Bank Cafe

Beautiful spaces such as this, with high ceilings, warm lighting and an impeccable Art Deco bar, create a sense of anticipation. It's in a former bank, and has preserved the grandeur and dispensed with the stodginess. The menu follows through wonderfully. It's Louisiana cooking with unintrusive updates. Fresh vegetables, while perhaps not exactly qualifying as innovations, are welcomed for their snap and color.

Dishes like Moroccan braised lamb shanks, served with gremoulata and cous-cous, gently bend culinary categories. American classics such as seared red snapper are accompanied by a bounty of veggies. The menu follows the seasons, and fresh and organic are the bywords here.