Before the summer ended, we squeezed in a final trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas (I'm writing this in the car on the drive home). The town has historic bathhouses, rolling hills and an amusement park with a rippling log ride. But mainly we went for ribs at McClard's, which opened in 1928. I would have eaten more of them had I not been distracted by theirs tamales.
Where to Eat Now in New Orleans (and beyond)
Palm & Pine
The seed of Palm & Pine was planted five years ago with a barroom pop-up by chefs Amarys and Jordan Herndon. Now they have a restaurant on North Rampart Street. The name refers to the pine trees of the South and the palms of the Caribbean, and the menu reflects those zones (and then some). What might sound academic, turns out to be deliciously accessible when the plate arrives. Crab claws can be dipped in a tomatillo salsa (pictured), blistered shishitos get paired with grilled peaches and yogurt tames a fiery goat curry.
308 N. Rampart St., New Orleans, 504.814.6200
The Green Room
What you call comfort food depends on who raised you. Matt Ribachonek's grandparents emigrated from the Ukraine, and he grew up eating borscht and cabbage rolls. When he took over the kitchen at St. Claude's Siberia Lounge, he hedged and offered a burger along with Eastern European fare. It is Ribachonek's skill making blini and pierogi, however, that has made ardent fans out of people with no roots in that far corner of Europe. Now he's got a full restaurant, the Green Room. Unlike at Siberia, a bar, here I can bring my boys. My oldest, who's 11, took to the cabbage rolls. I might start cooking them at home, adding them to our own family's culinary traditions. (Sampler plate pictured)
1300 St. Bernard Ave., New Orleans, 504.766.1613
Brennan's
When guests come to town, and I want to impress them with how well we eat in New Orleans, we often end up at Brennan's. That's where I was with an old family friend on a recent Friday, dressed up and bumping into other locals already settled in for a long lunch. Where else but Brennan's would a dish of heirloom tomatoes topped with mozzarella and peanuts followed by another of poached eggs buried in short-rib debris seem logical? Slade Rushing, the chef who navigated Brennan's rebirth, left the restaurant in May. Still, it feels as vibrant as ever. We skipped bananas Foster, but not the flames. We ordered with another antique dessert: cherries jubilee. (Soft-shell crab pictured)
417 Royal St., New Orleans, 504.525.9711
Daiwa
Ken Wong, the chef and owner of Daiwa, was almost giddy when I told him to send out whatever he wanted for lunch. He placed before us precisely cut rows of fish from Japan, tiger prawns topped with the briny insides of their heads and raw pen-shell scallops with a dollop of truffles. He also took a torch to a brick of tuna before briefly smoking it under a dome (see video). Wong has tricks. After starting in Marrero, he added this larger location on Veterans. I'd rank Daiwa among the best sushi restaurants in New Orleans.
4100 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 504.281.4646
Taquería el Paraíso
The taco truck at the gas station on Broad Street has wheels, but I've never seen it move. The friendly family behind the glass makes tortillas from scratch. The woman told me the speciality was tacos gobernador, which every source I found said were a shrimp and cheese combo that once impressed a governor of Sinaloa. At this truck, they're tacos with shrimp, beef and grilled onions. I ordered a plate and ate it on the edge of the truck with a tart bottle of Jarritos grapefruit soda.
617 N. Broad St., New Orleans
Hot Links
In last month's newsletter, I told everyone to go eat at Laura's II in Lafayette, where the dark gravy is divine. For the Daily Advertiser, I sat down with Madonna Broussard, the third generation owner, and heart of the place.
Tunde Wey, who lives in New Orleans, uses food to provoke rather than please. He took his show to D.C., reports the Washington Post, where he tried to get citizens and immigrants to fall in love over dinner. No matches were made, but as he said, "The outcome is not as important as the demonstration."
Have you seen the video of two Swiss tourists recreating Homer Simpson's binge eating across New Orleans? If not, stop reading this newsletter and go watch it now.
What Tony saw
"Food is political" -- it's a mantra that today guides many writers. We try to think about the forces behind the food on our plates. Anthony Bourdain saw this play out on a visceral level across the globe. In "The Last Interview," a recently published hodgepodge of interviews with the writer and travel host who died last year, Bourdain said, "Who gets to eat, who doesn't get to eat, what they're eating -- I mean, the food itself on the plate is usually the end result of a very long and often very painful story." Food can be pleasure, but it's also a basic need. It makes sense that fulfilling that need, or withholding it, would be a primary focus of those in power.
Bites from the Past
Acme Oyster House, known originally as the "Acme Restaurant" or "Acme Saloon," opened in 1910 at 117-119 Royal St.. Then, in February 1924, a fire broke out on the second floor above Acme. Firefighters had the blaze under control, when they heard a crash. A wall collapsed, injuring four firemen and killing Captain Jules Pujol, a 41-year veteran. Rotten timbers and joists were blamed. Acme moved around the corner to Iberville Street (see photo), where it is still open today.
1950s photo from the Charles L. Franck Studio Collection at The Historic New Orleans Collection
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