Can you feel it? I can, it’s a glimmer of fall, a happy change, the promise of good times to come. Naturally, this gets my appetite going too.
So this feels like a good time to catch you up on a clutch of new restaurants that opened in late summer when maybe you were districted by a few other things. a
Let’s start on Oak Street where there’s a new restaurant called Aguasanta. It’s the latest from the guys who run La Tia Cantina in Metairie. This one has Mexican roots too, but don’t look for tacos or burritos. Instead, Aguasanta goes upscale and adds a dash of global curiosity. I especially like dishes from the raw bar, and the cocktails are carefully crafted too.
Next, we’re going to Freret Street for a new outpost for Korean fried chicken and beer.
This one is called Chi Chi’s, and what makes its wings and chicken sandwiches special is the earthy spicy sauce and elements of umami. You can get fun, delicious sushi sandwiches at Chi Chi’s too, complete with tall beer towers to share around the table.
In Faubourg St. John, the French bistro Café Degas has expanded by adding a new bakery café and coffee shop. It’s called Le Ponce, and it’s right next door on (you guessed it) Ponce de Leon Street, in the spot that a lot of people will remember as the old Fair Grinds coffee shop. You’re coming here for breakfast sandwiches on baguettes, French pasty and coffee.
I have one more for you in the Seventh ward called D’z Street Eatz. It’s the latest from a chef I’ve been following for years, Chef D, who cooks with old-school Creole style. To see what I mean, go on Thursdays for a plate lunch special built around smothered turkey wings with greens and cornbread.
D’z is a takeout kitchen inside a bar on North Broad Street that was long known as Pampy’s Creole Kitchen. It’s a different now, but still has traditional New Orleans flavor covered.
It’s fall, when New Orleans starts coming back to its best self. So I’ll see you out at the restaurants.
