Herring and Claire Holley played original songs inspired by the South and Southern Writers, in particular Eudora Welty who Caroline had the good fortune to live near when she was young. On the other side of the rotunda is a large hall that has had all the walls blown out and all the remain are the brick and the beams with the dragon smiling at the end – all part of the Ogden’s expansion and the gorgeous design of Richardson – a lovely evening indeed.
After the concert we went to Domenica’s to sit at the bar. The restaurant was overly loud reminding me of the the early 90s in San Francisco when all the restaurants were designed with hard surfaces so that you couldn’t hear your neighbor speaking – that trend passed in San Francisco so why anyone would design a restaurant like that now is beyond me. We ordered a pizza with wild mushrooms, a small dish of polenta with meatballs, and a tomato and cucumber salad. The food was good, the wine (Valpolicella – vintner unknown) okay, and that is all I need to know about Domenica’s. Not my cup of tea.
Then home sweet home at 11pm – the fate of older moms.