The Big Easy, Part II: A Sumptuous Feast (travelog entry 16)

We have been eating pretty cheaply the last couple of nights. The one time we tried to splurge was at a fancy restaurant in Nashville, where we had three courses after aperitifs and even ordered a sixty dollar bottle of wine, but they screwed up our order so badly they wound up giving us the meal for free. And besides, today is Egon’s birthday so we are feeling like doing something special in this city which is known for great food.

 

So we call what the food critics say is the best restaurant in New Orleans, Commander’s Palace in the Garden district, near where we are staying. The guy on the phone explains in the patient but bored voice of someone who has to keep repeating the obvious that no, they are fully booked for the next few weeks, when he suddenly interrupts himself to say wait a minute, and then after a brief silence on the line he returns to say they’ve just had a cancellation for eight o’clock. I thank him and explain that we are travelling and don’t have ties and he says that’s fine but jackets are “appreciated.”

So we spiff up as best we can. I have a punk-chic blazer that I bought in Copenhagen that has a formal cut but a zipper and snaps up the front (it also has suede patches on the elbows, normally a totally uncool feature, but my trendy friend Anson approved of these as sufficiently ironic, and he should know). Egon has a spanking new black rockabilly shirt from Graceland with red musical note details and Elvis’ name over his heart. We don these over our blackest jeans and head for the restaurant.

The meal is one of the best either of us have ever had. We have a six course menu with wine pairings. Some highlights include a foamy blue crab soup with caviar and a hint of cayenne, paired with brut champagne, a forever smoked shoulder of pork with creole seasoning, served with a terrific Alsatian riesling, and wild Texas antelope grilled to perfection, with a Piedmontese wine so delicious we have to ask for more. One course is built around an egg cooked for five hours, but though it is delicious with the accompanying sautéed mushrooms and caramelized shallots, it mostly tastes like an egg. It is served with a scintillating Châteauneuf-du-pape. The service is excellent, and after dinner we were even able to get espresso and grappa (though served in American sized portions). We were in seventh heaven.

Espresso and grappa, a perfect finish for an excellent meal

So now, I thought, was a good time to break my news to Egon. I wanted to go to a Vampire Ball, and I knew he would not be thrilled about it.

 

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