The Windsor Court has welcomed Chef Alexander Kuzin as the new chef de cuisine. In addition to complementing and evolving the direction of The Grill Room with a new dinner menu, Kuzin is guiding the culinary teams at The Polo Club, Le Salon, The Pool Bar and Café Anglais. The new menu at The Grill Room features starters such as the prime filet tartare; seared sea scallops with compressed apple, crawfish cream and micro greens; and escargot with Herbsaint broth, garlic foam and focaccia crisp. Meanwhile, entrees include Chilean sea bass with spinach Rockport cream, caviar and lemon foam; and a whole branzino with watercress yuzu chimichurri and lemon. Also, through June 30, be sure to check out The King’s Coronation experience (from $30,000 for two nights), which includes black car service to and from the airport, two nights accommodations in the newly renovated Presidential Suite, a wine pairing dinner in The Grill Room’s historic wine cellar, afternoon tea and more. 300 Gravier St., 504-522-1994, windsorcourthotel.com
James Beard Foundation Awards
The James Beard Foundation has announced the 2023 Restaurant and Chef Award nominees—including several from New Orleans that show outstanding achievement and exceptional culinary talent—ahead of the award ceremonies on June 5 in Chicago. New Orleans nominees include Serigne Mbaye of Dakar NOLA for Emerging Chef, presented by S.Pellegrino Sparkling Mineral Water; Angelo Brocato Ice Cream & Confectionery for a new award category (Outstanding Bakery, presented by Guinness); and Ana Castro of Lengua Madre for Best Chef: South. jamesbeard.org/awards
Bon Appétit
The 2023 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best series has named New Orleans as the No. 1 Best Food Destination in the United States. Locals already knew that. Charleston, S.C., came in No. 2, while Portland, Ore., rounded out the list at No. 15. The Big Easy also finished within the top 10 in the world. tripadvisor.com
French Fare
MaMou, the new French brasserie from Executive Chef Tom Branighan and Sommelier Molly Wismeier, has unveiled new menu items that are sure to please. These include a beautiful risotto served with shrimp and sauce Périgourdine; celeriac remoulade with blue crab claws, pain perdu and bottarga; roasted maitake mushroom with Parmesan and pineapple saffron rice; and, for dessert, Baba au Rhum (a small cake topped with pistachio cream, and candied cherry and apricot syrup—flambéed table-side). 942 N. Rampart St., 504-381-4557, mamounola.com
Locals Rejoice!
Saint John has announced a new Locals’ Lunch every Thursday and Friday (one local’s ID is required per table), wherein the table will receive a 20 percent discount on the tab. The restaurant also has unveiled a new brunch item, dubbed Crawfish Bread & Breakfast, which features Louisiana crawfish tails, melted pepper Jack cheese and holy trinity on toasted Leidenheimer French bread with fried eggs and green remoulade sauce. Also during brunch, diners can enjoy bottomless Mumm-mosas (a choice of Mumm Napa Brut Prestige or Brut Rose for $45) and G.H. Mumm by the bottle for $75. Saint John also has added bottomless Bloody Mary’s featuring Ketel One vodka and Zatarain’s to the brunch menu for $25. For dinner, guests also can enjoy new menu items such as pork chop Yakamein, brown-butter-seared scallops and River Road crawfish étouffée, plus specials on Mumm. 1117 Decatur St., 504- 581-8120, saintjohnnola.com