The Best New Sushi Experience

 

It is too hot to hang in the kitchen, so I have been on a sushi kick of late. At the suggestion of a friend my daughter, Cecilia, and I hit up Yakuza House in Metairie for a late lunch today. With maybe 16-seats including the raw bar, and a location on a nondescript corner of Veterans Boulevard, the pristine space was full at 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon and we were lucky to score a table—no doubt an impossible feat without a reservation in the evening. After a long run of pop-ups Chef Huy Pham bet the bank on the BYOB space in April. It seems to be paying off. Hand rolls and inventive takes on screamingly fresh nigiri sushi are the specialties here but the tempura yellowtail neck is a fine choice for those who fear the raw. Try the Kanpachi (Japanese Amberjack) nigiri dressed with the chef’s choice of adornments, in this case a very light hand was used to apply a daring combination of basil pesto, thin ribbons of fried shallot, and bit of sea salt. This bold move paid off, too.

Through June 27, the Louisiana Restaurant Association is sponsoring Restaurant Week. This year the annual tradition features specially priced prix-fixe menus, for both dine in and take out. Patrons of nearly 100 restaurants, many of them luxury establishments, all lover the Metro area can enjoy 2course lunches up to $25 or less, and 3-course dinners and brunches up to $45 or less. You might not expect it, but this is a time when many restaurants roll out some of their most inventive fare. This is the time to discover new spots at value driven prices. Find a restaurant here.

Continuing through the end of the month, in celebration of Juneteenth Mitch’s Flowers, an Uptown New Orleans Institution since 1986, will donate a portion of all sales from the shore’s inventory of a pottery serve-ware collection depicting the artwork of Clementine Hunter to a charity benefiting at-need Black youths in New Orleans. Hunter was a self-taught Black folk artist from the Cane River region of Louisiana, who lived and worked on Melrose Plantation.  In her fifties, she began to sell her paintings, which soon gained local and national attention for their complexity in depicting Black Southern life in the early twentieth century. This is your chance to do well by doing good. Free samples of Citronola hibiscus tea will also be on offer through the rest of the month. Hibiscus tea is the original “red drink” customarily enjoyed at Juneteenth celebrations.

A Selection Of Serveware Featuring The Artwork Of Clementine Hunter

This month, BOBS from Skechers is teaming up with partner Petco Love, a national non-profit working to lead and inspire change for animals, to encourage animal adoptions during National Foster a Pet Month by hosting adoption events at Skechers retail stores across the country in conjunction with animal welfare partner organizations affiliated with Petco Love. Skechers customers can also contribute by rounding up their purchase at Skechers retail locations nationwide to help Petco Love save shelter dogs and cats.  If you missed out on a pandemic pet there are still many, many sweet creatures out there seeking loving forever homes. On Saturday from 12-4 p.m. BOBS from Skechers and Petco Love are hosting an adoption event featuring adoptable spayed and neutered dogs and cats Animal Rescue New Orleans. Check it out at Skechers (1002-A S. Clearview Pkwy) in Harahan.  

 

Have a great weekend, everyone. Ya’ll play nice.

 

 

 

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