Where have you been eating and where’s next? These are the perpetual questions in New Orleans with endless answers.
Right now, in deepest summer, maybe it’s at places that offer a sense of escape, or an appreciation for what we have here even through the slog of it, or perhaps dishes that just seem right for the season. These are dishes I've been talking about most when asked the where y’eating question.
At the Marigny Italian restaurant Evviva, I’m always ordering the grilled shrimp. They’re grilled not a moment too long, with a taste of char just on the edge of the shell while the tails keep a fresh pop. Add garlic and lemon, simple, perfect.
At the Metairie restaurant Dr. Jones, I remind myself to trust the menu and order the chicken. Chicken can sometimes be the safe but boring choice. But there’s no room for a perfunctory dish at this tiny, chef-led, diner-style restaurant. The chicken is seared at the edge, juicy, satisfying and not heavy, completed with a clutch of grilled sweet peppers and creamy aioli. Remember to BYOB.
Downtown, the atmospheric townhouse-turned-restaurant called Bar 1865 is home to one dish that feels like the ultimate drinking snack: skewers of smoked oysters, pinned to juicy Castelvetrano olives and pickled pearl onions, covered in an almond garlic chili crisp. It's a progression of briny, salty flavor and a martini match made in heaven.
There are soup dumplings at the new Shang Kitchen on Magazine Street and an odd, but consistently compelling swordfish schnitzel at Pigeon & Whale, the pretty Freret Street restaurant that’s an ode to the seafood of other seas.
And then there's the bountiful seafood platter at Brigtsen’s Restaurant. Nothing is fried, nothing is exactly light, and every morsel on this tour de force of flavor is delicious. Chef Frank Brigtsen has a new cookbook out called “Color of Flavor,” which details how he achieves such wonders of Creole cooking.
My advice? Get the book and then go to the restaurant to let them do it best.
There’s more on my list, and more to come. So I’ll see you out there at the table and the bar.
