Baton Rouge Restaurants

[dan326]

Bennigan's is on the outside of the Mall. That new building is going to be Harold's Jewelry.

[Antrell Williams]

Pluckers in the mall isn't a horrible decision, seeing how they have other restaurants that stay open late plus Rave. But yes they need an outdoor entrance.

[all2neat]

Pluckers is going up outside the mall in the old Benigans restaurant. The new building being worked on my red lobster is a jewelry store.

[steve3n8]

Creperie moving to Main Street Market

Food truck GOyaya’s Crepes is mobile no more. The popular restaurant-on-wheels is making the leap next week to a fixed address inside the Main Street Market downtown. "We’ve always enjoyed being part of the Main Street Market," explains owner Kevin Black, "and we feel like most of our customers come from the downtown area, so this was a logical move for us." The crepe truck often parked close to Main Street or Spanish Town, serving a large, hungry lunch crowd. Black anticipates those same diners to enjoy GOyaya’s new fixed location just as much as they did the truck. He’s also looking forward to a more "streamlined" process for getting fresh produce for his crepe creations, as the majority of his fresh fruit and vegetables come from downtown’s Red Stick Farmers Market.

The GOyaya’s menu will expand to include even more weekly specials, with a wider variety of ingredients. The restaurant will also serve coffee and Asian bubble tea and fresh-made soups. Black says the big hits from the truck—like the grilled chicken Caprese, ham and Brie, and Cuban crepes—will remain on the menu; and he’s looking forward to bringing back seasonal hits, like the Peachy Pork, which featured sweet slices of peaches nestled among tangy pulled pork barbecue.

Diners who enjoyed getting their crepes on wheels shouldn’t despair, however. Black says that he’ll work on bringing the crepe truck back once the Main Street location is up and running smoothly. For now, he plans to officially unveil the new GOyaya’s on Wednesday. For more restaurant news, read 225 Dine here.

Businessreport.com

[steve3n8]

Steak 'n Shake to open Siegen location by mid-2012

A Steak 'n Shake is set to open on Siegen Lane by mid-2012. The paperwork hasn't been signed yet for the exact spot on Siegen, says Gustavo A. Ruiz de Chavez, the owner and chief operating officer for the local Steak 'n Shake franchisee. "We’re waiting on a counter-offer, but we are going to Siegen," he says. Construction on a Steak 'n Shake in Covington, the first location in Louisiana, is set to start this week. Plans are to open the restaurant by the end of the year. Ruiz de Chavez plans to open seven Steak 'n Shake locations in south Louisiana, including restaurants in Denham Springs and Hammond.

Businessreport.com

[itsjustme3]

Steak 'n Shake to open Siegen location by mid-2012

Another new eatery for the Seigen area. I'm surprised they aren't opening up in the Cortana area.

[buckett5425]

Another new eatery for the Seigen area. I'm surprised they aren't opening up in the Cortana area.

Raising Canes opened a new location by Cortana a few months ago. I guess they saw the potential for growth in a new market?

But to change the topic, I would hardly count getting another chain coming to Baton Rouge a good thing. Chains most often provide lack luster food, destroy sense of place, and take all of their profits out of EBR back to their HQ elsewhere. None of those are positives in my opinion.

[buckett5425]

Another new eatery for the Seigen area. I'm surprised they aren't opening up in the Cortana area.

Raising Canes opened a new location by Cortana a few months ago. I guess they saw the potential for growth in a new market?

But to change the topic, I would hardly count getting another chain coming to Baton Rouge a good thing. Chains most often provide lack luster food, destroy sense of place, and take all of their profits out of EBR back to their HQ elsewhere. None of those are positives in my opinion.

[Antrell Williams]

At least they take up vacant space.

[itsjustme3]

I would hardly count getting another chain coming to Baton Rouge a good thing. Chains most often provide lack luster food, destroy sense of place, and take all of their profits out of EBR back to their HQ elsewhere. None of those are positives in my opinion.

Yeah, who needs:

1. New jobs

2. New property taxes

3. New tenant in a vacant space

4. Variety in food

[all2neat]

I don't mind chains so much. I realize for every chain their is probably a local version of the chain that is just as good. In this case Tramantes (sp?) on Jefferson is a very good choice to eat a good burger.

However,

The local version may not be...

1. in the same area I'm headed to that day / would be out of the way.

2. open when I want to go their

3. as good as the chain.

Just because the place is local doesn't mean it's better. The good thing about chains is if done right, you know exactly what to expect prior to going their. Bad chains will be inconsistent from location to location. Some of the best places to eat are local only, however Ruth Chris is in my opinion a very good place to eat yet it is a chain. Chimes is a very good place to eat, yet it is becoming a chain.

Point is, just because it is a chain, doesn't mean it's bad.

[steve3n8]

Baton Rouge makes a 'Cuban Connection'

Baton Rouge resident Alex Dalmau grew up surrounded by the culture of Cuba: the music, the people and especially the food. The son of Cuban immigrants, he waited in vain for years for a proper Cuban restaurant to open in Baton Rouge. "I finally realized no one else was going to step up," says Dalmau with a laugh. "I was craving real Cuban food, and if I wanted it to happen here, I had to make it happen. Feed myself, I guess you'd say." Dalmau's dream comes true when he and his chef-partner, Ed Tomlin, roll out the new Cuban Connection food truck next week. Between Tomlin's kitchen experience and Dalmau's expert Cuban palate, the resulting menu is a pitch-perfect pastiche of Latin-American flavor, from fried plantain chips to black bean soup, and includes a mouthwatering selection of pressed sandwiches. Cuban Connection will also serve breakfast, featuring hot Cuban coffee—strong enough to put hairs on your chest—and fresh-made pastelitos with sweet guava and savory meat. You can see where this new food truck will be popping up by checking their website here. For more food news, check out 225 Dine here.

Businessreport.com

[steve3n8]

Mexican restaurant and bar planned for downtown

Lafayette-based Aztecas Mexican Cuisine is once again entering the Baton Rouge market, this time in the heart of downtown. Restaurant spokesman Johnny Mekari says renovations have begun at 453 Lafayette St., and the plan is to open within three months. Aztecas closed a location at Airline and Old Hammond highways, which had been in business about six years, because evening traffic was just too slow, Mekari says. The restaurant's new location, near the river and just a block off of Third Street, has much more promise, he says. "We've been eyeing downtown for a while now. There are a lot of activities and projects going on downtown, and we want to capture some of the action," Mekari says. A balcony will be outfitted on the south side of the building to afford river views, and the restaurant and bar will also feature outdoor patio seating.

Businessreport.com

[dan326]

Cool! ^

[steve3n8]

Sammy’s Grill in Prairieville on track to open in spring 2012

A Sammy’s Grill restaurant is under construction on property adjoining the Prairieville estate once belonging to author Robert Penn Warren and is on schedule to open in spring 2012, says Sammy’s Grill owner Sammy Nagem. The restaurant had hoped to open this fall, Nagem says, but the zoning and permitting process has created some delays. The restaurant is being built on 5.1 acres of land that adjoins 7.1 acres of land, including the former Warren home, up for auction in U.S Bankruptcy Court in Baton Rouge on Friday, Oct. 7. The land on which the restaurant is being built is not included in the auction. Steve Bonfanti, property developer for an investment group building the restaurant, says the group will bid on the 7.1 acres of land and Warren house, but has no immediate plans for the site should they win the auction. The group purchased the adjoining land for the restaurant for $910,000 at auction in June 2010. The restaurant will be the fourth Sammy’s Grill in the region, joining those in Baton Rouge, Zachary and Central. "Our growth has been fantastic in recent years, and we’re looking forward to opening the restaurant in Prairieville," Bonfanti says.

Businessreport.com

Edited September 28, 2011 by steve3n8

[itsjustme3]

Sammy’s Grill in Prairieville on track to open in spring 2012

A Sammy’s Grill restaurant is under construction on property adjoining the Prairieville estate once belonging to author Robert Penn Warren and is on schedule to open in spring 2012, says Sammy’s Grill owner Sammy Nagem. The restaurant had hoped to open this fall, Nagem says, but the zoning and permitting process has created some delays. The restaurant is being built on 5.1 acres of land that adjoins 7.1 acres of land, including the former Warren home, up for auction in U.S Bankruptcy Court in Baton Rouge on Friday, Oct. 7. The land on which the restaurant is being built is not included in the auction. Steve Bonfanti, property developer for an investment group building the restaurant, says the group will bid on the 7.1 acres of land and Warren house, but has no immediate plans for the site should they win the auction. The group purchased the adjoining land for the restaurant for $910,000 at auction in June 2010. The restaurant will be the fourth Sammy’s Grill in the region, joining those in Baton Rouge, Zachary and Central. "Our growth has been fantastic in recent years, and we’re looking forward to opening the restaurant in Prairieville," Bonfanti says.

Businessreport.com

Did I overlook it or does the author not say what Rd/Hwy the restaurant will be built on? Not everyone knows where the Warren property is.

[steve3n8]

B.R. gets hip to modernist cuisine

Every summer, Ruffino's Executive Chef Peter Sclafani travels to Chalmette to select what he believes are the area's most flavorful Creole tomatoes. A farm-to-table advocate, Sclafani buys the scarlet fruit from the same family farm each season, incorporating them into Ruffino's La Caprese and other summer salads. But this year, the tricolor classic of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil was elevated further—the result of Sclafani's interest in another major culinary trend: modernist cuisine. He didn't douse the salad with the requisite extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. He topped it instead with homemade balsamic caviar, created with a natural gelling agent called agar. Topped with micro basil and served with impossibly soft burrata cheese, the dish was an impressive reinterpretation of its classic forebear. But it looked so much like real caviar that several patrons, including some who didn't like caviar at all, remained unconvinced. Ruffino's servers were used to the exchange. It wasn't the first time Sclafani had dabbled in modernist cuisine. Click here to read a story by Maggie Heyn Richardson about this local chef's forays into molecular gastronomy. To read this week's entire 225 Dine newsletter, click here.

Businessreport.com

[steve3n8]

Perkins Rowe Applebee's aims for December opening

The Applebee's restaurant under construction next to Orvis in Perkins Rowe is expected to open in time for the holiday season. Perkins Rowe General Manager Rick Balow says the restaurant is aiming for the first or second week of December "to get some of the holiday business." He says the restaurant will occupy a new, 5,500-square-foot space in the shopping center, and that contractors have been working 16-20 hours a day to meet the target date. "They really are going after that," he says. The Applebee's will have an upscale feel consistent with the Perkins Rowe brand, Balow says. "It's their bistro concept. … The awnings will be a solid material with an apple silhouette in the corner, and they'll be backlit," he says. "The interior finishings will also be more upscale. I'm very excited. I've seen the photos of the concept, and I think it'll be a nice addition to the community." Balow also says a Flip-Flop Shops franchise will open in time for Christmas.

Businessreport.com

[Antrell Williams]

A sad story to be told. Applebee's has no place in PR.

[all2neat]

Baton Rouge makes a 'Cuban Connection'

Baton Rouge resident Alex Dalmau grew up surrounded by the culture of Cuba: the music, the people and especially the food. The son of Cuban immigrants, he waited in vain for years for a proper Cuban restaurant to open in Baton Rouge. "I finally realized no one else was going to step up," says Dalmau with a laugh. "I was craving real Cuban food, and if I wanted it to happen here, I had to make it happen. Feed myself, I guess you'd say." Dalmau's dream comes true when he and his chef-partner, Ed Tomlin, roll out the new Cuban Connection food truck next week. Between Tomlin's kitchen experience and Dalmau's expert Cuban palate, the resulting menu is a pitch-perfect pastiche of Latin-American flavor, from fried plantain chips to black bean soup, and includes a mouthwatering selection of pressed sandwiches. Cuban Connection will also serve breakfast, featuring hot Cuban coffee—strong enough to put hairs on your chest—and fresh-made pastelitos with sweet guava and savory meat. You can see where this new food truck will be popping up by checking their website here. For more food news, check out 225 Dine here.

Businessreport.com

I had some food from him, it was awesome!

[itsjustme3]

A sad story to be told. Applebee's has no place in PR.

You think THATS bad? Wait until that flip flop shop opens up.

Also, I was at PR last weekend and the place was overrun with kids/teens and we saw 1 fight outside the bookstore. Place is becoming more and more trashy.

[Antrell Williams]

Yes Applebee's is a low class dine-in restaurant. How does it look among the ones already there? Thankfully it's not in the square.

I've never seen a fight there, and I've always seen a mix of teens and adults and I used to go throughout the week with my ex.

[itsjustme3]

I've never seen a fight there, and I've always seen a mix of teens and adults and I used to go throughout the week with my ex.

Hang out there fri or sat night and you'll change your opinion. It's not bad during the week, but weekends parents just drop off their kids like PR is some giant babysitter.

[Antrell Williams]

I've been there on Friday and Saturday nights. That's when I went the most.

[steve3n8]

Sausages to-go coming to B.R. streets

Hamburgers just aren’t enough anymore for Curbside owner Nick Hufft: The Curbside Links truck will be rolling out towards the end of November, vending sausages made fresh every day. Hufft plans to serve every kind of sausage he and his crew can conceive of, from Polish sausages to German bratwurst and French charcuterie. "We just love tubing meats," Hufft says with a laugh. When they created Curbside last year, Hufft already knew that he wanted to do something extensive with sausages—something more than the occasional special at the hamburger truck. "We knew it needed to be a truck of its own," he says. Most sausages will be served on buns like poboys, although some of the brats will be served solo. "We want you to experience the sausage, really taste the meat rather than the toppings or the bread," says Hufft. House-made potato chips in a variety of flavors will also be on the menu, including duck fat and hickory-smoked sea-salt chips. For those in a less adventurous frame of mind, New York-style hot dogs will also be served—but with a Curbside twist, as customers will be able to choose from a variety of gourmet sauces like "chili-churri" and curried ketchup. Check out their website here for updates on when the sausage truck gets rolling. Read the rest of this week’s 225 Dine newsletter here

Businessreport.com