The long-awaited takeover of the Uptown restaurant space in the Octavia Books building, formerly occupied by Toast and Scrambled, happened in October and, by December, Cafe Malou was already basking in the glow of write-ups from various local publications and the grand dame of Southern shelter magazines, Southern Living. Cafe Malou, which continues the space’s history of breakfast fare, is the brainchild of restaurateur Mani Dawes, who many will remember from the now-shuttered Uptown restaurant, Kenton’s, owned and operated by her and her husband Sean Josephs. The couple closed the popular restaurant in 2018, and this reporter still isn’t over it. The new venture, named after Dawes’ grandmother, an Opelousas native, is positioned to serve as a salve to those of us still grieving over Kenton’s. Like Kenton’s, the design is all clean lines and charm. To achieve the look, Dawe worked with architect Graham Hill, Logan Killen Interiors and Kalimera Construction with the millwork by Thomas Edick Design and earthenware by Christie Little. Artwork throughout the space is by Dawes’ mother, artist Nancy Dawes. For the menu, Dawes worked with chef Matt Greco. Expect delectable baked eggs, sandwiches, breads from Bellegarde, coffee from Applied Arts and, if you crave breakfast cocktails, BYO booze. cafemalou.com
Smokey Spirits and Tacos
The former Rosella in Mid-City is now home to a second location of the CBD hotspot Espíritu Mezcaleria & Cocina. Chef Oscar Gonzales will head the Mid-City kitchen, as well as continuing his tenure in the CBD. Gozales hails from Monterrey, Mexico and has stocked the menu with enchiladas, fajitas and street tacos. Naturally Mezcal will dominate the bar menu. espiritunola.com
Gluten-Free, but Spicy Fun
Continuing the takeover theme, when Rosalita’s at 3304 St. Claude Avenue in Bywater closed last year, Beaux Church and Dillian Theriot filled the vacancy with their take on gluten-free Cajun via Frissons. Get Cajun staples like gumbo plus vegan and traditional boudin. frissonsnola.com
All Hail the King of Cakes
As soon as the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 5, King Cake is once again legal. We all have our favorite places to score and our favorite flavors: Enter King Cake Hub. This year, the Hub — which carries over 70 cakes from different Greater New Orleans-area bakeries — has new digs at 3300 Gravier St. in the Central Business District. The move posits the popular King Cake broker in a larger space with easy access and more parking, according to a social media announcement. One of the many entities whose cakes are available at the Hub is the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). This year, culinary arts students and faculty collaborated with Chef Emeril Lagasse on a banana cream pie King Cake (available Jan. 6-18) and Chef Frank Brigtsen on the strawberry tres leches King Cake (available Jan. 19-29). Two favorites from last year are also back, “The Goddess,” born of a partnership with Krewe of Muses, and NOCCA’s gluten-free cinnamon and satsuma almond King Cake. Get the NOCCA King Cakes online, at NOCCA or King Cake Hub. Proceeds from NOCCA’s King Cake program support the Culinary Arts department. kingcakehub.com, noccamarketplace.com
Buon Appetito
In final takeover news, Evviva very quietly opened in the former Franklin spot in the Marigny earlier this year and has been getting rave reviews. Chefs Rebecca Wilcomb and Marcus Jacobs helm the kitchen. Both are alums of Herbsaint and have married their seemingly disparate styles at Evviva, which is operated by Heather Lolley and Humberto Suazo (owners of Bywater’s Galaxie Tacos). Evviva is an Italian saying that translates to “hooray,” “hurrah,” or “long live” according to Google’s AI summary. At the restaurant, it translates to delicious, casual Italian dishes. evvivanola.com
