Greg Sonnier now at Windsor Court

[TAPrice]

Greg Sonnier, the former chef and owner of Gabrielle, will be the new executive chef at the Windsor Court. I just got the official PR release. He takes over July 2.

This is great news for Greg and the city.

[Mayhaw Man]

This is a very good thing for Windsor Court and a great thing for Greg. The place was, pre Emeril's and just post World's Fair, the best restaurant in New Orleans (that wasn't serving old school New Orleans standards) and I look forward to seeing it rise back to the top under Greg's guidance. The guy can really cook. Hopefully, there will be some kind of reservation system that checks zip codes and bans anyone who is from the area inside of Magazine, below Jefferson and above the park. Let them go to Applebees. They don't know what they missed.

[TAPrice]

Brett Anderson has some more information in the TP:

Ashish Verma, the general manager of the Windsor Court, said of Sonnier's hiring, "We're in the business of giving people what they desire, and the desire has been to have a local chef" preside over the kitchen of the hotel's traditionally Euro-centric restaurant. He called Sonnier "a stalwart of Louisiana cuisine" that will bring a strong local voice to a place that, in its heyday, was a trendsetting local restaurant.

The article also says that New Orleans Grill will once again be known as the Grill Room. Is there really a difference? They both sound like generic hotel restaurant names to me.

[Mayhaw Man]

Brett Anderson has some more information in the TP:

Ashish Verma, the general manager of the Windsor Court, said of Sonnier's hiring, "We're in the business of giving people what they desire, and the desire has been to have a local chef" preside over the kitchen of the hotel's traditionally Euro-centric restaurant. He called Sonnier "a stalwart of Louisiana cuisine" that will bring a strong local voice to a place that, in its heyday, was a trendsetting local restaurant.

The article also says that New Orleans Grill will once again be known as the Grill Room. Is there really a difference? They both sound like generic hotel restaurant names to me.

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Well, Grasshopper,

There was a time when saying, "I'm going to the Grill Room for dinner" meant that you were a sophisticated diner. This was, of course, pretty much before any of the places in the Warehouse District had opened up (once again, there was the mostly forgotten but awesome Esther's at the corner of Camp and Julia (now a medical clinic, oddly enough), and Emerils was working on getting going, but for a few years, The Grill Room was a happening place if you were into the semi cutting edge/not so New Orleans meal. It was pretty swell.

My point is, of course, that in that price category, bringing back a familiar name is probably a pretty good idea in terms of business.

[TAPrice]

Cancel your dinner reservations at the Windsor Court. The management "eliminated" Sonnier's position yesterday. It's just hotel food now.

[Timh]

Wow! Well, maybe asilver lining might be that he'll open his own place again. What is the WC thinking, other than striving for mediocrity now.

[joiei]

Cancel your dinner reservations at the Windsor Court. The management "eliminated" Sonnier's position yesterday. It's just hotel food now.

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That's too bad. Just glad to know that when I worked there, the WCH was at the top of the game and not just another hotel.