Thursday, August 25, 2016
A Meeting With The Director.
The radio show broadcasts from home so Mary Ann and I can have dinner with Alissa Rowe and her husband Adam. Alissa is the music director of Northlake Performing Arts Society, of which I am an enthusiastic member.
A couple of months ago I mentioned to Anne Honeywell-the publisher of Inside New Orleans and Inside Northside magazines-that Alissa might be a good subject for the magazine's profiles of illustrious North Shore people. Anne loved the idea, and suggested that since I am one of Alissa's directees, I would be the person to write the article.
So here we were, having dinner at Café Lynn. The Rowes live in Mandeville and knew about Café Lynn, but had not dined there. Perfect location for the interview, in more ways than one. We are served the best dinner I've had in Café Lynn's ten or so years. Part of the responsibility for the deliciousness came from Lake Pontchartrain's population of blue crabs. They are running extraordinarily delectable right now.
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Soft-shell crab @ Cafe Lynn. It's a cabdidate for best soft-shell in town.[/caption]
So, among other things, we have two red snappers amandine with a great deal of crabmeat on top. I get the always-wonderful soft shell crab grenobloise (butter and capers; Chef-owner Joey Najolia probably picked this up from his years working for Chris at La Provence). And the chef wants us to try a crabmeat risotto, a new specialty at Café Lynn. All of this has the excitement, aroma, sizzle, and seafoody freshness of the kind we don't see as much as we used to, now that chefs have given themselves permission to serve everything lukewarm. It all reminds me foodwise of a really good dinner at Galatoire's, circa 1976.
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Sidecar cocktail on the rocks.[/caption]
Adam is intrigued by the specialty cocktails at Café Lynn today. He'd never heard of a sidecar, an underrated, citrusy, very old on-the-rocks job with brandy and Cointreau. We also have a couple of glasses of Mer Soleil Chardonnay, which I haven't had in a long time.
I'm glad Mary Ann is here to help me with the interview. She's not especially a music lover, although she does like classical music. But she is intrigued by the way the director of an ensemble keeps a lot of forces in line, and she brings up matters I wouldn't have thought of. Of course, she has the advantage of being a girl. I get two pages of notes for the article. It's a fine evening, even though MA and I are almost twice the Rowes' age.
And the food, in case I didn't make this point clear, was exceptional. This has been a week of extravagant dining for me.
Cafe Lynn. Mandeville: 2600 Florida St. 985-624-9007.
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Friday, August 27, 2016.
Checking The Menu At Impastato's. As If.
The Eat Club schedule has been feast or famine lately. That's what happens when a host of other events are running. In this case, we have the cruise coming up in three weeks. And ML's wedding. So the next two Eat Club dinners are on consecutive evenings: September 13 at Muriel's and September 14 at Impastato's in Metairie.
We have not been to either venue in awhile. We had a string of dinners at the Impastato's on the North Shore, but the Metairie location hasn't seen us. However, I do get a good deal of mail asking when we will do the original Impastato's again. Well, here it is. With no funny new dishes getting in the way of the crab fingers, the fettuccine Alfredo, the fish with artichokes, mushrooms, shrimp and crabmeat, or the smoked filet mignon.
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Soft-shell crabs at Impastato's.[/caption]
Even though our menu at Impastato's is steady, Mr. Joe always likes me to stop in and run through the courses and the wines. It's just a ritual. Also, every time I go I try to get a photo of the waiters or even Mr. Joe himself tossing the fettuccine with the sauce. It never seems to come out.
I have an abbreviated supper. First a salad I've not heard of before, named for former Saints' coach Bum Phillips. It's a romaine salad with a Caesar kind of dressing and hearts of two kinds (artichokes and palm).
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Fettuccine alfredo and angel hair asciutta.[/caption]
Then, of course, the fettuccine alfredo and angel hair pasta asciutta (peppery red sauce). The entrée was a soft-shell crab with artichokes and mushrooms, for which I ask for only one crab instead of the usual two. No dessert. One glass of wine.
Then I sing a few Sinatra tunes with Roy Picou, and head for home.
Impastato's. Metairie: 3400 16th St. 504-455-1545.
