Coast Cuisine - November 2016

Like Cheers, But With Red Gravy

Trapani's Eatery
116 North Beach Blvd.
Bay St. Louis, MS
228.467.8570
Now Open 7 Days a Week!

If it tastes like home cooking, maybe that's because it is - for some folks in Bay St. Louis anyway!
 - story by Lisa Monti, photographs by Ellis Anderson 

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Broiled oysters

 I’ve eaten many a meal at Trapani’s Eatery since the original restaurant opened more than 20 years ago. So many, in fact, that having a meal there sort of feels like home.
 
Actually, the food tastes like home. Dishes like paneed veal, an old family favorite on Sundays, and spaghetti with red gravy - not sauce - trigger childhood memories.

And rightfully so. Tony Trapani and I are cousins - our mothers were sisters - and our maternal grandmother, Emma Carver, was a wonderful cook whose paneed veal and spaghetti gravy were on our Sunday rotation.
 
When Emma cooked, she deployed all the kitchen’s resources: spices, seasonings, mixing bowls, deep pots, cast iron skillets, everything but a cookbook.

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Lisa's cousin, Tony Trapani

​The recipes were perfected over decades and everything she turned out, from a pot of file gumbo and platter of stuffed crabs to divinity fudge and tart lemon merengue pies, was comforting and delicious, even to a picky kid’s palate.
 
Luckily, Emma’s gift for cooking lives on, at least in some of us. ​

In the Blue Marlin bar

​So whenever I’m in the mood for some tried-and-true dishes, I make it over to Tony’s, as we relatives tend to call the restaurant.
 
Not surprising, with coastal decor and a bar named Blue Marlin, seafood plays a big role in Trapani’s kitchen. Starters include the popular crab cakes, rich gumbo and sesame ahi tuna. A longtime favorite is the fried green tomatoes topped with crabmeat and hollandaise.
 
Not to put too fine a point on the seafood connection here, but every Trapani’s entree salad comes with a seafood option, and the salad packed with crawfish will totally satisfy your craving for them.
 
Among the got-to-try entrees, Eggplant Delacroix is a stand out - eggplant slices breaded with Progresso crumbs, just like Emma used, and topped with sauteed Gulf shrimp, onions bell peppers and mushrooms then finished with hollandaise and parmesan. I know.
 
The kitchen also offers great steaks, fish, ample sandwiches and homemade desserts. If you try just one, get the divine Dinwiddie Delight. I believe it’s been on the menu since Day One, so if you’re a regular, its likely you’ve already gone over the calorie cliff already.

Crab Claws

 Sometimes only hot wings will do, and the ones at Trapani’s are addictive. The wings are naked, not battered, fried to glorious crunchiness and coated with a spicy sauce. Wings (with plenty of napkins) and a glass of Chardonnay have become my Second Saturday tradition.

Sitting on the Blue Marlin balcony, overlooking the harbor, is a most pleasant way to cap off the monthly art walk. And when there’s live music on the balcony, well, a good thing gets even better.
 
Trapani’s restaurant and Blue Marlin bar are must-try destinations for Coast tourists, and for  locals, both upstairs and downstairs are great spots for socializing with friends, old and new.

If you live on the coast, not everybody at Trapani's will know your name, but chances are lots of folks will. 

Shrimp Scampi