THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Mike Ditka's

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Mike Ditka's Restaurant Review:

They all laughed in August 1999 when Mike Ditka, then the coach of the New Orleans Saints football team, announced he would be opening a restaurant in the legendary food city. Six months later Ditka was having the last laugh. Mike Ditka’s is a hit, especially with the steaks-and-cigars crowd. The Kick-Ass Paddle Steak, double-cut pork chops with roasted garlic and Creole-style fried oysters en brochette come in serving sizes to sate a lumberjack’s appetite. Native-French chef Christian Karcher, a holdover from the site’s previous tenant, Mike’s on the Avenue, adds a Gallic twist to other winners, like the lobster-and-crayfish bisque cappuccino. Football memorabilia, old and new, crowds the walls of the three lofty dining rooms, lined with lustrous mahogany, wine racks and an old-fashioned floral carpet. The huge bar usually hums (or blasts, depending on the crowd) with activity, too. Midwesterners will, of course, feel right at home. The restaurant is located in The Lafayette Hotel.