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Happy Italian
Harahan: 7105 Jefferson Hwy. 504-305-4666. Map.
Casual.
AE DC DS MC V
Website
ANECDOTES AND ANALYSIS
Harahan and River Ridge have a restaurant community all of a sudden. It was a long time coming, after decades of having fewer places to eat out than you have fingers on a hand, and the nearest restaurants rather far away. Some of the new Harahan-River Ridge places are actually innovative, perhaps even unique. At the same time, the nature of the town is that it's a great place to raise children. The new Harahan restaurants catered to that clientele with what seem like straightforward local dishes, but which often turn out to be quite original.
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Baked ziti with garlic sauce, Gorgonzola, and walnuts.[/caption]
WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
At first glance, the menu at the Happy Italian seems like that of any of the thousands of neighborhood pizza-and-pasta eateries across America. Read the dish descriptions carefully, and you find many dishes you've never heard of before. Some of these sound routine, but aren't. Example: the meat sauce pizza. Sure, meat sauce on pasta is routine, but can you remember having a pizza made with Bolognese sauce? Best of all, it's not merely offbeat, but terrific.
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Italian salad for. . .one? [/caption]
WHAT'S GOOD Italian cooking encompasses dozens of styles and thousands of recipes, each with as much claim to being "authentic" as any other. The Happy Italian defies category in its exploration of new paths to goodness. Here is, for example, the first conveyor-belt pizza oven that actually makes a good crust, because the elements of the belt are made of thick granite. The sauces on the pasta dishes break new ground--notably the garlic variety. The daily specials break away from Italian cooking altogether, with some fine seafood offerings.
BACKSTORY After decades in the wholesale seafood business, chef-owner Lenny Minutillo returned to his New Jersey roots a couple of years ago by opening this place. Before the seafood gig, he managed the memorable Old Spaghetti Factory in the CBD. The previous restaurant here was Nuccio's, a good standard New Orleans neighborhood cafe. It was on the verge of getting people to dine out more often when it ran out of gas. Lenny moved in, took months to pull the place together, and then started running.
DINING ROOM
One big room in a small strip mall, the Happy Italian is antiseptically and simply furnished, with bright lights, ever-active television screens, and a wide-open kitchen. There's a more lived-in private room for meetings. If you don't know Harahan well, look for the tall, modern St. Rita's Church on Jefferson Highway. The restaurant is across the highway.
[title type="h6"]FULL ONLINE MENU[/title]
BEST DISHES
Starters
Italian soups of the day
Caprese salad
Italian salad
Caesar salad
Roasted portobello mushroom salad
Pizza to order, traditional or multi-grain crust
Pizza with meat sauce
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Entrees
Ziti, roast garlic sauce, Gorgonzola, walnuts, pancetta
Linguine marinara, Italian sausage or meatballs
Cannelloni stuffed wtih veal, spinach, four cheeses
Ravioli with wild mushrooms or four cheeses
Lasagna
Tricolor tortellini
ettuccine Alfredo
Eggplant, chicken or veal parmesan
Broiled Gulf fish
Muffuletta
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Desserts
Canoli
Creme brulee
FOR BEST RESULTS
In the pizza department, try the house combinations, which are much better than such things are elsewhere. Beware of portion size: most entrees are too much even for two people.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
A number of dishes here are almost inedibly rich. I found myself adding crushed red pepper many of the platters. .
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+1
- Value +3
- Attitude +2
- Wine & Bar
- Hipness
- Local Color +1
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Good for business meetings
- Open Sunday lunch and dinner
- Open Monday lunch and dinner
- Open all afternoon
- Unusually large servings
- Quick, good meal
- Good for children
- Easy, nearby parking
- No reservations
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