3 minute read
Discover Mandeville
BY CARROLL DEVINE ST. TAMMANY LITERARY ARTIST OF THE YEAR
PERHAPS THE FACT THAT MANDEVILLE shares a border with a 630-square-mile lake is what lends the place a unique energy. On any given day, its Lake Pontchartrain waterfront park is occupied by health enthusiasts, dog walkers and cyclists taking advantage of the path, the peace and the amenities. But maybe it is the live oak trees that pepper the area, forming cathedral-like cupolas of winding branches and tangled leaves, that make Mandeville so special. A children’s playground flanks Lakeshore Drive at one end and the Mandeville yacht harbor at the other, the walk between as serene and laid-back as the waves sweeping upon the shore. Stately mansions and restaurants with a view stand across the street from the water.
But this city is much more. Blocks away in Old Mandeville and beyond into Mandeville await welcoming specialty shops, trendy boutiques, antique stores and both upscale and casual restaurants and cafés.
On Saturday mornings, the Community Market buzzes with people and the commerce of local produce, prepared foods, art, crafts and live music. It all happens at the Mandeville Trailhead.
At this very same Trailhead, music lovers find more of what they love at Mandeville Live! — free concerts on certain Friday nights in spring and fall. And the seasonal concerts at the rustic 1895-built Dew Drop Jazz and Social Hall are not to be missed — for music or atmosphere. Visitors looking for show business find some of the best kind at Mandeville’s 30 by Ninety Theatre, which offers six stage productions per year.
Natural-style entertainment happens a few miles down the road at the Northlake Nature Center, where rugged trails and boardwalks take visitors through untamed swamps and intriguing forests.
Fontainebleau State Park, a bit farther down the road, offers more energy renewing and relaxation via picnicking, fishing, birding, interpretive nature trail walking, camping, RV parking and sandy-beach lolling on the Lake Pontchartrain shore.
Culinary Hot Spots
THE BARLEY OAK
2101 Lakeshore Drive (985) 727-7420
BISTRO BYRONZ
1901 US-190 (985) 951-7595
BOSCO’S ITALIAN CAFÉ
2040 LA-59, Ste. 3 (985) 624-5066
CAFÉ LYNN
2600 Florida St. (985) 624-9007
COSCINO'S
1809 N. Causeway Blvd. (985) 727-4984
CRAZY PIG SOUTHERN KITCHEN
4700 LA-22 Ste. 1 & 2 (985) 792-7900
DESI VEGA'S STEAKHOUSE
4250 LA-22 Ste. 1 (985) 221-7700
DUMAN ARTISAN KITCHEN
821 Girod St. (985) 231-7663
GIROD STREET MARKET & DELI
528 Girod St. (985) 629-4260
HABANERO'S
3900 LA-22 (985) 778-0126
IMPASTATO CELLARS
240 LA-22 (985) 845-4445
KELLY'S COASTAL CABANA
124 Girod St. (985) 231-6623
LAGO
2660 Florida St. (985) 674-7602
LA LOU
200 Girod St. (985) 231-7125
LIZ’S WHERE Y’AT DINER
2500 Florida St. (985) 626-8477
NAN'S NEW ORLEANS CAFE & POBOYS
00 Florida St. (985) 951-2586
ODELIA
3529 U.S. Hwy. 190 (985) 778-0034
PARDOS
5280 LA-22 (985) 893-3603
PAT’S REST AWHILE
2129 Lakeshore Drive (985) 951-2173
PONTCHARTRAIN PO-BOYS
318 Dalwill Drive (985) 626-8188
RIPS ON THE LAKE
1917 Lakeshore Drive (985) 727-2829
SPOKE + BARREL
639 Girod St. (985) 612-1828
