Ian McNulty on a pie joint where the specialty is deep-dish

Published February 14, 2012 for the Gambit Weekly

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Critics’ choice: Country cooking’s latest evolution

High Hat Cafe in New Orleans

High Hat Cafe New Orleans
In New Orleans, fried catfish is “almost as readily available as a pack of gum,” said Brett Anderson in the Times-Picayune. But High Hat is the kind of place that could inspire diners to make fried catfish part of their dream diet. Chef Adolfo Garcia prepares simple New Orleans classics with “uncommon care”: His hush puppies and hand-cut fries are far from mere filler, and the catfish is “sheathed in cornmeal crust so thin you can discern the ridges of the sweet-fleshed fillets.” But the influences of his hometown, Memphis, are what really distinguish this neighborhood place. He melts pimento cheese on a burger that now ranks as one of the best in town, for instance, and he serves his plump Delta tamales with a side of drippings from the pulled-pork stuffing, “like a French dip gone to Veracruz, Mexico.” Everything’s made with the best ingredients. You start to wonder why all coleslaws aren’t as cabbagey as the High Hat’s and all collards as crisp and juicy. Yet there’s nothing precious about a meal here. This is “a new restaurant with an old soul.” 4500 Freret St., (504) 754-1336

You can view a full menu of their cakes including a Mocha Creme “Doberge”, Banana’s Foster, to the classic cakes like Red Velvet, Wedding Cake and Carrot Cake. Pick up a Cake pop single or by the dozen for your next event!

Feb. 05–NEW ORLEANS — On Freret Street, where most businesses had been abandoned even before Hurricane Katrina’s waters did heavy damage there in 2005, there’s a bright mural that says “they say the soul is waterproof.”

Over the last several years, the soul of New Orleans — the culture, the music, the food, and the wealth of interesting characters — has survived Katrina, the BP oil disaster of 2010 and a national perception of a city that lives in fear of crime because of high murder rates. Despite these issues, millions of tourists continue to pour into the area each year for annual attractions such as Mardi Gras, the Sugar Bowl college football game, Jazz Fest and conventions — part of an estimated $5 billion annual tourism economy.

With this in mind, the Freret Street mural, signed by Devin Meyers and Annelies De Wulf, seems like a good metaphor for the city’s survival. It’s painted on a building on the Uptown street, which has seen a renaissance in the last year with many new businesses popping up.

The High Hat Cafe is a stylish establishment with a bar and a menu of Mississippi Delta and Louisiana staples. It opened last summer in the building occupied for decades by the Long family’s bakery at Freret and Jena. Co-owner and proprietor Chip Apperson said business at the High Hat has been good and others are investing in the city and enjoying similar success.

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For more information visit www.learntoliveindo.com and www.dumoisgallery.com

Group of Grads Seeks to Revitalize Krewe of Freret’s Spot on Carnival Calendar

by Ryan Sparks for NOLA Defender, February 1, 2012

It’s been almost 20 years since the Krewe of Freret last rode through the neighborhood. But thanks to a fledgling group of young men taking cues from the Uptown corridor’s commercial revitalization, a new parade may once again roll behind a banner baring that name.

Freret used to assemble outside the old Loyola fieldhouse, so it’s perhaps fitting that seven young Tulane and Loyola grads are the ones seeking to mobilize the spirit of the revitalized neighborhood.  While at this point the new KoF is just a party and a prayer, they went from blank slate to a full roster in just over two months, and they’re hoping the fast growth will lead their banner to the streets again.

Greg Rhoades, a local photographer and president of the krewe, says the majority of the new members are in their 20’s and 30’s and have some kind of a tie with Loyola or Tulane and their storied watering holes, and others are neighborhood business owners. Still others “represent the businesses in some fashion, while others have plans laid out for new businesses along the street in 2012.  Professions range from local musicians to large-scale festival founders, from law students to law partners, and from firefighters to fire starters,” Rhoades said.

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The Freret Market is held the first Saturday of the month, except July and August, at the intersection of Freret Street and Napoleon Avenue.

The market is split up along three category lines: food, art, and flea. Besides all of the great shopping every week, the market also hosts local restaurants serving up their unique cuisine, live music, and a kids area.

The Freret Market is a place for neighbors to meet, a place to relax and find a unique item, and an important part of the renaissance on Freret Street.

Please come and enjoy everything the Freret Market has to offer.

Come sell your stuff. Come shop. Most importantly, come enjoy yourself!

Restaurant renaissance on Freret was food story of the year

New Orleans, LA – Eyewitness Morning News wwltv.com
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 8:15 AM

Napoleon, the Unknown Food Critic, says the opening of several eclectic restaurants on Freret Street is the food story of the year.

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Published: Friday, January 13, 2012, 10:14 AM
By Brett Anderson, The Times-Picayune

High Hat Café’s fried catfish tastes very much like something you’ve eaten before, probably at an address not far from High Hat’s and likely more times than you could possibly remember. After all, we live in a place where fried seafood is almost as readily available as a pack of gum.

That High Hat’s fried catfish is better than most is why you’ll order it again. This is due to more than the fish itself, which is sheathed in corn meal crust so thin you can discern the ridges of the sweet-fleshed filets. Its sides — hush puppies and hand-cut fries that bring shame on all those seafood places that use frozen — are attractions, not filler.

The fact that High Hat’s catfish nods lovingly to the cooking beyond New Orleans and into the Deep South becomes more obvious once you order a few of the menu’s other dishes.

Take the Delta tamales, stouter than our local variant, stuffed with pulled strands of pork and served with a side of oily drippings for gilding the lily, like a French dip gone to Veracruz, Mexico.

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Transport Your Taste Buds To Italy With A One Of A Kind Pizza Uptown

“News With A Twist”

Vanessa Bolano WGNO News  2:28 p.m. CST, January 6, 2012