Shawn Jones of Dish on Hayne explained, “We try to deliver the complete dining experience from the ambiance to the service and of course, the food. Our chef, Jason Senter, has that southern, soulful, large portions mentality. He epitomizes comfort food with a little bit of a creole twist that we like to call 'contemporary creole.' People eat with all of their senses. We eat with our nose and our eyes as much as we eat with our mouths, so we cater to all of those senses and set the bar high here at Dish. When you walk into Dish, you have a certain expectation of the kind of experience that you’re going to have. Although the dishes are common dishes, they're very rich and well-seasoned. It’s the kind of food that when you leave, you think about it. It’s food art, in essence.”
And you know we love us some food art in this city! “We have a bunch of great dishes that our chef Jason created himself and also some traditional New Orleans style dishes that people are going to be familiar with, such as our seafood platter,” Shawn said. “The dishes range from a great blackened redfish to roasted duck with an orange glaze that is phenomenal. Our signature dish is the Catfish Charles, two deep fried catfish fillets over a panko battered potato cake topped with a Cajun crawfish cream sauce. Our Scallops a la Benny is another favorite, which is also served with a crawfish cream sauce, black pepper seasoning, a little white pepper and seared on both sides.”
“The thing is, you can find a seafood platter anywhere in New Orleans, but for our most delectable dishes, you have to go into the French Quarter to find something similar. We’re trying to offer something that the neighborhood and community can enjoy and appreciate, but not have to travel to Metairie or to the Quarters to get it. As our clientele grows, so will our menu and we have a chef that can do it all.”
With all of this, Dish on Hayne could be anywhere in the city and yet it is in the East. We’re sure many are wondering why in the world would they decide to put the restaurant in the East, but in the words of Shawn, “New Orleans East is coming back baby! Charles Bell, the owner, noticed that after the storm, the East was missing a good eatery. There were other mom-and-pops places, which are great, but with 75,000 homes and families back in the East, there was still a void. We needed a place where a husband could take his wife out to, where that couple could have that first date. We needed something like that close by and at the same time, we wanted to be a part of and give back to the community.”
And what a great addition to the community they are. Aside from offering great food, there are plenty of events going on at Dish on Hayne as well. Shawn explained, “Happy Hour is from 5-7 everyday except on Fridays, which is 5-8. We have Martini Wednesdays every week with $5 martinis, including our signature chocolate covered strawberry martini. Thursday is Small Business Thursdays where we have WBOK broadcasting live from 5-7. You can come and talk about and advertise your business in a relaxed setting, basically a meet and greet of all local businesses. On Fridays, we have DJ Byrd starting at 10 and Saturdays is DJ Captain Charles. We also have Steak Night on Thursdays, which is a 7oz. rib eye served with a loaded baked potato for $15. And starting on Easter Sunday, we’re doing brunch cuz who doesn’t like a nice brunch on Sundays?"
Dish on Hayne has had an overwhelmingly positive reception from the community. People truly appreciate them for being brave enough to open up in New Orleans East.
In addition to regular dining, Dish on Hayne is available for private events and corporate buyouts and will be opening soon for lunch.
So New Orleans, please support a great business in a great neighborhood. Shawn summed it up perfectly. He said, “We don’t claim to be excellent in everything. We’re not Emeril’s or Antoine’s and we’re not trying to be. But, we’re getting compared to them. We’re exceeding guests’ expectations. When you leave Dish we want you to say, ‘Wow, what a great and unique New Orleans experience.’”
Dish on Hayne
9734 Hayne Blvd.
(504) 301-0356
Open Tuesday – Saturday, 3:00pm – 10:00pm
Follow Dish on Hayne on Facebook and Twitter!
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