Domenica for a birthday?

New Orleans Loves Great Food & Drink, and Loves To Talk About It Even More!
Post Reply
User avatar
Gourmondo
Senior Member
Posts: 344
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2008 6:38 am

Domenica for a birthday?

Post by Gourmondo »

My mom has a birthday next week and I have been giving some thought to taking her to Domenica. She hasn't seen the hotel renovation and was interested in that. Plus, the last time she celebrated her birthday at the Roosevelt was 1931! But in reading the reviews here, it sounds like the noise factor may be too much to really enjoy it (she and I are both hearing-impaired). Any thoughts on that or other suggested venues for a special evening? I am thinking a more subdued place like Stella may be a better choice.
User avatar
edible complex
Senior Member
Posts: 838
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:03 pm
Location: Republic of Cocktail Land

Re: Domenica for a birthday?

Post by edible complex »

eat at the Sazerac.
After Mon & Tues, even the calendar says W-T-F!
User avatar
Isabella Maja
Senior Member
Posts: 743
Joined: Sat Jul 12, 2008 11:48 pm

Re: Domenica for a birthday?

Post by Isabella Maja »

I swear EC, you always seem to eat what I want to eat & say what I want to say! It's happened so many times, I'm not even spooked by it any more!

Domenica is a tad noisy, and I hate noisy restaurants.
However, I went a few weeks ago for the 1st time & and it wasn't horribly noisy, but still. And I loved it! Maybe I was just grateful for a night off & dinner with 2 of my favorite guys!

I'll second EC & say, take her to the Sazerac!
They've done a lovely renovation.

Mama's only have birthdays once a year & if she last went in 1931, well,
why wait?

Happy Birthday to your Mama!
User avatar
hungryone
Senior Member
Posts: 250
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:05 pm
Location: greater NOLA
Contact:

Re: Domenica for a birthday?

Post by hungryone »

I haven't heard anything about the Sazerac restaurant that would make me want to spend any $$ in it. RE: noise level at Domenica, it can get a bit harsh as the evening wears on....my better half is pretty deaf, so we either go really early or request a table against the wall or in the back corner. Glass amplifies sound, so sitting against the windows is out, and sitting in the middle of the room is bad for his ears, too. I wouldn't say it's loud enough to avoid (La Boca unfortunately falls into that category for us due to the everpresent vent-hood whine), but you might consider requesting a table in the corner or against a wall when you reserve. The pizza is too good to pass up, imho.
User avatar
Gourmondo
Senior Member
Posts: 344
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2008 6:38 am

Re: Domenica for a birthday?

Post by Gourmondo »

Thanks for the replies. I think we'll try out hungryone's acoustics strategy and roll the dice on Domenica.
User avatar
Isabella Maja
Senior Member
Posts: 743
Joined: Sat Jul 12, 2008 11:48 pm

Re: Domenica for a birthday?

Post by Isabella Maja »

Keep us posted on your mama's experience!
It's funny, I'm very sensitive to sound & have
never ever had a noisy night at La Boca.
What time are y'all going?
User avatar
Gourmondo
Senior Member
Posts: 344
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2008 6:38 am

Re: Domenica for a birthday?

Post by Gourmondo »

A fun time was had by all. Chef sent out some comp. fried squash blossoms w/ goat cheese to start us off. Very nice touch for a really tasty starter. Then on to the Affetati Misti for the table - very good - loved the prosciutto, salami and duck prosciutto and the cheeses. Small plates followed: stracci (pasta w/ oxtail ragout and fried chicken livers) - I don't even like chicken livers, but this was one of the better primi platti; risotto (didn't do much for me); spinach and ricotta gnocchi,which was loaded with lump crabmeat and very tasty; rabbit ragout w/ porcini tossed with noodles - good; spaghetti w/ olive oil and garlic and Parmesan - your basic plain pasta; goat cheese tortelloni - toss-up between this and the gnocchi for best of this course. I went with house recommendations for a couple of Tuscan reds I wasn't familiar with - sorry don't have those names, one was medium body, round, fruity and the second was a bit more dry and tannic. We also threw in several pours of the Adami Prosecco, which was light, bubbly and yeasty. For main courses, two of the ladies split the whole grilled redfish which had a wonderful nutty flavor redolent of olive oil and other spices which I thought was the best of the main courses. Brother and I got the paneed veal and thought it was very well=prepared. Its presentation is fairly simple - I thought it could have benefited from a little garnish of something to dress it up a bit, but no real complaints. Ms. G had the roast goat and liked it. I thought it was just OK. The vegetarian dau. had a pizza Margherita and liked it. I tried it and really liked it. The crust is basically the same as the Alsatian Flammenkuchen over at Luke - love it. Sweets consisted of gelato, panna cotta, tarto di Bergamo (layered Alpine-style cake covered with white chocolate and doused with rum and a taste of dark chocolate on top - double yum) and gianduja (hazelnut and chocolate pudding) - all of these were great. Chef came by and checked on us and the service was very good all the way around. Noise is really an issue here and that I can say was the only real negative. I will be glad when this trend in restaurants begins to fade. Other than that, a very enjoyable and delectable evening and I will definitely be back.
User avatar
justagirl
Senior Member
Posts: 1107
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:01 pm
Location: Irish Channel
Contact:

Re: Domenica for a birthday?

Post by justagirl »

Glad you had a great time. That Stracci is absolutely wonderful IMO.
“I'm sure when Peyton Manning was growing up he always wanted to throw the TD pass that gave the Saints a Super Bowl win," Jorge Arangure wrote. "Now he has."
Post Reply