Last Updated on Thursday, 04 November 2010 16:41

Restaurants - Breakfast Specialists

Mattina Bella

Covington: 421 E. Gibson. 985-892-0708. Map.
Casual.
AE MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
The name means "beautiful morning" in Italian, and that's a good name fo rthe place. Weekend breakfast--a real breakfast, with eggs, pancakes, biscuits, bacon, and all the rest of it, cooked to order, preferably by somebody else--is an easy and delightful habit to get into. Mattina Bella does an especially good job of it, in a pleasant old cafe in the center of Old Covington. They also have a good, inexpensive lunch for people stuck at the parish courthouse.

WHY IT'S GOOD
Breakfast dishes dominate not just the morning meal, but a good part of the lunch menu, too. They omelettes are fluffy, greaseless, and well-stuffed with an interesting variety of possible ingredients. They handle the classic hollandaise-topped poached eggs dishes well. An the pancakes bid fair to be the best in the area. Good hamburgers and sandwiches at lunch, and a smattering of Italian food. The restaurant was inconsistent at the beginning, but keeps improving.

BACKSTORY
For a million years this was a great old poor boy joint called Nathan’s. It was succeeded in the 1990s by a breakfast specialist called Judice's, which began serving dinner and was pretty good when it stopped and made way for Mattina Bella in 2007. The current restaurant is owned by Vincent Riccobono, cousin of the man of the same name who runs the Peppermill. Confusingly enough, this Vincent managed the Peppermill before he opened this place. The Peppermill was more successful with breakfast than any restaurant this side of Brennan's, and echoes of the Peppermill (and even its predecessor, the Buck 49) appear here.

DINING ROOM
In Covington's delightful downtown, this is an old store with a pressed-tin ceiling, and antique, copper-topped bar and many large windows. The service staff is always on the run, especially on weekends, but they get it all done in a friendly way.

ESSENTIAL MENU [*=Recommended]
Basic breakfasts.
Waffles.
Pancakes.
Eggs Sardou.
Omelettes, especially California (mushrooms, avocados, Swiss cheese).
Blackened chicken.
Eggplant Parmigiana.
Catfish with pecans meuniere.
Hamburgers.
Roast beef poor boy.

FOR BEST RESULTS
Be prepared to wait for a table on weekends for breakfasts, although that doesn't always happen. Know that their breakfast potatoes are basically brabants--fried cubes. Beware overflows of spinach-artichoke dip.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
I wish they had better coffee (chicory blend, with hot milk).

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

• Dining Environment +1
• Consistency
• Service
• Value +1
• Attitude +1
• Wine and Bar
• Hipness
• Local Color +2

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES

• Sidewalk tables
• Good for business meetings
• Open Sunday lunch
• Historic
• Unusually large servings
• Quick, good meal
• Good for children
• Easy, nearby parking