Plates is right down the street from Cochon Butcher and has a very good happy hour.
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We just got back from NOLA. Jazzfest was awesome. Perfect weather.
We had some really fantastic dinners.
Mister Mao, Maypop, Palm & Pine. All have really creative menus- great flavors, textures, loved everything about these restaurants. I’m vegetarian and loved how unique my options were.
Great cocktails, too.
We went to Zasu last night, the only restaurant that we have previously been to and will most likely return next year. They know what they’re doing. They have a smaller menu, but everything is fresh and delicious. My entree was “Potato-Sheep Milk Feta Pierogies
w/ tomato-herb salad, kalamata olive crumble, preserved lemon creme fraiche”. SO GOOD!
Also, interesting wine list and cocktails.
Sylvain was a tad disappointing. Food was good, server not so much. We ordered a bottle of '18 Beaujolais. The server couldn’t open it and had another server come over to assist. I looked at the bottle and it was a '22, not an '18. The server said “that’s what we’ve got” and proceeded to pour me a taste. After I said it was fine, he put the bottle down on the table and left. 
He didn’t pour us any wine!!! It wasn’t a great bottle, and we should have selected a different one (I thought we were getting a semi-aged bottle), but my husband and I were speechless while all of this was happening and just let it go.
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I am headed home from Jazzfest later today. We had some great meals this year and the food here continues to amaze. Restaurants are very corkage friendly which is nice.
Clancy’s- Old school. My meal of the trip. The speckled trout dish I had was one of the best bites of food I’ve had in recent memory. The service was also as good as it gets, unobtrusive but on point. The wine list is great and under market, particularly for burgundy and champagne.
Porgy’s- New seafood market from the folks behind the sadly closed Marjie’s. We did a private dinner here and then came back for lunch. The muffalatta with tuna in olive oil was a great take on a muffa and lighter than the cured meat version. The chef does asian flavors with local seafood and ingredients and the dishes were bright with good heat. We had pile of soft shell crabs with chili garlic, beef ribs and a bycatch ceviche.
Toups- Bold flavors, very lively full restaurant and fun, meat centric menu.
Chemin a la Mer- In the Four Seasons, worth it for the river view and the food was good albeit not revelatory.
We had good breakfasts at Satsuma and Molly’s Rise and Shine and cocktails at Cure.
Cochon Butcher is a good lunch stop.
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That’s great to hear. I’ve been a couple of times pre-Covid and we were basically alone. I make his dirty rice recipe often, it’s easy and stellar
I think JazzFest is probably as busy as they get since walking distance to the fairgrounds but they seem to be doing well.
I heard from multiple restaurants that summer has become even more difficult and slow but I am not sure there is a solution for that with the heat and humidity.
I ended up staying an extra day and squeezed a few more meals and drinks in.
I went to Jewel of the South and was impressed by the inventiveness of the cocktails and like the space. I had a couple drinks from their seasonal menu that included tea and veered tiki but were in balance and not sweet. I only had dessert for food but it was quite good with different textures and the food appears to be a step above most cocktail spots.
Then I headed to GW Fins and the food continues to be very good and consistent. I had the ahi tacos and a grouper dish which were both bright tasty. I try to stop in on every trip.
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Adding in from our recent Jazzfest trip. The cochon de lait po-boy at Fest was honestly the best bite all week. Hard to beat. Prejean’s gumbo right behind. As for non-Fest dining…
LOVED MaMou. Very cute, very french, talented kitchen and super hospitable staff. The owner clearly puts a lot of thought and love into their wine list. Highly recommend.
Returned to Peche after many years and it is… good. For some reason, our past two visits have both left me wishing it were a little better in lots of little ways that are hard to pin down. Won’t likely return given all the other choices out there.
A friend turned us on to Verti Marte, a cramped, run-down, old-school grocery/bodega/deli on the edge of the quarter. Wish we could have tried several of their sandwiches but went with the excellent spicy muffuletta. We took it cold to go (they offer it hot as well). Damn good, love the spice. Warning - it will look like the place is closed and locked up, but just push the door. And then it will look sketchy AF. Don’t let that deter you.
Drinks at the bar at the Ritz turned into a meal (we were not staying there but came for the music), and I must say they do a nice job - the gumbo was excellent, the crab beignets delightful and thankfully crabby, the crab dip even better (and richer). A nice vieux carre to wash it down while we listened to the Davenport jazz trio made for a lovely evening.
Oh, and 10AM oysters at Felix’s. It was open early and that was our main criteria. You’ll find far better attention to detail (and general cleanliness) elsewhere. Would not recommend.
Also did beignets at CDM (denser than in previous visits, still delicious), coffee every morning from French Truck (solid, and their NOLA iced is hard to resist, even for someone who never uses milk and sugar), and po-boys from Johnny’s because we needed something convenient (solid, but nowhere near the great po-boys in town). Plus several pralines from our favorite Southern Candymakers. The sweet potato version is our go-to, with a subtle but delightful cinnamon spice complementing all that sugar.
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You summed up our experiences at Peche perfectly. We haven’t been back as well. Always go to Herbsaint though and just prefer it to Peche. Will have to check out MaMou on our next visit.
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Love Verti! But I got shut out this year, as I showed up 5 minutes after their 3:00pm kitchen changeover.
I agree. Zasu is a great restaurant, one of my favorites from several trips in the past 3 years. It should be on everyone’s list.
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