Zydeco Shoes Reviews

This neatly packaged boxed book and CD set is a lively testimony to what happens when a pair of Yankees come South and fall in love with New Orleans. Alex Hayes and her friend Bob Swanson came here in 1997 and promptly fell in love with the Jackson Square paintings of Earl Hébert. Those red dancing shoes, “zydeco shoes,” deserve a book all their own, and Hayes and Swanson provide that tribute here. In this visually arresting volume (book design by Swanson Advertising), Hébert’s snappy paintings in bright primary colors are the true stars; recipes from Mulate’s are a tasty lagniappe. Whip out the CD by the Lucky Playboys called “More Luck Than Sense” and before you know it, you’ll be cooking up a fais-do-do of your very own. It’s an odd combination — this book is so pretty you’ll be extra careful should you decide to actually take it into your kitchen, but the overall effect is lively and festive, perfect to send to a homesick New Orleanian or to brighten up a wintry afternoon for yourself.

Susan Larson
Book Editor
The Times-Picayune
New Orleans, LA
12 December 2004