For a white linen, candlelit dinner featuring superb Cajun entrees with heavy Italian influences, look no further than iMonelli. Since 1987, the locally owned restaurant has been known for its award winning cuisine and relaxed, fine dining atmosphere.
Chef-owner Brian Blanchard has unquestionable talent, as is obvious after tasting one of his decadent creations. Blanchard and his team have concocted over 24 different sauces to ensure that each dish is truly unique. Using fresh, homemade bread and pasta, the iMonelli chefs take pride in serving only the highest quality food to their customers.
The menu is heavily seafood-based but also includes veal, beef, lamb, and fowl dishes. I personally can vouch for their classic fettuccine Alfredo, a spectacular dish. Various scrumptious desserts are prepared daily.
In addition to the regular menu, iMonelli proudly offers its customers nearly 20 off-menu items. Most of these are regular off-menu specials which, although they are offered most of the year, don’t make it onto the menu due to limited availability.
“It’s endless. We’ve gotten to the point that we’ll name things after customers just so I can remember what it was exactly,” Blanchard says.
Some of the regularly ordered off-menu items include:
- gluten-free, nonfat sea bass served with organically grown vegetables
- fried soft shell crabs with lump crab meat and seasonal vegetables in a lemon-butter sauce
- appetizer of shrimp and scallop over grits
But one dish in particular stands out: the veal occhiata. This entree features tender veal over homemade angel hair pasta and covered with burned anchovy sauce.
25 years ago, Blanchard created the dish and received a gold medal for it. Ever since, customers have ordered it regularly, although it’s never been on iMonelli’s menu.
And Blanchard is the only iMonelli chef who’s allowed to prepare the dish, due to its high difficulty. For the veal occhiata, “there’s a fine line between superb and horrible,” says Blanchard.
iMonelli is unmatched in quality of food and service. With its award winning dishes and charming atmosphere, it’s definitely your best choice for a romantic dinner for two.
Originally posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News
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