Friday, June 2, 2017.
An Opulent Dining Weekend Begins at Del Porto.
Mary Ann and I have only one another for our dining this weekend. And although she swears that she will not eat anything --she, like the other Mary, is obsessed with losing weight. Neither of the Marys need their crash programs of exercise. But if they fail to lose a few ounces, I get blamed for forcing them to eat when they didn't really intend to do so.
One day I will laugh at all this.
It's my idea to dine at Del Porto, which is not only the closest serious restaurant to the Cool Water Ranch, but the best Italian restaurant in the New Orleans area, something I have said for quite a few years now. The style of cooking also sets it apart. The flavors of Tuscany are the most obvious of the kitchen's goals, but there are many other seldom-tasted, superb eats here.
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Tprtellini pasta at Del Porto.[/caption]
We begin with an antipasto platter that holds an assortment of cured salumi, marinated vegetables, small wedges of cheese, all designed to be an early companion with a glass or two of wine.
MA and I split the second course. It's tortellini pasta in a light, savory, brothy sauce riddled with wild mushrooms. This is a marvelous example of why I like Del Porto so much. Everything on this plate brings forth full satisfaction, but with a lightness that must appeal to MA. (Although I do not touch this question.) I don't have to start that conversation. MA loves this pasta as much as I do.
She quits eating at that point. I was encouraged by the server to bring on a new chicken dish, the sauce a reduction of stock that began with game. It's thick and dark on the plate, which is also scattered with not only a half-chicken, but no small amount of vegetables.
There's only one problem with Del Porto that someday they must ameliorate. The sounds in the dining room are too loud to make east conversation. There are plenty worse than this offender, but it's enough to make me want to follow MA's wishes and get a table on the sidewalk. But it is raining tonight.
Again.
Del Porto. Covington: 501 E Boston St. 985-875-1006.
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Saturday, June 3, 2017.
Keith Young Isn't Here, But We Couldn't Tell.
Our across-road neighbor is a lady who has been very kind to our menagerie of dogs and cats over the years. Even though we have fed her own pets (some of which are horses), she is ahead of the game, and Mary Ann and I take her out to lunch or dinner once in awhile, to keep the ledger balanced. And that is the motivating force tonight, as we go with our neighbor to Keith Young's Steak House. She has not been there before, even though she has lived in the neighborhood longer than we have).
We make a lot of noise about how good Keith's steaks are, and we seemed to have her sold--but she decides at the last minute to go instead for Keith's excellent spaghetti bordelaise, with a row of seared shrimp across it. This winds up to be pretty good. Mary Ann stays with seafood, getting a very large soft shell crab.
I too have some seafood at the beginning, with an order of four oysters Bienville. I offer it to the girls but they don't go for it, even though they know that, according to Keith himself, the recipe is straight out of my own cookbook. I order it just to make sure that it stays on the menu.
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Bone-in fillet-mignon.[/caption]
But my main is a special: a bone-in filet mignon. We have seen that on menus everywhere around town, and I always order it, even though it's a hit-and-miss game. It's never cut the same in any two restaurants, but I like the way Keith is doing it. It was clearly cut from a porterhouse, but the way this is accomplished sends forth a beautifully thick slab of beef. It's even cooked the way I like it. A side of thick, fresh, and well-trimmed asparagus finishes the dinner.
No dessert, because nobody's even a little hungry.
Keith did not show his face throughout the dinner. That is unusual for me. I didn't ask why, but my guess is that he has bought a new banquet facility in Mandeville. I don't know much about it. But this I do know: the steakhouse is running smoothly while he was across town. That is one of the hallmarks of the great restaurateur.
Keith Young's Steak House. Madisonville: 165 LA 21. 985-845-9940.
