Last week I went to a launch party for a brand spankin’ new restaurant that has officially opened this week: Mr White. Think: swanky NOLA restaurant in East Village that won’t kill your pocket. Located at 123 St. Marks’s place on the corner of Avenue A.

They are furnished with minimalist, trendy modern decor, dim lights, white walls, plants, moose head and of course an ornate chandelier = you need to come just for the great photo opps. Their food is southern-esque style, menu complete with items like po’ boys, crawfish and grits.

I had the fried eggplant, oysters and some (a few) beers from the south. In every bite, the warm eggplant & cheese blended effortlessly into the salty crusty bite of the fried shell. The sweet, sweet tomato pieces layered on top of the shell made every bite complete. So good. The oysters were on point, so fresh and slurped easily off the shell with lemon drizzle. (Does this sound like a porno?).

My compliments to the chef, Mr (Jeff) White (@mrwhitecooks) and Kelly Rheel (@flashlablaser)