Welcome to the Best of New Orleans! A La Carte 03 20 01

A LA CARTE

03 20 01

By Sara Roahen

During the habitual wait in the happening bar at Jacques-Imo's (8324 Oak St., 861-0886) last week, I overheard the hostess accepting a weekend reservation for a large table. She asked the caller's permission to seat the party next door in the restaurant's recently acquired adjacent overflow dining room. While the Uptown neighborhood mourned the closing of Christiana's seafood shop, Jacques-Imo's proprietor and Chef Jack Leonardi expanded his seating possibilities. Which, despite the seafooder's demise, is good news for Leonardi's disciples. The new room seats about 30, but only on the busiest evenings. Next time you break from Austin Leslie's famous fried chicken, by the way, try Leonardi's Cajun Bouillabaisse. I had no chance of finishing the mound of shrimp, mussels, oysters and catfish after an alligator sausage cheesecake appetizer, three garlic buttery corn muffins and the spinach salad with fried oyster, but I slurped at the broth until the check came. The murky sauce, robust with saffron, pungent lemongrass, tomato and Cajun spiciness, was a delicious wandering from more subtle, classical preparations.

A friend from Faubourg Marigny recently informed me that Schiro's (2483 Royal St., 944-6666) is open on Sundays again. Managing owner Zak Rahman quickly pointed out that in the big scheme of things (like Schiro's 102 years in business), a few Sunday-less months are insignificant. In any case, Marigny inhabitants resume their Sunday laundry and New York Times routines over Schiro's chicken kebabs and Chef Ali Dia's other fare, which Rahman calls "the best darn Middle Eastern food in town." Schiro's lived out most of the 20th century as a butcher shop and general store until Rahman and a group of investors took over in 1985, adding the laundry and restaurant facets but preserving the name. Renovations over the past year or so -- and a beefed up wait staff -- have made for a cozy dining atmosphere while others shop in the grocery of play video poker, and outside dining is available.Bob and Myrna LaRue are a regular fixture at Saturday's Crescent City Farmer's Market (700 Magazine St., 8 a.m. to noon). They usually have those inexplicably difficult-to-find French shallots. (Can anybody explain their inconsistent appearances in most grocery stores? It's especially perplexing because they are so plentiful and dirt-cheap in the Vietnamese markets.) For the past few weeks, the LaRues also have had $4 freezer bags of lima beans, butter peas, black-eyed peas and crowder peas, which they shelled, blanched and froze last fall. Ask Myrna for some basic cooking tips. If you're stumped about those dry beans hanging around your pantry or, more likely, the quinoa you bought on a whim a few months ago, ask for the "bulk basics" guide the next time you're in Whole Foods Market (3135 Esplanade Ave., 943-1626). It happened to me with spelt berries (and what a whim that was) until I spotted the free guide.Starbuck's is "elevating the morning ritual to an art" during three free tasting seminars at various locations. The seminars run from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on March 27 (2801 Magazine St., 897-4944), March 28 (Bank One Mandeville, 3601 Hwy. 190, 626-5234) and March 29 (5720 Corporate Blvd., Baton Rouge, 225-926-7204). RSVP with your local barista.

Got a tip for "A La Carte"? Email me at sara_roahen@yahoo.com.