The March Hit List: Alma, Paladar 511, Barrow’s Catfish, and More

During its minimal years of existence, Melissa Araujo’s Honduran-leaning café has become a kind of Bywater institution. For brunch and lunch, at least. Now, with the extension of Alma’s hours into the evening and the addition of dishes like pork belly salad and pescado ceibeno (a whole fried snapper with tostones), the neighborhood anchor has even more going for it.

If you can’t find something you want to eat on the menu here, you might not actually be hungry. Char-grilled oysters come in a variety of permutations: For a Lent-squared experience, maybe the char-grilled fried catfish oysters? Or consider the crawfish-hot sausage quesadilla, a turkey leg hot box (hot boxes being the spot’s take on a boil), or one of the weekend brunch specials. 

Carnival has come and gone and… you likely need vegetables. There is a Californian brightness to the cooking at this Marigny mainstay. The salads and appetizers, like the tuna crudo with pistachio and coriander-lime vinaigrette and local lettuces with pickled beets, have pluck and crunch. Of course, you might also want a big ol’ plate of pappardelle with sausage ragu or braised rabbit with sweet potato gnocchi. 

In a town with endless good drinking options, there is always room for one more. This brand-new bar opened in the new Schaeffer Hotel at the Canal Street end of the French Quarter. There are endless clean lines, blond wood, and teal accents. It’s gorgeous and the cocktails are too. Classics, as you might expect, anchor a section of the menu and include a daiquiri, mule, and Sazerac. The house-created drinks are smart and sophisticated: Tongue & Grooves marries cachaça with banana, and the one-draft Rabbet Spritz softens the oxidized edge of fino sherry with Aperol and grapefruit soda. 

Not that you need Lent as an excuse to dine at the open-water homage of Donald Link’s local empire where local seafood is the star, but it sure is a topical reason. Catfish with pickled greens and chile broth; jumbo shrimp with purple rice pilaf; the whole wood oven-roasted fish with salsa verde: There are many ways to dine at Pêche and zero incorrect ones.

The local legends have been reopened a few years now, after years of being closed after Katrina. The seasoned, perfectly fried fish remains some of the finest in the city. And it is an especially welcome complement to a plate of red beans on a Monday, a day in which you could choose either fried shrimp or fried oysters in place of that catfish on a lunch special. The love for Barrow’s runs so deep, the family behind it is opening a Westbank location later this year.

After the pandemic struck, the menu at Nina Compton’s airy restaurant in the Rice Mill Lifts got tighter. There may be fewer options now, but the food, as always, is delightful and still hums with Compton’s Caribbean touches. That means there is passionfruit with the tuna ham, and the semolina dumplings are accompanied by half a jerk chicken. The bar is still a sublime spot to have a drink and a meal, should you be on the hunt for a low-key evening. 

Oh, how we love a rebirth story! From speakeasy to brick-and-mortar to pandemic shuttering, Kebab has had quite the history. It seemed not so long ago that Kebab would forever be shuttered. Now… it’s back! Yes, the doner and falafel sandwiches on spongy, light bread are still available. But with new owners came a fresh point of view and newer dishes have included roasted feta with rosemary honey and dragon egg salad with beet-brined soft-boiled egg over herby peas. Bonus: Breakfast is coming soon.

Wednesdays are AYCE, aka All You Can Eat Crawfish, at this breezy restaurant on the upriver edge of town. That means for $40 per person, from 5 to 9 p.m. every Wednesday during mudbug season, you get as many platters of kicky, superbly cooked crawfish as you can work your way through. You’ll likely want to supplement your gorge with a drink from the superb booze list, or an appetizer. If you have the stomach, of course. 

Nirvana is a beloved New Orleans fixture at this point, after more than three decades of Uptown operation. Whether you’re dining on paneer shashlik from the tandoor, a platter of lamb biryani, samosa chaat, or a comforting plate of chicken tikka masala, a meal here is always reliable — and reliably delicious.