New Orleans/Israeli Steakhouse Sets Sights On Former Triniti Site

A friend who lives in New Orleans sent me a tip today, and it answered a question I had had for a while: What would take over the building that once housed Triniti?

Triniti had a great run on Shepherd Drive, but earlier this year it served its final meal. It left behind a great space, and since nature abhors a vacuum, odds were great that it wouldn't be long before another tenant moved in. I have my answer.

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Doris Metropolitan, an Israeli-inspired steakhouse with locations in New Orleans and Costa Rica, plans to set up shop at 2815 S. Shepherd in late 2017, and if the menu there in any way resembles the one at its sister location in New Orleans, expect sweetbreads with a roasted poblano yogurt sphere, Chateaubriand tartare, veal cheek, and the usual selection of beef, including rib eye and Japanese Wagyu. Seafood from the Gulf is also represented.

Doris Metropolitan began in Israel in 2003 as Doris Katzavim (Doris Butchers). By 2008, the team behind the concept — Itai Ben Eli, Dori Rebi Chia, and Itamar Levy — was operating three locations in Israel, plus a factory. Their San Jose, Costa Rica, location opened in 2010, and in 2013 My New Orleans Magazine voted Doris Metropolitan the best new restaurant in New Orleans.

The restaurant's wine list is impressive, and includes extensive French, Italian, and American selections — try 2013 Hirsch "Reserve" Pinot Noir, 1999 Scarpa "Tettimorra", and 2012 Zind-Humbrecht "Clos Saint Urbain" — so you'll not want for a pairing for your meat.

Does Houston need author steakhouse? Time, and palates, will tell.

One note, with the recent travails of the Treadsack group in mind: In 2016, 15 servers and bartenders filed a class-action suit against DMNO LLC — Doris Metropolitan — and its principals — alleging that they violated the Fair Labor Standards Act provisions. The employees claimed they were not paid overtime or minimum wages. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New Orleans. Attempts to determine the outcome of the case were not successful at press time, and a call to Laura L. Catlett, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, was not immediately returned. Patch will update this story.

— Image: Table8.com