My first night in New Orleans we went to one of Donald Link's restaurants, Herbsaint. it is in the Warehouse district, an ever expanding area of restaurants that makes staying in the French Quarter seem less of a necessity from a food standpoint. The menu here is fairly short, and has equal numbers of small plates and entres--we chose four items, three of them small plates. Despite the calamity going on just off the shores of Louisianna, there was plenty of food from the water on the menu (admittedly half of it from rivers and lakes rather than the sea).
Donald Link owns another Warehouse restaurant we like, Cochon, and we did focus on dishes with an emphasis on classic cooking, since that is what this restaurant is about--in that vein, I had shrimp with grits and Joel had duck confit. The shrimp with okra has a classic preparation, with subtle spicing that complimented the richness of the roux and convinced me that I should buy his cookbook, Rustic Cajun, and make this at home. The grits were served not soft, but set and cut in a square, and were very good. The duck confit had a dirty rice accompaniment, and a delicious fruit-based sauce that was a delicious rendition of a classic dish. The non-traditional dishes were even better. I had a crawfish tagliateli that was divine, and Joel had grilled calamari with squid ink rice that was his favorite flavor sensation of the meal. The calamari were tender and scrumtious. Highly recommended. I ordered a half bottle of rose that was modestly priced and a perfect accompaniment to the food.
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