The arrival of summer in New Orleans can seem mostly like counting the weeks until we’re through it. But it’s also a time when restaurants change up their game, roll out special menus and host seasonal events to stir up the doldrums.
Restaurant Week runs June 19-25, with special menus at more than 70 restaurants (ranging from dining deals to mini chef tasting menus, see details here). And there’s a lot more happening. Below I’m compiling other examples of note.
Wine tastings go pro at Commander’s Palace
Commanders Palace sommelier Dan Davis pours a Scammacca del Murgo Etna Bianco before the virtual wine and cheese party, Wednesday, July 22, 2020.
A summer program at Commander’s Palace, 1403 Washington Ave., (504) 899-8221, gives wine lovers a chance to sample a range of wines like a pro.
The events, called CP Sips, turn a portion of the Garden District restaurant into a self-guided tour of offerings from different distributors, and people can order more of the ones they liked best to have at home later. Each includes 40 or so wines, and also cheeses and small tastes from the kitchen.
Dan Davis, the resident “wine guy” at Commander’s Palace, works with seven distributors and local retailer Swirl Wine Bar and Market to make sure wines served at the tasting are available for people to find again.
The June 28 edition has crisp summer choices, the July 26 event is focused on California wines and Aug. 30 brings wines from across the Mediterranean. All are from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Tickets at $79, and are available through the reservations page at commanderspalace.com.
Touring France at Couvant
Couvant restaurant in New Orleans serves French cuisine in a brasserie setting. (Photo by Chris Granger, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
The downtown restaurant Couvant, 315 Magazine St., (504) 342-2316, has a Tour de France Dinner Series running through five months, with changing menus featuring a different region of that country, including Provence, Burgundy, Lyon, Normandy and Alsace.
Each month has a different menu special from the featured region served daily, and a four-course dinner from chef Ryan Pearson with beverage pairings based on that region held on the last Thursday of the month.
For instance, Provence is the region for June with bouillabaisse as the special and the tasting menu served June 29.
These dinners are each $100 (plus tax and tip), with reservations available online.
Tiki takeover at the Bower
The Bower Bar is connected to the Bower restaurant, which opens to a large, covered patio. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)
The bar at the Bower, 1320 Magazine St., (504) 582-9738, is in “Tiki Takeover” mode for June and July, with tiki decor across the indoor bar attached to the patio and tiki drinks and Polynesian-inspired dishes.
The drink menu has rum cocktails, large-format shareable drinks (like the zombie bowl) and also a nonalcoholic option.
Look for dishes like spam musubi, pineapple braised short ribs, chicken skewers and salmon poke tostadas.
Cocktail collab with a view at Four Seasons
The open-air patio at Chemin à la Mer, the Donald Link restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel, has an unfettered view of the Mississippi River. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Earlier in their careers, Chris Hannah and Hadi Ktiri donned black tie each night behind the bar at the French 75, the elegant cocktail den within historic Arnaud’s Restaurant, where their work netted a James Beard award in 2017.
Today, Hannah is co-owner of the modern tavern and cocktail destination Jewel of the South and Ktiri leads the beverage program for the Four Seasons Hotel in New Orleans.
Chris Hannah behind the bar at Jewel of the South.
For one night, they’ll pair up again at the Four Season to launch a series of cocktail events conceived to toast camaraderie and craftsmanship in their industry.
Chemin a la Mer, 2 Canal St., (504) 434-5898, the Donald Link restaurant with that sweeping river view, is hosting a summer bar series called Friends of Purple Grackle (named after Chemin a la Mer’s bar).
The two will lead the bar together for the June 20 event, with cocktails from Jewel of the South and Chemin a la Mer.
“It’s a story of friends, bar-mates and drinking buddies,” said Ktiri. “The power of hospitality is our ability to bring people together for a drink, a laugh and conversation through a shared moment.”
The Friends of Purple Grackle series continues at Chemin a la Mer with Freret Street cocktail lounge Cure on July 9 and the French Quarter tiki oasis Latitude 29 on Aug. 21.
Reservations are required, with seatings at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $65 and include two cocktails and an appetizer. Get reservations at cheminalamer.com/events.
Afro Freedom/Afro Feast, June 18, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
It’s really true. When we’re at New Orleans restaurants, we’re forever talking about the last one we visited or the next on our lists. That’s …
.
