There was no missing that we were in New Orleans in the middle of summer, not in this beautiful new downtown bistro where only a few other people were dining on a slow weeknight.

But as our table filled, first with crusty bread and rich, cultured butter, then a progression of appetizers, from textbook charcuterie to a summer garden-fresh special, we had that pleasing feeling of temporary transport that the right restaurant meal can deliver.

There, between the soft brick walls and under the slow ceiling fans, we were in France, at least for as long as this meal would last. We did our best to extend it, from a dapper cocktail to start and through the very-French wine list.

We were at Le Moyne Bistro (746 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-350-1750) in the Warehouse District, in the address that ma

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