Flaming dishes were once very popular, and an indicator that you were in a very fine restaurant. But the practice has faded away to almost nothing. The only restaurants that still perform pyrotechnics at the table are the older restaurants that have always done them, and the fifteen or twenty establishments that make bananas Foster. That dessert is easily the most common flamed dish in town. I had to cheat a little to come up with a dozen restaurants for this list. These are about all there is anymore.
1. 
Antoine's. French Quarter: 713 St Louis. 504-581-4422. Antoine's makes several flaming desserts. The most common is cherries jubilee, in which the cherries are set afire in a pan at the table with brandy. The waiters pour some of it onto the tablecloth, where it continues to burn, harmlessly. I actually like the way the dessert tastes, but much of that has to do with nostalgia: cherries jubilee was the first dessert I ever had at the old place.
Antoine's also must be mentioned when talking about cafe brulot and baked Alaska. They invented the former, and make the grandest version around of the latter. Although they don't ordinarily flame baked Alaska, they will if you ask.
I'm having trouble coming up with a dozen flaming dishes. May I count Antoine's as three?
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Making cafe brulot at Arnaud's.
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2. Arnaud's. French Quarter: 813 Bienville. 504-523-5433. Although the now-extinct Brennan's on Royal Street invented bananas Foster, Arnaud's improved upon the original, and performs it better than anyone else. Their show is so good (glowing specks of cinnamon that rise above the flames, not only adding visual but aromatic appeal) that quite a few other restaurant have copied Arnaud's tricks.
3. 
Trey Yuen. Mandeville: 600 Causeway Blvd. 985-626-4476. The dish is obvious enough: it's called flaming chicken, and that's exactly what it is. Prepared at the table, with a spicy sauce around chunks of stir-fried chicken chunks.
4. Latil's Landing. River Parishes: In Houmas House Plantation. 225-473-9380. Chef Jeremy Langlois of the Houmas House Plantation makes a brilliant dessert that's a take on baked Alaska. It starts with chocolate sponge cake topped with Creole cream cheese ice cream. The unique touch is that they flame the final layer of meringue at the table, and it browns beautifully.
5. Lebanon's Cafe. Uptown 4: Riverbend, Carrollton & Broadmoor: 1500 S Carrollton Ave. 504-862-6200. Halloumi is a goat's milk cheese that's very popular around the eastern end of the Mediterranean. In many Middle Eastern restaurants, it's flamed at the table as an appetizer. Halloumi doesn't melt easily, so the flamed don't break it down.
6. Desi Vega's. CBD: 628 St Charles Ave. 504-523-7600. The specs for lamb at Desi Vega's are as high as they are for the steaks. Their Colorado lamb chops are fantastic, and one of the reasons shy is that they flame them at the end in a mojito glaze. Unique.
7. 
Commander's Palace. Uptown 1: Garden District & Environs: 1403 Washington Ave. 504-899-8221. Commander's Palace will never be without bananas Foster. The Brennans created the dish, and everywhere they go, there it is. But Commander's also has a long history of making other flamed desserts. The most interesting was crepes Kovacs, named for chef Tom Kovacs in the 1970s. It's a great dessert, filled with pecans, spices, and (seems to me) apples. It smelled great, too. I'll bet that with advance notice Commander's would make this again, and now I want to do just that.
8. Mr. Gyros. Metairie 2: Orleans Line To Houma Blvd: 3363 Severn Ave. 504-833-9228. I have never been to a Greek restaurant that didn't flame a slab of kefalotiri cheese in white brandy while saying "Opa!" (That's Greek for "ole!") It's different from the related flaming halloumi in that it's warmed enough to make it melt a bit before the flame is set off. Opa!
9. La Petite Grocery. Uptown 2: Washington To Napoleon: 4238 Magazine. 504-891-3377. A few years ago, I noticed that La Petite Grocery's bar was well-stocked with absinthe. I asked whether they would prepare an unusual version of the classic absinthe service, wherein a shot of absinthe in a glass had a cube of sugar suspended overhead on an absinthe spoon. Cold water would drizzle over the sugar and both sweeten and dilute the absinthe to one's taste. I had read that if the sugar cube were soaked with some of the absinthe and then set afire on the absinthe spoon, you would get a unique flavor. The bartender went alone, and it worked. I don't know if they'd want to do this often, but you could ask.
10. Galatoire's. French Quarter: 209 Bourbon. 504-525-2021. Fans of the cafe brulot at Galatoire's proclaim it the best around. In one way, it is: there is no more alcoholic version to be found. The crowded dining room and bright lighting take a toll on the experience.
Written by Tom Fitzmorris February 10, 2014 12:01 in
