Last night was the much-awaited Michael Buble concert. MA is a fan, so we went. Mary Ann’s sisters are in town for a family gathering, and two of them went with us. We did the radio show from the house and headed over after. One of the sister’s daughters, who is chauffeur to her kids, offered to drive us both ways, an offer we jumped on. The group met for a pre-concert dinner at Vincent’s in Metairie. One of the sisters lives in Seattle now, and misses New Orleans food, so she had lunch at Houston’s. Houston’s? MA offered her a choice of local places for dinner and she chose Vincent’s, conjuring up fond old memories. We arrived and knew immediately that Vincent was in the house. His signature Corvette of-the-month was parked out front. This one is gray. The little Italian was at the door greeting people. Vincent and I go back a very long way. We worked together at the old Romanoff’s, where Andy’s Bistro is now. I only worked there for a month, trying to gain insight into a waiter’s life for an article I was writing. The insight I gained, and quickly, was that this is extremely hard work, and I didn’t want to do it. Neither did Vincent, and a dozen or so years later he opened on Chastant street as the Corsican Brothers. MA remembers where we sat the first time I took her there, when Vincent came to visit our table. The radio show was brand new and Corsican Brothers was an early advertiser. The food was delicious Creole Italian, just as it is now. Vincent cooked everything himself. Then there was the period when he came into the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning to cook everything. And now he’s more front of the house, having assembled a crew to faithfully execute his wildly-popular recipes. Vincent’s always has a full house of regulars. It’s a comfortable, warm environment with superbly delicious food. We didn’t see but one of his signature dishes go through the dining room. His corn and crab bisque in the bread boule has been a hit since Day One. It was much-copied around town for awhile, but I think the only remaining boule-as-bowl is the outstanding Greek salad at Maple Street Cafe. Since Vincent and T.J. Qutob spent some time together at Andrea’s these two are likely connected. Tonight the boule bowl contained crawfish, and no one at our table ordered it. We had crab claws, which, if they are on the menu MA will order every time. This was a smallish portion compared to others we have seen. And very spicy, but good. We also had Eggplant Salsiccia, a delicious stack of paneed eggplant and Italian sausage, and Mozzarella cheese napped with Vincent’s excellent red sauce. The sisters enjoyed this. Mary Ann loves Vincent’s Italian Salad, and ordered one as an entree. Then she noticed a duck on the specials menu. We are seeing duck a lot these days, always on the bone, which, to Mary Ann, is the only way she would consider ordering it. This was roasted with a pepper jelly glaze and came with mashed potatoes that were almost too pretty to eat.They passed under the salamander and got a crust that made them resemble a biscuit. Served with green beans, it was delicious. MA doesn’t touch duck that is pink, so I got to eat it all. The skin was crispy and the jelly added the perfect glaze and sweetness to offset the meat. This was great. The sisters split a soft shell crab which they declared fantastic. It was blanketed with a crawfish cream sauce and served with a broccoli and pasta combo in a cream sauce. Not exactly light eating, but we liked it pretty well indeed. There was no time for dessert, and we were whisked away to the concert. It started a little late, and by the time we found our seats, it was just beginning. My wife calls the style and music of Michael Buble and Harry Connick, Jr fake Sinatra. And she loves it. But there was almost none of that in the concert. It was an eclectic mix of stuff, and it was very entertaining, well-produced, and Buble was way more engaging than we expected. But we, particularly MA, found it disappointing only because we expected something else. And no one asked me to be his warm-up. Vincent’s Italian Cuisine 4411 Chastant St Metairie 504-885-2984 Mon 5-9 Tu-Fri Lunch 11:30-2 Tu-Th Dinner 5-9 Friday & Saturday Dinner 5-10 7839 St Charles Ave New Orleans 504-866-9313 Tu-Fri Lunch 11:30-2:30 Dinner Tu-Sun 5-10 vincentsitaliancuisine.com
