THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Bistro at Maison de Ville

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Bistro at Maison de Ville Restaurant Review:

Greg Picolo, long the Bistro's chef, bought the restaurant in 2007 after it had closed briefly post-Katrina, and, after another brief timeout in 2009, now runs the show throughout this intimate and ambitious establishment. Although the hotel is no longer open, the mirror-lined dining room is once again a showcase for his contemporary Creole cuisine with classic French and Italian touches. The Lilliputian kitchen makes such pleasures as panéed frogs’ legs with apple wood-smoked bacon and leek cream; grilled jumbo shrimp with cheddar cheese grit cake and pepper jelly; and rack of lamb with macaroni and Stilton-cheddar cheese. Anyone still not convinced of Picolo’s wild imagination needs only to take a bite of his sweetbread fritters with portobello-and-potato hash with barbecue vinaigrette. The restaurant seats a mere 40 patrons inside and, in good weather, more at four umbrella-shaded tables in the rear courtyard. A full-length banquette of tufted red leather adds to the warmth conveyed by bentwood bistro chairs and small paintings.