*I know there’s no June 2025 Food News. Oops!
Dad’s cookin’ . . . Named after Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne deBienville, the French explorer known as the “Father of Louisiana,” Le Moyne Bistro is the latest restaurant launched by Tim Armstead and chefs Farrell Harrison and Christian Hurst. With Warehouse District restaurants Plates and the newly opened Maria’s Oyster & Wine Bar under their belts, the team now introduces Le Moyne, celebrating French cuisine with Louisiana ingredients. The menu focuses on French classics like Gulf tuna niçoise, pâté de campagne or country pâte with cornichons, and a wild mushroom vol au vent. “We’re thrilled to bring Le Moyne to New Orleans and share our passion for French-inspired, locally sourced cuisine with our vibrant community,” said Tim Armstead, General Manager of Le Moyne Bistro.
746 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 350-1750, lemoynebistro.com
Are you making this magic? . . . Chef Nathanial Zimet and Anthony Hietbrink of Carrollton neighborhood restaurants Boucherie and Bourrée recently announced the opening of The Gardens at Bourrée, a vibrant “outdoor sanctuary” featuring the best of both kitchens. “The Gardens is an artistic expression of the senses paired with exceptional fare and libations — a farm-to-fairytale dreamscape we built for our patrons and our community to enjoy,” said Tony Hietbrink, Owner of Bourrée and Boucherie Catering. Although the curated landscape is beginning with brunches, the intent is for the space to evolve, offering the neighborhood an event venue hosting weddings and other private celebrations to public events such as farmers’ markets and art bazaars.“This project is the beginning of something much larger,” added Chef Nathanial Zimet, Owner of Boucherie and Bourrée. “It isn’t just an outdoor extension — it’s a shift in how we want to bring people together.”
bourreenola.com/the-gardens
Only grandchildren . . . Born and bred New Orleanian Chad Sabatier has opened Minnie and John’s in the gas-station-turned restaurant space at the end of Oak Street. The building which once housed the popular burger joint Cowbell is now home to Chef Sabatier’s homage to his grandparents, “my goal is to provide the same warmth and hospitality that fills the homes of families, where everyone knows they are welcome and can’t wait to be served.” The menu is inspired by Southern comfort food featuring bowls of crispy, deep fried corn and andouille “Kala’s” served with creamy pepper ranch and deep fried okra.
8801 Oak St., minnieandjohns.com
Hip hip hurrah! . . . After over ten years in business, The Franklin shuttered just this past March much to the chagrin of its fans, but the Marigny neighborhood space wasn’t empty for long. Eviva NOLA is a casual yet elevated restaurants with an ever-changing menu inspired by cuisine from coastal regions of the Mediterranean with dishes like “Velma Gene’s anchovy bread,” slow-roasted, Pearl River Pastures pork jowl served with pepper vinegar, and endive and radicchio salad with country ham, fresh mozzarella , piparras (pickled guindilla peppers) tossed in an anchovy vinaigrette. Owners and Link Restaurant Group alumns Heather Lolley and Humberto Suazo (the dream team behind Galaxie Tacos on St. Claude Avenue) have tapped James Beard award winner Rebecca Wilcomb as executive chef and former Marjie’s Grill marvell Marcus Jacobs as sous. With that team, no wonder we’re all screaming “Hurrah!”
2600 Dauphine St., (504)-267-0640, evivanola.com
The road less traveled . . . The Lost Coyote has found a home in the space formerly known as the NOLA Art House, on the lakeside of I-10 across the street from Manchu Food Store. Inspired by the “beauty of wandering off the beaten path,” Lost Coyote is a place where “food, creativity, and community collide” offering brunch, dinner and sumptuous snacks served poolside if you like. The menu includes items like cornbread muffins with cane butter, shrimp boulettes with chamoy aioli for dipping, sweet tea-brined pork belly with bourbon BBQ sauce and chicken cassoulet.
1614 Esplanade Ave., lostcoyotenola.com
If you can catch it . . . Easily one of the most fish-forward restaurants in the city, GW Fins is reaching out to let more people know about a program long offered at the French Quarter seafood spot. Long known as a “Sportsman’s Paradise,” fishing enthusiasts come from around the world to catch Louisiana’s freshest, especially in the spring when the Gulf is teeming with grouper, sheepshead, drum, snapper and cobia. For visitors, the folks at GW Fins will not only recommend some of their favorite charters, they also encourage sporting fishermen to bring their catch to the restaurant where Chef Michael Nelson will prepare an “unforgettable culinary experience.” Well-worth the price at $35, plus tax and gratuity per person, past catch and cook experiences have featured drum with a redfish cracklin’ crust and crawfish maque choux, pan-seared red snapper served with Louisiana Shrimp Creole, and Parmesan-crusted sheepshead with jumbo lump crab.
808 Bienville St., (504) 581-3467, gwfins.com
Star power . . . MICHELIN Guide is at last expanding its celestially-guided gastronomic honors to the Southern U.S., including Alabama, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and, of course, Louisiana. “We are excited to embark on this new journey for The MICHELIN Guide as this will be the first time since the Guide’s North American debut in 2005 that we are launching a regional selection,” said Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the MICHELIN Guides. “The cuisine of the American South is a unique product of diverse influences creating an iconic array of specialties prepared by proud and impressive culinary talent.” The release of the globally-lauded guide’s review of the American South has yet to be announced, but chefs and restaurants across the area are crossing their fingers (and their knives) for a chance at one or two highly-coveted MICHELIN stars. This writer knows who’d she pick, but all we can do is wait and see.
*Article originally published in the July 2025 issue of Where Y’at Magazine
**Lead image courtesy of Le Moyne Bistro and photographer Randy Krause Schmidt
