Emeril Lagasse’s next restaurant in downtown New Orleans a ‘love letter’ to his roots
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Emeril Lagasse first made his name with “new New Orleans cuisine,” helping usher in a new era for contemporary Creole cooking. Now the celebrity chef has a new restaurant in the works for downtown New Orleans that is reaching back to his earliest roots.
Called 34 Restaurant & Bar, this latest project from parent company The Emeril Group is dubbed “a love letter to Portugal,” reflecting the chef’s family heritage.
The new restaurant is taking shape at 710 Baronne St., a commercial building that had once been the A.D. Wynne Furniture showroom, across from the CBD Rouses supermarket. It is slated to open in late spring.
The Emeril Group says 34 Restaurant & Bar is inspired by the chef’s late mother Hilda Medeiros Lagasse. The chef has long credited her with sparking his first interest in cooking when he was growing up in Fall River, Massachusetts, a enclave of Portuguese American culture.
The new restaurant will also be a family affair. E.J. Lagasse, the celebrity chef’s son, is a collaborator on the project. The name 34 comes from a combination of their names as Emeril J. Lagasse III (the father) and Emeril J. Lagasse IV (the son).
While menu details remain scant, The Emeril Group says 34 will have tapas-style shared plates, a jamon bar for the fine cured ham and international influences in its wine and cocktail program.
This is the latest move in busy season for The Emeril Group.
In October, the company unveiled the transformation of the chef’s original restaurant Emeril’s, his flagship on Tchoupitoulas Street. With E.J. Lagasse at the helm here, Emeril’s now serves chef tasting menus exclusively and was redesigned from kitchen to dining room around a more refined approach. The restaurant is also home to The Wine Bar at Emeril’s, a more casual, though still upscale concept under the same roof.
Within weeks, the company then opened Emeril’s Brasserie inside Harrah’s Casino. The French-inspired restaurant is part of the casino’s ongoing transforming into a Caesars property.
