Monday, June 25, 2012.
No Fast. Julia Newsham.
Debbie, the first tropical storm of 2012 that would give us in the New Orleans area some pause, is in the Gulf of Mexico. It could come this way or go that way (to Florida), or go that-a-way (Texas). It's almost nostalgic.
After the radio show the Marys wanted to be fed. Amazingly, they gave assent to my first suggestion: New Orleans Food And Spirits, one of whose three locations is in Covington. (The other two are in Bucktown and Harvey.) I'd already edited the choices in my mind before throwing it out there, but still this was lucky.
New Orleans Food And Spirits not only has the most generic name of any local restaurant, but begs to be abbreviated to NOFAS. It is no fast to dine there: all the food comes out in startlingly large portions. What I like about it is that unlike most restaurants in its category (which would include places like Acme and Zea), all of the cooking is done in house--even easy-to-buy dishes like red beans and gumbo.
We wondered how much of a hit their business has taken since the opening of The Chimes, almost directly across the Bogue Falaya River from NOFAS, and serving the same kind of menu but in a much more atmospheric place. NOFAS wasn't very busy tonight, but it's Monday. And the place is not highly visible. It's on a side street in a building that looks like all the other buildings in that historic, pretty neighborhood.
No appetizers, other than the salads with the entrees. I continued my recent preference for Italian dressing, which I seem to like better every time I get it.
On the table in the main sequence was a plate of red beans without rice (yet another of MA's dieting principles du jour). The beans were very good, and could have been called a soup. A thick smoked sausage, grilled to a light char, came with.
For me, blackened redfish of only moderate goodness, with a large pile of smashed red potatoes recommended by the server. I was happy that everybody else was picking at these spuds, because otherwise I would have eaten them all. They were very good, with a hint of crab boil, and more than a hint of butter and garlic.
Mary Leigh had the biggest stack of food--an insanely large salad topped with big cubes of fried chicken. The chicken was so good that next time I come here I may get an entree of it. But, come to think of it, I don't remember seeing fried chicken per se on the menu. They're pretty good at frying everything here (seafood platters in particular), so they could make a specialty of fried chicken. Not many restaurants seem to want to serve it anymore.
I shouldn't have had the bread pudding, but it was a small cube and had a bubbling white chocolate cream sauce, so how could I not.
Julia Pappas Newsham died over the weekend, I heard today. Eighty-eight. She and her late husband John Chauncey Newsham operated the finest Greek restaurant in the annals of the New Orleans restaurant business. The Royal Oak was in the Oakwood Mall in the late 1970s, when many first-class restaurants were on the West Bank.
I came to be good friends with the Newshams. They were both gourmets and bon vivants, attending every big food or wine event. Julia also had a career as a singer. She was enthralled by opera in particular, and was involved in every major opera and choral organization here. She qualified as a Greek Creole: her parents emigrated to the United States from Greece. I never met anyone more fun to socialize with than the Newshams. They were always laughing about something, and lived an enviably rich life.
What always comes to my mind when I think of Julia is the galaktoboureko she made for the Royal Oak. It was a fluffy custard layered with phyllo, and was one of the best desserts I've ever encountered. I've had others, but Julia's was beyond compare.
New Orleans Food And Spirits. Covington: 208 Lee Lane. 985-875-0432.
It's over three years since a day was missed in the Dining Diary. To browse through all of the entries since 2008, go here.
