CP DeSTIn
Commander's FalQpenln
at HarborWalk Village
We are thrilled to announce that Commander's
Palace will open in Destin, Florida at the
HarborWalk Village surrounding the new
Emerald Grande, Destin has long been the
playground for New Orleanians and this grand
four star development by Peter Bos proves that
Destin is a" grown up, We look forward to
serving you there with one of the South's most
breathtaking views as the backdrop, Fresh Lime
Daiquiri on the rocks, anyone?
Note: Endless cool breeze on the outdoor
patio. Big sigh. See you there - Spring 08.
~oidaypmes
It's never too soon to start planning
for your next holiday party.
Call our party planners at
Commander's - 504.899.9591 or
Cafe Adelaide - 504.595.3305. gifts Need last minute gifts?
Kitchen
Cookbooks and
Commander's
gift certificates
are always
the fit.
FALL 2007'
CLOSED FOR 13 MONTHS BUT REOPENED WITH GUSTO
Hurricane Katrina brought our mother ship-Commander~s
Palace-to its knees along with the city of New Orleans.
The aqua blue grand dame had served New Orleans Haute
Creole cuisine cookingfor 125 years straight when closed.
The front doors were boarded shut and rain was slicing
through the fallen-in roof A second dose of trauma
followed three weeks later with Hurricane Rita.
~en-nothing-an empty ciij with no power and
no water. A city in crisis and a people torn apart.
The memories are still raw and the
effects have been life changing. Our
team - our family - was scattered
across the country. When we allow
ourselves to think of the mass
destruction and death of those early
days, we realize the progress we have
made. Far, far too slowly and too
many blunders to count, but still a
world of progress from 24 months ago.
The ~spa Parade
The problems of our region have been
so overwhelming that it may seem
irrational to some to spend millions to
reopen. So call us irrational, because
coming back strong was never a
question. We love this city too much,
she's been too good to us to do anything
other than everything we could to help
rebuild New Orleans.
Continued on back page
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The problems of our
region have been
so overwhelming
that to some it may
seem irrational to
spend millions to
reopen a restaurant ...
So call us irrational!
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n the and
~'re going to say it: Most cocktails in most places
are awful! While we have had a front row seat at the
early rumblings and then the absolute liji off of the
American food scene in the last 30 years the art of
well made cocktails was lost along the way. ~ can
only surmise that as Americans learned more and
more about wine, the cocktail became an
afterthought. Not so for us.
A great meal- the elusive perfect meal- has transcendent
food, service that magically appears and disappears at all
the right times, ambience galore (be it funky or elegant)
wine to enhance the food, but it begins - and maybe ends
- with a perfect cocktail.
When we were growing up our parents entertained
a lot! French 75s, Absinthe Frappes, and
Milk Punches were served along with the martinis.
When we opened Cafe Adelaide in 2003 we wanted
cocktails to get their due. So the bar had its own room
- just like in Aunt Adelaide's house - and its own name -
the Swizzle Stick Bar. The bar is built around a refrigerated
spot with a large block of ice where we can hand chip ice.
(It's better that way - the ice melts more slowly and it
crackles.) The bar is named after Aunt Adelaide's swizzle
stick necklace that looked like a gold pendant - ntil she
leaned over her drink and pushed a tiny lever, releasing
three prongs, and swizzled her drink - with all eyes on her.
How could we not grow up being fascinated with cocktails?
The cocktail culture at Commander's Palace, led by
bartender Danny Valdez is about his respect for the
profession, his natural curiosity about the origin of drinks
and ingredients, as well as a natural creativity led by a fine
palate. The bar is in the kitchen and next to the chef's
table, which has led Danny and Chef Tory McPhail to
dream up a long line of serious cocktails like their recent
peach II}oon~hine.
So - "In the Land of Cocktails" is our story - New
Orleans' story - of cocktails as part of our culture. We
want our little book to be a part of a cocktail revolution!
It is our hope that some story or recipe in our book will
make you say - "I want to make that drink." And that you
will, until you perfect it. And then - here's the good part
- when you go out, you'll order that drink and you'll insist
that it be made properly! And like that - the revolution
takes hold and one fine day no more awful cocktails will
be served in all the land!
For us,
a cocktail is
the beginning
of a perfect meal.
well made
'""' .... -.r~·il.
Eggscellent Adventure
work lining up his culinary
team and menu, Lally and
Dottie Brennan set out to
refurbish the restaurant's
interior space. Consulted
by Ann Dupuy, the ladies
traded their menus in for
color palettes and got
down to business.
Their fabulous taste,
we think, is most evident!
True "foodies" are restless. Their pursuit of the next
great sauce - or an innovation to improve a classic dish
keeps them stirring, pushing. That's just the way it is.
Good enough - isn't! It's okay - we like it that way.
So sometimes we go in a direction that we thought
we knew, only to discover bypassed gems and
uncharted territory.
So it is with eggs. Lally and Ti are pretty sure eggs paid
for our education. We love eggs. All kinds of eggs. The
beloved plump poached eggs of brunch, perfect
scrambled eggs, eggs with caviar, in salads, the perfect
omelet, and on and on. So Chef Tory and Chef Danny
have decided to share our mutual love of eggs with you
all this fall. These two good friends battle it out - you
win. They have decided to do tasting menus and
dinners this fall that are riffs on eggs. We can't wait.
The humble egg has always been a vital if unheralded
part of all great cuisines - certainly ours. Focusing on
this single humble ingredient takes us down
unexpected paths. Join us on this eggscellent
adventure!
CAFE ADELAIDE TASTING MENU
Diver Scallop & Caviar Deviled Egg
Scallop ceviche, mirlitons and Atchafalaya Basin Bowfin Roe
Fleur de lis Blue Crab Souffle
Louisiana blue crab, melted leeks, oyster mushrooms and Bitte weet Plantation cheese fondue
Menage A Foie Martini
Pecan crusted foie gras, Foie gras brioche and Foie gras Sabayon with Bocage honeycomb
and Chilton County peach preserves
Pomegranate Molasses Glazed Bobwhite Quail
Quail egg fried rice, Fire roasted plum & quail crepinette with Creole Shrub syrup
New Orleans Rum & Mango Flan
Toasted almond crisp and Hawaiian Gold Pineapple curd
COMMANDER'S STING OF AUTUMN EGGS
Champagne and Caviar Omelette
Prosecco poached jumbo lump crabmeat, Sturgeon caviar, preserved lemon and charred parsley sauce
Creole "Egg Drop" Soup
Smokey quail consomme with a poached quail egg, hickory grilled trinity, chopped herbs
and Basil Hayden bourbon
Legs and Eggs
Buttermilk fried frog legs, white truffle scrambled eggs and Hennessey cognac-caviar cream
Grilled Lobster "Benedict"
A crab boiled hen's egg with house made tasso, smoked corn blini, Choupique caviar
and Champagne sabayon
--JThe Faberge Egg
A milk chocolate Cadbury Egg injected with Jack Daniels over a dark chocolate torte,
whfte chocolate whipped cream, chocolate covered espresso beans, liquefied mango and edible gold
COMMANDER'S IS BACK - continuedfromfront cover
This feeling of commitment was true before
Katrina. We were planning a 125th Birthday Bash
for the old gal (and an 80th birthday dinner for
Ella) to be complete with a grand dinner and a
street party to celebrate the years of memories and
the constant striving of Commander's Palace to be
the very best. As part of that celebration we had
written "A Love Letter to New Orleans" that was
going to be mailed out and printed in the Times-
How do you tell a city you love her?
Like a love letter, do you tell her how beautiful she is in your eyes? ... That from the
clanging rumble of the streetcar with their rusty sand smell kicking up behind them
to the quiet calm of the comforting oaks of City Park to the "never know when to
go home" zest for life of the citizenry ... all of it. That you know every inch of her.
The good and the bad and that you wouldn't trade being of and from New Orleans
for any location on earth.
Maybe you start with the thank you's!
Thank you New Orleans. Thank you for celebrating so much of your lives with us.
Celebrating graduations, marriages, anniversaries, birthdays and just cause it's
Tuesday with us. We've been through floods, hurricanes, new chefs, and new menus.
We've been through deaths in your families and ours. You've always been there for
us and for that we have tried to be a restaurant you could be proud of. We may hold
the keys but we've always felt Commander's belonged to you.
We were all raised to be ambassadors for New Orleans ... taught that if we did what
was best for New Orleans and worked really hard to try to be the very best restaurant
in the country that we'd succeed in the long run. We don't always reach that goal,
but we can assure you there is no one trying harder.
Commander's Palace opened as a restaurant in 1880. This year Commander's Palace
is 125 years old. Our family bought it in 1969 and went to work day to day in the
restaurant in 1974. We like to think she was reborn then - given new life. Respectful
of her great past but never reigned in by it. Pushing ... pushing to make New Orleans
food the best in the country and to get the world to notice. Well, its 31 years since
that rebirth. We'd like to think that on her best days, the old gal is looking sassy.
That she has truly come into her own with nothing but energy and ideas to keep
improving what we do every day. For us, Commander's is that - an idea, an attitude
about hospitality and food and dining memories- more than a restaurant or a
building or a color. If Commander's could talk, she'd say "125 years old and all our
best meals are still ahead of us."
So thank you, New Orleans. We'll take any awards they are giving out, but the best
has always been you. You, coming again and again to celebrate the good life as only
New Orleanians know it.
Celebrating 125 years at Commander's Palace.
We thank you!
Lally, Ti~ Dottie~ Ella~ Alex~ Brad
And the team at Commander~s Palace
Picayune. We think this letter rings true even now
so we would like to share it with you as a closing
note to this newsletter.
Then, as now, at Commander's Palace, we're
always looking ahead to what's next. How do we
make Commander's Palace better today than
yesterday? So our rallying cry was and is, "All our
best meals are ahead of us!" Happy belated
birthday Commander's! You've never looked
better!
