Commander's Palace

A trip to Commander’s Palace is a culinary Mecca that any foodie visitor or New Orleans native should enjoy at least once.  I’ve been lucky enough to have savored the experience three times, most recently for their three-course Jazz Brunch with my daughters.

We were greeted warmly by the owner and quickly shown to a table in the front room festooned with purple, red, yellow and green balloons.  Joe Simon’s jazz trio was playing in the background – a festive touch.  And, a musical taste of the deliciousness to come.

Our waitress, Natalia, quickly told us about the scrumptious sounding specials. We started with appetizers – I ordered the classic Turtle Soup – a delicious concoction of roux-based beefy tomato, with small chunks of turtle meat – which tastes like dark meat chicken.  The soup is finished at the table by adding the generous circle of sherry.  It’s divine.

One daughter had the Commanders Salad made with hearts of romaine, Parmesan, pressed eggs, house made bacon, French bread croutons, grated Gruyère cheese and creamy black pepper dressing. Very good.  But, both my daughters had their minds made up about their entree. One said her Strawberry and White Chocolate Griddle Cakes was the best thing she’s ever eaten.

Both my daughters have been around the world – so this was high praise. She really liked the syrup laced heavily with Southern Comfort.  The other daughter had Poached Eggs with Hollandaise on a bed of roasted potatoes topped with a large crawfish.  She loved it.  I had a wild shrimp crusted with garlic and rosemary over cornbread saturated with a cayenne pepper based sauce.  I can still taste this wonderful dish.

Neither one of us had room for the dessert but since it was included we just had to take a taste – of course all of us finished off every single bite. I had bananas foster ice cream served in a chocolate cone drizzled with chocolate and topped with crushed pistachio nuts.

One daughter had pecan pie topped with chocolate sauce a la mode.  And, my other daughter had a Praline Parfait – vanilla ice cream with a honey based cookie and a caramel praline sauce topped with pecans.  It was definitely one of the best meals all three of us have ever had – and a great memory.

HelloNew Orleans Tip: Commander’s Palace has a strict dress code. No shorts. Jackets are preferred at dinner.

- by Constance Hannon, New Orleans Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)