 |
 |
      
|
          Order a Guide |
Dining out on the Northshore
The Northshore dining scene these days is vibrant, exciting, and still expanding, a foodie’s haven rich in authentic Louisiana culinary tradition – the seafood, the poboys, the gumbo – but also outstanding chef-driven kitchens delivering gourmet fare, ambience and impressive wine lists. You can enjoy gumbo, red beans and rice or an oyster poboy washed down with a cold Abita beer for lunch, then feast on bouillabaisse, osso buco or crispy duckling with lavender honey for supper. Dress down for a mountain of steaming, spicy crawfish; dress up for pan-roasted striped bass or locally grown beef tenderloin grillee with pommes dauphinoise, smoked marrow and spring vegetables. But it’s not just about restaurants. It’s about farmers markets in Covington, Mandeville and Slidell, and the green-thumbed Northshore residents who sell their beautiful fruits and vegetables at them. It’s about locally produced honey, cheeses; wine from Pontchartrain Vineyards; beer from tiny Heiner Brau and its popular cousin, Abita beer. It’s about generations of really good home cooks, passed-down recipes and festivals built around food. It’s all about options. And entertainment. As is true for most of south Louisiana, dining is recreation in this part of the planet where residents often are discussing their next meal even as they lap up every crumb of the one in front of them. Chef John Besh’s purchase in 2007 of La Provence, a Provencal-inspired restaurant on the edge of Lacombe, from its founder and his one-time mentor Chris Kerageorgiou, kicked in star power to an already burgeoning dining scene, especially since bringing noted chef Rene Bajeux in as chef de cuisine.
The culinary scene has been ascending for a while now, but gained new momentum after Hurricane Katrina. A number of New Orleans’ well-known eateries opened Northshore outposts, including Mandina’s (Creole-Italian), Andrew Jaeger’s (Louisiana seafood) and Café Du Monde (coffee and beignets). And new restaurants have popped up from one end of the parish to the other. A few highlights include Café Lynn in Mandeville, Lola in Covington and Dish on First in Slidell. The newcomers join the lineup of local favorites, including casual spots like Schaeffer’s in Slidell and Coffee’s Boilin’ Pot in Madisonville, and chef-headed dining rooms like the elegant Dakota (Kim Kringlie); Mandeville’s relaxing Juniper (Pete Kusiw); and Covington’s Ristorante del Porto, led by husband-wife chef team Torre Bagalman and David Solazzo. It’s an exciting time to have an appetite on the Northshore. Visitors are discovering what locals have known all along – you’ll eat well (and probably often) here in St. Tammany Parish.
 | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
