Creamed Spinach @ Antoine's
Creamed spinach--made by chopping the green leaves finely and mixing them with bechamel--was almost extinct on New Orleans menus a decade ago. That's when the boom in the population of steakhouses brought creamed spinach not only to such places, but almost every restaurant that served steaks. Unfortunately, few versions of this homely old dish were nearly as good as the ones found in the the older restaurants like Antoine's and Galatoire's. I have a theory about this. In the old days, restaurants used standard bunches of fresh spinach for the dish. Now, almost everybody except the old Creole-French restaurants uses bagged, young spinach. The delicate leaves of the baby spinach don't have enough texture or flavor to balance the flavor equation. [caption id="attachment_52877" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Drumfish florentine at Antoine's.[/caption]
I almost always get a ramekin of creamed spinach when I'm at Antoine's. which sets the standards for all others. They also use to spinach for other purposes. The best of these is trout Florentine--pan-cooked fish with creamed spinach underneath. It's not on the menu, but the kitchen will have no hesitation about serving it.
And no, the spinach isn't part of the oysters Rockefeller recipe, and never has been.
Antoine's. French Quarter: 713 St Louis St.. 504-581-4422. . 