Two Tonys. West End: 8536 Pontchartrain Blvd. 504-282-0801.

Written by Tom Fitzmorris September 26, 2010 12:58 in

3 Fleur
Average check per person $15-$25
 BreakfastNo Breakfast SundayNo Breakfast MondayNo Breakfast TuesdayNo Breakfast WednesdayNo Breakfast ThursdayNo Breakfast FridayNo Breakfast Saturday
LunchNo Lunch SundayNo Lunch MondayLunch TuesdayLunch WednesdayLunch ThursdayLunch FridayLunch Saturday
DinnerNo Dinner SundayNo Dinner MondayDinner TuesdayDinner WednesdayDinner ThursdayDinner FridayDinner Saturday

Two Tony's

West End & Bucktown: 8536 Pontchartrain Blvd. 504-282-0801. Map.
Casual
AE DC DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
One expects seafood in West End, and one gets it at Two Tonys, even though the place is better known for its Italian food. This is basic, homestyle New Orleans Italian, for those who grew up eating it this way and no interest in what may exist beyond veal Parmigiana. There are a place and a need for that cookery, and here they come together.

WHAT'S GOOD
You start with fried artichokes, eggplant, or calamari, with a side of the sweet, familiar red sauce. Then a well-made gumbo (either seafood or chicken) or a big crunchy salad covered with parmesan cheese. Now the long list of all the standard local pasta dishes, and the veal and chicken dishes with piles of pasta on the side. All of this comes out hot and good and indelicate. The fried seafood is a little inconsistent, but usually fried to order, light and crisp. If the poor boys or the muffuletta appeal, you should feel no compunctions about so ordering.

BACKSTORY
The sign “II Tonys” refers to Anthony Montalbano Sr. and Jr. The old man--a good fella--passed away in 2010, by which time Junior was running the place for years. He has a young son named Tony, so the sign doesn't need to change. It all began in the early 1980s in the French Quarter. A second location opened a few years later in Bucktown, and the Quarter shop closed. After Katrina, the restaurant's location next to where the Army Corps of Engineers wanted to put in critical new pumping facilities forced a move to the former West End Cafe/Pontchartratain Point location, near the marina.

DINING ROOM
Two dining rooms: a spacious, well-windowed front area with a large bar, and a smaller room beyond it. Completely casual, larger and brighter than the told place was. In the service, the emphasis has always been more on friendliness and welcome than fine points, so loosen up.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Starters
»Fried artichoke hearts, Creole horseradish
Fried eggplant or zucchini, marinara
Grilled shrimp, pepper jelly sauce
Crabmeat and shrimp au gratin
»Crabmeat stuffed mushrooms, garlic butter
»Fried calamari, marinara
Big onion rings, Creole horseradish
Soups And Salads
Seafood gumbo
»Chicken and andouille gumbo
Baked French onion soup
Soup of the day
»Italian salad (greens, tomatoes, Genoa salami, mozzarella, parmesan, olive salad)
Caesar salad
»Shrimp remoulade
Grilled yellowfin tuna salad
Romano-crusted chicken salad
Grilled or blackened chicken or shrimp salad
Mixed green salad
Entrees
»Veal or chicken Montalbano (panneed, with Creole mushroom meuniere sauce, mozzarella)
Veal or chicken Pontchartrain (panneed, sauteed crawfish, roasted pepper cream sauce)
Baked eggplant, crabmeat and shrimp au gratin
»Fried eggplant medallions, shrimp and crabmeat sauce, cheddar, Italian bread crumbs
Grilled yellowfin tuna, lemon butter sauce
Fried shrimp, catfish, oyster, crab cake or combo platter
Crab cake platter
»Grilled redfish
Fried soft-shell crab
Chicken, veal, zucchini, or eggplant parmigiana, pasta
»Meatballs or Italian sausage, spaghetti
»Cappellini aglio olio
Fettuccine Alfredo
Manicotti stuffed with cheeses, baked in marinara sauce
»Lasagna with five cheeses, Italian sausage and ground beef
Spicy shrimp fettuccine, three-cheese cream sauce
Crawfish fettuccine, cream and cheese sauce
»Shrimp Mediterranean (grilled shrimp, red wine, tomatoes, basil, capers, garlic, olives, angel hair pasta)
Sandwiches
»Muffuletta
Meatball poor boy
Breaded or blackened chicken breast poor boy
Italian sausage poor boy
»Pannéed veal poor boy
Fried eggplant poor boy
Fried shrimp, catfish, crawfish, crab cake, oyster or combo poor boys
»Grilled or blackened shrimp poor boy
Grilled fish poor boy
Roast beef debris poor boy
Hamburger (bun or poor boy)
»Creole hot sausage poor boy
Desserts
»Bread pudding
Spumone
Tiramisu

FOR BEST RESULTS
No matter what you order here, you'll get too much food. Consider splitting entrees in the ratio of three platters per four people. Do not take the raves of the restaurant's regulars at face value.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
Almost all of the food could be made with a bit more elegance, but that's not what the customers come here for.

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

  • Dining Environment
  • Consistency +1
  • Service+1
  • Value +1
  • Attitude +1
  • Wine & Bar
  • Hipness -2
  • Local Color +2

 

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
  • Good for casual business meetings
  • 25-75
  • Open all afternoon
  • Unusually large servings
  • Quick, good meal
  • Good for children
  • Easy, nearby parking
  • Reservations accepted