by Brad Rhines

This free, curbside taco was brought to you by BP. As New Orleans rang in the New Year with packed hotel rooms and football fever, the excitement spread far beyond the Superdome. Blimps and billboards shined overhead, as corporate entities like Allstate, AT&T, and even the much-maligned British Petroleum were taking advantage of the crowds, and making their presence known around town. The oil company that was responsible for the Big Oozy sponsored the “Gulf Coast Seafood and Tourism 2012 Bash,” a two-week push to support local seafood and help clean up their own image.

In the wake of the Big Oozy, running a close second to BP's "We'll fix this" push was the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board's "The seafood's safe...really" campaign. Well, turns out there's still some questions floating around about that. Environmental dragon slayer Stuart Smith is gathering info to mount a challenge to the feds' assertion that the seafood is safe to eat, MSNBC reports. Smith's team used independent testing, and said the analyses that were used did not probe for several important particles that make up crude oil.

Hear ye, hear ye.  Come one and all to celebrate the return of Louisiana Seafood.  Crab, Shrimp and Fish, all local and all fresh.  This edition of Sips in the City, a series of dinners at the Rib Room that promise you will “Eat well, drink well and do good,” is in support of Louisiana Seafood.

It's been a few days since we saw the Oil Spill topping page A1; so, it must be all over, we can just forget about it. Or not! Jerry Moran of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN)  has taken some very depressing photos since the capping to remind us just how much of a problem remains. [VIA]

For weeks, we've been hearing ominous predictions about the end of oysters as we know it. Unfortunately, the naysayers have become seers. After 134 years of business, P&J Oysters, suppliers to institutions such Acme, Felix's, Brennan's, and Commanders, has stopped shucking oysters because they have none to shuck.

By Laura Cayouette

Though organizers set the first New Orleans Oyster Festival on a steamy hot blacktop parking lot in the French Quarter, many turned out to sample a variety of what could be the last local oysters for some time. Spotted in attendance at the Oyster Festival were NoDef favorites, Margie Perez, Gravity A's Drew Meehan and concert staple, DancingMan504.

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