The August Hit List: Beggars Banquet, Zasu, Ruby Slipper, and More

With the July 19 opening of this upscale New American Bistro & Bar in the leafy Lower Garden District chef Michael DiIonno has brought his culinary journey and his family full circle. This time DiIonno’s wife, Patty, their daughter, Kat, and Kat’s partner, Jason, have joined the endeavor. DiIonno’s well-crafted menu covers old-school favorites like coquille St. Jacques with sauce Mornay and Dutchess potatoes; and assorted wild mushrooms in Cognac cream; as well as more seasonal takes like grilled swordfish over watermelon salad. There is a strong contemporary cocktail program. The lavender Collins looks like just the thing to slay this oppressive heat.

Catch it while you can by the end of August: chef Christopher Belou intends to close the restaurant that pays homage to his youth spent fishing and hunting in and around the bayous of Southeast Louisiana while learning from his family how to cook his catch. The CIA alum worked in the acclaimed kitchens of Commander’s Palace and The Grill Room in the Windsor Court Hotel, and the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans before opening Full Blast, his breakfast/brunch/lunch spot on a quiet residential block in Mid-City. The house favorite is the crab cakes Benedict pairing cakes dense with crabmeat with poached eggs and finished with a silken Hollandaise sauce. Another belt-busting favorite is poached eggs and bacon served over jalapeño and cheddar grit cakes with fried chicken strips or a pork chop and smoked sausage topped with bacon gravy. Bountiful breakfast cocktails get things off to a carefree start. Show Belou a full blast of love.

For reservations call 504. 302.2800. Learn more here.

The ivy growing over the door lends to the secretive feel of chef Sue Zemanick’s jewel box of a restaurant where she packs an unforgettable experience into her Mid-City fine dining spot. When the James Beard Award winner left her long time kitchen post at the celebrated Gautreaux’s in 2019, she took with her chef de cuisine Jeff McLennan. Together they specialize in complex preparations of the region’s Gulf seafood with contemporary Southern and Southeast Asian accents. The menu changes frequently but some interpretation of spiced and grilled baby octopus with baby potatoes; and potato and cheese pierogies—a nod to the Zemanick’s heritage—are mainstays.

For the third year in a row executive chef Meg Bickford has invited other prominent chefs to join her in the kitchen at Commander’s Palace. The “Chef Meg &Company” dinner series kicked off in July with Bickford sharing the stove with Zasu’s Sue Zemanick. This month brings chef Amy Mehrtens of Copper Vine on Aug. 16. The series culminates in September with chef Martha Wiggins of Café Reconcile.

The series was started to bring people back together to celebrate the camaraderie of the industry following the pandemic, and Commander’s is continuing the collabs with the same goal. Each also serves as a fundraiser for Café Reconcile, a nonprofit daytime restaurant helmed by Wiggins, which serves Southern staples cooked by at-risk youth. The ticketed dinners include a welcome cocktail, a coupe de milieu cocktail, and a collaborative five-course tasting menu created with each guest chef, plus wine pairings from that tap into Commander’s inventory of more than 20,000 bottles.

It starts with the sign. The one marking the entrance was made using shou sugi ban, a Japanese technique of preserving wood by charring it. The outline of a graceful pear and the restaurant’s name (which translates to “pear” in Japanese) are carved into the blackened wood and richly highlighted in golf leaf. From there, a pull on an elongated brass door handle opens into a jewel box of a space designed by Curtis Herring in shades of deep teal and vibrant orange offset by more gold touches.

Owner Kyle Payer spent the COVID lockdown pouring over catalogs to select the perfect plate for each of the 8-to-10 courses he and Chef Mackenzie “Mack” Mackenzie Broquet, another Commander’s Palace alum, now serve omakase-style.

The unprinted menu, which changes nightly, will commence with a surprise. It might start with a teardrop-shaped cup of dashi broth flecked with crawfish tails, chives, and shitake mushrooms. Next, an appetizer or salad will arrive —perhaps baby kale massaged with a bright vinaigrette of ramps cradling baby vegetables, cured salmon, and salmon roe. Then come five courses of nigiri in succession, delicacies like King Ora salmon dressed with a miniscule dice of roasted beets and chives, or yellowfin tuna topped with a sliver of seared foie gras. And then two entrée choices, perhaps seared redfish served with seared A5 wagyu; or poached grouper with white asparagus, pickled ramps, and green garlic.

For reservations call 504.345.2155. 

Jennifer and Erich Weishaupt opened the first Ruby Slipper Cafe in 2008 on a block still suffering from post-Katrina blight. Amid the gloom the couple created an invigorating gathering place where weary neighbors could enjoy breakfast, lunch, and brunch in a colorful atmosphere. It was an instant success with reasonable prices and the creative adaptations of local comfort foods like shrimp and grits, eggs cochon (slow-cooked, apple-braised pork served over a buttermilk biscuit, topped with two poached eggs, finished with Hollandaise), berry Chantilly pancakes, bananas Foster, and hefty bloody Marys. In the 15 years since, the Weishaupts have closed the original location for larger digs nearby while adding locations Uptown, and in the Marigny. Reservations are available for groups of 8 or more.

Debbie on the Levee was originally opened in October 2020 by the pair behind Debbie Does Doberge, namely to provide pandemic-weary diners a neighborhood spot to relax and unwind with cocktails and cakes, The Levee outpost recently unveiled an all-day menu that starts with breakfast and works its way to cocktail hour. With a whimsical poppy vibe, a full bar, and televisions for catching the game (or Saturday morning cartoons!) this spot takes all comers.  Noteworthy are the breakfast sandwich (eggs, garlic aioli, choice of bacon or sausage served atop a biscuit or toast) and red velvet Elvis pancakes (red velvet silver dollars, bacon, peanut butter, and candied bananas). Sandwiches include a grilled Caprese, and a grilled three-cheese with chipotle butter and hot honey. Sweets include a variety of cakes from Debbie Does Doberge. And don’t miss the coffee Manhattan, with with rye whiskey, amaro, chocolate bitters, chicory, and cold brew.

No reservations. See the menu and learn more here.

In 2008, Matthew Konke spied a magnificent Edwardian former horse-and-buggy fire station, circa 1903, masquerading under the grime of a rundown electrician’s shop. Khonke got together with childhood friend, Neal Bodenheimer, and the two would open Cure the following year — along the way, reigniting the Freret neighborhood and helping to spark New Orleans’ cocktail renaissance.

Well over a decade in Cure still feels like a tantalizing secret. The evergreen, romantic cocktail bar is set with candle-lit tables or patrons can get in on the impressive bartending action from front row seats at the bar. A tropical courtyard carries the vibe outside. Bodeneheimer’s cocktail menu presents reinvented classics while breathing new life into forgotten formulas. The Reserve/Baller cocktails are worth the splurge. Check out the 1980s martini, made with genuine vintage Plymouth gin from said decade. Should hunger strike, snacks, meat and cheese boards, and caviar service will hold you over.

Last year this decidedly low-brow vegan-ish hipster spot decamped for loftier digs and a more confusing identity. By day it remains Sneaky Pickle. By night, it becomes the tonier—and more protein-centric—Bar Brine. Chef Ben Tabor’s style is something of a balancing act: heirloom carrots and citrus suprèmes are finished with crushed Brazil nuts and gochujang. Pastas are house-made. (Pro tip: Don’t miss the squid-ink noodles with briny shrimp and crab.) 

Both concepts share a few menu items: the coarsely ground grain burger, served with house pickles, smoked tomato, and cashew crema on housemade bread; and the vegan Reuben with sauerkraut, vegan 1000 Island dressing, and smoky tempeh.  Rustic hand-cut fries are a smart move with either of them.

Chef Melissa Araujo’s bright, fresh café offers sweet and savory interpretations of contemporary and traditional Honduran as well as American standards for breakfast and lunch. The Honduran coffee bar is stocked with coffee and fresh juices and adult libations for those ready to kick their day off with a buzz. Araujo’s Honduran breakfast plate comes with eggs, thick refried beans, plantains, avocado, crema, and crumbly queso fresco. There are also crisp chicharrónes, meat pies, mushroom toast, and salsa verde ceviche made with Gulf shrimp.  Lunch brings burgers mixed with fresh herbs that keep the meat plump and juicy, served with a secret sauce. The Hela (two pieces of fried chicken, spicy chipotle butter and miso ginger coleslaw) looks irresistible, too. Dinner service is in the works for the fall.

For reservations call 504.381.5877. See the menu and learn more here.