Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published May 16, 2007 Tony Angello's Reopens Thursday night, May 10, Tony Angello's Restaurant reopened quietly, but fully. The long-running Italian favorite, which boasts one of the strongest of regular clienteles, is back in the building that took such deep flood water after the hurricane that rescue workers had to make their orange X-mark on the roof instead of on a wall. The restaurant's location on the corner of Fleur de Lis and West Harrison Avenue was only a few blocks away from one of the worst levee breaches, which sent eight-foot-deep water flowing through the place for days. At first, the 78-year-old Tony Angello said that he couldn't see how he could reopen, so devastated was the neighborhood. But he quickly changed his mind. When I talked with him in front of the restaurant in November, 2005, he left no doubt that he and his restaurant would be back. He already had it gutted, but with that kind of damage it was a long way to reopening. In recent months, no restaurant has engendered more inquiries from our readers than this one. A lot of that had to do with the repeated postponements of the opening date--something every restaurant with major damage experienced. Tony Angello's returned to a practice it had in its earliest years as it reopened: the phone number is unlisted. For now, it's first come, first served--not that it was ever much different over there, een when you had a reservation. Dale, the long-time maitre d', is back at the front door, and if you're a regular customer you know what that means. The restaurant looks much as it did before the storm. In fact, the looksee I took didn't reveal anything different from what I remember before the storm. The menu and cooking style are, of course, inviolate. And Mr. Tony will be happy to feed you as he's done for decades. This leaves only two big-name restaurants left to reopen: Dooky Chase (which should be a long before summer) and Christian's (whose future is still not clear). Tony Angello’s. 6262 Fleur de Lis Dr. Telephone unlisted for now. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com