Erster liquor . . . Brian Weisnicht and Chef Farrell Harrison, the dream team behind Plates on Annunciation Street, have launched another Warehouse District restaurant on Tchoupitoulas Street dubbed Maria’s Oyster & Wine Bar. Located in the space that held N.O.S.H, or New Orleans Social House, adjacent to Tommy’s Wine […]
Out-Of-The-Box Bánh Mì
Restaurants in New Orleans going against the grain with offbeat bánh mì. Affectionately known as Vietnamese po-boys, bánh mì have arguably become as quintessentially New Orleans as crawfish étouffée and Bananas Foster. The infusion of Vietnamese culture into the current Crescent City gumbo happened after the fall of Saigon and […]
New Orleans Food News: March 2025
Full of beans . . . Chef Maya Mastersson has been tapped to head the kitchen at the new restaurant inside Beanlandia, headquarters for the Krewe of Red Beans. What began as a small marching parade glorifying a local Monday-night tradition was catapulted into an organization built by and for […]
Antoine’s Restaurant: A Crown Jewel in Carnival’s History
An informal tour through one of the city’s most revered landmarks and their krewe-designated dining rooms stirs a sense of wonder for the spectacle of Mardi Gras. The masquerade ball scene in the 1984 film Amadeus, based on the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, teems with masked revelers adorned in […]
New Orleans Food News: February 2025
To die for . . . Owner Phi Vu, a local actor best known for his work in Happy Death Day, launched his Korean fried chicken pop-up in late November 2023. Now he’s launched OPPA Korean Fried Chicken inside the tiny shop on Severn Avenue, formerly Wishingtown Bakery and longtime […]
New Orleans Food News: January 2025
Taco ’bout sushi . . . The dream team behind the Nori Guys pop-up, home of the sushi taco, have opened a brick and mortar restaurant in Mid-city called Hibachi Grill. Owners Kenny Truong and Nigel Pais recently opened their new digs on the corner of S. Broad and Banks, […]
Big Easy Breakfast Table: Grillades & Grits
A traditional, soul-satisfying breakfast dish that’s gradually disappearing from New Orleans restaurant menus. Without skipping a beat, any local (or devout fan) can rattle off dozens of New Orleans dishes such as étouffée, gumbo, jambalaya, crab ravigote, muffulettas, po-boys, Yak-a-mein, beignets and king cake. We think of the oyster loaves […]
New Orleans Food News: December 2024
Po-boy preservation . . . Since chef Benjamin Wicks and Art Mahony Murray opened Mahony’s Po-boys over 15 years ago, folks from near and far have been flocking to the Magazine Street restaurant for a taste of Wicks’ fine dining take on po-boys (this writer loved the pot roast beef […]
Fresh Concept, Historic Neighborhood: Empanola
A few months ago, in the midst of another sweltering summer, Empanola opened just behind Jackson Square on St. Ann Street. This is the 3rd New Orleans location for the family business, owned and operated by Jimena Urrutia, her husband Marcelo Garcia, brother Javier and his wife Giada Visicale. “That […]
New Orleans Food News: November 2024
Changing hands? . . . Algiers Point restaurant Tonti’s Cocktail Bar & Bistro (formerly Tonti’s Hand) has tapped a new head chef. Chet Henderson recently moved to The Point from Colorado where he worked as the Corporate Executive Chef of The Culinary Creative Group, a hospitality company responsible for restaurants […]
Proofing Future Bakers at Ayu Bakehouse
Frenchmen Street bakery owners Kelly Jacques and Samantha Weiss have created an in-house incubator, educating and encouraging employees taking first steps toward entrepreneurship. This Saturday and Sunday marks the 4th weekend of Bella McDow’s new pop-up at Ayu Bakehouse. After normal hours every weekend this October, the bakery is under […]
New Orleans Food News: October 2024
Finger lickin’ chicken . . . Adolfo “Fito” Garcia and Sophia Petrou, a couple of new, New Orleans restaurateurs from old New Orleans restaurant families recently launched Chi Chi’s Chicken & Beer on Freret Street. Working out of the tiny space once home to (the much-missed) Windowsill Pies, the duo […]