Author Archives: Rene Louapre

Dining Out: Stanley

When we first visited the reopened and relocated Stanley back in January, we sadly left very disappointed. The lowlights: burned gumbo, raw steak masking as Korean barbecue, and dishes that seemed more theoretical than practical. What a difference a few months make. If you have eaten at Stella! you know that Scott Boswell’s creativity can [...]

Dining Out: Vega Tapas Cafe

The foodie press will have you believe the small plates revolution has arrived in America with a gusto not seen since the Beatles. But for Vega Tapas Café, small plates have been the specialty for the past 13 years. Vega’s cuisine spans the Mediterranean combining Spanish, French, Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, and Moroccan flavors and [...]

Dining Out: Dooky Chase’s

Every now and then, a hug is in order. Dooky Chase’s provides that hug and more. The history of Dooky Chase is iconic. Leah Chase has tended the fires, watched over the dining room and fed a multitude of historical figures for decades. Recently Mrs. Leah turned the pans and kitchen over to her grandson, [...]

Sucre: The Sweet Spot

Anyone can cook savory items. Throw a steak on flame, wait an amount of time, and dinner is ready. But to make it on the softer side of the line, the place where sugar, flour, and patience become sweets takes a special kind of magic. In August 2007, Joel Dondis and Tariq Hanna partnered up [...]

The Missing Link

Admit it. You have needed a Cajun style, European-influenced charcuterie, meat market, sandwich shop, and wine bar in your life. The Link Restaurant Group addressed this need when it recently opened Cochon Butcher directly behind Cochon on Andrew Higgins Drive. Molecular gastronomy may be all the rage, but preserving foods with little more than salt [...]

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Still the Guide

Food blogs, message boards, and Twitter pages have made restaurant reviews a more democratic process. Each person with access to a computer becomes an Internet Craig Claiborne. Depending on whom one talks to in the restaurant biz, this occurrence has either strengthened restaurants or severely crippled them. But before Chowhounders and social networking groups, there [...]

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A Sense of Place