New Orleans Area Culinary EventsHungry? Need to fill your culinary calendar? Here is where you will find all the restaurant and culinary happenings in Greater New Orleans. We feature a calendar of special dinners, tasting menus, prix-fixe meals, food festivals and other Louisiana culinary events, including regularly occurring food events as well as special one-time-only events featuring top chefs. Keep checking back so you can know all that's going on in the world of restaurant and food events in New Orleans and the surrounding area. back
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March 2
Bayona is hosting a wine dinner featuring August Kessler. German Rhengau Reislings and Pinot Noir selections will be paired with chef Susan Spicer's cuisine. The event will begin at 7 p.m. Seating is limited. For reservations, please call 504-525-4455. Bayona, 430 Dauphine St., New Orleans, LA 70130, 504-525-4455.
March 12–19
In New Orleans, St. Joseph’s Day is a major holiday, and this year Domenica is joining the celebration. From March 12–19, chef John Besh offers a special four-course feast. While some New Orleanians pay homage to the saint, the patron saint of carpenters, by erecting altars in their homes, others will be dressed to the nines and headed to The Roosevelt New Orleans for dinner at Domenica. On the menu? Artichoke, fava bean and blood orange salad, pasta milanese, seafood brodetto, and a finale of zeppole with anise, figs and sweet ricotta. Also known as a St. Joseph’s Day “cake”, zepolle is Italian sweet dough fried to perfection. Domenica, The Roosevelt New Orleans, 123 Baronne St., New Orleans, LA 70112, 504-648-6020.
March 21
What if you could enjoy specialties from more than two dozen New Orleans chef, all under one roof. Dream no more-it is actually happening on March 21, when top chefs unite to produce the food for a fundraiser benefitting the James Beard Foundation. Oysters, strawberries, crabmeat, shrimp, sweet potatoes, French bread, Tabasco hot sauce, Cajun caviar and rice, for starters. And it gets better: Purveyors will be on hand to teach guests about their industries, including Tabasco's Master Cooper, Hamilton Polk, who will demonstrate barrel making; and Popcorn rice farmer, Jimmy Hoppe will illustrate the process of growing his crops. This promises to be a fantastic evening featuring chefs who have either cooked at the James Beard House in New York or have been recognized through their awards program. The event will run from 3 p.m.-7p.m. at Kingsley House, 1600 Constance Street. Tickets in advance are $100 for regular admission, available at www.jamesbeard.org.
March 26–28
Save the dates, March 26–28, to be in the French Quarter and take part in the New Orleans Road Food Festival. This is a rare opportunity to taste signature dishes from 20 restaurants from New Orleans and all over Louisiana, and from as far away as Mobile, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and more. The festival features roadfood restaurants all across America serving affordable, sample-size portions of their favorite offerings. The festival will occupy five blocks of Royal Street. Profits from the New Orleans Roadfood Festival will benefit Cafe Reconcile, a non-profit enterprise located in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans that provides job training in the hospitality and restaurant industries for the city's at-risk youth. Whatever you do, be sure to visit Bourbon Street on March 27, where the Louisiana Oyster Festival will be held concurrently. The highlight will be the creation of the world’s longest oyster po-boy, created by chefs from 20 New Orleans restaurants. Visit www.neworleansroadfoodfestival.com for full details. New Orleans Road Food Festival, 300-700 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA 70116, 504-293-2657.
Ongoing
The Oyster Bar at Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House restaurant is one of the most happening places in the lower French Quarter. Now, Bourbon House is serving its new “Quick and Casual Lunch” at the bar. The no-fuss lunch offers sandwiches costing $8.50, among them muffalettas, pressed Cuban sandwiches and grilled veggie sandwiches with fresh mozzarella. Or, you can opt for a combo lunch, featuring the “Oyster Trifecta”---seafood gumbo, three freshly shucked oysters and a fried oyster po-boy. Also available is the “Shrimp Trifecta,” same as above, but with shrimp instead of oysters. Dickie Brennan’s happy hour is still happening every day from 4–6 p.m. The Oyster Bar serves oysters on the half-shell for $1/oyster, and the bar features specially priced wines and $3 Abita Amber drafts. Bourbon House, Astor Crowne Plaza, 144 Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70130, 504-522-0111.
Monday through Friday
As if the clubby, leathery bar at Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse were not reason enough to stop by after work, the restaurant just announced its new "$5 After 5PM" promotion, featuring small plates and specialty cocktails for just five bucks until 7 p.m., Mon.-Fri. Try the “Spiked Arnold Palmer”---Firefly tea vodka with lemon sour and soda, garnished with fresh mint, and pair it with some prime rib chili, or andouille-stuffed fried olives. The other standout cocktail is a Sobieski dry martini with a hint of dry vermouth, which will go down easily with Louisiana crabmeat batons with pepper jelly glaze. It makes 5 p.m. seem so far away, doesn’t it? Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse, 716 Iberville St., New Orleans, LA 70130, 504-522-2467.
Wednesday through Friday
Bayona offers a Quick Fix Menu for lunch Wednesday through Friday. Guests can enjoy three courses for $22, excluding drinks, tax and tip. Bayona, 430 Dauphine St., New Orleans, LA 70130, 504-525-4455.
Fridays
Wednesdays (Monthly) What began as a one-time tasting event has now morphed into an every-Friday night gathering at St. James Cheese Company. Stop by between 6 p.m.-8 p.m. for a free cheese tasting featuring a selection of washed rind cheeses to taste and learn about from the store’s “cheesemongers.” Also offered are wine and beer specials every week. The owners invite you in to sample “delicious, creamy and sometimes stinky artisanal cheeses.” St. James Cheese Company, 5004 Prytania St., New Orleans, LA 70118, 504-899-4737. The upscale, pan-Latin American seafood restaurant Rio Mar recently added a tapas bar and expanded lounge where it now hosts Wednesday evening wine tastings once a month. From 7 p.m.-8 p.m., guests may sample four wines, usually from Spain and South America, and an array of tapas for $20. The Wednesday tasting is sometimes usurped by a private party, so be sure to call first. Rio Mar, 800 S. Peters St., New Orleans, 504-525-3474. Fridays Savvy Gourmet’s culinary staff offers a $15 tasting every other week on Fridays from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. The offerings might include freshly baked bread, creative entrées or even a glass of bubbly. Visit Savvy Gourmet’s website for a detailed schedule. 4519 Magazine St., New Orleans, 504-895-2665, www.savvygourmet.com . |
RESTAURANT AWARDS
Just published! Our annual restaurant issue features the Best Cheap Eats and our Top 40 U.S. selections, including including Corton in New York and more!
A SEASON OF LOVE
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