This week, a Michelin-starred restaurant alum from San Francisco and a former Top Chef contestant open Grace Cafe, the long-awaited Cart Blocks pod has its grand opening, and the Nacheaux team plots an upcoming speakeasy called Bourbon Street, featuring crawfish boils and beignets. Read on for all of that, plus fun events for this weekend, like Mercato Grove’s Grand Opening Party. For more inspiration, check out our food and drink guide.
NEW OPENINGS AND RETURNS
Cart Blocks
Two years ago, over 50 carts were ousted from their home, the popular pod at Southwest 10th and Alder, to make way for the swanky Ritz-Carlton hotel. Then, this spring, City Council voted to use $269,000 to help relocate the displaced carts to the Ankeny Square in the North Park Blocks. Now, that plan is coming to fruition as the new pod celebrates its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony this Saturday, July 24. Over 20 of the carts that were previously forced out, including Drunken Noodle, Tito’s Burritos, K-Bap, Love Verona, and Shanghai’s Best, will be back in business. Meanwhile, ostensibly as a gesture recognizing the pod it displaced, the Ritz-Carlton has revealed plans for a food hall with up to nine vendors on its ground floor.
Downtown
