Chef Donald Link's growing national reputation--largely built on his opening Cochon right after Katrina and a good new Cajun cookbook--rarely gives enough credit to his much better bistro Herbsaint. One that did was Nation's Restaurant News, which named Herbsaint to its Fine Dining Hall Of Fame--no small achievement. Herbsaint is original and delicious, and has attracted a strong regular clientele that makes the place hip and fun. Every meal I have there is better than the one before.
Few other restaurants run in Herbsaint's groove. Its menu is a unique pairing of gourmet Creole-French bistro main items with decidedly country-style garnishes. So you get duck confit with dirty rice. Grilled chicken with blackeye peas. But that's not all. Pasta appears more than you'd expect, along with Italian tinges. The cooking defies category. It is, however, always full of interesting options, and is so intriguing that the place is a great success in a location where few restaurants have found anything other than a struggle.
The first major new restaurant of the 2000s, Herbsaint opened in 2000 as a partnership between Bayona's proprietor/chef Susan Spicer and her former sous chef Donald Link. Link bought out Spicer a few years after Katrina. Herbsaint is named for the anise-flavored liqueur created in New Orleans, famous as much for its use in cooking (notably oysters Rockefeller) as in drinking. At the beginning, the food here had a distinctly French-bistro tinge; it has since evolved way from both the French and the city styles of cooking into something more rustic. At the same time, the food, service, and wine improved steadily.
The L-shaped dining room, inherited from past restaurants, has been renovated into a sleek, angular space. The big windows remain uncovered, looking onto the increasingly green St. Charles Avenue streetscape. A modest bar lines the wall of the shorter wing; the open kitchen takes its place on the Girod Street side. A second dining room, a bit isolated from the main action, extends that way, too. In recent times tables have been set on the sidewalks; unless the weather is unbearable, these are usually full.
Reserve days in advance. Recent publicity for the restaurant and Donald Link make Herbsaint very busy. Place an order for the fresh-cut fries with your cocktails. Throughout the afternoon, Herbsaint serves from a menu of small plates. Although Herbsaint has made a major specialty of fatty chunks of pork belly, know that it's not exactly to everybody's taste.
| Attitude | 0 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 1 |
| Hipness | 2 |
| Local Color | 3 |
| Service | 1 |
| Value | 1 |
| Wine | 2 |
