December in New Orleans, it’s a time when lunch takes on a different shape. Not just the midday meal, it turns into a social outing, part of the holiday season festivities.
Sometimes these can be lengthy lunches, stretching into the afternoon, with the chances of returning to work dwindling by the minute. This season, though, a different kind of holiday lunch is on my mind thanks to two very different restaurant experiences that each have their own double bottom line.
Let’s start in Metairie. Saint Mary’s is a new café that serves a full Irish breakfast with rashers and bangers, puddings and all, just one part of a menu with lots of comfort food and a chef’s eye across the board. There are nice cocktails at Saint Mary’s too, always a welcome addition in Metairie.
The name is a clue to the mission behind it all. The new restaurant is a permanent fundraiser for a residential community for developmentally disabled people up in Alexandria called Saint Mary’s.
Whether you go for that full Irish and a bloody Mary , or just a salad and a lunch plate, a portion of the proceeds from the register goes to support Saint Mary’s programming on behalf of its families.
Now let’s head to downtown to the New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute.
They call it NOCHI and it’s a culinary school with a fast-track program aimed at giving more people a leg up in the hospitality business, a crucial corner of the city’s economy and culture.
The students who hopefully one day will be leaders in hospitality are right now running their own pop-up restaurant at NOCHI.
It’s called Embers and it channels all the wintry cravings of seasonal produce, and flavors of smoke and char. I’ve had smoked mushrooms over grit cakes, pumpkin gnocchi, a beautiful pear galette with maple ice cream, and yes, this cooking school pop-up has cocktails too.
That sounds like the right fit for a special holiday lunch outing to me, and proceeds help fund scholarships so more students can take a step up.
In the case of Embers you’ll have to act fast, it’s open this week and next before it folds up for the season. Saint Mary’s in Metairie meanwhile is open daily serving good food and serving its mission.
