NEW ORLEANS FEATURES - NOW OPEN

NOW OPEN - The Downtown Restaurant Scene Continues To Grow

Amid all of the Mardi Gras distractions, the Windsor Court Hotel is celebrating it's 20th anniversary in February. Two decades ago, it was the first of several major downtown properties to open in anticipation of the 1984 World Fair. The Grill Room at the Windsor Court, quickly became one of the city's top restaurants. Two decades later the development and revitalization that followed the Fair in downtown's Warehouse District includes many of the city's top restaurants.

The New Orleans Grill at the Windsor Court - 300 Gravier St., 504-522-1992
The Grill Room underwent a major renovation and is now the New Orleans Grill, run by Chef Jonathan Wright, one of England's premier modern French chefs. He is joined by one of the nation's top pastry chefs, Keegan Gerhard, a veteran of several Four Seasons hotels and Charlie Trotter's in Chicago.

Café Adelaide and the Swizzle Stick Bar - 300 Poydras St., 504-595-3305
The Brennans are New Orleans' first family of restaurants and the Loews Hotel contacted them about opening a restaurant in their new downtown property, just opened in late December. Named for Adelaide Brennan, the restaurant features innovative Creole cooking by chef Kevin Vizard. The menu combines sophisticated touches with classic New Orleans favorites.

Emeril's Restaurant 800 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-528-9393
Superstar chef Emeril Lagasse was one of the first locals to open a restaurant in the Warehouse District before the revitalization took steam. But his namesake restaurant made an immediate splash in 1990 and launched a series of restaurants. The original Emeril's now has his dream kitchen and an award-winning wine list. The menu features his "New New Orleans" cooking, with takes on New Orleans standards like barbecue shrimp as well as his bold-flavored contemporary cooking.

Herbsaint - 701 St. Charles Ave., 504-524-4114
Herbsaint is a fairly recent addition to the Warehouse District. Partner and chef Susan Spicer helped open the restaurant, named for a local licorice flavored liqueur. But now chef Donald Link is running the kitchen on his own and improvising with the best local seafood and fish he has flown in from the West Coast. A native of Lake Charles, La., he keeps a spicy gumbo on the menu, but incorporates all sorts of dishes into his repertoire.

La Cote Brasserie - 700 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-613-2350
Seafood is the focus of La Cote Brasserie. Certified French Master Chef Rene Bajeux, the executive chef at the Windsor Court before he left to open his namesake Rene Bistrot, opened his second New Orleans restaurant this past fall in the Renaissance Arts Hotel. The restaurant features a long snake like bar he designed himself. The menu features a wide selection of seafood dishes and chilled raw seafood, including several different types of oysters.

Besh Steakhouse at Harrah's - Bottom of Canal St., 504-533-6000
One of America's rising star chefs, John Besh graced the cover of Food & Wine magazine in 1998 as one of the nation's top new chefs. He's made a splash locally at Restaurant August and now has a second restaurant in the form of a steakhouse at the Harrah's New Orleans Casino. It features exquisite steak dishes and fresh local seafood.