The October Hit List: Osteria Lupo, Saint John, Plates, and More

In honor of a month to acknowledge Italian-American heritage, chef Brian Burns recently rolled out a new four-course family-style tasting menu. Available throughout October, the special menu celebrates the flavors and traditions of Northern Italy. The menu will change frequently and includes some of Osteria Lupo’s popular antipasti, pastas, and desserts. Dishes on the tasting menu include the burrata con panna, pesce crudo, mushroom campanelle, grilled rack of lamb, and more.

And of course, you come to Lupo in part for drinks. Cocktails include the Black Manhattan made with Rittenhouse rye, Averna, bitter cube orange, and bitters; and the Negroni Bianco with gin, Suze d’Autrefois, amaro, apricot and grapefruit. And there’s a 100 percent Italian wine list with by-the-glass and by-the-bottle selections from an extensive list with more than 20 whites and 40 reds.

Following two James Beard Foundation Award nominations, in 2021 chef Martha Wiggins took her powerful skills to Café Reconcile, a non-profit lunch-only operation where at-risk young adults, ages 16-24, learn both the front and back of the house skills needed for careers in the hospitality industry. The New York Times recently recognized Café Reconcile, open since 1996, as one of the country’s top spots. The informal restaurant is known for its value, approachability, and dedication to culinary excellence. Crispy turkey necks, crabcakes, and jerk chicken are menu staples, but each day brings a daily special for $10; Thursday’s shrimp with white beans is a standout among standouts.

Find more info here.

On October 17, chef Eric Cook’s Saint John and Home is Here NOLA, a nonprofit with a mission to cultivate community-based systems of support with newly arrived immigrants in Louisiana and the Gulf South, will present a Taste of Afghanistan. The evening will feature a tasting menu of home-cooked dishes by Afghan refugee chefs, who will discuss the foods they have prepared as well as their culture and their experiences as new community members resettled in New Orleans. All event proceeds will benefit Home is Here NOLA.

Tickets ($35) are available here and include a welcome cocktail, Afghan’s national celebratory dish, khabuli palao (veg and non-veg), mantu (beef dumplings), and borani banjan (roasted eggplant).

Chef Marcus Woodham recently unveiled a new fall menu with a focus on seasonal herbs, flowers, and produce from partner Sugar Roots Farm. The verdant, plant-laden Garden District space sets a cool backdrop for Woodham’s new small plates, including heirloom cherry tomato salad with burrata, avocado, oregano, and white balsamic vinaigrette served with fry bread; and creamy hummus topped with lump crabmeat and spiced lemon oil (yes!).

Large plates include braised short rib with crispy new potatoes, pepper piperade, and torched Spanish blue cheese glacage, and Gulf Fish with green beans, cherry tomato confit, and green olive tapenade. There’s plenty of tweaks to the pastas, too.

Beverage manager Mickey Mullins has also released a new zodiac-inspired cocktail menu: The Virgo with bourbon, Angostura bitters, simple syrup, and orange peel; while the Scorpio with beet-infused mezcal, passion fruit and lime served straight up in a smoked salt-rimmed coupe.

More info here.

JOTS has partnered with Moveable Feast, a nationwide subscription and à la carte service, to bring exclusive dinner parties (requiring 30 minutes or less of light prep). Now through the end of the month Moveable Feast is taking reservations for its October box featuring a multi-course menu from chef Phil Whitmarsh. A JOTS cocktail kit is also available. Reserve your feast here.

If a half-hour of prep sounds like too much — or you are fantasizing about JTOS’ verdant courtyard — know that Sunday Roast, caviar service, nightly dinner (haggis with gooseberries; wagyu beef heart; and so on), and excellent cocktails remain on the menu anytime, just a Resy away.

New Orleans’ second-oldest still-operating public market (the oldest being the French Market) narrowly escaped closure after its previous operator threatened last month to shutter it for good. Kevin Pedeaux, owner of CR coffee and a long-time marker vendor, stepped up to take over the lease on the city-owned property and hopes to re-invigorate the market with new vendors and customers. The historic market was built in 1875 as a public market and reopened as a food hall nine years ago after many years of abandonment and a full renovation. Since the reopening, the market has served an incubator for several ventures that went on to become free-standing brick-and-mortars, including The Daily Beet, Fritai, and Fete au Fete.

Find more info here.

Decades before tapas and Spanish cuisine became prominent in New Orleans, people lined up with bottles of wine in paper bags on Lola’s front lawn to await their tables within the reasonably-priced no-reservations spot. Throughout the years the menu has remained largely unchanged. The house-favorite garlic shrimp (peeled and sauteed with red peppers, garlic, and olive oil) remains a menu staple, as do the paella, grilled ruby red rainbow trout, and rack of lamb marinated in Romesco sauce. What has changed is that reservations are now accepted and paper bags are a thing of the past. Instead, select from a comprehensive wine list with a focus on Spanish, French, and California selections.

After a series of pop-ups, local restaurant veterans chef Farrell Harrison and Brian Weisnicht recently took over the long-vacant restaurant space in the Cotton Mill. Just in time for cooler temperatures, the rustic brick and vintage serveware lend a cozy note to what could be a cavernous space. Fare is billed as “New Orleans tapas,” with small plates bearing influences from Spain, Vietnam, Italy, Germany, and the Middle East, and more.

On the small plate menu, garlic shrimp are hit with black garlic soubise and chile oil, meaty scallops are finished with macque choux kissed by smoky Romesco sauce, and grilled lamb skewers are vibrant with garlic, yogurt, and saffron. Large plates include grilled scale-on Gulf fish; and braised rabbit with spaetzle. There is also a four-course family-style tasting menu. Wines are from lesser-appreciated Old World regions.

It’s been a while since a new restaurant opened right on Jackson Square, much less a chic raw bar. The small space on the ground level of the historic Lower Pontalba building was reimagined by owner and designer Jayson Seidman as a mix of contemporary and vintage elements. A wooden horseshoe-shaped bar with a green marble top is given a central space, surrounded by round tables beneath a series of sketches by American artist Gerald Gooch. Executive chef Paul Terrebonne offers a menu of oysters, caviar, and raw seafood, as well as salads, beef tartare, roasted bone marrow, and luscious crème brûlée for dessert. The beverage program features rare spirits and cocktails, including classics and original creations.

High Hat Cafe opened 12 years ago, just as Freret Street was emerging from a long decline  into a bright future as an entertainment district. With a  welcoming mahogany bar, tile floors, spinning ceiling fans, and picture windows overlooking the busy corner of Freret and Jena Streets, it was a fitting backdrop for the kitchen’s Delta-meets-NOLA cuisine aesthetic.

In August the restaurant changed hands from founders Chip Adderson and Adolfo Garcia to former employees Fredo Noguiera and Ryan Iriarte. The restaurant’s many regulars feared changes, but Noguiera and Iriarte are old hands at this. The staff, the chef, and the menu will remain the same, including the signature half-pound burgers cooked on a flat top grill. The High Hat’s namesake burger is topped with pimento cheese lettuce, tomato, and pickles. (Pro tip: Add an order of fries.)

Find more info here. No reservations.