On our last visit to New Orleans, renowned restaurateur Ralph Brennan told us he was looking for a new location. What he has found is the perfect place for the New Orleans power lunch, combined with enough space to create a kitchen headquarters for the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group.
His new location, which features the craft of Executive Chef Haley Bittermann, is in the Heritage Plaza complex in Metairie, La., in space formerly occupied by Chops Bistro & Martini Bar. The menu for the newly named Heritage Grill focuses on the flavors of New Orleans, with starters like Roasted Duck, Wild Mushroom and Tasso Egg Rolls, or P & J Oyster Gratin, named after the purveyors of most of the fresh oysters in the area, P & J Oysters.
The menu also offers a variety of salads and sandwiches, including a Roast Beef Po Boy and a BBQ Oyster Salad Paulette with oysters, spinach, and housemade blue cheese dressing and a touch of crumbled Stilton. Entrees include some of Bittermann’s special recipes, like the Abita BBQ Shrimp that she made with The Food Channel. See video below.
Heritage Grill expects to launch an additional lunchtime “carry-out”, “gourmet to-go” dinner, and Heritage Plaza lunch time delivery service. Heritage Grill also has what insiders call a “cavernous kitchen” that will become the headquarters for the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group Catering operations.
Chef Bittermann recently appeared on The Today Show, where she prepared her signature BBQ Shrimp, as well as Jambalaya and Double Chocolate Bread Pudding. Bittermann has worked with Ralph’s on the Park, Red Fish Grill, Jazz Kitchen, and the upcoming “cafe b” restaurant, in addition to opening Heritage Grill. As Executive Chef at BACCO, Bittermann’s cooking earned a “Four Bean” rating from The Times-Picayune, as well as being named one of New Orleans’ Best Italian and Most Romantic Restaurants from Zagat, and a “Top Ten Taste” by Southern Living.
In addition to her time in the kitchen, Bittermann is a passionate voice for New Orleans cuisine. She has cooked for two United States Presidents (Bill Clinton and George W. Bush). She was selected by The Louisiana State Office of Tourism to represent Louisiana cooking to national media outlets, and has also represented Louisiana on several envoys to Canada – including a dinner at the United States Ambassador to Canada’s residence. She also spearheaded the recipes for Ralph Brennan’s New Orleans Seafood Cookbook (2009), the award winning and definitive guide to preparing New Orleans Seafood.
