As of October 2013, perhaps the hottest celebrity chef in New Orleans is John Besh. Besh operates Restaurant August, Besh Steakhouse, Lüke, La Provence, The American Sector, & Domenica. Lüke is smoking hot; it's tough to get a table, even late at night. Perhaps only Cochon is trending higher at the moment. I did get to Lüke for lunch, and it was excellent. But this being a pizza blog, a visit to Domenica was necessary.
![]() |
| "Cotechino" - click any pic to enlarge |
Domenica is at 123 Baronne Street, near but not in the French Quarter, and adjacent to the Roosevelt Hotel. The exterior is stately and the interior is a hip, airy, modern space with high ceilings. There is a full Italian menu, but other than one member of our party who chose risotto, our only non-pizza order was a shared appetizer. We chose the "Affettati Misti" - chef’s selection of assorted salumi, imported cheeses, marinated olives, roasted vegetables, and candied fruits. It was wonderful and served with superb Italian bread.
![]()
Three in our party ordered pizza. I had a very difficult time deciding on which personal-size Neapolitan style pizza (thin, puffy, charred crust) to choose, finally opting for the Cotechino, with pork sausage, scallions & tomatoes. Tony customized his white pie with soppressata, and Arthur selected the Smoked Pork pizza with mozzarella, red onion, Anaheim chili & salsa verde. I'd love to go back and try the Pizza Enzo, featuring anchovies, tomatoes, garlic & post-bake mortadella, reviewed HERE by Carey Jones of Slice - Seriouseats. ![]() |
| My dining companions |
I had the luxury of eating my chosen pie, but also slice-swapping so that I could try the other two. In general, the Neapolitan crust was well executed - tasty enough to eat alone - and marred (properly) with just a tiny few incinerated edges. My pie had wonderful flavors, but it was the least balanced of the three. In the center, a few slices became soggy and sloppy due to excess moisture from the red sauce; also, the sausage was applied to only one half of the pie. These are minor quibbles, because the pie was satisfactory and a great bargain at $13 in a pricey tourist town.
![]() |
| Affettati misti |
Still, I can't say it threatened the best Neapolitan pies I've had, such as at PaneBianco (reviewed HERE) in Phoenix and 2Amy's (reviewed HERE) in Washington DC. ![]() |
| Smoked Pork pie |
![]() |
| White pie |
The white pie was better than my pizza, owing to a better balance of toppings to crust. This crust was thus crisper and better able to support the tasty cheese and cured meat on top.
![]() |
| Nice char |
Best of all, though, was the more-experimental smoked pork pizza. The pie also enjoyed a wonderful balance. The pork was rich and savory without dominating the other flavors, while the Anaheim chilies added just a nip of spice. At home, I've been swimming in tomatillos and hence was skeptical about salsa verde on a pizza, but it was delicious here and applied judiciously. This pie was the clear winner.
![]() |
| Tomatillos, the source for salsa verde |
New Orleans, to my experience, is a town where it's tough to get a bad meal. The service, the ambiance, and the food here were all delightful - just enough so that this very good Neapolitan pie qualifies as destination pizza.
The crust gets an 8, the various toppings get a 9.5, service and ambiance a 10. Overall a "9" pizza and surely worth a visit.
![Domenica on Urbanspoon]()
