Friday, August 24, 2012.
Where'd That Come From? Sparkling Soiree At Antoine's.
When I was a kid, tracking hurricanes was a fun thing to do. I never gave up the macabre hobby, although I came to let Nash Roberts, Bob Breck, Dan Milham, Al Duckworth and guys like that take care of it. When internet weather sites appeared, like lots of other weather geeks I became more avid than ever. checking the hurricane pages to look at tiny changes in the routes of Humberto, Juan, Opal, Georges, Ivan, and Katrina. Mary Ann said that I was driving myself nuts, and that I'd be better off with much less information than the much more I was seeking. I'm sure she's right.
So here's this Tropical Storm Isaac. It looked like many others, but something about it said I should watch it. I had the same foreboding about Georges (the hurricane that took the original Bruning's away), when that storm had just rolled off the coast of Africa.
Mary Ann was worried about Isaac, but not for the same reason I was. She wanted to mainline the Republican Convention for hours no end. But Isaac was heading straight for Tampa, where the GOP was to caucus, and they've lost a day of it. (Insert your own hot air-hurricane joke here.)
This evening was the fourth or fifth annual Sparkling Soiree at Antoine's. This has been a fun event, with a dozen and a half different bubblies from all over the world. This running offered no fewer than four true Champagnes, the prices of which made the $65 price for the evening reasonable. Plus many other great sparklers. (Schramsberg, for instance. The Napa product has always pleased my palate.
But this evening once again proved the supremacy of food over wine, regardless of the wine selection's quality. Even the serious wine buffs grab a glass of something, pause to appreciate it, and then head for the food.
For some reason, whoever at Antoine's planned the food for tonight miscalculated almost everything. There wasn't nearly enough food, and trays brought in to refresh the chafing dishes were quickly emptied. This was exacerbated by the fact that most of the items were appetizers from Antoine's lineup of excellent starters. Oysters Foch and Rockefeller are too alluring to sit there long. Trout amandine, filet tips in a red wine brown sauce, and shrimp mariniere were less famous but not less tempting.
But unless you loaded your plate up at the beginning (as many did), you didn't get enough to eat. I managed to stay right on my diet. It wasn't long before people began to complain to me. I have pushed this event pretty hard, mainly because I love Antoine's. It's also a tradition now for me to lead a tour of the restaurant at events like this, creating the false illusion that I work there or own a piece of the place.
Every year, there's been a dessert course, in a separate room. I couldn't find it, and when I asked about it one of the guests said, it came in, and was gone immediately. One of the waiters said that some people were taking one of everything. Of course they were? What's a buffet all about, anyway?
I think I know why they dropped the ball. Both of the main dining rooms were about as full as they ever get outside of the holidays. And there were private parties in the Rex, Twelfth-Night Revelers, Proteus, Escargot, and two other private rooms. (That also made it tough for me to give my tour. All the most interesting rooms were full, although the party in the Proteus room welcomed us with open arms.
When Antoine's began this annual event a few years ago, it was looking for ways to fill the dining rooms. Maybe it's outlived its usefulness. How about a seated Champagne dinner next year? Pairing a baked Alaska with a demi-sec Champagne would be a beautiful thing.
Antoine's. French Quarter 713 St. Louis St., 504-581-4422.
