Food on “Treme”: Eating in David Simon’s New Orleans, Part 1

Janette Desautel dishes it out to Tom Colicchio, Wylie Dufresne, David Chang and Eric Ripert on an episode of "Treme" in Season 1.

Picture it: Eric Ripert, David Chang, Wylie Dufresne and Tom Colicchio show up en masse at your restaurant, ready to be impressed. On the best night, it would be a challenge. In post-Katrina New Orleans at a restaurant that’s barely making ends meet, it requires a Herculean effort.

For rising chef Janette Desautel, it’s a make-or-break career opportunity. Janette has plenty of talent, but she’s barely making payroll at Desautel’s, the fictional Southern restaurant featured in “Treme.”

By way of an introduction… from Kiev to Coco’s to Vegas

Las Vegas buffet

I have always been what parents, especially Jewish parents, like to call “a good eater.” There’s a picture of me at approximately age 5 sitting in our local Coco’s (my favorite restaurant at that time) looking mournful because I’m clearly no match for the stereotypical American bounty laid out before me: hamburger, fries, milkshake, ice cream sundae. I already had The Look, the “your eyes are bigger than your stomach” look. Immigrants should be grateful. Especially my family. We’re the kind of family that starts talking about next morning’s breakfast as soon as we finish dinner.