Iwas not seeking it out, but as true fall weather descended recently, I found myself coincidentally cutting into delicious pumpkin dishes. In fact, some of the tastiest things I tried at the tail end of October were pumpkin-tastic. Here’s what’s the pumpkin patch looks like in my dining notebook.

Pumpkin filled barbagiuan at TANA (2919 Metairie Road): This is the upscale Italian restaurant from chef Michael Gulotta in Old Metairie, and recently on my list of 30 top restaurants in New Orleans . It takes an inspiration from three threads: Gulotta's Sicilian family roots, his New Orleans home and his early training in northern Italy on the Ligurian coast, adjacent to the French Riviera and Monaco, where barbagiuan is proudly the local dish.

Gulotta configures them as fried ravioli, pa

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