Bisutoro on Magazine aims to “bring the Japanese menu back to simplicity”

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Bisutoro on Magazine, a new sushi bistro, opened in March in the Lower Garden District. Bisutoro on Magazine’s focus is Japanese dishes that you won’t find anywhere else and a rotating specialty fish list that includes selections from around the world. Chefs and owners Ryan Smith and Dariel Medina serve an array of nigiri, sashimi, hand rolls and other small plates. Smith, who grew up in Salt Lake City, received his culinary training in Japan and made sushi at Utah ski resorts before relocating to New Orleans 11 years ago. He said he wants to bring traditional Japanese sushi, in all its simplicity, to the city he loves.

Broadmoor

Hey! Cafe plans to expand into rehabbed Broadmoor building

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Hey! Café got its start as a tiny coffee shop on Magazine Street before moving to the Lafitte Greenway. Now it is adding a second location in the Broadmoor neighborhood. 

Co-owner Tommy LeBlanc, who has a cartoon and animation background, transitioned into the coffee business after he was laid off in 2009, when the company he worked for changed hands. 

He and co-owner Greg Rodrigue opened the Hey! Café in the Magazine Street spot that was once home to Magazine Perks. “We loved being there,” LeBlanc said.

food and drink

Fans of Casa Borrega mourn its closing

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Patrons who have been enjoying eclectic Mexican fare, a variety of live music and the occasional street parties at Casa Borrega since 2012 will sadly miss it. “Oh no, I can’t believe it. I was just there last week,” said one regular, expressing the dismay of many when they learned the Central City restaurant served its last Chile Relleno and Margarita Borrega on Friday (May 6). It was located in the section of Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard that has seen spurts of development since Hugo Montero and Linda Stone first came up with the concept more than a decade ago. Other restaurants followed – with varied success — and a couple of years later the Southern Food and Beverage Museum opened down the street.

Advertiser specials

Rouses Markets named official supermarket of the Saints (sponsored)

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Rouses Markets is teaming up again with the New Orleans Saints. The Gulf Coast’s grocery has been designated the club’s official supermarket, as well as presenting sponsor of Saints Training Camp. Rouses Markets customers will have the opportunity to receive early access into Training Camp practices through a Fast Pass Lane. “Saints fans are some of the most passionate and proud sports fans in the country, and I’m one of them,” notes Donny Rouse, CEO. “There is a loyal Saints fan base in every market we serve across the Gulf Coast.

food and drink

Zee’s Pizzeria getting ready to fire up its ovens in the Milan neighborhood

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Zee’s Pizzeria, the pizza popup slinging pies at Zony Mash Beer Project, is making a move to a place of its own in the Milan area. Owner Zander White is currently working on a brick-and-mortar restaurant on Baronne Street about a block from Martin’s Wine Cellar. He plans to open in mid-June. Pizza making had been a tradition for White and his father. When the family moved to New Orleans from Maine in 1994, they began buying dough from bakeries and making the Northeast-style pizza they missed from back home. 

“In the ’90s and early 2000s, there wasn’t a lot of good pizza options in New Orleans,” said White, who worked in New Orleans pizza parlors as a teenager.

food and drink

‘Out of time and options,’ Live Oak Cafe is latest casualty of pandemic losses

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The Live Oak Cafe — the epitome of Oak Street’s laid-back, creative vibe — is closing its doors Sunday (May 8) after its Mother’s Day brunch. Announcing the closure on the cafe’s Facebook page, chef and owner Clare Leavy said that the uptick in business during Carnival season was not enough to overcome the losses experienced during the pandemic. “Simply put, we are out of time and options,” Leavy stated. The cafe is known for its fresh, down-home renditions of classic brunch fare with dishes such as Sweet Potato Benedict and its beloved Shrimp & Grits. And every meal at Live Oak has been served with a side of live music.

business

Red Gravy on Magazine to close, citing staffing, pandemic and hurricane woes

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Red Gravy Cafe is closing after serving rustic Italian fare on Magazine Street’s restaurant row for less than a year. The last day of business will be Saturday (April 30). Owner Roseann Rostoker blames bad timing and the combination of the pandemic, staff shortages and Hurricane Ida for the closure. Rostoker and her husband and business partner, Lou Lombardo, are from New Jersey and Philadelphia, respectively. They moved to New Orleans 10 years ago and opened Red Gravy as a brunch and lunch spot on Camp Street in the Central Business District.

business

Langenstein’s turns 100, and it’s inviting customers to a celebration

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Langenstein’s Super Market, the city’s oldest full-service grocery store, is throwing a party Thursday (April 21) to celebrate its 100th birthday. The public is invited to the celebration at its Arabella Street store. Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra are providing the music, and Langenstein’s is providing spirits and snacks. Langenstein’s has been a family market since Michael Langenstein and his sons, George and Richard, opened their corner grocery on Arabella and Prytania Street in 1922. The fourth and fifth generations of the same family are now running three Langenstein’s supermarkets and Prytania Wine & Spirits, which is housed in the same corner shop as the original Langenstein’s.

Festivals

Freret Street helps revive festival season on Saturday. Here’s the music lineup.

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On Saturday (March 26), the Freret Street Festival will take over the popular restaurant and entertainment corridor. The six-block street party features 18 bands music on three stages (see the lineup below). The headliners include Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, Squirrel Queen, Erica Falls and Kermit Ruffins & the BBQ Swingers. Alongside the 46 brick-and-mortar restaurants, bars and shops on Freret, the free festival includes a food court featuring top local chefs and more than 200 arts and crafts vendors. Plus there’s a children’s area with inflatables, a petting zoo, alligator meet and greets, arts and crafts, clowns and stilt walkers.

food and drink

Magasin Vietnamese Café closes on Magazine, joins Mukbang on Oak Street

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Magasin Vietnamese Café recently closed its Magazine Street location, but the Magasin egg rolls, pho, vermicelli and other menu favorites can now be found on Oak Street. 

The owners of Magasin, formerly at 4201 Magazine St., and Mukbang Seafood at 8312 Oak St. have merged the two restaurants. The Oak Street restaurant’s menu will pull double duty and offer Mukbang’s buttery boiled seafood and Magasin’s Vietnamese favorites. “The building was sold, and our lease ended last year,” said Mukbang and Magasin owner Kim Nguyen. “We figured the merging of the two businesses would be a great new beginning since the building on Oak is a 3,000 square foot space.