Eater NOLA's Guide to August's Best COOLinary Menus

In case you didn't notice by all the brouhaha, hullabaloo, talk about town, and general buzzfest surrounding New Orleans' month long COOLinary dining promotion, for the month of August some of our city's top restaurants are offering affordable prix fixe menus in hopes of perking up summer snoozeville. Meaning it's a good way to experience fine dining without the steep price tag. Here now is a look at the best COOLinary menus of the bunch.

Here's Eater NOLA's picks for the best COOLinary Menus. These are 2-3 course lunches and 3-course dinners at pretty reasonable prices, considering. Click on the restaurant to see the menu in full, and you can also check out all the menus right here:

· Borgne: $35 dinner menu, available daily, includes chef Brian Landry's curried mussels, grilled Gulf fish, and a blood orange sorbet.
· Brigtsens: $35 dinner Tuesday-Saturday with option for a duck & pistachio pate, shrimp etouffee, and more.
· Coquette: $35 dinner Sunday-Thursday, includes chef Mike Stoltzfus' chilled cuke soup, Chappapeela Farms duck, and pastry chef Zak Miller's chocolate pudding with sea salt.
· Dominique's on Magazine: $35 dinner Monday-Saturday includes chef Macquet's sauteed soft shell crab entree. Yes, indeed.
· Galatoire's: $20 daily lunch menu includes options for escargot and petite filet.
· GW Fins: $35 dinner menu Sunday-Thursday. Chef Tenny Flynn offers a lot of options on his prix fixe including barbecue shrimp, Gulf seafood cassoulet, and sheepshead.
· The Grill Room: $20 lunch menu Monday-Saturday includes lighter fare, seafood, and a dessert (an ice cream 'biscuit' sandwich).
· Kingfish: $20 lunch Monday-Friday featuring chef Greg Sonnier's housemade currywurst appetizer, a pork sausage with shoestring potatoes, kraut and curry ketchup, plus prosciutto-wrapped crab-stuffed shrimp with melon.
· Martinique Bistro: $35 dinner Tuesday-Friday. The most-seasonal of the menus, with a seasonal heirloom melon panzanella, a shrimp and summer harvest succotash, and blueberry sorbet.
· Tivoli & Lee: $30 dinner menu of all seasonal and local dishes, including an heirloom tomato bruschetta, Chappapeela Farms pork belly, and blueberry bread pudding.
· Upperline: $33 dinner Sunday-Thursday includes options for parmesan crusted oysters and a Brandy Alexander (yes, BOOZE) for dessert.

Further Reading: Gambit, Times-Pic, Nola Defender, Go NOLA

· All Coolinary Coverage [-ENOLA-]