Do you do the Bunny Hop? One local organization is banking on it this Easter.
The Big Easy Bunny Hop officially debuts in New Orleans this Saturday, April 8. The inaugural event will offer a trinity of adult, holiday entertainment including an Easter Egg Hunt, a costume contest and a unique, springtime pub crawl through the Warehouse District, all benefitting the New Orleans Second Harvest Food Bank.
Registration is at Manning’s, 519 Fulton St., from 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., where each “Bunny” will receive a numbered Golden Easter Egg. Following registration “Bunnies” will embark upon an adventurous hop around bars in the Warehouse District including Barcadia, Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar, The Rusty Nail and Dino’s Bar & Grill.
Each location along the “Bunny Trail” will serve its own drink specials, and each bar will validate the numbered eggs. All validated eggs gain access to a drawing for a total of $1,000 in cash prizes at the after-party at Generations Hall, 310 Andrew Higgins, where organizers will hold the “Cutest Bunny” contest for partygoers decked out in their best holiday costumes.
All participating “Bunnies” are encouraged to purchase advanced tickets for $20 here
Ten dollars from each ticket sold will go directly to the New Orleans Second Harvest Food Bank.
Easter is Sunday, April 16, and many local restaurants and hotels are offering opulent Sunday Brunches as rites of passage including $12 Bottomless Mimosas at Broussard’s, 819 Conti St. From 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., there will be live tableside Jazz and menu items including lump crab ravigote salad, Napoleon Benedict, raspberry mascarpone stuffed pain perdu and pecan crusted grilled port loin chop.
At Compère Lapin, in the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery at 535 Tchoupitoulas St., Chef Nina Compton will offer a bouquet of Easter à la carte specialties including deviled Scotch eggs, jerk lamb shank with spring peas, asparagus, fontina fondue and quail egg, guava pepper jelly glazed pork belly and hot cross buns.
Devoted cocktail maven Abigail Gullo will present a parade of springtime Easter cocktails including the Travel Papers, a refreshing take on a Paloma with tequila, mezcal, grapefruit juice, lime, cinnamon, apricot liqueur and garnished with a whole bottle of Underberg bitters; Page of Swords, a light floral take on a Martini with Death's Door gin complemented by Ransom dry vermouth, Gentian liqueur, dry curacao and garnished with edible flowers from the kitchen; Lasers in the Jungle with overproof crystal rum, red wine, Zwack liqueur, Orgeat syrup and lime; and Sail The Endless Skies, an aged tequila take on a classic Martinez with almond grappa, sweet vermouth, aged tequila and bitters.
Emeril's Restaurants will extend their hours this Easter for faithful patrons and dangle a carrot of sumptuous Easter Brunch bonne bouches.
Chef Anthony Scanio at Emeril’s Delmonico, 1300 St. Charles Ave., will be cooking up spiritual specials like veal grillades, Louisiana drum meunière, served with poached artichoke, fingerling potatoes, young arugula and grape tomatoes, dry aged beef chorizo omelet and strawberry pain perdu among others. In addition, guests can choose from a list of heavenly cocktails to complement their meal. Brunch will be served from 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
At Emeril's New Orleans, 800 Tchoupitoulas St., guests will celebrate the end of Lent at its Easter Sunday Jazz Brunch starting at 10:30 a.m. with a collection of cocktails and an assortment of gourmet menu selections. Prepared by Chef David Slater, Easter delights will include gulf shrimp frittata, sweet barbecue roasted salmon and corned beef hash, along with a kid’s menu.
Chef Will Avelar at Meril, 424 Girod St., will open an hour earlier than usual, at 10:30 a.m., and guests will enjoy live music and fried chicken and foie gras waffles, served with bacon braised collard greens and house pepper jelly and a Meril bread basket, complete with blueberry muffins, banana bread and scones, paired with sweet and savory spreads among other treats.
In the French Quarter, extended Easter Brunch hours at NOLA Restaurant, 534 St. Louis St., from 10:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., will be a blessing for those looking forward to dining on six specials expertly prepared by Chef Philip Buccieri including cornmeal crusted oysters, Andouille sausage scramble and cream cheese-filled French toast, served with Ponchatoula strawberries and cane syrup.
Also in the French Quarter, Trinity, 1117 Decatur St., will celebrate Easter from 10:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., with Brunch offerings that include pork hash and grits with poached egg, crispy pork, fontina grits and roasted peppers, duck egg and Cajun caviar and an omelette au pont l’eveque with French cow’s milk cheese and potato galette. Easter Brunch cocktails include the Princess Peach, a combination of peachello, pecan vodka, cinnamon gastrique and candied pecans.
The Maison Dupuy, 1001 Toulouse St., is celebrating the Easter holiday with a festive Sunday Champagne Jazz Brunch and an Easter Egg-stravaganza hotel room package that starts at $159 for Saturday and/or Sunday nights and is based on availability at the time of booking.
The package includes:
• Deluxe accommodations for one or two nights
• Reduced parking, $10 off per night
• An Easter chocolate welcome treat
On Easter Sunday, the added à la carte menu to the popular three-course Sunday Jazz Brunch served in the hotel’s iconic courtyard and in the Bistreaux Restaurant will include Chef Matt Regan’s:
1st Course:
Asparagus and Crawfish Salad – frisée, herbed buttermilk, crispy five minute egg. $7
or
Roasted P&J Oysters – bacon, bleu cheese and herbsaint crust, $13
2nd Course:
Crawfish and Crab cake – English muffin, collard greens, brown butter hollandaise and poached eggs, $26
or
Roasted Leg of Lamb – ragout of lamb sausage, gnocchi, peas, garlic and mint, $24
3rd Course:
Louisiana Strawberry Parfait – chocolate mousse, shortcake, Chantilly, $8
The Easter Sunday Champagne Jazz Brunch includes bottomless Mimosas and champagne with the first adult beverage purchase, live entertainment by Alex Owen and the Messy Cookers and complimentary parking. Brunch will be served from 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
The Roosevelt New Orleans, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, will offer more than 100 culinary dishes at its Easter Buffet Brunch in the Waldorf Astoria Ballroom on Easter Sunday with seatings available from 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Guests will experience a feast for their eyes as they pass a charcuterie and cheese corner, raw bar, carving station, chilled selections, a breakfast station and a salad station. The star of the buffet will be Executive Chef Jose Martinez’s seared foie gras topped mini waffles and blueberry compote and Meyer lemon butter, hotel reps said.
“The Roosevelt New Orleans is proud to be one of the only Easter buffet brunches offered in the city,” says Executive Chef Martinez. “Guests can focus on spending time with family with 100 delicious food selections and lively entertainment in a truly outstanding setting of the Waldorf Astoria Ballroom.”
Antoine Diel will set the ambiance with his acclaimed music, and children will have the opportunity to decorate Easter eggs with The Roosevelt New Orleans’ pastry team.
The Roosevelt New Orleans’ Easter Buffet Brunch is $79 for adults and $39 for children, exclusive of tax and gratuity.
Easter Sunday at the Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., means luxuriating at a Champagne Brunch served in the Grand Ballroom and prepared by the hotel’s culinary team including Executive Chef Jeff Mattia and Executive Pastry Chef Jacquelyn Lopez. American Culinary Federation’s New Orleans Chapter recently honored Mattia as a 2017 Best Chef of Louisiana.
The Brunch will offer more than 15 creative food station displays, free-flowing champagne and Mimosas, plus a Bloody Mary bar. The menu will feature an array of options from soups and fresh fruits, to seafood omelets, sushi, salads and boulangerie.
Entrees and accompaniments will include red fish pané, smoked Cornish hens, traditional eggs Benedict and crawfish étouffée, among other dishes. During Brunch, guests can also experience a seafood station attended by an on-site oyster shucker, featuring spicy boiled jumbo shrimp, oysters on the half shell, marinated blue crab claws, smoked salmon plus more.
The “Kids Express” kiddie-sized buffet will serve up child-friendly foods and a do-it-yourself dessert decoration station.
The Ricardo Pascal Jazz Trio will provide live musical entertainment during the event.
Half-hourly seating options are available from 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The cost is $75 for adults and $35 for children ages five through 12, and children aged four and under dine for free. Tax and gratuity are not included. Parking will be complimentary for up to three hours based upon availability.
Guests will have access to one more added bonus – watching the famed annual Chris Owens French Quarter Easter Parade roll right in front of the hotel’s main entrance at 1:00 p.m.
You’re sure to see a bevy of Easter baskets and bonnets at the Windsor Court Hotel, 300 Gravier St., where spring will be in full swing Easter Sunday at The Grill Room.
Easter Brunch menu items will include:
• Hen’s Egg Raviolo – spring peas, asparagus, potato, black truffle, chicken jus
• Sweet Corn Bisque – almond tuile, blue crab, radish, sriracha emulsion, cilantro
• Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict – buttermilk biscuit, sliced tomato, truffle hollandaise, Rösti potatoes
• Dark Chocolate Crèmeux – banana passion fruit compote, black cocoa tart
Brunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., at $80 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
While at the hotel, make sure to try some of the new "Breakfast at Tiffany’s" Collection cocktails for both resurrection and renewal. The tales of Manhattan socialite Holly Golightly come to life through the newest menu of specialty drinks now available in Cocktail Bar. Created by Head Mixologist Kent Westmoreland, cocktails inspired by the Academy Award winning film include:
• My Huckleberry Friend – a Tiffany blue cocktail complete with diamond-inspired rock candy garnish with gin, lemon, Lillet Blanc, Blue Curacao, champagne
• The Mean Reds – cachaça, lime, pomegranate grenadine, Angostura bitters, sparkling water
• Lula Mae Barnes – mezcal, bourbon, lime, agave nectar, Palermo bitters
• A Very Stylish Girl – Zaya rum, lemon, lime, sugar, Angostura bitters, nutmeg, cinnamon
