Gattuso's. Gretna: 435 Huey P Long Ave. 504-368-1114.

Written by Tom Fitzmorris October 17, 2010 03:14 in

2 Fleur
Average check per person $5-$15
 BreakfastNo Breakfast SundayNo Breakfast MondayNo Breakfast TuesdayNo Breakfast WednesdayNo Breakfast ThursdayNo Breakfast FridayNo Breakfast Saturday
LunchNo Lunch SundayLunch MondayLunch TuesdayLunch WednesdayLunch ThursdayLunch FridayLunch Saturday
DinnerNo Dinner SundayDinner MondayDinner TuesdayDinner WednesdayDinner ThursdayDinner FridayDinner Saturday

Gattuso's

Gretna: 435 Huey P Long Ave. 504-368-1114. Map.
Very Casual.
AE DC DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
The Jefferson Parish courthouse creates a lot of business for restaurants, and few eateries in the neighborhood are as busy as Gattuso's. It's good enough that it draws customers from other parts of the West Bank, and well after the courts are closed for the day. The menu appears to contain every dish the owners ever thought of; it's hard to think of a local neighborhood-cafe dish that isn't on the list. The essential specialty, however, is easy to identify: sandwiches, beginning with poor boys and radiating outward in every direction.

WHAT'S GOOD
The kitchen here is the old-fashioned kind that cooks nearly everything from scratch on site. The roast beef poor boy is a particularly good example of this, but the Italian-inspired dishes are better than you expect. Lapses of taste (i.e., cheese fries flooded with roast beef gravy) abound, but these are no less popular. I am least impressed by the seafood.

BACKSTORY
Gattuso's opened in 2000 in what looks like a former gas station, in Gretna's equivalent of the French Quarter.

DINING ROOM
The garish red building is hard to miss. It's more pleasant inside, with enough windows to make it seem spacious even when the place is packed--as it often is around lunchtime. The staff is friendly and happy. They take their time with the food, and you shouldn't come here in a rush.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Starters
Crab and corn bisque
Chili
Chicken-andouille gumbo
Guacamole or salsa with chips
Santa Fe chicken rolls
Beer battered onion rings
Fried calamari
Potato skins
Eggplant sticks
Fried pickles
Sandwiches
Muffulettas: standard, seafood, or roast beef versions
Wrap sandwiches: shrimp, club, fried or grilled chicken, chicken or tuna salad, etc
Reuben sandwich
Corned beef and Swiss on rye
Grilled tuna or chicken sandwich
Club sandwich
Hamburger
Meatball poor boy
Roast beef poor boy
Dirty bird (turkey poor boy with roast beef gravy)
Corned beef poor boy
Entrees
Spaghetti and meatballs
Eggplant parmesan
Lasagna
Fried seafood platters
Grilled marinated chicken or tuna platter
Baby back ribs

FOR BEST RESULTS
When the courts recess for lunch a large number of people pile in here, sometimes creating a line. You'd be better off in the early evening. If a dish seems unlikely for the restaurant (guacamole, for example), see if there's something else that sounds better.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
The fried seafood is less than crisp. The menu needs heavy pruning.

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 +1
  • Service
  • Value +2
  • Attitude +1
  • Wine & Bar
  • Hipness -1
  • Local Color +1

 

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
  • Sidewalk tables
  • Good for business meetings
  • Open Monday lunch and dinner
  • Open all afternoon
  • Unusually large servings
  • Quick, good meal
  • Good for children
  • Easy, nearby parking
  • No reservations