Gattuso's
Backstory
Gattuso's opened in 2000 in what looks like a former gas station, in Gretna's equivalent of the French Quarter.
Dining Room
The garish red building is hard to miss. It's more pleasant inside, with enough windows to make it seem spacious even when the place is packed--as it often is around lunchtime. The staff is friendly and happy. They take their time with the food, and you shouldn't come here in a rush.
Why It's Essential
The Jefferson Parish courthouse creates a lot of business for restaurants, and few eateries in the neighborhood are as busy as Gattuso's. It's good enough that it draws customers from other parts of the West Bank, and well after the courts are closed for the day. The menu appears to contain every dish the owners ever thought of; it's hard to think of a local neighborhood-cafe dish that isn't on the list. The essential specialty, however, is easy to identify: sandwiches, beginning with poor boys and radiating outward in every direction.
Why It's Good
The kitchen here is the old-fashioned kind that cooks nearly everything from scratch on site. The roast beef poor boy is a particularly good example of this, but the Italian-inspired dishes are better than you expect. Lapses of taste (i.e., cheese fries flooded with roast beef gravy) abound, but these are no less popular. I am least impressed by the seafood.
Most Interesting Dishes
<em><strong>Starters</strong></em><br /> Crab and corn bisque<br /> Chili<br /> Chicken-andouille gumbo<br /> Guacamole or salsa with chips<br /> Santa Fe chicken rolls <br /> Beer battered onion rings <br /> Fried calamari<br /> Potato skins<br /> Eggplant sticks<br /> Fried pickles<br /> <em><strong>Sandwiches</strong></em><br /> Muffulettas: standard, seafood, or roast beef versions<br /> Wrap sandwiches: shrimp, club, fried or grilled chicken, chicken or tuna salad, etc<br /> Reuben sandwich<br /> Corned beef and Swiss on rye<br /> Grilled tuna or chicken sandwich<br /> Club sandwich<br /> Hamburger<br /> Meatball poor boy<br /> Roast beef poor boy<br /> Dirty bird (turkey poor boy with roast beef gravy) <br /> Corned beef poor boy<br /> <em><strong>Entrees</strong></em><br /> Spaghetti and meatballs <br /> Eggplant parmesan<br /> Lasagna<br /> Fried seafood platters<br /> Grilled marinated chicken or tuna platter<br /> Baby back ribs<br />
Deficiencies
The fried seafood is less than crisp. The menu needs heavy pruning.
For Best Results
When the courts recess for lunch a large number of people pile in here, sometimes creating a line. You'd be better off in the early evening. If a dish seems unlikely for the restaurant (guacamole, for example), see if there's something else that sounds better.
Bonus Ratings
1
Attitude
1
Local Color
2
Value