Nawlins Eats: Commander's Palace

On all of my previous visits to New Orleans, I had been unable to get a reservation at the Commander's Palace Restaurant located in the famed Garden District. This time, I was determined to dine there!



This time, SUCCESS! Sure, I had to take a late dinner time (I believe my reservation was for 9pm) but I didn't care!



The decor of the restaurant was unlike any other I had been to. Immediately, I could tell that this was going to be a unique and elegant experience.



My gut feeling is that the "new" Club 33 was attempting to emulate the look of Commander's Palace which is bright, clean, upscale, but not stuffy.



Commander's Palace succeeds; Club 33 doesn't. I received impeccable service from the entire staff that was just right without being intrusive.



First up was the Amuse Bouche.



For my appetizer, the Gumbo du Jour was a great choice:



For the main course, Filet of Black Angus Beef that melted in my mouth.



Lally's Praline Parfait was the perfect ending to this amazing culinary experience; my only gripe was that it could have used more caramel sauce. Not that I really needed it, though!



Still hungry? Waddle on over to my main website and see more New Orleans restaurant shots.

MTV's Real World New Orleans

MTV's groundbreaking show, The Real World, chose New Orleans for its ninth season, which ran from June through November 2000. This marked the last time I actually took time to watch The Real World; I was already getting a little long in the tooth to follow the adventures of the collegiate set. The cast lived in The Belfort House, a 19th century Greek Revival Mansion on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans' Garden District. I took the first two shots during a Spring 2002 visit.



Flash forward 13 years later and I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the house that was once very high profile. I cruised up and down St. Charles and couldn't find a single home with the Belfort name above the doorway. About the third time I trudged by all the mansions I noticed this residence which looked vaguely familiar. I hadn't bothered to write the down address, so on a chance, I took this photo:



Sure enough, it was the right place. When I got home and compared the doorways I knew I'd captured the right home! After the show, the house was in a state of renovation for about four years, as it was converted back into a single family residence. Apparently the new owner did not want to keep the Belfort name.



Author Anne Rice made an appearance on episode 12 as she invited the Real World cast to ride on a Mardi Gras float; at the time Rice also had a house located in the Garden District. Here it is circa 2002:



View more GORGEOUS southern mansions in the Garden District at my main website.