Saturday, January 13, 2018. The Appeal Of A Shack. I have the day off from the radio show. The city is wild about the prospect of the Saints' having Super Bowl possibilities. No possible conversation could possibly top that one.
I begin the day in the standard way: breakfast at Mattina Bella, not only for the breakfast itself but to ask Vincent Riccobono to post a sign touting the Date Night being put on by NPAS. I have a dog in this fight: I'm singing a great solo, "If I Loved You." One can't go far wrong with Richard Rodgers doing the composing.
But just as I pull up at the restaurant, Mary Ann shoots in from the opposite direction, telling me that I should follow her instead to check out the Two Scotts, a duo who ran a fine coffee house in Mandeville for awhile. They are now the operators of a similar morning eatery at the Southern Hotel, which has no official breakfast venue. Mattina Bella, a block away, is the obvious source of early eats, but I can understand why a people might not want to take the walk. Once again, it's freezing outside.
The Two Scotts (two guys with the same name) have a limited but appealing morning menu. Omelettes, omelettes wrapped by crepes, muffins and the like, cafe latte and its like, fruit and yogurt. And a few other items.
MA and I part company. I think about getting a haircut. I decide against, but make a mental note to try the classic old tonsorial parlor between Mattina Bella and the Southern.
I make my usual run to Rouse's for lots of dog and cat food. I buy a new fluorescent bulb for our closet at home. I try to get a prescription refilled, but our new insurance has a missing number on the card. I call the station to make sure I don't have to go on the air at noon.
I get a nap in, then the discussion about dinner comes up. MA is intrigued by a place that one of the radio sales people mentioned to me. It's called The Shack. How good could a shack be with a name like that? Actually, it's not bad at all. Mary Leigh shows up to flesh out our four-top.
MA gets things off on a great start with an artichoke and crabmeat dip. This is right up MA's alley, but you'd have to hate crabmeat now to like this. Not just lot of crabmeat, either, but a terrific flavor. I get the soup du jour, which is a sort of Mexican-style tortilla and bean soup. Fine on this cold evening.
The waitress by now has shown her ability to have fun. I tell her about a waitress who, when I asked what the soup du jour was, said "It's the soup of the day." ML has a hamburger that looked delicious and was a jumbo to boot. I get a laugh out of saying that the word "burger" has had its name changed to "gruber." It's just as ridiculous an uttering as the hamburger is well composed and delectable.
My entree order is for the fish of the day. I have no joke for that. It's a catfish that's been more or less blackened, served atop an aggressively dirty rice. It is the best part of the plate.
Waitress: "Is there anything else I can get for you?"
Me: "Yes! I'd like a pet bunny." She laughs. The Marys groan. Not for the first time, I am embarrassing to them. The waitress laughs along with me.
This neighborhood café has the right look for such a place, but a much more ambitious menu than the environment suggests. MA even says she can stand the atmosphere and wouldn't mind coming back.
The Shack. Covington: 1204 W 21st Ave. 985-888-6288.
