Wednesday, June 7, 2017.
A Second Taste Of Altamira.
After a couple of weeks of gully-washing rain, we have emerged into the sunshine. That is very welcome, and Mary Ann and I decide to take advantage of the cool, windy conditions to have dinner in Altamura. That's the new and otherwise formal Italian restaurant in the Garden District. This is my third visit here, and I have found a consistent quality to the place. Like hundreds of other Italian restaurants around the world, Altamura feels it important to let you know that they serve real Italian food of the highest quality.
That point was made by owner Jack Petronella the first time we met, when he appeared on my radio show. It wasn't long before I translated this into a reference to Northeastern Italian cooking. Which is indeed very good but very different from the Italian palate I find in my tours across Italy. I can always spot this by the presence of a proud statement about the restaurant's meatballs. Altamura says that meatballs are the signature of its cucina.
The two girls who have joined me for dinner here (the Marys, on separate occasions) love the meatballs. They have American palates, which explains everything. And their interest in veal scaloppine, chicken piccata and the like. More interesting to me (and them) is artichokes oreganata, fried hearts with garlic, herbs, and bread crumbs. MA goes through that quickly. My interest is a similar dish functioning as the fish of the day. It's topped generously with the herbal bread crumbs, and underlined by a lemony butter sauce with capers. This is certainly the best dish of the night to my tastes.
Some other dishes I consider include veal saltimbocca, osso buco, and the linguine with clams. That's a dish that people who visit New Orleans are always surprised by, because of its widespread absence. They think of our part of the world as maritime. But hardly anyone ever eats clams around here. Clams must be brought from up north. So, those people who have a taste for clams will be happy to find them with pasta as well as in a broiled row with an herb butter, which I had last time I was here. Or they will get smart and order shrimp dishes instead of the non-starter clams.
I keep hearing that Altamura's tables were hard to come by during the period in which I would not go to a new restaurant. We have been lucky in being able to walk right in and sit down. This might have something to do with the Mary's preference for outdoor dining. It also gives us time to look around the Magnolia Mansion, which has a long history. It's unnervingly large for a building that once was a private home. It was a hotel a couple of times, including during the major wars. Worth a look around.
But I can't help thinking that here is a missed opportunity for a more energetic attempt to bring in the food that really is cooked and eaten in Italy--as opposed to America. Pesto the way they do it in Genoa. Any of the food of Emelia-Romagna. The goats and rabbits of Friuli. And that's just the beginning. Altamura has the place, the background, and the chef to become one of the great Italian restaurants in America.
On the other hand, is the New Orleans eater interested enough to go down those alleys just yet?
Altamura. Garden District: 2127 Prytania St. 504-265-8101.
