A local eatery is counting down to Mardi Gras. Feb. 18 will be one of the busiest days of the year for the Mardi Gras Café and Market Place on Midway Drive. And if Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints had made it to the Super Bowl like they did in 2009, “It [would have been] like having two Mardi Gras,” said Skip Antonelli, who owns the small restaurant in the 7-Eleven strip mall. You might describe the 23-year-old business as a “mom-and-pop-and-pop” enterprise. Working side-by-side with grandpa Antonelli are his daughter, Nancy Delar, and her husband, Eddie. The couple’s two children also help. The family moved to San Diego from New Orleans in 1984. Because they missed their hometown cuisine and wanted to share it with others, they decided to open the cafe and small grocery store. There wasn’t much competition here for this kind of food, said Nancy, the store’s manager. She describes it as home cooking, which combines French, Italian, Cajun and Creole dishes. Cajun emphasizes spices, while Creole stresses sauces, according to Nancy. The cuisine also includes a lot of seafood, which the cafe flies in from New Orleans. “Seafood from the Gulf and the Atlantic is more flavorful than from the Pacific,” said Nancy. “Recipes go from generation to generation. Things can get altered. There’s usually the same start, but a little different finish.This food is what makes you feel good, whole. We enjoy the music and the flavors [of New Orleans].” The small cafe has just a few tables. But between eat-in, take-out and catering customers, the place serves up to 1,000 people for Mardi Gras, according to Nancy. Regulars come from as far away as Los Angeles and Arizona. Nancy said there are just some things too hard to find in the West. In addition, Nancy said she cooks “from her roots.” She said her dad — whose mother was Italian — taught her how to use seasonings. “A lot of customers say it smells like home here,” Nancy said. Menu choices include real-alligator subs for $8.99 and soft-shell crab po’ boys for $11.99. There’s also sausage-and-chicken jambalaya and seafood gumbo, as well as shrimp creole, each priced at $8.99. Then there’s the favorite New Orleans sandwich called the muffuletta. A small muffuletta is $8.99 and a large is $12.99. A muffuletta is a round French-bread sandwich with salami, ham and cheese, topped with a chopped salad of pickled green and black olives, cauliflower, celery, carrots and olive oil. For Mardi Gras, the restaurant offers the traditional king’s cakes with a plastic baby inside. For Christmas and New Year’s, Nancy said, there’s deep-fried turkey, which is “a Southern thing.” The small market in back carries everything from New Orleans coffees and an assortment of Zapp’s potato chips to sausages and Cajun seasonings. The Wall of Fire boasts about 500 hot sauces. It’s not hard working with her family, Nancy said. “After this many years, you know what to expect, what you need to do,” she said. “You have your own spaces. Everyone’s here to help each other.” So, which professional teams does a New Orleans-native-turned-San Diegan root for? “I’m a Padres and Chargers fan and a Saints and LSU fan,” said Nancy. But, she said, if the Chargers were to play the Saints, she would root for both. “I’d be happy either way,” she said. • Mardi Gras Cafe & Market Place 3185 Midway Drive, Suite E; (619) 223-5501
