Wednesday, April 14, 2010

An Italian Tuesday


Ever since I had my first taste of John Besh's Lüke burger, I have been eager to try out his other restaurants that are scattered around the city's business district. Restaurant August and Besh Steak are on the pricier side, so this week we decided to go to Domenica, Besh's Italian restaurant, located on Baronne off of Canal Street in the CBD.

Domenica has everything from pizzas and cheese boards to large and small antipasti (no pasta) and primi (pasta) plates. They even have seafood, chicken, and red meat entrees. With all of this to choose from, I was glad that I had already done my research and knew exactly what I wanted to order. To start, we ordered the Calabrese and Wild Mushroom pizzas which were some of the best I have ever had. The Calabrese came with spicy salami, capers and olives and the Wild Mushroom had fontina cheese, bacon, and a cracked egg in the middle. I know, I know, an egg on pizza? Just trust me, it was fabulous.

Next we had the small Wood Grilled Shrimp antipasti plate, and the small primi Stracci plate. The shrimp dish was not my favorite. I found it hard to taste anything except for the burned, woodsy flavor, which kind of ruined it for me. Fortunately the Stracci made up for the disappointment of the shrimp. The Stracci was this beautiful torn green pasta topped with an oxtail ragu and fried chicken livers. I've never really been a huge fan of liver, but the rest of the dish was to die for. The oxtail ragu was tender and had the most incredible savory and comforting flavor that the pasta just seemed to soak up. I think next time I will have to get the larger portion of this dish sans the chicken livers and enjoy it with a big glass of red wine*.

After eating we took a walk through the Roosevelt Hotel to see the famous Sazerac Bar, which was surprisingly full of people at 7:30. It was neat to eat at a fairly new restaurant and then moments later step foot inside a bar that's been around for more than 100 years. Food + History = Just one of the many reasons why I love this city.

*You can bring your own wine to any of John Besh's restaurants and enjoy a waived corking fee.


Domenica was voted Best Casual Upscale Dining Establishment in January 2010


Calabrese Pizza: Spicy salami, mozzarella, capers, and olives


Wild Mushroom pizza with fontina, bacon, and yard egg


Stracci: Torn pasta, oxtail ragu, and fried chicken livers


My plate of the Stracci and Wood Grilled Shrimp with Calamari


Hanging house cured meats


Herb and sesame seed bread sticks that are placed in the center of every table


Entrance to the Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel

3 comments:

  1. i <3 the Sazerac Bar. It feels so glamerously retro, like stepping back into the 20's.

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  2. My boss and I went there yesterday; it was amazing! We had all kind of appetizers - fried squash blossoms (bomb!), octopus salad and the arugula salad - and finished off with a margherita pizza. It was delicious!

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