Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published June 11, 2007 Mandina's Closes In Baton Rouge The post-K renaissance of Mandina's--the classic Mid-City neighborhood cafe--surprised everybody. It happened not in New Orleans, but in Baton Rouge. Now that location has given up the ghost. The original location of Mandina's on Canal Street is now back open, of course, and as packed as it ever has been. Meanwhile, the branch in Mandeville is doing reasonably well (while not exactly setting the world on fire). But while the Baton Rouge Mandina's was very eagerly received by displaced New Orleans in the months following the storm, it has been (shall we say) easier to get a table there in recent months. Beyond that, the building was a bit of a problem. Gary Robertson, who manages the restaurant in Mandeville, tells me that the Baton Rouge location was in great need of renovation. It was the former site of Chalet Brandt, for decades one of the two or three best restaurants anywhere in Baton Rouge. But the old mansion has gone a long way since those glory days. The closing of the Baton Rouge Mandina's was effective Saturday night, June 9. I heard about it from a number of their distressed regular customers in Red Stick. It will shortly re-open as another location of the Broken Egg Café, a breakfast specialist for many years in Mandeville. I'm tempted to interpret this as evidence that the colonization of Baton Rouge by New Orleans following the storm is beginning to reverse itself. But that may be too cheery of thought even for me. There was much speculation that many classic New Orleans restaurants would relocate to Baton Rouge following the storm. The fact that Galatoire's did so fueled that thinking. But I don't see that as a long-term trend. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com