Tuesday, April 17, 2012.
Brennans Enter Pizza Fray. Ruth's Chris Metairie Is 40. Café B.
Mary Ann's list of guests for today's round table show included a mystery guest. She refused to divulge who it was, but said I'd be thrilled. It proved to be someone I mildly and unintentionally insulted last night at the Best Chefs of Louisiana blowout: Ti Martin, daughter of Ella Brennan, co-owners with her cousin Lally Brennan of Commander's Palace. Ti asked me not to review the slight, but I will say it involved a handsome article of attire she wore to the event.
Ti brought Lu Brow, her cocktail chef from Café Adelaide (which the Brennan cousins also own). Lu made a few cocktails for all assembled in the studio, beginning with Tequila Mockingbird--one of many Café Adelaide originals, and one of the most popular drinks over there. Very refreshing, a little sweet, and aromatic with a slab of lemon peel.
Ti's unexpected appearance dovetailed with the scheduled visit of Darryl Reginelli, owner of the small chain of local pizzerias bearing his name. The two of them had breaking news: they have formed a partnership to expand the Reginelli's chain significantly. They just opened the first iteration of this new partnership in Baton Rouge. They're now looking to open shops in Texas, where Ti's brother Alex (he owns Brennan's in Houston) will also be involved.
Well, the trend continues, doesn't it? Operators of the great fine-dining restaurants continue moving downscale. Not just to the bistro level, as they've done for decades now, but all the way down to least-common-denominator eateries. Pizza. Hamburgers. Hot dogs. Meanwhile, the chains that began by serving burgers keep moving upscale. I find this incomprehensible, but it seems to be working for both the entrepreneurs and the customers.
I had not seen Darryl Reginelli for many years. Early in the history of the Eat Club, we held a dinner at the bistro he operated then on Magazine Street. He closed it down after a couple of years, but soon afterwards came back with his pizza concept on the corner of Magazine and State. (It's still there, but he says he has taken over the former WOW across the street and will be moving there shortly.) The place was enough of a hit that Reginelli's Pizzerias have increased in population around town to nine. That growth will accelerate, now that he has the Brennan's in his corner.
I would not be entitled to call myself a journalist if I had not challenged Darryl's claim of superb quality for his pizza. His ingredients and practices are above average as pizza joints go. But they bake the pies in conveyor-belt ovens, which is sub-optimal. He admitted that he likes what places like Domenica do with their wood-fired stone pizza ovens from Naples. But he says the mainstream customer likes pizza his way.
Maybe so. Mary Leigh, for example, loves Reginelli's. However, the mass-market pizza-eaters are rapidly becoming hip. I predicted that at some point in the not-too-distant future Reginelli's would move to big stone-floor ovens, or slip behind the curve. Darryl just nodded. I think he knows this is true.
Another surprise guest showed up. Ella Brennan--Ti's mother, and a restaurateur of such renown that she doesn't receive awards anymore, she has awards named for her--was on the phone. She likes the Reginelli's idea, she said. She also said she likes my work. Coming from her, that's the ultimate accolade.
Also in the room was Scott Thompson, the beverage manager of Ruth's Chris in Metairie. In the 100-plus-restaurant chain, it's known as "Store #002." (#001 was the Katrina-killed restaurant on Broad Street.) The Metairie Ruth's Chris is now the world's oldest. It opened in April 1972. To celebrate the fortieth anniversary, they will have a special dinner this Sunday night of a classic Ruth's Chris menu, accompanied by 1972 vintage Robert Mondavi Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Locating that must not have been easy.
Talk of the Metairie Ruth's Chris fired off a few calls from listeners who remember what was in that building before Ruth took over. It was the Forest Steak House, a well-known and much-liked restaurant that started on Rampart Street in the 1950s. It moved to Metairie, then to two succeeding places on the North Shore--first to the now-empty building in Covington where Gallagher's used to be, then to the present location of Shuck-N-Jive. Maybe I should have included the Forest Steak House in the Lost Restaurants book, so many people remember it.
I asked Mary Ann this morning whether she were up to having dinner on the South Shore. She said no, until I mentioned that Café B was the venue I had in mind. Then she changed her mind.
We first went to Café B last August--much too soon for me, but I go where the Marys want to go. We all agreed that it wasn't ready for review. Now things are running much more smoothly. The dining room is being managed by Steve Jeansonne, whose wife Nancy used to produce my radio show twenty years ago. Ordinarily, I would put this forward as further proof that there are only 500 people living in New Orleans, but I was involved in this backstory. Steve was looking for a career change into the restaurant business, and asked my advice. I told him to just go straight to the top and interview with the Brennans. He got the job, and in short order he was a manager at Ralph Brennan's Red Fish Grill. He strikes me as the perfect guy for Café B, with a low-key personality to match that restaurant's style and customers.
We began with an order of crawfish beignets. These were the best I've ever had of that uncommon but not unknown dish. They were uniquely light in weight and texture, and came with a zippy dipping sauce. Five to an order; I ate three.
Then grilled salmon for Mary Ann. I don't know if she orders this because she likes it or for its health benefits. As long as she's happy. For me, a roasted half chicken, mostly boneless, with a dish of macaroni with three cheeses. The current fad for mac 'n' cheese has not touched me, but this dishful came with the chicken. I knew MA would like it. Like it? "This may be the best macaroni and cheese I've ever had!" she said. Good! I can come back here with Mary Leigh--also a mac 'n' cheese freak--then write a full review.
With dinner, I availed myself of a Tuesday special at Café B. They pour generous samples of the night's featured wines--free! After tasting, I had a glass of the Merlot, playing the game as they hoped I would.
A bruleed-top bread pudding baked in a cast-iron ramekin for dessert was excellent both in flavor and presentation.
It had rained like hell early in the day. When we left Café B, it had become cold and windy. At least compared with the high eighties we've had lately. I had to turn on the heater in the car.
"We've got to put those rocks back on the moon."--Dick Brennan, Sr.
Café B. Old Metairie: 2700 Metairie Road. 504-934-4700.
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.
