Slurping wetly and noisily at the nourishment that is New Orleans
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Distracted by opulent mansions in the Garden District and heavily-dressed fried shrimp po-boys, it took me a few months after moving here in 2003 to realize New Orleans was a neglected city. When I worked up the courage to journey beyond self-delineated safety zones, I began to notice the crumbling […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
In 2023, hôtelier and restaurateur Robért LeBlanc of LeBlanc + Smith collaborated with CureCo founder Neal Bodenheimer, and development partners Talbott Ottinger and Chris Dawson to renovate the Maison De Ville, an 18th century Creole townhouse-turned boutique hotel on Toulouse Street. “It just felt like the right time to reinvest […]
As dreamers do … The long-awaited Étoile opened this past summer finally filling the stunning historic mansion left vacant after the closing of Cavan in 2021. Originally from New Orleans, Chef Chris Dupont (of Dupont’s Restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama) returned to his hometown to open Étoile, a “farm-to-table” fine-dining restaurant […]