VIP Ladies

Liuzzas by the Track has earned its place among New Orleans best neighborhood restaurants with a menu thats tighter than the more sprawling norm of the genre. Its a po-boy joint whose kitchen has a flair for pot-cooking and whose long, alluring bar is where many spouses would have to go looking for their missing partners if it were open later.

Talk to Liuzzas by the Tracks fans and chances are they will mention one of three very popular house specialites: its restoratively brothy, invigoratingly spicy gumbo; its cardiologist-flouting barbecue shrimp po-boy; and a po-boy the menu calls Breathtaking Beef.

The B.B.

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When I was growing up, Sweden was still a country where people darned their socks.

I first read this 1997 novel (the sixth in Henning Mankells Inspector Wallander series) in 2004, and saw the television adaptation starring Kenneth Branagh last year. So the general outline was familiar; I even knew who the murderer was going to be. All the same, I read the book this time with just as much enjoyment as on the first occasion, and with even more appreciation of detail of its texture. Unlike most detective novels, this one is less about the eventual solution than the process of getting there.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — West Brighton’s Coffee and Tea Market at 422 Forest Ave. fell victim to one of the City’s health inspectors in the last couple of days. Gates are down. Signs are up: “We are unable to serve beverages or food. Sorry for the inconvenience.” How could this place go from an “A” rating to getting shut down? They were just inspected on 12/14/11 and got only 8 points. We don’t know the whole story on this particular DOH visit as details aren’t yet posted on the Web. Interestingly, they had four other visits by the DOH this year, according to NYC.gov’s restaurant inspection pages. (1/13/11,  2/11/11, 4/07/11, 7/30/11 plus 12/14/11 and one within the week.) Granted they failed the first one in 2011. But Get more info…

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. “77 Shadow Street” by Dean Koontz (Bantam)

2. “Death Comes to Pemberley” by P.D. James (Knopf)

3. “11/22/63″ by Stephen King (Scribner)

4. “Locked On” by Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney (Putnam)

5. “Kill Alex Cross” by James Patterson (Little, Brown)

6. “The Litigators” by John Grisham (Doubleday)”Death Comes to Pemberley” by P.D. James (Knopf)

7. “The Best of Me” by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central Publishing)

8. “Red Mist” by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam Adult)

9. “Explosive Eighteen” by Janet Evanovich (Bantam)

10. “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)

11.

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NEW YORK (AP) — “Mad Men” last aired a new episode in October 2010. But relief is in sight, according to its star, Jon Hamm.

Hamm revealed on a podcast last week that the premiere of the fifth season of the AMC network drama is March 25.

Hamm also says he will direct that episode. He appeared on Friday’s edition of the podcast “Doug Loves Movies,” hosted by comedian Doug Benson.

AMC declined to confirm the date. T

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