Posted by Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
, April 11, 2009 15:18
It’s been a Roadfood.com tradition for the team to gather for dinner on the eve of the annual Roadfood event. This year’s dinner took place at Mosca’s, the Italian-Creole roadhouse southwest of New Orleans. Attending: Sundancer and the lovely Iwanago, Stephen Rushmore Jr., Jane and Michael Stern, and ourselves. And two special guests: Holly Moore of HollyEats.com and Ed Levine of seriouseats.com, both of whom were invited to participate in Sunday’s much-anticipated round-table, “How to Find Roadfood.” The ayersian’s, and Marc Bruno, unfortunately couldn’t make it into town until later that night; and we were disappointed to learn that Tony Bad had to cancel his entire trip to New Orleans. Next year Tony!
We gathered in the hotel garage, where we formed a three-car caravan to Mosca’s. We were one of the drivers and had the pleasure of Stephen Rushmore Jr.’s company, which gave us the chance to catch up with Stephen (the Roadfood team doesn’t get to see a lot of each other during the year). Without giving away any details, we can say that there are lots of exciting plans for Roadfood for the next year. Stay tuned!
When you analyze Mosca’s, piece by piece, you get just an inkling of its greatness. Why is it that some restaurants far exceed the sum of their components? The way we see it, a restaurant is a total experience. It can be fun to inspect the parts, but we don’t let the inspection rule our hearts. And our hearts tell us that a visit to New Orleans without dinner at Mosca’s is incomplete. Not that there’s anything wrong with the pieces, especially these pieces:
That’s Chicken a la Grande. And yes, those are whole cloves of garlic. It’s seasoned with rosemary and oregano, sauteed in lots of olive oil until the chicken skin turns crisp and luscious, and served in a reduced sauce of white wine, olive oil, and all the drippings and seasonings. This is such deliriously delicious eating! The sesame Italian bread on the table was so-so, but here’s where that bread served its real purpose, as it was the ideal sponge for those juices pooled in the dish. Chicken a la Grande was Sue’s favorite single food item of the trip. Readers of Ed Levine’s blog know that he has been on a (successful) weight-loss program for some time. Towards the end of the meal we spied him staring intently at the dish of leftover chicken. We know that dieter’s calculation when we see it: would one more piece be appropriate or not?
The first time we visited Mosca’s, years ago, it was just the two of us (not an ideal situation here, as all the dishes are served on platters, family-style). One of the things we ordered was Chicken Cacciatore, which is Chicken a la Grande with the addition of tomato sauce (also highly recommended). Our platter contained lots of backs and wings, which at first irritated us. As we ate, it began to dawn on us that the backs and wings afford maximum enjoyment of Mosca’s chicken, as the skin and sauce and garlic cloves were really the best part of the dish. If you go with a group, forewarned is forearmed.
What else is good? How about Spaghetti and Bordelaise (their version of Aglio e Olio), dripping with oil and butter and garlic:
We also enjoyed the Italian Crab Salad, Mosca’s Sausage, roasted potatoes, a bowl of red gravy, and… and… the famed Oysters Mosca! This dish turned Sue from an oyster-frowner to an oyster-lover:
Dessert? If you want dessert, you didn’t order enough food, but maybe you should at least get a dish of the über-goofy Pineapple Fluff:
We all left greasy and garlicky and grinning with satisfaction. We took Holly, a sweetheart of a guy, back in the car with us. Ed took the leftover chicken. And that night, visions of garlic cloves danced in our heads.
Coming up… The Oysters Went On Forever and the Second Line.
