Café Freret makes an imposing muffuletta. The massive round loaf, studded with sesame seeds and dusted with Parmesan cheese, sits on the plate like a land mass. It’s split down the middle to reveal layers of cold cuts and cheese—ham, salami, mortadella and provolone—alternating between three strata of olive salad.
Before I take a bite, I’m hit with the pungent smell of olives and vinegar. And with the first taste, I realize that Café Freret has struck a near perfect balance of meat, bread and moist olive salad. Café Freret might make the best muffuletta in New Orleans.
After the muffuletta, I had high expectations for the rest of the menu at this little café a few blocks from Tulane. Everything else that I tried was pretty good, and had I not tasted the muffuletta first, I might have been more satisfied with my other choices. The messy New Orleans Steakbomb, sliced steak with Swiss cheese, onions, mushrooms and bell peppers, was a good take on a Philly cheese steak. With a little more cheese, it could have been an absolute winner. The comically large Voodoo burger arrives with a steak knife stabbed through the middle and strips of bacon and the jagged edges of lettuce spilling out from the bun. It looks like the result of a malicious act. The patty weighs a half-pound, so you’d be wise to take part home if you can manage to resist.
The neighborhood restaurant attracts many university students and faculty. Oddly, I’m not sure that I’ve seen anyone else with a muffuletta on their plate. Maybe they know something that I don’t. Maybe they’ve found even better options on the long menu of sandwiches, entrees and breakfast platters. I know that when I don’t order the muffuletta, I always wish I had. And when I do order it, I walk away satisfied.
7329 Freret St.
861-7890
Fri-Wed 9am-7pm
