Whispers

Monsour: See ya—and bottoms up

Walter Monsour, the praised operations impresario of Mayor Kip Holden’s administration, put an end to speculation recently and announced his retirement as chief administrative officer. A bottle of Grey Goose vodka, a gag gift from a subordinate, sat in pristine condition on the credenza behind his desk in the No. 2 office at City Hall. Monsour followed a strict, blue law prohibitionist approach to social drinking during the day while serving in government. When 225 asked him last year how long he would stay on the job, he smiled, pointed to the bottle and said that when the seal is broken he’d be leaving shortly thereafter. As promised, in semi-ceremonious fashion, the vodka was uncorked in late December. It now resides, as stately as a half-gone bottle of vodka can, behind the desk in his new office at Provident Resources Group on Bankers Boulevard, where he is a director. Monsour will continue to assist Holden as an unpaid special adviser.

Mason’s Grill burger’s 15 minutes

Food Network Magazine will profile the Cajun shrimp burger at Mason’s Grill on Jefferson Highway in an upcoming spread about burgers across America. Owners Mike and Shirlee Alfandre found out about their burger’s media cameo in a phone call just before Christmas. They were asked for photos of the burger and details about their restaurant. Their Cajun shrimp burger features jalapenos cooked inside fresh beef, topped with jalapeno-sautéed shrimp and Monterrey jack cheese.

First Lady’s Glamour shot

First Lady Supriya Jindal made the February issue of Glamour magazine as part of its “Real Stories” series. Glamour reported the launch of her nonprofit, the Supriya Jindal Foundation for Louisiana’s Children, which works to help to improve students’ math and science scores. The fashion magazine illustrated its story with an election night victory photo taken by 225 contributor Tim Mueller. Read our story about the Jindal family here.

Koto’s move delayed

Derek Chang had hoped to relocate his Koto restaurant into newly renovated digs on Corporate Boulevard near CitiPlace by the end of December, but technical construction difficulties have set him back a few months. Chang now says he hopes to move to the new location in March, and he expects to be closed for a week to 10 days to make the actual move.