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How Dining Out Became Popular in New Orleans
As a history buff, I am in my element here in New Orleans. There seems to be an interesting building or site on every block, and I’m virtually surrounded by restaurants. I live across the street from Commander’s Palace and I’m equidistant to St. Charles Avenue and Magazine Street, both of which boast dining places. The French Quarter is maybe 15 minutes away.
One of the people I wanted to meet when I got here was Richard Campanella, associate dean of architecture at Tulane University and THE expert on New Orleans history. He has written 13 books about the city, and is the author of countless articles about it. He’s an entertaining Twitter follow, @nolacampanella, which is where I first encountered his work.
We met for a chat this week, and the conversation turned to restaurants. Since the city’s oldest, Antoine’s, was founded in 1840, I assumed the New Orleans restaurant industry was flourishing before the Civil War.
Not at all, Richard said. While some famous names were around in the late 1800s, restaurant dining was not widespread until the early 20th century. That might surprise people who think of the Gilded Age of the 1870s as coinciding with the evolution of fine restaurants dining, but here, people still entertained primarily at home.
The reason echoes why New Orleans’ architecture seems to be divided into two primary periods: the closely set homes of the French Quarter old guard, and the lavish mansions farther uptown that were built by newer arrivals.
Richard explained that the development of the city’s famous restaurant culture essentially took place when middle to upper-middle-class New Orleanians had the disposable income to spend at them. Their wealth roughly coincided with the turn of the century and led up to World War I.
When you visit the city, you see a surprising amount of architecture from the Arts and Crafts movement of that same era. People spent money on their homes and on displaying their success. As in a number of other American cities, another explosion took place during the 1920s.
Like the eye-popping homes along St. Charles Avenue, and elsewhere in Uptown, restaurants became a way to show off wealth, Richard explained.
Restaurants were the equivalent of a box at the opera: you put on your finery, and went to be seen, as well as to enjoy the delectable food for which the city became known.
It’s fascinating how many of New Orleans’ oldest restaurants are still serving customers. Antoine’s, which you can see above, does a brisk business in special events, like the multi-chef dinner that journalist Todd Price hosted in 2018, to mark New Orleans’ 300th birthday.
Galatoire’s, founded in 1905 and made famous by A Streetcar Named Desire, offers regular lunch and dinner specials throughout the year. Before it shut for its annual summer break, we ate at Casimento’s, which dates to 1919 and is famous for its oysters and other seafood.
A victory for a Brennan family member
There was big news this week for one of New Orlean’s best-known restaurants, although it is not quite as old as some of its counterparts.
Ralph Brennan is now the sole proprietor of Brennan’s, the pink-walled French Quarter stalwart that launched his family’s restaurant empire. I have written about Brennan’s several times, and it’s one of my favorite stories in the history of New Orleans restaurants.
The precursor of Brennan’s was founded in 1946 by Owen Brennan, and moved to its current location in 1956. The location itself dates to 1795, and for a time was a home owned by Paul Morphy, the chess champion whose story was fictionalized by Frances Parkinson Keyes, author of books including Dinner at Antoine’s and Joy Street.
In the early 1970s, there was a rift within the family that caused the creation of two different restaurant groups. Brennan’s soldiered on, but by the 2000s, the flagship was listing badly. Its decline was fueled by Hurricane Katrina and the recession. In 2012, the property wound up in foreclosure.
With help from partner Terry White, Ralph Brennan salvaged the building, the name, the wine collection and the restaurant recipes. Then, they and their investors poured in an estimated $20 million to transform Brennan’s into a top property once more.
It is one of the most beautiful restaurants in the city, famed for breakfast as well as dinner, and a reason to go to the French Quarter, even if you’re put off by the tackiness of Bourbon Street. There’s even an elevator, allowing mobility challenged diners to see the historic rooms upstairs. Ten years after its rescue, Brennan’s is completely under Ralph Brennan’s wing, which has to be a satisfying accomplishment.
The joy of a splendid night out
Speaking of the Brennan family, when I was dining with Ti Adelaide Martin a couple of weeks ago, I took a moment simply to enjoy the atmosphere at Commander’s Palace. The turquoise and white Victorian building dates to 1893, and was founded by Emile Commander, before the Brennans took charge.
Numerous visitors pose out in front for selfies, but I was fascinated by absorbing the scene inside.
When I was young, we often visited Chicago with my mother, and we got to experience the kind of restaurant service that is found in only a few places now. Places like Chez Paul, the Cape Cod Room and Don Roth’s Blackhawk had teams of servers, led by a captain, a wait person, and a dedicated busser.
These places featured touches such as the simultaneous presentation of dishes at the table, and the folding of your napkin if you momentarily left your place. Servers used a crumb scraper to clear off your place at the table before the next course was served, and quietly reset flatware according to dishes you ordered.
This style also existed in Boston at Locke-Ober and the Ritz-Carlton dining room, and in New York at its famous French restaurants such as Lutece and La Grenouille (the latter still with us). But, it had been years since I had enjoyed that type of upscale service, and it was enthralling to see the activity around me.
The other diners seemed to be having a wonderful time, with balloons at birthday tables in specially designed holders, and a ribbon across the tablecloth for those having other types of celebrations like anniversaries. My mother loved coming to New Orleans and I could feel her looking down and basking in the attention.
Many of us live far more casual lives now, but it’s good to know that these historic places can still be found, and to know their heritage. Thank you, Richard, for enlightening me.
Brownies And More From Paul Hollywood
If you’re a fan of the Great British Bake Off, you probably have an opinion of Paul Hollywood. He’s the ultimate alpha male whose handshake has become the show’s coveted seal of approval. He’s also an ace baker who has a new cookbook called Bake coming out this week.
On Friday, Dorie Greenspan featured his brownie recipe in her XOXO Dorie newsletter, to which I recommend you subscribe. This Wednesday, Paul and Dorie will be appearing together at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, to talk about his new cookbook and all things baking.
The Y itself is undergoing an extensive renovation, as you may have read in the New York Times. Its programs are such an asset to the city.
Dorie calls his book a wonderful mix of the personal and professional. “There are good solid lessons in each chapter and tips in each recipe. There’s history – Hollywood sets so many of the recipes in the culture that they came from. It’s a great read. And it’s beautiful.”
I’m looking forward to reading it and making those brownies.
The Bear Returns For Season 2
You may know that the restaurant world is buzzing about The Bear, the fictionalized account of a restaurant that recently began airing on FX and Hulu. The show, which stars Jeremy Allen White, got such an instantaneous reception that Season 2 has now been ordered.
Although the show is set in Chicago, it struck me as more New York-centric than faithful to the Windy City. In particular, the yelling and angst seemed a little overdone for a city known for its Midwestern friendliness. I don’t doubt its overall industry authenticity, it just didn’t seem to fit the Chicago restaurant vibe.
Other people noticed the disparity, too. On Eater Chicago, Ashok Selvam noted that numerous places have tried to riff on the classic Chicago beef sandwich, a centerpiece of the show, only to have their creations fail to catch on.
Not only that, “having a chef with Michelin-star experience helming the kitchen at a beef stand is a giant suspension of disbelief for many Chicagoans,” Ashok wrote. To be fair, Charlie Trotter opened a gourmet market before he died (the chocolate mousse was the best I’ve ever eaten), so there are examples of efforts of top chefs who go down market.
Have you watched The Bear? Will you watch Season 2?
Street Food Is Back With A U.S. Focus
I absolutely love Street Food, the Netflix series that has taken viewers to humble dining spots in Asia and Latin America. Many of those featured have been women chefs, some running their families’ long-standing businesses.
Now, Season 3 of Street Food is on the way next week. This series focuses on the United States. The episodes will be set in New York, Los Angeles, Oahu, Hawaii, Miami, Portland, Oregon, and New Orleans.
One of those featured will be Linda Green, aka Ms. Linda, who made yakamein famous. This salty noodle treat is considered the ultimate hangover food in these parts. Here’s the trailer.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
This week, I wrote for The Takeout about dos and don’ts when your friend opens a new restaurant. It features my visit last week to the soft opening for Bar Sukeman, the izakaya from Jacqueline Blanchard, chef and co-founder of the Coutelier knife and kitchen gear stores. You should definitely stop in when you are here.
I’m excited to see my fall schedule filling up with events for Satisfaction Guaranteed! I’ll be in Michigan in September for back-to-back events in Ann Arbor and Milford. Then, I’ll be making a series of appearances in conjunction with the Jewish Book Council in places such as Toledo, Nashville, Indianapolis and Detroit.
You can find these new dates soon on my website. Please let me know if you plan to attend, I can’t wait to meet you.
You can reach me at culinarywoman at gmail dot com. Find me on Instagram @michelinemaynard and my New Orleans adventures are @micki_in_nola. On Saturday, I waited in like for four hours to pick up hurricane readiness supplies, and you can see my haul there.
A shout out to my friend Christopher Elliott, the creator of Elliott Confidential, which is following the wild world of travel. You can subscribe to Elliott Confidential here, and please recommend him to your friends.
The pandemic is not over. Some of my closest friends have tested positive in the past few weeks. Please get a booster if you are eligible and be careful during your summer vacation.
I’ll see my CulinaryWoman Community members on Monday with a new edition of Red Beans and Advice. Upgrade your subscription and you’ll get my tips, too.
Have a good week.