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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.

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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.

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Nor-Joe Imports

Sandwiches.
Metairie: 505 Frisco Ave.. 504-833-9240. Map.
9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
Very Casual
AE MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
Nor-Joe is a wholesale merchant of European (primarily Italian) food products. They sell cheese, cured meats, anchovies, olive oil, pasta, and a million other items to almost every Italian restaurant in New Orleans. And they also offer a lot of the line at retail. Since they have all the makings except the bread on hand, why not make sandwiches?

WHY IT'S GOOD
Why indeed. The menu is abbreviated. Not many tables are available (and those are outside). Nevertheless, the muffuletta in particular and the other sandwiches made with Italian meats, cheeses, and dressings are candidates for the best in town. The only drawback is the bread, which could be better.

BACKSTORY
Norma Webb and Joe Giglio, a married pair of New York transplants, started business in New Orleans in 1982, making their own mozzarella cheese. That product caught the attention of the local Italian restaurateurs, and the business grew to encompass almost everything else they needed.

DINING ROOM
The store itself is so crammed full of products (and the appetizing aromas therefrom) that there's no room for tables. They have a few of them on a small covered porch outside. It's mostly self-service and takeout.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Muffuletta.
Other Italian sandwiches.

FOR BEST RESULTS

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT

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 11/22/2009.

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