Treme St. 5/8/08, 9:40am
4520 Freret St. (Uptown) 504.371.5114. Monday through Saturday: 11:00am to 5:00pm. Las Penitas is close to thrift store great Bloomin' Deals (4645 Freret St). After a couple hours sifting through cast-off fashions, Las Penitas' tacos, fajitas and plates (charbroiled pork, chicken in orange cilantro marinade, ropa vieja) provide sweet respite. The care taken with the plantains and daily fish specials puts this restaurant a step above the typical New Orleans taco shop. Ultra clean eating areas and high wooden ceilings complete the unwinding effect. Be sure to ask about the stuff (daily specials) that they don't have on the menu.
A couple Uptown spots provide a break from fried, greasy and sauced. Stein's Market & Deli (2207 Magazine St.) has a large selection of specialty meats that star in sandwiches dressed with gourmet touches ("triple cream cheese"). Stein's attracts an upscale/mass affluent audience -- get your Asian Pear Ginger Tea fix here. But the staff is unsnooty and accommodating. A meager air conditioning system and chipping plaster reminds customers they're still in New Orleans. Further Uptown, the minimalist decor, big windows and excellent coffee at Il Posto Italian Cafe (4607 Dryades St.) encourages lounging, contemplating, scheduling the next yoga appointment. The calm is broken by a big lunch crowd that clamors for Il Posto's paninis and fresh salads. We go on weekend afternoons for cheesecake and booze. Both places have great bagels. Both places charge a premium for their premium ingredients. Il Posto serves beer and wine.
Il Posto: Tuesday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Credit Cards.
Stein's: Tuesday to Friday: 7am to 7pm; Saturday and Sunday: 9am to 5pm. Credit Cards.
139 Carondelet St. (Central Business District) 504.525.5428. Breakfast and Lunch: Monday through Friday, 7am to 2pm; Drinks: Monday through Friday, 7am to 'till. Hobnobber's long front-bar features stale smoke, dim lighting, a propane tank inside an antique phone booth. Past all that, in a brightly lit, windowless back room is Hobnobber's food operation -- a setup so divorced from the rest of the bar that finding it for the first time is like finding a secret chamber inside a pyramid. "I don't even know what building we're in," observed a friend as we sat down to a delicious lunch of smothered cabbage, fried pork, catfish, fries and extra wet potato salad. Hotel and office workers mixed
at the counter, carrying large bags of takeout. Delivery. Pool table. Video poker.
739 Iberville St. (French Quarter) Monday through Saturday: 10am to 10pm; Sunday 10am to 9pm. Step up to the bar where the cocktails and iced-down beer come fast, and the oysters won't be far behind. At Felix's, a dozen oysters on the half shell cost less than half what you'd pay at an oyster bar in many cities, and the shucking is unfailing shell free. Now, for the bad news. As much as we like oysters at the bar, we cannot recommend sitting down and eating, which is likely to disappoint. But don't let that keep you away. For raw oysters, Felix's and the paddock at the Fairgrounds, on opening day, Thanksgiving, are two of our favorites.
1612 Basin St. (Treme) 504.529.3750. Credit Cards. Monday through Friday: 11am to 7pm. Tiger, the man behind the food, is helpful, friendly, mellow and contemporary, just like his restaurant. No falling down plaster, no mismatched plates and -- as a friend of ours remarked -- no tables squeezed together like a jigsaw puzzle. A totally renovated dining room looking out to Basin Street makes this an airy, cheerful place to catch lunch or early dinner. The menu consists of typical New Orleans favorites (poboys, seafood plates, stuffed vegetables), but Tiger's versions are presented with contemporary minimalism and taste fresher, vibrant. You'd expect to pay more for this kind of food, but the prices ($4.00 poboys, $9.00 specials) are incredibly reasonable. We just wish Tiger's was open later for dinner. No booze. Muzak versions of Hip Hop hits.
833 Conti St. (French Quarter) 504.525.9200. Credit Cards. Sunday through Thursday: 8am to 10pm. Friday and Saturday: 8am to 'till. The bar that previously inhabited this space was a kind of break room for French Quarter vice professionals. Hustlers, strippers, gamblers, dealers, graveyard bartenders made this a busy bar at 7am. Never did we envision the pulp novel setting as a launching pad for New Orleans' newest and only German cafe. But that's exactly what happened. And the food (first-class potato pancakes, meat that's sauced and beaten to a pulp, German Chocolate Cake, liver pate, Reubens, etc.) is cooked competently and served a little less competently. More of a cafe (they serve all kinds of espresso drinks and promise to add a breakfast menu) than a bar, Jager Haus is a pleasant and relaxing distraction from the rest of the Quarter. German beer on tap. Video Poker.
Lafayette Square. Wednesdays: 5 to 7:30pm. The Young Leadership Council sponsors a weekly after-work concert series that runs from April to June. The audience consists mostly of young urban professionals, tourists, cruise boat enthusiasts -- but don't let that stop you. This is an opportunity to catch a sampling of quality Louisiana music, for free. Shows we recommend:
-->Jake Smith & Irma Thomas on June 4th.
While the music is free, the food is not.
1748 Prytania St. (Uptown) 504.523.6556. Credit Cards. The St. Charles Guest House (on Prytania) is old and unpretentious, attracting backpackers, Europeans, students and budget travelers. Rates start around $46.00 for a room with a shared bath and top out around $100.00 for a private bath with queen and single beds. None of the rooms have TVs or telephones. While the post-storm tourist climate takes some of the bargain out of their bargain rooms (try searching for deals from desperate luxury hotels) a stay here is about twenty times more charming than corporate, flat-screened luxury. Amenities include a small pool in a cozy courtyard that can get quite lively at night and a free minimal breakfast. Close to the St. Charles Streetcar and downtown.
806 Conti St. (French Quarter) 504.592.1288. Credit Cards. Tuesday & Wednesday: 10am to 2am; Thursday: 10am to 3am; Friday & Saturday: 10am to 4am; Sunday 10am to Midnight. This is delicious, cheap takeout served by friendly people from a convenient location (across from Erin Rose). The french fries that came with our friend's smoked sausage poboy were so good -- salty, crunchy, with the skin left on -- that we convinced them to make us an off-the-menu "french fry poboy" (a carbohydrate clusterfuck of fries inside french bread dressed with lettuce, mayo, tomato and a side of gravy). Delivery to the French Quarter and the CBD.
600 Frenchmen St. (Marigny) 504.947.3700. Credit Cards. 7 Days: Noon to 10pm or so. If you want an argument for independent bookstores, go here. Everyday the owner and sole employee, Otis, presides over a small neighborhood book party featuring a revolving cast of chatty New Orleans eccentrics: artists, writers, readers, bicycle repairmen, real estate moguls, publishers. It's fascinating and is the kind of atmosphere you'll never get at a chain. Never. And Otis knows his books, and his art and his neighborhood -- the store is an amazing resource center and any trip to New Orleans is a complete failure without a visit. The specialty is gay books with a sweeping vintage porn section in the back, but FAB also has a wide range of fiction, nonfiction, rare books, art and many books about New Orleans.
