Hold up…

Wait a minute.

Didn’t I just finish up on our New Orleans food-posting yesterday?

Well, when I went to bed on that Sunday night, I thought that was it for us, too. Our flight was to leave at 11:30am on Monday.

Except our flight was canceled.

Yes, at 4am, I received an automated message that our flight was canceled and we were rescheduled to fly out the following morning.

We had an extra 16 or so hours in New Orleans. I wasn’t mad about that at all!

I also told Rob it was time to have lunch at Domenica, an Italian restaurant we had been eyeing throughout the trip. Domenica doesn’t really mean “flight canceled,” but “Sunday” in Italian.

We switched hotels because we found one for half the price just a few blocks down the road. {It wasn’t a big deal. We were already packed up.} Rob worked that morning, while I did some reading and surfing of the web. I came across a list of the 18 Best Dishes in New Orleans. {Oh Thrillist, how I’ve come to adore you!}

On this list was something I would have never given a second look.

Now, Rob doesn’t even like cauliflower; so when I ordered this $18 appetizer at Domenica, he looked at me like I was crazy. Then they brought out the accompaniment to this dish.

Okay, so that most certainly didn’t suck. I’ve never had anything like that before!  Rob even liked it! It was very tasty and unique. I’m glad Thrillist brought my attention to it.

We arrived a little after 11am, but it’s never too early for a cocktail in New Orleans:

I settled on The Jump Off and Rob found a new-to-him beer.

Deciding what to order was much more of a challenge.

Rob chose:

Literally meaning “cheese and pepper,” cacio e pepe is a dish Rob had heard of before, but never tried. One bite and he went absolutely nuts over this simple dish. What makes Domenica’s Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe different from others is that the pasta is made with pepper in it. The pepper is not just an ingredient in the dish. Rob didn’t let any morsel go to waste and he was praising the crappy weather somewhere that caused our flight to be canceled!

I was thinking more along the lines of pizza, but I could not decide on one. The bartender helped me narrow things down and suggested that I do one half and half. I finally settled on this:

My first taste was of the Calabrese – tomato, spicy salami, mozzarella, capers and olives. The crust was divine – just the right amount of chewiness with crustiness. And there was so much flavor! Whenever I get pizza in the U.S., it’s not often that there is a salami topping option, like there is all over Italy. So every time I have the opportunity, I take it. I wasn’t disappointed in any way, shape, nor form this time! The drizzle of olive oil on top of the pizza didn’t hurt either.

The White – ricotta, mozzarella, roasted garlic, basil – was another story. After the Calabrese, the White seemed rather flavorless. I guess I gave in to the White, thinking Rob would help me out with the pizza. But after the cauliflower and the devouring of his bowl of pasta, I realized that was not going to happen.

Of course, this was way too much food for lunch. It was also kind of a sin to waste the rest for how good it was!

Rob and I had joked that Celebrity Chef John Besh might own New Orleans because every time we looked up a new menu to decide where to eat while we were there, we’d discover it was one of his restaurants:

• Restaurant August – I can understand why my cousin had the best meal of her life now!
• Lüke – Rob had also read about a top burger here.
• Besh Steak
• Johnny Sanchez

But after our experience at Domenica, we will go to one of your restaurants any time, John Besh.

Then, about a week ago, Rob read this:

Well, if Rob was craving Italian, I’m glad we could get him the best in New Orleans! Scrolling through that article, he clicked on a link for America’s 40 best Italian restaurants. Domenica ranked #13 in the nation! We totally get it. This restaurant is worthy of both titles.

We learned later that Domenica also has one of the best Happy Hours in the city. You will find out why this is important in tomorrow’s final post on New Orleans.

00

New Orleans 2015 Trip Posts:

• The Last Time I was in New Orleans
• NOLA Coffee: With Chicory or Bitters?
• Commander’s Palace: An Experience
• New Orleans: Home of the Cocktail
• NOLA: Sports, Art, Music
• Nola Eats: The Best & The Worst
• NOLA: Irish Pubs & Dive Bars
• NOLA: The Best of the Eating 2015
• The Beautiful Garden District of New Orleans
• The Rest of the Eats in New Orleans

Cheers~
Carrie