A Morning Menu of LAF-Style Food News and Stories to Begin Your Day

HAPPY NATIONAL APRICOT DAY!

38 Essential American Restaurants

5 Favorites in St. Bernard Parish

A Manhattan Clam Chowder Reverie

Cozy Corner of Memphis Closed After Fire

38 Essential American Restaurants

Bill Addison just released his essential 38 for Eater: the 38 must-visit American restaurants for 2015. They range from Prince’s Hot Chicken in Nashville to Grant Achatz’s ultra-modern Alinea in Chicago. Along the way you’ll find some old-time classics like Galatoire’s, vegan cuisine at Philadelphia’s Vedge, and a $169 tasting menu at Las Vegas’ L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. It’s a varied list and a fascinating read.

5 Favorites in St. Bernard Parish

 

Veal parmesan with a side of macaroni and cheese? Must be Ricky and Carlo's!

Veal parmesan with a side of macaroni and cheese? Must be Ricky and Carlo’s!

The towns immediately to the east of New Orleans – Arabi, Chalmette, Meraux – seem like a part of the Crescent City but they’re actually in St. Bernard Parish (a parish in Louisiana is what the rest of the country knows as a county). There’s plenty of good eating to be found around here, and The Times-Picayune has come up with five of their favorites, including Rocky and Carlo’s in Chalmette, where the macaroni and cheese is legendary.

A Manhattan Clam Chowder Reverie

The oyster bar in Grand Central Oyster Bar, the perfect spot to spoon into a bowl of the world's best Manhattan clam chowder

The oyster bar in Grand Central Oyster Bar, the perfect spot to spoon into a bowl of the world’s best Manhattan clam chowder

We don’t like Manhattan clam chowder. Why? It almost always seems like a tired bowl of tomato vegetable soup where the clams are an afterthought. That said, there is one, and only one, Manhattan clam chowder that we truly adore: the version served at the Grand Central Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station in Manhattan. Alexander Lobrano, writing for The Wall Street Journal, goes even further. He says, “For reasons as rich and muddled as any good chowder, I yearn for this soup from one consoling bowl to the next.” It’s a beautifully written story of food, growing up, and becoming “very good at lunch.”

Cozy Corner of Memphis Closed After Fire

WMC Action News 5 – Memphis, Tennessee
A fire yesterday at the barbecue shop Cozy Corner of Memphis has closed the restaurant. It may be weeks before it will reopen. Thankfully, the owners have insurance. We’ve eaten in just about all of Memphis’ top barbecue parlors and, as far as we’re concerned, Cozy Corner reigns supreme in this Q-crazed city. They are also terrific people. We wish them well in getting the business up and running soon.