Antoine's
Antoine's
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1899368

Antoine's

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1899368

Antoine's

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Antoine's

Antoine's is a Louisiana Creole cuisine restaurant located in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is one of the oldest family-run restaurants in the United States, having been established in 1840 by Antoine Alciatore. A New Orleans institution, it is the birthplace of several famous dishes, such as oysters Rockefeller, pompano en papillote, eggs Sardou and pigeonneaux paradis. Antoine's Cookbook, compiled by the fifth-generation proprietor Roy F. Guste features hundreds of recipes from the Antoine's tradition. It is also known for its VIP patrons including several U.S. presidents and Pope John Paul II.

Antoine's features a 25,000 bottle capacity wine storage and 15 dining rooms of varying sizes and themes, with several featuring Mardi Gras krewe memorabilia. The menu features classic French-Creole dishes. By tradition, it's closed to the general public on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Mardi Gras, though it can be reserved for private parties. As of March 2020, the executive chef was Rich Lee.

Antoine's was founded by Antoine Alciatore in 1840 and run by him until 1875. After his death at the age of 55, Julie Freyss Alciatore, his wife, took over while their son Jules Alciatore got culinary training in France. Upon his return in 1887, he took control of the restaurant until 1934. During this time, Jules also acquired property around the original restaurant as it became available, including a former slave quarters and carriage house. Antoine's eventually could accommodate 800 people in its 15 dining rooms. Each dining room was decorated according to a theme, many of the themes referencing a Mardi Gras krewe, such as Rex, Proteus, Twelfth Night or Maison Verte. Later, his son, Roy Alciatore, took over until 1972. After Roy's death, William J. Guste and Roy Guste, both Antoine Alciatore's great-grandchildren, took over for a brief three years before appointing Roy Guste Jr., who managed the restaurant until 1984. For the next twenty years, between 1985 and 2004, the restaurant would be managed by Bernard "Randy" Guste, Roy Guste Jr.'s cousin. Rick Blount, son of Yvonne Alciatore Blount who is Roy's daughter, was brought in as owner and manager in 2005 as an attempt to save the restaurant from a critical economic state. Under his management, the restaurant recovered after Hurricane Katrina. He saw to many renovations in its infrastructure, as well as menu changes and changes in the dining rooms.

Judy Williamson of The Dallas Morning News wrote in 1984 that waitstaff were often discourteous to people not from New Orleans and people from the city who had not formed relationships with them, but "If you can overlook these things, you will be rewarded."

The current owner, Rick Blount, describes Antoine's food as "Haute Creole", characterized as innovative and sophisticated Creole cooking with strong French traditions. The restaurant has a non-seasonal à-la-carte menu that features dishes with regional influences such as turtle, pompano, redfish, and shellfish, with preparation techniques that reflect a French aesthetic. Throughout its history and changing menus, Antoine's has had very little Cajun influence, and featured no Italian foods.

Pompano en papillote, a specialty of Louisiana Creole cuisine, was invented at Antoine's.

Cellars are not practical in New Orleans because the water table is very high. Therefore, Antoine's has what is best described as a "wine alley", a corridor 165 feet (50 m) long, lined by wine racks and carefully air-conditioned. Guests who are present at closing time are sometimes offered a tour of Antoine's, which includes the 15 dining rooms and many display cases full of Antoine's memorabilia.

Antoine's is also known for Café Brûlot, a drink made from coffee, orange liqueur, cinnamon stick, sugar, cloves, and lemon peels. At Antoine's, the coffee is customarily flamed when it is served as part of a dessert course.

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