Curious which menus prompted this. Speaking of, I forgot to mention Fritai, a Haitian restaurant that was on my list for a few reasons (one of which is that their fritay platter features sausage from Vaucresson's, a family-run sausage company and cafe that was closed during my winter trip).
My recs from May still stand, and I would add Katie's in Mid-City for po-boys. Also, I didn't get to go, but I walked by Dakar NOLA, which won best new restaurant at the 2024 JBFA, and the menu and experience look really interesting.
Tapies and Tapas would make a great first date.
I feel compelled to remind you that Besta and Gresca are right around the corner from each other and their small plates formats make it easy (preferable, even) to hit them both in one night. Also, a year later and I'm still thinking about a roasted onion stuffed with octopus from Agreste de Fabio & Roser. (I also think about Casa Maians. Can you tell I'm ready for a return trip?)
Thanks for these recs! It's been a while since I've been, but I'm a big fan of both Schwartz's and Snowdon. 😠my cousin told us to not even bother trying to get into vin mon lapin, but I'd be fine sitting at the bar tbh. I was on the fence about going to one of the Au Pied de Cochon / Joe Beef / McKiernan places, so I'm glad to see you mention Vin Papillon. Good to know about the roads -- luckily I won't be the one driving!