LorinGaudin

Nice work Todd!

You'll be pleased to know that there is no A/C.

Very cool report!!! I'm heading over to your side of the lake for Thai food and I think I'll start at Thai Spice. Just out of curiosity, what about Thai Pot? I've been there twice, but not too recently. I thought it was so-so, but clearly you're an afficianado, so what's the scoop?

Add Brennan's to the list for classic cocktails and some "Funk" Check out this link: http://www.brennansneworleans.com/menus.html

Come on, you're comparing The Swizzle Stick to Zig Zag??? That's not even remotely fair. There are only a handful of bars like the Swizzle Stick, that actually craft cocktails, and you've mentioned most of them above. The most interesting and intruiging drinks right now are coming from the restaurants, many of which are launching fantastic cocktail programs. I think of Lilette, Bourbon House, Cochon, Iris, Emerils, Delmonico, One Restaurant and Lounge, Marigny Brasserie, Dante's Kitchen, Commander's and more. That trend is on the rise. The Delachaise is indeed pursuing more cocktail craftwork at the behest of the Chef, Chris Debarr and one of the bartenders, Neil, who is quite talented. I'm a fan of the cocktails at The Napoleon House, The French 75, Napoleon's Itch and St. Joe's, in addition to those places named above. The TP bar guide had no cocktails? I didn't have a chane to read it, I was still crying about there beng no restaurant review from Brett. No cocktails in a bar guide is pretty lame, but maybe there's a method to the madness?

I know one thing, those cash only places are definitely placing themselves in a position to be heavily scrutinized by IRS, so they'd better be keeping some seriously tight records. In the early days post storm, it was one thing to be cash only and I get it for small spots like Casamento's who also operate seasonally. Random restaurants that operate "cash only" are conspicuous IMHO and. P.S. I used to work for the IRS Criminal Investigation Division.

How cool! Let me (us) know. I love a food smackdown.

So, have you been to Castle Cafe in Covington? I understand the Middle Eastern food there is quite good. I haven't checked it out yet myself, but I thought I'd let you know about it, if you didn't already.

Happy to help. If I hear something, so will you.

← So Todd, why is it called Mila? ← Lorin, MI-Mississippi LA-Louisiana Slade hails from MS and Alison is from LA. I really like the name for some reason. B ← I think the name is odd given that MS = Mississippi and therefore it's a bit of a stretch for me. However, MSLA is not pronouncable versus MILA, so okay. Really and truly I couldn't care less what they call it, I'm looking forward to having the Rushings in New Orleans. I know one thing though, MI is NOT the "abbreviation" for Mississippi. Do you think they just forgot that MI is the state abbreviation for Michigan?

← So Todd, why is it called Mila?

Does that mean that the Schwartz family still has some financial interest in the Camellia Grill? ← That question crossed my mind too, but for some reason I didn't ask. I'll see if I can find out.

For you, anything. The place is called Chile, Tomate y Cebolla and it's one door down from Norma's. It's just sweet - nothing life changing.

I've been told that the original owner of the Grill, the Schwartz's, wanted to "franchise" Camellia Grill long ago, but couldn't get it together. They purportedly hand-picked Mr. Khodr for the precise reason that they knew he could make it happen and fast. Destin is interesting and on my most recent visit (late July/early August), I got a kick out of going to another global institution, Trader Vic's.

I did a Williams Blvd food crawl yesterday and today. Lots of fun stuff to share. Some to be seen on Steppin' Out and some for radio. Sure wished I had your Spanish-speaking skillz as I cruised Kenner. The baked goods were magnificent. I found a tiny, new Mexican supermarket that is so sweet. Baru in Kenner was very good - fresh, pretty plates, beautiful room that took me by surprise considering the strip mall it's in and the uninspired facade. I'm all a-twitter.

I don't know yet whether there will be Korean BBQ at either of the new places, but I'll let you know when I find out. Meantime, Korea House has grills in the middle of their tables and the bbq is quite good. Here's some serious scoop. Next week, at 1600 St. Charles Avenue (right across the street from Zea), a restaurant called West Indies opens. It is a sister restaurant to the Baru in Kenner. According to the owners we can excpect a similiar menu, slightly upscale, but with very little, if any, price differences from the Kenner spot and they are going to keep the food "real" - a blend of Latin cuisines, heavy on the Cuban and Honduran.

So what's opening around town soon? I've heard that that the little Brazilian place on Canal finally opened. Anyone been? What's the name? The owner of Tacos San Miguel has talked about a new, bigger place on Carrollton with drinks and a larger menu. There is a Latin American place under construction in the Lower Garden District across from Aidan Gill. Raw, which boasts the most embarrassing sign in New Orleans, should be opening soon between Sucre and La Divina. A Korean place is opening soon in Metairie I believe. Ginshi is the name, I think. I guess Table One will be something new soon. Patois, in the old Nardo's space, looks very promising. The Chinese buffet on St. Charles across from Igor's looks less promising. And hey, even Al Copeland looks like he's about to reopen his restaurants. Although that's not necessarily a good thing. What else is on the horizon? Edit: I forgot to mention that Donald Link has some secret plan up his sleeve. Also, Scott Boswell hopes to reopen Stanley soon on Jackson Square. ← Not trying to be a smarty but... 1. Carnavale de Brazil - I hear you select your meats and pay by the pound 2. Mayas is the name of the place across from Aidan Gill and it's been a long time coming. 3. re: Raw - 1983 called and they want their sign back; very Kajagoogoo. That whole facade is nuts - talk about possible style over substance... 4. The Korean place is going to be called Gim Chee (chi) 5. Table1 will NOT become a Camellia Grill but it's not clear what it will be and the owners don't know either. 6. Japanese buffet across from Igor's an ddown the street near Zea, a new Chinese restaurant with Korean...so I'm told. 7. Shane Pritchett, formerly Exec Chef at Delmonico is opening a resto in the old Le Cirque space. Then there's the new hibachi tables at Little Tokyo on Bienville (I love hibachi and yes, I know it's not posh), El Rinconcito on Carrollton, the addition of taco truck style tacos at Superior Grill... Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that while I love me some Melissa Clark, last week's Restaurant Preview (the part that covered outside of NYC) was TOTALLY LAME when it came to New Orleans. The only thing she had to write was that Mrs. Chase "hopes" to open Dooky Chase soon???? Duh. I guess there's just nothing else going on here for Ms. Clark to mention?? No La Provence with Rene Bajeux, no Bistro Daisy, no Patois, no nothing??? Bah - that stuff makes me nuts! The NYTimes just doesn't get the New Orleans restaurant scene at all.

Hmmmm...there is a certain sentimentality/nostalgia that is an important part of the economic equation for some restaurants, like Mandina's. If a place like that suddenly became automated when we go there for the personal, family feel, patrons would stop going and then there would be no economics to be unsentimental about. That's a terrible sentence, but do you see what I mean?