Kitchen Table Cafe

Just over the Industrial Canal, less than three miles from Bywater, four from the French Quarter, there's a sweet little spot that begs discovery. Pull up a chair at the Kitchen Table Cafe, a homey eatery in Arabi, the first town in St. Bernard Parish. If Arabi isn't exactly bustling, it's about to, with an influx of artists and migrants from Orleans Parish moving down river in search of affordable housing and more space. That's what Kevin Hackett and Donna Cavato did a few years ago. Hackett is the former sous chef at the now shuttered Mariza in Bywater, where the couple used to live. At Kitchen Table, he crafted a smart lunch and dinner menu of American comfort cuisine with Creole influences and plenty of polish. Try the fried oyster salad, homemade smoked Gulf fish spread, shrimp tacos, barbecue shrimp - really everything is darn good -and a great value too. Desserts are always homemade, eat any of Hackett's cakes or try the banana bread pudding. Thursdays wines by the glass and bottle are half off.