Wednesday, October 14, 2015.
An Eat Club Failure, With Great Wines.
I'm almost glad it happened. The radio salespeople who have done such a great job of selling remote broadcasts may have done too good a job. It is a tacit agreement that when we do an on-location show, since we're already there at the restaurant we have an Eat Club dinner.
But we have had three dinners already this year at Impastato's Cellars in Madisonville. We would have filled Impastato's in Metairie, but the North Shore is a different game. This time, the plans never really got off the ground. I canceled it, but just in case somebody signed up and didn't get the word, I went over there after the show. And, as long as I would be there, I invited anyone who wanted to a la carte it to join me at the big new table in the handsome wine cellar.
Still not enough. We had all of seven people. Before we even got our orders in, one of these got an emergency call and, with a concerned look on her face, she left with another lady. Speculation that this had something to do with the plane crash in Hammond proved untrue.
That would have cast a pall across our decimated little group, but one of us made up for it by buying, opening and sharing three bottles of Caymus Vineyards Cabernet, including one Special Selection. The latter--which over the years has often been called the best Cabernet in California--sells for over $100 a bottle. Indeed, our benefactor had just bought a case of the wines from Joe Impastato, who is liquidating some of his overstock. The original concept of Impastato Cellars was as a combination wine retail store and restaurant.
It's the first time I've run into the man with the Caymus in at least twenty years. He and I used to cross paths often at wine tastings and dinners. For a time, he owned a serious winery of his own. Tonight, he broke the ice with everybody here. It was one of the rare nights in which politics was broached as conversation. My friend says he is a Democrat, but one wouldn't have guessed that given his stances on a few issues. It was easy for him to speak freely, what with the wine he kept sharing.
Meanwhile, a big celebrity took the table next to ours. Tom Benson--personal friend of Joe Impastato, whose food he very much likes--had a table of three with his wife and a man with whom he seemed to be discussing important matters. We all got up to shake Benson's hand. Nobody brought up the Saints' current season, you can best believe. Joe Impastato, on the other hand, was still wearing his genuine Saints Super Bowl ring.
Which brings up something I ought to mention more often: unexpectedly wonderful things happen at the Eat Club.
[caption id="attachment_49258" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Artichoke bottoms with crabmeat and shrimp at Impastato Cellars.[/caption]
Although the original plan was that we would go a la carte, Mr. Joe came in to say that he would start us off with artichoke bottoms with jumbo lump crabmeat and shrimp in a light cream sauce. Then we would have the famous fettuccine Alfredo, followed by a small Caprese salad. This is usually the point at which orders diffuse, but when I ordered speckled trout Marianna (named for Mr. Joe's mother, and therefore a guaranteed great dish), almost everyone followed the lead. Local trout caught yesterday, with a sauce of mushrooms and artichokes.
Those who had dessert also were intrigued by my order of torroncino, a great ice cream with almonds and cinnamon made by Angelo Brocato. Happy stuff everywhere. Even the check was nice. Five courses for $36? How do you beat that?
Nevertheless, I have a meeting coming up with the sales teams in which I will tell them that the Eat Club dinners will henceforth be limited to two instances per year per restaurant. I hope Mr. Joe, who seems to like the Eat Club, understands.
Impastato Cellars. Madisonville: 240 Highway 22 E. 985-845-4445.
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Thursday, October 15, 2015.
Dress Rehearsal, The Worst Pies In London, And Ham Sandwich.
I'm stuck at home most of the day, what with my car still in the shop (two weeks tomorrow) and Mary Ann needing her car to conduct business. But I have plenty to do in my office, and I do it, interspersed with a two-lap walk around the grounds on this funny weather day. It went down to the fifties last night, but almost got back to the nineties at midday, all in beaming sunshine.
My only meals today are my usual orange-toast-café au lait breakfast, and a ham sandwich at noon. Last Saturday, the guy in the deli gave me twice as much Chisesi's ham as I'd asked for. I just took and paid for it, but now I must make the sandwiches very thick to prevent waste. Chisesi ham carries something like three percent fat, which the USDA classifies as fat-free. No carbs. High protein. A little high on the salt for hypertensive people like me, but not too bad.
As soon as the radio show ends I beat it to the new Covington City Hall, where is a nice-sized auditorium. There tomorrow and Sunday, NPAS will perform an evening of Stephen Sondheim. A year after I joined the chorus, this will be the first show in which I will actually sing. I am out of my league here. Many, perhaps most of the NPAS singers are well-trained, adept musicians. So, for that matter, are the young singers from nearby high school choruses who will perform with us. I get a few nudges from the singers around me when I make mistakes, which I do. But this is how one learns. What I learn today is that from now on I will memorize all the lyrics. We did that routinely in my barbershop-quartet days, and I know how doing that sets one's performance free. But most NPAS singers are strictly on the book, as am I.
Among the songs is one about the worst pies in London, a reference to the gory habits of Sweeney Todd. I think it would have been cool if I had done a solo on that, given what I do for a living. But I don't have the skill just yet.
Into The Woods With Stephen Sondheim. Fri., Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m. || Sun., 3 p.m. Fuhrmann Auditorium, 317 N. Jefferson Ave., Covington. Tickets $20: npas.info or at the door.
Artichoke bottoms with crabmeat and shrimp at Impastato Cellars.[/caption]
Although the original plan was that we would go a la carte, Mr. Joe came in to say that he would start us off with artichoke bottoms with jumbo lump crabmeat and shrimp in a light cream sauce. Then we would have the famous fettuccine Alfredo, followed by a small Caprese salad. This is usually the point at which orders diffuse, but when I ordered speckled trout Marianna (named for Mr. Joe's mother, and therefore a guaranteed great dish), almost everyone followed the lead. Local trout caught yesterday, with a sauce of mushrooms and artichokes.
Those who had dessert also were intrigued by my order of torroncino, a great ice cream with almonds and cinnamon made by Angelo Brocato. Happy stuff everywhere. Even the check was nice. Five courses for $36? How do you beat that?
Nevertheless, I have a meeting coming up with the sales teams in which I will tell them that the Eat Club dinners will henceforth be limited to two instances per year per restaurant. I hope Mr. Joe, who seems to like the Eat Club, understands.
As soon as the radio show ends I beat it to the new Covington City Hall, where is a nice-sized auditorium. There tomorrow and Sunday, NPAS will perform an evening of Stephen Sondheim. A year after I joined the chorus, this will be the first show in which I will actually sing. I am out of my league here. Many, perhaps most of the NPAS singers are well-trained, adept musicians. So, for that matter, are the young singers from nearby high school choruses who will perform with us. I get a few nudges from the singers around me when I make mistakes, which I do. But this is how one learns. What I learn today is that from now on I will memorize all the lyrics. We did that routinely in my barbershop-quartet days, and I know how doing that sets one's performance free. But most NPAS singers are strictly on the book, as am I.
Among the songs is one about the worst pies in London, a reference to the gory habits of Sweeney Todd. I think it would have been cool if I had done a solo on that, given what I do for a living. But I don't have the skill just yet.
