It was our last day in New Orleans. We had seen Rodrigue’s Blue Dog paintings, taken a walking tour led by a Choctaw guide, visited Louisiana’s oldest museum (The Confederate Memorial Hall), and had done some souvenir shopping. This would be followed by the best dinner I would have in my entire life: Antoine’s. American author William S. Burroughs said, “You can’t fake quality any more than you can fake a good meal.” Everything about it was perfection. By this time I had been lucky enough to dine in Paris, Venice, New York, Quebec, Spain, and other places, plus all of Dallas’ finest restaurants over the years. Antoine’s graciously surpassed them all with a superlative mix of French/Southern cuisine, charm, hospitality, and eloquence. It was like stepping back in time and I was so glad we’d chosen to have our anniversary dinner here. Next to “Little House on the Prairie”, my all-time favorite TV show is “Frasier”. In one episode the Crane brothers decided to buy their favorite restaurant which was closing. They renamed it Le Frères Heureux (The Happy Brothers) and of course they meddled so much on opening night it was a disaster. All through the evening they each kept furtively adding a “‘soupçon'” of brandy to the Cherries Jubilee. In the end one hears a loud “whump” followed by a flash of light coming from the dining room. The kitchen doors blow inward and a billow of smoke wafts in followed by the poor woman who lit the dessert. Her face was covered in soot, her hair standing on end, and her dress stained red. With a stunned look of wide-eyed shock she delivered one of the funniest lines ever: “Big blue flash … cherries everywhere …” I could not help grinning so widely my molars were probably seen as I recalled this during our heavenly finish to the perfect dinner. Voila, pictured here is our Cherries Jubilee. Antoine’s started in 1840 and the staff, upon discovering it was our anniversary, graciously gave us a copy of their famous cookbook signed by the family. It contains a collection of original recipes from classic drinks like the Mint Julep to incredible sauces, Béchamel and Bourguignonne being two of my favorites, as well as desserts — like Cerises Jubilee.
