From A Past Issue Of The New Orleans Menu Daily Originally published May, 2006 Best New Restaurants To Open Since The Storm One of the most remarkable stories in the New Orleans restaurant business is how many brand-new restaurants have appeared since the hurricane. I count 16 major new restaurant openings in the metro area since last September. That would be an impressive number even in a normal year--let alone this one. We're not talking about reopenings, relocations, or rethinkings of pre-storm restaurants, mind you. Nor of delis or coffeehouses or other minor food operations, taking advantage of the vacuum to serve people bereft of options. No, these are 16 restaurants with serious culinary ambitions, operating in atmospheric dining rooms. Many were in the works before the storm. But not all of them. I've put them in order of excellence. Full reviews of some have appeared in this space already; the others will follow in the coming weeks. 1. Iris. 8115 Jeannette. 862-5848. Iris is owned by a former sous chef from Lilette, the great French bistro on Magazine Street. His menu is so fascinating that, after I read the list of appetizers, my first inclination was to order all of them and hold off looking at the entrees till the next visit. Which I did, although I did read about the main courses--which also sounded irresistible. The allure proved true, as dish after dish of polished food--some with a local flavor, most not--emerged onto the tiny tables in this renovated cottage. 2. Alberta. 5015 Magazine. 891-3015. The original idea for this pretty little dining room was to serve expensive and ambitious prix-fixe menus. After the storm, however, they opened with an a la carte menu instead. Nothing ordinary, and nothing cheap, either. It caught on immediately, and the few tables are still hard to nail down. As is the style of the cooking, which I guess you could call polished European-inspired American food. 3. 7 On Fulton. 700 Fulton. 681-1034. As noted in last week's column, this is Vicky Bayley's second new restaurant (!) since the hurricane. (The other one, Ohi'a, is temporarily closed because of damage in the building.) It features the contemporary Creole cooking of Chef David English, who came over from the closed Cobalt. 4. Longbranch. 21516 LA 36. 871-8171. Vicky Bayley's old restaurant, Artesia in Abita Springs, got a moderate remodeling from a pair of chefs married to each other, and opened with a new name and a new menu. The hip feeling remains, however. The food stands strong on its own merits, although it strikes me as a little cerebral. It's served at North Shore prices (a little lower than expected). 5. Vizard's On The Avenue. 2203 St. Charles Avenue. 529-9912. The umpteenth stop in his illustrious but fast-moving career, this is what Chef Kevin Vizard opened for himself after leaving Café Adelaide. Fans of Vizard's style (I am one of those, for some 20 years) will find all his full-flavored, contemporary Creole dishes, served in a pleasant, streamlined restaurant. 6. Table One. 2800 Magazine. 872-9035. Another chef on the move, Gerard Maras, came to consult and stayed to cook. It's a mix of the French food he did at Ralph's on the Park with the Creole dishes he had on the menu at Mr. B's 20 years ago. Two dining rooms on two floors, with high ceilings and brick walls. 7. D. Lamarque's. 4250 La. 22, Suite B, Mandeville. 985-624-2300. A real surprise. Dennis Lamarque, who ran auto dealerships with his brother Ronnie for decades, got the restaurant bug. He took over the former Vincent's in Mandeville but kept the chef, encouraging him to get creative. He did, and it's original and good, particularly in the seafood department. Live music on weekends. 8. Jackson. 1910 Magazine. 529-9599. A contemporary Creole restaurant with a menu just different enough from the standards to amuse the mind, this place is owned by a few former waiters from Brennan's who, I gather, tired of waiting for that restaurant to reopen. One of them changed careers and became the chef. Jackson moved into the space vacated by Antoinette and Sugar Magnolia before it, but has expanded its dining rooms into the adjacent building. 9. The Savvy Gourmet. 4519 Magazine. 895-2665. The Savvy Gourmet existed before the storm as a wandering cooking school. The plan was to keep that program going, along with a cookware store, in their handsome former firehouse on Magazine Street. But the need for restaurants was great, and they had Chef Corbin Evans (formerly of Lulu's In The Garden District) an staff, so they opened for lunch every day. The offerings are downscale (I don't see anything over $10 on the menu), but very good. 10. Sake Cafe. 1130 S. Clearview Pkwy. 733-8879. It's another spiffy, spacious location (the fourth) of the superb Japanese restaurant and sushi bar. 11. Restaurant Azul. 535 Tchoupitoulas. 599-2111. It's a hotel restauramt, but a most unusual one, with a menu of Cuban-Asian fusion food. As peculiar as that may sound, it has become very popular both on the West Coast and in Miami, and they're performing the act well here in a unique, engaging dining room. 12. Rockafeller's. 2891 US 190, Mandeville. 985-626-5566. Oysters Rockefeller are done badly. But you came for the steaks, good grades of beef grilled with some aplomb and good sauces. The seafood is decent. © 2006 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com