Today

This morning Hubby proclaimed today a vacation day. We enjoyed breakfast at a favorite eatery. Driving west, we were able to see, even through the rain, progress in recovery from Katrina among our neighboring coastal communities. The enjoyment was bittersweet as vacant lots, empty slabs and lonely pilings often bracketed new residential and commercial construction.

We did a windshield tour of Bay St. Louis on the western side of Mississippi’s coast. As rain continued to fall, we drove the restored street that follows the St. Louis Bay shoreline and fronts the Old Town.

Lunch was our first time at Roberto and Tony’s Canella International Creperie.

Roberto and Tony

They serve German and Italian dishes prepared fresh. I had the pork loin cutlet with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes. That wasn’t the name of the dish, but I don’t remember the exact word.

A fellow diner recommended the selection as authentic, not Americanized. He said it was a good introduction to real German fare. Hubby ordered the manicotti stuffed with several kinds of cheeses.

Reviews I read online praised the authenticity of both the German and Italian dishes. I don’t know about that. I lack “authentic” experience. I do know that everything we ordered tasted wonderful. And a plus for me was that none of it seemed as salty as what is available in other restaurants.

The item that created tastebud ecstasy, though, was the dessert crepe with chocolate and fresh strawberries.

Roberto kept adding swirls of dark chocolate, then white chocolate, a sprinkle of cinnamon, caramel and powdered sugar. Roberto added the finishing touch, a generous application of whipped cream. I thought , “Oh no, this is going to be way too sweet.”

 Roberto starts finishing touch.

But no. It was perfect.