Galatoire's Restaurant in New Orleans

Folks Bid $150-Plus Just for a Table on the Friday Before Mardi Gras

Feb 7, 2009

Galatoire's is so loved for its authentic French Creole cuisine that patrons line up on Bourbon Street for hours just to get in. Or pay others to stand in line for them.

Four generations of Frenchman Jean Galatoire's family have run the French Quarter restaurant over the past century, resisting change in their menu and service traditions. Only recently have they bent their no-reservation policy and then only for the restaurant's second floor dining room. But the customers keep lining up to get in, especially on Fridays.

The lines on the Fridays before Christmas and Mardi Gras became so long, that Galatoire patrons were paying other people to stand, or sit on temporary sidewalk chairs, for hours to obtain spots in the main dining room.

Rather than drop its no-reservation policy, the Galatoires began a new tradition in 2006, six months after Hurricane Katrina. The restaurant started a semi-annual charity auction to sell seats in the first floor dining room for the Fridays before Christmas and Mardi Gras. Auction bids start at $150 per chair and must cover at least two chairs. Food and drink costs are in addition to the bids.

In the six auctions conducted in 2006, 2007 and 2008, the restaurant raised $375,000 for charitable organizations. The auctions are conducted about two weeks before Christmas and Mardi Gras.

Rodrigue and Gooch Attempt to Purchase

Early in 2009, Chief Operating Officer Melvin Rodrigue and David Gooch, a Galatorie family member who serves as a restaurant manager, began a move to purchase the restaurant from the family, promising to maintain its traditions. Four of the 30 family members who own the restaurant filed suit to block the sale. The conflict could last for months.

The restaurant was started in 1905 by Jean Galatoire, who brought over family recipes from his home in the tiny village of Pardies near the French Pyrenees mountains.

Galatoire's now calls itself "the grand dame of New Orleans old-line restaurants," a title that might also be claimed by the larger Antoines, which was started in 1840. Arnauds, the third jewel among the French Quarter "old-line restaurants," was founded in 1918.

James Beard Foundation Award

The James Beard Foundation's presented its San Pelligrino Outstanding Restaurant Award to Galatoire's in 2005, recognizing it as the U.S. restaurant that serves as the standard bearer of consistence of quality and excellence in food, atmosphere and service. In more recent years it has been honored by Zagat Magazine, Wine Spectator Magazine, New Orleans Magazine, The Times-Picayune, Gambit Weekly and food critic Tom Fitzmorris.

Galatoire's is now known for its French Creole cuisine, including such dishes as Stuffed Eggplant, Poisson (Fish) Meuniere Amadine, Sauteed Poisson with Crabmeat Yvonne, Lamb Chops Béarnaise, Crabmeat Sardou, Chicken Clemenceau and Filet Béarnaise.

Its appetisers include fried eggplant and souffle potatoes bearnaise, shrimp remoulade, oysters Rockefeller, crabmeat maison, oysters en brochette and Galatoire grand goute

The copyright of the article Galatoire's Restaurant in New Orleans in French Cuisine is owned by Carroll Trosclair. Permission to republish Galatoire's Restaurant in New Orleans in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.