Bayoudog.com | New Orleans Eats

Serving New Orleans' Mid-City since 1947, Liuzza's has occupied a slot in the well-populated local pantheon of neighborhood joints for as long as most locals can remember.

With its deep menu of solid Creole/Italian food, comfortable "old guy" barroom, and layers of house tradition, this family-run institution runs a brisk trade in simple pasta dishes, seafood specialties , frosty beers served in hefty glass schooners, and just about ANY food that can be covered in tomato-based "red gravy."

Liuzza's main dining room is simple and always busy -- pink paint and dark paneling with a crush of woodgrain formica tables and few aisles to speak of. At peak mealtimes, the blur of activity is nothing short of overwhelming. Nimble servers float through narrow spaces between the crowded tables and manage to treat every customer like a regular with a delicate balance of grace, familiarity, and subtle impatience that marks the best seasoned professionals. In the middle of a midday crush, they can still make you feel well cared for -- even if in ten-second chunks.

Fizzy drinks (beer, root beer, red soda for the kids) are served in the joint's trademark beer schooners -- thick fishbowls of bulletproof glass that heft in at about two pounds apiece. (Imagine drinking a slightly-slushy brew from a hollow crystal bowling ball.) Liuzza's is justly proud of these frosty wonders -- the unmistakable spherical silhouette appears on signs, cards, and in the imagination of every customer who's ever bellied up to the bar.

Most of the appetizer choices lean toward the deep-fried end of the spectrum, with artichoke hearts, dill pickles and sweet onions getting a similar batter-and-fry treatment. One of the many house specialties, fried green tomatoes, are coated with a crispy crust of seasoned bread crumbs and served with garlic-heavy remoulade sauce. The thin slices are cooked just enough to provide two layers of crunch -- one from the toasty crumb layer and the other from the barely softened tomato underneath.

The kitchen's list of soups is also compelling and ever changing -- the list of menu standards runs from a stellar gumbo to a creamy artichoke and shrimp soup. The daily specials can include seasonal specials like crab and corn bisque or an intriguing crawfish/spinach combination. The house gumbo ($5.50), double thickened with dark roux and okra, combines the Cajun staples (chicken and spicy andouille sausage) with the added sweet bonuses of shrimp AND oysters. With its thick, mutilayered flavor, the gumbo does justice to all the flavors without sacrificing balance of taste.

Liuzza's also lays claim to its own variation of the muffuletta with the "Frenchuletta" ($7.95) a version of the spicy sandwich served on a foot-long section of crusty French bread instead of the traditional round Italian loaf. Thin slices of ham and salami are griddle-cooked and topped with a layer of melting Swiss cheese and a salty house olive salad. The toasted loaf is simultaneously crisp and soft as it soaks up the caramelized meat juices and seasoned oil from the olive salad. The Frenchuletta isn't exactly a sandwich purist's choice, but it's a damned good experience for muffuletta lovers willing to eat outside the traditional circle.

Post-meal sweets are also solid, traditional, and made in-house. The fluffy peanut butter pie ($3.50) is feather light and drizzled with a Spirograph swirl of chocolate syrup for a salty-sweet Reeses'-style taste experience. Liuzza's also offers the now-endangered tapioca ($2.50) on its regular dessert list, though the flavor of the elusive pudding pearls are overwhelmed by the flavor of whipped topping and bright maraschino syrup. If you're hankering for this rare treat, request a serving without the gooey garnish.

Or if you prefer, cap off the meal with another frosty beer in the bar. It's a respectful nod to local tradition and an effective upper body workout to boot.