Yesterday, Mara’s Homemade was packed with customers digging into buckets of crawdad before the restaurant’s closing. Though an earlier good-bye letter said the New Orleans joint would call it quits at the end of April (meaning the city will lose what may well be its very best plate of New Orleans–style barbecue shrimp, not to mention the hurricane that closest approximates the Pat O’Brien’s original), the namesake proprietress was telling customers she might get more time and no date is set at this point. More interesting: She was also telling diners that she plans to reopen in Syosset, Long Island, while also looking for another space in New York City. When we called today, Mara was very much not ready to confirm this (a lease has not yet been signed), but it’s well possible that Manhattan’s loss may end up being Long Island’s gain.
