Reviews for Booty's, Ristorante Filippo, and Borgne

Diversity is the name of the game at Booty's this week, as Ian McNulty takes a journey through the "different roles" this street food hub serves in the Bywater. Opened by Kevin Farrell and Nick Vivion last fall, the hip restaurant "functions as a coffee shop" on weekdays or is "a good spot for easy bar noshes or a laid-back date night, and brunch," says Mcnulty.

Though some of the props that accompany chef Greg Fonseca's street food "(like a "toothpick sized fork") get a little bothersome, and the ramen broth comes off a little sad, most of this restaurant's globetrotting flavors are actually worth the trip:

Throw a few darts at this wide-ranging menu and you hit Salvadoran pupusas, Korean beef bulgogi in lettuce cups or a glass of zobo, a sweet, thick, refreshing Nigerian iced tea made here with chrysanthemum and strawberry.

Booty's "is in step with the vogue of going out for dining experiences rather than just dinner." From craft cocktails to the rotating art installations in the restroom, you're destined to find something interesting going on here. [Gambit]

Tom Fitzmorris gives THREE STARS to Metairie's Ristorante Filippo this week, claiming "it's hard to find but worth the effort." If only Ian McNulty left a trail of breadcrumbs after his visit in November. Instead T-Fitz must answer to his persnickety radio listener's where dat is call-ins, advising everyone that "the best way to get to the place is from Galleria Boulevard." What he said? "Take a right at that street's end." Do what? "Go a block and there it is." When the driving directions are out of the way, Ristorante Filippo is all about "quaint dining rooms" and owner/chef Phil Gagliano's polished cooking:

Although Gagliano claims his recipes are classic Sicilian-New Orleans, his food is quite distinctive. It relies more on herbs, olive oil and careful roasting than on red sauces and melted cheese.

The strengths reside in off-menu specials, bubbling oyster al areganata, and T-Fitz' number one dish, the fried calamari. No points for hipness are given. [CityBusiness, subscription required]

The Advocate's Scott Gold believes Borgne chef Brian Landry is "having a moment." A crawfish moment. Borgne was recently named a James Beard Award Semifinalist for Best New Restaurant, and Landry is showing why this crawfish season, while he team has "challenged themselves to see just how far they can go with the crustacean, and how much they can elevate it."

Which means an appetizer of fried crawfish croquettas, a crawfish cavatelli pasta with brussels sprouts and pioppini mushrooms, plans for a crawfish bisque, and myriad cray specials. "With crawfish becoming available now," Landy tells Gold, " We throw them on the menu as fast as we can." It's everyone else's job to eat them up as fast as they can. [Advocate]