Saturday, November 12, 2011.
Unusual Breakfast, Usual Place. The Old Superstore. Hearty Friend.
Mary Ann suggested breakfast at Bella Luna, and I never say no to that. Downtown Covington was in Three Rivers Art Festival mode, with streets semi-blocked all over the place. But we know how to get around.
After three weeks of investigation, I am still finding dish I've not tried from Mattina Bella's new menu. Today it was the smoked salmon with poached eggs and hollandaise. All parts of that were of the usual fine quality, and a bargain at $13.
A truth I've known for a long time reaffirmed itself. Salty, cured foods have their flavors warped by the addition of heat. The most outstanding and controversial example of this is the hot muffuletta, which I believe is terrible. Serving smoked salmon warm is another not-so-good idea, nor are hot capers. Of course, some people like all that, and they will love the versions served at Mattina Bella. I will return to the eggs on crabmeat and mushrooms next time.
No radio show today, of course. LSU owns Saturdays, to the distress of restaurateurs. I wonder why no restaurants have promoted a football-free zone during the games. Those of us with little interest in the sport have been cast as misanthropes by the Who Dat Nation. But our numbers are strong enough to fill a dining room with no games on the televisions, I'll betcha.
Peggy and I had a book-autographing duet performance at the Sam's Club in Metairie. This was much more successful than the one in Slidell, where we ran out of books in fifteen minutes. I lost track of how many books we signed, but I think it was over a hundred.
First time I've set foot in that building in a long time. In the 1980s and early 1990s, I was there all the time, when the place was The Real Superstore. I consulted with them on their wine department, their house-blend coffee, and a few other things. Schwegmann's bought it and the rest of the Canal-Villere/National Supermarkets local chain, and almost immediately choked on it and died. The supermarket business here changed tremendously after that, as first Sav-A-Center and in turn Rouse's moved in to fill the gap.
It was after dark when I left Sam's to visit a friend in Ochsner Hospital. Five days ago he underwent open-heart surgery to replace two valves. He was in good spirits, if only beginning to regain his strength. He asked me not to identify him publicly, lest his customers think his restaurant is on low power, which it certainly isn't.
My plan was to have dinner while I was on the South Shore, but couldn't get motivated. My friend in the hospital is the same age as I am. That's an appetite-killer.
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.
