The New Orleans Menu By Tom Fitzmorris

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Friday,!April!20,!2012
1276!restaurants!currently!open!around!town!
Crawfish!Extravaganza!Saturday.
Drew!Rodrigue!died!of!cancer!three!years!ago.!He!was!in!his!twenties,!married,!and!was!in!the!beginning!of!a!career!as!a!high!school
athletic!coach.!He!was!so!well!liked!that!the!people!whose!lives!he!touched!put!together!a!foundation!for!others!with!similar!tragedies,
with!an!annual!event!for!fundraising.!
That!event!is!a!crawfishKboiling!contest,!and!Saturday!will!be!its!third!running.!We!went!last!year!and!found!it!terrific.!Admission!is
free,!but!you!pay!for!your!food!and!beverages.!Or!buy!a!$50!ticket!and!eat!all!the!crawfish!and!drink!all!the!beer!you!want,!all!day.
Over!thirty!crawfish!teams!will!be!at!Bugs!And!Brew!For!Drew,!so!there!will!be!no!shortage.!Live!music!will!be!on!the!stage!all!day,
starting!at!11:45!a.m.!and!ending!at!5:30.!The!place!is!the!field!behind!Jesuit!High!School,!Banks!at!S.!Solomon!Streets.!
Bugs$And$Brew$For$Drew.$MidKCity:!Banks!St!@!S.!Solomon!St!(behind!Jesuit!High!School).!.!
http://www.thedrewrodriguefoundation.org/
The New Orleans Menu By Tom Fitzmorris
4/20/12 11:54 AM
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[email protected].
Earth!Day!Organic!Dinner!At!Brigtsen's,!Friday.
Earth!Day!is!this!Sunday.!Across!the!country!major!chefs!are!pulling!together!to!stage!special!Earth!Dinners!created!from!locally
farmed,!organic!foodstuffs.!Here!in!New!Orleans,!Frank!Brigtsen!is!on!the!lead!float!of!that!parade,!with!his!fourKcourse!Earth!Dinner
going!off!tomorrow!night!(Friday,!April!20).!
With!the!help!of!numerous!local!food!suppliers!(Nick!Usner!of!Grow.Farm,!Capt.!Lance!Nacio!of!Ana!Marie!Seafood,!Pontchartrain!Blue
Crab,!Jo!LaRocca!of!Covey!Rise!Farm,!Jack!&!Jake’s,!Sue!&!Michael!Chosa!of!Azul!Dulce!Farm,!and!Mauthe’s!Dairy),!Frank!will!present
this!organic!menu:
Honey!Island!Swamp!Crawfish!Bisque
Organic!Baby!Lettuces
Chioggia!and!Cylindra!beets,!spiced!pecans,!beefsteak!cherry!tomatoes,!micro!radish!sprouts,!feta!vinaigrette
Seafood!Platter
Seafood!and!eggplant!stuffed!Covey!Rise!baby!squash
Pontchartrain!blue!crabmeat!thermidor
Ana!Marie!softshell!shrimp,!tomato!horseradish!sauce
Organic!savoy!cabbage,!jalapeno!shrimp!cole!slaw
Blueberry!Compote!with!Creole!Cream!Cheese
Ponchatoula!strawberries,!almond!crisp
The!price!is!$65!(nonKinclusive).!Part!of!that!amount!will!go!to!the!Chef's!Collaborative,!which!is!organizing!dinners!like!this!in!over
100!restaurants!around!the!country.!Reservations!are!essential,!as!they!always!are!at!Brigtsen's.
Brigtsen's.$Riverbend:!723!Dante.!504K861K7610
www.brigtsens.com
This4daily4feature4is4a4free4service4for4restaurants4or4organizations4with4upcoming4special4events.4Please4send4all4info4to
[email protected].
!
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,!coKowners!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!MockingbirdKKone!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
http://www.nomenu.com/joomla1/
Page 2 of 36
Alex!(he!owns!Brennan's!in!Houston)!will!also!be!involved.
Well,!the!trend!continues,!doesn't!it?!Operators!of!the!great!fineKdining!restaurants!continue!moving!downscale.!Not!just!to!the!bistro
level,!as!they've!done!for!decades!now,!but!all!the!way!down!to!leastKcommonKdenominator!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!conveyorKbelt!ovens,!which!is!subKoptimal.!He!admitted
that!he!likes!what!places!like!Domenica!do!with!their!woodKfired!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!massKmarket!pizzaKeaters!are!rapidly!becoming!hip.!I!predicted
that!at!some!point!in!the!notKtooKdistant!future!Reginelli's!would!move!to!big!stoneKfloor!ovens,!or!slip!behind!the!curve.!Darryl!just
nodded.!I!think!he!knows!this!is!true.
Another!surprise!guest!showed!up.!Ella!BrennanKKTi's!mother,!and!a!restaurateur!of!such!renown!that!she!doesn't!receive!awards
anymore,!she!has!awards!named!for!herKKwas!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!100KplusKrestaurant!chain,!it's!known
as!"Store!#002."!(#001!was!the!KatrinaKkilled!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!wellKknown!and!muchKliked!restaurant!that!started!on!Rampart!Street!in!the!1950s.!It!moved!to
Metairie,!then!to!two!succeeding!places!on!the!North!ShoreKKfirst!to!the!nowKempty!building!in!Covington!where!Gallagher's!used!to
be,!then!to!the!present!location!of!ShuckKNKJive.!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!AugustKKmuch!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!lowKkey!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!LeighKKalso!a!mac!'n'!cheese!freakKKthen!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!winesKKfree!!After
tasting,!I!had!a!glass!of!the!Merlot,!playing!the!game!as!they!hoped!I!would.
A!bruleedKtop!bread!pudding!baked!in!a!castKiron!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."KKDick4Brennan,4Sr.
$Café$B.!Old!Metairie:!2700!Metairie!Road.!504K934K4700.
It's4over4three4years4since4a4day4was4missed4in4the4Dining4Diary.4To4browse4through4all4of4the4entries4since42008,4go4here.