Krik's Picks

We had a hard time finding a good place to eat on Frenchmen Street, during our January trip to New Orleans. Our son and all of the guide books and several other people recommended going to Frenchmen Street for music. Early in our trip, we walked through the French Quarter to Frenchmen Street and were frustrated. We ended up at a Creole restaurant that served lots of fried food. It was ok, but not really what we were looking for. After that, we went into a few of the clubs, but they were jam-packed and no chance to get a seat. We had better luck when we came back a couple nights later. This time we had a reservation at 3 Muses . It was one of the few places on Frenchmen Street that will take a reservation, offer a creative menu, and present talented jazz performers. Our reservation got us seated in time to catch the last set of the early evening performer and we stayed through the first set of the later performer. We enjoyed both very much. They weren’t big name jazz performers, bu...

One of the things that really impressed me about New Orleans, during our trip there in January , was the friendliness of nearly all of the local people we met. They were cordial and welcoming and eager to share their personal tips on what to see, where to go, and where to eat. The day after we arrived was overcast and damp. I carried an umbrella all day but didn’t have to open it. So we spent that day perusing the shops and galleries in the French Quarter. At one of them, we got a couple of restaurant recommendations. The way it came up, we were in the shop late morning, and we mentioned a restaurant on the corner where we planned to have lunch. The shopkeeper’s comment was something like: “Well that’s ok. But I think you’d like Amelie better.” So we made our way over to Royal Street. It was only a couple blocks farther than the restaurant we had originally planned. We were immediately charmed by Amelie’s quaint courtyard and regretted that the threatening weather prevented us f...

In my last post about our dinner at Borgne , I noted that one of my goals for our January trip to New Orleans was to visit at least one John Besh restaurant. Well, we actually did visit two of them. On our last full day in the city (it was a Saturday), we planned to take a streetcar excursion to City Park and to see a different neighborhood. Anticipating that we probably would not have lunch, we decided instead to have a nice brunch. We looked at a few menus online and decided to go to Besh’s restaurant Luke , located in the Hilton St. Charles Hotel . In my post about Borgne, I noted that the ambiance was too casual. Not a problem at Luke. When we checked in with the hostess, we were shown to a table in the dining room – white table clothes and a large glass wall looking into the kitchen. It would have been a great dining venue. But for this brunch, we actually preferred something more casual, and so we asked for, and were seated, at a table in the bar. The bar is really cool! It’s...

The best meal we had during our January trip to New Orleans was John Besh’s fish and seafood restaurant, Borgne . As we planned our trip, our first visit since Hurricane Katrina, I had my heart set on trying at least one of John Besh’s restaurants. My wife and I looked at his different menus and finally decided on Borgne. The restaurant is located in the Central Business District (CBD in NOLA parlance), in the Hyatt Regency Hotel near the Superdome. It was an easy five-block walk from our hotel in the French Quarter (also a Hyatt). On the way over, we managed to make a stop for cocktails at the Fountain Lounge in the Roosevelt Hotel where we listened to a duo performing jazz standards. When we arrived at Borgne, we experienced our only disappointment about the restaurant. We felt the cafeteria-style ambiance did not set a mood conducive to the delicious food that we experienced. I mean, take a look at the video screens above the bar. Doesn’t it almost look like a bowling alley? A...

We always have a bit of a dilemma deciding where to have dinner for a special occasion. We’d kind of like to try something new. But we don’t want to be disappointed if a new restaurant doesn’t live up to the reviews. We could go to any of several favorite standby restaurants. But, like I said, we’d kind of like something new. As we contemplated where to have a Valentine’s Day dinner this year, Harriet Brasserie solved that dilemma for us. It’s a favorite, reliable standby. But for Valentine’s Day 2015, they dispensed with their regular menu and instead provided a special fixed price menu. We liked the look of the menu (considerately posted on the restaurant’s web site a couple weeks in advance). So we got both – something new at a reliable standby. It was a fun evening. Harriet Brasserie is located in an old firehouse, in the Linden Hills neighborhood where we bought our first house 38 years ago. Our children used to play on the fire trucks if the firehouse doors were open when we...

In my recent post about Brasserie Zentral , I noted how different a restaurant can be at lunch vs. dinner, and I used Zentral’s sister restaurant in St. Paul, Meritage, as an example. Sadly, since I retired, I don’t eat lunch in St. Paul very much any more. But in early February, I was at the State Capitol until about 1 p.m., and decided to have lunch at Meritage . Ah, it was sublime! By the time I arrived, it was almost 1:30, and there weren’t many customers left. So I was offered a really prime table. That was nice. My server was friendly (as always) and relaxed (sometimes, during a busy day, the servers can be harried). She brought me a complimentary amuse bouche – a duck liver schmear. Yum. I ordered chicken for lunch. The plate featured crisp roasted, boneless chicken thighs on a bed of spinach and roasted potatoes. I don’t often order chicken at restaurants. But for my last lunch at Zentral, I had chicken, and again at Meritage. It was very good. Normally I forego dessert...