At least 10 restaurants and bars have opened recently. Plus, Emeril Lagasse and Dakar have new ones in the works.

New

🍳 Casimiro — Mexican brunch and lunch in the Bywater, from the Acamaya team.

🍣 Kenji Kazoku — Upscale sushi in Old Metairie.

🍗 Wow Turkey — Elevated Southern comfort food at the former Ugly Dog Saloon spot.

🍜 Thai Nola — New location on Bullard for gumbo ramen and Thai and Creole cuisine.

🍺 True South — Sandwiches, drinks and music in the old DMac's in Mid-City.

🍩 Barrio Bites — Pastries, breakfast and lunch in Mid-City.

☕️ 762 — Coffee, food and drinks in Lakeview, from the Oceana team.

🥖 Banh Mi Boys — New location in Mandeville. Next up: Modesto, California.

🌮 Tacos Awiwis — Street-style tacos and margaritas in Covington.

🫖 Gather — Specialty tea and coffee cafe in Old Mandeville.

On the way

🦪 Crustacean Club — Gulf Coast seafood in the old Effervescence location. Opens Thursday.

🥃 Tragos Amargos — Vinyl-driven cocktail bar inside Taquerías Carnalito. Opens Friday.

🍸 Charles & Julia — Cocktails and rooftop bar at Hotel Perle, from the Tujague's team. Opens Friday.

☕️ Rougabrew Coffee — Specialty coffee in Metairie. Opens later this month. Next up: Marrero and Lafitte.

🇸🇳 Dakar — The award-winning Senegalese restaurant is moving farther Uptown to the old Mat & Naddie's on Leonidas Street. The famous tasting menu will be served inside, with a new a la carte option on the patio.

• Dining room opens June 2 with the patio following later this summer.

👨‍🍳 New Emeril Lagasse spots: The celebrity chef partnered with the Fairmont to open two new restaurants this fall— Delmonico Steakhouse and The Café by Emeril.

• Delmonico has been in Vegas for more than 25 years. We're told it's different from Emeril's Delmonico, which used to be in New Orleans.
• The Café is a new concept that will have breakfast and lunch.

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It's 504 Day, an unofficial celebration of the area code that's come to define the city.

Why it matters: Few cities have turned a phone number into a point of pride quite like New Orleans.

The big picture: The 504 area code dates back to 1947, when AT&T's North American Numbering Plan assigned it to the entire state.

• It's one of the country's original area codes, along with New York City (212), D.C. (202), Atlanta (404) and Chicago (312).
• Area codes were designed for rotary phones, TelecomRouting.com says. High call-volume cities like New York and D.C. got the combos that were quickest to dial.
• The original 86 area codes either had a 0 or 1 as their middle digit.

By the numbers: As demand for phone numbers grew, Louisiana was split into additional area codes.

• 318 was added in 1957 and now serves North Louisiana.
• 225 debuted in 1998 for the Baton Rouge area.
• 337 followed in 1999 for Lafayette, Lake Charles and Acadiana.
• 985 was added in 2001 for the North Shore and southeast Louisiana outside New Orleans.
• 457 is the newest area code. It was added in 2025 as another option in Shreveport, Monroe and elsewhere in North Louisiana.

Be smart: It's also Star Wars Day. May the 4th be with you!

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🎶 Weekend recap from Jazz Fest:

• Saturday was a rare sellout after two days of closing early due to storms.
• Lainey Wilson and The Black Keys rocked out in the rain. The sun came out for T-Pain, Alabama Shakes and the Eagles.
• Mayor Helena Moreno gave keys to the city to Wilson and Trombone Shorty.
• Teddy Swims jammed on Bourbon with Jourdan Blue of "America's Got Talent."

⚖️ Cleo Fields, the representative in the state's challenged congressional district, joined other candidates and voter groups in a federal lawsuit that seeks to block Gov. Jeff Landry's decision to cancel the U.S. House elections. (WAFB)

• Early voting is happening for other elections. Check your ballot.
• Grassroots groups are holding a "funeral march for democracy" at 8am today from the courthouse to City Hall.

🚔 Michelle Woodfork will be sworn in this morning as Orleans Parish sheriff.

• Her predecessor, Susan Hutson, says she'll fight to clear her name of charges related to last year's jailbreak.

🏛️ Calvin Duncan will also take office today after a judge intervened last night, allowing him to temporarily assume his elected position as clerk of the Orleans Parish Criminal Court. (The Times-Picayune 🔒)

• Landry signed a bill — passed by Republican lawmakers — that eliminated the role. Duncan filed suit last week. (AP)
• There's another court hearing today.

💊 A federal appeals court sided with Louisiana and temporarily froze federal rules that allow teleprescribing and mailing of abortion drugs. (Axios)

✈️ Spirit Airlines went out of business Saturday, stranding thousands of passengers, including Slidell's interim police chief. (Axios)

• Other airlines are offering "rescue" fares.

"The Devil Wears Prada 2" was No. 1 at the box office during its opening weekend, bringing in $156.6 million internationally, AP reports.

• New Orleans' own Jon Batiste makes a cameo in the film.
• He and wife/author Suleika Jaouad walked the red carpet at the NYC premiere before he went to Jazz Fest and she had a chemo treatment.
• Batiste also talked more about his Swamp "sci-fi musical drama show at Jazz Fest, teasing that it's only a "snippet" of what he's been working on for more than a decade.

💬 Thought bubble from editor Crystal Hill: It was fun seeing Batiste pop up at Miranda Priestly's Hamptons soirée, but I was hoping he'd perform. Maybe next time — if we get a third film.

Chelsea's doing well, and her new baby girl is growing big and strong.

• She'll be back from maternity leave next month.