Café Reconcile

Central City, New Orleans · Southern · $$

Craig Cuccia and Father Harry Tompson opened this nonprofit kitchen in 1996 to hand 16 to 25 year olds a way into the restaurant trade, on a Central City stretch named for civil rights organizer Oretha Castle Haley. The cooking is not charity cooking: the gumbo runs dark, the turkey necks come glazed with sesame and chili, and Thursday means Louisiana shrimp and white beans, the plate regulars plan their week around. Lunch only, Tuesday through Friday, and the room fills with people who work on the block.