Eleven 79. Warehouse District: 1179 Annunciation. 504-569-0001.

Written by Tom Fitzmorris September 25, 2010 14:05 in

4 Fleur
Average check per person $35-$45
 BreakfastNo Breakfast SundayNo Breakfast MondayNo Breakfast TuesdayNo Breakfast WednesdayNo Breakfast ThursdayNo Breakfast FridayNo Breakfast Saturday
LunchNo Lunch SundayLunch MondayLunch TuesdayLunch WednesdayLunch ThursdayLunch FridayNo Lunch Saturday
DinnerNo Dinner SundayDinner MondayDinner TuesdayDinner WednesdayDinner ThursdayDinner FridayDinner Saturday

Eleven 79

Warehouse District & Center City: 1179 Annunciation. 504-569-0001. Map.
Casual
AE DC DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
No Italian restaurant reaches as far into the back pages of New Orleans Italian cooking than this one does. It cooks the lusty style of food that one would have found in the many Italian cafes in the French Quarter in the opening years of the 1900s. Joe Segreto saw many decades of the evolution to today's styles, and he serves it all. Joe Segreto's take on all the cuisines of Italy is fascinating. Especially among the daily specials, dishes you're not likely to see outside of Italy appear. All this keeps Eleven 79 busy at all hours, with a very loyal bunch of regular customers.

WHAT'S GOOD
More thought goes into the menus and recipes here than in most Italian restaurants. The specials reflect the seasons of fresh food, and always include some exciting, unique concoctions. If you like veal prepared in the many ways that used to be common in the 1970s and 1980s, you'll find all of them and more here. You can assemble a classic meal in the Italian style by splitting the enormous courses.

BACKSTORY
A well-educated student of Italian cooking, Joe Segreto managed some of the best restaurants in New Orleans history (Elmwood Plantation and Broussard's, to name two). In 2000, he settled into the little trattoria on the edge of the Warehouse District in 2000. Chef Anthony DiPiazza had a lot of history with Segreto, and the two of them assembled a phenomenal restaurant. Anthony died in 2004, but his spirit lives in the food, and Segreto guides it along with his taste and knowledge.

DINING ROOM
The building is much older than you might imagine, dating back to the early 1800s. The lofty height of the ceilings is the giveaway. The front room has a busy bar and a number of tables, which are among the most popular. As you enter, there's a complimentary antipasto bar on a sideboard. A second room has quieter, more intimate tables and the feel of an old library. Mr. Segreto is always there, sharply attired and the perfect host.

ONLINE MENU LOCATION

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Starters
Roasted peppers, mozzarella, pine nuts and anchovy sauce
»Oysters pannee, white remoulade, caviar
»Shrimp scampi, lemon butter and rosemary
»Calamari, fried or grilled
Soup of the day
»Italian sausage, peppers and onions, fresh mozzarella
»Snails in butter, garlic, green onions, Pernod, pesto breadcrumbs in pastry shell
»Roasted artichoke
Tomato and fresh mozzarella salad
House salad
Pasta (appetizer or entree)
Pasta and oysters, spinach, garlic, olive oil, mushrooms
»Pasta Puttanesca (tomato, anchovy, olives, basil, capers)
»Fettuccine Alfredo
»Pasta Eleven (bacon, peas, pine nuts and cream)
»Pasta aglio olio (New Orleans bordelaise)
Asciutta (tomato, basil, butter, romano cheese)
Pasta with fried eggplant
»Pasta acciuga (garlic, olive oil, basil, parsley, vermouth, anchovy, capers)
Pasta alla chuimmenzana (tomato sauce Capri style)
Fettucine verdura (cream, asparagus, mushrooms, peas, prosciutto, cherry tomatoes)
»Pasta Bolognese
»Linguine, snails, garlic, butter, spicy tomato sauce
Penne lisce, mushrooms and broth
Entrees
»Fish of the day, lemon butter, roasted tapenade
»Fish of the day ammoghiu (Sicilian garlic, tomato and caper sauce)
»Gulf fish, sauteed with lemon butter, with scallops and shrimp or crabmeat
Frog legs aioli
Eggplant stuffed with seafood
»New Orleans barbecue shrimp
»Softshell crab with crabmeat
»Grilled scallops and shrimp Amalfi
»Grilled shrimp and scallops aurora, polenta milanese
Veal piccata
Veal marsala
Veal parmigiana
»Veal Fiorentina (prosciutto, spinach, fontina cheese, white wine and lemon butter)
»Veal Milanese (breaded, with romaine, tomato and onions
»Veal eleven (roasted peppers, asparagus, mozzarella)
»Veal saltimbocca (prosciutto, sage, marsala)
»Veal Sorrentina (eggplant, tomato, mozzarella)
»Bracioletini di vitello (veal stuffed with prosciutto, basil and provolone)
»Rack of lamb
Lemon chicken
»Roasted half duck, sauce of the day
»Osso buco milanese
»Filet Rossini (culatello ham, Gruyere cheese, tomato, marsala sauce, besciamella and truffle
Filet mignon
»Filet mignon pizzaiola (sliced with tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms)
»Daily specials, especially fish
Desserts
»Tiramisu
Key lime pie
»Lemon ice
»Gelati

FOR BEST RESULTS
Have the pasta as a small introductory course rather than as an entree. Know that it will take longer for the food to come out than you might be accustomed to. The kitchen is too small for the volume they do here, and it's always a little backed up. It's worth waiting for.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
The servers don't always have a firm fix on the more esoteric dishes. But it's hard to keep up with Segreto.

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

  • Dining Environment +1
  • Consistency +2
  • Service+2
  • Value
  • Attitude +1
  • Wine & Bar +2
  • Hipness +1
  • Local Color +3

 

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
  • Sidewalk tables
  • Romantic
  • 8-25
  • Open Monday lunch and dinner
  • Open all afternoon
  • Historic
  • Free valet parking
  • Reservations accepted