I for one can’t wait for this to open-we need some fun and liveliness in the Upper Quarter again. I’ve heard great things about the owners and their attention to detail on authentic tiki-ness. And after all, let’s not forget that our vibe is as much Caribbean as it is French or Spanish.
Use the link to join their newsletter to keep up on their opening and their specials.
Latitude 29.
Located in the Bienville House Hotel
One of my favorite restauranteurs in the Quarter, Cafe Amelie has added a storefront just down the street with lovely items and a pleasing dining space. Jerry and Danny have done wondrous things with the Princess of Monaco courtyard in the middle of the 900 block of Royal and now give early risers a chance for a salmon and bagel plate, healthy juices, tasty pastries and morning espresso and afternoon drinks, or if you like, morning drinks and afternoon espresso-after all, this is the Quarter.
The two have been long time supporters of local produce and cottage industries and have even spent time as vendors at the farmers markets. You can be sure that they source fresh ingredients from farmers and fishers whenever possible.
Stop in at Dumaine and Royal (8-8 Weds-Sun) for a cheerful, healthy breakfast soon.
My pal Poppy Tooker gives a short and sweet overview of a few places that visitors and locals should check out or renew their acquaintance with in our city, many of them right here in the French Quarter. That alone makes Poppy an original and an authentic voice for the city and its culture since she is not afraid of embracing the Quarter and its delights and yet I know she won’t say it unless she means it. Brava Poppy. Moveable Feast On Location with Poppy Tooker in New Orleans – FineCooking.com.
Great exhibit at the Historic New Orleans Collection’s Laura Simon Nelson Galleries of photographer Richard Sexton’s details of Caribbean life. It includes New Orleans, Colombia, Haiti, Ecuador and of course Cuba. The exhibit is designed well, with the New Orleans scenes hung next to their Caribbean counterpart, both photos sharing the exact same architectural or at least many composite details.
The exhibit reminds one that the Caribbean face of New Orleans is most likely another reason for its emotional distance from the rest of America. Those places have no great hold on the American imagination, as seen in the lack of the same architectural styles of Washington DC, or in Savannah or even San Antonio.
America turned its back after its imperialism was slowed by Bolivar, Castro and others and left little New Orleans (and Miami too) without any older sisters to sit with, remembering the past.
On viewing this exhibit, I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes from those dark days of 2005 post-levee break reconstruction, said by a well known Cuban architect in a piece in The Atlantic. Andrés Duany, a co-founder of the Congress for New Urbanism, and a persistent advocate for traditional small-town design, gets to the essence of New Orleans as a Caribbean city said then:
“When I originally thought of New Orleans, I was conditioned by the press to think of it as an extremely ill-governed city, full of ill-educated people, with a great deal of crime, a great deal of dirt, a great deal of poverty,” said Duany, who grew up in Cuba. “And when I arrived, I did indeed find it to be all those things. Then one day I was walking down the street and I had this kind of brain thing, and I thought I was in Cuba. Weird! And then I realized at that moment that New Orleans was not an American city, it was a Caribbean city. Once you recalibrate, it becomes the best-governed, cleanest, most efficient, and best-educated city in the Caribbean. New Orleans is actually the Geneva of the Caribbean.”
And for those that remember the old Tally Ho Restaurant that was here at the corner of Chartres and Conti, it is a treat to walk through the gallery and remember the ghosts of past grits and red beans had at that counter….
had a great time at Cane & Table last night, largely because of the company, but credit also to the lovely setting and excellent food-I had tasty green beans, small plate crispy rum ribs, riced cauliflower and broccoli paella (although delicious, they need to call it something that describes it better) and a lovely rice calas for dessert (quite good service as well). check it out. I remember it last was Pravda, but not before that- anyone remember what was there pre-K?
The French Quarter is coming back to its dining glory days, thanks to restaurants like these.
French Quarter block by block 
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