Nearby Restaurants

James Zhang

James Zhang of China, an advanced student in the Loyola Intensive English Program, has explored some of the many restaurants near the campus of Loyola University New Orleans. He will introduce you to these restaurants below.

* * *

RESTAURANTS NEAR THE LOYOLA INTENSIVE ENGLISH PROGRAM

By Xiang "James" Zhang

Right within walking distance of the Loyola Intensive English Program, you can find many wonderful and diverse restaurants: Cajun, Chinese, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Thai, Vietnamese, and dessert. Loyola University New Orleans has an excellent dining room, the Orleans Room, but it's also good to get off-campus from time to time and try one of the many restaurants nearby. You can walk from Loyola to any of the restaurants below.

Audubon Clubhouse - Cajun 
6500 Magazine Street - 504-581-4629

This restaurant is open when the weather is nice. It is a buffet with such tasty foods as fried chicken, vegetables, fruits and cakes. There are waiters, who will take your order and collect your plate. Everything I have had at this restaurant had been perfect. If you like playing golf, you can do so after lunch. This restaurant is in the beautiful Audubon Park, just across Saint Charles Avenue from Loyola. But be careful when you order because this restaurant tends to be expensive.

Jazmine Cafe - Vietnamese
614 South Carrollton Avenue - 504-866-9301

http://www.jazminecafe.com

This Vietnamese restaurant is really good. It is inexpensive, but the food is delicious. I like the beef noodle soup, which costs eight dollars. The spring roll is also excellent. Other dishes I enjoy are grilled sliced pork, grilled shrimp, tofu and avocado, and jazmine seafood noodle.


Basil Leaf - Thai

1438 South Carrollton Avenue - 504-862-9001

A favorite dish at this Thai restaurant is mussaman curry, a beef dish from southern Thailand. I also like mee crob, a dish of crispy rice noodles and a sweet sauce flavored with lemon or lime. This restaurant is a little expensive, but worth it.

Panchita’s - Mexican

1434 South Carrollton Avenue - 504-281-4127

This is not an expensive restaurant, but the food is very good. I recommend the shrimp quesadilla, the fajita mixta, and any burrito.

Vincent's Italian Cuisine - Italian

7839 Saint Charles Avenue - 504-866-9313

http://www.vincentsitaliancuisine.com

This restaurant has very good Italian food. Artichoke Vincent, corn & crabmeat bisque, shrimp fettucine, filet mignon, and herb crusted salmon are some favorites.

O’Henry’s - Irish and U.S. American

634 South Carrollton Avenue - 504-866-0002

http://ohenrys.com

O'Henry's is like an Irish pub serving U.S. American food, such as hamburgers and french fries. If you go there on your birthday, you can get free steak. I like wasabi roast beef and Miss Mary’s chicken salad.

Babylon Café - Middle Eastern

7724 Maple Street - 504-314-0010

This restaurant is not expensive, but you can get a lot of food. The hummus is amazing!

Little Tokyo - Japanese

1340 South Carrollton Avenue - 504-485-5658

http://www.littletokyonola.com

The sushi here is quite big but not expensive. This restaurant also has good ramen and beef bowl. My tutor, Daniel, goes to Little Tokyo often. He has lived in Japan and says that Little Tokyo has authentic traditional Japanese food that he likes very much.

Camellia Grill - U.S. American

626 South Carrollton Avenue - 504-309-2679

I went to this restaurant recently. It was delicious. The western omelette with fries and hamburger was perfect and inexpensive. All the customers sit around a counter, and the cooks prepare the meal in front of you.

La Madeleine - French

601 South Carrollton Avenue - 504-861-8662 

http://lamadeleine.com

This is a French cafe. The French onion soup is especially delicious. The quiche Lorraine, the spinach quiche, and the croque monsieur are also very tasty. The desserts, too, are wonderful, especially the Sacher torte and the fruit tart.

China Orchid - Chinese and U.S. American

704 South Carrollton Avenue - 504-865-1428

http://chinaorchidneworleans.com

This restaurant serves Chinese and U.S. American food. I enjoy the traditional Chinese seafood and eggs. The service in this restaurant is perfect.

Cold Stone - Ice Cream

624 South Carrollton Avenue - 504-218-8900

This ice cream store is very good. You can order several kinds of ice cream and toppings and mix them together.

As you see, there are many restaurants around the Loyola campus. These are just some of them. So if you come to Loyola, don't worry about the food. No matter where you are from, you can find food that you like around campus.

If you want to order food from these restaurants and eat it in your own room, you can do so through this link:

http://www.campusmenus.com

When the food is delivered, please remember to tip the delivery person. This is the U.S. American way! The tip should be about 15% of the cost of the food.

Enjoy!

* * *

Our thanks to James Zhang for acquainting us with so many wonderful places to eat off-campus. Our next blog post will introduce you to Loyola's photographer, Mr. Harold Baquet, and his passion for his work.

A Portrait of Our Office Manager, Susan Dempsey

Sister Mai

This post will introduce a person who is very special to us in the Loyola Intensive English Program: our office manager, Susan Dempsey. This portrait of Susan was written by Sister Tuyet Mai Nguyen of Vietnam, an advanced student in the Loyola Intensive English Program.

* * *

A PORTRAIT OF OUR OFFICE MANAGER, SUSAN DEMPSEY

By Sister Tuyet Mai Nguyen

Susan Dempsey with daughters Ginger (left) and Katie (right)
on vacation in New York

Susan Dempsey has worked at Loyola University New Orleans for seven years. Her favorite task at Loyola is working with the students. As office manager for the Center for International Education, Susan works closely with students in the Loyola Intensive English Program, other international students at Loyola, and U.S. American students preparing for Loyola’s many Study Abroad programs. It is a great assignment and fun. “I get the energy that comes from this job,” Susan says.

Susan’s job is multi-faceted. She performs multiple tasks: she answers the phone, greets people who come in (both students and staff), completes immigration documents, takes care of all the bills in the office, and generally does all things required. As Susan expresses it, she does “a piece of this and a piece of that on a busy day.'

“I love the interaction with the students in general, being an international coordinator, any exchange with the students -- I love this,” Susan says in an excited voice. When she first started in this job, Susan sat in a side room. She realized that she did not deal with the students a lot; she just did this work without students’ exchange and interaction. However, as a person who greets guests, she needs to be right in the front. Therefore, eight months ago, in October 2010, it was decided to change the whole set-up in the office. Susan now sits right at the office entrance; she can be much more involved with the students and knows all of them by name. “It is happy energy,” says Susan.

When Susan is interrupted, it does not make her upset or frustrated because she enjoys helping people when they ask questions or need something to be fixed. She is happy to stop working to help them and takes her time to finish work later.

When Susan is not in the office, she enjoys being at home, which is a happy and safe place. She spends time with her two lovely and sweet teenage daughters. She also does the garden work, reads a lot, and visits with women friends. Mostly she likes to be with her daughters and their dog and two cats.

“My goal is trying to be helpful as much as I can because to come to another culture, especially in this country, it has to be daunting and unsettling. I cannot say no with the students,” Susan says. As a mother, she can imagine her daughter in another culture, meeting somebody who is warm, gracious and helpful. “Mostly, every day, I find that I love to help students,” says Susan.

* * *

We in the Loyola Intensive English Program deeply appreciate Susan, her friendliness, and all that she does for us. Thank you, Susan.

Our thanks to Sister Mai for this portrait of Susan Dempsey. Our next post will introduce you to some of the many wonderful and diverse restaurants within walking distance of Loyola's campus.

Our LIEP Mardi Gras Celebration

At the Loyola Intensive English Program (LIEP), we devoted the morning of Friday, March 4, to our Mardi Gras celebration. We played Mardi Gras games, baked a Mardi Gras King Cake, listened to Mardi Gras music, and crowned our own King and Queen!

LIEP Instructor Jess Haley organized three games that were fun and educational. First came MARDI GRAS TRIVIA, where interesting facts about Mardi Gras were unearthed. Did you know, for instance, that the word "carnival" comes from Latin words that mean "goodbye to meat" or "goodbye to the flesh," since abstinence from meat and denial of the flesh are common practices during the season of Lent, which follows Mardi Gras? Below, LIEP students record answers to Mardi Gras Trivia questions.

Next came a game of MARDI GRAS DOUBLOON TOSS. Cups of various sizes and at various distances were taped to a long table, and we had to toss Mardi Gras doubloons (colored coins thrown during carnival parades) into the cups. Each cup carried a number of points, depending on its size and its distance from the thrower. Below, you can see the Mardi Gras Doubloon Toss table in the background.

Finally, we played MARDI GRAS SCRAMBLE, where we had two minutes to form as many words as possible from a longer word or expression that is typical of Mardi Gras or of New Orleans. Below, we see LIEP Instructor Jess Haley writing the word LAGNIAPPE on the board for us to form smaller words with.

Lagniappe means "a little something extra," such as a piece of candy given by a shop-keeper when we make some other purchases. What words can you form from LAGNIAPPE in two minutes? Let's see: lap, pal, nap, pan, . . .

Besides our Mardi Gras games, our celebration featured the baking of a KING CAKE. King Cake is eaten in New Orleans during the Carnival season. A King Cake is shaped like a ring, or a donut. A small plastic baby is baked into one of the slices. This represents the Baby Jesus, whom the Three Kings, or Three Wise Men, were searching for. Whoever gets the slice of King Cake containing the plastic baby becomes the King or the Queen of the day!

Below, you see two King Cakes. The one at the top, topped with colored sugar, comes from a bakery. The one at the bottom, topped with almonds, is the one we baked at our Mardi Gras celebration. Both were delicious!

Here is the recipe for our King Cake.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
TO MAKE A KING CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
some cinnamon
16 almonds
1 small plastic baby

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in sugar.

Beat eggs. Heat butter and milk until butter is melted. Add beaten eggs and butter/milk mixture to the dry mixture, and mix thoroughly.

Knead gently for a few minutes.

Roll out on a floured surface to make a 1/2-inch rectangle.

Sprinkle the rectangle with cinnamon.

Roll up the rectangle so that it resembles a long rope (as you would roll a jelly roll). Join the ends of the rope together to form a ring, or a donut shape.

Place the unbaked cake carefully into a greased and floured 10-inch by 13-inch baking pan or onto a greased and floured cookie sheet.

Insert the plastic baby from beneath, making sure that it gets up into the center of the dough, and place 1 almond on top of that spot.

Place 15 more almonds around the top of the King Cake at regular intervals. When you serve the King Cake, you will cut the slices so that there is an almond in the center of each. This will help to insure that you don't slice through the plastic baby!

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes.

Serves 16 people. Enjoy!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Below are pictures showing us baking our King Cake.

Meet our King Cake baking team, from left to right: Merve Babayigit from Turkey, LIEP Instructor Karen Greenstone from the United States, Coco Zhao from China, and Sister Kim Dung Bui from Vietnam.

Merve mixes our ingredients.

Merve prepares to knead the dough gently.

Kneading produces doughy hands!

Merve and Sister Dung roll out the dough.

The team begins to roll up the dough, which has been sprinkled with cinnamon.

We place the cake into the greased and floured pan, join the ends, and shape the cake.

Our King Cake has just emerged from the oven!

As we enjoyed all this activity - games and baking - we listened to the sounds of "Mardi Gras Mambo" and other Mardi Gras songs!

Finally, as we ate our delicious King Cake, we learned who had earned the most points at the Mardi Gras games. These two Mardi Gras game champions were crowned King and Queen!

Our Mardi Gras Royalty: King Sung-Uk Jung of Korea and Queen Merve Babayigit of Turkey!

Our next post will introduce you to a very special person in the Center for International Education at Loyola University New Orleans: our friendly and helpful office manager, Ms. Susan Dempsey.

Visit to Destrehan Plantation

On a chilly but sunny day in February, the LIEP Culture Class climbed into the Loyola van for a trip to Destrehan Plantation on the Mississippi River. The theme of the Culture Class this semester is life along the river, and the class had been studying Louisiana plantation life, slavery, and the cultivation of indigo and of sugar cane -- all of which could be found at Destrehan Plantation, about 25 miles upriver from New Orleans.

On the way to Destrehan

n

Destrehan Plantation

 

Destrehan's columned porch

We were impressed with the interior of the plantation house: beds with mosquito netting, smaller beds for daytime resting, a bedroom prie dieux at which to kneel for prayer, an elegant dining room with chandelier, men's card-playing area, and a massive bathtub.

Bed with mosquito netting

Small bed for daytime resting

Bedroom prie dieux for kneeling comfortably at prayer

Dining table

Chandelier

Men's area for playing cards

 

Massive bathtub

The slaves' cabins were far more austere. Slaves worked not only in the fields but also in the house and kitchen. The kitchen was built apart from the main house so that the heat from the kitchen fires would not become oppressive to the inhabitants.

Slave cabin

Kitchen, apart from the main house

Sugar tub

A highlight of our visit to Destrehan was Ms. Mamie's demonstration of her indigo crocheted items. We also saw weaving in progress on a loom with yarns of many colors.

Ms. Mamie with her hand-crafted indigo items

Loom and yarn of many colors

After our visit to Destrehan Plantation, we enjoyed a wonderful seafood lunch at Middendorf's Restaurant -- famous for thin fried catfish -- in the small town of Manchac, Louisiana, before heading back to Loyola.

Middendorf's Restaurant in Manchac, Louisiana

Middendorf's menu

Eating a wonderful seafood meal at Middendorf's

Upon returning to Loyola, the Culture Class continued to build on what they had seen and learned at Destrehan Plantation. The students created a video in which they took roles as members of the plantation-owning family or as plantation slaves in the early 1800s. The video depicts plantation life as experienced from these two perspectives.

Our next post will feature our LIEP Mardi Gras celebration, where we played Mardi Gras games, baked a Mardi Gras King Cake, listened to Mardi Gras music, and crowned our own King and Queen!

Class Observation Project - Spring 2011

We consider our Class Observation Project so important that it is a semesterly event. Each semester, we cancel our intensive English classes for two days so that our Loyola Intensive English Program (LIEP) students may observe classes at Loyola University New Orleans.

The Class Observation Project is understandably one of the most popular of the numerous opportunities for our LIEP students to use their English in a real-life situation. The project provides a glimpse into the life of a U.S. university classroom, it helps our students assess their English skills realistically, and it draws them yet more fully into the larger Loyola community.

Earlier in our blog, we gave you a taste of this project from Fall 2010. This post will give you a feel for the variety of classes observed in Spring 2011. Below are excerpts from the written reports of seven of our LIEP students.

 * * *

OBSERVATION OF PHOTOGRAHY CLASS by Sung Uk Jung of South Korea

On Thursday, February 17, I observed Photography taught by Professor Leslie G. Parr. The topic of this class was light and shadow. Professor Parr began her class by asking about her students' experience while they took pictures. Then she showed examples of pictures for the next assignment. Finally, the students moved to the front of the classroom and sat on the floor, where they looked at each other's pictures and talked about their strong and weak points.


I enjoyed this class because I also like to take pictures. I usually use a digital camera, but the class used film cameras and black and white films.


I especially appreciate that Professor Parr welcomed us as visitors, showed interesting example pictures, and gave everyone a chance to participate by examining other students' photos.

* * *

OBSERVATION OF SPANISH CLASS by Michael Drake of Venezuela

On Friday, February 18, I observed Intensive Spanish Conversation taught by Professor Blanca Anderson. This class was my favorite, not just because it was a class in my native language, but because I liked the topic and because the way Professor Anderson taught the class was very dynamic and fun.


The class could only talk in Spanish. I participated a lot because Professor Anderson asked me to. The class first talked about the U.S. government's fight against drugs and organized crime. The class also discussed the U.S. policy about cocoa plantations in Latin America and the way the United States tries to enforce its rules in foreign countries. Professor Anderson led the discussion in Spanish, and all the students contributed whenever they had something to say.


After this, the students formed groups of two or three. Three native speakers of Spanish then came to the class, and each one, including me, sat with a group and talked in Spanish. After five minutes, we switched groups and talked with others.


I enjoyed this class and the way Professor Anderson taught. I wouldn't mind going voluntarily whenever Professor Anderson needs me to. I left this class knowing things about Latin America that I hadn't known before.

* * *

OBSERVATION OF MUSIC CLASS by Andrzej "Andy" Uscilowski of Poland

On Thursday, February 17, I observed Jazz Band taught by Professor John Mahoney. The class was preparing for a concert.

Professor Mahoney began by preparing his notes and having the class warm up the instruments. After that, he told the class what they would play to prepare for the concert. While they were playing, Professor Mahoney made notes about their performance. He then gave the class these notes, and they played another piece. Sometimes, Professor Mahoney heard a mistake, and he stopped the piece and told the class what was wrong.


I loved this class because I had the opportunity to hear different types of live jazz - and for free.

* * *

OBSERVATION OF BALLET CLASS  by Cuicui "Coco" Zhao

On Thursday, February 17, I observed Basic Ballet II taught by Professor Laura Zambrano. Professor Zambrano was very warm to me.

The ballet classroom has many mirrors and bars to help students practice. I liked the class atmosphere and the students. These students practice very hard and move very gracefully.

Professor Zambrano was very attractive when she was teaching. A smile was always on her face, and her voice was pleasant. She clapped her hands and called commands. The students followed her commands.


Professor Zambrano's class let me remember my childhood. I learned ballet when I was a child.

* * *

OBSERVATION OF HISTORY CLASS by Merve Babayigit of Turkey

On Thursday, February 17, I observed United States History from 1865 taught by Professor David W. Moore. The topic of the class was historical change in the United States in the nineteenth century. Professor Moore's teaching method was lecture and discussion. He also used PowerPoint and showed some pictures.


Professor Moore talked about evolution and pragmatism. He spoke about the improvements in schools. He gave some statistics about schools and showed the difference among African American colleges, men's colleges, and women's colleges. He also discussed reading in the nineteenth century: newspapaers, magazines, books, novels. Finally, he talked about sports. Professor Moore sometimes asked questions to the students.

I enjoyed the class, and I understood most of it because Professor Moore was clear and the topic was interesting.

* * *

OBSERVATION OF RELIGION CLASS by Sister Kim Dung Bui of Vietnam

On Thursday, February 17, I observed Introduction to World Religions taught by Professor Alvaro B. Alcazar. The topic of the class was Judaism. The main point was this idea: "Let your love for Me vanquish your hatred for Him/Her."


The class discussed two important Hebrew expressions. "Takanat hashavim" means "compassionate restoration of foreclosed property," and "Tikum ulan" means "Fix me and fix the world." The class also discussed Abraham's faith as seen in the biblical book of Genesis and the ways that God increased Abraham's faith. The interaction among Professor Alcazar and the students was respectful, open, and friendly.


I liked this class. I was touched by Abraham's faith. He trusted in God his whole life.

* * *

OBSERVATION OF BIOLOGY CLASS by Sister Tuyet Mai Nguyen of Vietnam

On Friday, February 18, I observed Cultural Biology taught by Professor Kathy Anzelmo. The topic of the class was the heartbeat. Professor Anzelmo began class with a 15-minute quiz. Then, she showed a PowerPoint with pictures of the heart and explanation, followed by the students' questions.

The content of the class included aspects of the heartbeat, including the pulse, systole, diastole, the sinoatrial node, the atrioventricular nodes, and measurements with electrocardiogram. Professor Anzelmo also talked about types of blood vessels: arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins.

The relationship between Professor Anzelmo and the students was very good. The students felt free to ask questions when they didn't understand. The students were also very respectful and helpful to each other.

I enjoyed the class very much. I had some difficulty with the academic words, but I could follow the topic more clearly with Professor Anzelmo's PowerPoint presentation.

* * *

Our next post will report on our visit to Destrehan Plantation.