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Rain on Royal Street
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Millsap, Diane
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Brennan's New Orleans Cookbook
 
The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook
Garden District Fancy
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French Quarter Twilight
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La Belle Cuisine
Remembering The Brennans
A New Orleans Reverie
by Michele W. Gerhard (1995)
Among my many blessings I count the privilege of having spent
a large part
of my childhood in New Orleans at a time when a child could feel much more
welcome in the French Quarter than today. Because my mother was a woman of discriminating
taste, she introduced me to some of the finer things in life at
a very early age. I
literally grew up with the venerable Brennans, generally considered to be the First Family
of New Orleans cuisine.
All of the Brennan's establishments, each in its own way, have a
special place in my heart, as each has played an important part in defining my tastes and
molding my culinary identity. As a youngster, I was totally enchanted by the romance and
mystique of the French Quarter environment. The moist, heavy air was not at all oppressive
to me then. It fused with the lush tropical vege- tation and enhanced the magical aura of
the old city. The very mention of
the Quarter still floods my memory with the heady
fragrance of jasmine, honeysuckle and clematis, and with visions of gas lamps flickering in
patios verdant with elephant ears and banana trees, bamboo and palmetto. My memories of
leisurely weekends spent strolling through the narrow streets
and mysterious alleys remain
vivid to this day. Many a languid Saturday
afternoon was spent lolling away the dreamy
hours at Pat O'Brien's. I recall feeling very much at home there, sipping my "mint
julep", or sometimes
even a Baby Hurricane. I'm still not quite sure of the
ingredients, but my
drinks looked very authentic, tasted like paradise in a glass, and
made me
feel ever so grown-up and worldly wise. The grass which then surrounded
the patio
fountain has long since given way to more solid table space, but Pat O'Brien's patio
remained a sentimental favorite.
One of my fondest New Orleans memories is of dinner with my mother at
Brennan's Vieux Carré, which was the very first culinary enterprise of the incomparable
Brennans clan. Just walking through the door was enough to
take my breath away. I felt as
though I had been transported to a luxurious fairyland, resplendent with candlelight,
plush carpeting, and impeccably
dressed guests. The elegant atmosphere, my mother's
demeanor, as well as that of "her waiter", and Owen Brennan himself, actualized
a miraculous, instantaneous internal impression of maturity in my six-year-old body. I
felt
as though I belonged! In my ingenuousness, I found the entire experience to
be the
ultimate word in elegance and sophistication.
Owen very often came to the table to greet us, and usually served
my
special "Shirley Temple" drink himself. It was a spectacularly colorful
(no
doubt grenadine-loaded) concoction overflowing with maraschino
cherries, slices
of
assorted citrus fruit, Japanese umbrellas and other
such whimsical items
of tremendous
child appeal. I recall being partic-
ularly fascinated by the abundance of multi-colored
straws. Actually,
the drink was the "virgin" version of Owen Brennan's
imaginative con-
tribution to a long list of New Orleans originals, called "Pirate's Dream."
No doubt the name was inspired by the fact
that he got his start in the
gastronomic world of the French Quarter when he
bought what he re-
ferred to as a
"saloon" - the Old Absinthe House. Legend
has it that
the building contained a
secret chamber which was the meeting
place
of Andrew Jackson and Jean Lafitte. Myths
linking Lafitte and his
band
of pirates to the Old Absinthe House abound, so why not
capitalize
on
the mystique? My childhood fascination with this mystique continues to
this
day. The booming success of Owen's "saloon" venture led indirectly
to the birth
of Brennan's Vieux Carré, directly opposite the Old Absinthe
House on Bourbon Street.
Although the menu at the Vieux Carré was quite varied and
intriguing, I never strayed from my favorite meal. I resisted all maternal coaxing to be
somewhat more adventurous in my selection. In my mind nothing could possibly surpass my
standard fare of Filet Mignon (medium-rare, if you please), which was always broiled to
perfection, accompanied by either broccoli or asparagus Hollandaise and Potatoes Duchesse,
as I recall. I was in heaven, longing for
the evening to go on forever. There was always
an abundance of delicious garlic bread to go with our meal, apparently the precursor of
that served at Commander's Palace today. I am extremely grateful that there are still a
few things which haven't changed over the years! My only requirement for des-
sert was that
it be presented aflame. Whether it be Crepes Suzette, Cherries
Jubilee (my favorite),
Bananas Foster (one of Owen's special creations in
honor of his friend, Dick Foster), or
another equally flamboyant creation, I
was never disappointed.
Alas, the original Brennan's Vieux Carré is no more, and Owen
Brennan left
us far too soon. How ironic that he was not to live to experience the extra- ordinary success of Brennan's in its
current location at 417 Royal Street, or
to see his vision of "Breakfast at
Brennan's" become an international phe- nomenon. Fortunately for Epicureans the
world over, the legacy remains.
The official opening of Brennan's in its present location
took place in May 1956. The family has since branched out into other equally successful
endeavors. A trip to New Orleans would not be complete without a visit
to
Commander's Palace, in the magnificent Garden
District. In the French
Quarter, Mr. B's Bistro,
just one block off Canal St. on Royal, provides excellent cuisine in a somewhat more
relaxed atmosphere. Their Shrimp Chippewa (unfortunately no longer
on the menu) was
incomparable, and
remains one of my favorite dishes anywhere. As fate would have it, Dickie
Brennan opened his Bourbon House
Seafood and Oyster Bar not so long
ago, and saw fit to put Shrimp Chippewa on the menu. Not quite the same,
of course, but hey... I'm not complaining!
Other members of the
Brennan Family Restaurants are Palace Café,
(Canal Street), Dickie Brennan's
Steakhouse (on Iberville), Ralph Brennan's
Bacco (on Chartres),
Ralph
Brennan's Red Fish Grill
(on Bourbon). Outside the
Quarter are Ralph's on the Park and Cafe Adelaide
situated in the down-
town Warehouse
District’s recently debuted
Loews New Orleans Hotel.
The kitchen of Commander's Palace has produced some of America's
finest chefs. Paul Prudhomme, who appears to have
single-handedly brought about the Cajun revolution in food, and Emeril Lagasse, who now has three very successful New
Orleans restaurants of his own:
Emeril's, NOLA and
Emeril's Delmonico.
Go here to check out
Emeril's other restaurants... quite frankly
we can't keep up with the list!
In its twenty-second year, Commander's Palace received the James Beard
Outstanding Restaurant Award. The fact that the restaurant has been able
to sustain its
reputation
for unwavering excellence since 1974 is amazing
enough. Even more commendable
is the fact that Ella and Dick Brennan
have maintained Commander's distinction while
assuring it stay abreast of
the times. Under
their devoted leadership and expertise, the
ever-increasing
demand for
lighter, healthier, food has been met without sacrificing the
quality of
Commander's uniquely delicious, Creole cuisine. [Update 2008 -
Managing Partners: Lally Brennan, Ti Adelaide Martin; Executive Chef:
Tory McPhail]
In the fall of 1995, my younger son, his girlfriend and I were
delighted to
have an excuse to make a short-notice combination business and pleasure
trip to
the Crescent City. The girlfriend in particular was thrilled at the
prospect and proudly announced that
she had her
heart set on dinner at
Commander's Palace on Friday night. I advised her not to hold her
breath;
this was, after all, Tuesday afternoon,
and our chances of getting a reser-
vation
for Friday evening seemed slim indeed.
But with all the unbridled optimism and certitude
of the young, she called
and was very quick to inform me that we did, indeed, have reservations.
We were offered either 6:30 or 9:30 p.m. She chose 6:30. I expressed my
enthusiasm and gratitude and thought to myself that I supposed a 6:30
reservation was better than none at all.
All the way to New Orleans there was a constant barrage
of questions about
Commander's, the most frequently recurring
of which was, "Do you suppose
we just might be
able to eat in the Garden
Room?" Once again, I humored
her as best I could, and tried
to explain in
my most patient, motherly fashion,
that
practically
everyone
wanted
to eat
in the Garden Room. We could hardly
expect it to be available to those with
last-minute reservations. Well, okay, but she would call anyway! And call
she did, but to no
avail. She consoled herself
with the fact that at least we
were assured of getting in the
door, and maybe,
just maybe, once we got
there? Hope springs eternal...
As our day of shopping, eating, window-shopping, eating,
sight-seeing and more eating wore on, it became increasingly obvious to me that we hadn't
a prayer of keeping a 6:30 reservation at Commander's. We crossed our fingers and called -
was there a chance... might it just be possible that they still had
an opening for 9:30?
Well, yes, they supposed they could accommodate us.
In
the Garden Room? The answer was
cordially negative.
One thing led to another, as it usually does in the Quarter, and
it became apparent to us that even 9:30 was going to be difficult. We finally arrived
shortly after 9:45, tense and breathless, fearing that we wouldn't be seated
at all. We
were greeted by a friendly and gracious host whose enthusiasm
quickly erased all sense of
trepidation. He scanned his chart and said,
"Folks, you're in luck! The best table in
the house just opened up."
Right, I thought to myself, I'll just bet it did. Looking
back, I wonder how I could have become so cynical. What had happened to my child-like
faith in
the impossible? Not only were we seated in the glass-walled Garden Room, with its
splendid view of the luxuriant New Orleans patio of my fantasies,
but we were actually
seated at the very best table in the house. The dream table. The
one I'd always wanted, but had never before been fortunate
enough to get, the one whose
favored occupants are treated to a view of
the "garden" (patio extraordinaire) looking out through the
branches of a magnificent 200-year-old oak tree.
Our excitement had reached such a peak by this time that chances
are we could have been served mediocre food and still been satisfied. That was certainly
not the case that evening, nor has it ever been my experience in
any Brennan's
establishment since my first meal at Brennan's Vieux Carré
in the late 1940's.
The
highlights of the meal were Commander's rich, thick, incomparable Crawfish Bisque, an
excellent sautéed redfish served in an exquisite wine
sauce with artichokes and
mushrooms, a Creole version of Veal
Oscar
with a marvelous topping of fresh lump crab meat
and
Hollandaise, and Panéed Mississippi Rabbit. The veal dishes at
Commander's are always
melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and the
Brennans still work magic with
their various filet
entrées.
It has always been a problem for me to save room for dessert at
Com- mander's, but their dessert menu usually tempts me beyond all reason.
Although the
Bananas
Foster Shortcake is rich and delicious, I must admit
my preference is the original
flaming Bananas Foster served over
vanilla
ice cream. In addition to being a luscious dessert, it has tremendous senti-mental
appeal to me, having been created by Owen Brennan. That's all it
takes to
transport me
back the the French Quarter of my youth...
Such sublime offerings as
Bread Pudding
Soufflé with Whiskey
Sauce,
Chocolate Fudge Sheba, or
Kahlúa
Mousse Cake may well entice you to succumb to the temptations
of the dessert gods. Should you decide to opt
for something less decadent, indulge
yourself a bit with a velvety smooth Chocolate Mousse.
For me, dessert is not dessert unless it's accompanied by a
steaming hot cup
of New Orleans' special chicory-blend coffee, aromatic, rich and
full-bodied. (The tradition of adding chicory is a carry-over from the Napoleonic era in
France during a period of shipping blockade.) Commander's has their own special coffee
blend, which you can enjoy noir (black), au lait, or flamed
with spices and
liqueurs. As the saying goes, Creoles prefer their coffee
'Noir comme le Diable
Fort comme la Mort
Doux comme l'Amour
Et chaud comme l'Enfer'
'black as the devil, strong as death, sweet as love, and
hot as hell'! My
personal preference is au lait, but you may want to treat yourself
to a
festive, dramatic, presentation of a famous New Orleans specialty: flaming
Café
Brûlot. It is an intoxicating combination of coffee, brandy and Triple
Sec,
aromatically enhanced by the addition of lemon, orange, cloves and cinnamon. Or perhaps an
even more intoxicating concoction of coffee,
brandy, Kahlúa, Galliano and whipped cream - Café
Pierre, created by
one of Commander's captains, a delectable dessert in itself.
Our superb meal was enhanced by the excellent service of
Commander's eminently competent, always amiable staff. I am very favorably impressed
by
the lack of what has come to be known these days as an "Attitude".
Unfortunately, many restaurants having reached the stature enjoyed by Commander's, have
developed a certain degree of hauteur to go along with
it. They take themselves SO
seriously. How fortunate for us that along
with the consistent excellence of cuisine,
Commander's has also come to
be
known for its cordial hospitality and an atmosphere of
comfortable ease,
its joviality. One never has that humiliating feeling of being evaluated.
The
wait staff is friendly, but not too friendly; the guest is pampered, but
unobtrusively, which is exactly as it should be.
For me, the ultimate atmosphere of pure merriment is to be found
at
Commander's renowned Sunday Jazz Brunch. Along with excellent food, including a myriad
of scrumptious egg dishes:
Eggs Creole, Hussarde,
Soubise and Basin Street, among others,
you'll be treated to strolling jazz bands, a multitude of colored balloons, and a relaxed,
carefree, convivial environment. A celebration of the senses. Seductive, like New Orleans
itself. You'll be coaxed to "Enjoy, chere Madame! Enjoy!" In short, you
can
experience the epitome of the very heart and soul of this exquisite
city. And when you take your leave, you will truly know what it means
to miss New Orleans.....but that's another story!
La Belle Cuisine
Commander's Palace Recipes!
Cookbook Feature -
Commander's Kitchen
Do you know what it means
to miss New Orleans?
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