green goddess

LC: There’s a perception that French Quarter cuisine is stuck in a cream sauce and flambé culinary past. No offense to the classics, but having gotten tired of explaining to visitors that New Orleans dining has evolved, I simply gesture to Green Goddess to make the point. Sure it may look a bit like a vegetarian co-op circa 1975, but the Goddess chefs have some serious and inspired culinary chops. And I don’t care what magic the chefs are imbibing to get inspired here, as long as dishes such as chilled cucumber-lemon verbena soup and “reverse” Louisiana cassoulet keep coming. Cocktails are nectar-of-the-gods quality, while the wine list is a perfectly poetic match to the menu. Just don’t expect a swooning black jacket service experience, necessarily. The style is more “take us as you find us.” And that’s pretty much authentic New Orleans in a nutshell.