Commander's Palace, New Orleans
I've spent the last three weeks blogging about the last trip my husband and I took pre-pandemic to one of our favorite places--New Orleans, Louisiana. We've visited New Orleans many times before and if you search on my blog you will see posts I wrote about a few of the magnificent anti-Bellum plantations we visited in the area, a swamp tour we took by boat, the beautiful Saint Louis Catherdral which is the oldest Catholic Catherdral in the United States as well as other landmarks, the World War II Museum, the Museum of Jazz, and many places we dined in the past. Food is so much a part of the lure of New Orleans. It is a mix of French-inspired Creole and Cajun cultures. Both types of cooking have culinary roots in France, with a nod to Spain, Africa, and Native America, and to a lesser degree to the West Indies, Germany, Ireland, and Italy. Both cultures take their food very seriously and love to cook, eat, and entertain. Creole refers to descendants of the original European French and Spanish settlers of New Orleans. Cajun people are technically descendants of the french descendants of Acadia, which was located in the maritime areas of eastern Canada, that were expelled by the British in 1755.
One of the most famous places to eat in New Orleans is Commander's Palace, located at 1403 Washington Ave, in the French Quarter of New Orleans since 1893. A steady parade of renowned chefs - Emeril Lagasse, Paul Prudhomme, Jamie Shannon, Tory McPhail, and now Meg Bickford - have made Commander's Palace the world-class restaurant what it is today and its leading-edge Haute Creole cuisine reflects the best of the city.
We have dined here for dinner in the past, but on our last trip we took an extended tour of the French Quarter--click here to see that post-- and we stopped into Commander's Palace for a late lunch. One of the attractions of their lunch is the twenty-five-cent martini--a limit of 3 per person! As you can see from the photos above their food is exquisite! My husband and I enjoyed escargot in tomato sauce and fried oysters as our appetizers, and because we like seafood, we indulged in shrimp and redfish. The portions were all generous so we did not indulge in dessert, but they are famous for their Bread Pudding Souffle with Whiskey Sauce-recipe here.
A breakfast spot that we enjoy very much is The Court of Two Sisters, located at 613 Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. They have daily jazz brunches with a buffet of Creole classics plus an à la carte dinner and a charming courtyard in which to dine, where musicians play jazz. We usually order the brunch buffet as there are so many selections of unlimited delicious breakfast and lunch foods to choose from. One can also order a la carte. The building and courtyard hold an interesting history. Don't miss touching the "Charm Gate" as you enter! The charm gates were wrought in Spain especially for The Court of Two Sisters. Legend says that Queen Isabella of Spain had them blessed so that their charm would pass on to anyone who touched them. 
We always desire a muffuletta sandwich for lunch during our visit to New Orleans, and one restaurant which makes them well is the Napoleon House, located at 500 Chartres Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. A 200-year-old landmark, the building's first occupant, Nicholas Girod, was mayor of New Orleans from 1812 to 1815. He offered his residence to Napoleon in 1821 as a refuge during his exile. Napoleon never made it, but the name stuck, and since then, the Napoleon House has become one of the most famous bars in America, a haunt for artists and writers throughout most of the 20th century. The muffuletta sandwich originated in New Orleans purportedly at Central Grocery where it is still made today. The sandwich is made with soft sesame topped bread, Italian charcuterie, and a spicy Creole olive salad. You can see a recipe on this link. The sandwich at Napolean House is so large we shared it--delicious! We also enjoyed a drink they are famous for--the Pimms's Cup--recipe here.
A very affordable New Orleans brand restaurant is Pat O'Brien's, located on 718 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter. Their historical building was built in 1791 as a private home, and later became the first Spanish Theatre in the United States. It was converted back to a private residence until 1942 when Patrick O’Brien and Charles Cantrell purchased the spacious place to become home to one of the most iconic nightclubs in the United States. They are famous for their dueling pianos, flaming courtyard fountain, as well as their Hurricane cocktail, among other drinks. The Hurricane is served cold, is sweet, and contains rum--very refreshing! A Hurricane recipe is here. Their menu is mostly Cajun cuisine and for our dinner, we ordered a chicken wing appetizer to share, and for my entree, I had Crawfish Etouffe while my husband had their traditional Red Beans and Rice that is served with grilled sausage. It was all very filling and tasty! We enjoyed the casual atmosphere of Pat O'Brien's very much.
One evening, we dined at another of New Orleans "grand dame" 100-year-old restaurant, Broussards. Broussard's first opened in 1920, when an eminent local chef, Joseph Broussard, married Rosalie Borrello, and the couple moved into the Borrello family mansion (built in 1834) at 819 Conti Street in the French Quarter, where the restaurant now sits. Today, Executive Chef Jimi Setchim continues the tradition of a French and Creole-influenced menu.
My husband and tried their Creole turtle soup, and I had the Panned Seared Sea Scallop special while my husband had the Pompano Fish Ponchitrain, served with shrimp. We could not resist a dessert special: King Cake with frangipane filling for two. The Lucky Baby was sitting on top. Everything was exquisite!
Another of the "great dame" of fine French Creole restaurants is Antoine's, located at 713 St. Louis Street in the French Quarter. Antoine's has been operated by the same family since 1840. It is the birthplace of oysters Rockefeller, developed in 1899 by Antonie's son and given that name due to the richness of the sauce. They remain one of the great culinary creations of all time and that recipe remains a closely guarded Antoine’s secret, though it has been imitated countless times.
The restaurant consists of many different rooms and the maitre d' was kind enough to take my husband and me on a little tour, pointing out all the special corners where famous people had dined and the photos and memorabilia on the walls, including much Mardi Gras history. It was so fascinating!
Our dinner at Antoine's was superb! Our waiter treated us like royalty. He even brought us an appetizer on the house of one of his favorites, and a dish perfected at Antoine's: Pommes de Terre Souffles, or puffed potatoes, seen on the middle right of the photo collage above. I had to try the oyster Rockefeller as my appetizer, seen in the middle left. They were out of this world! I never had better. My husband had escargot (bottom left). As for entrees, my husband had Pompano Pontchartrain (top photo), which was a grilled delicate pompano filet, butter poached jumbo lump crabmeat, white wine sauce, onion rice, seasonal vegetables. I had the special fried Soft Shell Crab served with almondine sauce. As for sides, we tried a crab souffle and lobster mac and cheese.
It was our first night in New Orleans and we were celebrating! I'm so glad we did, as our trip to New Orleans, and all the places we dined there, were the last for the year 2020, and so far for 2021. Since then I have done the bulk of the cooking at home and we have not dined out in a restaurant since. Hopefully, dining out will become a reality again for us one day. In the meantime, we are trying to stay safe from exposure to the covid virus.
Chicory Coffee and Beignets breakfast at Cafe du Monde
I hope you enjoyed this series of New Orleans, Louisiana posts. They brought back wonderful memories to me. I hope to be able to travel there again someday to enjoy even more of its history, friendly ambiance, and hospitality. Do you have a favorite New Orleans memory that you'd like to share?
Stay healthy and safe!
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