The CBD in its peak years of the 1940s and 1950s was jammed with little cafes designed for working people of modest means. As the office buildings slowly but certainly convert to hotels and condos, that community of eateries has dwindled to a very few. That's good, because the ones that remain are the best ones.
Owners Petros Bilalis and Gus Kouniaris opened the P&G in 1981, joining a few other Greek-owned breakfast-and-lunch cafes in that block of Baronne Street. At that time and long before, the stretch was filled with large retailers (selling furniture, mostly). Blocks of banks and other office building took up blocks in every direction, and there was plenty of business for small cafes serving good home-style New Orleans food. Most of that milieu is gone now, but the P&G and its neighbor Leni's keep going with good basic food, if at a more relaxed pace.
The environment is utilitarian but pleasant. The highlight is a terrarium populated by box turtles. (I used to have one of those myself, so the place resonates.) The service style is non-rigorous and casual; most people who dine here think of themselves as family.
Don't come in expecting everything be up with the times. (No vegan menu or organic vegetables, for example.) That adjusted, you'll find the place nostalgic, charming, and tasty.
| Attitude | 1 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 0 |
| Hipness | 0 |
| Local Color | 1 |
| Service | 0 |
| Value | 2 |
| Wine | 0 |
