Thursday, March 3, 2011.
Impastato's.
The Mardi Gras celebration that Mary Ann has been dreaming of for months begins today. All of her siblings--including the three who live out of town--are coming in to spend the Carnival weekend at the Windsor Court Hotel. Each of them has a suite in the club level, where there's a continuous flow of food and drink. This winds up making it a pretty good deal.
We won't check into ours until tomorrow night, but some are there already, and the festivities are underway. She led me to believe that this would not be a gathering I'd enjoy, because the talk has been frankly political. I don't think she wants me to inject my alternative views into this happy gathering of like minds.
I had nothing special in mind for dinner, and no high hopes. With parades rolling, Uptown is almost impossible for dinner. When I reached Metairie, however, I saw no parade. I ducked into Andrea's, but his parking lot was full. A place I know not to dine is Andrea's when it's busy. I thought I'd check Impastato's, but my suspicion that they'd be even busier was not borne out. Joe Impastato was having dinner with the sales director of the Saints, who was there with his wife and daughter. Nice people, and the little girl--I think she said she was four--is a natural talent at dancing, singing, and telling stories.
I started with the usual marvelous fettuccine Alfredo, super-light style. I asked if there were any spiedini in the house. There were. Sliced of pork loin about half an inch thick, wrapped around an Italian stuffing of bread crumbs, garlic, herbs, and olive oil, with some thinly-sliced prosciutto in the center. Three of these get skewered and roasted, and wet down with a mushroom and wine sauce. Every time I have this dish, I wonder why it's not more famous than it is. It would be a signature dish if Joe didn't already have so many signature dishes.
Roy Picou, who sings in the bar, was there for the first time in my last three visits. He was sounding good as always. After the little girl did her dance with him, I was permitted to stand and deliver a Sinatra number, which I did with pleasure.
I'm sure Mary Ann was glad she missed all of that. She would have liked the spiedini, I'm sure, but would have cursed me for making her eat so much.
Impastato's. Metairie: 3400 16th Street. 504-455-1545.
