We love this place. It's probably one of the best restaurants in the city. Adolfo and his partner get a 10+ for quality and consistency at a fair price.

Surrey's has moved to the top and left the others behind without question. Plus it has the funky New Orleans character that we love.

http://www.surreyscafeandjuicebar.com...

lunch: po-boy at Parkway or Cochon
Dinner: Brigtsen's or Stella

Last week I saw a huge pig being carried in the back door of Cochon by some farmer.. Wish I had a camera. My list would start there and go on to Dante's Kitchen, Boucherie, Patois, Herbsaint, Besh Restaurants, Lilette and La Petite Grocery.

Mr. Meyer is a great example that John Besh should follow; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Meyer. Maybe I should send chef Besh a copy of his book. Union Square opened in 1985. John should slow it down and make each one successful before moving on. New Orleans needs quality, not quantity by someone who reached overnight success on TV.

Cuvee. They have there eye on the store.

A friend told me who went to apply with the Besh group. She had no idea either. It came up in conversation about upward mobility within the company in the future.

I think the concept is far fetched and they are getting away from their core business. They should focus on what they have. Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.

A friend mentioned that John Besh will open a new restaurant and catering operation in the D-Day Museum. The new restaurant will be called the Stage Door Canteen. More details here; http://www.nationalww2museum.org/expa...

The restaurant and catering operations are set to open in October just one month after the launch of his new Italian restaurant Domenica in the Roosevelt Hotel.

Given the turnover and inconsistencies at La Provence and Luke this seems to be very risky. I have always thought of John as a very talented fine dining chef. The Stage Door Canteen seems to be a departure from the image and cuisine chef Besh has created for himself. This will be very interesting. Stay tuned...

What are friends for...

http://blog.nola.com/brettanderson/20...

The only thing missing in the article is the disclaimer that one of Brett Anderson's best friends is the chef husband of John Besh's PR person Simone Rathle.

Luke is a decent restaurant but not all that great and very inconsistent.

Chef Besh is a great chef no doubt. But, he is just one guy. In my honest opinion the Besh restaurants are growing to quickly. August was great when John was at the helm with his special touch. Today is is still good but nothing special and it is very pricey. Luke is on it's 2nd or 3rd chef in as little as 2 years and La Provence is on it 3rd if not 4th chef in the same amount of time. The real test will come when he opens yet another restaurant in the new Roosevelt Hotel later this summer.