Speaking of tourism encroachment

The general premise here is that Antoine's went all in on tourism and lost.

Antoine's is just sad now. Gone is the formality and the touches which made it unique. Antoine's splendor has been replaced by shorts, the tourist trade, and tennis shoes. Gone is the grand dining of Escoffier and Alciatore. Verbatim transaction at table next to ours, "Our house blend of five lettuces tossed with our homemade vinaigrette and crumbled blue cheese...Sure we can leave off the blue cheese and put the dressing on the side," the waiter remarks. He just sold her lettuce and free refills of iced tea.

The other grand dames have held onto traditions and standards, and eventually this has paid off for them. The dining rooms at Galatoire's are full, boisterous, and filled with well heeled locals. Dinner at Arnaud's is still marked by formality and solid cooking. The various rooms at Antoine's are largely empty and deservedly so. Antoine's chased the buck and now all that is left is a pitiful reminder of what was once a treasure.

Great. Now I'll never convince anyone to go with me.  I figure I'm obligated to hit all of the "grand dames" at least once before the cholesterol finally stops my heart.

On a related note, we went to Mandina's, which is something of a petite dame, on Saturday night and ate a pile of fried seafood.


Roughly half-finished appetizer serving of calamari at Mandiana's. They don't give you nearly enough food.


All of it quite basic. None of it "sad" or as badly screwed up as what's described above. So, you know, worth it.