During the New Orleans summer, we travel if we can, hunker down when we must and take any satisfactions we can wring from the season.
One of these is the citywide restaurant dining deal program called Coolinary, (and yes, it’s spelled like “cool”). It’s a boost for restaurants that can potentially transform the summer doldrums for them, and something locals circle on their calendars.
Here’s how it works: Coolinary restaurants each offer their own version of a set-price, multicourse menus. The idea is to use the lure of a dining deal to get people to the table when tourism and conventions dip low. Certainly, there’s little trouble getting a table during this spell, even on short notice, even at restaurants that are usually a tough booking.
Coolinary runs all the way through August 31, and some restaurants actually keep the deals going longer, an acknowledgment that early September can be the bottom of summer’s barrel for restaurants.
More restaurants than ever are on board this year, more than 140, reflecting that summers in New Orleans are hard and perhaps getting harder. That’s why many restaurants are trying out Coolinary for the first time, and they represent an increasing range of culinary styles, formats and price ranges. You can see the whole list and view their special menus at neworleans.com.
I find Coolinary an ideal time to make good on those plans you promised to do with friends who haven’t seen in a while, the people who missed during the holidays and busy spring.
It’s also a suitable excuse to take yourself out for something special, maybe just you, yourself and a three-course dinner without interruption, stealing a little time for yourself with a solo meal. It can be a chance to try that new place on your list or return to an old favorite, including the city’s historic restaurants, which all change yup their game with special menus. Lobster Thermidor gratinee at Antoine’s? Yes, it’s a thing this year.
It’s summertime in New Orleans, when we all find the sunny side of the street, and avoid it. When we take multiple showers a day, including the rain showers we just get caught in. And yes, it’s a time when we do still find some silver linings at our restaurant tables.
