Vega is not, strictly speaking, a tapas restaurant. Tapas bars in Spain might have a hundred or so different little nibbles, each one or two bites. Many of Vega's offerings have Spanish accents, but they're more like generous appetizers, and almost as big as some entrees I've seen.
I usually wind up eating four or five courses here. Go through the whole menu and listen to the three or four specials before even thinking about ordering. Work at least one cold dish into the mix. It doesn't matter at all what order the food comes out. But don't miss the carp roe dip. Even if the idea of eating fish eggs turns you off, get it. It's creamy instead of grainy, and when you start scooping it up with pita chips you won't be able to stop. I have been know to go through two orders of this stuff single-handedly.
Menus dominated by small plates are common now, but Vega was the first permanent restaurant in the New Orleans restaurant to do it. That was over ten years ago, long enough for the place to have not only established its own style, but also to get a good groove going with special menus. Something new is happening at Vega almost every week. Overall, the cuisines of all the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea are explored.
Chef Allison Vega opened the restaurant in 1996, in a space formerly occupied by a couple of good Greek places. Vega and her husband left town a few years later to cook in the Caribbean, and sold the restaurant to their manager Glenn Hogh. He has since moved into the kitchen, showing a great deal of creativity both in terms of cookery and marketing.
A long, spacious room with big windows in front. The building is rather old and shows comfortable wear. You pass a small dining room and bar on the way in.
Go in party of four to six, and order for the table. Most dishes are big enough to share, and the range of the menu is so wide that this becomes much fun.
| Attitude | 1 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 1 |
| Hipness | 1 |
| Local Color | 1 |
| Service | 1 |
| Value | 1 |
| Wine | 1 |
