Francis Rebrands and Nathan Refines Cavan

Freret Street continues to offer up some of the best food and cocktails bars in the city outside of the French Quarter. The owners of Tujague's(which we are very partial to) continue to tweak their uptown establishment Bar Francis. This time, the interior has been renovated giving the modern industrial space a much more comfortable feel. The food choices continue to reflect their chef's unique skills developing small plates and full blown entrees. Our Avocado Bread had an incredible side salad accompanying it with additions like pumpkin seeds. Cocktails are of course brilliantly crafted by Craig Seaman as they should be, since the mothership restaurant is one of the oldest bars in the country and the inventor of the Grasshopper. Francis' clientele is generally younger so the pulse of the restaurant is fast paced. One unique thing for New Orleans we noticed was the ability to give totally separate checks to large tables. Something we normally don't do here but it sure does make departure easier.

And just a small drive away, Chef Nathan Richard continues to work his magic at Cavan. Cavan has a great cocktail bar on the first floor for lunch and brunch, and a spicier bar on the second floor that kicks into action in the evenings with a vibrant crowd. Craft cocktails are part of the norm here and you can see the multiple bottles of self developed syrups, bitters and various concoctions lined up on the bar. One of my favorite drinks was the Tiny Bike because it featured Gentilly Gin which is one of our local brands from Seven Three Distilling. The cocktail menu goes out of its way to use local products making this very special. Of course the food is fanciful and wonderful. Our favorite observation during weekday lunch was the clientele. We had to ask our waitress if the Bravo network was filming a show because the uptown ladies seems to have spent the majority of the morning dressing for lunch. Fanciness all around and not like that Southern Charmed show!