It’s been nostalgia week for me in New Orleans. Yesterday, it was a muffuletta from Central Grocery. Today, it was a shrimp po-boy from Mark Twain’s Pizza Landing and a bubble gum sno-ball from Sal’s. I must have passed Mark Twain’s 100 times before I finally took a chance on it. It has a paper mache Mark Twain in the store window. The shrimp is sautéed, not fried, and that’s all I had time for today but it’s the pizza that makes the place. I eat pizza. Any kind of pizza placed in front of me is in danger but I never thought there was much difference between the big chains and the smaller specialty pizza places. I was wrong. Mark Twain’s Pizza Landing was the first gourmet pizza joint I started frequenting. I used to live AND work nearby. I do neither, now, and I miss them.
I'll take a bubble gum snow-ball, or my favorite nectar, anyday. I had one of those Wednesday, about my 5th or 6th for the season so far. I crave them sometimes. I pass 5 snowball stands along the way to get to Yummi's, which is just 5 miles away from me.
I went to Central Grocery on my birthday this year and they were out of muffaletta bread at 2 in the afternoon so they weren't serving muffs.
I'll take a shrimp po-boy dressed, or a gourmet pizza too. That sounds good. You can tell it is supper time around here. The kids (4 counting friends) were fed frozen, doctored-up pizzas for supper. Michael and I are going to MiMamacita's for dinner. I have been going there for 9 years now and the menu has never changed. The shrimp dishes are new and for only lent - supposedly. I just have to try something new and maybe if it's good, they'll add it to the menu permanently.
I always crave sno-balls. I noticed a new one about 5 miles drive from here and will someday give it a whirl. There's one up Hwy 59 from you on the other side of I-12 that is supposed to pretty good but I haven't tried it yet. As for non-chain-store pizza, I like Isabella's and D'Angelo's on the NorthShore about equally but Mark Twain's is better than both and Tower of Pizza is at least as good. In addition, ToP has an Italian Salad (Formerly known as a Wop salad) that is out of this world.
That's Bot & Nola's. It is good. I had a nectar snowball there weekend before last. The ice is snowy. I gave it a thumbs up.
I like D'Angelo's and Isabella's too. D'Angelo's salads, and their pesto calzone is to die for. the Italian Pie is also good. I haven't tried The Loop yet. I also haven't heard anything about it, but it was one of the first places open after Katrina blew through town.