Wow, an absolute institution, gone.
Thanks for the write up and updates Jim. Glad to hear you enjoyed Bywater. We prefer it to Compere Lapin. Weāve just found more dishes we like there. Iām looking forward to visiting Maypop again when we visit in Feb.
So far Commanders for brunch Sunday. Food was outstanding. Ti Martin sat at the table next to us and also had brunch. We sat at the same table in the garden room that we sat at on my sons first visit to Commanders when he was 2.
Sunday night small plates and wine at St Germain. Crispy shrimp Pate campaign and cruditƩs. The shrimp had that great pop from being wild and not farmed and the Dry aged daikon in sweet soy was a revelation.
Mothers to go for breakfast with not regular and black ham.
Lunch at turkey and the wolf. Again the collard green sandwich is hands down the best ānewā sandwich concept. Outside dining only so was a little chilly. Also had the bologna turkey sandwich and the pot pie.
Headed to herbsaint tonight.
3 Likes
Our wknd trips have revolved around a wedding and a memorial crawfish boil weāre doing tomorrow so have been somewhat limited on dining out. We were able to hit our favorites though and squeezed in a new spot. Terrific meals at Gabrielle, Toups and Herbsaint. Herbsaint edges out as our favorite this trip. Confit Duck with Dirty Rice was outstanding. The veal with Lobster Ravioli at Gabrielle is a must if itās on the menu and Toups Boudin Balls once again on point.
We did manage to make it to LUVI https://www.luvirestaurant.com/. One of the newer top notch Asian restaurants in the city. I highly recommend trying if your in town. The salmon sashimi, crawfish wontonās, pork spring roll and curry dumplings were all outstanding. Theyāre paired with a great cocktail list and solid whiskey selection. 15 minutes or less from downtown New Orleans.
Boling crawfish for 75+ tomorrow and then catching the uptown parades. Great to be back in the city.
Any thoughts on Zasu? I am starting to make reservations for Jazz Fest.
no experience but it certainly looks good. Given the owners pedigree it seems worthwhile.
Not close to Jazz Fest but the Mosquito Supper Club is operating again. High on the list for our next visit.
We made a reservation at Zasu. The menu looks really good. Restaurants donāt need to be anywhere near Jazz Fest. We are usually all over the place in the evening. The only other reservation we have so far is at SABA, which I am very excited about. We usually hit Jacque-Imoās each visit, but they donāt take reservations. I loved Bywater American Bistro when we ate there a couple of years ago. We are staying near City Park this year for the first time, and there are so many restaurants in that area that we should probably check out. I know my husband wants to go to Toupsā Meatery. Itās around the corner from our Airbnb. Hopefully, theyāll let this vegetarian in there. 
Sorry, didnāt realize you were vegetarian.
Mosquito SC not a good choice, as it is fixed menu and very seafood centric.
Iām a big Saba fan. Lots of great dishes for you there, so should be worth the trip.
LUVI that Fred posted about, and Magasin Vietnamese also have good vege options - both in uptown.
Let us know about Zasu, iād be interested in giving it a try.
All good. Iām not picky and most restaurants have something for me to eat. Weāve had to cancel numerous reservations at SABA since our trip kept getting postponed due to Covid, so really looking forward to it. Iāll take a look at the others mentioned and will definitely let you know about Zasu.
Has anyone been to Susan Spicerās Rosedale? I always liked Bayona. I just heard of Rosedale today for the first time. Iām wondering if we should throw it into the mix. I think itās more of a locals kind of place.
Seems like no one has. sadly.
I also enjoy Bayona quite a bit, and have been aware of Rosedale, but it seems obviously a casual, neighborhood place with limited wine choices.
Bayona being much more special occasion with a pretty deep, though a bit pricy list.
We have yet to stay in Mid-City, or Bayou St John.
If we did, we would no doubt check it out as we have many such places in Uptown, and Bywater.
But go for it and let us know, iām guessing itās going to be pretty good.
I went to New Orleans last weekend and it was outstanding to be able to revisit one of my favorite places on the planet. The city was booming with the French Quarter Fest as a backdrop. Just great music all weekend long.
I had great dinners at Cochon and Saba, both recommendations I picked up from this thread. I had been to Cochon before but somehow had not had the roast oysters?! So good. Saba was new to me and outstanding as well, super fresh with very clearly delineated flavors and a hilarious, whip-smart server to boot.
I also had various New Orleans specialties - muffuletta at Napoleon House, poā boys from corner groceries, crawfish and shrimp boils from street vendors, gumbo and etouffee at various brunch joints. All amazing.
1 Like
We had fantastic dinners last weekend in NOLA.
I canāt recommend Zasu and Lengua Madre enough. Both are very small restaurants, but we didnāt have too much trouble getting reservations.
Zasu is in mid-city in an old shot gun. Itās easy to miss from the street. The food, cocktails, wine, service were top notch. Very small, unique menu.
Lengua Madre is in the LGD. 5 course mexican tasting menu. The food was awesome! My husband did the wine pairing. I discovered Uriondo Txakolina that night and had a second glass. It went really well with my 5 veggie courses.
We also had a wonderful dinner at Saba. We split a bunch of small plates. There were so many things we wanted to try. Everything was delish. Incredible hummus!
We walked over to Toupsā Meatery on our last night. Not much there for me to eat, but my husband was in heaven.
1 Like
We had the Louisiana blue crab hummus at Saba and it was an OMG experience. I loved the charred cabbage and the roasted scallops as well.
Glad you enjoyed Lengua Madre, I thought it was pretty unique, especially in New Orleans, but most anywhere in the US really.
Two of the courses we had featured seafood, but I can definitely imagine all vege courses.
Will definitely check out Zazu this fall - thanks.
Iām reading so much love for Saba, but hard to get enthused about middle eastern food in NOLA given the middle eastern food opportunities here in LA.
My lineup for a long weekend is:
Zazu
Commanderās
Herbsaint
Need a Sunday night choice, choosing between Saba, Miss River. Open to other suggestions, (but since Iā'm mostly a fish eater, not Gabrielleās). Any other reviews on Miss River (other than the one above mentioning thin gumbo?).
I saw that Commanderās didnāt get a great review above by F. Daner, who knows his NOLA food. Anyone voting for Brightstenās over Commanders? Itās a birthday meal so I thought Commanders might be the more special, but food counts more.
And no love for August anymore? Cancelled or just no longer great?
New places: Miss River, Chemin a la Mer, Mamou
Favorites: Maypop, LUVI, N7
Other favorites are Saint-Germain and Bacchanal
Interesting list and interesting menus.
But I need a few fish choices (not fried) in the menu to get excited, so many have only one.
Check out Jacque-Imoās menu.
Thanks, looks tasty!
But no reservations on a Saturday night sounds like a long wait.