Louisiana Pizza Kitchen French Quarter: A Nuanced Neighborhood Favorite
December 2024Over the past 30 years, this casual neighborhood fixture has quietly become a French Quarter classic by offering a distinctive Creole/Italian menu, farm to table ingredients, a great wine list – and an unbeatable ambiance.
– by Ellis Anderson
This column is underwritten in part by the New Orleans Jazz Museum
A favorite eatery of neighborhood residents, workers and repeat visitors, Louisiana Pizza Kitchen French Quarter lies where the French Market meets the New Orleans Jazz Museum. While the lower Quarter location and the relaxing ambiance of the restaurant makes regulars feel instantly at home, the menu – a unique melange of artfully prepared Creole and Italian offerings – is what keeps folks coming back again and again.
The people-pleasing menu that offers local specialties like gumbo and red beans and rice alongside smoked salmon wood-fired pizza is the brain-child of owner and foodie Jim Richie. Ritchie credits his staff - “it’s a group creative collaboration” – and the influence of Louisiana and Italian chefs he worked with at the beginning of his restaurateur career forty years ago.
Louisiana Pizza Kitchen French Quarter, offers al fresco dining. It’s a popular place to watch the frequent and free outdoor concerts at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. Photo courtesy LPKFQ FB.
Originally from Ohio, Ritchie made his way to the Crescent City by way of Fort Lauderdale where he worked behind the stick at The Elbow Room, an iconic spring break bar. Once in New Orleans, he was quickly hired by Parker’s, an upscale bar and restaurant at the newly opened Canal Place.
Just in time for Carnival weekend.
Ritchie spent the next four days manning a drink stand during Mardi Gras, from morning to the wee hours of the night.
“I think it was some kind of test to see if I could hold up,” he says, laughing.
Soon, the 27 year-old became part-owner of the then-struggling Gazebo restaurant on Decatur Street. Ritchie pivoted immediately, making two crucial changes. First, he coaxed Ney McCain out of retirement – the noted chef had overseen the kitchen for many years at the legendary Italian restaurant, Jimmy Moran’s Riverside.
Ritchie’s second bold move was to visit Preservation Hall and hire musicians to play at the Gazebo on their off-days, bringing live open-air music to Decatur Street for the first time. The combo of classic New Orleans music and food turned the restaurant around. Later, the young entrepreneur and budding foodie had the opportunity to hone his Creole cooking chops when working with Michael Mange, who’d been part of Frank Brigtsen’s crew at the nationally acclaimed K-Paul’s.
Jim Ritchie at the nitrogen wine bar.
But eventually, the business faltered again during a long-lasting French Market renovation. Richie moved up the street and became part of the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen family, which had both French Quarter and Uptown locations at the time. In the late ‘90s, he purchased the French Quarter restaurant and gradually began altering the vibe and offerings.
“When I took over, I went in a different direction, more farm to table,” he says. “And we began offering the combination of K-Paul flavors paired with classic New Orleans-style Italian that makes us distinctive.”
The wood-oven that helps give the LPK-FQ pizzas a distinctive crunch.
A classic New Orleans sandwich gets a twist in the Muffuletta pizza.
One of the stand-alone salads, Blue Cheese and Pecan
Grilled Shrimp and Corn Maque Choux
Though LPK French Quarter is still serving crisp, thin crust pies that are the restaurant’s namesake, Ritchie is importing cheeses from Italy and sourcing other ingredients locally - like fresh sausage from Crescent City Meats. Along with the ever-popular pizzas (FQJ writers’ faves are the BBQ Chicken, the Roasted Garlic and the Crawfish & Tasso), diners will find Fried Oysters Florentine on the Half-shell, Crabmeat-stuffed Beignets and house-made organic pork, beef and veal meatballs served in a glistening pool of marinara.
The beer-battered Crabmeat Beignets
Fried Oyster Florentine on the Half-Shell, an appetizer hearty enough to be a light meal.
Although he was often warned that it couldn’t be done successfully in a pizzeria, Ritchie also began expanding his wine list, growing a collection from 8 bottles to over 100, a wine list that has been recognized by Wine Spectator Magazine. “I have a little wine cellar at home where I’ll age the bottles for the restaurant.”
Richie has also installed nitrogen wine preservation cabinets in the restaurant to store his curated collection, and serves guests vintages in high-quality, Riedel wine glasses.
Another staple of the French Quarter restaurant is its revolving art gallery. Ritchie has been friends with New Orleans art star James Michalopoulos since the early ‘90s and hosted his first art show. LPK’s classic black and white decor still provides the perfect backdrop for Michalopoulos’s striking compositions and vibrant colors. Observant diners will also appreciate the display of Stickmen and window box paintings by local artist Charles Gillam, Sr.
The distinctive paintings of James Michalopoulos line the walls of the restaurant.
One would imagine all these extra touches would make the prices more extravagant, but the eats at LPK-FQ are a relative bargain in the tourist-heavy area – a fact appreciated by neighborhood employees and residents. Some are die-hard loyalists, like the NOPD beat officer who’s been ordering up a Steak & Blue [a thin-crust pie with flat iron steak, Nueske’s bacon, blue cheese and garlic cream sauce] every week for the past 20 years.
Ritchie is justifiably proud of the niche the restaurant has carved in a city known for its cuisine, where the hearts of locals are not easily won.
“If you eat out a lot in New Orleans, you can see all the layers that make up a good dining experience,” he says. “It’s hard [for a restaurant] to stand out with just one unique component. So we focus on several things - like our New Orleans/Italian menu, the wine, the ambiance and the quality of our ingredients.”
Ritchie smiles and spreads his hands out in a welcoming gesture. “That’s who we are,” he says.
Your support makes stories like this one possible –please join our Readers’ Circle of voluntarily paying subscribers today!
