exterior – 1403 Washington Ave., New Orleans, LA, 70130 Commander’s Palace has been on this blog several times, but this time we were back for lunch.  The menu is smaller and cheaper and they still off 25¢ martinis which come in several variations.  No wonder they had a good crowd but it also turned out to be KingsDay, which is the start of Carnival Season and so there were tables of people…

Commander’s Palace (update), New Orleans, 3/21/22

exterior It’s been almost 7 years since I’ve been to Commander’s Palace.  The last meal was so disappointing I haven’t wanted to go back but enter Chef Megan “Meg” Bickford, who has worked in the kitchen since 2008 but in Oct. 2020 became Executive Chef, following the 18 year reign of Tory McPhail.  She has livened it up and tonight’s meal was the best I’ve ever had at Commander’s.   It has been…

On Monday, we drove down from Vicksburg to New Orleans. Avoiding the interstates meant we took in some of the prettiest parts of rural Mississippi and Louisiana. We also managed a super lunch at Cafe Boulee in Franklinton, LA.

By Monday afternoon, we had reached the Big Easy.

I hadn’t visited New Orleans since before big hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005. Despite my reading and research, I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I found is a renewed city, reborn with new energy, and very much on the up.

New Orleans has always been one of America’s great food cities, with its magical fusion of global cuisines, lately influenced by new forces like Vietnamese and Honduran. We tried to strike a balance between the traditional and the intriguing, but the whole experience was just as outstanding as you might expect.

We started Monday at Commander’s Palace. A New Orleans institution, Commander’s Palace has managed to deliver consistent greatness for decades, in spite of suffering extensive damage in the 2005 hurricane. Our experience was no different. Chef Tony McPhail’s menu delivered interested twists on classics, elevating dishes and experimenting with new approaches. Its success was not unlike Sean Brock’s Husk — taking the best from traditional southern (or, in this case, cajun), and pushing further, using the best ingredients.

My starter was an intriguing Crawfish Gnocchi, which represents an innovative twist on cajun cooking. My main was uber-traditional crusted gulf fish. And dessert was a heart-warming, miraculous bread pudding soufflé.

On Tuesday, I took in the sites, visiting the WWII museum and walking the length of Magazine Street, home to New Orleans’ most interesting local shops.

Lunch was Po’Boys at Felix’s Oyster Bar, which was fine, if a poor substitute for Acme Oyster Company across the street, where we were defeated by the queue, and my friend’s need to get to the airport for his afternoon flight.

Dinner that night was at NOLA, Emeril Lagasse’s newly remodelled place in the French Quarter. Now,  can already see the eye-rolling, but I was a fan of Emeril way back when, and I’d heard good things about NOLA. It didn’t disappoint. Like Brock and McPhail, Emeril builds on tradition, keeping the most heartwarming, evocative bits, and pushing hard for big flavours. I enjoyed an intriguing pasta dish, and an outstanding tuna dish that amounted to a cajun twist on Salad Nicoise. After a week of rich souther food, it was just what I needed.

Wednesday, I started the day with iconic beignets, and then spent the morning walking them off. I found my way to the French Market, which was pretty disappointing, with the exception of a stall or two still hanging onto the old ways. Then I walked up Frenchmen Street, home of locals’ bars and great music venues. I felt like I had found the essence of New Orleans which once inhabited Bourbon Street, but had been pushed out by tourists looking for a cheap Hurricane.

Lunch was at the new-ish La Roche Marketing, in the Faubourg-Marginy District. Long a run-down area abutting the Quarter, Marginy is now fashionable, and rapidly gentrifying. La Roche Market is a small collection of food stalls in a reclaimed building on the edge of the neighbourhood. The stalls are full of interesting, young cooks doing fascinating things. I got in touch with my inner cajun Canadian by going for Crawfish Poutine at King Creole. It was fantastic. And I left wishing I had 5 or 6 stomachs so that I could have tried more.

Another long walk took me to Louis Armstrong Park and, eventually, back to the hotel for a rest.

I saved my final night in New Orleans for a trip down memory lane. It started with a Sazerac at the Carousel Bar, and continued with dinner at Galatoire’s, which I first visited on New Years Eve 1990 for one of the most memorable meals I’ve ever experienced. I arrived expecting to wait in line, but went straight in. After learning that my favourite waiter — who looked after me on my last visit about 15 years ago — had recently defected to Brennan’s, I was seated at a great table in the back, with a view of the whole restaurant. I was pleased that nothing had changed. Oysters Rockefeller were perfect. Lovely and warm. Nothing too overwhelming. Then came Red fish, smothered in a crawfish meunière sauce. Dessert was Pecan Pie.