COOLinary has been a big deal in the restaurant industry since its beginnings. Diners are incentivized to go out in the worst heat of the summer to eat the delicious food so abundant in our world, and to do it for less. There is a trade-off, of course, less freedom to choose what you will be eating. But even with menu limitations, the sheer number of participating restaurants ensures endless choices for the diner.
I have often wondered what the trade-off is for the restaurants. The individual tab per table is less than it would be otherwise, but the volume of diners is considerably greater. Usually, when I am in a restaurant for one of these deals, the entire restaurant is doing the deal. But it is still worth it for restaurants, obviously, because the number of participating restaurants grows each year. In this particular COOLinary year, I have finally come to understand what is maybe the biggest incentive for restaurants: new customers.
I vowed this year to break out of my comfort zone and only go to places I’ve never been, or have rarely been. As much as I love going to Mr. B’s, for example, I have to break out of the SOSO. (I may still go, just for fun.) I went to my first COOLInary 2026 dinner last weekend at the lakefront. I went to Sala Nola. There is no reason for me not to be a more regular visitor to Sala. The Riccobono family is legendary in New Orleans restaurant circles. Their delicious Sicilian Italian imprimatur is on a number of New Orleans classic restaurants, past and present: The Buck 49 Steakhouse, the Peppermill, Panola St Cafe, Cafe Navarre, and Martina Bella, to name a few.
Sala Nola's owner, Joe, is in the third generation of skilled restaurateurs who deliver consistently terrific comfort food. But Joe had a more modern, hipper vision for Sala when he refurbished the old Ground Pat’i at the West End. And maybe it was the audacity of a Riccobono to do such a thing that offended me, or maybe it was his idea to redo a Ground Pat’i and keep the footprint intact that has kept me away, but I had only been there once for their Happy Hour.
I am so glad I got past my hesitancy, because Sala is a bit of a gem. The interior is very nicely done, with a mix of booths, sofas, and regular tables. Unique. There is plenty of light, the seats are leather, and the bar is large and enticing. Maybe I’ve been late to this party because I sit outside, which is nice but not as nice as inside.
On this COOLinary visit, I still sat outside because it was breezy. The reason I went for the COOLinary was its menu. I love anything Amandine, and the softshell crab with angel hair pasta was a draw. As I often do with deals like this, I added a few things from the regular menu. Happy Hour was on when I arrived, and I got some onion rings and housecut fries. For my starter course on the COOLinary, I chose the meatballs with crostini, and for dessert, the Red Velvet Cake.
The onion rings were fantastic. They were utterly greaseless, hot, and crunchy with the soft onion inside. They were on the thick side, which is not a preference, but these were sensational. The Remoulade sauce that came with them was perfect, too.
I am impressed that they are serving housecut fries. They are bistro-style fries, and there are plenty of them. Chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese add extra interest, though none is needed.
I ordered the fries to go with the meatballs, but the thin crostini was a much better accompaniment. The crostini were thin and crunchy and toasted just so. Loved these.
As I would expect from a Riccobono family restaurant, the Italian meatballs and sauce were wonderful. Just the right size, these were also the right texture: not too soft or too firm. Excellent, I wished for a bit more sauce, because the sauce was a bit skimpy, and that sauce is good stuff.
The softshell was gorgeous, sort of crumpled with an avalanche of toasted sliced almonds cascading down one side. It was fried as expertly as the onion rings, with a well-seasoned batter. Inside, it was meaty and fat, everything a fried softshell crab should be.
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The buttery sauce sat in the crevasses of the crab, and not much of it had made its way to the pasta. The pasta was so perfectly done I hardly noticed, but I do love the Amandine preparation of anything because of that sauce, so I asked for more sauce. The nearly bare pasta was quite good all by itself. Angel hair is overrated, I think, but I thought this was great. Cooked to the sweet spot, there was no mushiness or that annoying too-al-dente texture. Fantastic.
I was so enthusiastic about this meal that I went for the Red Velvet Cake. I am not a cake eater, nor a dessert eater unless it is chocolate, but this, too, was very good. It was moist with a good flavor, and I loved the cream cheese icing.
My only complaint about this meal was that I wanted more of it. It wasn’t insufficient; it was just that it was that good.
And I realized that this Joe Riccobono (there are many in the family along with endless Vincents) isn’t really reinventing the Riccobono mantle; he’s just doing the same delicious Italian food his ancestors did, with a bit more polish in fancier digs. I realized when I left that I would be back and soon. So Sala Na had a new customer. COOLinary mission accomplished.