Food News
by Sara Roahen
On the Level
New restaurant owner Andrew Martinez was fortunate to find a space
precisely at sea level in which to unveil his "modern Creole" cuisine, and so
he named it after the prime terrain. Sea Level Restaurant (133 N. Carrollton
Ave., 482-5565) should open later this month in the 45-seater space once known
as Bennachin (now at 1212 Royal St., 522-1230), permits and other formalities
pending. Martinez worked with Kevin Vizard at both of his now-shuttered
restaurants, Vizard's and Vizard's in the Garden District, and
also at Indigo (2285 Bayou Road, 947-0123).
Dynamic Duo
Dream team Rene Bajeux of Rene Bistrot (817 Common St., 412-2580)
and Bingo Starr, formerly the chef at Cuvee (322 Magazine St.,
587-9001), are set to open their joint project, La Cote (700 Tchoupitoulas
St.), on Aug. 8. When describing the new digs, Bajeux was especially enthusiastic
about the central open kitchen, the "snake-like" 35-seat oyster bar, the Chef's
Table, and Joy Jessup, the pastry chef whose sweets he admired when they
worked together at The Grill Room (300 Gravier St., 522-1992). (The Grill
Room recently acquired pastry chef Keegan Gerhard, a veteran of Chicago's
Four Seasons Hotel, among other big-name venues.) La Cote's menu, according
to the French-born Bajeux, will incorporate both French and New Orleanian sensibilities,
maximizing on Starr's "good connections" in the seafood business. I inadvertently
learned during Tropical Storm Bill that Rene Bistrot is the place to be when
Mondays and hurricanes cause other restaurants to lock their doors. Eager to
try Rene's table d'hote (a three-course meal offered Monday through Friday for
$15 at lunch and $25 at dinner) in what I suspected would be an empty restaurant,
I was turned back into the rain when not a seat was free in either dining room
or bar. When given longer lead time on the seasonal storms, Bajeux says he ditches
his regular menu and creates an affordable buffet from all of the kitchen's
perishables, a tradition he started while chef at The Grill Room. Stick that
in your cap.
Storm Stories, Pt. 2
The closest living restaurant that evening, Herbsaint (701 St. Charles Ave., 524-4114), came through with a Sazerac and a few dishes worth braving the floods. Rabbit croquettes, crisp outside and dreamy inside, flanked bitter greens dressed in a perfect grainy mustard vinaigrette. And a revelatory entree on the current menu features pork belly, its fat rendered to a crackling finish, paired with Thai red curry and the cooling accompaniments of cucumber and mint.
