Horray!

Another New Orleans institution has re-opened. Venezia - "Serving the People of New Orleans Since 1957"

It's one of my favorite old-timey New Orleans restaurants, and not only because it is the only place in New Orleans that serves pizza that remotely resembles the kind of pizza I grew up on.

It has atmosphere. True, this atmosphere includes dusty air vents (shudder), but also guys named Tony who know every single person that walks through the door! This Tony was sitting at the table behind us when we went there on the third night they were re-opened. It was packed, luckily we came right after work, so we got seated before the crowds descended on the place. So we sat back, ordered calamari and pizza and what they used to call "WOP salad"(it's not called that on the menu now - they got all PC on us!- but swear it was before). It was great, and I recommend it to anyone who comes to New Orleans- think outside the box, leave the Quarter, and go to a good old neighborhood restaurant. Some others I'd suggest: Liuzza's By the Track , Liuzza's on Bienville, Doson's Noodle House (a new one), La Vita (also new), Parkway Bakery and Tavern, Lola's, Angelo Brocato's (for dessert and coffee), Cafe Degas, and- wow, there are more places opened in my neighborhood than I realized!