Sunday, July 3, 2011.
In The Keys. Sal and Judy's.
The Marys spent the night at the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach. It had all they were looking for: a nice beach, clean blue water, and even a good-looking teenage boy casting admiring glances at ML. Despite all that, they decided that they must press on, and headed for Key West.
The day before the Fourth of July, the traffic was bad. They made it halfway down the Keys and wound up in a hotel that they christened "Rug Rat Inn" for all the little kids there. The hotel was just okay, they said, and the food somewhat less so.
I continue to be ecstatic that I was excluded from this trip. But if I had been in a lower state of mind, I would have been lifted by an invitation to dine with Dan and Kathy Scott at Sal and Judy's. That's a restaurant I don't visit often, for two reasons. 1) It's so consistent that nothing I ever eat here adds much to my data. And b) it's so popular that plans to eat there must be made weeks in advance.
Dan and Kathy were at the bar waiting when I limped in. I was out for the first time with my new support unit: a golf putter. Tommy Zander (retired 747 pilot, frequent Eat Club diner) gave me the idea. "It's a lot more macho than a cane," he said. "And if you have a golf ball in your pocket, you can pull it out, turn the club around, and get everybody's attention." I already had a surplus putter, whose business end fits perfectly in my hand. The shaft is strong enough to support my weight. Because it's the right size for me in the golfing way, it's also the right size as a cane. The grip is made of rubber and doesn't slip. So it's good-bye to another piece of crippled-guy equipment.
I allowed myself a Negroni with the Scotts, and we began laughing right off. Dan was the guy who got me started hosting cruises. On our first two (he left the travel business afterwards) he was the perfect person to travel with. His very presence is a party.
When we moved into the dining room, there were Sonny and Nell Lauga, just finishing up. They've been on more of our cruises than anybody. They used to come to a lot of the dinners, too, before Katrina moved them to Carriere, Mississippi. The number of times we run into the Laugas in restaurants is almost comical. Not the same restaurants, either, but different ones.
We passed around too many large appetizers. Oysters Cinisi, an inspired variation on Italian oysters, with Italian sausage mixed in with the bread crumbs, garlic, and herbs. Crabmeat au gratin: how could that be bad this time of year? Stuffed artichoke, not my favorite dish, but very good for all that. Mary Ann will be furious to know that we didn't save any of this for her.
I learned a couple of new things about Sal and Judy's today after all. They now list all the specials on the menu. For years, they served almost as many dishes off the menu than on. Many customers have no idea about the range of the menu. For example, I didn't know about the excellent fried chicken. The Scotts come here regularly, and Dan considered the four crusty pieces of chicken a favorite entree. Hot, crisp, greaseless, well seasoned, everything it should have been.
Before me were two broiled soft-shell crabs amandine. Had I known they would cook them that way, I would have asked for fried. But as with the stuffed artichoke, my non-preference for broiled soft-shells didn't make this less than delicious. Sal Impastato is just a great chef.
Sal came out and gave me good-natured grief about something I had on one of my top-dozen lists. He says I put his brother Joe's braciolone ahead of his own. "I make it here for both restaurants!" he laughed. Well, he got me there. But I will say here that Joe (at Impastato's in Metairie) makes better fettuccine Alfredo. But Joe makes the pasta for both places.
Dan said we had to have the bocce for dessert. It's a parfait of ice cream, almonds, amaretto, and whipped cream. Simple, but good enough that I ate almost all of it. Okay, I will not lose any ounces today. But how could I in a restaurant like this?
Sal and Judy's. Lacombe: 27491 Highway 190. 985-882-9443.
It has been over three years since a day was missed in the Dining Diary. To browse through all of the entries since 2008, go here.
