Fork on the Road

March 28, 2008

Across Lake Pontchartrain (a peaceful 25 minute drive on the Causeway), among the tall trees, green space, main drags tight with traffic woes, big development, and plenty of new residents, sits a fine and growing clutch of restaurants.  Three solid days spent dining in and around Mandeville and Covington reveals a dynamic restaurant scene bursting with cuisines of all types woven into the established seafood, plate lunch, po-boy shops and chain restaurants.  There has long been a few quaint hideaways for Mexican, Mediterranean, Japanese, Chinese, and Thai foods, but the Northshore is experiencing an ethnic dining up-tick adding Indian and Vietnamese cuisines to the mix.  Throw in a charming French bistro, multiple green markets, fancy grocery stores and food-passionate locals who happily share the latest info on the best food finds to discover the gustatory delights of the Northshore.

On the way to Saia’s Super Meat Market, my eye spotted a sign with the word “roti.”  Roti?  Mental note:  find out what that sign is about after shopping.  Saia’s Market can be politely described as weather worn.  It sits at the end of a small strip mall that has seen better days but still houses a bar known for their great burgers (Interference) and a couple other businesses.  Step inside Saia’s and head straight to the meat department at the back of the store.  Here, there is a large cold case filled with all manner of beautiful meats and a slew of sausages.  I’m looking for the N’Tini’s (a nearby restaurant once located in Chalmette) fresh, hand-formed burgers and the accompanying sourdough-jalapeno buns sold here (with permission from the restaurant), that I’ve been told are “the best.”  “Those are in the freezer, if we have ‘em,” I’m told.   They have both, which I buy and tuck into a thermal bag to save for dinner that evening, but first I have to return to the “roti” sign place. 

Roma’s Roti Café is in a stand-alone house converted into a restaurant with about 6 tables.  The food is West Indian Cuisine, mostly from Guyana (the original home of the owners) and unbelievably delicious, fragrant with spices, bumped by heat and crafted by hand per order.  Samosas, Curries, coconut milk and smashed black-eyed peas spun into rice, Biganee (slices of eggplant dipped into a ground split pea batter, fried golden), and homemade breads – plain or whole wheat paratha roti, or dholl puri.  Holy cow, this is terrific…until I’m told that the café is closing in a few days, much to my chagrin and that of a handful of locals who are devoted fans.  Sadly, there weren’t enough adventurous diners to keep things going.  The salvation is that Roma will sell some of her delectable foods at the Mandeville Farmers’ Market.

On the same stretch of road as Roma’s, is Villa Vancheri (Italian), Arz (Mediterranean), Saigon (Vietnamese) and Thai Palace.  All have gotten mixed reviews and are being reserved for a future dining report.  Café Lynn, also right nearby, bills itself as French Creole and bears a menu that encompasses French and Italian cuisines.  Chef-Owner Joey Najolia is young, ambitious, and well-heeled, having once been the Executive Chef at La Provence in Lacombe.  The lunch menu has definite French bistro vibes with items like a lovely French Onion Soup Gratinee, classically prepared with a deep broth, caramelized onions, a large crouton and a rich, gooey blanket of Swiss cheese melted over-top.  There are several entrée salads.  We tried the Goat Cheese Salad - fresh greens tossed with slightly sweet house-made creamy black pepper vinaigrette balanced by fried rounds of tangy goat cheese; a great light lunch choice.  The blackboard boasts ever-changing daily specials and there are easy lunch sandwiches like the twist on the traditional Croque Madame.  Najolia layers warm ham and melted Swiss topped by fried eggs, on a split seven grain batard (a small baguette) spread with a thin, mayonnaise-like béchamel sauce – a sort of glitzed up ham and Swiss poboy if you will.  Dinner entrees are more refined and include Braised Pork Osso Bucco with caramelized vegetables; Pan Seared Scallops glistening with olive oil and a fresh herb Persillade; and a nice selection of fowl, vegetable and pasta dishes.  The wine list is smart, the desserts hearty and pleasant but not overly inspired. 
 
A portion of Highway 190 in Covington is glutted with Thai restaurants (I counted at least 4) that each have their fans and detractors.  Recent additions to this area’s dining selections include excellent Mediterranean food at Al-Basha, an Indian lunch buffet at the oddly named India 4 U (the dinner menu is far more interesting and also more expensive); and NorthShore Empress.  Although the menu is predominantly Chinese, the stars at NorthShore Empress are the few Vietnamese dishes relegated to the back of the book.  Noodle bowls, Pho and rice plates with grilled pork chops, roasted chicken and Sautéed Beef are prepared for beginners to the cuisine and that means much of the authenticity is omitted.  Veterans of Vietnamese food need only ask for dishes to be gussied up more aggressively; the staff is happy to oblige.

Mandeville’s Hwy 22 is also stuffed with eateries.  On a friend’s advice and after much raving about something called a “Tuna Bowl,” a group of us head to Megumi.  The menus here are an overwhelming selection of dishes including a separate, 6-page menu (3 legal-sized pages, front and back) of rolls with wild names and a myriad of ingredients.  We start with Squid Salad, Seaweed salad and Agedashi Tofu.  The salads are super cold, just this side of frozen, but once at room temp, tasty.  The tofu is genius – bite-sized cubes of fried tofu piled into a bowl, doused with dashi (broth), covered in a giant tangle of bonito flakes and squirted with spicy Sriracha sauce.  Next comes the rolls, giant, big-as-your-arm rolls – Angel Smile (featuring tuna), Big Mac (with a bit of everything and I mean everything), Who Dat (a roll topped with black and gold fish roes), Crunchy Calamari (the only dud), Hwy 190 (featuring tempura shrimp and a pink soy wrapper) and a Rock ‘N Roll (standard issue).  All the rolls are stupefying, fresh, beautifully riotous spills of color, taste and texture.  The Who Dat roll stands out owing to the stunning golden Flying Fish roe that we learn is flavored with Yuzu, an Asian fruit that tastes of grapefruit, orange and lemon.  Two of our group order the Teshoku Don (rice bowls).  These are new to me and frankly best described as un-rolled rolls, tipped into a bowl.  The “Super Bowl” is a pile of rice surrounded by slices of seared black pepper tuna topped by mounds of spicy tuna, mayonnaise-laced snow-crab, a storm of “crunchy” (tempura batter bits) and swashes of “eel sauce.” The other bowl is a special order of tons of snow-crab and “crunchy” with extra “eel sauce” atop the rice.  These “bowls” are insane, huge, filling and under $10.   The kid plates of tempura chicken are gorgeously presented with a shapely timbale of rice, fruit and other little bits.  In short, Megumi is the ultimate contemporary American sushi bar.  The interior is pretty, the service impeccable, the fish super fresh, the dishes creative, and the prices beyond reasonable.  I love this place.  It will take more than a few visits to fully cover all the ground but there is no doubt I’ll be back. 

Shockingly, the same little strip mall that house’s Megumi is also home to a humble, but immensely popular plate lunch joint called Pontchartrain Po-Boys.   Some guys I inadvertently lunched with at Roma’s (see above) clued me in to this place and insisted I try the stuffed bell pepper.  After leaving Megumi, I scoot over to Pontchartrain and order the stuffed pepper plate lunch to go.  The tender-sweet bell pepper held up well, packed with a well-seasoned ground beef, shrimp and breadcrumb dressing.  Alongside was an unbelievably huge portion of cheesy baked macaroni covered in meaty beef gravy that reminded me food from “down da road” in St. Bernard Parish.  Just delicious, that’s all.  This too is a place I’ll come back to try po-boys and “Italian Plates,” especially the meatballs, which I spied one man swooning over and devouring.    

I did cook those burgers from Saia’s and here’s the scoop: I’m pretty sure the patties are a beef and hot sausage mix.  The burger is boldly flavorful with a nice spark of heat, but when I tossed the pre-formed patties on the grill, the burgers puffed like a pillow, creating an odd air pocket – the only snag in an otherwise great burger that required no additional seasoning.  The jalapeno sourdough buns are brilliant – light, fluffy, aromatic – a perfect compliment to the burger meat.  I returned to Saia’s for more buns to stash in my freezer; they’ll be great for all kinds of sandwiches...once I recover from the food coma. 

Make the short trip and dine on the Northshore. You won’t be disappointed.