18 April 2025
Evviva gets the LRG band back together in the Marigny, Le Moyne bistro brings French specialties to the Warehouse District, and Minnie and John’s dishes out Southern fare Uptown
Opening in time for Jazz Fest is a goal for any restaurant looking to capitalize on the busy festival season before the long, hot summer. Here are the places that made the deadline, with the team at Evviva generating lots of buzz.
Yippee for $7 martinis
Evviva means “yippee” in Italian. And that’s exactly how the neighborhood feels with the quiet opening of this chef-driven Mediterranean restaurant, where the Franklin was in the Marigny. Located at 2600 Dauphine Street, at Franklin Avenue, the restaurant brings together A-list alums from the Link Restaurant Group, including operators Heather Lolley and Humberto Suazo, who were the company’s operations director and chief financial officer for decades.
Now the owners of Galaxie Tacos in Bywater, the couple brought in executive chef Rebecca Wilcomb, a James Beard winner formerly of Herbsaint and Gianna. Marcus Jacobs, who cooked with Wilcomb at Herbsaint before opening the now-shuttered Marjie’s Grill and Seafood Sally’s. He is still involved with the dock-to-plate Porgy’s Seafood Market, opened in 2023. The space, which always felt chopped up, is now opened up, making room for a communal table and giving the room an airy feel. There’s also a private nook for a group party. The opening menu includes dishes like Basque-style fish soup, spring vegetable tonnato with Calabrian chilies, and broiled triggerfish on the half shell with green peppercorn butter. The Franklin was always busy for happy hour, a custom that will continue from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily, and includes the $7 martini, which was a real crowd pleaser.
French fare with the Father of Louisiana
Francophiles will applaud the opening of Le Moyne Bistro, from chef-partners Christian Hurst, Farrell Harrison, and Brian Weisnicht. Led by general manager Tim Armstead, the French bistro is next door to the team’s other spot, Maria’s Oyster & Wine Bar, at 726 Tchoupitoulas Street. Harrison and Weisnicht opened Plates together in 2023. Le Moyne, named for Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the French explorer known as the Father of Louisiana, offers locally sourced versions of gold standards, including blue crab au gratin and Gulf fish court-boullion with shrimp. There’s an outstanding beef tartare with chili oil and aioli, a French-centric wine list, and fresh bread and desserts from pastry chef Ryan McDougall.
An ode to grandma and grandpa
Minnie and John’s took over the old Cowbell space at 8801 Oak Street, with chef-owner Chad Sabatier at the helm. The native New Orleanian, a graduate of NOCHI, opened the restaurant in homage to his grandparents. Look for creative takes on down-home Southern eats like savory calas made with corn and andouille, served with homemade pepper ranch, fall-off-the-bone candied ribs, and ravioli filled with collards.
A second location for secret nerd sauce
Burger Nerds, the wildly popular pop-up that opened in the Bonnabel neighborhood of Metairie in January, now has a second location at 7537 Maple Street in Uptown. Owner Alfredo Manzanares started his smash burger business in 2020, with the burgers really blowing up in 2021. His signature queso burger comes with onions, pickles, housemade queso, and his secret nerd sauce.