by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
If you have ever found yourself Downtown wondering what to have for lunch and wishing you could have something from the menu at Jerry Moran’s La Cena Ristorante, as of this week, that’s an option.
Moran is opening the restaurant from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday-Friday. The addition of midday dining was inspired by an observation made by Chef Wilfried Hausy.
His ritual of going to work out at the gym then stopping by the restaurant to make himself a snack and read the newspaper while sitting at a table next to the picture window facing Laura Street caused him to realize, Hausy said, “There is a lot of foot traffic here in the middle of the day.”
That factor, plus the success of other upscale lunch spots within a block or two of La Cena led Moran to make the decision to offer some of his signature dinner selections to the Downtown lunch market.
The menu includes six appetizers, four salads, nine pasta and six fish entrees plus a half-dozen scaloppine choices offered with chicken or veal. The restaurant’s extensive wine list is also offered.
Hausy said the key to being able to offer for lunch much of the same menu that has made the restaurant a destination in the evening is preparation. He’s in the kitchen early each day to get ready for the rush.
“We realize many people have only an hour for lunch, so the menu was chosen with getting people in and out quickly in mind,” said Hausy. “Of course, if they have more time for lunch, people may take as long as they wish, and we offer the same level of service at lunch as at dinner.”
Many of the restaurant’s dinner regulars work Downtown, said Hausy, which was another reason to open the door during the day. He added his culinary background and Moran’s have proven to complement each other as have their patron followings.
“Jerry is Italian upscale and I’m French and Continental upscale. We share a lot of the same clientele and now I often see people who dined in my restaurant when I owned 24 Miramar,” said Hausy.
Reservations are available for the bar area with a view of Laura Street or in the downstairs dining room. If it’s a special occasion or a meeting with a client is on the agenda, “We have a more private setting available for serious lunching,” said Hausy.
356-2466