Feast your eyes: Mandina’s Restaurant

Lunch at Mandina’s on Canal Street brought back memories of two hard-to-find old favorites: stuffed shrimp and Creole eggplant with shrimp, crabmeat, ham and seasoning. Both were daily specials on Friday.

The homemade-tasting eggplant was generously seasoned and came with pasta and red gravy in the Italian tradition of too much food. The stuffed shrimp were more about the tasty stuffing than the shrimp inside and, unlike the baked version found most often now, Mandina’s are unapologetically fried. The eggplant reminded me of Sunday dinners at home and the stuffed shrimp served at the wonderful old Haverty’s restaurant in Waveland. 

Mandina’s, 3800 Canal St., New Orleans. Italian and seafood.