Culinary Delights
St. Tammany Parish is ideally located to be a haven of culinary delights, from fresh seafood to Creole and Cajun specialties. And meeting planners have several great restaurants from which to choose.
For dining on the water, try Rip’s on the Lake, the Lake House or Palmettos on the Bayou, which has a new wooden roof over a large outdoor deck beside the Bayou Bonfouca.
Zea Rotisserie and Grill, with two newly renovated banquet rooms, is conveniently located near several meeting hotels in Covington.
For fine dining, there’s the Dakota Restaurant; Nuvolari’s, with a meeting room that seats up to 50; Annadele’s Plantation, in an 1834 West Indies-style plantation house; and celebrity chef John Besh’s La Provence. Besh, who still lives in his native St. Tammany Parish, is often seen on the Food Network.
Do Drop In at the Dew Drop
Groups looking for a different off-site experience can craft an unforgettable evening by combining a reception at the Pontchartrain Yacht Club overlooking Lake Pontchartrain, followed by dinner at nearby Nuvolari’s and then a jazz concert at the historic Dew Drop Jazz and Social Hall.
The Dew Drop is a true return to jazz’s roots. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the small wooden structure, built in 1895, is the oldest unaltered rural jazz hall in the world with no electricity and no air conditioning. Fans often spill out into the yard during spring and fall concert series.
Another off-site option is the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum, which has 3,600 square feet of combined banquet rooms and a wrap-around covered exterior porch.
Restoring a Gem
The Southern Hotel welcomed guests to its ornate mission-style building in Covington for more than 50 years before closing in the 1960s. It was then “used and abused,” including 20 years as the parish courthouse, and finally abandoned. Now, a group of local investors has returned the building to its original glory and use.
The boutique Southern Hotel reopened June 1 after a massive renovation and restoration. “We tried to restore it as much as possible to the original,” said Georgie Brooks-Myrtle, director of sales.
The 40-room Southern’s Olympia Room will accommodate 40 to 45 sit-down and 55 reception style, while the ballroom can hold 150 sit-down and 225 to 250 reception style. A New Orleans-style courtyard is also available.
The upscale Ox Lot 9 restaurant of chef Jeffrey Hansell opens this month.
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
Location: On the north shore of Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain
Access: Interstates 10, 12 and 59. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, Baton Rouge Metropolitan and Gulfport-Biloxi International airports are less than an hour away.
Major Meeting Spaces: Northshore Harbor Center, Castine Center, Fleur de Lis Event Center, Clarion Inn and Conference Center
Hotel Rooms: 2,800
Off-site Venues: Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum, Nuvolari’s, Annadele’s Plantation in Covington, Pontchartrain Yacht Club
Contact Info:
St. Tammany Parish Tourist and Convention Commission
800-634-9443
www.louisiananorthshore.com
