BY ANNETTE SISCO | STAFF WRITER Greetings, New Orleans food fans! This week, we size up the biggest restaurant closures to hit our town in a tumultuous year. On a brighter note, a number of beloved, historic spots made a comeback in 2021. A new bar in Lakeside Mall invites patrons to shop 'n' sip, and Ruby Slipper gets growing in Metairie. Plus, check out recipes for these gorgeous retro appetizers. Let's dig in... 1. Ain't dere no more. From bistros to sandwich shops, a roster of restaurants closed their doors for good in 2021 amid the pressures of COVID, hurricanes... and more COVID. Ian McNulty takes stock of the places we've lost, and what might replace them. 2. Comeback kids. Lil Dizzy's, Charlie's Steakhouse, Morning Call... this year, some of the biggest stories in the food and drink realm were about comebacks and revivals for some very old names. Ian McNulty rounds up the happy news. 3. Wait! There's more. Fans of Ruby Slipper will get a new location of the breakfast spot in Metairie; a local po-boy shop will expand to the site of the closed Frenchmen Street tavern 13; Wayne Jacob's Smokehouse reopens its Cajun butcher shop in LaPlace; and Lakeside Mall gets a bar! 4. Back to the future? Taste the nostalgia of Christmas long ago with recipes straight out of your mom's 1050s cookbook. Judy Walker gets retro with an elegant pine cone cheese ball (you have to see it to believe it), ham salad on puff pastry, and bacon-wrapped, stuffed dates. 5. Dinner and a show! The theater district is back up and running with shows at the Saenger, the Orpheum and the Civic. Where to go before the show? Our Where NOLA Eats Facebook group has lots of great ideas. Add yours here. That's it for the food newsletter, but in New Orleans the food news never stops. For more, visit us at NOLA.com. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend! --AS P.S. Want to support our award-winning journalism? Check out this great deal. Just $1 a month for four months — for local journalism that matters! Subscribe here today. | 