Yesterday, right in the middle of my radio show, I received word that Ted Brennan had died. Ted was one of the three brothers who owned and managed Brennan's on Royal Street from 1973 until they lost the building about three years ago. I knew Ted pretty well, and I would like to write about him and his restaurant at greater lengths than deadlines will allow today. That will appear in tomorrow's edition of the New Orleans Menu Daily.-- Tastefully yours, Tom Fitzmorris.
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Saturday, September 30.
Fifty Years At Reginelli's. First Taste (A Very Hot One) At La Casita Taquria.
When I was a skinny teenager at Jesuit, my big sister Judy asked me to stand as godfather of her newborn daughter Holly. I was flattered to undertake this unambiguously adult responsibility.
Flash! Fifty years go by. Holly has a big birthday. It's in a private room at Reginelli's Pizzeria, the one on Clearview just off West Esplanade. Why there instead of a real restaurant like Commander's Palace?* Because Holly has many nieces, nephews and cousins, most of whom are little kids. If you didn't know better, you'd think this is a party for one of them. Holly, who is also godmother to something like a dozen of these moppets, is still a kid at heart.
MA and I cross the lake to attend that party. The pizza is pretty good--certainly consistent with other Reginelli's* pies I've had in recent times. I don't think there's enough textural contrast in the crust, or excitement in the sauce. But that may be perfect for family gangs like the one we're part of today.
[*I bring up Commander's here only to note that the Commander's arm of the Brennan family also owns a stake in Reginelli's. And, long as I'm here going "Hmmm," I note that this Reginelli's occupies a building that was originally a Time Saver store. I was working for Time Saver when I became godfather. Hmm.]
After the fun and pizza, MA drives me (I've had quite enough driving for a few days) to the radio station downtown. I am not scheduled to do a show today, but I have much else on my work list. Three hours' worth of catching up with email. Eat Club reservations. Press releases. Questions about restaurants. With my internet dead at the Cool Water Ranch, my office at the station is the only place I can go that has enough of my files that I can actually accomplish something. (Note to skilled webmaster: yeah, yeah, I know. . . I ought to have everything in the cloud. But I don't. Any other ideas? Pah!
MA is hungry for dinner when she picks me up at around four-thirty. She has an idea that sounds good to me, even though it breaks the rules. La Casita Taqueria is the latest restaurant to open in the building three blocks into the new Oak Street commercial district. (It has been about ten other restaurants in the past, most recently Squeal Barbecue.) The place hasn't changed much--no huge atmosphere divide separates Mexican food and barbecue. The staff is welcoming, and there's some sort of happy hour deal going on.
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Three cheeses made into a spicy queso dip.[/caption]
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Strawberry margarita.[/caption]
Mary Ann starts improbably with a strawberry margarita. It is very pretty to behold, and not bad to drink. I have a Modelo Negro beer. We split an order of queso. It's rich with a variety of cheeses and peppers. Eating it, we learn that La Casita's baseline of pepper is rather a bit higher than most of us are accustomed to. This becomes clearer when we get an order of cebollitas (grilled green onions; Mary Ann ordered them, bringing me no closer to an understanding of their appeal). It comes with a pale- green, smooth salsa which, although it's served chilled, is hot in any other sense.
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Beef tacos. The red salsa to the right is to be eaten with care. It's aflame with habanero peppers. [/caption]
And then, when the carne asada tacos I order for an entree appear, I dip the corner of a tortilla into the red salsa they came with and taste. It knocks me into a corner. The waiter says, "It's habanero." I believe he is correct. The tacos are good, but I give the salsa a wide border.
MA gets a Caesar salad with chicken and avocados. The music plays a Motown mix loudly. The customers filter in in greater numbers. The bar--always one of the best parts of this structure--has a semi-party going on.
La Casita Taqueria. Riverbend: 8400 Oak. 504-826-9913.
[divider type=""]Sunday, July 31, 2016. Still Recovering. Brunch With Forks And Corks.
It's hard to believe how many problems came up while I was away for only a week. My ability to catch up my editorial load is severely crimped by the lack of most of my telephone service. I feel the lack of any internet service especially keenly. AT&T is on the ball, however, saying that they get right to work on my lines this Tuesday. Only five days of waiting for a dial tone! Fortunately, I have a couple of large articles to write for which I don't need connectivity to the outside world, and they fill most of the day. [caption id="attachment_52336" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Marvin Tweedy's new take on shrimp and grits. [/caption]
The only significant meal is taken at Forks And Corks. Chef Melvin Tweedy, who bounces back and forth between F&C, is here today, and sends out a couple of free samples. The first is a variation on shrimp and grits, with the shrimp having been cooked to a greatest crustiness than is usually found in this dish. The black beans at the bottom pulls all the flavors together in a unique deliciousness.
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A spectacular oyster pan roast, topped with browned parmigiano cheese.[/caption]
Now comes a baked oyster dish in which the oysters get blasted with high heat from above. But they are insulated from the heat by a layer of parmigiana cheese, which melts and gets browned in its defense of the oysters. Underneath is damp layer of celery, garlic, butter and the oysters themselves, which come out steaming but not shrunken. I am a sucker for dishes like this, and I find it magnificent. Like the way it looks, too.
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Forks & Corks top brunch dish, with eggs, asparagus, crab cakes, potato cubes, and hollandaise.[/caption]
The last things we need now are the two egg dishes we actually ordered. One is an offbeat take on huevos rancheros, with andouille sausage segments. The other is poached eggs with asparagus, hollandaise, and crab cakes. The latter ingredients are more like stuffed crab patties. I think they and we would like this more if they dump the crab cake reference. "Crab cake" brings forth the image of jumbo lump crabmeat used almost exclusively. Every particle of bread crumbs or other fillers is resented. But call it stuffed crab, and all the expectations change to allow this fine old Creole item.
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A new approach to huevos rancheros.[/caption]
It didn't help that we were both stuffed, ourselves. We could have stopped after the oysters and the shrimp. But Melvin likes to use me as a guinea pig, and certainly don't mind that.
