Subscribe To The
Five-Star Edition!

Shrimp remoulade.

This review originally appeared in the New Orleans Menu Daily, which brings out a full, up-to-date restaurant review every weekday. Along with local restaurant news, top-ten lists, recipes, and Tom Fitzmorris's Dining Diary. All of it is original and current, illustrated with lots of photos of New Orleans restaurants, chefs, and their food.

The price of a subscription is whatever number of dollars seems right to you. For that amount, you get full access to the daily newsletter online, an e-mail bulletin version every day, and archives of everything published since Hurricane Katrina.

If you're still not convinced, do two things: 1. Know that I'll refund all your money if you're not happy. 2. Take a look at this sample edition. Then. . .

Thank you!

Tastefully yours,
Tom Fitzmorris

Restaurant Ratings

The ratings are based mostly on the degree to which the food excites us, and a little on environment, service, and other considerations. I rate restaurants relative to all other restaurants in the New Orleans area. Here's what the stars mean to me:

starstarstarstarstar
Among the best locally.

starstarstarstar
Excellent and ambitious.

starstarstar
Worth crossing town for.

starstar
Recommended.

*
Acceptable.

No star
Unacceptable.

Cost Ratings
Each dollar sign indicates a ten-dollar range, including a normal meal for the restaurant (dinner, if they serve other meals), not including drinks, or tips. So, for example. . .

1$--$5-15
2$--$15-25
3$--$25-35

. . . and so on, with no upper limit. While this scheme may suggest mathematical precision, know that perception of price varies from diner to diner as much as the star ratings do. So consider this an estimate.

All reviews are based entirely on meals I have personally taken at the restaurant and paid for from my own pocket. I don't take free review meals, nor am I reimbursed by anybody for my restaurant expenditures.

star
pricebar

St. Charles Tavern

Neighborhood Cafe. Breakfast. Sandwiches. Chicken.
Uptown: 1433 St. Charles Ave. 504-523-9823. Map.
Open twenty-four hours, seven days.
Very Casual
AE DC DS MC V

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
Since the demise of the Hummingbird Grill, the twenty-four-hour restaurant marketplace downtown has been filled by this cafe. It's been around long enough to have picked up a substantial regular clientele, most of which shows up for late-night sandwiches, platters, and breakfasts.

WHY IT'S GOOD
The food here is inconsistent in the wee hours--New Orleans still doesn't have enough people to fill normal dining times, let alone the graveyard shift. But the breakfasts are generous and good, and at lunch and dinner they turn out better food than you might imagine. Deep-frying seems to be their best trick, accomplished especially well with chicken.

BACKSTORY
They claim to have been around since the 1930s, but I can't remember a time when it wasn't there. Surprisingly few New Orleans restaurants are open 24 hours, and this is one of the best of them. What you sacrifice for that all-night service--at least in this case--is full right to demand a beautifully kempt, efficiently served dining room. (The later it gets, the slower things move.)

DINING ROOM
It certainly looks as if it's been there forever, with tile floors, a big old air conditioner that makes a lot of noise, and unclothed tables. It's as fastidious as you might expect. The service staff ranges from happy and helpful to sullen.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Basic combo breakfasts.
Omelettes.
Waffles.
Gumbo.
Red beans and rice.
Fried chicken.
Daily plate specials.
Hamburger.
Poor boy sandwiches, especially fried seafood.

FOR BEST RESULTS
Although the all-night schedule is the Tavern's unique selling proposition, it's much better in the daytime.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
It's overdue for a renovation.

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES

This review was updated with new information on 11/29/2009.

 

A list of all 275 full, current reviews is here.