Author: Robert Peyton

This Is the New Year

  And I don’t feel any different. I have been writing about food for more than 20 years now between this gig and my prior website. In that time we’ve had a lot of changes in our restaurant scene. I…

News From the Kitchen

The Independent Caveau NOLA The Independent Caveau NOLA is a fairly new wine bar and retail operation that also serves cheese and charcuterie plates, as well as high-end tinned seafood. Operated by Joanne Close and husband Jim Yonkus, it’s a…

End of the Year

That’s 2019, kids. If you’re looking for a “best of” or “top ten” list then you should probably go elsewhere because I have no interest in ranking my experiences over the last 12 months, and I doubt any of you…

Poor Alton Brown

  I have traveled to many parts of this country and, years ago, to many places beyond our borders. The cuisine of South Louisiana and New Orleans is so famous that wherever I’ve traveled, I’ve come across restaurants that purport…

Culinary Questions and Answers

  We here at Haute Plates Industries enjoy answering your questions about restaurants, dining and food. By “enjoy,” I mean “ignore,” but certain individuals who will go un-named but who employ Haute Plates Industries feel that Haute Plates Industries should…

History and Tradition

New Orleans has been described as the northern-most Caribbean city, and I’ve always thought that an apt description. It’s not just that our climate is similar, though that’s a big part of it since we tend to grow the same…

Restaurant Insider: News from the Kitchen

Rockrose New Orleans finally has a first-rate Greek restaurant now that Rockrose has opened. Owner Nick Asprodites and chef Brian Doyle have a menu leaning more toward fine-dining than hummus and gyros, with dishes like ouzo and beet-cured cobia with…

Best of Dining

For our annual December list of restaurant, food and drink “bests,” our team of writers, plus our editorial staff, met with the difficult task of honoring a few of our favorites. The restaurants, people and places listed within mark some…

Would You Like A Pat-Down With Your Entrée?

  Sometimes, we here at Haute Plates Industries struggle to come up with a topic worthy of you, Dear Readers. A weekly column focused on our local restaurant and dining scene would seem an easy task, but from time to…

There's No Place Like Galatoire's

There is no restaurant in the world like Galatoire’s. There are other Creole restaurants of arguably equal merit, and each of those restaurants are unique as well. That we have restaurants like Galatoire’s, Arnaud’s, Brennan’s, Tujague’s and Broussard’s is something…

Bellegarde Brioche

  Bellegarde Bakery came on the scene recently as these things are measured in New Orleans. Graison Gill started it in 2013, making uncompromising loaves of bread from freshly milled flour and grains. Gill comes off to some as a…

News From the Kitchen

Em Trai Sandwich Co.  Em Trai Sandwich Co. had a very short trip from its initial location inside the St. Roch Market to its new home in the New Orleans Healing Center. The menu includes pho, bao, salads and both…

Pizza and Politics

When I was a much younger man I had what the kids used to call “hops,” and though half-blind I could shoot once in a while too. I was never very good, but I played basketball every day in college…

Dumplings

  I have been cooking dumplings today in the hope that I can share them with a friend who has had a health setback. The dumplings in question are of the Chinese variety, and because I am not sure how…

Luvi Reconsidered

  I was enamored of Luvi, the restaurant Chef Hao Gong opened on Tchoupitoulas Street a few years ago, but I wasn’t entirely sure it would survive. The place is not exactly on the beaten path and I had my…

Boucherie Still Has It

  I was, for a time, as regular a customer of Boucherie as anyone. I think I ate there at least twice a month for a few years. I loved the place and I love the folks behind it. I…

The Spanish Main

  New Orleans should have more Spanish restaurants. New Orleans was a Spanish town before the French arrived to change the street names and – to their credit – give us the civilian legal system. France obviously had an impact…

News From the Kitchen

  Quitutes Brazil is a huge country and accordingly has a diverse cuisine. Until recently, I was unfamiliar with “quitutes,” which translates to “canapés” in Portuguese. Quitutes is also the name of a restaurant that opened in August in Arabi…

Authenticity Is Overrated

  Some years ago I would have said that authenticity in reproducing national or regional cuisines was very important. Now I think it’s overrated. This is akin to other changes in my life over the last decade or so that…

Top Ten Lists

  Bon Appétit magazine has released its annual list of the 10 best new restaurants in the country, and there is a New Orleans restaurant on the list. It is the Elysian Bar, and I want to make very certain that…

Revisiting An Old Haunt

  I am biased in favor of Café Degas for several reasons, none of which include the fact that – disclosure – I wrote the introduction to their cookbook a number of years ago. The truth is that I love…

News From the Kitchen

Bellegarde Bakery Bellegarde Bakery started offering bread to restaurants and retail outlets in 2013, and in July opened a storefront near the intersection of Claiborne and Carrollton. The term “artisan” is overused, but it perfectly describes Graison Gill and his…

News From the Kitchen

Levee Baking Co. Levee Baking Co. started as a pop-up before opening on Magazine Street late last month. Baker Christina Balzebre is originally from Miami, and learned her craft working with local operations such as Satsuma Café, the Link Restaurant…

Best New Restaurants

Discussing food, cooking and restaurants is a part-time sport for New Orleanians. From breakfast to brunch, lunch to cocktail bites, dinner to late night eats and desserts, we’ve got a lot to talk about. Enjoy our selection of the best…

News From the Kitchen

Bordeaux Chef Dominque Macquet is one of the best chefs in town, and he’s returned to the dining scene with a new restaurant, Bordeaux, where he and Sous Chef Martin Fennelly are cooking an ambitious French menu paired with wines…

News From the Kitchen

Gianna Gianna, an Italian restaurant from the Link Restaurant Group, opened in late April in the CBD. Executive chef Rebecca Wilcomb, most recently of Herbsaint, heads the kitchen. Wilcomb’s menu will feature daily antipasti, house-cured meats, locally farmed produce, Gulf seafood…

News From the Kitchen

Costera Restaurant and Bar Costera Restaurant and Bar has opened in the space that for many years was occupied by La Thai. Chef Brian Burns’ menu is “coastal Spanish,” and it’s extensive. Both Burns and Reno De Ranieri, who oversees…

News From the Kitchen

NOCHI Café by Gracious The New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute (NOCHI) has finally opened, and there’s a café on the ground floor operated by the folks at Gracious Bakery. Full disclosure: they’re friends and Jay Forman writes for this…