Thursday, August 3, 2017.
Somehow, Mary Ann and I get into one of our more familiar debates, in which she says that my wanting to go out to eat every day keeps her from losing the amount of weight she has planned. "Just don't join me," seems the obvious answer, after which she usually just comes along anyway. I'd do anything she wants, if only I could figure what that is. I suggested that MA write a journal of the British Isles trip she and ML just finished. I had no idea she would deliver such a long compu-script. It runs about two dozen pages. I tried to pull it together for publication, but it's so complex that I had to ask her to put it all in order. This wound up taking about three days with both of us working on it. Once done, however, I think it would up interesting. After only a few days after we posted it in the NOMenu, it was attracting a fair number of readers. We did this in lieu of going out to lunch and dinner today. (I manage to subsist on the leftovers of that roast beef poor boy I got from Di Martino's on Monday.)Friday, August 4, 2017. Ralph's On The Park.
Mary Ann contacts me at some point during the day and proposes dinner. We almost go to two or three restaurants when she suggests Ralph's on the Park. The current summer menu at Ralph's--the one that brings three appetizers and a glass of wine for $33--appeals to MA, especially when she sees three or four vegetable dishes as parts of the offer. Before we get there, however, we get tangled in the road work being performed in the center of the Canal Street Cemeteries district. What is needed is a connection between the end of the Canal streetcar with the end of the Canal Boulevard bus. Right now, a passenger traveling from Mid-City to Lakeview has to pick his way through two blocks of hazardous gaps, traffic signals, stop signs and the like. But building this new connection makes it extremely difficult for cars to get from, say, the I-10 at Metairie Road to the old Bud's Broiler on City Park Avenue. They say it will take four weeks, but nobody seems to have known that we would have heavy rain here every day for who knows how long. Accumulated rainwater also made it hard to park at Ralph's. The closest spot that didn't have six inches of water against the curb was three blocks away. Of course, I could have used the free valet parking. Why didn't I? Beats me. Once inside, I began with a Manhattan, to ease the tensions of the Canal streetcar massacree. Mary Ann picks a couple of elements for her wine-and-three. A crab and mango salad. Charred Brussels sprouts. And, curiously, a filet mignon. She and I split that. I also have sea scallops, a little on the small side but numbering up to six, which seems fair enough. The restaurant was close to full, and the place was a shade noisy. But as the previous seating left, things became more peaceful. We did not revive yesterday's mutually testy conversation, and find ourselves both enjoying the evening.Ralph's On The Park. City Park Area: 900 City Park Ave. 504-488-1000.
Saturday, August 5, 2017.
Bosco's. A guy who called me during the radio show today wanted to know where he might find the kind of Italian salad that he remembered from years gone by. He also was looking for corroboration of his side in a long-running discussion he and his father have. His dad says that Italian salad dressing is nothing but oil and vinegar. I said that his father is certainly wrong, but to have mercy, because most dads have to put up with many assertions that they are wrong every day. I certainly have experienced this. It's hardest to take when it comes from one's kids, especially if one had a long periods in which Dad was the source of all knowledge. Indeed, Mary Leigh is clearly starting to consider me a nincompoop. (When she reads this, she will likely think, "What does he mean, I'm starting to believe that?) But harder to take were the numerous corrections my son Jude ordered me to accept during my stay at his house last month. But Jude is already a more successful person than I am, so what can I say? Anyway, I told the man on the radio phone that if he wants to taste a great Italian vinaigrette that clearly has ingredients other than oil and vinegar, he should get the house salad at Bosco's in Mandeville. It includes most notably a good bit of lemon juice in the dressing. So we took our across-the-street neighbor--who watches over our dogs when we're away--to dinner at Bosco's. Indeed, the salad dressing is as good as ever. As long as we were there (and it's been a good while since), we ordered a lot of food. I started with Sicilian-style mussels--cooked in their shells and served in a red sauce. What impressed me most after that was a new dish called "Chicken Greco." This is layers of chicken, eggplant and cheese, all of which come together into something like a light lasagna. Very good. [caption id="attachment_55557" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Bosco's chicken Marsala.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_55556" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Mussels Sicilian style.[/caption]
ML and our neighbor ate light. MA got a huge pile of shrimp remoulade with white remoulade sauce, which she was able to split with everyone at my table.
[caption id="attachment_55558" align="alignnone" width="480"]
White-style shrimp remoulade.[/caption]
I expressed my long feeling that the reddish remoulade sauce--like the ones at Galatoire's, Arnaud's, Tujague's, Antoine's and the Upperline--are my preference. The girls rushed up to say I am clearly wrong, that white remoulade is the way to go, that red remoulade is just another one of Tom's Old-Fartisms, never eaten by those with up-to-date tastes. Well, shut my mouth!
