Thursday, November 14, 2019

NOLA Fave Comes to Ridgeland

A New Orleans favorite is coming to Ridgeland.  Zea's Rotisserie Restaurant & Bar will open later this month at Renaissance.  Tasty Thai ribs, garlic & herb glazed chicken, the Kingfish's mouth just went Niagara Falls writing those words.  Zea's naturally issued a statement:



Zea Rotisserie and Bar will soon be cooking up great food and good times at its first Mississippi location with the November 19 scheduled opening at Renaissance at Colony Park in Ridgeland.

Zea is a polished, casual restaurant offering modern comfort food and signature menu items including Rotisserie meats, Roasted Corn Grits and Thai Ribs. The new restaurant will feature Zea’s signature open-flame rotisserie, an expanded bar area, community seating and outdoor dining options as well as an exposed kitchen.

“We are fired up for Ridgeland,” said Chief Operating Officer Paul Hutson. “We are so excited to finally open this highly-anticipated location in one of Mississippi’s most dynamic retail centers.” Zea of Ridgeland is located at Suite 10500 of the Renaissance at Colony Park (Phase II), just across the street from The Ridgeland Visitors Center. The restaurant will initially open for dinner only Tuesday through Sunday and will then add Monday dinner. Zea will add daily lunch hours in the near future.



Zea is one of two brands under the ownership of Taste Buds Management, which now has 10 Zea locations throughout the South. Taste Buds Management was founded in 1997 by New Orleans chefs Hans Limburg, Greg Reggio and Gary Darling.

Their restaurant brands Zea Rotisserie & Bar and Semolina have received industry recognition and the founders were named Restaurateur of the Year by the Louisiana Restaurant Association. They were also finalists in the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Awards sponsored by Inc. Magazine and Merrill Lynch.

The new 6,000 square foot location in Ridgeland will employ between 75 and 100 staffers and accommodate up to 229 customers in both indoor and outdoor areas. The bar will serve progressive wine selections, local and craft beer, seasonal hand-crafted cocktails and a happy hour. The restaurant patio features a fireplace along with televisions, Wi-Fi for all patrons and charging ports in the bar.

Hutson said the Zea menu will offer local diners something different. “Our restaurants use an open flame rotisserie that gives our meat a crispy, caramelized outside, leaving the inside tender and juicy,” said Barbara Coultas, General Manager of Zea of Ridgeland. “And we feature many flavors from around the world, influenced by many cultures. You’ll find  classic southern tastes along with Asian, Mediterranean, Latin American and Creole. There’s
something for everyone, and our menu is very customizable with various preparations, sauces and  sides.”

The first Zea Rotisserie & Bar opened in Harahan, LA (June 1997) and later expanded to the Greater  New Orleans Area and beyond including Covington, LA; Lafayette, LA; Baton Rouge, LA and Denham Springs, LA. To find out more about Zea go to https://zearestaurants.com/

Kingfish note: Readers are going to be pleasantly surprised when dining at Zea's.  The Kingfish is very familiar with their food as it is his favorite restaurant in New Orleans.  The specialty is the Thai ribs.  St. Louis ribs seasoned with some blend of ginger sesame and thai sauce.  The waiter even brings a bowl of warm, moistened cloth napkins for diners to clean their hands after eating the ribs.  No detail is too small to escape Zea's notice.   The menu prices are in the sweet spot.  If the restaurant performs as it does in New Orleans, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge, it should do just fine in Ridgeland.  Good luck!









24 comments:

Hermit King said...

My wife loves duck. Going to have to take her to Zea's. I always take her to Mr. Chen's when she gets a craving for duck. When she is there she also buys duck eggs.

It will be nice to have an alternative.

Anonymous said...

"Like"

Anonymous said...

I can get an incredible delicious gorgeous Rotisserie Chicken at Walmart for 5 Bucks. Convince me this is better.

Anonymous said...

'Community Seating'? No thanks. Thailand dishes? (see the Indian dive at Gluckstadt) No thanks. It will last approximately as long as Billups did. Grilled chicken and green beans? Kroger.

Cousin Eddie said...

Damn good food.
Life's to short to eat McDonald's all the time.

Anonymous said...

No offense KF, but if this is your favorite place in NO, you really (and I mean REALLY) need to broaden your horizons. And nope, I don't mean spend more.

Kingfish said...

I've been to plenty of good ones down there. Just always loved this one. Love the thai ribs. The person who made the comment about thailand dishes showed his ignorance.

Anonymous said...

I have been to ZEA a few times in Louisiana. The food has always been fantastic.
The bar has a great vibe, and the service was top notch.
Make plans to visit them at Renaissance.
You will not be disappointed

Anonymous said...

I’ve eaten at Zea’s in Lafayette and two locations in the New Orleans metro a number of times. 6:40 has no idea of what he’s talking about. The food is consistently good, and my very favorite thing is the duck. No comparison to Billups. There are are some Thai influenced dishes, but we aren’t talking traditional Thai food. It should do well as there is nothing in the Jackson metro that is similar and the quality is good and not overpriced.

Anonymous said...

No comparison was made between Billups and this joint. The comparison only exists in that Billups left before they got settled and so will this joint. Who the hell is going to Renaissance to pay Sixteen bucks for a baked chicken quarter that you can get at Kroger for five? No comparison was made between Thai food and Indian food - other than both being novelties that will exist only as a pan-flash. The Indian joint at Gluck was said to be all the rage for two months. Pass there now at noon and you'll see six cars and four of those belong to employees.

Goes to New Orleans for trendy ribs - Priceless. You can buy Thai sauce at Kroger for two bucks.

Anonymous said...

I’ve been to Billups on the coast and it’s good. The one in Ridgeland was doomed from the start. Too many bad decisions.

Funny how so many people feel compelled to bash a restaurant idea before it ever opens. Get a life or go open a restaurant yourself.

Anonymous said...

Zea's is like Houston's. Something for everyone and excellent service.

Anonymous said...

And this is why we cant have nice things(version 50-11). People bitching already about options. The Lets Talk pages of difference municipalities on Facebook are a gold mine for this type stuff. People talk about something new coming and immediately people start talking trash. Starbucks in Brandon(not my jam either), but people talking trash about it. I'm sure the national chain cares a whole ton about your opinion. We literally have nothing here in comparison to many other cities and when something new announces it is coming here, the majority like to talk shit about it rather than embrace it. It blows my mind. Don't think the places that are looking to expand don't get on media outlets and look at the comments during their market research. And you people want a Publix.

The other topic is people here don't spend money eating out. That's a topic for another day though. #$5rotisserrechicken

Anonymous said...

6:04 sounds like he needs to get out more. There's more to life than the The Kroger in Madison lol

Anonymous said...

6:04, have you ever eaten at Zea’s? It’s your opinion, but your opinion is worth squat. You seem to think the rotisserie chicken is all they offer or some ribs covered with store bought sauce. At any rate, not sure why you really care if other folks like the food. From your comments, apparently you don’t like to eat out. I can buy Chinese, Tai, Mexican, and Italian food at Kroger too, so what? That doesn’t mean I wouldn't go to a good restaurant that features those kinds of food and have dishes I don’t want make at home. I buy rotisserie chicken at Krogers too. I haven’t eaten it at Zea’s, but it sure looks good, and probably is better than Kroger’s. Zea’s restaurants in Lafayette and New Orleans are always busy, and both of those markets tend to be a lot more restaurant savvy than Jackson. I think it will do well here. They have multiple restaurants, and seem to have a good system.

Kingfish said...

Um, they make their own sauce and sell bottles of it. The ignorance is strong with this one.

Yeah, try the garlic and herb chicken and then tell me Kroger chicken taste better. Take it back, he is so old that he probably doesn't have any working taste buds.

Anonymous said...

6:04 is a bitter 80+ y/o retiree who wears socks with his sandals and searches out the early bird specials at Piccadilly.

Anonymous said...

You can tell the comments from people that don't go out and have no friends or girlfriends. For some reason this blog attracts a lot of incels.

I wish the government would get off their ass and deal with the incel problem. Those people are so full of hate and impotent rage. And their obsessions with violence and blaming other races is incredibly dangerous to society.

Parents if you know your son is an incel get him some help. It is easy to figure out. If the are in their 20s and never even kissed a girl. They are incel and they are dangerous.

Anonymous said...

gonna be honest.. baton rouge living In Clinton here. Been to Zea's more than a few times, and it isn't really all that. sticks back home because its somewhat decent food and because of the places they set up shop - white moms with money eat there, no one else really does. Don't see it sticking.

Anonymous said...

No mention we are getting a Walk Ons Bistreaux?

Anonymous said...

10:16PM again, and I was and am not knocking Zea's in any way, only suggesting that in a city with the innumerable, varied and mostly excellent restaurant choices of NO, it wouldn't be on too many lists as "favorite restaurant." On list of favorites, sure, why not. Most New Orleanians would be hard-pressed to name "a favorite," but all or most have a (often-long) list of favorites. Personally, I wonder about the long-term viability of the many new places that serve inexpensive food and charge higher prices for it, but certainly do not suggest that owners are "wrong" to do so nor that customers are "wrong" to eat at such places. The marketplace will sort it out and that is how it should be.

Anonymous said...

Both Food and Service are important. If they hire a bunch of sassy heifers with problem glasses and purple hair then they won't last a week.

Anonymous said...

No doubt, a Zea's fining dining restaurant in Winona or Ecru would be rated an 8 at least. Bottled Thai sauce on baked chicken in either of those locations has probably never been tasted unless one of the residents drove up to Memphis to buy a Commercial Appeal and see the ducks.

The 'real' ignorance dwells in the sad fact that someone thinks this dive in New Orleans is a destination venue. Meanwhile, there are eight Taco Bells in New Orleans, proper. And those little packets of taco sauce are splendid.

Anonymous said...

LOL - Look at the top photo and tell me you're not looking at a Styrofoam container of Sunday-Church-BBQ-Chicken advertised at $6.00 bucks a pop minus potato salad.



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