Mob Blog: Cafe Atchafalaya, April 14, 2014

 

 

[dcs_p]Brunch with my baby at Café Atchafalaya. I’m in New Orleans attending to business. It’s seventy-eight degrees and feels like rain, and the earth smells green and humid, and I’m eating a Louisiana Crab Omelette and drinking a Peach Old Fashioned.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

 

I haven’t been to the Café Atchafalaya since they redid the place a few years ago. Victor tells me its new owners—he keeps in touch better than I do. Anyway, it’s good to be back in my hometown. I love Florida, but I don’t get creamy grits or crab omelettes or Eggs Treme in Miami or Palm Beach. And even if I did, it wouldn’t taste the same. There is something to be said for atmosphere and you certainly get it at Café Atchafalaya, which is housed in a rustic old building, eschewing the antebellum elegance of nearby Uptown for the seedy bonhomie of the Irish Channel, where Victor’s early childhood was spent.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

 

The aforementioned “baby” is my little girl, Ceci. Reluctantly, I admit she’s not quite so little anymore, but she is stunningly beautiful and everybody looks at her. Last night, she told me on the phone that Café Atchafalaya is her favorite, and I’ve pulled her out of school and brought her to the café so she can have brunch with me and Victor.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

 

I don’t live with Ceci—in fact, I don’t even have custody—but she’s my baby and I get free rein at spoiling her. And Ceci’s excited to be at the Café Atchafalaya. She doesn’t say so, but I can see it in her eyes. She sits beside me in her parochial school uniform with its crisp white blouse and her dark-blue knee-highs, and even though she’s clearly an adolescent and in the company of two doting males, grown men can’t resist looking—their eyes sliding at her and then quickly moving away. Eating her Atchafalaya Burger, Ceci is oblivious.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

 

The Peach Old Fashioned is Victor’s idea. It sounds girly girl, but it is made with Maker’s Mark and peach syrup, and it seems to fit my mood. For awhile I’m anonymous and loving it, and then a couple of gents recognize me and stop by our table to say hello. By the time Café Atchafalaya’s German chocolate crepes arrive, I’m ready to go. I say to Ceci, “Baby, I have to go meet a man on the Westbank. Do you want to go with Victor and me, or return to school?”[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

 

 

 

If you enjoyed Café Atchafalaya, you may consider reading one of Patricia Bellomo’s mob thrillers. Books include, Louie Morelli’s Mistress, Stella di Mare, and Louie Morelli’s Daughter. [/dcs_p][dcs_p]

 

Café Atchafalaya was written in the voice of Patricia’s main character, savvy mobster, Louie Morelli. All books available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and in all e-reader formats. Also available on AmazonUK and AmazonEU.