There is a connection between the owners of DiCristina’s in Covington and the Rocky & Carlo’s folks, so we in Covington do not have to go far to have some of the legendary specialties from Chalmette, like the brick of baked macaroni with or without the crimson cooked-all-day red gravy. Or the fried chicken, house-stuffed artichoke, or the dozens of other dishes on this enormous menu.
Rocky & Carlo’s has a unique dining space that curiously adds to its allure, but Di Cristina’s toiled in the back corner of a ratty little strip mall deep in downtown Covington. Inside wasn’t much better. It was worn and dark, We would have gone to DiCristina’s far more often but the space was too unappealing. Tom would have excused such surroundings in favor of the food, but he didn’t favor the food as we did.
And then one day late last year as I left our beloved lunch spot Lola, I was thrilled to see a sign in the window of a large neighboring building. It said “future home of DiCristina’s.” This was wonderful news, for two reasons: DiCristina’s food would be available at a more palatable place, and this old revolving-door building would have a stable future. As usual, this transformation took far longer than expected, but two weeks ago I noticed the “For Lease" sign at the old place, so I passed the new place to see them open for business. It had been two days.
For various reasons we just got around to visiting, arriving for dinner at 4:30pm, a regular dinner time for probably a large percentage of their regular clientele. We went that early because weekend nights have had a line of considerable length outside at more conventional dinner hours. (It’s the north shore. We get excited by new things.)
The new place is spiffy. Clean lines and minimal frills, it is exactly what it should be. Concrete floors and booths, it is utilitarian but handsome. Comfortable. Modern. And much larger, which I think will serve them well. The place should be hopping all the time. It is also a terrific addition to the downtown dining scene. A brewpub is across the street, and gourmet Lola is next door. The simplicity of down-home Sicilian food is just what is needed in the world of cosmopolitan Tavi and the Spanish place, Valencia, as well as the sophisticated Del Porto, Gloriette, and Dakota. All of these are within blocks of the others. Downtown Covington is not a restaurant row, but rows and rows. Just another thing I love about where I live.
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On this first visit to the new DiCristina's we couldn’t possibly get all the things we wanted, especially after I looked at the menu and specials and saw things I didn’t realize they had. My eyes fell on the words “club sandwich,” and I was curious as to why that would be on this very Italian restaurant's menu. Next time.
They had a crab claw special, which is another thing I’ll get if I see it offered anywhere. And we had to get the baked macaroni, with the red gravy and a meatball. Meatballs and marinara comes with spaghetti or a brick of the baked macaroni.That’s what we got because the baked macaroni is required here. I was also thrilled to see a stuffed artichoke available. This is one of a tiny list of places that do this wonderful Sicilian delicacy themselves. And we got a small portion of spaghetti with Alfredo sauce and fried chicken.
The crab claws came first, though I’ve never seen them like this. They were offered fried of course, but I chose the claws in a sauce. I asked what the sauce was, expecting garlic butter since that is the preparation everywhere else. I was told a butter with wine sauce. What arrived at the table was an enormous portion of a gloppy sauce and nearly a half loaf of sliced and toasted French bread. The sauce was tasty, with the flavors of seafood, Parmesan cheese, and wine combined in such a way that none of them stood out. I admire the extra step of toasting the bread, which is something I rarely see. So simple. So much better.
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I get crab claws everywhere and I never leave them. These were either overdone or inferior to the norm in some way but all five of the claws I tried were nearly impossible to separate from the cartilage sliver that separates each half. Too bad too, because the sauce was nice, and it was just sad to leave crusty warm French bread.
The stuffed artichoke was even better than I remembered, In the past I felt it was a little too "wet." This was perfect. Once again they proved they have garlic, and salt, and they’re not afraid to use them. What was most noticeable about this artichoke was that it was so tender you could almost eat the entire thing. I love when that happens.
My daughter ordered properly here. Two large meatballs and the famous baked macaroni. I usually don’t like large meatballs, or meatballs that hold together, meaning, they have been “handled” a lot. And I usually don’t like sweet sauces. This was both, but I thought it was great. The meatballs did need to be cut to eat but were not hard, so I guess they were deftly handled. And the sauce was irresistible, smooth and thick, and sweet but not overly so. Very, very good. Soul-satisfying in that Sicilian grandma’s way.
And what needs to be said about the famous baked macaroni? It is absolutely the ultimate mid-20th-century version of the dish. This is baked macaroni: not pasta, not mac’n’cheese, not macaroni and cheese. Dayglow yellow cheddar intermingled with bucatini that is definitely not al dente. Exactly like Mom made. Or Mama, in this case.
The Alfredo was spaghetti pasta which we got with a fried chicken breast. The chicken was crispy and golden brown. Tender and greaseless. But the Alfredo! It was so creamy and cheesy, and redolent of garlic. The ultimate rich Alfredo. This dish was the kind of dish you could make yourself sick eating because it was just so good, and you should have stopped, but didn't.
While we were eating ML kept noticing baskets of garlic bread arriving at certain tables. It used to be that garlic bread came to the table automatically. We asked about this and our cute young server immediately brought us some. They have great garlic bread here, in that old-fashioned way, of course. But now it looks like you get it if you ask for it. Smart move for them.
It was a great first step back into the world of DiCristina’s. It is an ordinary good old-fashioned Sicilian eatery in a 5 square block area of great sophisticated Italian food like Del Porto, Marcello’s, and Meribo. But there is always room for food like your mama made. We are delighted with this development.
