Antoine's Restaurant - New Orleans, LA (A Meal Fit for King Rex)

Photo Courtesy of Louisiana Travel

713 St. Louis St. 

New Orleans, LA 70130

29.956712,-90.066438 

www.antoines.com

If there is one thing that the French Quarter is known for, besides a hell of a place to party, is its incredible restaurants. Here, you will find some of the best food and service that money can buy, sampling traditional Louisiana dishes such as crawfish étouffée, seafood gumbo, jambalaya and the trusty old Lucky Dog, which makes for the perfect late night snack to soak up some alcohol after a night of bar hopping. Not sure if these hot dogs are even that good; hell, they may not even be hot dogs, but after several Hand Grenades at the Tropical Isle and a couple Hurricanes courtesy of Pat O' Briens, anything seems like a delicacy!
Antoine's Restaurant is one of the most prominent restaurants in the French Quarters. A four-star establishment all around, you will never leave here unsatisfied nor hungry. It is here that the famed dish, Oysters Rockefeller was founded, which are basically grilled oysters smothered in a rich sauce of butter, spinach and Parmesan cheese. The name is quite suiting, as it honors the richness of the dish. As I sit here with a beer in hand and a bowl of chips, I am literally drooling on the keyboard, craving a dozen of these beauties!

In 1840, a young French entrepreneur by the name of Antoine Alciatore moved down from New York with high aspirations of opening a grand restaurant in New Orleans. His dreams quickly came to fruition as he opened the doors to his small restaurant only a block away from the current

Beautiful shot of the Rex Room

establishment. In 1868, he would quickly outgrow his original location and move Antoine's to its current spot on St. Louis Street.
From here on, the restaurant would be handed down from generation to generation. Antoine's currently remains the oldest family-ran restaurant in the country! Walking into Antoine's is like a virtual timeline, as you are able to admire and observe the years of notable guests that have dined here. Like a fine wine, Antoine's continues to be improve with age, as each generation of owners find a way to add a little something extra to its cuisine.
The restaurant is divided into various themed rooms. Some represent various Mardi Gras krewes such as Rex, Proteus and 12th Night Revelers. Another room, the Mystery Room, is an homage to the years of prohibition when alcohol could not be served. Boy how the times have changed! A hidden room, accessible through the women's restroom, would allow guests to covertly fill their coffee cups with their favorite illegal drink of choice. Other rooms such as the Oriental Room and the Tabasco Room represent certain eras and regions throughout the world. Being quite a movie fanatic, you will see that I often tend to throw in some "did you know" trivia in for good measures. For those of you that are fans of the Oliver Stone's film "JFK", you will notice that several scenes were filmed at Antoine's.
As if the food and décor were not enough reasons to visit, Antoine's is said to be quite the haunted spot. Staff and guests alike feel that the primary spirits that reside here are Mr. Antoine

"Y'all come back now, ya here!"

Alciatore himself, as well as his grandson, Roy Alciatore, who ran the restaurant for nearly forty years. Many of Roy's collections are scattered through various rooms of Antoine's. Some also feel that the restaurant is haunted by a former black male who is said to be a former waiter, as his apparition has been seen here. Silverware mysteriously vanish and appear in strange locations and are often blamed on him. Staff have also seen strange shadows and have heard disembodied voices when no one else is around.
If you are ever on St. Louis Street, craving fine dining and have enough money to buy a meal larger that those famous Lucky Dogs, I highly suggest you treat yourself to Antoine's. Not only will you enjoy an incredible assortment of Cajun cuisine, you may also be greeted by one its former owners, so dedicated to ensuring that the restaurant prospers, they live on in eternity to oversee their staff even after death.