Best Fine Dining Lunch Deals in CBD

We here at the Blackened Out School of Economics and Ponzi Schemes are acutely aware that dining out is getting harder and harder to do. This is mostly because of global fluctuations in the drachma and a strong desire by everyone save the guvuhment to save, save, save. So maybe you can not order that second bottle of Yellow Tail, but you can still enjoy some great dining for little more than it costs you to go to Subway twice.

Here is our take on the best fine dining in the CBD.

MiLa has to be the best lunch special in the city. This is based on a variety of factors. First, the husband and wife team of Slade Rushing and Allison Vines-Rushing have a Ph.D in cooking. Secondly, MiLa relies on using farm fresh ingredients to such an extent they actually have a farmer who grows crops for them. Thirdly, and most importantly the building in which MiLa is located was formerly the situs of the original Jesuit High School. For $20, here is what I ate recently: a butternut squash soup with chopped scallops, a seared flat iron steak with long beans and a red wine demi glace, and homemade bannana ice cream with cookies. Perfect lunch, it has to be the spirit of the Jesuits.

Cuvee is the perfect nooner of the lunchroom. It seduces you with .25 cent martinis, delivers you 3 courses of inventive and delicious food, and then sends you back to the office with a smile and no guilt. Recently I had the misfortune to dine there with the Dread Pirate and although he tried his best to ruin my meal, the pork belly with a sweet glaze and heat-driven slaw was magnifcient. Speaking of martinis, I would like to pass on a great quote about drinking during work hours: "Always order gin martinis, that way when you return to the office, everyone will know you are drunk and not stupid."

Everyday Luke runs a different plat du jour. For $15 you get a soup and a hearty plate of food. The lamb ragu, has unfortunately been replaced, but the lamb neck ravioli is just as good and filing as its older more successful brother. Be forewarned that after you eat at Luke for lunch, that TPS report is likely to be put off until the following morning.

Cuvee Lunch

Last Friday, I received a most urgent phone call from Lindsay, "Rene, do you want to go to lunch at Cuvee?"

"No I have work to do," I said.

"Dread Pirate Robert is going to be there?"

"Hell no, last time I spent a Friday with him, I ended up hiding behind a box of comic books at the cruise ship terminal."

"There are .20 cent Martinis."

"Sold."

And thus I found myself sitting in one of the most strikingly serene dining rooms in the city on an early summer day. The interior of Cuvee makes one feel as if they are sitting inside a sumptuous wine cellar. Exposed brick, wood beams, and wine bottle chandeliers evoke a sense of privilege and the food lives up to the environs.

A Hendrix martini with a twist of lemon really makes a Friday lunch feel like a real treat, but at .20 cents its a downright miracle. Because we were dining with Piroyalty, we received an amuse bouche, hand delivered by Chef Bob Iacovone himself. Piquillo peppers, wrapped in Serano ham exploded in your mouth, its interior of molten goat cheese providing a creamy contrast.

Cuvee has an amazing lunch special. For $25 you can get any three items on the menu. Not wanting to waste a course on dessert (and knowing that someone at every table orders dessert despite being full), I forged ahead by ordering three savory dishes.

My first was fried oysters on toast with blue cheese. Very good and reminscent of an oyster po-boy.

Next was "fresh bacon" on top of a fiery cole slaw. The flavors and textures in this dish ran the gamut from tender to crispy, salty to sweet, and spicy to cooling.

Finally, I had the tournedos with a potato and gruyere lasagna. Lindsay committed a grand theft felony by stealing most of my lasagna. The cops did not seem to understand.

Lindsay did order dessert a banana and chocolate ice cream. Wisdom has its benefits, as she did not eat most of it.

And the reason there are no photos is because Dread Pirate Robert stepped on my camera and then dropped it in his martini.

Cuvee - A solid birdie on a par 5.

After Work Today...

Who are we kidding? Today is the day that the Louisiana Supreme Court releases the July Bar Exam results. No lawyer works today and even if you do, you will probably knock off around 9:30 for lunch. And non-lawyers can do things like long lunches all the time. So, this post should really be entitled: "Where to Celebrate or Drown Your Sorrows Today."*

First, a few tips for you:

1. A little known fact is that the LASC mails out the individual results to candidates on the day before publicly releasing them via the web and posting them on the door of the LASC building on Royal Street. If you don't pass, then next time around you can intercept the letter from the post office and know your fate before everyone else does.**
2. If you have an inside connection at the LASC, you may be able to call them before the results are posted at 9:00am. You have waited 11 weeks already, but we all know that finding out an hour earlier will make a world of a difference. Or just wait, patience es un virtue.
3. If you choose to go "old school" and check the list posted at the Supreme Court, please be respectful of your fellow candidates.
4. If you email this article to everyone you know, your results will come faster. Its like bells ringing and angel winging.

Now, to the more important question: Where should I go to lunch? If you are one who likes to see and be seen, then, much like The Highlander, there can only be one: Galatoire's. In the future, you will probably be holding court there on many a Friday afternoon, so you may as well start now.

Or more accurately, you took that Big Law job because you thought "all lawyers do is go to long lunches at Galatoire's on Fridays." Ohhh, how wrong you were. But at least you passed. So this is probably your last time to go there for Friday lunch for at least 10-12 years. By the time you can go, wife, kids, clients, and general b.s. will keep you away; please remove your rose colored Vuarnets. So go while you can and don't ever leave. However, if you are reading this post and have not yet dispatched a secretary to wait in line or the kid who did not pass, then you will likely be relegated to lunching in Siberia.

But perhaps you are one of the many young attorneys who finds him/herself working at one of the many firms struggling to generate enough work for the partners (much less the newly minted associates), and thus a four hour lunch is not in the cards (i.e., budget). Or no one gives a flying hoot that you passed the bar. No problem. Hit up one of the prix fix menus at MiLa or Cuvée - where the atmosphere may not be such a raucous as at Galatoire's but the food will indeed be much more exciting.

But no matter whether you feast upon Oysters Rockefeller or a Lucky Dog during your celebratory lunch, there is only one place to go when you finish:

For one of these:

Congrats.

* If you conditioned or worse , do not go downtown and even attempt to have a good time. Turn off your cell phone, load up your car with booze, drive at least to Orange Beach (or further), do not check Facebook updates, and just generally try to get away from it all. Remember: JFK, Jr. took the New York Bar three times before he passed, and I would say that he had a pretty successful life. If only a pilot's license was harder to obtain. What? Too soon?

** We have no evidence to either dispute or verify this information, thus hereby indemnifying ourselves from all liability which may result from advocating such an action. In fact, it is the oldest lie told in Louisiana.

For Lunch Today...

Since the last few lunch spots have been admittedly low-key, why not blow it out today. Thursday lunch is the new Friday. Restaurant Cuvee offers a 3 course meal for $24.00. Sure that may seem like a sizeable investment for lunch, but in 2 days at Subway you would probably come close to spending that amount. And this ain't a sandwich shop. Well, I should rephrase there is a sandwich on the menu but it is a bacon, chicken and waffle club sandwich.

Restaurant Cuvee is only open for lunch on Wednesdays and Thursdays, a lesson I learned the hard way recently. Chef Bob Iacovone recently challenged Bobby Flay to an Iron Chef challenge. Chef Iacovone lost, but I think the real loser is the guy who plays the Chairman.