Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published November 23, 2006 Click here for the current edition Emeril Will Open New Orleans Fish House In Gulfport Casino Emeril's New Orleans Fish House--one of his several restaurant concepts, with its first opening in Las Vegas--will open in the new Island View Casino in Gulfport. That's the spot that was formerly the Grand Casino, right across from the excellent Vrazel's Restaurant, on US 90 a few blocks west of US 49. The restaurant will be pretty big: 5,000 square feet, two hundred seats. They'l serve lunch and dinner every day. With, obviously, an emphasis on seafood. The Las Vegas restaurant has a menu that seems to be a cross between Emeril's here and his Tchoup-Chop restaurant in Orlando, with a predominant Creole flavor but also a few Asian touches here and there. They expect to have the place open in the summer of 2007. The casino, the first to reopen in Gulfport and the first land-based casino there (now that Mississippi no longer requires its casinos to float), has been operating for some time, but is building out more of its facility as it goes. No word on where the restaurant will be located in the building, but a Gulf view would sure be nice. Emeril gets asked constantly to partner on new restaurants. The reason he's going with this one, he says, is that his wife Alden is from Gulfport, and wants to reconnect with the area.  I hope he makes Mississippi whole flounder a specialty. © 2006 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com