After Katrina: the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans

The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans has re-opened after renovations and repairs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Formerly the city’s Maison Blanche department store, the hotel offers a choice of restaurants and a beautiful courtyard in which you can relax. On  the third floor of the remodeled hotel, a restaurant aptly named  Mélange rather unusually has a menu  that offers  the  greatest successes from other New Orleans restaurants, using recipes supplied by the chefs themselves.   Alligator sausage from Jacques-Imo’s and  pompano Napoleon (puff pastry brimming with Gulf fish, scallops and shrimp) from Broussard’s are among the dishes on offer.