Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published December 9, 2005 Click here for the current edition St. Charles Avenue Zea Open; Clearview Microbrewery Closes The grand St. Charles Avenue digs of Zea was open only a couple of months before the storm hit. The weather disaster was followed by heavy looting, preventing a rapid reopening. Nevertheless, the reopening date of December 8 was well in advance of what Greg Reggio (one of the three "Taste Buds," the chefs who own the place) told me a few weeks ago. So things are moving right along. Like the other local Zea restaurants, the St. Charles Avenue location has most, but not all, of its menu available. It's only open for dinner right now, seven nights a week from five in the afternoon. Meanwhile, over at the Clearview Zea, the microbrewery era has ended. The equipment was sold to a small start-up brewery on the North Shore, which will be brewing Zea's beers for them, to sell at all locations. (For some reason--probably a dumb state law--the beer brewed at the Clearview Zea could not be served at the other Zeas.) The space formerly occupied by the copper tanks will be turned into more dining room space and (let's hope, for their sake) a kitchen expansion. The Clearview Zea always has a long waiting list, as anyone who's ever been there knows. © 2005 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com