An appetite for New Orleans
The three-year anniversary of Katrina’s devastation to New Orleans passed at the end of August, and now the benevolent belle of the South provides more reasons than ever to ditch the diet for a long weekend. Among those dedicated souls who stayed or returned to rebuild are chefs and restaurateurs whose response to the frightening decline in tourism was not just to reopen their restaurants but to create new places, too. So deep was their belief that New Orleans would recover, they dug down and found the courage and money to expand the dining scene, always an essential element in the city’s allure.
There are now 950 restaurants open in New Orleans, a number estimated to be 100 more than before the horrific flooding and a total higher than ever in Crescent City history. And significantly, New Orleans Times-Picayune dining critic Brett Anderson began reviewing local restaurants again in July, an event that even The New York Times noted. Anderson had put off restaurant criticism nearly three years because he didn’t want to imply that the city’s recovery was complete, but he found he couldn’t continue to avoid it, noting on his blog, “there was too much good food out there to hold out any longer.”
Here are four new dazzlers that belong on your list of tables to book for your next trip to the Big Easy, plus a look at some re-energized favorites that you should revisit, too.
>> Cochon: Owner chef Donald Link, whose Herbsaint has been a fixture on the scene for several years, quickly opened this casual, contemporary homage to the Cajun food he grew up eating with his German family in nearby Acadiana. Airy and washed in muted oranges and golds, it’s perfect for a late, leisurely lunch. Don’t miss: Crawfish-green tomato pie, grilled beet salad with pickled pork tongue; roasted oysters, rabbit livers, and grilled pork ribs with watermelon pickles. In the Central Business District (CBD) at 930 Tchoupitoulas Street, 504.588.2123; www.cochonrestaurant.com or www.opentable.com.
>> MiLa: The name is a nod to the Mississippi and Louisiana roots of the husband-wife chef team, Slade Rushing and Allison Vines-Rushing. (She is named in the September issue of Bon Appetit magazine among six “Women Chefs: The Next Generation.”) Smart and chic at lunch, romantic in the evening, the restaurant’s sleek design in cobalt and cream takes warmth from caramel booths and smooth bamboo floors. Don’t miss: Curried squash soup crowned with a crawfish; rabbit pate with cornichons; grilled beef filet over grits; and seared salmon in miso with pureed parnsips and greens. Oh, and one of the best bloody marys anywhere. In the CBD at 817 Common Street at Baronne in the (in the Renaissance Pere Marquette New Orleans) 504 412 2580; www.milaneworleans.com or www.opentable.com.
>> Iris: Owner Ian Schnoebelen was named one of the 10 best new chefs in Food & Wine’s annual profile in 2007. His work, served inside a tiny shotgun house in Uptown, has certainly wowed the locals, too, who flock to see what’s new on the dinner-only menus. Don’t miss: Veal cheek ravioli cradled by cream-laced wild mushrooms; yellowfin tuna in a green peppercorn crust with greens, prosciutto and olives; and New York strip steak, swept with foie gras butter with a side of Parmesan fries. 3115 Jeannette St. at Carrollton, 504.862.5848; www.irisneworleans.com.
>> Lüke: Even before Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef” made him a superstar, John Besh was the darling of New Orleans cuisine. His latest venture is this inviting brasserie, where ornate detail in gorgeous dark wood surrounding the bar and booths adds to a yesteryear nostalgia. The frisee salad topped with poached egg and lardons and an icy tray of sweet West Coast oysters make the perfect appetizer pairing, washed down with one of three house brews. Be sure to try: the white bean-duck cassoulet with pork sausage, smoked bacon, and duck confit, filled with many of the locally sourced ingredients Besh insists on. In the CBD at 333 St. Charles Ave., 504.378.2840; www.lukeneworleans.com, www.opentable.com.
>> Restaurant August and La Provence: Besh, recently named the state’s Restaurateur of the Year, keeps passion fresh at Restaurant August, tucked into a 19th-century building in the CBD, with jewels such Kobe beef short rib with Jerusalem artichoke, asparagus, and roasted tomato vinaigrette, along with wines from boutique wineries in the old and new worlds (301 Tchoupitoulas St., 504.299.9777; www.restaurantaugust.com). Across the Lake Pontchartrain causeway in the St. Tammany Parish town of Lacombe, La Provence is a longtime favorite Besh acquired and updated with a lovely menu featuring his own garden beets in a salad with pickled hen egg and blue crab meat, and an entrée of grouper with shrimp merguez over couscous steeped in Moroccan mint tea (25020 Highway 190, 985.626.7662; www.laprovencerestaurant.com).
>> Herbsaint and Bayona:Fellow star chefs like Link and Susan Spice continue to thrill locals and visitors alike. At Link’s Herbsaint (pictured above), another CBD destination that oozes gentility but hints at a hip side, memorable bites include his local shrimp and grits with tasso and okra, as well as his handmade spaghetti topped with a fried egg and pancetta (701 St. Charles Avenue. 504.524.4114; www.herbsaint.com). For nearly 20 years, chef Spice’s Bayona has pampered the palates of the most discerning diners at her vintage Creole cottage, pleasing those in search of flavors from the Mediterranean and Asia as well as those practicing a vegan diet. Her cream of garlic soup and her eggplant caviar are particularly special, as is her peppered lamb loin with herbed goat cheese. (430 Dauphine Street. 504.525.4455; www.bayona.com).
For more New Orleans dining details, visit these helpful sites: NOLA.com, New Orleans Online and New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau.
