No trip to New Orleans would be complete without a visit to Brennan’s Restaurant, one of the top restaurants in New Orleans and the French Quarter!

No trip to New Orleans would be complete without a visit to Brennan’s Restaurant, one of the top restaurants in New Orleans and the French Quarter, located at 417 Royal Street, (www.brennansneworleans.com).

Brennan’s Restaurant had an unusual beginning. In 1946 Owen Edward Brennan, spurred on by a challenge from his good friend, Count Arnaud, who owned a very popular restaurant, challenged Owen to open his own restaurant when Owen was forever complaining about other restaurants. Count Arnaud told him that if he could do it better, than he should open up his own restaurant, and he did! He leased the Vieux Carre Restaurant on Bourbon Street, and promptly named the restaurant for himself, Owen Brennan’s French & Creole Restaurant, which later became known as Owen Brennan’s Vieux Carre.

Owen Brennan’s restaurant flourished; he created a new gastronomic experience, “Breakfast at Brennan’s”, to compete with “Dinner at Antoine’s”, after the Frances Parkinson Keyes’ publication, “Dinner at Antoine’s” was published. Since “Dinner at Antoine’s” was such a success, he figured New Orleans was ready for “Breakfast at Brennan’s”. When his landlord wanted to increase his rent, he moved his very successful restaurant to its present location on Royal Street in 1955. Brennan’s continued to prosper, despite Owen Brennan’s untimely death on November 4, 1955, at the age of 45 of a massive coronary. Despite the tragedy, the Brennan family kept the restaurant going, and today it is run by Owen Brennan’s sons, Pip, Jimmy, and Ted. Some of the dishes made world-famous at Brennan’s, include Bananas Foster and Eggs Hussarde, which combined the skill of Chef Paul Blange, and Owen’s careful scrutiny.

Although Brennan’s is famous for its “Breakfast at Brennan’s,” with a wine list of 65 pages, my husband and I had to try “Dinner at Brennan’s!” When you walk into Brennan’s you are transported to another era. 417 Royal Street is a very historic building that was built in 1795. From it’s beginning, it has played a role in many different lives. In 1804 it served as La Banque de la Louisiane. In 1820 it became the home of Martin Gordon, a clerk of the United States District Court, whose good friend, General Andrew Jackson, often visited his home for dinner. In 1841, Louisiana Judge Alonzo Morphy purchased the building. Judge Morphy was the father of the celebrated American chess player, Paul Morphy. In 1884, William Ratcliffe Irby, a member of the Board of Administrators at Tulane University, purchased the building from the Morphy heirs, and donated the historical structure to the University in 1920. In 1954, Owen leased the property from Tulane, and thirty years later the Brennan’s bought the landmark from Tulane University.

The restaurant is elegant, yet comfortable, fine dining with impeccable service. The restaurant has 12 elegantly appointed dining rooms, some with fireplaces, and a total capacity of 550 patrons. The former slave quarters of the Pre-Civil War mansion has been converted to Brennan’s award-winning wine cellar. There is a romantic courtyard with a fountain, and lush foliage.

From the time we were seated at our table, to the time we reluctantly left after we finished our dinner, our waiter, Ron, who has been with Brennan’s for over 10 years, always anticipated any needs that we might have. The menu is so ample, that it was a hard decision to choose between the a la carte menu and the Four Course Prix Fixe menu, and with an extensive award-winning 65 page wine list, it was hard to select only one wine.

After much debate, and Ron’s assistance, we selected the a la carte menu and chose the Crepe Barbara and Hearts of Palm Salad to begin our epicurean odyssey at Brennan’s. The crepe was filled with lump crabmeat and shrimp, topped with Hollandaise sauce and grated Parmesan cheese, and then perfectly broiled to a delicate golden brown - pure heaven in every bite. The Hearts of Palm Salad had a vinaigrette dressing that was unusual enough to keep your mouth wanting more. For our wine, we selected a Chateau Fuisse, 1998 Pouilly Fuisse. The wine was soft and delicious on our palates.

For our entrées we chose Shrimp Sardou and Brennan’s Blackened Redfish. The Shrimp Sardou is deliciously spicy fried shrimp atop sliced artichoke hearts nestled on a bed of creamed spinach and covered with Hollandaise sauce. Brennan’s Blackened Redfish was grilled with Brennan’s own seasonings and served with glazed carrots.

We enjoyed our entrees, and found just enough room to share a Bananas Foster for dessert. Bananas Foster was created by Chef Paul Blange in 1951, and was on our list of “must tries.” Bananas Foster consists of bananas sautéed in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and banana liqueur, and then flamed in rum. This special creation is served over vanilla ice cream. Ron made our Bananas Foster tableside and after 10 years the man is a pro! Our dessert was perfect, and the show was spectacular.

Brennan’s is a restaurant that you want to keep returning to, to be able to sample the entire menu skillfully executed by Executive Chef Michael Rousel. Chef Mike has been with Brennan’s since 1956, when he started there as a busboy. He worked his way through the kitchen, and after his long apprenticeship with Brennan’s Chef Paul Blange, he became Executive Chef in 1975, and has continued to preserve and enhance Brennan’s reputation for excellence.

However, since you eventually must return home, or at least we did, we were pleased to find that Brennan’s has a cookbook, Breakfast at Brennan’s, and Dinner, too! which features the recipes they use in the restaurant. For this issue of Luxury Experience, please read the Chefs' Recipes, where Brennan’s generously provided their recipes for Crêpe Barbara, Hearts of Palm Salad, Shrimp Sardou, Brennan’s Blackened Redfish, and Bananas Foster. Should you wish to purchase a copy of this wonderful cookbook, you may do so by contacting Brennan’s. The cookbook is full of Brennan’s history and old New Orleans, and well as having fabulous recipes, that may help carry you over until you can to return to Brennan’s Restaurant.

Brennan’s serves Breakfast or Brunch from 8:00 am – 2:30 pm, Luncheon Specials from 11:30 am – 2:30 pm Monday through Friday, Dinner is served from 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm, and it is open seven days per week except for Dinner on Christmas Eve, and Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner on Christmas.

Brennan’s Restaurant
417 Royal Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
Telephone:  + 1 504-525-9711
Fax:       +1 504-525-2302
Web Site:    www.brennansneworleans.com
E-mail:      This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

© August 2004. Luxury Experience www.luxuryexperience.com All rights reserved.