Last fall I did a post about the former Copeland's Restaurant on St. Charles Ave. and Napoleon Ave. from an email I recieved about the proposed new restaurant. link

The T-P had a story about it today. link

In my almost daily drive-bys on the way to the office I've notice some minor activity at the site. I was wondering if the seafood place would happened. Maybe it will.

Forgive me if I didn't jump for joy when I read in today's T-P:

Al Copeland reopens one restaurant on St. Charles and plans to reopen the other later this year

Isn't that special? He's reopening the tacky Cheesycake Bistro on St. Charles Ave. The tourist will be thrilled. It will be nice when they do something with the Copelands on the corner of St. Charles and Napoleon. It amazes me how such prime real estate can stay shuttered for so long. Same goes for the corner of St. Charles and Lousiana; I miss the convenience of the lame Exxon that used to be there. I'm not a big fan of any of Copeland's restaurants; it has nothing to do with the food as it does the garish decor. And I love his not-so-subtle rip-offs of chain restaurants around the country; the bad decor, the over-sized menus (both physical size and the number of items), the lame themes. I'm proud we aren't overrun with chains here. If your food stinks, you aren't going to last, no matter how fantastic your "theme" is.

Dive update.... work is in full swing at Ms. Mae's. Workmen were toting in rolls of insulation this morning. Every morning when I drive by Ms. Mae is there supervising.

For those of you uptown, swing by China Orchid on S. Carrollton Ave. They've been renovating the place, including a fancy new façade with a neon sign. It's still a work in progress but if you ever set foot in the place before, the change will take your breath away.

Pistolette left a comment on my earlier post about dives and such and I too agree that in some cases, the dive-iness of a place is what makes it. Saturn Lounge is a prime example. But some places have spiffed up and retained their sense of charm, like Pascal Manael's. I wouldn't say it was ever a dive, but like many older establishments, it needed some love. I was in there this past Mardi Gras and it felt the same. I haven't been to Madinas's since they reopened, but I hope it feels the same as it did before the storm and major renovations.

A little Miss Mae's update for those who care... I obviously shot this out my open car window. I could smell the wet smokiness (fire smoke not stale cigs) as I sat waiting for the light to turn green. There was a hand lettered sign posted by the open back door "closed due to fire."

I wonder if they will take this opportunity to fix the place up a bit? I've only stepped foot in there once so it doesn't really matter to me. Guy's Po Boys on Magazine had a fire a couple of months ago. When I drove by a few days ago they had a sign that said "2 weeks" and you could tell they have really spiffed the place up. I used to live catty corner from Guy's and it didn't have much ambiance before - dirty white walls, big open room. Now it looks like there is color on the wall and artsy blue glass drop lights. Most places in New Orleans are resistance to change, but really, a lot of places are just plain dumpy. I loved the old Cafe Atchafalya on Louisiana, the food that is, but it was like sitting in your grandmother's kitchen that hadn't been touched in 30 years. Even upstairs where you dreaded being sat, is cozy now.

Have you ever been choked up over a restaurant? Not choking but choked up, full of emotion. The T-P has been running a series of articles about Mandina’s Restaurant. It’s one of the classic New Orleans neighborhood restaurants, whose cuisine is referred to as “Italian Creole.” It’s one of the places I always take out-of-town visitors. It’s been in the family for 4 generations, opened for 75 years and flooded after the levee broke post-Katrina with up to 6 feet of water.

It’s a typical Post-K story. The owners went back and forth about whether to rebuild or throw in the towel, tear down or renovate, how to finance since the insurance company wasn’t coughing up. They got some insurance money, but have filed a lawsuit against Lloyd's of London in an attempt to receive the full amount of their wind and business interruption policies. Luckily some local banks have faith in the business and has loaned Mandina’s money, even after the renovation costs more than doubled what was originally estimated. They reopened in February to a full house, a line around the block.

So why get choked up? It’s just a restaurant, right? It’s more than that; it’s symbolic of all the people and places that make New Orleans, New Orleans. A hope that if they can do it, so can someone else. It’s kind of like a loved one walking after being told they’d never walk again. If Mandina’s decided to call it quits, of course life would have gone on. It’s the same if the Superdome was never reopened, the Saints moved to another city. However, it’s these seemingly trivial things that make life here worth living. They are unique gems that are special to the people of New Orleans. They are part of the city’s long history.

I bet no one had ever said that about a StarbucksTM®.