The July Hit List: Couvant, Criollo, Red Dog Diner, and More

For a city with a decidedly French identity and heritage, New Orleans has long had a curious dearth of classic brasseries and bistros. Following a two-year pandemic shutdown, the 2022 reopening of Couvant rectified this. Chef Ryan Pearson, an alum of New York’s Daniel, keeps things Gaulish with a silken foie gras torchon served with stone fruit coulis and toasted brioche, as well as roasted dry-aged buck breast served with a duck leg-and-mushroom crepe. His Marseille-style bouillabaisse is of the classic style, with saffron broth and pungent rouille (though executed with the regional bounty of Gulf fish and shrimp from Grand Isle). And of course, July 14 will bring a Bastille Day celebration dinner with passed hors d’oeuvres, Champagne, escargots de Bourgogne, duck confit, crème brulée, and beaucoup de rosé.

Mamou is another example of New Orleans’ rectification of its lack of classic French spots — this one diminutive with a whimsical Parisian aesthetic from the powerhouse team of chef Tom Brannigan and sommelier Molly Wismeier. Now eight months old and thriving, Mamou recently rolled out roasted maitake mushrooms over pineapple-saffon sauce; and a baba au rhum that’s flambeed tableside. The newcomers join celebrated menu favorites like fish à la Florentine, lamb leg, côte de boeuf, braised celery hearts. and salmon mi-cuit. The reasonably-priced wine list of international selections will set an wine lover shivering.

Show up starving. Run a marathon. Fast the day before. Whatever it takes.

Following a heartbreaking three-year pandemic shutter, Red Dog Diner recently came howling back. The popular, reasonably-priced, homey diner is a study in natural wood, exposed brick, and handcrafted communal tables and benches punctuated by bright folksy art, much of it featuring the Rhodesian ridgebacks that inspired the name. Chef Terri Savoie’s scratch menus of breakfast and lunch comfort foods have just enough je ne sais quoi to make them sparkle. The crusted crab and eggs Sardou is built atop puff pastry topped with creamed spinach, poached eggs, hunks of jumbo lump crabmeat and buttery croutons. Prime rib breakfast sliders start the day off on a decadent note with shaved prime rib, Béarnaise, and horseradish sour cream on brioche.  For lunch there’s a roasted beet pizza and a wedge salad topped with medium-rare flank steak, fries, and an on-point blue cheese dressing. Save room for dessert. The cherry almond bread pudding is as amazing as it sounds.

No reservations. More info here.

Spanish for “Creole,” Criollo’s culinary focus is on the mish-mash of cultures that came together over centuries to birth a singular cuisine. It also opens into the sensational Carousel Lounge, where the bar slowly revolves, affording cool views of beautiful Royal Street outside. It’s not to be missed.

In deference to contemporary sensibilities, the menu brings a light touch to the historically belt-busting cookery. In addition to the seasonal prix fixe, a new à la carte dinner menu recently dropped with Wagyu beef tenderloin, Muscovy duck breast, and a Niman Ranch double-cut pork chop. There is also a daily lunch prix fixe menu.

And should you need enticement into the summer heat, a new caviar special runs through September. Think white sturgeon caviar served with fried chicken as a lunch option, and white asparagus wrapped in pancetta with white sturgeon caviar and a lemon butter sauce as a first course dinner option.

Coterie is keeping it cool this summer with plump, icy Gulf oysters freshly shucked to order. But it’s also open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a menu of Cajun and Creole stalwarts like blackened redfish. fried seafood, a variety of gumbos, and etouffees. Specialty cocktails for every meal play as prominent a role on the menu as the food, as is customary in these parts.

Newly opened in the swank Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, King is adorned with moody images of those whose names were regal indeed (or those who just used “king” as a catchy moniker): B.B. King, Carole King, Elvis, LeBron James, Don King. Others, too. Chef Samuel Peery’s menu is heavy on Louisiana and Mediterranean seafood prepared with a nod to the cuisines of France and the Amalfi Coast. Starters include a lavish shellfish tower and grilled octopus with Benton’s bacon, sweet potato, and vadouvan. The King carbonara marries up sea urchin, bottarga, and black truffle, and the steak (14 ounce New York strip) fritte comes with bone marrow au poivre. Pastry chef Lanna Talley’s nails the landing. Her Menton-Brest is a symphony of spring hues and summer produce with raspberry and lemon cremes, and fresh berries, sandwiched between layers of pistachio choux finished with basil sugar. A robust list of wines by the glass tilts to the Old World.

Call 504-324-3000 for reservations.

The Chloe is a microcosm of Uptown New Orleans culture within an Uptown hotel, restaurant, bar and, of sorts, club. Hotelier Robert LeBlanc and designer Sara Ruffin Costello’s shared vision for the 1891 Victorian Thomas Sully mansion came to fruition in October 2020. The wrought iron gates, expansive brick patio and a front porch featuring are familiar to those who live in the neighborhood as is the heavy tropical foliage surrounding the pool, which is open to locals for a daily fee.

Nooks and intimate gathering places are scattered throughout the property, all of which offer culinary and cocktail services. The “restaurant” is anywhere you want it to be, and features Chef Todd Pulsinelli’s modern takes on familiar classics: a muffaletta egg roll, gumbo z’herbes agnolotti, and shrimp etouffee dumplings. Bar director Autumn Weimer’s sophisticated craft cocktail menu is served from the poolside bar shaded by tropical palmettos as well as an indoor jewel box lounge carved from a former library.

Dig mezcal? Visit on any Monday from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., when that smoky spirit is the focus.

Following a comprehensive renovation and restoration by hotelier Jayson Seidman that managed to keep a wisp of the vague air of funkiness that endears this 1883 Thomas Sully mansion to locals, The Columns hotel is once again a primo spot for watching the world pass down New Orleans’ most distinguished avenue. Those cheesy baby-blue banquet chairs and Maw Maw’s ornately sashed drapes have been banished from the double parlor. In their place are bare windows that reveal the gardens beyond to drinkers relaxing upon clubby leather sofas, and cushy armchairs clustered into conversational groupings. The Victorian Lounge itself, once dark, dank, dated, and dreary, has kept its sense of history while welcoming a fresh, sultry lighting package, blessedly bare windows, and radically improved seating.

The cocktail menu by beverage director Carlos Quinonez includes the expected classics — Sazerac, Pimm’s Cup — as well as house creations and a selection of reserve cocktails. A food menu created by chef Mike Stolzfus of Coquette and executed by chef Paul Terrebonne is inventive yet approachable: lamb skewers with English peas, mint, and cashew cream; and a solid burger with bacon marmalade, arugula, and provolone. Shareables for the table include a pork shank platter with naan, chimichurri, and kimchi; and piri piri chicken.

Sipping on the veranda, seeing the rumbling streetcar making its way under a canopy of oaks, fulfills the city’s graceful vision of languorous beauty.

This Oak St. newcomer from chef Julio Machado has a contemporary feel with edgy interior design. The sleek bar, blue velvet seats, splashes of neon lights, and reasonable prices sound a siren’s song to collegiate crowds who flock here from nearby universities. The underpinnings of the menu are clearly of Mexico, but the chef allows himself creative license with dishes like Ramen Mexico City (rice noodles, red onions, cilantro, chives, cucumber, and a choice of protein), barbecue birra tacos, and steak ceviche. Salsa and guacamole come in a variety of flavors and spice levels. In addition to the predictable Taco Tuesdays, bar specials are offered daily.

Call 504-324-1616 for reservations.

Chef Mike Nelson is a nose-to-tail guy who makes fishermen squirm. He rejects all but their most pristine, still-flapping specimens. With his prize secured, he repairs to the kitchen to spend his days butchering thousands of pounds of fish. Almost two decades in, this sounds like a prison sentence for most, but this guy clearly loves his job. He beams. He’s thrilled. He’s psyched.

On Nelson’s list of double-take dishes are his swordfish “ribs,” culled from the muscles and bones connected to the fish’s huge dorsal fin. Contemplate good barbecue and the junky cuts that benefit from long, slow cooking spells, with a connection made between this weird-looking mass of stuff and a hog’s ribs. He treats it the same way — applying a dry rub and smoking it over charcoal in a Big Green Egg, with the result  a “rack” of bony swordfish that peels apart easily into “ribs” of rich smoky meat. He also dry ages fish and has a “seachuterie” program going. He’s a genius.

Fins is also one of the toughest reservations in New Orleans. But with tourism down for the customary summer doldrums and a special prix fixe menu on offer it may be a bit easier to secure a seat. On July 5 through 31 the popular, annual Fins Feast menu features three courses for $50, ever Sunday through Thursday night. The menu will change daily, as is custom at Fins.

Call 504-581-3467 for more info.