Sunday, February 10,2013.
Off To See Bacchus. In The Rain? Mi Mamacita's Revisited.
The Marys seemed not to want me to join her at her brother's house near the parade routes, but at least she felt guilty about it. I told her not to; I had plenty to do. Besides, the weather wasn't looking good for Carnival parades.
I began the day by baking a dozen and a half biscuits for my breakfasting pleasure over the next month or so. Mary Ann fried up some ham to give the breakfast more substance, but after the Dakota dinner last night my appetite wasn't growling.
The only other meal today was yet another in the uninterrupted twelve-day series of repasts in North Shore restaurants. (It will finally end tomorrow, when MA and I celebrate our anniversary at the Windsor Court Grill Room.) But today I was in Mandeville, having a light supper at Mi Mamacita's. That's one of the oldest Mexican restaurants--it's been there about twenty years--on the North Shore. And that's saying something, because on a per-capita basis more Mexican places are on this side of the lake than in New Orleans proper.
We never found Mi Mamacita's especially good, and we haven't been in years. But I saw a note on their sign to the effect that they're serving "New Mexican Dishes." That means Santa Fe to me, and that's a very different style of cooking than the standard Tex-Mex. It's also rare around New Orleans.
Well, it wasn't that. The menu seemed to be more or less the same since my last visit. Nothing out of the ordinary. However, I did see why Mi Mamacita's is so popular. The prices are very low, An order of queso dip cost about half what I'm used to paying. Trouble was, it wasn't very good. (Although I had no complaints about either the chips or the salsa.)
Chicken fajitas was a better surprise. It was also very inexpensive--$12, I think--and better than average. The platter came out sizzling excitedly, and the chicken was tender and held a tasty array of seasonings. The garnishes were nothing much--the pico de gallo was laughably lame--but at these prices what can one expect?
My Sundays now are reserved for a big writing project with an uncertain future. Every day I work in it, it heads off in a previously unanticipated but interesting direction. Today it wound up revealing a framework that could hold the entire book together, if I pursue it. I'm not certain I want to do that, but the more I think about it, the better I like it.
By starting early Bacchus and its fellows all managed to get their entire processions through the streets and safely home, leaving a lot of smiling faces in their wake. Among them were the Marys, who came home very late, well after your obedient servant was fast asleep.
Mi Mamacita's. Mandeville: 2345 Florida. 985-674-1400.
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