Buy You Breakfast at Bayou Breakfast

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Derek and Idolka Villavaso opened Bayou Breakfast at 3111 Grand Route Saint John today.

On November 2, 2015, Ian McNulty wrote:
If a good hearty breakfast is the cure for what ails you, the former home of a neighborhood pharmacy in Faubourg St. John may still do the trick as a new cafe with seafood omelets, chicken and waffles and sweet potato pancakes.

Bayou Breakfast opened over the weekend at 3111 Esplanade Ave., in the building that was long home to De Blanc Pharmacy. That neighborhood standby closed in 2013, and the building later had a short stint as a frozen yogurt franchise.

Proprietors Idolka and Derek Villavaso have run a number of other businesses around town, and they saw a need for more breakfast service.

“That’s one thing everyone seems to want and we don’t have enough of,” said Derek Villavaso, who is also a partner in the Frenchmen Street restaurant and music venue Vaso.

Inside Bayou Breakfast, there’s a diner counter, a collection of tables and booths and a décor mixing cartoon images of alligators and bayou scenes with stylized photos of the Villavasos’ own children. They plan to add outdoor seating as well. The menu (see link below) is an extensive roster of mostly breakfast and brunch dishes, plus a few po-boys. Creole flavors are prominent, with beignets drizzled with chocolate sauce, catfish and grits and BBQ shrimp among the options. There are conventional breakfast plates, and also vegan versions with scrambled tofu, and the kitchen serves a selection of lighter starts. For instance, the chia pudding is a coconut milk pudding studded with chia seeds for a tapioca-like texture, topped with fruit and honey.

The menu also has a few Latin American breakfast items, a nod to the heritage of Idolka Villavaso. A native of Nicaragua, she ran her homespun restaurant La Cocinita Escondida on Freret Street long before that area bloomed into a restaurant row, and before the city had many traditional Latin American restaurants. Her family now operates Sarita’s Grill from the same location.

Bayou Breakfast does not serve alcohol, though the owners said they plan to apply for a liquor license to do so in the future.

The Villavasos have a second, separate venture in the works in the Warehouse District, where they’re developing a juice bar called Joose Heaven at 841 Fulton St. The café will serve cold press juice, salads, smoothies and other light fare, and is expected to open in the next few weeks.

Bayou Breakfast

3111 Grand Route St. John, 504-252-9129

Breakfast and lunch daily

Article by Ian McNulty courtesy THE ADVOCATE.

Many thanks to Ronnie Brink for dropping off the menu for Bayou Breakfast that you can see below:

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Sunday Brunch Pops Up at Bienville and Broad

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Click on the menu for a larger view

Check out all the great choices at this Sunday’s Brunch from 9 until 2 at 300 North Broad:
Shrimp & Grits | Farmer’s Market Omelette | Cinnamon Apple Angel Food Cake Frech Toast | Pork-Belly Hash with Tow Poached Eggs | Breakfast Sandwich | Breakfast Burrito | Traditional Breakfast | Huevos Rancheros
btn-new-spaceDecember 14
Enjoy the weather on the beautiful patio at Liberty’s Kitchen and feast on Louisiana Gulf Shrimp & Grits, Huevos Rancheros, Angel Food Cake French Toast, Market Fresh Veggie Omelets, and much more! A portion of all proceeds from the Sunday Brunch will benefit Liberty’s Kitchen.
No reservations necessary. Menu may vary. For more information, please contact info@libertyskitchen.org or 504-822-4011.

Sunday December 14th from 9AM – 2PM at Liberty’s Kitchen at 300 North Broad Street, New Orleans, LA 70119
(504) 822-4011
Enjoy Liberty’s Kitchen’s line of Starbucks coffee drinks while you eat!
For more information contact info@libertyskitchen.org

Liberty’s Kitchen is a social enterprise dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable New Orleans youth. Liberty’s Kitchen provides a path to bright and healthy futures through employability and life skills training and by providing freshly prepared, nutritious meals to school children.

Liberty’s Kitchen helps young people access futures that are healthy and sustainable, enabling them to achieve personal and economic independence in adulthood.

Liberty’s Kitchen’s Youth Development Program provides disconnected youth with workforce and life skills training to become employed and self-sufficient. This program addresses the many issues that create barriers to self-sufficiency with wrap-around support including health care, mental health, housing, GED completion, parenting issues, and financial literacy.

Through their School Nutrition Program, Liberty’s Kitchen provides undernourished school children with healthy, scratch-made meals prepared fresh onsite at their schools. By ensuring that low-income students have access to better nutrition and nutrition education in school, Liberty’s Kitchen contributes to the fight to end the epidemic of childhood obesity and increase youth achievement.

Liberty’s Kitchen is part of the ReFresh Project – a groundbreaking “Fresh Food Hub” with an urban Whole Foods Market, Tulane University, and others – which pursues innovative strategies to achieve social impact through food.

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Reminder!

The December NEWCITY Neighborhood Partnership Meeting is this Thursday evening, December 18th from 6 pm to 7:30 pm at Sojourner Truth Neighborhood Center (2200 Lafitte Street). Join us for a festive meeting around water issues and storm water management. Interactive flood mapping will be taking place. A delicious dinner will be served!

See the agenda below:

Welcome, Dinner & Introductions  |  Dennis Bagneris, Program Director of Liberty’s Kitchen & NEWCITY Chair

Water Wise |  Jeff Supak, Global Green 

Neighborhood Flood Mapping |  Amy Stelley, Planner and Designer               

Water Collaborative  |  Water Wrap-up

Partner Updates & Socializing

Closing

 

THE ORIGINAL VOODOO ON THE BAYOU

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VOODOO ON THE BAYOU

by Tom Fitzmorris

Long before the Voodoo Festival in City Park took over the Halloween weekend, the Faubourg St John Neighborhood Association held its annual fundraising party–also Halloween weekend, also with a voodoo theme, also near City Park. Instead of loud music, however, the theme is food. (Although there’s music, too.) The location is right: The Pitot House, one of the city’s oldest houses, on Bayou St. John in the bend across from City Park. It was the home of James Pitot, the first mayor of New Orleans.

The party starts at eight-thirty this Saturday, October 26 and goes until midnight, with all the essential makings of a fun evening: live music, open bar, and food. What food? From these esteemed culinarians, most of which are from the neighborhood:

Aunt Sally’s Pralines | Brocato’s | Cafe Degas | Commander’s Palace | Deutsches Haus | Fairgrinds Coffeehouse | Fair Grounds | Fellini’s Café | Katie’s Restaurant Liuzza’s By the Track | Lola’s Restaurant | Mona’s Café | New Orleans Tomato Co. Nonna Mia | Parkway Bakery | Ralph’s on the Park | Rouse’s Supermarket | Ruby Slipper Café | Santa Fe Restaurant | Terranova’s Superette | Toups Meatery


The tickets are available in advance for $50 online (https://fsjna.org) or at these merchants:

Terranova Supermarket, 3308 Esplanade Ave
Swirl Wine, 3143 Ponce de Leon

Tickets are also at the door for $60. The money goes toward the continuing improvement of that historic neighborhood and the Pitot House itself, which is a real gem. Faubourg St. John’s projects include the ReBridge Project, Desmare Playground, and the Bayou Children’s Halloween event.

 

VOODOO ON THE BAYOU

 

Angelo Brocato Italian Desserts will provide MINI CANOLI and ITALIAN COOKIES
Aunt Sally’s will provide PRALINETTES.
Cafe Degas will provide POULET BASQUAISE
Commander’s Palace will provide GRILLADES and GRITS
Deutsches Haus will provide BRATWURST and KRAUT
Fairgrinds will provide COFFEE
Fair Grounds will provide JAMBALAYA
Fellini’s Cafe will provide HUMMUS and PITA BREAD
Katie’s will provide CHICKEN FETTUCCINI with BUCKTOWN ALFREDO
Lola’s will provide PAELLA (vegetarian and seafood)
Mona’s will provide DOLMAS (vegetarian and meat)
Nonna Mia will provide DIVINE PORTABELLA
Ralph’s on the Park will provide SESAME SEARED TUNA with GINGER CHILI SOY SAUCE
Ruby Slipper will provide BREAD PUDDING
New Orleans Tomato Company will provide TOMATO BASIL SOUP
Santa Fe will provide SALPICON de MARISCOS (tortilla soup) and SEAFOOD SALAD with ORGANIC GREENS
Terranova’s will provide ITALIAN SAUSAGE
Toups Meatery will provide CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE GUMBO

Social Event of the Season

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Reconnect with your neighbors in a positive environment…

SMILE, eat, drink, dance and play this SATURDAY

Enjoy the 23rd annual Voodoo on the Bayou. Experience the joy of great fun as the Treme Brass Band tunes up for your enjoyment.

Tickle your tastebuds with food from New Orleans’ finest restaurants. Wash it down with spirits from the open bars then dance to the sounds of Lips and the Trips. Join the second line when the Treme Brass Band brings down the house.

And, speaking of houses, the 23rd annual Voodoo on the Bayou will be at the historic Pitot House at 1440 Moss Street on beautiful Bayou St. John.

So, what are you waiting for? Rush out and get your tickets at Terranova’s at 3308 Esplanade, Pal’s Lounge at 949 North Rendon, Swirl Wines at 3143 Ponce de Leon or Cork and Bottle in the American Can Company.

Check out the poster at http://voodooonthebayou.com

For more information, please visit:
https://fsjna.org/2012/10/voodoo-on-the-bayou-6/