[title type="h5"]Friday, November 14, 2014.
Out Of The Cold And Into Hot Oysters.
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From one table to another at Ristorante Filippo.[/caption]Some restaurants I only think about when it's a certain time of year, or when the weather is a certain way. Ristorante Filippo is one of those. I get hungry for the particular brand of New Orleans-Sicilian food they cook when it's cold outside. But I hesitate to go, because it will mean opening the entrance door, and letting cold air rush in and among my fellow diners. I pull the door closed to minimize that, but I also apologize to the people closest to the door. This restaurant needs a double door only three or four months out of the year, but it really needs it then.
I begin with Phil Gagliano's signature dish: oysters areganata, his name for the classic local Italian baked oysters. (Four adjectives. Should I have added a comma or two there?) Aromatic and wonderful and so hot you have to pause before eating. These are a little heavy on the bread crumbs, but that isn't ruinous.
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Bread and accompaniments.[/caption]
Come to think about it, there was something else before this: a loaf of the restaurant's great Italian bread. I wonder where they get it. It reminds me a lot of the loaves from the now-gone United Bakery.
Salad. Then a chicken version of the veal Sorrentina, made with eggplant. I don't remember ever being served so large a portion of anything here. It would have been a better dish with half as much of everything. But a minority of eaters feels that way about this subject. I bring the rest of it home for Mary Ann, who if she had been here would certainly have hauled the overload back with her. As if reading her mind (and from such a distance!), the waiter packs a loaf of the bread in the box, too.
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Chicken Sorrentina.[/caption]
Maybe restaurants serve such mammoth rashers to get you to leave sooner. You can only eat so much, but even when you're full there's something about sweets that allows you to eat more. The statistics say that a restaurant makes more money by unloading you from the table and bringing in fresh hungers than they do by selling you dessert and coffee. I doubt that's Phil's strategy, but it crosses my mind.
I rush out the door and into the gathering chill. It's supposed to go down to the twenties at the Cool Water Ranch tonight and again tomorrow.
[title type="h5"]Ristorante Filippo. Metairie 2: Orleans Line To Houma Blvd: 1917 Ridgelake. 504-835-4008. [/title][divider type=""]
[title type="h5"]Saturday, November 15, 2014.
Steak And Eggs.
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The Boy is pounding in a new fence around the Cool Water Ranch with amazing speed. I am particularly impressed by how well he is running the fence through the woods, such that if you didn't know the fence line was there, you probably wouldn't notice it.
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Mattina Bella behind the bar.[/caption]The four of us begin the day with breakfast at Mattina Bella. I continue my survey of dishes I haven't had there before or in a long time. This time, I get steak and eggs. While this is something one expects to find in a truck stop in the moddle of the The Great Food Wasteland, I recall liking it okay many years ago. Why I liked it became clear with the first bite. It's a thin-cut sirloin strip, nicely charred on both sides, and moistened with a little butter. It is excellent, even better than the steak from which it descends. Vincent Riccobono (the one who owns Mattina Bella, not the one who owns the Peppermill) managed the last location of the Buck Forty-Nine Pancake and Steak House. And the Buck Forty-Nine was famous for its steak and eggs.
The mystery is this: how do they sell this plate of eggs, brabant potatoes and steak for Eleven Bucks Ninety-Nine? They could add five dollars to this price and probably sell more of them.
My favorite part of this breakfast is that I will not have to eat again the rest of the day. Unlike most avid eaters, I usually lose a few ounces on weekends.
Going through the email, I get a message from my friend Simone Rathle. She is doing p.r. for Ralph Brennan, and her message confirms that Brennan's on Royal Street--of which Ralph is the new head--will open on Tuesday, November 25, no ifs, ands or buts. She also says that she and Ralph will give me an exclusive tour of the premises at my convenience. We set it up for Wednesday.
