A New Sushi Restaurant
Where it comes to sushi, generally speaking, I am a one-shop man. My shop is Kanno, where Hide Suzuki has made me some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. But I also like to try new places and,…
Restaurants
Halloween Happenings: Tujague's, SoFAB and Virgin Hotel
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – In celebration of Halloween, Tujague’s will host a three-course Witches Luncheon on Friday, Oct. 29. Priced at $38 per person, excluding tax and gratuity, menu follows: First Choice of Duck & Sausage Gumbo Louisiana…
Hot Tin Relaunches With Throwback Cocktail Program
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – As circumstances change, nobody knows how to adapt better than QED Hospitality. When co-owners Emery Whalen and Chef Brian Landry realized they would have to close their eight food and beverage outlets in New…
BOO-rree BBQ Bash at Bourree
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Celebrate Halloween family fun at the BOO-ree BBQ Bash on Saturday, Oct. 30, at Bourree (1510 S. Carrolton Ave.). The kid’s party kicks off at 1 p.m. with music by Mr. Ed’s Music Box…
The Best Way to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
Through Oct. 15, our nation is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced our nation and our society. In the New Orleans area, we owe a particular debt of gratitude to the…
Spooktacular Spirits
With Halloween in a few short weeks, we are gearing up to get our spooktacular cocktail list together. To make sure you are a (g)host with the most, mixologist Lynnette Marrero has this one for you to try. It…
Revisiting Herbsaint
Today, I am having lunch with my father at Herbsaint. It’s one of my favorite restaurants and one I haven’t visited often since I stopped working downtown. This is not going to be a review of that meal, because I…
Palm&Pine Announces Saints Season Deals + Brunch Updates + Saenger Theater Deals
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Starting Sunday, Oct. 3, Palm&Pine’s brunch hours will be 10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. during football season. Pre-Game Specials: For all Saints noon games, Palm&Pine will offer Buy 1, Get 1 free bottle of…
Birds of a Feather - New Brunch Launches at the Kimpton Hotel Fontenot
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Beginning Sunday, Sept. 26, Kimpton Hotel Fontenot launched a new weekend brunch at Peacock Room, lovingly referred to as “Birds of a Feather, Brunch Together.” Taking place every Sunday in the heart of the…
Arnaud's Restaurant and Foodimentary to Launch National Souffle Potato Day, Sept. 30
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Arnaud’s Restaurant is proud to partner with Foodimentary to launch the first ever National Souffle Potato Day, Sept. 30. A favorite on Arnaud’s menu, the souffle potato receives the recognition it deserves, serving as…
Emeril's New Orleans To Reopen on September 28
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Chef Emeril Lagasse’s flagship restaurant – Emeril’s – will reopen its doors on Sept. 28, after being closed for over a year due to the pandemic and Hurricane Ida. David Slater, culinary director of…
Birthday Dinners and Mosca’s
My wife had a birthday recently. We had a low-key celebration that night at Bayou Wine Garden, and I will therefore testify to the excellent cheese and charcuterie board we had with a carafe of wine. Two cured meats,…
The Best: Altruistic French Quarter Chefs Reaching Out to Help Communities in Need
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Chef Michael Nelson of GW Fins worked tirelessly with his seafood, produce and meat purveyors to alter their distribution systems in order that they would be able to sell directly to consumers. The affable…
Cocktails During Chaos
It’s been more than a year since our fun happy hour menus in New Orleans went away. We are not surprised, of course, as all of life’s changes have shaken up the cocktail scene during the COVID-19 crisis and…
NOBU is Coming to NOLA
LAS VEGAS (press release) – Caesars Entertainment, Inc. and Nobu Hospitality – the global lifestyle brand founded by Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro and Meir Teper – today announced the expansion of its longstanding partnership with two new Nobu…
The Best for the Weekend, Treat Yourself
We have been through the wringer. And COVID-19 still threatens, and disturbances are swirling off the coast of Africa like a swarm of cockroaches. We deserve a break, a little R & R, a least some relief. Here are…
NOLA REOPENINGS: A Few Places to Eat & Drink Post Hurricane Ida
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Following Hurricane Ida and the many issues that followed for local businesses, there are a few restaurants announcing their openings following the hurricane. Mister Mao, the tropical roadhouse restaurant from Chef Sophina Uong…
Nina Compton to Host Bayou Benefit Dinner Sept. 22
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – On Wednesday, Sept. 22, Bywater American Bistro’s Chef/Restaurateur Nina Compton will host a one-night-only prix fixe dinner to raise funds for those in Southeastern Louisiana’s bayou parishes gravely impacted by Hurricane Ida. The three-course…
Mexican Independence Day Event at Palm&Pine to Raise Money for Free ALAS
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Thursday, Sept. 16, Palm&Pine will celebrate Mexican Independence Day in an effort to give back to the community in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. The team from El Buho Mezcal will be behind the Pine…
The Elysian Bar Officially Reopens on Wednesday, Sept. 15
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The Elysian Bar will officially reopen their doors for dinner and drinks following Hurricane Ida on Wednesday, Sept. 15, with regular business hours. Starting this Wednesday, guests can enjoy dinner and drinks in the…
Twisted Waffles is coming to NOCHI
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – After 3 years of building community and perfecting the waffle game in the Saulet and an expansion to New Iberia, Twisted Waffles is excited to be relocating to a larger space at right in…
Gris-Gris’ Eric Cook Announces New Restaurant, Saint John, Opening Mid-September in the French Quarter
NEW ORLEANS – Eric Cook, executive chef and owner of Gris-Gris, will open his second restaurant, Saint John, in mid-September at 1117 Decatur Street (formerly home to Trinity and, before that, Maximo’s). He said the restaurant will serve his…
Nolavore Debuts a la Carte Market Series
Nolavore is a catering company and commissary kitchen located in a former service station at the corner of Baronne Street and Jackson Avenue. Owner Anne Lloyd is a friend and talented, imaginative chef who has worked in the industry…
The Best Bets for a Hot, Rainy Weekend
Sounds like gardening, sailing, sunbathing and long walks are not on the agenda this weekend, so I offer the following for your relaxation pleasure. “Top Chef Amateurs” gives talented home cooks the opportunity of a lifetime to test their…
Magasin Café Owners Bring New Seafood Concept to Oak Street
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The owners of Magasin Café are excited to announce their latest seafood concept, Mukbang, slated to open this fall on Oak Street in the former Chiba restaurant space. The owners of Magasin Café are…
On Criticism, Adventurous Palates, Live Oak and Restaurants I Want to Try
Recently, I read an online review of a fairly new spot on Oak Street written by a long-time resident of the New Orleans area. It was a critical review – not in the sense that the author didn’t like…
The Best: Gorgeous Cakes for Sale to Benefit ARNO, Eat to Benefit Haiti at Station 6, and join me in Fig Tarte
I know I have plenty of company in feeling that things are just rough as all hell right now. I found some good news on Nextdoor, an app geared to neighborhoods, where I discovered my neighbor, Kat McCann, and…
Words to the Wise
I have never been a canny investor. I have never actually been an investor at all, mainly because I know I’m not a canny investor. But once in a while an opportunity comes around and you feel you have…
The Best Way to Avoid COVID this Weekend
Like so many in New Orleans, my income is largely tied to the hospitality industry, which is tied to tourism. Like so many New Orleanians, the foundation of my security has been rocked yet anew by another spate of…
Commander's Palace Announces Chef Meg & Company: A Dinner Series Benefitting NOCHI
NEW ORLEANS (press release) – When Meg Bickford became Executive Chef of Commander’s Palace in October 2020 during the pandemic, two of the things she missed most were the camaraderie of the industry and dinner parties with friends. Now…
Haute Plates
A weekly blog on the New Orleans fine dining scene
about
Robert D. Peyton was born at Ochsner Hospital and, apart from four years in Tennessee for college and three years in Baton Rouge for law school, has lived in New Orleans his entire life. He is a strong believer in the importance of food to our local culture and in the importance of our local food culture, generally. He has practiced law since 1994, and began writing about food on his website, www.appetites.us, in 1999. He mainly wrote about partying that year, obviously.
In 2006, New Orleans Magazine named Appetites the best food blog in New Orleans. The choice was made relatively easy due to the fact that Appetites was, at the time, the only food blog in New Orleans.
He began writing the Restaurant Insider column for New Orleans Magazine in 2007 and has been published in St. Charles Avenue, Louisiana Life and New Orleans Homes and Lifestyles magazines. He is the only person he knows personally who has been interviewed in GQ magazine, albeit for calling Alan Richman a nasty name. He is not proud of that, incidentally. (Yes, he is.)
Robert’s maternal grandmother is responsible for his love of good food, and he has never since had fried chicken or homemade biscuits as good as hers. He developed his curiosity about restaurant cooking in part from the venerable PBS cooking show "Great Chefs" and has an extensive collection of cookbooks, many of which do not require coloring, and some of which have not been defaced.
Robert lives in Mid-City with his wife Eve and their three children, and is fond of receiving comments and emails. Please humor him.
