Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published May 4, 2007 Sal & Sam's Reaches End Of The Line Ardoise Premieres In Metairie; Former August Chef In Kitchen A few months ago, Jason LaMotte and partners took over the tattered Sal & Sam's and quietly began turning it into a hip Contemporary American restaurant. (That's the kind that serves dishes you read about in Gourmet and Bon Appetit.) That's a long way from the Suburban Creole-Italian style purveyed by the long-running Sal & Sam's, which had reopened after the storm but seemed to be largely out of gas. (Both Sal and Sam are long gone.) The new owners make it very clear that there will be a total disconnect from what had been here before. However, more than a few customers have come in to order lasagna and osso buco anyway. Jason came here from a stint working with John Besh at Restaurant August and the Besh Steakhouse. He reeled off a number of dishes that his new menu holds; all of them sounded pretty original and appealing. (He said he'd send me a menu to show you, but it hasn't turned up yet.) The new owners also renovated the interior up to just this side of gutting the forty year-old structure, which began as a Burger King-style hamburger joint. (You'd nevber know that to look at it now.) The last touch was hanging a new sign outside and repairing the messed-up parking lot. Looks good now. The name Ardoise (pronounced the French way) is a reference to a kind of slate used by French chefs to display their daily specials. They'll get no prize for that name, which will certainly be mispronounced and looked upon as snooty in egalitarian Metairie. It does, however, put them high up an alphabetical list. If the menu comes in, I'll tack it on here. Ardoise. 4300 Veterans Blvd. 885-8585. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com