New Orleans - Post Katrina - May 2006

Mrs. JiLS and I are going to New Orleans May 5 - 9 for the Jazz Fest and general tourism. Our last visit was in 2002 (i.e., very much pre-Katrina), and much of what is posted here is pre-Katrina, as well. So we are looking for up-to-date recommendations. My inclination has been to do the classics, Arnaud's , Antoine's and Galatoire's (haven't been to any of them), or possibly Commander's or Brigsten's. We have four dinners, a lunch or two, and maybe a couple of breakfasts. Folks, go wild ... but please keep in mind what I'm looking for are real, up-to-the minute, boots-on-ground, first person knowledge, actually been there in the past couple of months observations and recommendations, not (however pleasant) your memories of pre-Katrina New Orleans experiences. Just the here-and-now, please, 'cause that's what we'll be encountering. Thanks.

Skip Arnauds. It was, before Katrina, a horrific tourist trap where I ate some of my worst meals in New Orleans.

Antoines experienced some pretty serious damage when one of the upper walls collapsed. I'm not sure what their status was.

Commanders was being gutted completely due to water damage. You may want to check on its status too.

I believe that Bayona is open. I know that Emerils is after experiencing looting.

Brigstens is open and is already back to hitting on all cylinders.

My fave, Dolly's Deli has been open since December serving its excellent seafood Po Boys.

Did Camelia Grill (re)open?

I have been back to N.O. ten times since the storm. I will only comment here on places that I have personally visited. There are more detailed descriptions of these places inTHIS THREAD.

Brigtsen's, my personal fave, is open and, as reported above, is definitely hitting on all cylinders. So is Dick & Jenny's. I recommend both of these places very highly.

Haven't been to Bayona since the storm, but I have been to Susan Spicer's other restaurant, Herbsaint, and it is in top form as well.

Casamento's is the best oyster place IMHO - they are open with slightly reduced hours.

Parasol's bar is still serving up the best Roast Beef poboy IMHO.

Domilise's poboy shop is open & back to regular hours. I like the shrimp best here. If you are feeling adventurous, they will serve you an off the menu version with beef gravy & swiss cheese if you ask. This variant is surprisingly good.

I tend to avoid all things Emeril anyhow, and he has come under a lot of criticism down there recently for the way he treated his employees during & after Katrina, as well as some derogatory comments he made in the press regarding New Orleans and its future prospects. You can do a lot better for your dining dollar in New Orleans than at any of his places IMHO. None of my local friends frequent his establishments.

As far as Antoine's, Commander's, etc. there is an up to date list of which restaurants are open on local critic Tom Fitzmorris' board HERE.

Also, feel free to PM me with any questions you might have regarding New Orleans. I am down there a lot and have a pretty good handle on the food & music scenes.

sazerac wrote:Did Camelia Grill (re)open?

Not as of the last time I was there a couple of weeks ago.

Status Report: I've made reservations for Brigsten's on Saturday and Antoine's on Monday. I also have a reservation for Arnaud's on Friday, but based on comments above, unless I hear different, I may go ahead and cancel that one. Thanks for the input, folks. Much appreciated.

Commander's Palace's website indicates they are still closed, hoping to open mid-June.

Any news on Galatoire's? I might be heading down that way in a couple of months myself, and altho it's been some time, the memories still resound.

No hurry, but while I'm at it, I'll want to check up on Central Grocery and Mother's, too.

(As a matter of fact, if all three of the above are open for business and humming, that will have a significant impact on whether I decide to go at all.)

JimInLoganSquare wrote:I also have a reservation for Arnaud's on Friday, but based on comments above, unless I hear different, I may go ahead and cancel that one.

I think you can safely cancel Arnaud's. You might also consider slipping in a lunch at Galatoire's or Bayona. They both serve excellent lunches..

A couple of other good spots for you to consider are the high end Clancy's and more middle of the road Dante's Kitchen (both are Uptown - Dante's is right across the street from Brigtsen's). In the interest of full disclosure, I am friends with the sous chef at Clancy's and am also tight with the owner and the chef at Dante's Kitchen. I eat at least one meal at Dante's on every trip down.

If you're interested in trying a new place, there is a nice one called "One" that opened recently. The Chef / Owner is Scott Snodgrass. He used to work at Clancy's. I've eaten there a couple of times and liked it a lot. The Gambit's review of One is HERE

Camelia Grill has not reopened and is reportedly being sold. I'm not sure what its future holds. If it doesn't return in its present form, I will always praise it as the first place I ever at a chili omelet.

ChiNOLA wrote:Brigtsen's, my personal fave, is open and, as reported above, is definitely hitting on all cylinders. So is Dick & Jenny's. I recommend both of these places very highly.

I'm in total agreement with Mr. Chinola here. Dick & Jenny's is one of my all-time favorite New Orleans dining experiences. Talking to the excited-as-hell local patrons at D&J's, they also highly recommended Brigtsen's. My old tempered fav was Bayona's...tempered because of its low cost/enjoyment ratio and because, in general, I enjoy eating at places outside the French quarter.

ChiNOLA,

Do you know the status at Mandich's?

Mike

m'th'su wrote:ChiNOLA,

Do you know the status at Mandich's?

Mike

They had some flooding, about 2' I think, and have not re-opened. From what I hear, LLoyd and Joel (the owners) were planning on retiring soon at any rate before the storm hit. I have heard nothing about their plans.

You might want to check Tom Fitzmorris' board - the link is above.

A friend reports having had a very good dinner at Cuvee a few nights ago. Their extraordinarily annoying site (entirely in Flash) is at http://www.restaurantcuvee.com/cuvee/index.htm.

I've been back twice since the storm, although the last time (two weeks ago) was such a debaucherous blur, I can't really give too many specifics on what's open. There are newish web sites that tell you what's open and what's closed (like http://www.neworleansrestaurants.com/restaurants.html).

From my last visit, I can tell you to skip Tujaques. It's billed as N.O.'s second oldest restaurant, but it's a complete tourist trap and the food was laughably bad.

For casual, my favorite is Jacques-Imos. They're always booked, so be sure to make a reservation or go early.

Jaques-Imos
8324 Oak Street
504-861-0886

Another all-time favorite just reopened: Liuzza's by the Track. It's by the Fairgrounds, which is a no-brainer if you'll be at JazzFest. You MUST try the bbq shrimp poboy. The seafood gumbo is great, too. But stay away from the garlic oyster poboy.

Liuzza's by the Track
518 N. Lopez
504-943-8667

(edit)
If you want to get out of the city and try something fancy-pants, Longbranch in Abita Springs is excellent. A husband-wife team who cheffed at Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar in NYC moved "back home" (she's from northern Louisiana, he's from Miss.). It's worth the drive (about 30 minutes) for the sweetbreads alone.

crrush wrote:Another all-time favorite just reopened: Liuzza's by the Track. It's by the Fairgrounds, which is a no-brainer if you'll be at JazzFest. You MUST try the bbq shrimp poboy. The seafood gumbo is great, too. But stay away from the garlic oyster poboy.

Liuzza's by the Track
518 N. Lopez
504-943-8667

Great place for sure (I've been back there since the storm), but it's a totally different animal during Jazz Fest. The food menu is restricted & they are much more interested in selling drinks to the huge throngs of passersby than anything else. I'd plan on going here for food only when it's NOT Jazz Fest. During Jazz Fest it's mainly a bar and is always packed to the gills.

Two of the best meals I've ever eaten in NO were at Arnauds. We listened very carefully to our captains suggestions and they were all fantatstic. I rembember the shrimp remoulade very fondly. It may well be a tourist trap, but when they're on, they're wonderful.

Pascales Manales has reopened and if you've never had BBQ shrimp, I would highly recommend it.

Been to NOLA 2 times before Katrina. Haven't been back but definitely want to!!! Everyone said Acme Oyster House was the place to go in the French Quarter. What does everyone think???
Thanks Tom

Guest Post from NO resident:

Even were it not crowded during Jazz Fest, Liuzza's by the Track has had problems since Katrina. The last time I went our party had three awful BBQ shrimp poboys. The garlic oyster and regular oyster poboys were also below their usual standards. Sad because this was a restaurant I used to swear by pre-Katrina. In addition they have severly reduced hours, a reduced menu, and they are always crowded. Cafe Degas is right around the corner and my mother recently went and said it was good (and about the same price as Liuza's).

I also mourn the loss of many of my favorite seafood restaurants, most notably Bruning's. I think Bozo's is one of the better seafood places open now. I also recommend Drago's. They have great chargrilled oysters on the half shell. Go and just get two dozen for dinner. The butter on them will more than fill you up.

Brightsen's was already mentioned but I just wanted to second the recommendation. I went in Feburary and it was delicious. There is also Lillete's which is open and was pretty good when I went prior to Katrina. Restaurant Cuvee was also mentioned above and I also enjoyed eating there. We had a great salmon and a wonderful filet mignon that I remember for the rest of my life. The Palace Cafe and Ralph's on the Park are also open I have heard that they have been good. Commander's is having some serious work done on it right now.

I definitely recommend Brigtsen's. It's the last place I dined before moving to Chicago and remains one of the most memorable places I've been fortunate enough to experience. If they have their early bird special running, try it, because it's one of the most obscenely inexpensive ways of trying this restaurant.
That being said, I noticed that most establishments had seriously amended menus when I went back around Christmas. I took some family to Fury's (Metairie--still quite accessible from the city) and was rather dismayed to see only but a fraction of what they used to offer.
But I hear Clancy's is back up & running. If you've never had a smoked softshell crab, you owe it to yourself and the underprivileged masses of humanity to devour one tout suite. This may be one of the most delicious things I've ever experienced.

I don't think anyone has mentioned Willie Mae's Scotch House. The Southern Foodways Alliance did a massive fundraiser/volunteer rebuilding effort. I don't think she's open yet, but may be by JazzFest.

I just read a quote from her, regarding the volunteers, and it cracked me up:

"I'm going to tell you the truth and tell it like it is. The white people really like my soul food. If they like it enough to help me, that's just beautiful, baby."

Willie Mae's Scotch House
2401 St. Ann Street
504-822-9503

For the life of me I cannot remember the bar/club near or in the French Quarter that is/was a falling down shack...square, small, dark, with a piano and most of the lighting from candles.

Can anyone help? And, is it still open?

Heading there this weekend.....

Food Nut wrote:For the life of me I cannot remember the bar/club near or in the French Quarter that is/was a falling down shack...square, small, dark, with a piano and most of the lighting from candles.

Can anyone help? And, is it still open?

Heading there this weekend.....

Forgive me, but isn't that a little bit like asking for the name of a small shack-like place with very little atmosphere in Chicago that sells hot dogs?

Actually, after being NOLA several times I found this place to be rather unique around the quarter because it was not touristy per se, and REALLY looked as though it would fall down as you were sipping your drink inside.

It was also more or less open air as many places there are, I know, but I was just looking for some ideas as to the name.

Edit: Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop

http://www.atneworleans.com/body/blacksmith.htm

Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, on the corner of Bourbon Street and St. Phillip Street. It was built sometime before 1772, and is one of the few remaining original "French architecture" structures in the French Quarter.

Maybe it is touristy....

I just returned, happily satiated, from a 5-day trip to New Orleans. My dining options were guided by posts on this board as well as some convergence of information on what to try from other sources. Although I've been to New Orleans on two other occasions, both of my previous trips were too short to really sample the great food that NO has to offer.

Below I highlight some of my eating experiences and impressions. Given my previous lack of experience with NO cuisine, I lack the ability to compare many of the things I ate to their culinary "gold standards." The posts below are of well-known establishments, so my comments will not likely bring about any revelations. That said, I hope my experiences underscore the great NO recommendations already found on this board. Thanks to those of you that have posted on this thread for making my senses (primarily taste and smell) so happy over the past few days. I can't wait to return to New Orleans.

Mother's
Our first meal was at Mother's, which seems to be a New Orleans institution. It's a very casual atmosphere with food served "cafeteria-style." We stopped in for lunch and ordered a cup of gumbo, a cup of red beans and rice, a cup of jambalaya, a serving of potato salad, a pecan brownie and a Ferdi's Special PoBoy (baked ham, roast beef, debris, cabbage, pickles, mayo, mustard, and gravy). "Debris" was bits and pieces of roast beef that seem to have fallen of from the roast, received more cooking, and were simmering in gravy. The PoBoy was very tasty, but the bread didn't hold up too well to all the rich, juicy, gravy. It got very wet. The mingling of most of the flavors was great, but next time I'm at Mother's I think I would opt for the baked ham or roast beef (alone), and not mix the two together. The potato salad was disappointing – it was rather dry, with a homogenously bland flavor. It didn't really have a whole lot going on ; seemed like mashed potatoes and some spices. My wife and I found the gumbo tasty, but not particularly great. The two real treats in the meal were the jambalaya and the red beans and rice. The red beans and rice were delicious – plump, juicy, in a very flavorful, thick liquid – rice on the bottom and pieces of Andouille sausage tossed in for extra flavor. It was rich, smoky, and a touch of heat. This was my favorite. The jambalaya also had a wonderfully complex smoky flavor, but what I really loved was its texture. It was just the right amount of wet, with each rice grain maintaining a firm, yet yielding, consistency. The brownie was good.

Brigsten's
Our arrival at Brigtsen's was marred by a mishap for which I am only to blame. It's a long story that would be completely off topic, but the important part is that I lost my wallet in the cab that took me there. I let the hostess know my situation up-front in case the taxi driver would return to the establishment. I could not praise the hospitality I received at Brigtsen's enough – genuine Southern charm, warmth, and hospitality. I was soaking wet, since it was pouring outside and I ran after the cab as soon as I realized the wallet was missing. Minutes after being seated, our waitress comes to the table and says she was so sorry to hear about my wallet, gave me a very warm, appropriate, and genuine hug, and proceeded to read my mind by instantly saying, "I bet you need a drink." She was right. My wife and I were both calm and ready to enjoy ourselves – we had decided there was nothing much we could do about the wallet until we returned to the hotel, so we didn't let the mishap interfere with our enjoyment of the meal. The service was great all night – they anticipated all of my needs. Our camera was on the table; they asked if we would like our picture taken since we were "such a good looking couple." What charmers! As we were wrapping up dessert, the hostess came back to our table with a paper and pen so we could jot down our information, in case the taxi driver returned. They also had a cab waiting for us before we even asked for it. All needs anticipated and taken care of – what more can you ask for in terms of service? There was one misstep: the béarnaise sauce for my wife's entrée broke. I got my entrée and we had to wait for about 5 minutes more before hers arrived. They were appropriately apologetic (i.e., it was genuine and not obsequious), and comped my wife's glass of wine. I LOVED the fact they came to us right away and told us exactly what had gone wrong without us having to ask them. They owned up to their mistake right away and dealt with it as soon as possible. As you can read, I really enjoyed the service. I've had plenty of top-end service before, but I've never experienced a place were the servers were so warm, charming, genuine, AND professional. They really made me happy to be there. The restaurant itself is in an old Victorian home, with the various rooms turned into dining areas with a limited number of tables. Rather than tearing the walls down to make a large dinning area, it seems they kept the rooms fairly intact. I liked it. The place did look a bit old (and it is); the wear was visible on the walls (the paint on some was dirty and cracking), windowsills, and corners (many collecting dust and a bit dirty). How about the food you ask? Others here have attested to how good the food is at Brigtsen's, and my wife and I wholeheartedly agree. Everything we ate was great. These guys are not afraid of using butter: thank goodness!!!!! Here's what we had:



Sauteed Softshell Crab with Spiced Pecans & Lemon Bordelaise Sauce
[My favorite for the night. The crab juicy, luscious, and beautifully breaded. Soft, moist, and warm inside, with a deliciously crispy and crunchy exterior. The sauce was sweet and acidic, with a nice touch of heat.]



Broiled Gulf Fish with Crabmeat Parmesan Crust, Asparagus, Mushrooms, & Bearnaise
[This was my wife's entrée. The crust on this fish was incredible. The fish was very tasty and delicate. It was in no way overpowered by the sauce, but rather beautifully complimented. The béarnaise had a delicious depth, partially added by a subtle but pervasive flavor of tarragon.]



Red grouper with Crabmeat, Shrimp, & Meuniere Sauce
[Simple, incredibly fresh, and delicious.]



Pecan Pie with Caramel Sauce & Vanilla Ice Cream
[The crust on this was so delicate and flaky. The caramel sauce tasted very fresh and natural. It was light and the caramelized sugar taste and smell permeated the dish.]

Central Grocery
This small Italian specialty foods store seems to specialize in making one thing and making it great: Muffaletta. Of all the places we tried, this is the one place I can actually see myself eating at least once a week. Simple: a big piece of Italian round bread with sesame seeds, slices of delicious salami, mortadella, and provolone. There may have been some other meats and cheese in mixed in there, but I can't tell you what they were. The best thing is their delicious olive tapenade that tops the meats. This is a super thick and chunky, vinegary, oily, and delectable marinated salad of what looked to me like green olives, cauliflower, celery carrot, with Italian seasonings on top. All of those flavors mixed together so well. I'm actually going to stop writing about it, because I am craving one right now. Here is a picture of what a quarter of the sandwich looks like:





Restaurant August
I'd be lying if I said we went to August because Chef John Besh recently won a James Beard award for Best Chef, Southeast, for 2006. It was actually seeing him triumph over Mario Batali in Iron Chef America – Battle Andouille sausage – that prompted the visit. Luckily, August is open for lunch, which allowed us to sample their top-notch cuisine in a more inexpensive manner. It's a real shame I didn't have my camera to take pictures of the beautifully presented courses that we ate. For appetizers, my wife had a goat-cheese stuffed trio of figs wrapped in ham. The figs were not heavily caramelized and tasted very light and fresh. The ham was very thinly sliced and full of flavor. These sweet and savory dumplings of joy appeared to be heated up a bit to sweat out some of the flavors. I had a beet salad with mixed greens, goat cheese, and some of the most hammy, smoky, delicious bacon pieces that I've ever had. For her entree, my wife had preparation of blackfish and corn (there was more to this, but neither of us remembers). I had a deliciously prepared veal panee. The veal was tender and succulent, thinly sliced but very juicy, with a light and crispy breading. The veal was accompanied with artichokes and small tomatoes of many different colors and sizes (some peeled others not). The whole thing was covered in a light, acidic sauce that coalesced perfectly with the breaded veal. More figs for desert – a fresh fig tart with lemongrass sorbet. The desert was spectacular. The figs were very fresh and appeared to be poached rather than darkly caramelized (as I'm used to seeing in fig desserts). This made the desert very light. Coupled with the lemongrass sorbet and a sweet anise and mint sauce, this desert was incredibly refreshing. Find some scientist to condense and concentrate all of those flavors into a breath mint and I'll be sucking on it all day. It was a perfect ending to the lunch. The service was friendly and efficient. The restaurant itself seemed a bit old and worse for the wear. I don't know if this is a consequence of Katrina. I can't wait to return to New Orleans and try their dinner.

Other things worth mentioning, for the sake of completeness
We also had a quick lunch at the Acme Oyster House. We had an appetizer of fried crawfish tails with a side of a fairly standard spicy, piquant red sauce. Hush puppies were very yummy, I could pop this mini-nuggets of spicy sweet corn all day. My wife had jambalaya and I had a fried shrimp and oyster PoBoy. All the food items were good and service was fast, if very bare-bones. The jambalaya was not as fresh as that at Mother's. Nothing to write home about: just a decent meal in a sports-bar like setting. We also had the mandatory beignets at Café du Monde – these were great: joyous billowy pillows of eggy fried dough drenched in an orgy of powdered sugar – hot and good. We had them again at a second Café du Monde location, but found them to be rather flat and and not nearly as nicely executed. Finally, I'd like to make a few comments on New Orleans French bread as I experienced it at Brigsten's, August, and Acme. I don't know if this is representative, but the "French bread" served in each of these locations is the closest thing I've had to Cuban bread outside of Hialeah (in Miami, FL). The resemblance was surprising, though not quite Cuban bread by most standards. Definitely more Cuban than anything I've had in Chicago. The crust was not hard and solid, but rather hugged the bread like a thin sleeve (though not as thin as the Cuban bread I like). The texture of the bread suggested the presence of lard, with a soft and meaty interior.

Pre-Post Katrina?
Given my lack of experience with NO pre-Katrina, I can't say much about how much the cuisine and business has suffered. This past week, New Orleans was jumping. All businesses that I could see in the French Quarter, Central Business District, Warehouse District, and Uptown were open and kicking. There was also plenty of "HIRING" signs all over the place. I couldn't rave about my time there enough and I can't wait to return. It's incredible that things are already so vibrant with all of the devastation and loss that many individuals are grappling with. Hopefully the fast recovery of downtown New Orleans will serve to help those in less fortunate areas to get their lives back on track.

Mother's Restaurant
401 Poydras St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 523-9656

Brigtsen's New Orleans
723 Dante St
New Orleans, LA 70118
(504) 861-7610

Central Grocery Co.
923 Decatur St
New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 523-1620

Restaurant August
301 Tchoupitoulas St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 299-9777

Acme Oyster House
724 Iberville St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 525-1160

Café du Monde Coffee House
800 Decatur St
New Orleans, LA
(504) 581-2914

You hit some great spots! Although I'd disagree about the 'debris'. I'd lap that stuff up off the floor. Mother's is one of the first poboy places I obsessed over as a kid, begging my parents to take me there any time we made the three hour trek to N.O.--usually to see a play at the Sanger.

As for the areas you mentioned being jumping, etc. and the city seeming fully recovered...not to be a dark cloud, but you have to see the parts that were truly affected to understand the depth of the devastation. N.O. is nothing if not good at sweeping its problems under the rug, which is fortunate in some ways (in getting tourists to come back) but tragic in others. By all means...visit, eat, drink and love that city for what it does best. But don't be fooled into thinking it's bounced back. The reason you see "HIRING" signs everywhere is that many displaced residents can't return--for severe lack of affordable, safe, convenient housing--or don't want to--because basic city services (garbage removal, street lights, police, etc.) aren't 100 percent.

Anywho...great pictures, great post, and great to read about someone else falling in love with that fantastic city.

Interesting timing. I too was in New Orleans this weekend.

I share your affinity for the Central Grocery muffalletta. The way they're wrapped, I almost rationalized buying a dozen or so, bringin them home and seeing how long they'd keep.

We were at Brigsten's on Saturday night and had an incredible meal. While I enjoyed the broiled gulf fish, my wife's tuna entre stole the show for me (that and the shrimp bisque).

Other food highlights include a blackened shrimp po'boy at what I would have assumed to be a tourist trap due to the barker outside pulling in business, but it turned out to be empty inside and was actually quite good. A place called Oceana I believe. Johnny's Po'Boy on St. Louis took the prize for worst food of the weekend.

Cafe Du Monde remains an institution and a wonderful way to begin a day (or more appropriately, afternoon)

Non solid food highlights would include the frozen Irish Coffee at Molly's on The Market. One of my all time favorite bar drinks in one of my all time favorite bars. Pure NO.

I was happy to see the service industry firing on mostly all cylinders but realize I wasn't anywhere near the real devestation (which many told me is unbelievable, even after a full year). Of note though was the fact that the Quarter was exponentially emptier than I'd ever seen it on my five previous visits. It made for a more enjoyable time without the drunken frat types, but I hope it returns to it's prior pace given the economy desperatly needs it.

I really truly love New Orleans. God bless.

Great thread and great posts (especially the pictures, r2g)...Thanks for sharing. I'm glad to hear that Brightsen's is firing on all cylinders. I had a great meal there several years ago that was the highlight of my trip. There are so many great places in NO (Brightsen's, Commanders, Bayona...the list goes on) -- your posts really inspire me to try to get back there soon (I have not been post-Katrina).

I wonder if the emptiness in the FQ had more to do with the time of year (August) being traditionally slow, due to the heat and humidity, etc. Also, sorry to hear about Johnny's Po'Boys -- I enjoyed there sandwiches, on a number of occasions, and thought that they were one of the better quick/lunch spots in the FQ.

I don't think it was just a function of it being August. I've been there in the summer in the past and it wasn't nearly as empty.

There were moments later at night (3 am ish) where there was literally nobody in sight on Decatur St. I'd expect August to be a fraction of other times (Jazz Fest, etc.), but not this empty.

I too, am glad to hear about the rebounding of NOLA. We were there last May pre-Katrina and ate wonderful stuff. I must have eaten at least 3 muffaletta sandwiches myself. By far one of the most excellent things we ate was at Mothers. I had a shrimp po-boy, hubby had a combo platter with the best greens on it that I had ever eaten. We did go to Margaritaville one day (I know, don't even say it) but we split a wonderful meal of red beans and rice topped with andouille and gulf shrimp and served with cornbread. In spite of it being the chain, it was really good. Can't wait to go back and try some of these posts, as not a lot of the other things we ate were noteworthy.

As for the areas you mentioned being jumping, etc. and the city seeming fully recovered...not to be a dark cloud, but you have to see the parts that were truly affected to understand the depth of the devastation.

I also don't like to sound like the voice of gloom, but we have a good friend who is an attorney representing (pro bono) NO public housing residents who were displaced as a result of Katrina, and he has spent a great deal of time in the parts of New Orleans tourists don't go. He does not paint a pleasant picture, and from his perspective (or rather his clients') little has "rebounded" as most public housing residents have been unable to return to NO (even, in some cases, when their apartments have been relatively undamaged.) Utimately, much of New Orleans will be rebuilt -- the struggle now is over who it will be rebuilt for.