Dishing It: New Orleans restaurant news, September 2026
Chef de cuisine Keisha Septon, Jake Laugle and Chelsea Brasted
Dishing It: September 2026
By Beth d'Addono
When she was thinking about how she’d approach her first book, Chelsea Brasted wanted to tell stories beyond the obvious. The New Orleans native, a journalist and reporter for Axios, just released New Orleans Food Story (published by Reedy Press), her first-person take on the city’s food and drink culture including restaurants, bars, shops and purveyors.
“In finding ways to tell the New Orleans story through these profiles, I found myself thinking of ways to tell a bigger story,” said Brasted, who paused the release of her book for the birth of her second daughter. “I got a little sneaky, using micro moments to dig deeper.” In her essay on the storming of the Sazerac, the historic 1949 moment in the history of the Roosevelt New Orleans Hotel where women stormed the bar despite a ban on their sex, she made a point. “It was just white women who came in, no women of color were welcome, because it was during segregation,” she said. In her section about bars, she includes the moveable thirst quenchers that follow Second Lines, an integral part of Black New Orleans culture. “I tried to find ways to be as honest as possible in a book that is intended to live on the shelf as a reference. The context matters.”
Brasted spins her yarns with affection, telling New Orleans stories that mine restaurants, from Commander’s Palace to Stein’s Deli, bakeries like Ayu Bakehouse and Bywater Bakery and products, from Hubig’s Pies to Che Wees, using a voice that is smart and cheeky. New Orleans Food Story, with its eye-popping cover art from St. Louis artist Dan Zettwoch, deserves a spot at the top of your holiday list. Her book is for sale at local shops including Fleurty Girl and Octavia Books, as well as online on Amazon.
Meet Chelsea and hear more about her book: On Oct. 23rd she'll be at Melba's on Elysian Fields at 12pm (free books!), and then on Nov. 1st, at Barnes and Nobles Mandeville, for an author signing, 2pm to 4pm.
Openings and closings
Excited that we have another Chinese option in Shang Kitchen on Magazine. Super stylish space and such warm service under the team led by owner Meizi Hu. Dim sum and soup dumplings made while you watch, a fiery boiled beef and chili dish and dan dan noodles are a few highlights.
Casa Verde is a family owned fresh-Mex on Tulane not far from the VA hospital. Ermis Alvarada Jr. is helping his folks run the place, which is a plant-filled oasis on a changing stretch of this Mid-City avenue. Welcoming service, pretty margaritas garnished with flowers and platters of street tacos, enchiladas and a killer al pastor burrito are a few highlights. There’s a lovely patio, complete with a fountain, a space sure to be popular once the heat breaks.
Tatlo is coming back next month! Chef Cristina Quackenbush made a deal with her old landlord and her wonderfully, witchy restaurant and bar will reopen, complete with second floor dining space and a menu of Filipino inspired spellbinding dishes. Designed for the bewitched and hex curious.
Sorry to hear that chef Scott Boswell closed Stanley, a terrific brunch place in the Quarter off Jackson Square. He opened it right after Katrina, but rising costs and construction shut him down.
More delicious bits
Chef Adolfo Garcia and Nicole Caridad Ralston are cochairing Chefs for Justice, a multi-chef initiative celebrating the contributions of immigrants in the local food scene while raising money for the ACLU of Louisiana. Garcia is a respected chef and mentor, the creative force behind still missed restaurants Rio Mar and a Mano along with thriving Freret Street spots High Hat Café and steakhouse La Boca. Ralston is a board member for the local ACLU and creator of the food-focused Instagram account, @EatenPathNola
Participating chefs are doing everything from throwing a fundraising dinner to sharing profits from specific menu items with the initiative. Mister Mao has a lychee Mekong mule cocktail special all month, Haitian restaurant Fritai is pledging proceeds from its signature shrimp pikliz dish in September, and Gautreau’s is doing the same with its shrimp and paneer gnudi. “I’m a daughter of refugees,” said Ralston. “That part of my identity is in important to me. The ACLU fights for the constitutional rights for anyone in this country. I believe that should be a thing.”
Chef Phil Whitemarsh, last of Jewel of the South, has teamed up with wine guy Jake Laugle, founder of the not-for-profit Delicious & Harmless wine and supper pop up parties. Laugle and Whitemarsh will be in residence at Fourth Wall every Sunday starting September 27 at 4 pm for a supper they’re calling D&H Night School. Laugle brings a deep commitment to natural wines and their producers to the table, paired with Whitemarsh’s British-adjacent menu of dishes like cold beetroot soup with clotted cream, sausage roll and potato gratin pie. This is separate from the monthly fundraising parties Laugle has organized at places like Acamaya, Cane & Table, Hungry Eyes and Dolfy's. To date, Delicious & Harmless has raised more than $20,000 for a range of hospitality related non-profits.
Pulcinella! and Original Night Cap on St. Bernard Avenue has a new executive chef, Shea Vidrine, a Crowley native and graduate of the John Folse Culinary Institute. Vidrine joined the team as sous chef under the leadership of opening chef Matty Hayes, who left to pursue his new business, a Sicilian Rosticceria that he’ll launch as a pop up in the fall. Between his Cajun roots and experience at kitchens including Maypop, Vidrine informs the Pulcinella! menu with both the classics and creative takes on the restaurant’s hallmark Sicilian Italian cuisine.
Coolinary might be over, but the deals continue. La Petite Grocery is offering a Greatest Hits Lunch, a celebration of the restaurant’s faves for $35. Available Tuesday–Friday this month, the three-course menu might include blue crab beignets, citrus-glazed pork belly with kimchi, the LPG cheeseburger, butterscotch pudding and more.
Meril restaurant is now really a perfect 10. Chef Emeril Lagasse is celebrating a decade on Girod Street with an anniversary dinner on September 30. The $195 ticket from OpenTable gets you into a reception and a family-style dinner with Chef Lagasse himself. Chef de cuisine Keisha Septon will be bringing the goodness of her menu to the party. If you’re heading to Vegas and love Meril’s globally inspired eats, there’s one there too, in the M Resort Spa Casino.
Jason Darensbourg, a master of Cajun and Creole cooking, with family roots in New Roads and a resume that includes the top chef job at Ralph’s on the Park, is the new chef at Beanlandia. The quirky Royal Street bean museum, community hub and den for the Krewe of Red Beans in Bywater has a great café space. Darensbourg promises outstanding red beans for Mondays supper for starters. Can’t wait to see what’s on his menu.
Distilled in Kentucky and Indiana, Big Easy Whiskey is made from a traditional bourbon mash that barrel ages for five years. Master blender Kieran Walsh kicks it up a notch, finishing the spirit with a cocktail of herbs and botanicals here in New Orleans. Brand events this month include Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Barrel Proof hosts Bingo Night with Big Easy Whiskey cocktail specials. September 20, it’s more bingo at Anna’s, the fab Marigny dive bar with brown drink specials. Every Monday from 1-3 pm at Fives, have oysters and day drink with Big Easy Whiskey and Cheramie Rum cocktails. Look for the spirit at Paradigm Gardens’ Chef Showcase on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m., along with chefs from Lufu, Procida, Patois, Kenji’s, and for dessert, Hansen’s Snoballs.
Beth d'Addono is a local journalist, and author of City Eats New Orleans
“In finding ways to tell the New Orleans story through these profiles, I found myself thinking of ways to tell a bigger story,” said Brasted, who paused the release of her book for the birth of her second daughter. “I got a little sneaky, using micro moments to dig deeper.” In her essay on the storming of the Sazerac, the historic 1949 moment in the history of the Roosevelt New Orleans Hotel where women stormed the bar despite a ban on their sex, she made a point. “It was just white women who came in, no women of color were welcome, because it was during segregation,” she said. In her section about bars, she includes the moveable thirst quenchers that follow Second Lines, an integral part of Black New Orleans culture. “I tried to find ways to be as honest as possible in a book that is intended to live on the shelf as a reference. The context matters.”
Brasted spins her yarns with affection, telling New Orleans stories that mine restaurants, from Commander’s Palace to Stein’s Deli, bakeries like Ayu Bakehouse and Bywater Bakery and products, from Hubig’s Pies to Che Wees, using a voice that is smart and cheeky. New Orleans Food Story, with its eye-popping cover art from St. Louis artist Dan Zettwoch, deserves a spot at the top of your holiday list. Her book is for sale at local shops including Fleurty Girl and Octavia Books, as well as online on Amazon.
Meet Chelsea and hear more about her book: On Oct. 23rd she'll be at Melba's on Elysian Fields at 12pm (free books!), and then on Nov. 1st, at Barnes and Nobles Mandeville, for an author signing, 2pm to 4pm.
Openings and closings
Excited that we have another Chinese option in Shang Kitchen on Magazine. Super stylish space and such warm service under the team led by owner Meizi Hu. Dim sum and soup dumplings made while you watch, a fiery boiled beef and chili dish and dan dan noodles are a few highlights.
Casa Verde is a family owned fresh-Mex on Tulane not far from the VA hospital. Ermis Alvarada Jr. is helping his folks run the place, which is a plant-filled oasis on a changing stretch of this Mid-City avenue. Welcoming service, pretty margaritas garnished with flowers and platters of street tacos, enchiladas and a killer al pastor burrito are a few highlights. There’s a lovely patio, complete with a fountain, a space sure to be popular once the heat breaks.
Tatlo is coming back next month! Chef Cristina Quackenbush made a deal with her old landlord and her wonderfully, witchy restaurant and bar will reopen, complete with second floor dining space and a menu of Filipino inspired spellbinding dishes. Designed for the bewitched and hex curious.
Sorry to hear that chef Scott Boswell closed Stanley, a terrific brunch place in the Quarter off Jackson Square. He opened it right after Katrina, but rising costs and construction shut him down.
More delicious bits
Chef Adolfo Garcia and Nicole Caridad Ralston are cochairing Chefs for Justice, a multi-chef initiative celebrating the contributions of immigrants in the local food scene while raising money for the ACLU of Louisiana. Garcia is a respected chef and mentor, the creative force behind still missed restaurants Rio Mar and a Mano along with thriving Freret Street spots High Hat Café and steakhouse La Boca. Ralston is a board member for the local ACLU and creator of the food-focused Instagram account, @EatenPathNola
Participating chefs are doing everything from throwing a fundraising dinner to sharing profits from specific menu items with the initiative. Mister Mao has a lychee Mekong mule cocktail special all month, Haitian restaurant Fritai is pledging proceeds from its signature shrimp pikliz dish in September, and Gautreau’s is doing the same with its shrimp and paneer gnudi. “I’m a daughter of refugees,” said Ralston. “That part of my identity is in important to me. The ACLU fights for the constitutional rights for anyone in this country. I believe that should be a thing.”
Chef Phil Whitemarsh, last of Jewel of the South, has teamed up with wine guy Jake Laugle, founder of the not-for-profit Delicious & Harmless wine and supper pop up parties. Laugle and Whitemarsh will be in residence at Fourth Wall every Sunday starting September 27 at 4 pm for a supper they’re calling D&H Night School. Laugle brings a deep commitment to natural wines and their producers to the table, paired with Whitemarsh’s British-adjacent menu of dishes like cold beetroot soup with clotted cream, sausage roll and potato gratin pie. This is separate from the monthly fundraising parties Laugle has organized at places like Acamaya, Cane & Table, Hungry Eyes and Dolfy's. To date, Delicious & Harmless has raised more than $20,000 for a range of hospitality related non-profits.
Pulcinella! and Original Night Cap on St. Bernard Avenue has a new executive chef, Shea Vidrine, a Crowley native and graduate of the John Folse Culinary Institute. Vidrine joined the team as sous chef under the leadership of opening chef Matty Hayes, who left to pursue his new business, a Sicilian Rosticceria that he’ll launch as a pop up in the fall. Between his Cajun roots and experience at kitchens including Maypop, Vidrine informs the Pulcinella! menu with both the classics and creative takes on the restaurant’s hallmark Sicilian Italian cuisine.
Coolinary might be over, but the deals continue. La Petite Grocery is offering a Greatest Hits Lunch, a celebration of the restaurant’s faves for $35. Available Tuesday–Friday this month, the three-course menu might include blue crab beignets, citrus-glazed pork belly with kimchi, the LPG cheeseburger, butterscotch pudding and more.
Meril restaurant is now really a perfect 10. Chef Emeril Lagasse is celebrating a decade on Girod Street with an anniversary dinner on September 30. The $195 ticket from OpenTable gets you into a reception and a family-style dinner with Chef Lagasse himself. Chef de cuisine Keisha Septon will be bringing the goodness of her menu to the party. If you’re heading to Vegas and love Meril’s globally inspired eats, there’s one there too, in the M Resort Spa Casino.
Jason Darensbourg, a master of Cajun and Creole cooking, with family roots in New Roads and a resume that includes the top chef job at Ralph’s on the Park, is the new chef at Beanlandia. The quirky Royal Street bean museum, community hub and den for the Krewe of Red Beans in Bywater has a great café space. Darensbourg promises outstanding red beans for Mondays supper for starters. Can’t wait to see what’s on his menu.
Distilled in Kentucky and Indiana, Big Easy Whiskey is made from a traditional bourbon mash that barrel ages for five years. Master blender Kieran Walsh kicks it up a notch, finishing the spirit with a cocktail of herbs and botanicals here in New Orleans. Brand events this month include Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Barrel Proof hosts Bingo Night with Big Easy Whiskey cocktail specials. September 20, it’s more bingo at Anna’s, the fab Marigny dive bar with brown drink specials. Every Monday from 1-3 pm at Fives, have oysters and day drink with Big Easy Whiskey and Cheramie Rum cocktails. Look for the spirit at Paradigm Gardens’ Chef Showcase on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m., along with chefs from Lufu, Procida, Patois, Kenji’s, and for dessert, Hansen’s Snoballs.
Beth d'Addono is a local journalist, and author of City Eats New Orleans
