March Love Letter

New Orleanians aren’t staying home at night, no matter the economic news. But the flurry of recent openings shows some signs of cautious optimism. No one is sinking money into lavish décor or offering up multi-course tastings. Instead, the biggest buzz circles around a trio of newcomers with menus filled mainly with sandwiches. But oh, what sandwiches these are.

Chef Scott Boswell, renowned for his globetrotting cuisine at Stella (restaurantstella.com), reopened Stanley, his beloved breakfast and lunch spot that first fed the city after Katrina. Now in a prime French Quarter corner facing the cathedral, the restaurant turns out favorites, like eggs Benedict with boudin sausage and a soft-shell crab po’ boy, with a chef’s precision, and adds new twists, like the Korean po’ boy with kimchi, to the classics. In the Warehouse District, chef Donald Link of Herbsaint (herbsaint.com) and Cochon (cochonrestaurant.com) adds to his empire with Cochon Butcher (cochonbutcher.com). Sample a plate of house-cured meats at the sleek little shop, or get your daily dose of swine with a pork belly sandwich on bread baked with lard. Out in the Carrollton neighborhood, chef Nathanial Zimet finally has a place to park his purple lunch truck, which often prowls the late-night clubs serving barbecue, grit fries, and boudin balls. At Boucherie (boucherie-nola.com), a cozy cottage that used to house Iris (irisneworleans.com), Zimet raises the stakes while barely raising the prices. You can still get a pulled pork sandwich, but a few dollars more buys you barbecue spare ribs with pickled haricots verts or Gulf fish seared with magrut lime leaves over grilled green onions and beets. He vows to never charge more than $15 for an entrée.

If this is what hard times taste like, then we’ll all be fine.

Todd Price