New Deals and Dishes at Vega Tapas Café
2051 Metairie Road, Metairie, 836-2007, VegaTapasCafe.com
Since Vega Tapas Café introduced the idea of ‘little plates’ to New Orleans in 1996, the team has been delighting taste buds with ingenious creations that marry a Mediterranean cuisine with indigenous Louisiana produce and seafood. Chef and owner, Glen Hogh, never seems to run out of new ideas. He has just come up with “Zarzuela de Mariscos,” a bouillabaisse-type of dish seasoned with spicy-saffron-tomato broth with a mixture of scallops, mussels, shrimp, calamari and Gulf fish. Also, don’t forget about the café’s Media Mondays – half-priced wines by the bottle – and Twosdays – Happy Hour all night featuring $2 drinks.
Fresh Florida Stone Crabs Back at The Chophouse
322 Magazine St., 522-7902, Chopchousenola.com
Freshly flown in from Florida, stone crabs are available again at The Chophouse restaurant in the Central Business District. Served with a special house sauce, they will be at their succulent best until next spring. If crabs don’t tempt your taste buds, you can always revert to the consistently excellent, traditional offerings. USDA Grade Prime for all the steak cuts, which are wet-aged for 28 days and served Pittsburgh style – i.e. charred on the outside.
Copeland’s Debuts New Dishes
Various locations including 701 Veterans Blvd., Metairie, 831-3437, CopelandsOfNewOrleans.com
My friend and I were trying to figure out when it wouldn’t be a good time to go to Copeland’s of New Orleans. Whatever you fancy, they’re cooking it; from plentiful appetizers, soups, salads and burgers to classic New New Orleans dishes, USDA prime 28 day aged steaks and stellar seafood. We haven’t even mentioned their handcrafted cheesecake, which is now available to be shipped anywhere in the country. With all these temptations it’s no wonder the restaurant is now in a dozen locations.
