[title type="h5"]
Tuesday, July 21, 2015.
Johnny Sanchez.[/title]
Some mornings Mary Ann borrows my radio station parking card for her convenience in making sales calls downtown. Only one car at a time can be in the garage on my ticket, however, so we have this well-timed system in which she is pulling out of the garage just as I'm coming in, give or take a few minutes either way. I give myself a half-hour buffer, lest my blood pressure shoot up a few dozen points as a result of this maneuver.
But something funny happened today. I hit every single traffic signal in a green state, all the way from the first one on LA 21 @ LA 35 all the way to South Peters @ Calliope. I mean, I didn't have to so much as slow down for any of the 19 traffic signals en route. This put me about fifteen minutes ahead of my usual time. When I called MA to alert her to my arrival, she was in the middle of a meeting. Need I go on?
We makeup for this contretemps with dinner at Johnny Sanchez. The Marys are frequenters of the place. I haven't been since opening night, when we happened to be walking in front of the place after attending a party across the street. John Besh saw us there on the sidewalk, pulled us inside, and fed us, as he was in the process of doing for a bunch of invited pre-opening guests. (I was not one of those. Note to Mike: So shoot me.)
The place is a packed house that night, and most other times. Tonight, we sit down immediately at 6:30--as fast as I can walk from the radio station to the resturant. That may be the best strategy. The crowd here is young and hip. People who live and work in the CDB. I wish I still did.
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Three salsas at Johnny Sanchez.[/caption]
We begin with three dips, served not only with chips (rather hard ones) but also fried, thin slices of plantain. The best way to explain the dips is to say that one was a dark, brownish-red, with the highest pepper content of the three. A very green salsa was less pungent, but had an insistent tinge of lime. Very refreshing, this is the one I kept revisiting all night. The third was greener still, almost a day-glo shade. This really was a guacamole, with an avocado proportion of around 85 percent. Almost an avocado mash. Very good, but my least favorite of the three. But ranking these against another adds less than nothing to the enjoyment.
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Ceviche and salad.[/caption]
We didn't order the salad of unusual and highly picturesque leaves and thick flakes of a pale, pink fish. But here it is, a full plate for each of us. The fish has been marinated, ceviche-style. Mary Ann never touches such things, but she insisted that I eat both plates, lest our hosts be miffed. I was very happy to do so.
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Cabrito tacos.[/caption]
But two ceviche salads and the chips and salsas makes me too full for an entree. Instead, I get two street tacos. I ask the waiter whether he prefers the lengua (beef tongue) or the cabrito (slow-roasted baby goat). He tells me that goat is not his bag, and that he was a fan of the tongue. I get the goat anyway. I haven't run into it in a long time.
When it comes, I wonder whether this cabrito is from an animal older than what I'm used to. My experiences with cabrito and its Italian counterpart capretto have been on the light side in terms of color. This is quite a bit darker. It's enjoyable anyway, although I still don't have my moves down when it comes to handling tacos with three layers of tortillas and so much juicy meat (comparable to a sloppy roast beef poor boy in texture) that they disintegrate even in the first bite.
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Arroz con pollo.[/caption]
Mary Ann gets a full-fledged entree. Arroz con pollo, made decidedly in the Mexican style--not the way a Spanish chef would. It's in the general vicinity of dirty rice, with cilantro, avocados, and chunks of chicken. Some of the rice has begun to get crispy from contact with the hot pan, paella style. MA says she thinks this is very good, including the hard-toasted grains of rice.
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Masa cake at Johnny Sanchez.[/caption]
Dessert is masa cake. It looks like cheesecake, but it is indeed a sort of pudding with masa meal (the stuff corn tortillas are made from). And grilled peaches, corn, and semi-frozen buttermilk that comes out like ice cream.
A specialty cocktail reminds me of a dictum: the thicker and heavier the glass, the better the drink. It all adds up to about $75 inclusive. I have been looking for gourmet Mexican restaurants for a long time, usually by gazing to the molé horizon. I didn't see the likes of Johnny Sanchez coming. But here it is, along with the similarly-spirited Mizado, and we have a new category of dining hereabouts.
Did I say that this is a John Besh restaurant? Besh now has more restaurants in New Orleans than the whole Brennan family does. (Unless you count Reginelli's, in which the Commander's Palace Brennans have an investment.)
[title type="h5"]Johnny Sanchez. CBD: 930 Poydras. 504-304--6615. [/title]
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[title type="h5"]
Wednesday, July 22, 2015.
The Third Eat Club @ Impastato Cellars.[/title]
I keep telling Joe Impastato that three Eat Club dinners in six months is too many. And he keeps proving me wrong. Although it was a struggle to get the list of reservations for today's dinner up to thirty, by the time we sit down to eat, we have every table in the place full. (Other than the ones on the sort-of balcony, which also fill up, but with walk-in customers.
Maybe it's the new sign Joe finally managed to get built near the highway. Before it came, it was almost inevitable that you'd drive past Impastato Cellars at least once while looking for it.
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Crabmeat au gratin.[/caption]
The dinner is better than I expect, and I was sure it would be good. The biggest surprise is the crabmeat au gratin, served not in a little ramekin but in one of those boat-shaped baking dishes. Very generous. The concoction was not just crabmeat, cream, and cheese. Also in there was an assortment of vegetables, most in the cruciferous family: broccoli raab, cauliflower, carrots, spinach. The extra water cooking out of the vegetables made for not only a better texture, but an enhanced flavor release.
Next comes pasta primavera. That was very popular in the 1980s. This is the first time I've had it in a long time. It was not the classic version with a light cream or olive oil sauce. The sauce was the slightly reduced, juicy puree of cherry tomatoes from the San Marzano region. Joe opened a can and let me taste one. Wonderful! Why have I never run into this before? I will buy some from the grocery-store-style shelves in a corner of the dining room.
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Soft shell crabs @ Impastato Cellars.[/caption]
Next is insalata caprese. I was moving from table to table when that came out, so I didn't get a taste. It's the onus of the host not to eat as well as his guests do.
The pecan-smoked filet mignon and the soft shell crabs were as popular as ever. I have chicken Marsala. For some reason, I have a greater appetite for Marsala dishes than usual. This is my second one this week.
The wines are exceptionally good. All Italians, and ranging from the farthest northern Italian vineyards to the farthest south in Sicily.
Mary Ann had not planned on joining us, watching her diet as she is. But I may have persuaded her to do so when I see Jacqui Dugas here. She and her husband attended the very first Eat Club dinner at Bella Luna in 1993. But we haven't seen them in over a decade. Fun to reuinite.
[title type="h5"]Impastato Cellars. Madisonville: 240 Highway 22 E. 985-845-4445. [/title]
