Probably the most exciting dinner we had in New Orleans was the night at Muriel’s on Jackson Square during Mardi Gras 2009. We were halfway through another great meal in the French Quarter when a young man, no older than fourteen, burst through the doors into the foyer. Tears and spit were streaming down his face and he was coughing violently. Immediately the room was filled with a noxious sort of tear gas. People started coughing, servers rushed around in confusion, some patrons were yelling for help. Nobody knew what was going on or what to do – except one server named Joe. 

 

We later found out he had done two tours of duty in Afghanistan. Joe calmly but quickly began handing out wet napkins for people to hold over their faces. Finally the cops showed up and evacuated the restaurant. By that time a big crowd of people had formed outside. We all waited next to the restaurant, unsure of what to do next while the cops searched the area for the “suspect.” 

 

 

 

We still didn’t know what had happened, so some of the crew chatted up a gentleman standing on the corner. He happened to be the owner of the coffee shop across from Muriel’s. Apparently many storeowners in the area carry around a canister of bear spray, a self-defense tool similar to pepper spray, in case they get mugged. “After you close shop at night, you’re walking home with hundreds of dollars in cash,” he told us, “so it’s just good to have one of these with you.” He opened up his bag to take out the bear spray, but his bag was empty!  A look of shock appeared on his face. I thought back to the gasping teenager who had run into the restaurant to escape the gas. We were certain that this guy would want to know about the culprit. But our new friend the storeowner quickly disappeared into the crowd. It seemed he didn’t want to be involved with the police search that was going on full-force. I guess Bear Spray is not strictly legal.

 

We went back into Muriel’s and paid for our meal, giving Joe the server a huge tip. Holly took a picture with him and thanked him for his bravery and level-headedness.* As we walked back to the hotel, I wondered what had happened to that kid. I hoped he didn’t get caught. Bear gas sprayed into the face was punishment enough.  

 

* We’d love to show you the happy photo, but our camera was pick-pocketed later that evening while shooting Mardi Gras revelry.