Galatoire’s
One of the country’s oldest dining rooms is still among its most elegant—and raucous. Tuxedoed waiters swan around the city’s society ladies, soused judges, Carnival royalty, and bewildered tourists, leading the crowd in “Happy Birthday” sing-alongs. Your order: an impeccable Sazerac, soufflé potatoes and shrimp rémoulade for the table, plump black drum (that’s a fish) meunière buried under a snowy heap of crabmeat (or, for the renegade, eggs Benedict as a main course), finished with a round of café brûlot, an alcoholic coffee set on fire tableside. If that was lunch, stay for dinner. If that was dinner, toddle out to Bourbon Street for a digestif. Watch your step!
PRO TIP: Jackets required—no exceptions (spares are on hand). Friday lunch is the best time for prime people watching. No reservations accepted; wait in the bar upstairs.
THE DETAILS: Closed Mondays. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.
