Last weekend Brad and I went to New Orleans, and it was one of the best trips I've ever had. We packed a ton into just a few days accompanied by all the food and drinks. On our last night there we had dinner at Antoine's which is the oldest restaurant in New Orleans and one of the oldest in America. It was established in 1840 and is still owned by the same family founded by Antonie Alciatore who immigrated to New Orleans from Marseilles, France. The menu is classic French-Creole cuisine and is one of the top fine dining restaurants in the city. It is nestled on St Louis Street.
Brad started with the Sazerac which by the way is a distinctly Creole creation, blending rye whiskey, sugar, pastis and bitters. It was invented in the 1830s right in New Orleans by Antoine Amédée Peychaud (of Peychaud’s Bitters). I started with the French 75, another classic cocktail of French origin containing gin, lemon, sugar and champagne.
French 75's are one of my very favorite cocktails and we actually had them as one of our signature cocktails at our wedding. I loved how they were on the menu just about everywhere in New Orleans as they aren't as common back home.
We started with the Pommes de Terre Souffles which are delicious little fried puffed potatoes. These were actually invented by Antoine's. I could snack on these alllllll day.
We also had to order the Huîtres en coquille à la Rockefeller or Oysters Rockefeller, because they were actually invented by Antonie's as well! Now this was super interesting to me as Oysters Rockefeller are everywhere. I have to admit though.... we were not a fan. It's hard for me to critique, as it was also our first time having Oysters Rockefeller. I am a raw oyster girl, but being as Antonie's created the Rockefeller version I figured we should try them. I was not crazy about the rich sauce. They also don't look the most appetizing. But if you love Oysters Rockefeller you should try them out and let me know what you think!
Brad ordered the Crevettes Créoles which consisted of fresh jumbo gulf shrimp sautéed in Antoine's creole sauce served over steamed rice. It was good, however we wished it could have had even more flavor. It was a little bland.
I ordered the Filet de Gulf Poisson Pontchartrain which comprised of grilled gulf fish with lump crab meat sautéed in butter. Again it was good, but a little bland. And pricey at $40 a plate.
Overall in my honest opinion Antonie's was only okay. And for the price we probably won't be back. However, I'm glad we went and checked it out due to its interesting history. We also had amazing service. They do have a really good weekly lunch special for $20.19 with 25 cent martinis. So I actually might be back to try that out! 😉
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