Reviews for Old Arabi Eats, The Franklin & More

Sarah Baird heads down St. Claude to Old Arabi Eats this week, finding a "charmingly eclectic" restaurant filled with interesting books and tunes and a small menu of accomplished dishes: "In an area with an ever-raging battle over who makes the best gumbo, it's refreshing to find a spot that serves its cousin: chili." [Gambit]

Ian McNulty hits up seductive Marigny hub The Franklin this week: "It looks like the sort of restaurant you see in design magazines, not in former Marigny groceries. The menu, however, brings things right back home." More importantly, "oysters are definitely a major specialty." [Advocate]

Tom Fitzmorris rolls out FOUR WHOLE STARS to CBD sleeper Tomas Bistro this week. Tomas or "toe-MAHSS," as T-Fitz likes to call it, has upped its game with the addition of chef Jonah Nissenbaum, whose "bag of tricks" is full of "hip" foodstuffs, enough to warrant +1 hipness points despite the bread baskets and large portions. The #2 Essential dish Shrimp Absinthe leaves T-Fitz seeing double double with a side of white table cloth hallucinations, noting: "I think there's an off-chance that fine dining, a category of restaurant that has fallen on hard times across America in recent years, may well be on the verge of a renaissance." [CityBusiness, sub req]

· Review: Old Arabi Eats [Gambit]
· Behind a modern, savvy design, Louisiana flavors resonate at this new Marigny restaurant [Advocate]
· Tomas Bistro serves new tricks in Warehouse District [CityBusiness, subscription required]