Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published April , 2007 Dooky Chase Open Today For Gumbo z'Herbes First the bad (but not too bad) news: Dooky Chase Restaurant is still not quite ready to open, even though grants it's received from a number of sources have provided it with the wherewithal to do so soon. Of course, the reason for the delay is the same as has affected almost every other restaurant that had a lot of rebuilding to do: the labor shortage has made construction drag on. The good news, however, is that today Leah Chase will open Dooky's for her traditional gumbo z'herbes dinner. The restaurant will serve the green gumbo (see the recipe in today's edition if you're not familiar with the dish) all day on Holy Thursday. It just won't be cooked on site, since the kitchen isn't quite ready to go. "I want everybody to come by and see what we're doing," Miss Leah told me Sunday. "We're getting there, but not quite. John Folse prepared the gumbe z'herbes with my recipe at his big kitchen in Gonzales, just like he did last year." Last year, the gumbo z'herbes was served at Muriel's, which held a big benefit for Dooky's. The lines will be long. They will be worth it. Go to Dooky Chase today and get your gumbo. It will have the odd number of greens in it, so it will be luck for us all. Dooky Chase has long been the premier restaurant in the African-American community locally. More important, however, is that its clientele (and it base of support since the storm) has always utterly transcended race. Everybody eats at Dooky's. It's a model for how everything should be in our city, which seems to be moving toward more racial polarization instead of less. We need a Gumbo z'Herbes plan desperately. Dooky Chase. 2301 Orleans Ave. 821-0600. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com