Over in the Marigny, secreted away inside the same huge, historic house as Feelings Cafe at 2600 Chartres St., is a new wine bar called Sentiments. Open Friday and Saturday nights starting at 6 p.m., Sentiments offers a nice selection of wines plus “tapas-style” plates including a variety of charcuterie and cheese options. It’s tiny, yet cozy environs offer a few tables inside, and several outside overlooking the courtyard inside Feelings Cafe. Sounds like the perfect spot for a very romantic date...
On the other side of town inside Cafe Rani between 6th and 7th on Magazine Street, another kind of pop-up has taken over the courtyard serving “Streat” food every Sunday night. The menu is a strange , yet delicious mesh of low-priced grub including a Moroccan Meatball Sandwich; a type of banh-mi dubbed “The Ron-Mi” with chicken and pork adobo, cilantro, shredded carrot and daikon on po-boy bread; a “CB&A” – cashew peanut butter and cinnamon apples on grilled cornbread; and a traditional pierogi. Talk about cultural fusion! You can follow their ever-changing menu on Facebook or Twitter @streatsmcgee.
Because it seems he doesn’t need to sleep after whipping up phenomenal food at Dante’s Kitchen, Chef Emanuel Loubier is adding to his culinary repertoire with a pop-up restaurant inside the Prytania Street breakfast spot Coulis on Sunday and Monday nights called Noodle & Pie. Though that might seem like an odd combination, local food lovers are already oohing and aahing over dishes like a Pork Noodle Bowl with a rich dark broth and hand made wheat noodles and the Honey Pinenut Pie, dreamy enough to go back for seconds...if not thirds.
Last, but certainly not least, Chef Pete Vazquez has entered the arena with his own Hush Supper Club popping-up every Sunday night inside Stein’s Deli located at 2207 Magazine St. Every week, Chef Pete changes up his menu, a decision driven by polls offered on the Hush Supper Club’s Facebook page. One week voters raged for Burmese cuisine with dishes like Chicken & Coconut Soup, Prawn Balls in Tamarind Gravy and Sago Pearls in Coconut Milk with Banana Jam for dessert. The following week offered a South American flair with Peruvian Shrimp Chowder, Venezuelan Hallacas, Yucatan Veal Stew and Dulce de Leche pot de crème. Your best bet? Trust in Chef Pete to take your palate to exotic and unexplored regions you will never, ever forget or regret.
For those of you hoping that these erratic pop-up will someday become permanent installments in the city’s eclectic dining scene, there’s hope. City Greens, what started as a pop-up that appeared every Sunday at Vizard’s and is currently operating at the Tulane Medical School’s Murphy Building, is in the process of opening it’s own brick & mortar location downtown in the CBD at 909 Poydras St. Though the space is still under heavy construction, City Greens hopes to be swinging its doors wide open, offering delicious, garden-fresh salads and wraps before football season ends in December. See? Dreams really can come true!
On another note, House of Blues New Orleans has revealed a re-branded restaurant with a brand new menu created by celebrity chef Aaron Sanchez. Dubbed “Crossroads at House of Blues,” the new restaurant menu will feature new dishes like Shrimp & Grits, Short-Rib Meatball Sliders and Street Tacos, yet retain favorites that have only been updated like Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Cornbread. The restaurant’s decor has also been updated to reflect its new image using a combination of U.S. road maps and vintage road signs from all over the world.
Something to look forward to in the New Year, Chef Duk LoCicero of Café Giovani announced the opening of his latest dining destination, Duke’s on the Basin: A Seafood Camp. Located at 7842 Lakeshore Dr., the seafood restaurant will also feature a 375-ft. long boating dock and market selling seafood caught by local fisherman. Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of the year and completed by May 2012.
In other seafood restaurant news, Deanie’s Seafood recently celebrated the unveiling and dedication of a permanent art installation highlighting the bounty of Louisiana’s waters during a special evening that raised $10,000 for the America’s WETLAND Foundation. Designed and created by New Orleans artist James Vella, the lifelike custom glass sculpture features a variety of fish native to Louisiana and is a centerpiece of Deanie’s Seafood restaurant in the French Quarter.
