Thread: Dinner in the Big Easy

Becca wrote:
>
> We met some friends in New Orleans for a 3 day weekend. An Italian
> restaurant on Decatur Street is one of my favorites, Cafe Giovanni.
>
> http://cafegiovanni.com/menu.htm
>
> It was a beautiful night, full of wonderful entertainment and good food
> with excellent presentation. We dined while listening to a pianist and a
> few opera singers. One of the men at our table kept using his
> BlackBerry. I woulda smacked him in the head with a roll, but I was
> trying to be a lady, dammit. :-P
>
> The menu looks a little pricey, but hang onto your hat. Just say "Feed
> me" and the chef will bring 6-8 delicious "tasting items" to your table.
> This was only $65 per person, plus tax and tip. We had:
>
> Oysters Giovanni
> Crabmeat Sicilian Salad
> Veal Ravioli
> Pesce Venetian
> Seafood Gumbo (I could not find it on the menu)
> Fire Roasted Filet
> Tiramisu
> Coffee
>
> You never know what you are going to get, it could be duck, rabbit,
> veal, etc. You have to like just about everything, to order the "Feed
> Me" dinner. The filet of beef was small, it was a little larger than a
> silver dollar, but tender enough to cut with a fork. The Crabmeat Salad
> was outstanding, but so was everything else. It was a wonderful
> experience and I can not wait to go back.
>
> What I am doing now, is trying to recreate some of the sauces that were
> included in the entrees. Anyone else do that, or is it just me?
>
> Becca

I like the idea of a "feed me" option Certainly a good choice for
those of us who like just about everything.

One of these days I'll take a weekend trip to N.O. I was thinking about
it when I moved to TX, then they got leveled before I got a chance to
go. Is it finally getting back together?

Pete C. wrote:
> Becca wrote:
>
>> We met some friends in New Orleans for a 3 day weekend. An Italian
>> restaurant on Decatur Street is one of my favorites, Cafe Giovanni.
>>
>> http://cafegiovanni.com/menu.htm
>>
>> It was a beautiful night, full of wonderful entertainment and good food
>> with excellent presentation. We dined while listening to a pianist and a
>> few opera singers. One of the men at our table kept using his
>> BlackBerry. I woulda smacked him in the head with a roll, but I was
>> trying to be a lady, dammit. :-P
>>
>> The menu looks a little pricey, but hang onto your hat. Just say "Feed
>> me" and the chef will bring 6-8 delicious "tasting items" to your table.
>> This was only $65 per person, plus tax and tip. We had:
>>
>> Oysters Giovanni
>> Crabmeat Sicilian Salad
>> Veal Ravioli
>> Pesce Venetian
>> Seafood Gumbo (I could not find it on the menu)
>> Fire Roasted Filet
>> Tiramisu
>> Coffee
>>
>> You never know what you are going to get, it could be duck, rabbit,
>> veal, etc. You have to like just about everything, to order the "Feed
>> Me" dinner. The filet of beef was small, it was a little larger than a
>> silver dollar, but tender enough to cut with a fork. The Crabmeat Salad
>> was outstanding, but so was everything else. It was a wonderful
>> experience and I can not wait to go back.
>>
>> What I am doing now, is trying to recreate some of the sauces that were
>> included in the entrees. Anyone else do that, or is it just me?
>>
>> Becca
>>
>
> I like the idea of a "feed me" option Certainly a good choice for
> those of us who like just about everything.
>
> One of these days I'll take a weekend trip to N.O. I was thinking about
> it when I moved to TX, then they got leveled before I got a chance to
> go. Is it finally getting back together?
>
If I ordered off the menu, I would only order a couple of items. The
"feed me" option is a good way to try a variety of different items on
the menu.

New Orleans is looking much better, about half the people have returned.
The French Quarter is in good shape and business appears to be good. The
French Market was razed and it has been rebuilt, bigger and better than
ever.

The city is shaped like a bowl, so the buildings around the perimeter
did not flood, the ones in the middle, did. There are million dollar
homes along with the shacks that remain empty, because these areas do
not have electricity, water or sewer. You are not given a building
permit unless you have water and sewer. The city needs a lot of work.

Becca

Becca <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

<SNIP>
> New Orleans is looking much better, about half the people have
> returned. The French Quarter is in good shape and business appears to
> be good. The French Market was razed and it has been rebuilt, bigger
> and better than ever.
<SNIP>
>

Becca, I'm delurking a minute to say that I don't believe that the French
Market was razed. It's a N.O. landmark. It's had an extensive and
expensive renovation, from what I've read. Here's a link to the first hit
when I did a Google search on "french market renovation."

http://tinyurl.com/4vrpzw

SallyW

Becca wrote:
> We met some friends in New Orleans for a 3 day weekend. An Italian
> restaurant on Decatur Street is one of my favorites, Cafe Giovanni.

I just returned today from 15 days in the bayous, wetlands and swamps of
lower LA providing disaster medical care (and mortuary care) to the
residents of Cameron,Calcasieu, Vermillion, Terrebonne, Lafourche and
other coastal parishes. We backed through New Orleans a couple of days
for R&R and enjoyed a marvelous feast at Tommy's on Tchoupitoulas which
was near our hotel (Renaissance Arts Hotel-nice place) The meal was
delicious and the service wonderfully attentive yet not in the least bit
cloying or annoying.
Have you been there?

Goomba wrote:
> Becca wrote:
>> We met some friends in New Orleans for a 3 day weekend. An Italian
>> restaurant on Decatur Street is one of my favorites, Cafe Giovanni.
>
> I just returned today from 15 days in the bayous, wetlands and swamps
> of lower LA providing disaster medical care (and mortuary care) to the
> residents of Cameron,Calcasieu, Vermillion, Terrebonne, Lafourche and
> other coastal parishes. We backed through New Orleans a couple of days
> for R&R and enjoyed a marvelous feast at Tommy's on Tchoupitoulas
> which was near our hotel (Renaissance Arts Hotel-nice place) The meal
> was delicious and the service wonderfully attentive yet not in the
> least bit cloying or annoying.
> Have you been there?

Gustav did some damage. It was sad to see all of the blue tarps on roofs
and the damage that was done. We passed utility trucks and the workers
were trying to get the electricity reconnected. Asplundh had trucks
everywhere, trying to get trees out of the roads. The place is a mess.
:-( Thanks for going and helping.

We ate at Tommy's and I ordered the fish-of-the-day. It was very good.
They asked if I wanted shrimp or crab on top of my fish and I said Yes
to the shrimp. I thought I would get tiny little shrimp, but they were
large, juicy shrimp. There was not a price on the menu, so I am not
sure how much it cost, but it was pretty good. I will certainly go back.

Becca