This weekend I checked one more thing off my bucket list, dining at Antoine’s Restaurant. We had 8:00 reservations for our party of 8 in the Large Annex Room located next to the Hermes Bar (we could hear the music but it was not too loud). Yours truly had an autographed picture of Delta Burke staring at me. She was beautiful, but I recalled her weight problems so may have shoveled in a little less food for the occasion – LOL! Hubby called ahead for the dress code, business casual, coat and tie preferred but not required. It was kind of a disappointment to see how low some people will take this dress attire for a historic New Orleans dining experience. I understand many were going for a night out in the French Quarter, as were we and there was a parade that day, but you don’t have to wear a t-shirt and beads to dine! Our party looked fabulous as the men all dressed up as did the women. Yay for us!

Our head waiter was Eddie Tassin and Stephen was his trusty sidekick. He provided entertainment for the evening and educated us on his history with Antoine’s (been with them for over 20 years), the above ground wine cellar history, Katrina stories regarding the restaurant, and made food and drink recommendations that were right on target. Eddie even gave us all his card for future bookings. After dinner, Stephen gave us a tour through the restaurant and lost the ladies as we got sucked into the gorgeous Rex room with all the fine displays of gowns, crowns, photos and scepters. Next time we are choosing that room as there is no additional charge to dine there.

As for the food, I had the pompano with crab meat while hubby feasted on the NY strip. There was lots of fish and steak at the table and plenty of appetizers and vegetables to share. We were originally supposed to have one more dine with us, and it seemed an extra of everything landed on the table for all of us to pick at. Eddie suggested we order the baked Alaska for 5 (but easily fed 10), ahead of time, as it would take 90 minutes to prepare. We decided that would be a winner to end our dining experience. We all very much enjoyed our food and those who ordered steak were amazed that no steak knives were available nor needed.

The service was a little slow and certainly not white glove as compared to many other restaurants in town. We had dessert served to us when there was still some food on the table, oops. My husband said dining at Antoine’s was a little more like family dining without the family prices. The baked Alaska was fabulous and there was extra chocolate sauce to drizzle over it. We dined about 2 and a half hours and had a wonderful time; good food and friends are always a winning combination. However, I am not sure I feel the need to rush back to Antoine’s any time soon as there are many other restaurants on my bucket list. I guess I’m getting a little spoiled dining in New Orleans as I really expect a lot nowadays when dining and probably set my expectations a little to high for Antoine’s.

But, please don’t think I did not have a fabulous time – I DID!!!