Diary 8|5|2014: Latent Hunger Relieved At MeMe's.

[title type="h5"]Tuesday, August 5, 2014. Latent Hunger At MeMe's. [/title] "Latent hunger" is my term for a curious effect experienced by devotees of the dinner table. You feel a desire for, let's say, turtle soup. (I'm already hungry for that now, just from having thought about it and written these few words.) You decide to go to Da Wabbit on the West Bank, which unaccountably makes not only an excellent turtle soup, but in an old-fashioned way exactly to your (well, really, my) taste. But it's raining hard today, and the traffic going across the bridge is way backed up. You don't want to waste an hour getting across, so you cancel the turtle soup plan. And then you forget about it. Almost. But not very deep in your brain there now lingers an unfulfilled desire for Da Wabbit's turtle soup. It may stay there, affecting nothing else in your life, for days or weeks or months. But sooner or later, this need will be satisfied. And it will be wonderful. This is latent hunger. Last week, Mary Ann and I planned to go to MeMe's in Chalmette for dinner. The owners are holding their first wine dinner soon, and they asked if we could come over for supper and a brief conversation about the event, since it's sort of like our Eat Club dinners. But I fell so far behind in my writing work that I had to stay at home to do the radio show. And the trip from Abita Springs to Chalmette and back was a little much. [caption id="attachment_43396" align="alignnone" width="480"] Seafood gumbo at MeMe's.[/caption] This threw the switch for latent hunger mode. It happened involuntarily, because there's no external control for the effect. I thought about the oysters, the gumbo, the fish. Maybe the filet mignon. But then the thoughts went into the mental cabinet. To come out today. In separate cars (because we couldn't agree on a route home--isn't that absurd?) we made our way to the corner of Judge Perez Drive and Trio Street. "It's not usually this busy on a Tuesday!" said Sammie Catalanotto. In fact, I never see MeMe's (St. Bernard slang for Grandmother's) anything less than almost full. The only open spot was a big table, but they let us two have it anyway. [caption id="attachment_43397" align="alignnone" width="480"] Oysters four ways.[/caption] Dark-roux seafood gumbo: great. Oysters four ways, two of each: my favorite dish in the restaurant. One is a spinachy Rockefeller. Another is a very spicy, glowing red, Asian recipe called oysters Bangkok. A third was more or less oysters Drago. Fourth was a new creation, with the oyster baked on its shell with blue cheese, bacon, and pecans. I didn't like the sound of that, but loved the taste. [caption id="attachment_43398" align="alignnone" width="480"] Eggplant with crawfish.[/caption] More appetizers: Panneed eggplant topped with a crawfish etouffee with about one-fourth again as much depth as normal. Wedge salad, just right. I could feel the glow of the latent hunger brighten my whole outlook. I have not had a steak here, and I am in the mood. I am thinking about having it with the peppercorn sauce, but the server says that the reduced red wine sauce has been the rave. Sure, why not? The seven-ounce filet is more like a ten- or twelve-ouncer. "Chef Lincoln cuts our steaks heavy," Sammie says. The sauce will not go down in history with au poivre or bearnaise, but it is very good. My only complaint is a long-standing dislike of major food coming out on a pile of mashed potatoes--but I asked for the potatoes, so I have no standing for complaint. [caption id="attachment_43399" align="alignnone" width="480"] MeMe's hamburger, Mary Ann's favorite.[/caption] Mary Ann orders. . . the hamburger. The server says it is indeed excellent, as hamburgers go. And when it emerges from the kitchen, it gives me an excellent photograph. I will look the other way and assume this is MA's own latent hunger expressing itself. I couldn't finish the filet, fine as it was. No room for dessert. We talk about the upcoming wine dinner, which sounds delicious and underpriced. I warn them about doing it on a Monday. Our consistent experience with Monday Eat Clubs is terrible, save for the ones at Galatoire's. But then again, Mimi's is the Galatoire's of Chalmette, isn't it? [title type="h5"]MeMe's. St. Bernard Parish: 712 W. Judge Perez Dr. 504-644-4992. [/title]