Tuesday, September 22, 2015.
Frank's, Between The Muffulettas.
A busy Round Table radio show, one in which my brain is slightly addled. For some reason, I keep confusing two upcoming special events. Anila Keswani--the co-founder with her late husband Har of the Taj Malal and Nirvana Indian restaurants--is here to talk about a new series on Indian food on WYES-TV. The Keswanis opened the first permanent Indian restaurant in New Orleans, back in 1982. She says that the Taj Mahal has expanded a bit, and that its sign is easier to see. And that they are featuring more of the dishes of southern India these days, particularly the stuffed crepes called dosa.
I would not possibly confuse Anila with Holly Barret-Johnson, who is touting a tour of ten major French Quarter homes and their kitchens. It's called Cirque de Cuisine, it's Sunday, October 4 at noon, and you start at Tableau, on the corner of Chartres and St. Peter. You buy a ticket from SoFab (Southern Food and Beverage Museum)
,u>here. Then you walk around to the homes, each one of which will have a chef preparing a dish for you to sample and a beverage. The restaurants involved are mostly very new establishments--an intentional theme. This is not the same event as the Garden District kitchen tour, but the idea is good enough to spread around.
Colin Provensal (sic; no "ç") and Skip Murray do their food work at Dis & Dem, on Banks Street near S. Broad. Skip was one of the original partners of Dat Dog, the hot dog phenomenon of the past few years. Now he's turning his imaginative powers on hamburgers. Colin, who works at Dis & Dem through the week, also assembles a breakfast every morning, in sort of a pop-up--although the breakfast operation doesn't have its own name. They're nuts to talk with--and I mean that in the entirely good sense. New Orleans seems to demand its restaurants a bit goofy these days, and you've got to go with the flow. Colin and Skip are among the few Round Table guests who take seriously my invitation that they just blurt out whatever's on their minds.
Dis & Dem. Mid-City: 2540 Banks. 504-909-0458.
Taj Mahal. Old Metairie: 923-C Metairie Rd. 504-836-6859.
[caption id="attachment_48969" align="alignleft" width="320"]
Dining room at Frank's.[/caption]Mary Leigh is back in town, after all. I thought that she and Dave (formerly known as "The Boy") would be settling into a house in the Northeast, but apparently not all the ducks are in a row just yet. Will this result in her going back to work for Sucre or La Provence? No. There are forces in motion, but not on a schedule. The only settled matter is that she has a beautiful diamond on her ring finger.
Mary Ann wants to go to Frank's, the Italian restaurant across from the French Market. Frank's is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in a couple of weeks. We are having an Eat Club dinner and a street party on two consecutive says, on the eighth and ninth of October respectively.
Frank's menu is a little offbeat. Its major stock in trade is muffulettas (after all, it is in the same block as the Central Grocery and the extinct Progress Grocery). But they have a big menu of the Sicilian-Creole standards. We start with a stuffed artichoke, fried calamari, and a cup of Gagliano sauce--the house specialty. It's a spicy, seafood-tinged sauce with big shrimp. It's designed to go over pasta and various proteins, and light enough in texture that you could eat it as a soup. Which MA does.
[caption id="attachment_48968" align="alignleft" width="480"]
Fried calamari at Frank's. [/caption]
I am interested in nothing much more than a small plate of fettuccini Alfredo, which has been on my mind all day. Before I get to that, I figured I'd have a salad--a little Italian salad with the olives and the rest of the standard ingredients. What comes out is a platter about a foot across with a handsome assortment of greens, olives, dressings, tomatoes, and then some.
[caption id="attachment_48970" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Italian salad for the table at Frank's.[/caption]
It's enough salad for at least four people--perhaps six. But at eleven dollars I can't complain. Mary Leigh has chicken parmesan and some of my Alfredo. Mary Ann eats a quarter of a muffuletta. She gets it hot, of course--just the opposite of the way I like it. I have excellent tiramisu for dessert. Third tiramisu in one week.
[caption id="attachment_48966" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Chicken parmesan at Frank's.[/caption]
Physically, Frank's reminds me of some restaurants I've dined in while traveling in southern Italy. The place is jammed with tables, each of which is topped with roses. Interesting atmospheric treatment. The Marys are less than enthusiastic about it, but I don't think they understand the backstory.
Frank's. French Quarter: 933 Decatur. 504-525-1602.
Dining room at Frank's.[/caption]Mary Leigh is back in town, after all. I thought that she and Dave (formerly known as "The Boy") would be settling into a house in the Northeast, but apparently not all the ducks are in a row just yet. Will this result in her going back to work for Sucre or La Provence? No. There are forces in motion, but not on a schedule. The only settled matter is that she has a beautiful diamond on her ring finger.
Mary Ann wants to go to Frank's, the Italian restaurant across from the French Market. Frank's is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in a couple of weeks. We are having an Eat Club dinner and a street party on two consecutive says, on the eighth and ninth of October respectively.
Frank's menu is a little offbeat. Its major stock in trade is muffulettas (after all, it is in the same block as the Central Grocery and the extinct Progress Grocery). But they have a big menu of the Sicilian-Creole standards. We start with a stuffed artichoke, fried calamari, and a cup of Gagliano sauce--the house specialty. It's a spicy, seafood-tinged sauce with big shrimp. It's designed to go over pasta and various proteins, and light enough in texture that you could eat it as a soup. Which MA does.
[caption id="attachment_48968" align="alignleft" width="480"]
Fried calamari at Frank's. [/caption]
I am interested in nothing much more than a small plate of fettuccini Alfredo, which has been on my mind all day. Before I get to that, I figured I'd have a salad--a little Italian salad with the olives and the rest of the standard ingredients. What comes out is a platter about a foot across with a handsome assortment of greens, olives, dressings, tomatoes, and then some.
[caption id="attachment_48970" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Italian salad for the table at Frank's.[/caption]
It's enough salad for at least four people--perhaps six. But at eleven dollars I can't complain. Mary Leigh has chicken parmesan and some of my Alfredo. Mary Ann eats a quarter of a muffuletta. She gets it hot, of course--just the opposite of the way I like it. I have excellent tiramisu for dessert. Third tiramisu in one week.
[caption id="attachment_48966" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Chicken parmesan at Frank's.[/caption]
Physically, Frank's reminds me of some restaurants I've dined in while traveling in southern Italy. The place is jammed with tables, each of which is topped with roses. Interesting atmospheric treatment. The Marys are less than enthusiastic about it, but I don't think they understand the backstory.
