Ian McNulty: New restaurants to try, old favorites to revisit in New Orleans for

It’s been a long, slow summer in New Orleans, but there’s still been a lot happening in the local restaurant scene.

That’s why I’m using this edition of my regular where-to-eat-now column to catch you up on a few things, and also check in with some enduring favorites I revisited during the slump.

These are quick picks from a restaurant scene that is rich, diverse, constantly changing and still very much in need of the locals as the slow time continues. Remember, any support you can muster during this span will matter more than ever.

Acamaya

3070 Dauphine St., (504) 299-3477

Ana Castro opened my eyes to much more of what Mexican cuisine could be at her last restaurant, the tasting menu concept Lengua Madre. In June, Castro and her sister Lydia opened this brilliant, more casual take on upscale Mexican seafood in the Bywater.

Early visits just made me want to return to try every dish I saw in rotation. Start with the cold smoked hamachi tostada and the braised-then-fried octopus sparking with black salsa, and dive into the mesmerizing arroz negro, a blend of earthy, briny flavors between the alternating soft and crunchy rice grains.

Toups’ Meatery

845 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 252-4999

I don’t know if anyone in the business worked harder this summer than Team Toups, the collective name for the family-run Cajun restaurant in Mid-City. They spent months preparing meals by the thousands each week to support kids in need around the city, while also, you know, running a small business in the slow time.

The regular menu is a roster of robust house specialties, like the braised lamb neck and the fried chicken “oysters” (the best bit of a chicken, behind the thigh, served crisp and spicy). Here’s another to book a visit around: the fried turkey necks with boiled peanuts, deeply flavorful and bound to have you working every morsel from the bones.

Cause & the Cure (and Monkey Monkey)

2540 Banks St., (504) 459-2168

Monkey Monkey Coffee & Tea was a sweet Mid-City coffee shop that closed in 2022. It’s back, now taking the morning shift at Cause & the Cure (the former Fharmacy location), setting up with coffee and pastries and cookies and such daily from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m.

After that, Cause & the Cure gets on with its regular scheduled programming. That brings a standout Dominican chimi burger, a double smash burger topped with griddled slaw and creamy golf sauce. There’s a New York-inspired chopped cheese on a po-boy loaf, Korean corn dogs and drinks ‘til late.

The coffee shop-within-a-tavern arrangement came from Cause & the Cure’s owner trying to help Monkey Monkey get back into business, and that feels like a worthy dose of uplift. See the full story here.

Brocato’s Kitchen

422 S. Broad St., (504) 354-9661

Here’s a new restaurant working the classic New Orleans template, and doing it justice.

Brocato’s made its name recently as a Jazz Fest food vendor (no relation to the famous gelato parlor of the same name), and opened as a restaurant near Tulane and Broad soon after this year’s fest.

I’m coming here for the roast beef po-boy with a dark succulent richness, the rustic, smoky-spicy chicken andouille gumbo and I’m circling Tuesday for the smothered pork chop special, all with generous portions at good prices. That’s refreshing in its own right.

Hot Stuff

7507 Maple St., (504) 381-4098

Here’s the situation: You need lunch, you want something with real flavor and character, but it must be quick. You grab a tray and proceed down the cafeteria-style line at Hot Stuff, a meat-and-three, that Deep South corollary to the Louisiana plate lunch joint.

It’s the latest restaurant from the people behind Turkey and The Wolf, so fun and flavor run hand-in-hand here.

The menu changes daily and you can scope it out by eye as you walk down the line. Look for dishes like hamburger steak au poivre, fried chicken marinated in hot sauce, miso green beans, mac and cheese, stewed okra and slices of Mountain Dew cake and bowls of banana pudding at the end. Hot Stuff now serves dinner too.

Yakuza House

2740 Severn Ave, Metairie, (504) 345-2031

Sushi is always on my mind, especially through a hot summer. The arrival of Nobu at Caesars Casino has brought a celebrity-level name to the local game.

But still, when I want to set up in front of a sushi chef and really go to town, I’m headed to this back street Metairie restaurant. Chef Huy Pham sources an ever-changing array of fish that includes many locally rare types.

Get them “chef’s choice” to have the fish finished with varying oils and sauces. Presentations are beautiful, and some of the specialties are as extravagant as you’ll find anywhere, like a regal recent example of scallops with uni, topped with truffle and roe.

Southerns

4620 Veterans Blvd., 504-345-2097

Successfully steering a food truck business is harder than just navigating bumpy city streets, and few have done it better than the Southerns guys. Now they have their own restaurant.

The signature fried chicken sandwiches are distinctive, with bold spice and interesting housemade toppings.

Southerns also makes some of the finest cracklin’ this side of the Atchafalaya Basin, and the restaurant creates a permanent outpost for this. Try the adobo version for a dose of Filipino flavor over these crunchy-crisp beauties.

Boucherie

8115 Jeanette, (504) 862-5514

One thing I love about Nathanial Zimet’s cottage bistro is how it recruits the barbecue smoker for upscale dining. That goes back to Boucherie’s roots, which started as a food truck in the early post-Katrina era called the Que Crawl.

The smoker gets involved with Wagyu brisket, a mainstay here from the start, the periodically appearing char siu ribs with their spice-crusted surface and the beautiful smoked scallops, which keep their sweet marine flavor behind a veil of smoke.

As the weather improves, so does the prospect of a table on the covered patio. That makes Boucherie feel a bit like fine dining in the backyard. In fact, this is one of those upscale neighborhood restaurants anyone would want in their backyard.