When we walked into Briquette at 701 S. Peters Street, the entire restaurant was abuzz. The open kitchen offered sights of seamless stainless steel as well as some sporadic kitchen flames to add some drama to the evening. Before heading to our table, we hit the bar.
Greeted by a smiling bartender, he told us of their specialty cocktails. Everything from a Briquette twist on the French 75 to their take on an old fashioned was available. I went with the bubbles; my date went with the whiskey.
Briquette is next to what I’d call it’s “younger sister.” That younger sister is Opal Basil, and even though it and Briquette will both be under chef Robert Vasquez’s culinary command, Opal Basil will be more of a neighborhood cafe, a place to grab a bite, a small plate, or a much needed drink on your lunch break. Briquette–with its long gleaming bar, heavily seafood focused menu, and evening ambiance–will be the dining spot for those who want to clink glasses and salivate over our Louisiana seafood.
And that’s what we did–ordering everything from the grilled octopus and Gulf shrimp in lemon buttered broth to the white crusted sea bass and lobster chorizo. A must try are the lobster tamales that the restaurant ran out of by the middle of the night (always a good sign). Although, I have to also give a shoutout to the boneless broiled short ribs that were not only broiled, but also charred to make sure they had as many flavors as possible pulled out of the meat.
But, why bother with these words when we can show you visuals? Get ready to salivate.
Briquette at 701 S. Peters Street is now open every evening from 5:00 PM until 10:00 PM.
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When I went to visit the Pointe-au-Chien tribe after Hurricane Ida with my Service Learning class, I heard that one of the biggest challenges in the aftermath of the hurricane was finding enough drinking water, so in this article, I explore water purification methods: 1) when they are necessary, 2) how they work, and 3) if they really make your water safe to drink.
