Did you know that Morning Call opened a location in City Park? If so, congratulations; if not, now you do. It is in the first floor of the casino, and it’s hard to imagine how they could have done a better job with the renovation. The opening marks a return to Orleans Parish for Morning Call, which operated in the French Market from 1870 until re-locating to Fat City in 1974. All of the hallmarks of Morning Call are there: the mirrored walls, the bare bulb lighting and, of course, the beignets and café au lait.
The doughnuts are every bit as good as those at the Metairie location, and the coffee is still poured from two separate containers, one holding coffee with chicory and one holding scalded milk. Morning Call bills itself as New Orleans most famous coffee drinking place, and while that may be hyperbole, the atmosphere in the City Park location makes it hard to argue. Both locations of Morning Call are open 24 hours, 7 days a week, 364 days of the year – they are closed on Christmas day. Call 885-4068 to learn more.
Pizza Delicious started as a pop-up restaurant operating out of a shared kitchen at 3334 N. Rampart St. Owners Mike Friedman and Greg Augarten served an ever-changing but limited selection of New York-style pizzas and a few sides, only for pick-up. In November of last year they set up a more permanent shop at 617 Piety St., just a few blocks from their original location. The new location allows for a more expansive menu, including a daily pasta, a couple of salads and a pretty decent dessert selection. All that, and they now serve beer and wine as well. The pizzas available still change depending on what’s available and what they feel like cooking, but cheese, pepperoni and margherita pizzas are always options.
Pizza Delicious is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and you can call 676-8482 to place an order or find out what’s on the menu on any given day.
Milk Bar, the popular sandwich shop near Touro Hospital at 1514 Delachaise St., has opened a second location in the Riverbend, taking over the space at 710 S. Carrollton Ave., formerly occupied by the Saltwater Grill. The menu is the same: a soup that changes daily, a half-dozen or so salads and a variety of sandwiches made on a round loaf, which the restaurant special-orders from La Boulangerie. Standouts include the Blue Heeler (roast beef and gravy with mushrooms, tomato, red onion and both blue and mozzarella cheeses); the Empirely Delicious (marinated chicken with mozzarella, romaine, tomato and Caesar dressing); and the Cattle Fodder (cream cheese, roasted red pepper, mushrooms, avocado, tomato, carrot and alfalfa sprouts). Milk Bar also has a wide selection of milkshakes, fruit smoothies and freezes.
The new location adds Saturday service, but otherwise has the same hours as the Delachaise Street shop – 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Call 309-3310 to reach the new shop.
The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts, in partnership with the Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation is holding its fourth annual art contest this year. The theme is Louisiana’s culinary heritage, and winning artwork will appear in a cookbook to be jointly published by the two partners.
The contest is open to Louisiana juniors and seniors attending public or private schools and home-schooled and GED students. Entries must be between 11-by-14 and 18-by-24 inches, and acceptable mediums include oil or acrylic paint, charcoal, pencil or graphite, watercolor, photography, mixed media or digital media. Works will be judged on interpretation of theme, creativity and design. One-time college scholarships totaling $45,000 will be awarded to 10 seniors and five juniors, with the top winner receiving $6,000 to put towards college.
If you’re interested, or know of a student who might be, visit RodrigueFoundation.org/ArtContest to learn more. The deadline for entries is Feb. 20, so don’t delay.
