New Orleans is a special, magical place. While there, not only did I get the chance to try some great food and drink; I was lucky enough to make some new friends. Saturday night, my new friends Robert and Betty Browning of Atlanta, along with their daughter Brittanie, invited me to join them for dinner. Little did I know that it wasn't dinner but a feast! What I imagined would be dinner for 4, turned out to be a party of 14 organized by Kevin Jenkins host of the radio show Chef and the Fatman. Kevin is a man who loves food, people and good times and if he can gather all of those elements together, so much the better. He did what he enjoys doing and we all dined at Domenica Restaurant in the Hotel Roosevelt.
Alon Shaya, chef and partner of Domenica knows how to make you feel at home; both through his gracious attitude and his delicious, welcoming food. We let him choose our dinner which began with house cured prosciutto, pizzas, polenta and more and finished with possibly the best panna cotta I've ever had. Kudos to chef Shaya and his staff, and thanks to Kevin, Robert, and Betty for sharing.
1 Chef's selection of housemade salumi, among them prosciutto, bresaola, soppressata, and a mortadella mousse.
2 Two out of the 3 pizzas we shared-with lamb meatballs on the left and margherita on the right.
3 Soft, creamy polenta topped with tender meatballs.
4 Golden brown and crisp on the outside squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese.
5 Paneed (crumb coated) Louisianna grass-fed veal with arugula.
6 Roast pork with borlotti beans and housemade spaghetti with a light garlic sauce.
7 Spinach lasagne with a light besciamella (bechamel/white) sauce and housemade pasta.
8 I just couldn't resist this soft panna cotta with blackberries and a couple of brutti ma buoni (ugly but good) cookies.
9 Incredibly light ricotta cheesecake with berries and lemon curd (yes, whipped cream too).
From: Fatman | 7/27/10 at 3:31 pm
Sandy,
What a pleasure to finally meet you. You are more charming, fun and full of life than I could ever have imagined. In our industry "talents" don't always play well together, however, YOU transcend that adage and are truly special. Sharing Domeneca with you was a pleasure and an honour. You "get it" like few do. I can only hope to meet up again with you in the future and I will do what I can to let people know how "cool", professional and FUN you are.
Eat and Drink Large darlin'.
Slainte,
Kevin "Fatman" Jenkins
From: sandy gluck | 8/2/10 at 9:17 am
Kevin,
You flatterer-the feeling is mutual!