3 Metairie Restos Shutter, Including Smokin' Buddha

Peter Thriffiley, Jr of Blackened Out has the word on three closings in Metairie. He was on the hunt for lunch in the area, only to find out his first three options had unexpectedly closed. Most sane people would have broken down in tears of frustration and gone home; Thriffiley instead tried a fourth option and then took to the blog.

The first two he tried were Cyrus Restaurant, a Middle Eastern eatery on Veterans Blvd just across the 17th Street Canal, and Taco San Miguel, a taqueria in Fat City. The most shocking of the three closings, however, is Smokin' Buddha BBQieux, a well-regarded barbecue joint in the Fat City section of Metairie. Thriffiley writes that it "had garnered much attention from the Twitterverse and Yelpers who had proclaimed it as the only BBQ joint in New Orleans which imparted a true smoke flavor to its meats." He then cites "word on the street" that says "it may have been ownership and/or management issues" which led to the shutter.

Meanwhile, Rob Brechtold, co-owner of the recently-departed Smokin' Buddha, is back alongside his wife Emily Brechtold with a delivery/catering barbecue service called NOLA Smokehouse.

Update: The Brechtolds contacted us via Twitter to note that there were not management or ownership issues, but rather, "Location location location was the death of" Smokin' Buddha.

· So Long, Farewell [Blackened Out]
· NOLA Smokehouse [Official Site]

[Photo: Mr Lake / Big Dale]