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Classic Cool at "Ristorante Filippo"

Filippo is located at 1917 Ridgelake Drive in Metairie, 835-4008.

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I gotta say this upfront, Italian restaurants are never real high on my list when I head out to eat. It's not that I don't love Italian food, it's actually one of my many favorites, it's just that to me, home cooked Italian fare is usually the best. Nothing's better than a thick slab of mom's lasagna, or some fresh spaghetti and meatballs from maw-maw's kitchen. So because I can get such good cooking on the home front, it takes a lot to get me to go out for Italian. Well friends of dining (a little shout-out to my main man Morgus), lucky for me (and you) I took the advice of a good friend and headed out to Metairie to check out one heck of an Italian restaurant, one I guarantee you'll love: Ristorante Filippo.

Atmosphere:
This place oozes cool and charm from the moment you walk in. And when I say cool, I mean Frank Sinatra cool, I mean Godfather cool, Sopranos cool. It's a classic Italian-style upscale eatery with white linen, a beautiful bar, and several low-ceilinged rooms that make for a killer atmosphere. The great thing about Filippo, which is a trait of all good restaurants, is that you could have a good time there with two people or ten people. The seating can be very jovial or intimate, depending on the party, and either kind will feel comfortable. One wonderful touch was the dulcet sounds of Sinatra and Tony Bennett piped throughout our dining area. Remember, it's the little things that make the big differences.

Service:
The service at Filippo was marvelous. Our waiter catered to our every need, had some great suggestions, and gave us plenty of time to pore over the expansive menu. One good example of the quality of service was while we were ordering the calamari (one of our appetizers), our waiter warned us that because of the size, we may want to stick with one appetizer as opposed to ordering a second. Now while my running partner and I had no trouble polishing off said massive order of calamari, I greatly appreciated the waiter looking out for us, despite the fact we would have ordered less. Once again, a little thing that sets this place apart.

Appetizers:
We started off the meal with one of my favorite appetizers, fried calamari with a marinara dipping sauce. Calamari is high on my list for a couple of reasons, one because its taste and consistency is a nice change from the normal south Louisiana fried seafood fare and two because it has such a festive nature. (Y'all know what I mean. Think back to last time you were at a restaurant and you ordered the dish. It's a fun to order because the word rolls nicely off the tongue, "CAlamari, calaMAri." Okay stop before the boss comes over. Anyway you get the picture, it's just more fun that the average fried food.) Filippo's calamari is some of the best I've run across. There's not too much batter, and it's nice and fresh, so it's not too spongy. Another good part of this dish was the marinara sauce. Most of the time when I've run across a marinara sauce at a restaurant, it's bland, acidic and generally a throwaway addition to a meal. Not so at Filippo. The marinara was thick, rich and loaded with a zesty and somewhat smoky flavor. When you dipped the lightly battered calamari into his tasty sauce, the combination was fantastic.

Next up was the fried eggplant. Once again, this is a great dish that can sometimes be butchered by sub-standard restaurants, but not at Filippo. The thin eggplant medallions were lightly battered and not too greasy. If you order them by themselves, ask for a side of the marinara, because the tart bite of the eggplant goes well with the subtle sweetness of the sauce.

Entrees:
My running partner is quite the traditionalist, so for his main course he went with the veal Marsala. The dish consists of several veal medallions, served in the Marsala wine sauce with plenty of mushrooms atop a bed of pasta. Filippo's version was excellent, because for one, the veal was incredibly tender and rather than being loaded with breadcrumbs, the meat was just pan-fried and allowed to stand on it's own; secondly the sauce was terrific. It was semi-sweet, a little bit smoky and when it mixed with the mushrooms and the veal, it knocked our socks off.

For my entrée I went with the pan-fried red snapper served on a bed of pasta. Now I know this may not sound like the most exciting dish, but let me add in one detail I left out, the entire filet was covered in lump crabmeat, crawfish and shrimp. And when I say covered I'm not playing around. The snapper was prepared wonderfully, firm, yet flaky, and the surrounding seafood feast simply added to the bevy of taste sensations that hit you while your enjoying this dish. Easily one of the top five entrees I've had in the last year.

Desserts:
After a delicious first couple of rounds, my podna and I had high hopes for dessert at Filippo. We weren't disappointed. Tiramisu was first up, and according to my running partner, "it was on point, but didn't slow my roll." Translation: it was refreshingly light, yet full flavored. The thick, but light, ladyfingers soaked up the generous coffee flavoring from the liqueur and the chocolate and cream added the sweet balance to the dish.

For my final course, my tastes ran towards the cheesecake. This cake, which was served Napoleon style, was two thick squares of cheesecake wrapped around a thick cream, all drizzled under a steady stream of raspberry chocolate sauce. The amazing thing about this dessert was the thickness and consistency of the cheesecake. It had to be the thickest, most dense piece I had ever run across. It was as if they had taken two normal pieces, sucked all of the air out, and then used both of the compressed slices for the dessert. Needless to say, it was delicious.

Price:
With all that going for it you would expect Ristorante Filippo to be a high priced joint. Wrong. Now while the prices aren't exactly bargain basement, unlike other high-priced eateries, at Filippo you walk away feeling like you got what you paid for. The entrees range from $15-$20, with specials running a few bucks higher. However, when you spend the money you'll be satisfied because the portions are bountiful, and the flavor is out of this world.

Overall:
Ristorante Filippo is a classy place with outstanding food. The setting is very cool, ranging from romantic to festive, and the service makes you feel like your spending a lot more than you actually are. Given that, the place is not cheap, but if you feel like dropping a little coin on a really nice evening out, Filippo is the place to go.

Ristorante Filippo gets a 4 out of 4 on the belt scale.

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