WHAT’S
in store
New MOON By Kat Stomquist
t August Moon’s (875 Manhattan Blvd., Harvey, 504-302-7977; 3635 Prytania St., 504-8995129; www.augustmoonneworleans.com) West Bank location, which opened in 2011, waiters bustle, carrying heavy trays of Chinese and Vietnamese food to booths in a colorful dining room. Visible from the open kitchen’s window, cooks are hard at work slicing, chopping, stir-frying and arranging food. Owner Phong Nguyen and his wife Cuc opened the original Uptown location in 1993, but the pair longed for a larger restaurant built to their specifications. Every detail in the new building, from lamps to appliances to tiles, was ordered with atmosphere and function in mind. “All the design, decor, kitchen, equipment, everything,” Nguyen says. “When we put it together, all the colors and everything, I liked it. It’s a little strange in here, but I like that.” They arranged the main dining room without center tables to create a sense of privacy for business clients and families, and a 100-seat banquet room features three soothing blue-and-green murals, all watery scenes of various places and eras in Vietnam. Nguyen’s history in the restaurant business goes back to his days as a Cafe Du Monde waiter when he first arrived in New Orleans in 1989. Since opening August Moon, he has studied food management and service techniques in an effort to improve the restaurant. “The restaurant business is a very tough business, but we love doing this because we can create a new dish any time,” he says. “It’s a creative thing,” The current menu, offered at both locations, features items like lightly battered crispy lemongrass shrimp
and mild, creamy August Moon owner crabmeat-andPhong Nguyen asparagus soup. celebrates his August Moon also restaurant’s 20th is known within New anniversary this year. Orleans’ Vietnamese PHOTO By community for its CHERyL GERBER roast duck. Working with his wife and executive chef Joseph Truong, Nguyen says four elements are important when constructing the restaurant’s dishes — huong, or aroma, sac, or color, my, arrangement or presentation and finally vi, or taste. This attention to detail is apparent on each platter. Fried rice is sculpted into globes, and steak entrees are presented on beds of greens for color and contrast. The team also takes note of trends, like the shift toward healthy eating. “Right now everybody cares about health,” Nguyen says. “[So for things like] our Lousiana fresh blue crab, we steam it, we don’t fry it … then glaze [it] with a sauce.” Traditionally indulgent items, like fried shrimp, are flash-fried in hotter oil to reduce fat content. In the future, Nguyen and his wife plan to continue tending to the culmination of one of their biggest dreams. “When I was in my country, in Vietnam, I just wished I could have a new bicycle, but I didn’t have it,” Nguyen says. “When we started with the restaurant business, we dreamed of having a restaurant the same way I dreamed of having a bicycle in my country. [It’s] our dream come true.”
Chefs Nancy Silverton and Johnny Iuzzini present a free cooking demonstration at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9, in the housewares department of MAcy’S (Lakeside Shopping Center, 3301 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 504-4844690; www.macys.com). Receive a $10 Macy’s gift card and a copy of the Macy’s l rt ra its ma le e d ed S b Fe cr gy aila r v x ta ne s a E e d at an eb R
Culinary Council Thanksgiving & Holiday Cookbook signed by the chefs with a $35 home purchase the day of the event. Call the store to register. In an effort to be more eco-friendly, BuffAlO ExchANgE (3312 Magazine St., 504-891-7443; www.buffaloexchange. com) no longer uses plastic bags for
by Missy Wilkinson
purchases. The company estimates this will prevent approximately 350,000 bags from going into landfills. hAutE BOutiquE (725 Magazine
St.,504-522-8687; www.hautenola.com) holds its end-of-season sale. Designer garments by Parker, Mason, Tibi, Mara Hoffman and others are 70 percent off.
thE NEW OrlEANS hEAliNg cENtEr (2372 St. Claude Ave., 504-
940-1130; www.neworleanshealingcenter.org) hosts a retail market in conjunction with the St. Claude Art Walk from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12. There will be repurposed clothing and accessories by local artists and designers.
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