The show on Friday was a good one, starting with a report on a new favorite restaurant, which is actually an old favorite we haven’t been to in twenty years. I was instructed by Mary Leigh to go to LaMensa because we haven’t been yet, but I decided we haven’t been to NOLA in so long it could also qualify as a new restaurant for us, and frankly, I preferred to go there. We had a great meal and were rhapsodizing about it when we got a most interesting call. It was from Ed, who identified himself as a member of the Pierce family of the Bon Ton, announcing the purchase of the restaurant, something we’d heard about last September. I guess since it closes Friday it’s okay to talk about it. Supposedly it’s closed for “renovation” for a few weeks, but Ed told us something we didn't know that made us sad. The new owners are the Chophouse across the street, and that is a chain out of Atlanta, so very little will be the same here. Unlike Pascal’s Manale, whose changes are unrecognizable because they waited for an offer from the perfect steward (a former employee) the Bon Ton will not be so lucky. A sad ending for a very old institution.
In the second hour, we got a deservedly enthusiastic call about Piccolo Gelateria, prompted by a conversation Doug started about the opening of Hansen’s Sno-Bliz.
