The Lakefront Revival
Lakeview and Gentilly draw diners and chefs from throughout New Orleans—and beyond
New Orleans is a world-famous food town—in the dozen years since Hurricane Katrina reconfigured the city’s landscape, that is truer than ever. Before the storm, there were roughly eight hundred restaurants, according to Kristian Sonnier, Vice President at the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Since Katrina, we’ve added another approximately six hundred, for a total of close to fourteen hundred restaurants,” he said.
Most of that feeding frenzy occurs in tourist-frequented neighborhoods like the French Quarter, the Garden District, and the booming Warehouse District. But in a city defined by pride of neighborhood, there is also an uptick in dining options geared more to locals and neighbors than out-of-towners. Nowhere is this more true than the warren of neighborhoods that radiate from the south shore of Lake Ponchartrain, up and down Robert E. Lee Boulevard and Harrison Avenue, from Bucktown and West End towards UNO, Gentilly and the Lakefront Airport.
“New Orleans is a city with a lot of components,” said Barreda Cavignac. “Each neighborhood has its own personality and treasures. I like to expose visitors to as much of that as possible.”
Generations of New Orleanians grew up along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain from West End Park to South Shore Harbor, an area prime for dining (both family and fine) along with boating and entertainment. Neglected over time, plagued by environmental and economic woes, and decimated by the Seventeenth Street Canal floodwall breach, the neighborhood declined, with many restaurants closing their doors.
But as the locals in this well-heeled part of town rebuilt, restaurateurs wanted a seat at the neighborhood table. Following the handsome 2013 redo of the Art Deco Lakefront Airport, commercial development is flourishing, with new restaurants opening on the Lakefront, near the Orleans Marina, and even inside the airport. Tipitina’s owners Roland and Mary von Kurnatowski are leading the charge, spearheading a $12 million entertainment complex on nineteen acres at South Shore Harbor Marina that will include restaurants, an amphitheater for live music, and boat services.
New eateries, often chef-driven and -owned, are popping up like sailboats catching the breeze on Lake Pontchartrain—so much so that tour guide Julie Barreda Cavignac added Taste of the Lake to the city tour offered by her company Destination Kitchen Tours. Barreda Cavignac, a natural storyteller who also offers food tours in Italy and France, lives in Lakeview with her husband and adores the neighborhood.
“New Orleans is a city with a lot of components,” said Barreda Cavignac. “Each neighborhood has its own personality and treasures. I like to expose visitors to as much of that as possible.” She’s partnered with Danny Millan, owner of the upscale-casual Cava, to give her guests an authentic local experience in the ‘hood. Millan also lives in Lakeview, as does Susan Spicer, chef-owner of Mondo (more on both restaurants below). “It’s a wonderful neighborhood,” he said. “And there’s lots of opportunity to grow here.” Restaurants like Ming’s, The Backyard, District Donuts. Sliders. Brew., Lakeview Burgers and Seafood, and Station Six are all relative newcomers to the lakefront scene, with more in the pipeline.
Millan plans a second restaurant, a casual sports bar called Azul, on the corner of Harrison and Pontchartrain for the fall. Another project on the horizon is local restaurateur Billy Wright’s Olde New Orleans Boil House and Coffee. Slated for a late summer opening, Olde New Orleans will offer traditional boils, wine, and beer on Lakeshore Drive inside Shelter No. 1, a vintage pavilion built by the WPA in 1936. The space, restored after Katrina, used to house a concession stand called Krupp’s, where Wright worked as a kid.
Barreda Cavignac is drawn to the history of the area, including the halcyon days of Pontchartrain Park and notable establishments like the Bali Ha’i Polynesian restaurant, which served tiki drinks before they were retro. Bruning’s was another legendary spot, a seafooder that never rebuilt after Katrina. “People have so many memories about this area, it’s exciting to see it becoming a real dining destination.”
Seven to try...
Blue Crab Restaurant & Oyster Bar
One of a handful of seafood restaurants that opened in 2013 right on the lake, Blue Crab, along with its neighbor Brisbi’s, offers solid, fresh, and no-frills seafood. Unlike Landry’s, a chain that never delivers the wow that the view deserves, Blue Crab exceeds expectations. Everything fried warrants finger-licking—and don’t miss the sautéed crab claws. Usually live music on the weekends.
7900 Lakeshore Drive
(504) 284-2898
Cava
Owner Danny Millan, whose CV includes Brennan’s and Restaurant August, has garnered a loyal following at Cava, his Lakeview white-tablecloth spot on Harrison, and rightly so. Millan, a native of Mexico City who has lived in New Orleans since 1986, delivers a menu rich in local flavors— and just plain rich. Favorites include the flash-fried oysters with creamed spinach, nibs of bacon, and brie; and the crab claws from Higgins Seafood in Lafitte sautéed in a lemon butter sauce.
789 Harrison Avenue
(504) 304-9034
[Read our piece A Toast to Cava.]
Fiorella’s
The Fiorellas sold their namesake Decatur Street restaurant in 1999, but the family-owned classic reopened in 2016 in Gentilly Terrace; and for fried chicken fans, not a moment too soon. The casual eatery features the well-guarded family fried chicken recipe, along with Stromboli, shells with red gravy, and Italian sausage. Ideal for a multi-gen family dinner—everybody will leave happy.
5325 Franklin Avenue
(504) 309-0352
Füd Bar
Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday, this newish place in Gentilly Terrace dishes grab-and-go along with casual counter service dining. Local owners Erik Neumann and Robert Faust designed a family-friendly place for homey fresh food, with the emphasis on Creole specialties. Then there’s the $12 meatloaf Mondays, guaranteed to keep you out of the kitchen. Try the pan-seared Gulf fish amandine with three sides, a home run for $18.
1522 Robert E. Lee Boulevard
(504) 309-3284
Mondo
Susan Spicer opened this seasonally driven farm-to-fork treasure in 2011, offering globally inspired New Orleans fare crafted by talented chef de cuisine Candis Koerner. Gulf fish ceviche with guac, Gulf shrimp mei fun noodles, and wood-fired pizzas topped with the likes of D’Anjou pear, prosciutto, goat cheese, and arugula are a few of the reasons to come by. Look for a Mondo to grace the new airport terminal in 2018.
900 Harrison Avenue
(504) 224-2633
R&O’s
Bucktown has long been home to some of the best seafood markets in town, ramshackle family-owned spots like Captain Sid’s and Deannie’s, always fresh and easy on the wallet. The same catch is on the plate at Deannie’s Restaurant, adjacent to the market, and R&O’s, where the likes of soft shell crab Parmesan, fried seafood and grilled tuna fettuccine have been drawing crowds since 1981.
216 Metairie-Hammond Hwy
(504) 831-1248
Station 6
Fish is literally the big picture at this Bucktown charmer, opened in 2016 by husband and wife chef team Alison Vega and Drew Knoll. Family photos of fishing escapades adorn the restaurant’s walls, with a collage of fish stories lining the menu. Try creative dishes like sizzling garlic shrimp, char-grilled oyster pasta, and pearls of yellowfin tuna served with a side of jicama slaw and a dusting of spicy Cajun caviar. The lake is just over the levee and a massive pumping station looms next door, which Vega and Knoll thought was Station No. 6. It turns out they misread the map, but it still has a nice ring to it.
105 Metairie-Hammond Hwy
(504) 345-2936
Visit destination-kitchen.com for more on the “Taste of the Lake” city tour and other tours and trips in the region.