Wayne Baquet News Today

We have you covered in this months installment of OffBeat EATS with some “can’t miss” food spots that are sure to satisfy your hunger...

Parades are rolling and brass bands are back.  Music venues are sold out again and mouth-watering Cajun and Creole dishes are being served up in packed restaurants in New Orleans. With its culture economy, the city is trying to rally back after crippling disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, including a lethal summer Delta surge and a catastrophic hurricane. 

My New Orleans 04/01/2021 dg New Orleans has long enjoyed a tradition of outdoor dining, from crawfish-laden picnic tables to candlelit courtyards. Over the past year, many restaurants have responded to COVID-19 concerns by adding, expanding or beautifying outside seating to give patrons and staff extra breathing room.  As we settle into spring, there’s no better time to sample the abundant alfresco options in neighborhoods across the city. This list represents just a fraction of places wher...

My New Orleans Tujague’s, the second oldest restaurant in New Orleans, has moved to a three-story building at 429 Decatur St. with eight dining rooms, a courtyard and a balcony. The first floor is made up of the bar with Otis Guichet’s portrait hanging on the wall; the Parlor Room, which includes banquet seating and white wainscoting with mirrors; and the Begue Room, which resembles the main dining room in the old building with the same chandeliers and white wainscoting with mirrors. Beyo...

5:40 Wayne Baquet, Sr.: Our first restaurant was open in the 1940s. It was a place called Paul Gross Chicken Coop. It was called that because they actually served fried chicken. Not too many people did that back then because they didn’t have deep fryers. Actually the person that inspired that was Ada Baquet Gross, Paul Gross’s wife and my great aunt. And it was in Tremé, on the corner of Bienville and Roman. That was our first restaurant. My dad worked there, I even worked there as a teena...

Shrimp Creole is a New Orleans classic for a Mardi Gras thats anything but normal Ann Maloney, The Washington Post Feb. 17, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail Recently, a reader chastised me for using FOMO. He wrote: "What does FOMO mean? I hate when writers use abbreviations without first explaining . . .." Well, if it bothered you, too, lets clear this up right now. It means fear of missing out . . . and Ive got it bad right now. Feb. 16 was Mardi Gras. For a New Orleans native like me, that usually ...

Even though it was closed, Malik Bartholomew, left center, of Know NOLA Tours, brought tourists James St. Hill and his wife, Hawa, left, both of Charlottesville, Virginia, to Lil Dizzys Cafe so they could see the much-loved restaurant in New Orleans on Tuesday, November 10, 2020. Bartholomew poses for a photo with owner Wayne Baquet. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate) PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER Staff photo by Ian McNulty Staff photo by Ian McNulty Advocate phot...

New Orleans, known for its food, bars, and hospitality, had a transformative 2020, even more than most US cities. In a year that began with the grand opening of a new airport brimming with locally-owned restaurants and a food scene full of promising anticipated openings and exciting pop-ups, the industry came to a halt shortly after Mardi Gras. The city was hit hard and early by the pandemic, and by mid March the local and statewide bar and restaurant shut downs began. Now, we look back at a y...

Judy and Tom Jones sit in an area once reserved for parking in front of the Pythian Market on Loyola Avenue, one of the first New Orleans restaurants to convert parking spaces to curbside dining areas. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate) PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER Contributed photo from Ruby Slipper Cafe Contributed photo from Ruby Slipper Cafe PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER