Dec. 20, 2013. New Menu At Zea Takes Me By Surprise.

Nancy Jeansonne became my radio show's producer when the radio station was taken over by the WWL outfit in 1992. I got to know her and her husband Steve (manager of the Red Fish Grill) pretty well. Nancy calls me two or three times a year in her capacity as public relations director for the Taste Buds, the owners of Zea. She rarely has much to tell me: just some variations on the long-running themes in the Zea commercials I ad-lib on the show. Today we had a longer talk than usual. She said that the fall menu was now finished for the year, but that its items had been so successful that many of them moved to the newly-designed main menu. Then we checked in on each other's kids, and the call was over. Mary Ann was out of the house all day, starting with a physical therapy session for her injured back, then moving on to a lunch, a few meetings with clients, and then dinner with one of her friends. So I am home alone. When the radio show ended, my first thought about supper was, naturally enough, Zea. (My commercials aren't any good if they don't make myself hungry.) I almost never go to Zea alone, saving the place for dates with either or both of the Marys. But I thought I'd check on the new items. I didn't know I would make discoveries of two old items. One of them has been on the menu for a long time, but for some reason I never ordered it. Nancy mentioned it during our conversation: Atlantic salmon, seared or bronzed or grilled, with an assortment of sauces. It came out as ordered (medium rare), and although it wouldn't get a prize for looks, it was very good, and I will add it to my list of the dishes I get here often. (Apologies for the photo: I took it with my cellphone.) The other is the plain old house salad. Which isn't plain, or especially old. It's a nice mix of greens (and reds, come to think of it). I remember that it had cheese on top of it, but it didn't. Blue cheese excepted, I think cheese on a salad is a terrible idea. Especially shredded cheddar. MA came home just after dark. It is day eight since Mary Leigh took off for a visit to The Boy's family in Baltimore. She won't be back until Christmas Eve. We miss her, but we'd better get used to that.