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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:

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Among the best locally.

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Excellent and ambitious.

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Worth crossing town for.

starstar
Recommended.

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Acceptable.

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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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Spitale's Deli

Sandwiches. Platters.
Metairie: 2408 N Arnoult Rd. 504-837-9912 . Map.
Lunch Monday-Saturday.
Very casual.
DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
The slice of Metairie just south of the I-10 between Causeway Boulevard and Clearview is a self-contained community. If you don't live or work very nearby, you're unlikely to know about the dozen or so restaurants there. Some of them are worth seeking out, and this is one of them. Spitale's is a first-class poor boy shop, cooking everything from scratch with credible recipes and serving it generously.

WHY IT'S GOOD
The sandwich menu is dizzyingly comprehensive, and has quite a few originals. Many Italian-style poor boys (sausage, meatballs, chicken parmesan, etc.) are available, as are their companion pasta dishes. There's a New Orleans version of a Philly cheese steak. The "dirty turkey" poor boy (with grilled onions and roast beef gravy) shows more creativity than goodness. Daily specials appear on the expected days.

BACKSTORY
Charles and Gerald Spitale opened this place in 1983, when office buildings were going up in the neighborhood and the West Napoleon Canal--then without an adjacent roadway--kept the clientele captive enough for a restaurant to be viable. A big part of their business is making trays of sandwiches and the like for the offices nearby. No small number of Rummel Raiders from the nearby high school sneak over for some variety in their cafeteria diets.

DINING ROOM
The building is a warehouse, shared with far more industrial business. The dining room is utilitarian and a bit worn. You order and pick up at the counter, like you do at Mother's. The low level of service is balanced by the prices. Even the largest poor boys stay under ten dollars, as do most of the platters.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Poor boy sandwiches of every kind. Here are the best:
Roast beef (hot or cold)
Italian sausage
Hot sausage
Veal or chicken or eggplant parmesan
Meatball
Barbecue beef or pulled pork
Ham (cold or grilled)
Pastrami
Turkey, and turkey club
Hamburger
Fried shrimp, oysters, or catfish
Grilled tuna
Muffuletta
Daily specials, particularly:
Red beans and rice (Mon.)
Baked chicken with macaroni and cheese (Wed.)
Lasagna (Thurs.)
Any day:
Meatballs, Italian sausage, veal or chicken parmesan with spaghetti
Hamburger steak and mashed potatoes
Fried or grilled chicken breast with mashed potatoes.
Grilled tuna salad
Grilled chicken caesar

FOR BEST RESULTS
The roast beef poor boy, while more than decent, may be the least of their poor boys. Italy really rules here.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
Toasted French bread would make the sandwiches better.

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 7/12/2010.

A list of over 350 full, current reviews is here.