Wednesday, May 4, 2011.
Therapy. Another Book Deal.
People have been telling me throughout the bum ankle recuperation that whatever was coming up next would really be painful. What they usually say about physical therapy is that the therapist would make me do things that would be excruciating. But, they add, at it probably be a beautiful young woman, who would also rub warm lotions around the affected area. (Women dominate the occupation.)
Today was my first day for all this. A young woman brought me into a dark room with two low chairs. After a few moments, I met my therapist. "Hi! My name is Miles!" he said. Story of my life.
Miles clearly knew what he was doing, however. Better yet, he's a listener to my radio show. He took a bunch of measurements of my ankle, checking on how much mobility it has. He thought that it was much farther along in its healing than he expected.
Miles and his staff ran me through a number of exercises, none of which occasioned even the slightest twinge of pain. They attached a few electrodes to stimulate my muscles. It was like a very mild case of my foot's going to sleep.
After we wrapped up that benign routine, Mary Ann picked me up and we headed home. I figured we could stop somewhere along the way for lunch. "Why didn't I think of that?" she said. "I already promised Mary Leigh I'd meet here for lunch! But there are a lot of leftovers at home if you're hungry."
It was just as well. Tonight we have a meeting with Tommy Cvitanovich, the done of Drago and the owner of his namesake restaurant. We've talked for a year or so about a Drago's cookbook, but done nothing. Tonight, we'd come to a decision. The big question is not whether such a thing would sell--I don't think there's any question about that--but whether I have the time to undertake such a big project.
It came down to what kind of book Tommy wants. It's the same one I was thinking about: the story of the Croatian involvement in the New Orleans restaurant business. People whose names end in "-ich" have played a major role in New Orleans eateries for over a century.
That story has a nice arc to it. It also brings in the whole Louisiana fishing industry--another harbor for Croatians. All we need to do is add the recipes. Tommy was surprised when I said he could have something like 200 recipes by including some of the restaurant's older dishes. At one time, they had a substantial menu of Croatian dishes in addition to the seafood. He also likes the idea of including some recipes that they've never really served, from some of his friends in the business. Why not?
He already has a photographer lined up. Now all we have to figure is whether or not to self-publish. I think we're both leaning that way. We'll have it out for the holiday season, 2012. That should give me something to do.
We ate, of course. Char-broiled oysters--just one dozen for the three of us. I had a half-dozen raw oysters of eye-popping size and shape. One of them was about four inches long. Very meaty and salty.
Then some fleur de lis shrimp (fried, coated with spicy aioli, rolled in crushed peanuts). The new shrimp and grits, whose sauce was about midway between New Orleans barbecue shrimp sauce and Creole sauce. Tommy put a new salad in front of me: greens, avocado, feta cheese, seared fresh tuna. Delish. Mary Ann got a soft-shell crab (below) with that rich seafood cream sauce they ladle over seafood pasta at Drago's.
Tommy and I split a good-size lobster, ordered mainly because I found myself without a photograph of a lobster a few days ago, when I needed one. Its claws were completely full of meat, and the tail was fat. We must be in a good time of year for lobster.
Mary Ann was moaning on the way home. "You can't go to Drago's and not eat too much food," she said. This damn diet of hers! She had another topic for her Causeway-crossing monologue: she thinks the cookbook is a good idea. That's encouraging, because she thinks I work too much right now.
Drago's. Metairie: 3232 N Arnoult Rd. 504-888-9254.
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.
