Editor’s Picks for August

Upscale NOLA eateries offer fare at prime rates

Through Aug. 31

Roughly 54 of New Orleans’ best restaurants are participating in the ninth-annual COOLinary promotion, which offers three-course lunch menus for $20 or less and three-course dinner menus for $35 or less through Aug. 31.

“COOLinary New Orleans encourages locals to experience the best our world-class chefs have to offer and the city’s prestigious and beloved restaurants,” said Kim Priez, vice president of tourism for the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. “By dining out, New Orleanians are keeping our tourism industry flowing during this typically slower month.”

Participating restaurants include: 7 on Fulton, Antoine’s Restaurant, Arnaud’s Restaurant, Barcadia Bar & Grill, Bistreaux at the Bank, The Bombay Club, Bourbon Heat, Bourbon House, Brigtsen’s Restaurant, Café Adelaide, Café Degas, Charlie’s Steak House, Chef Duke’s Café Giovanni, Coquette, Court of Two Sisters, The Crazy Lobster Bar & Grill, Criollo Restaurant & Lounge, Deanie’s Seafood Restaurant, Desire Bistro & Oyster Bar, Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse, Dickie Brennan’s Tableau, Dijon, Dominique’s on Magazine, Galatoire’s Restaurant, Galvez Restaurant, Gordon Biersch New Orleans, Gott Gormet Café, GW Fins, The Irish House, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, Kingfish, Manning’s Eat-Drink-Cheer, M Bistro, Martin Wine Cellar, Martinique Bistro, Morton’s Steak House, Mr. B’s Bistro, Muriel’s Jackson Square, One Restaurant & Lounge, Palace Café, Pat O’Brien’s Courtyard Restaurant, The Grill Room, The Landing Restaurant, The Pelican Club, Redemption, Roux on Orleans, Royal House Oyster Bar, Tivoli & Lee, Tujague’s Restaurant and Vacherie Restaurant.

For more information on the monthlong event, visit coolinaryneworleans.com.

Standup paddlers battle

Aug. 3

The Muddy Water Paddle Company presents the fourth annual Paddle Battle, a series of four races, on Aug. 3.Staged on University Lake from the Baton Rouge Beach, the event features a relay race, one-mile sprint, 250-meter sprint and kids’ race. … And they’re not racing kayaks.

Each race is waged between standup paddleboards. Boards are supplied for the relay and kids’ races, but competitors must provide their own boards for the sprints or rent one.

Teams of three compete in the relay race, with the top three teams in the female, male and coed divisions winning prizes. Registration is $35 per person.Recreational and race boards are welcome in both sprints.

The top three places are awarded. Registration is $30, or $15 for relay-registered racers.

The kids’ race is open to children between the ages of 6 and 15. Water support is setup around the course for safety concerns. Registration is $15 per person. For more information, visit the Muddy Water Paddle Company’s Facebook page.

Red dresses flow during annual NOLA run

Aug. 10

It’s open to anyone 21 or older, but there is one more requirement: runners must wear a red dress.

For the 19th year, several thousand people will do just that for the New Orleans Red Dress Run, sponsored by the New Orleans Hash House Harriers.

Hashing is international, and it is serious. Promoting fitness amid alcohol-fueled parties and events, such as the Red Dress Run, hashing clubs are simultaneously athletic and sociable.. NOH3 is one of many hashing clubs and has adopted the mantra … “a drinking club with a running problem.”

As evidenced by the 250 kegs ordered last year, drinking at the Red Dress Run is encouraged. Free wine is also available to registrants, who receive a catered meal from Corky’s. Registration is $65.

In conjunction with the run, Cowboy Mouth and Dash Rip Rock are scheduled to perform in Armstrong Park during the event, which lasts from 9:30. a.m. to 5 p.m.

Last year the run benefitted 50 New Orleans charities, and the event has raised $500,000 for that purpose over the past three years.

For more information on the run or NOH3, visit www.nolaredress.com.

A paddler navigates his standup board during a previous Paddle Battle event in Baton Rouge. Races are waged Aug. 3 on University Lake.

COURTESY MUDDY WATER PADDLE COMPANY