Parasols provides great atmosphere, killer food

While walking around taking pictures on a sunny Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago, I found Parasols in the Garden District. I had heard the name before, but never actually seen the place. The interior seemed too tiny to be functional at first, with barely any room between the bar and the wall across from it. I had heard they served lunch, and there were people sitting around grubbing on sandwiches, but couldn't even fathom where a kitchen might fit into the tiny building. While searching for the bathroom, I found my answer. The door to the right of the bar led to a non-smoking dining area with ample seating and a window for ordering food. Since I was there, I figured I'd stay for lunch. I've been back three times since.

The Good
-Killer onion rings - everything is fried in peanut oil so it all tastes delicious (unless you're allergic to peanuts)
-My grilled cheese was cooked in a garlic butter, which seams to be the way they cook anything with butter. Amazing.
-Decent remoulade.
-The Chicken gumbo looked pretty good (my friend actually drank the dregs, so I'd imagine it was awesome)
-Irish Sundaes = potato salad, roast beef and gravy

The Not So Good
-This is one of those rare times where I have few if any complaints. I heard that the change of ownership (which happened in the past few years) wasn't the most amicable, but I met the new owners and they're great people.


Good to Know
-The bathrooms are clean as hell, ladies. Just so you know though, it's a single room (no stalls) so if the place is busy get ready for a wait.
-Not entirely sure how late they serve but when I went in around 9pm and asked if they were still serving food, the guy at the counter looked at my like I was crazy and replied, "of course we're still serving food! Who told you we weren't?"
-The bar area is in fact smoke friendly and small so if you don't like smoke, you'd do better in the back.