The Sicilian Legacy

If there is a person out there who does not love Italian food, I don't know them. The cuisine is soul-satisfying in a way unlike any other, at least to me. The opening of TANA started me thinking about all the different interpretations of this food around town, so I picked a favorite in each part of the metro area. You will no doubt have your own, as you should, but no matter how these are assembled, you can't lose.

New Orleans has The Italian Barrel,  Gianna, Sofia, Mandina's, Pascal's Manale’s, Vincent’s, Venezia, Avo, Arabella Casa di Pasta, Josephine Estelle, San Lorenzo, and our favorite of this bunch, Irene’s, followed very closely by Avo. In looking at that list, you’d have to be struck by the variety.

Pascal’s Manale is, like Mandina’s, a New Orleans restaurant that was first an Italian restaurant. Gianna and Sofia are hip Italian, befitting the neighborhood, and Arabella Casa di Pasta fits its neighborhood. Tommy’s is also in the Warehouse District, but its food is more like Irene’s. It makes sense, Tommy and Irene were together at Irene’s before going their separate ways. The Italian Barrel used to be the talk of the town but has settled into a stable favorite without much buzz. Vincent’s in the old Compagno’s is a wonderful continuation of comfortable neighborhood Italian that is delicious. And Avo is the continuation of a long Sicilian legacy modernized for the 21st century. Polished and sophisticated, Nick Lama’s food would make his ancestors proud, though they would likely call it fancy. Domenica is another modern and sophisticated version of Italian food with enthusiastic fans. We are not quite as enthusiastic, but it is indeed right at the top with Irene’s and Avo. Irene's is the outlier of those three. It is much more traditional and homier. 

And newcomer San Lorenzo is glamorous and delicious. (Pictured: Bistecca Fiorentina.)

Even though Lakeview is part of New Orleans, I almost call it Metairie, since it seems more like Metairie to me. R&O’s is an Italian turned New Orleans place that is technically Bucktown. It is a phenom that is ordinary to me, but it has fierce loyalists. Rizzuto’s is an Italian Steakhouse that is far more upscale than the other hybrids mentioned earlier. Domenica somewhat recently arrived in the neighborhood with its sophisticated Neopolitan pizza and Italian food, but our hands-down favorite is Two Tony’s.

Two Tony’s is out of the way, but worth the reminder that it is there. It also has a lot of New Orleans favorites and seafood, but the Italian food here is just wonderfully soul-satisfying. It’s a cute family-run place that we love. Best fried artichoke hearts around and one of the best lasagnas too.

In Metairie, there is Filippo, Impastato's, Vincent’s, A Tavola,  (pictured) 

Giorlando’s (pictured)

Fausto’s, Dab’s, Nephews, and the new TANA. TANA is the outlier in that it is hip, even edgy. Metairie doesn’t do hip, and it certainly doesn’t do edgy, so it’s a great addition to the dining scene there. Giorlando’s is that hybrid Italian/New Orleans and it is delicious.  Nephews is the old Tony Angello’s, Fausto’s is the DiPietro version of Sicilian which is like Irene’s (Rolando and Fausto are Irene’s brothers,) Dab’s is Chef Duke, and Vincent’s (garlic chicken pictured) needs no explanation. 

A Tavola is maybe the best of the Creole Cuisine group after Broussard’s, but it is Filippo that is the Metairie standout. Phil Gagliano can cook Italian like few others. The food is polished, not hip, but impossibly delicious.

Out in Kenner, there is the Brick Oven Cafe and Gendusa’a on the opposite side of Williams Blvd. The Brick Oven Cafe is a good old-fashioned-style Italian place with heavy food and sauces, but it is mighty tasty. The pizza is from a brick oven before those were hip. There is nothing hip about this place, but it is good. Gendusa’s at the other end is not as good, but they do a stuffed artichoke in-house here, which is rare. I would go just for that.

In nearby Harahan is a real favorite of ours. The Oak Oven Cafe sits in a converted Popeye’s with a chef who worked in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Catania, Sicily. Here is maybe the best pizza in town but certainly the best Neopolitan pizza and sophisticated superb everything else, like the Beccafico. (pictured.)

Over on the Westbank, there is Mosca’s in Waggaman, which is an institution deserving of its reputation. We were underwhelmed the last time we went though, so we’re not sure what’s up here. DiMartino’s is a restaurant with deep Sicilian roots and three locations. The food is great, though Italian is the least of its merits. They fry here like no others. It is perfection. Best onion rings out there, and fantastic fried eggplant too. 

And lastly, there is the little gem in Gretna: Tony Mandina’s. Wonderful always, on music nights, magical.

North of the lake there are Bosco’s, Leonardo’s Trattoria, and Nuvolari’s in Mandeville. All of these are exceptionally great restaurants, with Nuvolari’s the best of the three. (The stuffed dates app is pictured.) The food is sophisticated and adventuresome. 

Bosco’s and Leonardo’s both have pizza as well as pasta. Leonardo’s (Osso Bucco pictured.)is a better value and Bosco’s has a fantastic muffuletta.

In Covington, there is Meribo, a hip pasta and pizza place with a fabulous Happy Hour value. There is another location of DiMartino’s with good food and a very nice vibe. It is handsome and comfortable and even a little glamorous. DiChristina’s is humble Italian with a standout macaroni and cheese like Rocky & Carlo’s (same family,) and they stuff their artichokes (just like Rocky & Carlo's.)

Heading upscale is Marcello’s and Del Porto. Both are fabulous, but Marcello’s is polished comfort food while Del Porto is polished sophisticated food. (Pictured: the much-copied signature White Bean Puree.)

Sal & Judy's in Lacombe is a legend and with good reason. They were drawing pilgrims from the Southshore long before it became fashionable, with the lure of delicious Sicilian food.

Joe Impastato's wife and daughter opened Impastato's Cellars in Madisonville, offering the same food as Impastato's in Metairie, with a much more glamorous space and without the drive. In Slidell there is Nathan's, another hybrid Italian/New Orleans place, but a very good one, And Joe's Italian, also very good, tucked away in Eden Isles. The best Italian food we had this year was not at an Italian restaurant at all but at Tchefuncte's in Madisonville for their Italian night. (Pictured: Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage, Brown Butter and truffle.)

This was a list of a lot of restaurants, and there isn’t a bad one in the bunch. Some are better than others, of course, but all of these are good, a few great, and some even sublime. That is a wonderful testament to the delicious legacy that the Sicilians brought to New Orleans. Lucky us!