Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published October 24 , 2006 Click here for the current edition Mike's On The Avenue Is Back--Sort Of After Chef Mike Fennelly left New Orleans for San Francisco and, late, Hawaii, Vicky Bayley kept in touch with him. She owned the very hip Mike's on the Avenue, the restaurant they'd built together on Lafayette Square. She kept in touch even after she closed Mike's and moved her restaurant operations to Abita Springs at Artesia. Mike was always in and out of town, consulting with Vicky while running his own places in the Far West and Very Far West. He also had a hand in getting 7 On Fulton going. Now Mike's on the Avenue is revived, with a lot of the dishes for which it is remembered. It's in a new spot, in Le Cirque Hotel on Lee Circle. That's where Vicky briefly opened up the odd but good Hawaiian tapas cafe called Ohi'a for a few months after the storm. (Before the hurricane, it had been the Lee Circle Restaurant, an offshoot of Clancy's.) The menu is entirely composed of small plates for about $10-12. Here it is: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hand-made Chinese Dumplings Filled with Louisiana shrimp and spinach and  served with tahini-ginger dipping sauce - $10 Mike’s Spring Rolls Filled with crawfish and julienne vegetables served with a chili-lime dipping sauce, cool soba noodles and lettuce wraps - $10 Louisiana Barbecue Oysters (6) With Korean barbecue sauce and crispy pancetta - $10 Blackened Ahi Napoleon With avocado, red onion, sprouts, wasabi crème fraîche, crispy won ton and ponzu sauce - $11 Coconut-seared Lentil Fritters With minted yogurt sauce - $8 Hearts of Romaine Salad With creamy ponzu vinaigrette and a dulse red-chili crisp - $6 Absolut Citron and Lemongrass-Cured Salmon Carpaccio With tomato-basil-shallot-Dijon vinaigrette, crème fraîche and house-made potato chips - $11 Chinese Five-Spice Baby Back Ribs - 11 Korean Grill With miso aoili, lettuce wraps, fresh herbs, black vinegar sauce and house-made kimchee (Daily selection and price.) Indonesian Crab Cake With Thai mirliton salad - $12 Mirin-braised Beef Short Ribs with daikon, shiitake, carrot and smashed Yukon Gold potatoes - $12 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yeah, that sounds like Mike Fennelly, all right. He won't be there all the time--he's still a breeze-in, breeze-out kind of chef. Kate Chadwick is really in charge on a day-to-day basis. Although Lee Circle is notorious for parking problems, the restaurant has a parking lot right behind the hotel, on the corner of St. Joseph and St. Charles Avenue. The hours are from 5 p.m. till, Tuesday through Saturday. It's more bar and less restaurant than we usually see, but that will change if it begins to take off. Mike's on the Avenue. 2 Lee Circle (in Hotel Le Cirque), 528-2205. © 2006 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com