Chef Duke Is Back!

Chef Duke LoCicero has been a longtime friend of The Food Show and of the Fitzmorris family personally. His restaurant Cafe Giovanni was a favorite of The Food Show community for many years.  Any Eat Club at Cafe Giovanni was a favorite of Tom’s and also for diners particularly because of the opera singers. And the fantastic Italian food, of course.

And then he closed Giovanni, and it has been a wild ride since then. He turned up for a year or two at N’Tini’s on the northshore, making N’tini’s its best ever, before that one closed as well. For 5 years he was in the kitchen at his own place, Dabs in Metairie. And after closing Dab's he seemed to be on a long respite from the business. And then he told me he was working on a place in Metairie again, this time in a much more casual format. It took a long time to renovate the remains of a Frostop on Clearview at West Metairie.

Bullies, Burgers and More opened last week with Duke in the kitchen of his first really casual place. Bright and airy inside, with blue walls and yellow lamps, the place is geared to families featuring a room with claw machines and games for kids. Service is fast casual, and the menu is manageable. 

Someone called the Food Show and reported a great meatball sub, so I stopped in to say hello a few days after the opening. I didn't get the meatballs sub, mainly because I usually don't eat those, and also because if the place is called Bullies, Burgers, & More, I felt I should get a burger. I also got plenty more.

We started with a gumbo and the soup du jour, which on this day was crawfish and corn bisque. Duke visited the table when he saw us and I asked about the gumbo. He does not make it, but he does make the soup each day. The gumbo was really salty, and that is saying something coming from me. We also got a side of red beans and rice. And a burger. And Duke’s meatballs and spaghetti.

The crawfish and corn bisque was not thick enough for my taste, but the flavor was nice, and there were plenty of crawfish and corn kernels in it.

There was also a lot of stuff in the gumbo, but I found it so salty it was too much for me. I have often said on the show that if I say something is salty, beware. I have a high salt tolerance and love the stuff.

The red beans and rice were basic and ordinary. If I had a real craving for this, fine. Otherwise this is skippable.

The burger was also pretty ordinary. It comes in small and large, meaning one patty or two. The patties are thin. This was a tasty little burger. It came with American cheese, but I asked to sub Cheddar and they happily obliged. Lots of pickles, lettuce and tomato made this a nice little sandwich. Nothing special but good enough.

The meatballs and spaghetti came as a nice portion with two medium sized meatballs. I love Duke’s version of the popular classic. The sauce is fresh and perky, and the meatballs were just firm enough to cut with a fork without them crumbling. I asked for a bit more Parmesan cheese and again they happily obliged. The meatballs and spaghetti plate was $12.99. 

Bullie, Burgers & More looks like a great place to pop in after a soccer game with the kids. The food is kid-worthy, with some nice things for their parents. Duke is very proud of his chicken cutlets and Chicken Parm. Neither of these are anything I ever get, so I can't report on it, but Duke says they are very popular menu items.

The place is going after the kids and the parents who drive them. Prices are great, service is fast and friendly, and the environment is welcoming, both in looks and feel. Maybe not a place to drive across town to visit, but a nice hangout for the neighborhood families. And there’s nothing at all wrong with that.