Emeril's flagship restaurant in New Orleans welcomes back customers today for the first time since 2020. The Tchoupitoulas Street restaurant was supposed to reopen two days after Hurricane Ida but had to endure days without electricity in the wake of the storm.
Restaurateur and chef Emeril Lagasse says his New Orleans restaurant has to adapt to the challenges of reopening amid the pandemic and the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
“We are opening with no chef,” said Lagasse. “So, David Slater, my culinary director and I will co-chef Emeril’s until we either make someone or find someone.”
He says he had to make some drastic changes to the menu.
“The menu is really shrinking in size. We have taken a lot of the dishes and have really sort of, tweaked them to make them evolve in today’s time,” said Lagasse.
Emeril’s on the corner of Tchoupitoulas and Julia Streets opens its doors today at 5 pm.
