Subscribe To The
Five-Star Edition!

Shrimp remoulade.

This review originally appeared in the New Orleans Menu Daily, which brings out a full, up-to-date restaurant review every weekday. Along with local restaurant news, top-ten lists, recipes, and Tom Fitzmorris's Dining Diary. All of it is original and current, illustrated with lots of photos of New Orleans restaurants, chefs, and their food.

The price of a subscription is whatever number of dollars seems right to you. For that amount, you get full access to the daily newsletter online, an e-mail bulletin version every day, and archives of everything published since Hurricane Katrina.

If you're still not convinced, do two things: 1. Know that I'll refund all your money if you're not happy. 2. Take a look at this sample edition. Then. . .

Thank you!

Tastefully yours,
Tom Fitzmorris

Restaurant Ratings

The ratings are based mostly on the degree to which the food excites us, and a little on environment, service, and other considerations. I rate restaurants relative to all other restaurants in the New Orleans area. Here's what the stars mean to me:

starstarstarstarstar
Among the best locally.

starstarstarstar
Excellent and ambitious.

starstarstar
Worth crossing town for.

starstar
Recommended.

*
Acceptable.

No star
Unacceptable.

Cost Ratings
Each dollar sign indicates a ten-dollar range, including a normal meal for the restaurant (dinner, if they serve other meals), not including drinks, or tips. So, for example. . .

1$--$5-15
2$--$15-25
3$--$25-35

. . . and so on, with no upper limit. While this scheme may suggest mathematical precision, know that perception of price varies from diner to diner as much as the star ratings do. So consider this an estimate.

All reviews are based entirely on meals I have personally taken at the restaurant and paid for from my own pocket. I don't take free review meals, nor am I reimbursed by anybody for my restaurant expenditures.

starstarstarstar
pricebar

Cafe Giovanni

Italian.
French Quarter: 117 Decatur. 504-529-2154. Map.
Lunch Monday-Friday. Dinner Monday-Saturday.
Dressy
AE DC DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S ESSENTIAL
Duke Locicero--Cafe Giovanni's chef and owner--takes a highly personal approach to Italian cooking, with lots of Louisiana flavors and ingredients. The chef's tasting menu may be the most unusual Italian meal you can have in New Orleans. And one that will test the limits of your appetite, as most dishes here do.

WHY IT'S GOOD
Chef Duke's unique Sicilian-New Orleans fusion is familiar in its flavors, yet original in composition. The menu is always in flux, with a few classic dishes sprinkled between new themes and variations. The ingredients are generally of superb quality, although most plates are so laden with food that the subtleties are sometimes muted. Cafe Giovanni always has some special menu or other going on, usually at an attractive price.

BACKSTORY
Owner-chef Duke LoCicero was discovered by legendary New Orleans restaurateur Joe Marcello, who sent him to culinary school. He wound up in Houston at a celebrated restaurant called the Brownstone, but returned to New Orleans to open Cafe Giovanni in 1991. The restaurant was vandalized and looted after Hurricane Katrina, but the chef soldiered on and was one of the earlier returnees.

DINING ROOM
The main dining room has a decidedly old New Orleans look, with tall ceilings, mirrors, and a faux courtyard (it used to be a real one, but is now enclosed) in the rear. The singers move among the tables and can bring the house down, accompanied by a superb pianist. It's one of the few venues where the music is in the same league as the highly original Italian food. It makes for as festive a place as can be found to dine.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Oysters Giovanni.
Crabmeat Caprese.
Seafood martini.
Sweet-spicy shrimp and grits.
Tuscany asparagus.
Antipasto platter.
Fried eggplant topped with shrimp and crawfish.
Hunter's cannelloni.
Ravioli of the day.
Crabmeat Siciliana salad.
Avocado with crabmeat and grilled shrimp.
Spaghetti bolognese.
Pasta Gambino (shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes and peppers with a cheese and cream sauce).
Asian seared scallops and shrimp.
Veal, chicken or eggplant with four cheeses.
Veal, chicken, or pork, piccata or Marsala.
Duke's filet mignon (with foie gras and green pepeprcorn sauce).
Roast duck with sweet Marsala sauce and roasted garlic.
Tiramisu.
Bananas Foster bread pudding.
Zabaglione with berries.

FOR BEST RESULTS
Go on Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday if you want to hear the singers (or other days if not). The bar, which stays open very late, offers tapas platters after the main dining room is closed.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
The food can be inconsistent, especially on slow nights. This place would be better if it were closed one or two nights a week. The entrees are so large that it's hard to construct a multi-course meal.

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

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES

This review was updated with new information on 11/19/2009.

A list of all 275 full, current reviews is here.