Monday, December 18, 2006

East Shreveport intoxicated by arrival of Chef Giuseppe Brucia and Starbuck's, among the holiday spirits


Chef Giuseppe Brucia
Originally uploaded by trudeau.


Those who like artistry in cooking and design will enjoy following chef Giuseppe Brucia to his large new Ristorante Giuseppe, located in the Uptown Shopping Center. The chef's showcase dining center is scheduled to open Thursday in the recently-refreshed shopping center, said Natalie Brucia.

Having had a tour with designer-project coordinator Alan Dyson, I must say Giuseppe is a must-see. It is large and set with crystal, and the enormous kitchen is open to all viewers. Also, the kitchen is filled with shiny gear from Italy. See more at Shreveport Faces.

Shreveporters will be happy to balance the recent closing of Pete Harris Restaurant - a blow to the city's image of itself - with the advent of Giuseppe. Across Line Ave. from Giuseppe the long-running pasta restaurant called Semolina also closed. But bankers probably smile upon Brucia. His background comprises the highly-regarded Firenze, Cambridge Club and Olive St Bistro.


Is there a predilection for writers, students, artists and videographers to pose themselves carefully at Starbucks, fulfilling their commercial destiny, at least image-wise? If this sounds like you, the new Starbuck's on Line Ave, next door to Giuseppe, would be the boite.

Someone will be popping in with camera to try to espresso you. Please say hello and have your business card with your web site clearly listed. And please see ShreveportFaces for a few of the wondering weekend lattes.



Ristorante Giuseppe 318-869-4548
M - Sun lunch, 11 - 2
M - Th dinner, 5:30 - 10
Fr - Sat dinner, 5:30 - 11

Starbuck's on Line Ave 318- 865-7752
M - Th, 5:30 am - 10 pm
Fr - Sat, 6 am - 11 pm
Sun, 6 am - 10 pm
Xmas eve, 6 am - 7 pm
Xmas day closed.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Giuseppe's has certainly been talked about wherever I go lately. People are excited. I'm wondering how good the food will be, because, awesome decor or not, that's what really counts. My confidence is high that it will be wonderful. I hope the menu includes many vegan/vegetarian items.

As for Starbucks, I have always thought their coffee tastes like dirt. And it's overpriced. I'm sticking with PJ's.

Anonymous said...

I have had dinner at this restaurant twice--and a both times, the meal was substandard. Not near a good as Olive Street Bistro.
The word "tournedos" implies more than one. Well, it was only one and when requested to be cooked "medium", it was a stringy, bleeding, "rare"--and at $35 per steak--that's not good. Had to send it back twice.
The pasta lacked both flavor and cheese. The service was too slow and the waiter was full of BS and not knowlegeable about the menu items.
As for the bar, the liquor was good, until I saw the bartender (female) dilute an "on the rocks" drink with tap water.
So there you go---I hope they get their act together. Otherwise the restauraunt will meet the fate of many others in Shreveport. If the food is not up to par, then no amount of decorations and waitstaff can do any good. It will be destined to fail and it's investors will not be happy.

Anonymous said...

Ristorante Giuseppe is great. I had the smoked salmon and caviar appetizer which was delicious. I also enjoyed the lamb chops. Our entire table of five was satisfied with their meals. I ordered the lamb chops medium and they were so perfectly cooked and tender. Our waiter was great. This is one of my two favorite restaurants in Shreveport. The other is Superior Steak house.

Anonymous said...

I had lunch at Giuseppe's today and I thought the meal was extremely average and overpriced! Macaroni Grill has better food and service. The waiter seemed extremely errogant. This is Shreveport, not Beverly Hills! I think they need to tone down their prices and their atmosphere. The food was very bland and boring. I will never eat at Giuseppe again and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. If I want a great steak, I'll go to the Steak House or to Bella Fresca....if I want good Italian food, I'll go to Notini's.