New Orleans

Herbsaint, New Orleans, 12/22/16

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entry
entry

HERBSAINT is a fairly large restaurant in the Garden District.  It is part of the Link Group which also runs “peche” and Cochon.   It is has a good sized bar area, a dining room next to the kitchen window with 2 sides of street windows and an additional smaller dining room in the back near the wine storage and hanging meat cabinet (where they cure their own meat, some as much as 2 years old. They also make sausage and lardo and  age lamb).  It is noisy with a more lively buzz in the front room.  I saw several tables of celebrating parties with mixed ages and dress in the dining rooms.   Continue reading →

Brennan’s Restaurant, New Orleans, 12/22/16

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building
building

Brennan’s has been an institution (since 1946) in New Orlean’s French Quarter but it has recently undergone a major renovation and re-opened in the fall of 2014.  The large restaurant has many different public and private dining areas, extensive wine cellar and bar area serving breakfast breakfast/lunch and dinner.  It was filled with many tourists as well as local folks, some celebrating the holiday or just having a good meal.  Their menu is a la carte but does feature daily specials, combination meals and the off-the-menu Steak Diane.  While the front of the restaurant has elegantly appointed dining rooms, I really preferred the ‘garden room’ in the back where we had lunch.   Continue reading →

La Petite Grocery, New Orleans, 12/21/16

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exterior
exterior

La Petite Grocery is a good sized place in the Garden District, about a 15 minute cab ride from the French Quarter. The room has a narrow portion due to a partition that separates the tables that are in the same room with the large bar.  There is another partition that forms one larger room in the back of the building.  The building was re-built in 1908 after the original building burned.  It did start as a grocery but all that remains of that structure are the tin ceiling and the front awning. When is was a grocery the front two areas were the store and the back room was storage, thus it truly was a petite grocery. The casual crowd was there to eat as I saw no one at the bar that was not awaiting the rest of their dinner party.  There is low lighting throughout but even dimmer in the front two areas.  It offers an a la carte menu with a few verbally delivered specials.   Continue reading →

Galatoire’s Restaurant, New Orleans, 12/21/16

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dining room before they opened
dining room before they opened

Galatoire’s is a large restaurant in the French Quarter that I like to visit at least once every year.  The food has an amazing consistency of goodness, the waitstaff are all adaptable to any request and it is just fun being in there.  We had a wonderful lunch of old favorites starting with a couple of New Orleans signature drinks, sazeracs.  The only reservations are for the upstairs dining rooms which have the same kitchen but somehow the vibe is not the same. This trip we found they were taking names inside to reserve a seat for the lunch seating as opposed to lining up out front.   Continue reading →

Galatoire’s, New Orleans, 12/19/15

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interior
interior

This large restaurant in the French Quarter gets a visit from us every time in town, so sorry about another posting on it, but that says something for the quality of the place.  That day it was filled with local folks having their Christmas parties and with all the red bows and garlands it was extra festive. Again, the waiters here will customize anything to your liking and love to throw extra crab meat on your dish. Continue reading →

August, New Orleans, 12/19/15

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exterior
exterior

This large John Besh restaurant is divided into multiple rooms, each having a different feel. We were in the “library” which was open to the second story where it had a wrap around wine cellar. A good room compared to the bustle of the front room or the remoteness of the rooms in the back.  The service is efficient and friendly but more on the formal side. They offer an a la carte menu as well as 2 tastings, one being
vegetarian.  We had their Reveillon menu which is a longer menu offered prior to the Christmas/New Year’s.   Continue reading →

Square Root, New Orleans, 12/18/15

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Exterior
Exterior

Located in the Garden District, a short cab ride from the Quarter, is something new for New Orleans- a counter seating with only a tasting for about 20 people. The menu changes regularly and they will work to accommodate allergies or preferences, like they did for the vegetarian that was there the night we were.  They have a small wine list and offer pairings for the courses.  It is about 15 courses of small bites all prepared in the kitchen in the room. Continue reading →