Mahony's is to Parasol's (or Mother's or Johnny's or Liuzza's) what Commander's Palace is to Galatoire's. It's a poor boy shop whose food is immediately recognizable as saturated with local flavor. But it has rethought all the classics, and presents the goods with a decidedly contemporary stamp. This shows itself most forcefully in the raw materials. Like the current generation of gourmet chefs, Mahony's puts more than average effort into buying its meats, seafoods, dressings, and bread.
Chef Ben Wicks and Art Mahony Murray opened Mahony's in 2008, taking over an interesting space formerly that of Winnie's Artsy Cafe--one of the early openers when Magazine Street boomed in the wake of the hurricane. Wicks was cheffing at RioMar, but was thinking of opening his own place. At the time, the poor-boy-shop genre was experiencing its greatest repopularization in New Orleans history, and the idea appealed to him. The Irish aspect of the name is a reference to the Irish Channel, although the restaurant is outside the traditional boundaries of that district.
Mahoney's occupies a handsome old cottage with a pleasant porch in front. The dining room is wide and spacious with big windows on three sides. A large bar on the right serves to both dispense beverages of all kinds and to take and deliver orders. Ceiling fans keep the place cool even on really hot days.
Start with a pile of thin onion rings. The restaurant's original sandwiches--are very much worth trying, even the ones that sound eccentric. (I'm pleased to see root beer-glazed ham on the list.) The standard poor boys are well-made too. A plate special is offered every day, too, as are a few salads.
| Attitude | 1 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 1 |
| Hipness | 1 |
| Local Color | 2 |
| Service | 0 |
| Value | 1 |
| Wine | 0 |
