Tuesday, March 1, 2011.
Radio Round Table Full Of Food.
Mary Ann warned me that she booked a lot of heavy talkers on today's round table edition of the radio show. Both Scott Craig from Katie's and Bill DiPaola from the Crescent City Steak House could each, she thought, fill the entire three hours. And we had Jimmy Collings from the Shimmy Shack on the docket, too, and I know he's full of stories.
But Jimmy couldn't make it, and Scott played it cool. This allowed Katie Casbarian to get a word in edgewise. She's the daughter of the late Archie Casbarian, who gave rebirth to Arnaud's in 1979. Katie, her brother, and her mother still run Arnaud's, and if there's been any kind of blip in the operation since Archie went away, I haven't seen it.
Katie's subject gave her an advantage. Not many restaurants have as many stories to tell as Arnaud's. One of those is how her dad made the deal with Count Arnaud's daughter Germaine to buy the restaurant, the anniversary of which is in three days. "Germaine said that my father looked like her father, spoke French fluently like her father did, smoked cigars, and was a connoisseur of wines," Katie said. "She felt good about selling him the restaurant."
I heard another story, and knowing a good bit about the character that was Germaine Cazenave Wells, I believe it's true. Germaine was infamous for her bigotry. She asked Archie what kind of name "Casbarian" was. He told her it was Armenian. She thought for a moment but couldn't think of any ethnic slurs against Armenians. So she made the deal. (I can understand why Katie wouldn't want to broadcast that.)
The Crescent City Steak House's story isn't as long or complicated as Arnaud's, but it's not without its own legends. The sizzling-in-butter method of serving steaks in New Orleans originated at the Crescent City. And it was the first high-end steakhouse serving exclusively Prime, dry-aged beef. On the other hand, a restaurant that makes a point of changing almost nothing since 1934 can be explained quickly.
Scott Craig made his points for Katie's more forcefully by bringing along food. I don't like having food in the radio studio. Inevitably, everybody waits for me, as the host, to take the first bite. Then everybody takes a bite, and nobody is left to talk.
However, we were happy to have what Scott calls his Terranova pizza. It's made with Italian sausage from the great little Terranova Grocery on Esplanade Avenue, along with thin-sliced onions, two kinds of mozzarella, and provolone. Even cold this was delicious.
He also brought several poor boys. Spud McConnell from WWL came over and walked away with the roast beef. That left a Cuban and a cochon de lait poor boy. The newsroom finished those off.
I ate enough of everything that I wasn't even a little hungry at the end of the show. I still wasn't after writing and recording a couple of commercials. So I just went home. Drat! A lost opportunity to check out a restaurant. But it wouldn't be fair to show up for a review meal with no appetite.
Arnaud's. French Quarter: 813 Bienville. 504-523-5433.
Crescent City Steak House. Mid-City: 1001 N Broad. 504-821-3271.
Katie's. Mid-City: 3701 Iberville. 504-488-6582.
