"I stepped into a sprawling, 5,000-square-foot restaurant on Metairie Road from the MoPho and Maypop team (Michael Gulotta and Jeffrey Bybee) that expands a Sicilian-style pop-up into a full-scale ode to Gulotta’s Sicilian heritage and Ligurian Italian Riviera training. Tana feels like a large chop-house-meets-Italian spot with small plates such as meatballs, savory zeppole, arancini, and a muffuletta-esque stuffed focaccia, along with salads, garlic-and-artichoke soup, bacon-and-oyster stew, and large plates like veal marsala, pork chop parmesan, and a tomahawk rib-eye. Pasta is central here: nine pasta dishes are offered, a pasta-making station commands the dining room, and a cheese wheel–equipped pasta cart comes to tables for tagliatelle alla ruota — likely the area’s only chance to try trendy cheese wheel pasta. Bybee likens it to something you’d find in Miami, Chicago, or New York, but with Old Metairie ambiance; hours are Wed–Mon 5–9." - Clair Lorell