Some essential ingredients for a road trip: good tunes, to peel back the miles; a phone charger, of course; and, if this road trip is in south Louisiana, a good old fashioned ice chest, for souvenirs of the edible variety.

A drive around these parts will not bring you sweeping views of mountains and valleys. But it will bring you close to wonders of the Louisiana food world, namely boudin, the rice and pork sausage link that can be a snack on the way or the whole purpose of the trip.

Lawmakers in the state of Louisiana are debating when food products can be called “rice.” The labeling question comes as newer products—think cauliflower “rice”—are competing for consumer dollars. But is that product, made from small pieces of cauliflower, really entitled to call itself “rice”? In states where traditional rice is a major agricultural crop, some say no.

This week on Inside the Arts, Dos Coyotes a romantic comedy about border crossings, redemption and belonging is in final days at the Fortress of Lushington.  The work is by local playwright Kurt Opprecht who joins us in studio with director Gregory Johnson.  

Airs Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m., Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 8:45 a.m.

For over 35 years Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg has celebrated a “blue chip career” as a classical violinist. In 1981, at just 20 years old, she was the youngest-ever recipient of the Walter W. Naumburg prize for violinists. Her emotional approach to the instrument has both shocked critics and earned her the adoration of fans in every corner of the globe. She has played with some of the world’s most renowned orchestras, and she was the music director of the New Century Chamber Orchestra in San Fransisco for nine seasons.

Ronnie Virgets was the quintessential New Orleanian: earthy, literate, funny, thoughtful, bawdy, bit-of-a-rogue, well-mannered, generous, sly, fun-loving — and one of our most insightful commentators on the vagaries of life in the Crescent City. When he passed away on Monday, May 20, 2019 at age 77, Virgets left a rich legacy of award-winning stories he’s told on the radio, on television and in print.