Ian McNulty

There was a time when you went to @gwfins for fish from faraway waters. Early on, it taught me about John Dory and Chilean sea bass, all excellent fish.

But then the approach changed, and along the way this restaurant has changed and expanded the idea of what the local Gulf catch can be.

I recently shared one of the roomy booths with a couple who hadn’t been to GW Fins in so long it practically qualified as their first visit. The restaurant has changed that much from its start.

You’re coming for an ever-changing menu that could include barracuda caught by local spearfishermen, swordfish ground for seafood bolognese or cured for a “bacon” in the scallop carbonara, or magnificent dry-aged cuts of bluefin tuna.

Chef Mike Nelson is pursuing new ways with seafood, breaking the local mold while giving a better measure of the depth and quality of local seafood.

Now marking 25 years in business, here’s a glimpse of what it’s like to dine here now.

Link in my bio has the full read

“Fins wings” cuts from the collar

Pictured: Dry aged tuna with house Worcestershire sauce

Dry aged swordfish with black garlic bordelaise

Yellowfin tuna pastrami (my God…) in sandwich form and all on its own

Tuna tartare in firecracker tacos

Blackened barracuda with awhile shrimp

Coconut on the half shell

And the indispensable salty malty

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #visitnola #visitneworleans #frenchquarter #seafood #gulfseafood #seacuterie #dryaged #dryagedfish #nolafoodie #nolafood #neworleansfood Less

Italian comfort food in red sauce red and garlicky olive oil golden, at @faustosbistro .

This Metairie spot is as classic as that neon sign out front, but it got a new lease on life back in 2024 with new owners and they’ve really lived up to the task.

Check the arancini, lasagna, veal Vittorio and especially that linguine allá vongole — with seemingly equal parts clams and garlic slices, just asking for twists of Italian bread to drag through.

Open on Mondays, which is good to remember when comfort food is your craving.

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #metairie #nolafoodie #[instagram]#nolafood #italianfood #clams #nolarestaurant #neworleansrestaurants Less

What does the swan song look like for someone who loves her work and closely values what she’s created, but understands she’s approaching a new chapter of life?

@rosedalenola is the New Orleans neighborhood joint perfected - casual enough for anytime meals, but also capable of blowing the doors off with its cooking and even regularly hosting amazing wine dinners.

Right now it is also a portrait of a legend in New Orleans food methodically navigating the turn into a new chapter with Susan Spicer working closely with executive chef / partner Allison Birdsall and managing partner Jonas Owens.

“Passing the torch” sounds too abrupt.

It’s more a choreography, an exchange of ideas, styles and energy as one prepares to leave her work in the others’ hands.

Link in my bio has the full read on this , and more great photos like these by my man @brettdukephoto

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #nolafoodie #nolarestaurant #neworleansfood #neworleansrestaurants #chef #cheflife #nolalife #nolalove #lakeviewnola Less

Meet chicken bonne femme, an off-the-menu dish for generations at @tujagues_restaurant , an insider’s tip spread by word of garlicky mouth.

It’s a memorable dish. Is it one that can also turn back the clock? That is what Tujague’s is proposing.

Opened in 1856, it is the second oldest restaurant in New Orleans. Only Antoine’s has a longer history.

Tujague’s is marking 170 years in business in 2026 with a slate of specials drawn from that history and also, perhaps, to reintroduce the restaurant itself, a classic that has changed a great deal yet still endures.

So in March, a dish that’s never been on the menu will be in the spotlight.

I tried it again recently, and this is definitely a destination dish.

Link in my bio has the full story

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #visitneworleans #visitnola #nolafoodie #frenchquarter #louisiana #louisianafood #friedchicken #garlic #creolefood Less

Chicken a la Grande on a grand Saturday night at @moscas1946 , our one of a kind Italian restaurant where any dinner feels like a family meal.

It also feels like the more people you bring here the more you get out of the experience, and the joy around this big table was as profuse as the garlic.

The platters come out of the kitchen and keep circulating around the table: a few orders of that chicken, oysters Mosca, of course, shrimp Mosca cooked in shell, crab salads, sausage Johnny, garlicky spaghetti, and the one and only pineapple fluff dessert.

The menu doesn’t change but I am forever learning new ways to enjoy it — this time, twirl some spaghetti through the oysters Mosca.

Great to see the @thebywaterca crew coming to the source and meeting the masters too.

Cash only as always. And as always, so worth the trip.

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #louisiana #westbanknola #italianfood #nola #neworleans #familystyle #nolafoodie #nolafood #visitneworleans #jeffersonparish #oyster #garliclovers Less

There is coffee that gives a morning jolt, and thank goodness for it (especially on this Ash Wednesday).

And then there’s another type of cup that sings a softer song. The roast is lighter, the flavors more delicate and layered. It’s the coffee you have for an afternoon chat, a spell with a book or just a good think.

Maybe now, with the echoes of a swift Mardi Gras receding, that has fresh appeal in New Orleans.

Check out @appliedartscoffee , where you’ll find the unaccustomed delights of Scandinavian breakfast, great Nordic breads and a setting that feels like visiting the den of your favorite aunt who travels the world and keeps a cozy home filled with eclectic finds.

If you’ve been on the hunt for a pickled herring smorbord (open face sandwich) with carrot pearls, this place has you covered.

There’s a fantastic egg salad smorbord too, and a continental breakfast by way of morning charcuterie board.

Here’s a look around. Link in my bio has the story of the fine dining chef and his partner who shifted gears to create it

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #nolafoodie #bywater #coffee #coffeelover #nolalife #nolabrunch #nolabreakfast #visitnola #visitneworleans #smorbord #scandinavianfood Less

Last call for king cake, continued. Another of my top king cakes in this short season dials into a different kind of tradition — the French tradition, as in the galette des rois from @celticafrenchbakery .

Baker Dominique Rizzo earned a reputation for the king cakes of his French homeland many years ago.

Now, the place to find Rizzo’s cake is his fine patisserie in Lakeview.

This delicately flaky galette is regal, burnished and gleaming, and a bite gives a cascade of crunchy crust, layer after layer, with almond paste coursing between.

Get them whole of by the slice at Celtica.

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolafood #nolafoodie #neworleans #neworleansfood #mardigras #visitnola #visitneworleans #kingcake #happymardigras #lakeviewnola Less

The new Mid-City location of @espiritunola brings new life to the former Rosella (and original Ruby Slipper), right behind Mandina’s.

It’s an anytime casual neighborhood cantina with a fresh take on Mexican food and an outstanding cocktail program in thrall to mezcal - pictured, that’s the elegant Buffy Winters (a take on an Alaska) and a seasonal king cake flip.

Check them out for weekday dinner, weekend brunch, and a long weekday happy hour (3-6 p.m.)

Link in my bio has the full read

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #nolafoodie #midcitynola #nolabrunch #noladrinks #mezcal Less

We all need some Peace, Love and Pizza, and sometimes not necessarily in that order. So I was very happy to find @peacelovepizzanola piping up wiyh these crisp-crusted, well-balanced pies outside @skeeta_hawk_brewing last night.

And cheers to these beers - a big old tankard of dark lager (left) and the “Nazi Pumpkins, Fuck Off” (a pumpkin brown ale).

The pizza moves to @peppspubnola for Super Bowl Sunday this weekend.

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafoodie #nolafood #midcitynola #nolabeer #nolapopups Less

It’s a question I field frequently , and here’s one sleeper answer : @hotandsoul

This tasty place once again hit the spot on a chilly night, this time with chef Christy’s lumpia and chicken adobo - just one line of an eclectic menu spanning burgers to beef stroganoff.

Added calamansi gimlet , shrimp ceviche with squid ink crackers and dulce de leche custard.

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #midcitynola #nolafoodie #nolafood Less