food and drink

Lucy Boone Ice Cream pop-up to settle down in Milan area

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Lucy Boone Ice Cream has been charming New Orleanians with its ice cream pop-up since 2020. Now, Lucy Boone is set to open their brick-and-mortar in the renovated Fine Arts Theater on Baronne Street at Constantinople. 

Lucy Boone is the chill creation of Abby Boone and her husband, Aaron Schnell, who named the business is named after their daughter Lucy. They serve handcrafted concoctions such as Cold Brew, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, Key Lime Pie and Salted Butter Caramel. Abby said that she enjoys making ice cream flavors that remind her of her childhood, and she hopes that the flavors resonate with customers and offer a bit of nostalgia in the form of a tasty dessert. Abby grew up in Iowa and attended Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she specialized in pastries.

‘Cure’ book celebrates city’s cocktail culture — and divulges recipes

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Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ’Em, a book by mixologist and entrepreneur Neal Bodenheimer and writer Emily Timberlake, is set to be released on Oct. 25. 

More than just a typical cocktail book, Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ’Em features in-depth information about New Orleans cocktail and drinking history. Bodenheimer is a New Orleans native who owns Cure the stand-alone cocktail bar that opened on Freret Street in 2009. Bodenheimer also owns other spots, Cane and Table and Peychaud’s in the French Quarter and Vals across Freret Street. 

Timberlake was a cocktail-book editor at 10 Speed Press for a decade before making the leap to full-time writer. A longtime fan of Cure, she teamed up with Bodenheimer to write a book that was not only a cocktail guide for locals but would serve as a guide to anyone who appreciates the city’s culture and stories.

food and drink

Not just a little red truck, Petite Rouge is also a little red cafe

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Petite Rouge got its start as a little red coffee truck that’s now familiar at events and festivals. But it’s not just a nomad in a vintage Citroen van. Since 2018, Petite Rouge Café has also been serving the Uptown and college crowd at 3146 Calhoun St. Owner Julie Anne Pieri started the business with her partner Kurt Schmiederer. She was an art major at the University of New Orleans and has taught children art, taught English in Japan, and worked in the service industry.

food and drink

Garden District Book Shop owners open bistro in The Rink

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The Chicory House is a new Garden District café, replacing Still Perkin’ as The Rink’s resident coffee shop — and more. Two owners of the Garden District Book Shop in The Rink at Prytania and Washington, Carroll Gelderman and Barkley Rafferty, own The Chicory House as well. They took ownership of the bookstore in early 2021 when the founding owner, Britton Trice, retired after 40 years. Garden District Book Shop has made a name for itself as the quintessential neighborhood book shop, offering friendly personal service and hosting book events and signings. Gelderman and Rafferty have put their own touches on the shop, including converting a storage space into a children’s book room. 

When Gelderman and Rafferty took over the book shop, they also acquired Still Perkin’, which had long served a variety of select brews and other coffeehouse fare to Garden District residents and visitors. 

It was always Gelderman and Rafferty’s intention to retire Still Perkin’ and open a new place with a bistro concept and a stronger connection to the bookstore.

food and drink

COOLinary menus offer gourmand summer dining experience   

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August’s COOLinary New Orleans offers a rare opportunity for both the gourmand and the culinary novice to explore cuisines and experience the city’s famed chefs. Restaurants otherwise outside of budgetary constraints are suddenly within reach — but not for long. Participating chefs create special two- to five-course prix fixe meals that are less expensive than ordering à la carte. 

However, the economic factor is not the objective — this is a chance to widen gastronomic horizons. Thai, French, Japanese, Creole, Latin, Caribbean, Cajun, BBQ, Mexican, contemporary Southern and many other cuisines are represented in the fold. The choices are pre-selected and somewhat narrow but usually feature at least two options per course and may include signature dishes.

This new bar offers a view of the park from historic hotel

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The Park View Historic Hotel on St. Charles Avenue overlooking Audubon Park now has a bar. The Gilded Perch opened two months ago and serves new and classic cocktails in a glamorous space. The Park View dates back to 1884, when it was built to welcome guests of the World International and Cotton Exposition at Audubon Park. The building was purchased and fully restored by Liz and Terry Creel in 2008.

food and drink

Cafe Abyssinia on Magazine pioneered Ethiopian food in New Orleans

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Ethiopian native Ermias Alemu settled in New Orleans in 2007 as the city was rebuilding from the levee failures after Hurricane Katrina. He worked many jobs, including driving a cab. When customers asked him where they could get authentic Ethiopian food, Alemu was stumped. “Ethiopian food wasn’t really something that New Orleans offered,” he said. “Before I moved here, there was a place on Earhart called Red Sea Eritrean and Ethiopian, but it wasn’t open very long before it closed.”

Now Alemu serves authentic Ethiopian cuisine at Cafe Abyssinia, a small restaurant at 3511 Magazine St.

food and drink

Hairy Dog offers a hangover-inspired weekend brunch

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Hairy Dog, built for hangover recovery, has been serving a weekend brunch since June. A play on the term “hair of the dog that bit you,” Hairy Dog shares space with Secret Birria on Octavia Street. Breakfast burritos, tater tot bowls and sandwiches are on the menu here. This spot doesn’t serve alcohol; if you would like to enjoy your brunch with the traditional hair of the dog, Hairy Dog is BYOB. There’s some secrecy surrounding Hairy Dog.

land use & development

Entrepreneur battles neighbors to open Daiquiri World restaurant

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An old Church’s Chicken building on Louisiana Avenue has turned into a battleground for a neighborhood association and a fledgling entrepreneur who is renovating it into a full-service restaurant with alcohol sales. The Delachaise Neighborhood Association filed an appeal with the Board of Zoning Adjustments to stop work on the building two blocks from St. Charles Avenue. It alleges that the planned Daiquiri World will be a bar disguised as a restaurant and that the layout resembles a fast-food operation. The BZA staff recommended denying the appeal, stating that the plans show a standard restaurant. But the BZA board said those plans are incomplete and are not stamped by a licensed architect.

food and drink

Hummus reigns supreme at the Green Olives Café on Maple Street

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Green Olives Café began serving Middle Eastern food on Maple Street in the fall of 2020. Owner Hilmi Abdeljalil put any pandemic-related hesitancy aside for the chance to share his passion for the food he had been cooking his entire life. Growing up in Jerusalem, he learned to cook at home with his family and, with the help of his cousin, he developed a passion for cooking Middle Eastern food. Abdeljalil got his start in the restaurant business in his home country at a spot called Melech Ha Hummus, which translates to King of the Hummus, before moving to New Orleans in 1994. 

“I started working in the restaurant business and I learned as I went,” he said. “I love cooking and I love hummus — that’s my favorite.”

Upon moving to New Orleans, he worked at Mona’s Café on Banks Street for three years before returning to Jerusalem.