100 Best Restaurants For Easter Dining
Easter used to keep us at home with family dinners and Easter egg hunts. But in the last twenty years or so it’s become a big day for dining out. That change in direction came quickly, so much so that demand for Easter brunch restaurant reservations outstrips the supply. If you can find a good Easter brunch, or even a good Easter dinner, it can be very pleasant indeed. The weather tends to be nice, so if you’re in the French Quarter a stroll around is inviting. Even the most ambitious restaurants make themselves friendly to families and their children, so that’s not a problem.
Click the bunny above for a list of restaurants open for Easter that have a good track record from past holidays. Most–but not all–will be serving a brunch menu (not necessarily a buffet, though) at midday. Most will also be open for dinner. They are listed in order of goodness. Our rating system, for only this survey, awards between one and three Easter eggs (all recommended) to restaurants we think will be good bets for Easter.
Monday, March 23, 2015.
Talking With Food Disseminators.
An organization of Louisiana food processors asked me to give a talk about the state of local cuisine and restaurants. From what I was able to see, most of the program was about technical stuff. They asked me whether I had a Power Point presentation. I have the software, but I’ve never figured out how to use it. My specialty is amusement on the subject of eating. I can always leave them happy if I make the crowd laugh. First, the Trilogy On A Theme of Soup Du Jour, which still remains fresh and potent after 40 years of use. After that, I do it the way I do on the radio: ad lib. It fills forty-five minutes.
The event is at Holy Cross College in Algiers. I have not been that way in a long time. I am surprised how few restaurants of interest are in the vicinity. The West Bank in general seems to beg for more and better eateries.
Here’s how long it’s been since my last crossing of the river. As I approach the toll booth to return to the East Bank, I come to a full stop with a dollar bill in my hand. I didn’t know that the bridge is toll-free again. The enormous truck behind me was not happy with my coming to a halt. I’m lucky I’m still alive.
The scheduling of my talk forces me to manufacture the radio show from the studio. I am usually at home on Mondays. This also meant that, even if I leave for the North Shore immediately after the show, I will be fifteen minutes late for chorus rehearsal. But the NPAS gang is celebrating the new doctorate just earned by our brilliant accompanist, and when I arrive they are just beginning to warm up. And I don’t sound much better if I warm up than if I don’t.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015.
Poppy Visits. Martin Wine Cellar’s Deli At Dinner.
It is one of those days on the Round Table Radio show. I have five guests in the studio, but only one that Mary Ann said was coming. The Hogs for the Cause event’s founders–Rene Louapre and Becker Hall–are replaced by a couple of other guys in the foundation. No big deal. They know what’s going on. Nevertheless, I leave the interview with a misconception that will cause Mary Ann a problem later in the week.
Also here is a guy representing the LA1 outfit, which makes rum, vodka, and whiskey down among the canefields along Bayou Lafourche. He has been with us before (and recently, at that). But they are pouring at the Cause, so we admit one for him.
Poppy Tooker, celebrating her birthday on the balcony at Tujague’s.
All of these unexpected (but not disruptive) guests are balanced by the person I knew was coming. Poppy Tooker hosts a weekly radio hour on WWNO, the public radio station at UNO. She is always kicks. Her reason for existence on my show today is that she is soon to publish a cookbook for Tujague’s.
She shows up with a good story. While rooting around in the third floor of Tujague’s 159-year-old building, proprietor Mark Latter found a recipe in the handwriting of the longtime owner Philibert Guichet. It was for what he called “whiskey punch.” He apparently entered it in a contest he didn’t win. So he set the recipe aside, never to see the light of day until a few weeks ago. It was never served even at Tujague’s. Until now. Poppy and Tujague’s are organizing a party later in the week to roll out the 100-year-old formula for the first time.
Poppy didn’t bring either a sample or a recipe. From what she told me, it sounds a lot like a Ramos gin fizz. I can’t make it to the party, but I will have dinner at Tujague’s to try the drink.
Not tonight, though. I am running desperately behind on some of my freelance assignments, and must have a simple dinner. I go to Martin Wine Cellar. If I had thought about it before I pointed my car towards the Causeway, I would have gone to the new/old Martin on Baronne Street, which just reopened for the first time since Katrina.
The order counter at Martin Wine Cellar’s deli.
But it’s been a long while since I last eaten at Martin in Metairie. I step up to the counter and discuss the possibilities with the lady standing there. Why Martin’s continues to refuse to give table service in its otherwise first-class dine-in deli is a mystery. But I have been eating from it since its earliest days, when not only servers were missing, but tables and chairs, too.
Mean green chicken at Martin’s.
I get a roasted bird with an herbal glaze, vegetables, and risotto. As I start in on the chicken, I am met by the Naylons. Their son Patrick was a buddy of Jude’s during their mutual time at Christian Brothers School. Our families were good friends, until the boys went to different high schools. They know that Jude has got himself all married up. But have I heard that Patrick is getting hitched himself, in the next few months? No, I haven’t. And what do I think about that chicken? I tell them I love it. They try to order it, but my order was the last one. Sorry! It was actually quite delicious, too. They can believe it. They eat here all the time, living as they do only a few blocks from Martin’s.
I finish dinner with a slice of carrot cake. Two slices are left, but it’s neither dry nor soggy. It is, however, too large a wedge for me to have finished. I’d better watch it. If I keep eating like this all those 58 pounds will come right back.
Martin Wine Cellar Deli. Metairie: 714 Elmeer. 504-896-7350.
#4 Among The 33 Best Seafood Eateries
Borgne
CBD: 601 Loyola Ave (Hyatt Regency Hotel). 504-613-3860. Map.
Casual.
AE DC DS MC V
Website
ANECDOTES AND ANALYSIS
Of all the notions from the fecund mind of Chef John Besh, Borgne may be the best of them. In a casual restaurant whose decor makes a clear statement on behalf of seafood, he and his chef-business partner Brian Landry blend the flavors of New Orleans with those of the long-running Isleños community just downstream. That alone is a brilliant idea, never before explored. What comes out of the effort is a menu that seems familiar, but brings a collection of unusual flavors and food marriages that are unique in the eating. The location near the Superdome and the rapidly-developing Poydras @ Loyola area adds to its utility.
WHY IT’S NOTEWORTHY
Borgne is a chic, casual, and engaging restaurant whose cuisine reaches into a realm not much explored by other New Orleans restaurants. A good deal of its menu takes its inspiration from the Spanish Islenos cuisine. That cross-pollinated with the French New Orleans cooking style as both evolved. So none of it seems foreign to local palates. The rest of the menu refers to back pages of New Orleans restaurant cookery, reviving dishes we haven’t seen in a long time except in the really old eateries. (Fish en papillote, to name the best example.) All this is pulled together by Chef Brian Landry, whose major resume item is as executive chef at Galatoire’s for a few years–although these days his best resume item is that he created Borgne.
Black drumfish a la plancha.
WHAT’S GOOD
Like John Besh’s other restaurants, Borgne places heavy emphasis on obtaining vividly fresh, locally-produced foodstuffs. This is particularly important in a seafood house, and all the good signs are here. No fish dish requires a certain species, preferring the best-looking catch of the day to the most famous or popular fish. Oysters–the royalty of Lake Borgne seafood–are here in many guises, starting with the raw bar. They’re not afraid of putting out a homely stew or other rustic eats if the flavor excites.
Fish in a bag.
BACKSTORY
Borgne (pronounced “born”) is named for the large, shallow, brackish, seafood-rich lake (a bay, really) that brings the waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the side door of St. Bernard Parish. It’s also the home of the Isleños–Spanish colonists from the Canary Islands. At the time of the American Revolution, Louisiana was a Spanish colony, but with insufficient Spaniards to defend it. The Isleños liked the fishing in what is now eastern St. Bernard Parish. Their particular kind of Creole culture lingers there, melting year by year into that of New Orleans. Borgne borrows those traditions, uniting them with the superb bayou seafood the Isleños enjoyed.
DINING ROOM
Like Besh’s other expansions, Borgne was expensively built and furnished, but in a casual, clean, cool style. The atmosphere maven I live with loves the place. You know it’s about Louisiana. That much comes through loud and clear from square columns built of oyster shells, T-shirts worn by the servers, and hand-drawn signs, many with amusing messages. It all suggests that you are in a big seafood joint in West End, Delacroix Island, or some other End Of The World. The long bar–which looks as if it had come from another, much more formal restaurant–is backed by a wall of material suggesting endless peaceful waves rolling in from infinity.
Broiled oysters.
BEST DISHES
Starters
Raw oysters on the half shell
Broiled oysters, spicy garlic butter
Gulf fish ceviche, pickled mirliton, sweet corn, chiles, tomatoes
Duck poppers, jalapeño, bacon
Grilled octopus, Berber hummus, garlic caper confit
Turtle soup
Duck and andouille gumbo
Seared yellowfin tuna, black-eyed pea & crispy rice salad
Entrees
Black drum a la plancha, brown butter, pecans, jumbo lump crab
Whole seafood stuffed flounder, shrimp and crab stuffing
Fish in a bag, caramelized fennel, spinach, tomato, crab fat
Blackened swordfish, creamed charred corn, shishito peppers
Twice cooked chicken Clemenceau, mushrooms, brabant potatoes, garlic, peas
Adobo marinated hanger steak, wild mushrooms, salsa verde
Desserts
Chocolate tart, peanut butter, caramel, sea salt, saba
Key lime ice box pie, ginger, black rum ice cream
White chocolate mascarpone cheesecake, satsuma, almond brittle
FOR BEST RESULTS
A meal composed of oysters, appetizers, salads and gumbo or other soups would be a very good one, and you wouldn’t miss the entrees. Ordering dishes with Spanish names will not result in unfamiliar flavors, and may seem the most Creole aspect of the food.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
The chairs resemble those bucket-style plastic seats in 1960s bowling alleys, and are uncomfortable for long sitting. (That may have been intentional.) Some presentations are so informal that they look thrown onto the plate (the fish en papillote being the most flagrant).
FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.
Dining Environment +2
Consistency +1
Service+1
Value +1
Attitude +1
Wine & Bar
Hipness +2
Local Color +2
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
Good for business meetings
Many private rooms
Open Sunday lunch and dinner
Open Monday lunch and dinner
Open all holidays
Open till 11 p.m.
Open all afternoon
Oyster bar
Quick, good meal
Good for children
Pay valet parking
Reservations accepted
White Shrimp Boot Pasta
This is a hearty, wintertime dish made with the basic ingredients of Italian pasta fagioli soup, but a bit more substantial in texture, and ingredients that give it a rural Louisiana flavor. Eating something like this will make you feel you’re in a fishing camp.
2 Tbs. rendered bacon or ham fat
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. chopped fresh garlic
cup sliced mushrooms
1 chopped green onion
1/2 roasted red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 lb. sliced ham, chopped
8 fresh basil leaves, shredded
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 cups cooked but firm white beans
1/2 lb. medium-small peeled shrimp
1 1/2 tbs. salt-free Creole seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup chicken broth
1 lb. shell pasta, cooked and drained
20 sprigs parsley, chopped
1. Heat the bacon fat and olive oil together in a large skillet. Add garlic, mushrooms, green onions, and roasted peppers, and saute till all are soft.
2. Add the ham, basil, crushed red pepper, white beans, shrimp, Creole seasoning, salt and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and toss with the saucepan ingredients until well mixed and heated through.
3. Serve in a soup bowl with chopped flat-leaf parsley. Parmesan cheese is optional.
Serves four.
Oysters Italian Style @ Mosca’s
It’s an automatic order at the great old Italian roadhouse on Highway 90. You know you’re going to have some variation on the marinated crab, some pasta bordelaise, and chicken one way or another. And oysters, Italian style. That’s the name of the dish at Mosca’s and always has been. But when it began to be imitated elsewhere around town the name oysters Mosca stuck. (That’s actually a registered trademark established by Chef Nick Mosca, so it shouldn’t be.)
Mosca’s version is unique, as originals tend to be. It’s made with a pile of bread crumbs, lots of garlic and oregano, Parmesan cheese, olive oil. . . and I could swear I taste something like the fat from Italian sausage, although they say no such thing is in there. They bake a some two dozen oysters under that pile, and they come out irresistibly aromatic and good. One order is too much even for an oyster lover like me, as are all the other entrees at Mosca’s.
Mosca’s. Westwego: 4137 U.S. 90. 504-436-9942.
This is among the 500 best dishes in New Orleans area restaurants. Click here for a list of the other 499.
March 31, 2014
Days Until. . .
Easter 5
French Quarter Festival 9
Jazz Festival 25
Today’s Flavor
Today is Oranges and Lemons Day. I’ve already had three big Louisiana navel oranges this morning for their matchless juice. Citrus fruits offer much more than just a drink. Lemon juice is one of the most useful ingredients in the kitchen. Not only does it have a marvelous fresh flavor, but its high acidity–it’s one of the most acidic foods we eat–performs all sorts of magic in sauces, as meat marinades, and in keeping things fresh.
Orange juice is less versatile, but much underrated as an ingredient. I’m always trying to include it in baking (as in our orange cheesecake) and in saucemaking (orange hollandaise). Orange zest and skin adds the unique flavor of orange oil.
Although we had three good months of them this year, the season for Louisiana navel oranges is about over the for year. However, we hear that you can go down to Plaquemines Parish groves and ask if you can pick the remaining fruit on the trees. They will be like no other oranges you ever ate, but too delicate to market. They are the best oranges in the world.
The Old Kitchen Sage Sez:
If you jab a wedge of lemon and wipe its juice all over whatever poultry or fish you’re cooking, your chances of improving the dish are nearly a hundred percent.
Gourmet Gazetteer
Orange, in Cuyahoga Country on the outskirts of Cleveland, is the largest of three places in Ohio named Orange. It’s about midway between Chagrin Falls and Shaker Heights. It still feels rural–large patches of woods run through the area–but the well-spaced streets are fully lined with newer homes on large lots. It’s an affluent community of 3300 people, incorporated in 1927. Most of the restaurants in Orange are chain operations near I-271. But there is a Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Orange, two blocks away from the country club.
Edible Dictionary
clementine, n.–A small, usually seedless citrus fruit related to the mandarin orange, and more distantly to the satsuma. Like mandarins, clementines are very easy to peel, and their sections pull apart for easy eating. They are on the sweet side. They’re named for Clement Rodier, a priest who is often credited with having hybridized the fruit in Algeria in 1902. (Although it may have originated in China, which has been growing a mandarin like this for a very long time.) They are grown everywhere that other citrus fruits are, including California, which markets them assiduously during the clementine’s short season. Which, luckily, coincides with the holidays.
Dining Around The World
In 1889 on this date, the Eiffel Tower was dedicated. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel let the French flag fly from the tower’s summit in the ceremony. It opened to the public about a month later, as the entrance to a world’s fair. The tower had a restaurant at the lower platform level until the 1980s, when it was disassembled, packed into containers, and shipped to New Orleans. A new structure was built for it at the corner of Josephine and St. Charles Avenue, where Restaurant de la Tour Eiffel opened in 1985. It did not do well, and closed after just three years. It’s been several other restaurants since, including the current occupant, Eiffel Society.
Annals Of Sashimi
On this day in 1989, the Food and Drug Administration allowed sushi chefs in New York City to import fugu for the first time. Fugu is the pufferfish whose salient culinary characteristic is that its liver and some other organs are so deadly that eating then can paralyze or kill you. However, the rest of it is alleged to be the best sashimi there is. I’ve tried it and can tell you this is not true. The ultimate fugu experience is supposed to be eating parts of the fish close to the liver, feeling the anesthesia begin to set in, and then to feel it leave your body. Not for everyone.
Deft Dining Rule #167:
The practice of wrapping lemon halves in yellow gauze–to keep the seeds in when you squeeze the lemon over your fish–is one of those disappearing niceties of fancy restaurants that really made sense. But ipso facto it’s not a sign of excellence.
Philosophy Of Taste
Today is the birthday in 1596 of Rene Descartes, a revolutionary figure in both mathematics and philosophy. His most famous utterance gives rise to a good restaurant joke, one that not everybody gets right away:
Seems that Descartes dined in an elegant Paris restaurant one night. He enjoyed a large, excellent repast. The waiter offered him a dessert on the house. Descartes paused a moment, then said, “I think not.” Instantly, he disappeared.
Food Namesakes
Author Mary Chestnut was born today in 1823. . . John D. Loudermilk, pop musician and composer, was born today in 1934. He wrote “A Rose And A Baby Ruth” and “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye,” among many other tunes. . . Sir Benjamin Baker, who built the steel bridge over the Firth of Forth, was born today in 1840. He also built the first tunnel under the Hudson River in New York.
Words To Eat By
“And every day when I’ve been good,
I get an orange after food.”–Robert Louis Stevenson.
Words To Drink By
“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts—for support rather than for illumination.”–Andrew Lang, Scottish writer, born today in 1844.
Restaurant Patrons Rise And Give Reproof.
The restaurants couldn’t control this habit among their customers, so the customers took matters into their own hands, and ostracized the malefactors.
Click here for the cartoon.
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