St. Charles Avenue Magazine Food Column, November, 2003
By Michael Depp

Fall in New Orleans has its sublime rewards, and I'm presently indulging in one as I write from the wraparound Victorian porch of Uptown's Café Luna. Luna is a survivor - the presence of a certain globally hegemonic coffeehouse across the street failed to drive it out of business several years ago - and one of the reasons it maintains its devoted following is this porch, which seems to channel all of the city's breezes single-handedly.

Another reason, I think, is its owner, a feisty former New Yorker whose personality seems brewed into the coffee itself ("I had two people this morning sitting here so long that they both called in sick," she says of her porch's draw between puffs of a cigarette). It's interesting how strongly one individual can resonate through an entire restaurant or café. Once we know their stories, they can almost flavor the food; they change the nature of the relationship we have with what and where we're eating.

That said, I came across another such person recently whose story bears telling. Her name is Petra Vesela, and this summer she became the general manager and maitre d' at Morton's Steakhouse downtown. Vesela is from a suburb of Prague and came to the U.S. to learn two things: the English language and the restaurant business. She picked up on both quickly enough, paying her dues as a bread and water girl in the Florida family restaurant landscape (a purgatory of "early bird specials" oft dissected on "Seinfeld"). After work, she'd improve her English watching CNN, and within two years she had her first job at Morton's in Miami, where she eventually worked her way up to assistant manager.

Vesela helped to open Morton's in New Orleans late in 2000 and returned this year, becoming the only the fourth female g.m. in the company's history. Now she works 70 hours most weeks and manages the difficult task of keeping current and potential regulars happy in a very competitive (and clubby) local steakhouse market. She's also adding her own contributions to the wine list (an enthusiasm she picked up from her father). All of which is not such a bad accomplishment from a 26 year-old who barely spoke a word of English six years ago and started among the business' most anonymous ranks. As I was leaving the restaurant after dinner there recently, she was holding court at a large table of regulars, the focal point of their attention and queries from staffers wizzing by. "I hear my name a hundred times a day now," she said with a look betraying more contentment than exhaustion.

Courted by Windsor's (Sort of) New Grill

I had the chance recently to have a peek at the Windsor Court's extensively refurbished restaurant, the newly rechristened New Orleans Grill. By the time you're reading this, it will already have re-opened to the public after an extensive $1.1 million face lift which includes a trio of period murals commissioned by the restaurant from local artist Auseklis Ozols and a new lunch and dinner area dubbed the Terrace.

The renovation extends to the kitchen, where chef Jonathan Wright now has nearly enough space to play tennis between prep and grill stations. It's a kitchen that will finally give Wright all the resources he needs to dominate the city's haute cuisine market. Of course, now that the Ritz-Carlton has retooled its fine dining venue as the more localized Victor's Grill, it's a market Wright largely has to himself, but that hasn't diminished his efforts. I've personally been bowled over by what's coming out of his kitchen, so much so that after eating there this spring, it went to the very top of my best restaurants list with a bullet. And with pastry chef Keegan Gerhard adding to the arsenal, the dominance is complete until the very last course.

Debuts

Arnaud's steps out of the French Quarter and on to the grocery shelf this fall now that it's bottling its Creole mustard for retail sale. Arnaud's scion Katy Casbarian tells me that this is the first time her father, Archie Casbarian, has been pleased with efforts to replicate the house blend, and that some bottled salad dressings are also in the works for the holidays. You can pick up Arnaud's Creole mustard and its sauce, meanwhile, at the restaurant itself or at upscale grocery stores.

Bucking the conventional logic that good wine cannot be produced in Louisiana, Ponchartrain Vineyards in Bush, La. has been winning over skeptics (myself included) and accruing accolades. Most recently, its 2000 Le Grand Louis Syrah was selected by the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse chain as one of the new All-American "Undiscovered Gems" on its wine list. For winemaker John V. Seago, this is an opportunity to significantly expand his market from being a local curiosity to a national entity. For doubting local wine lovers, it's a good time to give Ponchartrain try.

Finally, this fall brings the publication of the long-overdue revision of the Time Out New Orleans Guide. As one of its editors and its food writer, let me take this opportunity to shamelessly tout its virtues, which include a completely revised food chapter that covers 125 local restaurants. I've already alluded to the fact that the New Orleans Grill at the Windsor Court is at the top of my ten best list, which also includes the late (and lamented) Victor's, Dick & Jenny's, Bayona and Peristyle, and I've tried to put enough iconoclasm in the listings generally to keep things interesting. The book is published by Penguin and is available in bookstores everywhere, and that's the last word I'll have on the subject, if you'll forgive me.