Dining at DeAngelo's with Fantastic Friends

Another day, another lunch!  This time I met Hannah, Robert, Kevin, and Shawn at Louis DeAngelo's Casual Italian Dining on Jefferson Highway.  DeAngelo's is a Baton Rouge original with multiple locations around town.  They offer a pretty traditional Italian menu with various pastas and pizzas.

DeAngelo's on Jefferson

We met for lunch as a follow up from the previous dinner at the Romero's house and the lunch at the Roux House.  It was certainly great to see Robert again before he heads off to New Zealand, and it is always a pleasure to hang out with Hannah Lane, artist extraordinaire.  Kevin and Shawn were still in from Chicago, so we had quite a fantastic group.  I ordered the Nona's Lasagna because I had been craving some of the layered Italian dish and wanted to compare DeAngelo's variety to others around town. 

Nona's Lasagna at DeAngelo's

The lasagna was layered with plenty of cheeses from mozzarella to ricotta in addition to the meaty Bolognese sauce and the marinara.  The overall flavor was a mixture of sweet tomatoes and lots of basil.  It was good lasagna, but certainly not my favorite.  I felt like it lacked something in the texture and thought that it almost needed to be eaten with a spoon rather than a fork.  While it was good, I certainly did not think it was spectacular.  I was also able to sample a couple shrimp from Hannah's salad.  They were delightful little grilled crustaceans but the quantity did not meet the price in my opinion and they were rather small for a typical grilled shrimp in Louisiana. 

Banquet Room with Paintings by Hannah Lane

One of my favorite parts about DeAngelo's was the fact that the decorations around the restaurant largely consisted of paintings by Hannah.  Walking around the banquet room felt like taking a tour of Italy as Hannah's collection of paintings from her trip to the European boot were hung around the dining space.  Her artistic style is refreshing, colorful, and just the right amount of abstract to know that it requires a great amount of creativity and imagination.  I left DeAngelo's very happy after getting my fill of lasagna and an art show!

Cheesecakes and Assorted Sweets from L'auberge Du Lac in Lake Charles

My day of delivering delightful dishes to my neverending belly was not over after DeAngelo's.  When I got back to the office I found a box of cheesecakes on sticks and other assorted mini-cakes from the bakery at the L'auberge Du Lac casino in Lake Charles.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened the box lid to find such amazing treats staring back at me as if they wanted to be eaten.  Since cheesecake is one of my all-time favorite desserts, I picked out a good one and plunged it into my mouth.  Wow!  First, what a great idea!  Whoever thought of putting a cheesecake on a stick is brilliant!  Secondly, these were really good cheesecakes with a beautiful mixture of cream cheese and sugar.  I couldn't resist and had another.  And the next day, since nobody else in the office was eating anything, I had the carrot cake too.  It was pretty good, but not as amazing as the cheesecakes on a stick!

The Roux House for Lunch with some Friends

My favorite novelty about being downtown for work these days is all of the lunch hot spots that are available within a very short walking distance.  Recently I received a phone call from Justin Ulrich, a former grad school colleague, who was hoping to meet up for some grub after he did a little research for his dissertation at some of the governmental offices.  Not being one to turn down good company for feasting, I easily obliged.  At pretty much the same time that Justin contacted me, I was also propositioned for doing lunch with Eric, Kevin, and Shawn.  I saw no reason why we couldn't all five dine together, so I told them to head downtown to join up with Justin and me. 

Justin and I walked around downtown for a little bit to see what the local restaurants had to offer.  It was a beautiful day so we decided that it would be wise to find somewhere that we could sit outside and enjoy the sunshine.  While it is best known for being a bar at night, the Roux House on Third Street offers up some pretty decent lunches at fair prices with both inside and outside seating.  Our mind was made up, and we grabbed a table in the courtyard area.

The Roux House Courtyard and Wall

The special on this magnificent Monday was Shrimp Acadiana.  For those who may not know, a typical "Acadiana" dish features something smothered in crawfish etoufee.  It is much like rice and gravy with some sort of smothered meat like a pork chop, but instead of rice and gravy it has rice and crawfish etoufee.  Usually the meat in an Acadiana dish is some sort of fried seafood like catfish or, in this case, shrimp!

Shrimp Acadiana with a Honey Mustard Side Salad at the Roux House

To start with, I had a side salad with honey mustard dressing.  The rabbit food was a slightly above average side salad and certainly gave my diet a little much needed roughage.  The honey mustard itself was top notch, but surely something that came in a prepackaged bottle.  The Shrimp Acadiana had a great flavor to it.  The fried shrimp formed a ring around the outside of the plate while the crawfish etoufee sat nicely in the middle.  The shrimp themselves were spicy and flavorful, though a little smaller than I would have liked.  Although, given their size, the Roux House did make up for it with quantity.  There were enough shrimp for nearly every bite to have a fried shrimp and a fork full of Cajun goodness. 

I truly enjoyed the company for a downtown lunch as well as the food.  I've come to really be a fan of guests for lunch, experiencing new restaurants and items, and showing other people dishes at places they've never been before.  A lot of people around Baton Rouge don't even know the Roux House is open for lunch.  That, my friends, is a mistake because you really ought to give it a try!

The Romero's House for a Dinner Reunion

Last weekend the Romero family invited some old friends over to their home for an outdoor gathering with plenty of food.  Robert Jr. organized the evening for us while Elaine and Robert Sr. supplied the food and beverages.  We were joined on the back patio by Hannah and Jesse Romero, Bret Blackmon, Sandra Hebert, Kevin Hebert,  Kevin's buddy Shawn from Chicago, and my brother Eric.  The Romero's back yard patio area is a great place to hang out and enjoy the Baton Rouge Fall weather.  They have an outdoor kitchen area, a bar, TVs, and a great covered porch area with ceiling fans to make the hang out space truly great.  I made it over there in time to catch the end of the Saints and Dolphins game, so I naturally started off with a black and gold Bud Light.

Black and Gold Bud Light

The evening's food started with a homemade mango salsa that mixed fantastic fruit flavors to create the perfect combination of sweetness and texture to scoop up on a salty chip.  The mango salsa served as a great appetizer to snack on while we watched the end yet another Saints victory!

Mango Salsa

Robert Jr. cooked a smorgasbord of meats on the backyard smoker.  He started with some pork loins and tuna steaks, then went on to do several varieties of ribs including a baby backs and whole racks of pork spare ribs.  Everything tasted really good but my favorite were the sauced up spare ribs.  They were large, tender to the bone, meaty ribs that made me remember why ribs are one of my favorite foods ever!

Smoked Pork Loins and Tuna Steaks

Smoked and Sauced Baby Back Ribs, Pork Spare Ribs, and Beef Ribs

There were also a couple of desserts available to the diners.  Hannah convinced me to try a chocolate cupcake with a peppermint topping.  It was a great cupcake that doubled as both a sweet treat and a breath mint!

Chocolate Cupcake with Peppermint Topping

The evening at the Romero's house reminded me of all the good friends I have and the true blessings that they are in my life.  We caught up with the crew in one place at the same time for the first time in several years.  The night also served as a bit of a sendoff for Robert as he readies himself for his journey to New Zealand!  I enjoy reunions among friends from out of town or that I don't get to see too often, so I'm really happy that we got a chance to catch up.  I only wish we could do it more often.