If you’re on Canal Street by the massive new hospitals taking shape in New Orleans, keep your eyes peeled – first for the crazy traffic, but second for evidence in these parts of the shifting geography of lunch.
One of the little peripheral signs of progress for these hospitals has been what’s available to eat around the edges as they take shape. That’s been changing, and today we’re starting to see more signs of what’s to come spreading out across the surrounding neighborhood.
Naturally, it started with food trucks, which have kept a vigil around here since the early days of pile driving. Mind you now, these are not the foodie food trucks that we’re accustomed to finding at festivals and events. Rather, they’re the taco trucks and barbecue wagons that seem right at home around work sites.
As the hospitals inch towards completion, the little ad hoc food court here has moved around and changed too. The latest changes, though, have been more tectonic, marked by the arrival of more permanent eateries. They’ve been cropping up mainly on the other side of the hospitals, around the central hub of Tulane and Broad, and lately the pace has been accelerating.
We can’t forget the old guard spots, like Anita’s on Tulane, a vintage diner that has always served the downtown hospitals and now looks directly into the new LSU hospital campus. For me, the new guard arrived with the excellent little po-boy shop Avery’s on Tulane, which opened three years ago and is now bustling during the mid-day rush. Now there’s a burger and slider joint called Dis & Dem on Banks Street (it was originally called Dis & Dat, but there’s been a name change). It’s a colorful place on an otherwise dingy block and it looks out of place until you look down the block to find the future Department of Veterans Affairs hospital rising high above it. The potential is clear, and others are banking it.
The latest is the Big Cheezy, a South Broad Street restaurant with a menu built around grilled cheese sandwiches. Sure, that does sound kind of anywhere U.S.A. but the flavors at the Big Cheezy definitely have a local bent, with roast beef debris, alligator sausage and olive salad all getting in on the grilled cheese game. Perhaps more telling is the crossover potential of the house gumbo, offered here by the bowl but also as a dipping sauce. If tomato soup is the usual running partner for a grilled cheese, here’s the south Louisiana twist.
There’s more on the way, including another grilled cheese restaurant. It’s called Melt, and it should open next fall on Banks Street. And closer to the courthouse, on South White Street, plans are underway for SideBar, a lounge for wine, craft cocktails, local beers and maybe a few snacks too.
There’s a lot riding on the new hospitals for the long term, and of course much high stakes than where to find a burger or a po-boy. But that’s for the future to reveal. Right now, when you need a bite near Tulane and Broad, there’s already been a pretty appetizing impact.
Big Cheezy
422 S. Broad St., 504-302-2598; thebigcheezy.com
Avery’s on Tulane
2510 Tulane Ave., 504-821-4110; averysontulane.com
Dis & Dem
2540 Banks St., 504-909-0458; disanddem.com
