It was only a few weeks ago that we went to Antoine’s for my birthday, so I wasn’t expecting to be back so soon. I used to go to Antoine’s every Friday for lunch, but that was before I got married. I’ve cut back some since then, but it remains a special treat always to have dinner at Antoine’s.
My dear old friends Errol and Peggy Laborde were not able to join us for dinner on my birthday, so they suggested we meet up again at Antoine’s with a mutual friend from Channel 4, Dominic Massa. Dominic is a good friend and broadcasting historian as well as a fellow Jesuit guy, (though he graduated). I last saw Dominic when we spoke at Jesuit’s career day. He’s a great guy that I don’t see enough, and that’s also very true of the Laborde's. So we immediately accepted their invitation to dine at Antoine’s.
We were finished with the show at 5 and the reservation was for 7, so MA suggested we wait at the Hermes Bar and try their Happy Hour. The time we arrived was lucky because there was a lull. It wasn’t that hard to get a table. An hour later it was.
It’s a nice deal. $3 for select beers, $6 for house wines and Prosecco and specialty drinks. I got an old-fashioned drink called a Kir, which Mary Ann said tasted exactly like it looked - like cough syrup. For nibbles, we got Gougères which MA said looked unlike any other she’d seen. Instead of round and puffy clouds of pate choux, these were like cheese-flavored ladyfingers. They were napped in a garlic and parmesan sauce. This was the best thing at the table other than my requisite soufflé potatoes. MA also ordered onion strings and andouille sausage. The onion strings were more medium-thickness fresh-cut onions, drizzled in a creole mustard sauce. These were crispy and thick-battered, and had a nice crunch to them. The andouille plate had thin disks of very spicy andouille sausage cut diagonally and arranged in a line with creole mustard on the side. Everything was flanked by a tiny pile of microgreens, which MA ate because they are good for you, or something like that.
We were pretty full by the time 7 rolled around. The Hermes Bar was now full, and we were finished, and really too full for dinner. The dining room was empty, but that would not last. Within half an hour the place was completely filled, including the private rooms, one of which Peggy tried to reserve. A colleague of everyone was having a birthday party in one of them, and he came to visit often. It was nice to see him too. The restaurant sent out a few orders of Oysters Foch and we got a few orders of soufflé potatoes.
Mary Ann was entertained by Peggy’s explanation of Errol’s fascination with the words Coq Au Vin, which he ordered after his appetizer of crawfish bisque. I got Oysters Thermidor, which everyone at the party thought looked odd, So did I, but I liked them very well. Peggy got Mary Ann’s favorite shrimp remoulade in the city, And MA had only one of them, too full for any more.
For entrees, she and Peggy got the trout amandine and I got the fish florentine, on a bed of their creamed spinach. Dominic got a soft shell crab amandine, and Errol had a chance to actually have some Coq Au Vin, which he loved. Mary Ann was still eating hers when Charles brought the Baked Alaska to the table. She doesn’t usually eat that anyway, so we started in on it.
Charles was busy with several large groups in the private rooms, so he couldn't stay with us, but it was nice to see him drop by and check on things, and especially good to see him bring the Baked Alaska.
Looking around the rooms full of people enjoying their evening at this Grande Dame, feasting on classic New Orleans dishes, I agree with something Mary Ann said looking around the Hermes Bar at happy hour. Antoine’s really is the quintessential New Orleans restaurant.
Antoine’s
713 St. Louis St New Orleans
504-581-4422
Mon-Sat Lunch 11:30-2 Dinner 5:30-9
Sunday Jazz Brunch 10:30-2
antoines.com
