Restaurant Review #1- Louis DeAngelo's Casual Italian Dining 12/23/07

Louis DeAngelo's Casual Italian Dining
13686 Coursey Blvd. (Coursey @ Hickory Ridge)
Baton Rouge , LA 70817

DeAngelo's on Coursey is another of Louis DeAngelo's successful chain of pizza-and-pasta casual dining spots, and we entered it late on a Sunday night in anticipation of some hearty fare to warm up from a pre-Christmas cold snap.

DeAngelo's is housed in an attractive space at the entrance of Hickory Ridge subdivision on Coursey Boulevard. The restaurant has a warm and spacious neighborhood feel, with walls painted in warm ochre tones, and tables with white tablecloths.

We found the entrance curiously unmanned, which we wrote off due to a late arrival on a holiday night. Eventually we were seated, with our server taking a drink order promptly. Although DeAngelo's is perhaps best known for its pizzas and calzones, we were in the mood for comfort food, and thus opted for some different choices this evening.

We ordered two appetizers, the DeAngelo starter salad ($4.50) and a cup of Tomato-Basil Soup ($3.25). Our server informed us that they were out of the Tomato-Basil, so we elected instead to go with the Shrimp Bisque ($4.95)

The salad was fresh and flavorful, tossed in a red wine vinaigrette and topped with tasty, if meager, slices of red onion, Roma tomato, and buffalo mozzarella cheese. The bisque, however, turned out to be a disappointment... a watery soup, not really bisque-like at all, with a few insipid, over-cooked shrimp in a spicy yet odd-flavored broth which we found to have a curious aftertaste. It was left unfinished, with higher hopes for the evening's entree selections- the Shrimp and Crawfish Diavolo ($15.95), shrimp and crawfish tossed in an asiago cheese and tomato cream sauce served over linguine; and the Seafood Cannelloni ($16.95) pasta tubes filled with a shrimp, artichoke heart and cheese filling in a brandy-cream sauce and topped with lump crab meat.

The Diavolo was well-received- solid if not spectacular, in a pinkish tomatoey cream sauce with a bit of a kick. Paired with a glass of Pinot Noir, it made for a satisfying meal. The Cannelloni came out of the oven in a ceramic boat, topped with drier-than-expected crab meat.
Filled with tasty seafood stuffing and rich asiago and parmesan cheese flavors, this dish would have shined were it not for a rather bland and uninspiring cream sauce that was lacking in flavor, especially that of brandy. Indeed, the brandy in the sauce was imperceptible, if there was any at all. The crab meat topping was consisted of good quality meat, free of shell or grit but again lacking enough seasoning and flavor. We thought a quick saute' in wine would have added a needed zing to what was otherwise a very flavor-neutral dish. Still, it made a filling repast.

Service was friendly, if not quite as attentive as we would have expected. We were not given silverware, and had to wait for drink refills. Trash and empty dishes were not taken promptly from our table.

Compared to our past visits to DeAngelo's, this night was a disappointment. Pizzas and calzones are always a safe and affordable bet. There also seems to be some differences in execution from one location to another- we've had better experiences at the Jefferson and Bluebonnet locations of DeAngelo's.

Still, DeAngelo's succeeds in providing good casual Italian food in a neighborhood setting at fair prices, and will maintain it's place in our regular rotation- we just hope they can make the leap from pretty good to great. -Eat Baton Rouge

Want a restaurant reviewed? Send us your suggestions!

Wondering about that new hotspot? The little joint that just opened down the street? Send us your suggestions for new reviews and we will give you the straight dish on favorites old and new!