Trip Report Part III: Commander's Palace

[wish I never left]

[Cont'd from Part II - Dessert at Cuvee]

Finally, for dessert, my wife had a pine nut butter and strawberry ice cream that was very satisfying. I had what must have been a record setting another example of a brulee, this one no less wonderful than the rest. Meanwhile, our friend had the ‘coffe and doughnut’ dish which included an intense and dense flourless chocolate ‘doughnut’ with an incomparable flavor from its Valhrona foundation.

I don’t know that if I had to pick one meal from Cuvee or Coquette, that I could. Surely, I wouldn’t go wrong with either one and I count myself as extremely lucky that I got to enjoy each on consecutive nights. It’s what truly makes this town so wonderful to me.

Sunday Brunch: Commander’s Palace

Do you ever wake up full? The prospect of brunch at 11:00 after the previous days' repasts was a bit daunting. However, there is nothing like the feeling one gets when you are being led through the dining room of Commander’s Palace. A sense of anticipation – of great food, great service, great atmosphere – wells up within you as you become part of the party. I don’t know that this is the best restaurant in town, but it is certainly one of the most evocative.

To start, I enjoyed a Ramos gin fizz while my wife had a bloody mary. We did our best to restrain ourselves from eating too much of the garlic bread, but we are only human and couldn’t help but partaking as we overlooked the menu.

For their appetizers, our friend and my wife had the turtle soup and both reported that it was its regular brilliant self. I had the egg Sardou and it was perhaps my only disappointment during the trip as the egg was a bit overpoached – not enough to send it back but this is my second consecutive brunch at Commander’s where they have failed to deliver this delicacy in top form. The flavors of the dish were otherwise very good - it's too bad they weren't enhanced by a more freely flowing yolk.

A second misstep occurred when our entrees were presented and our friend’s mixed grill was served to him very overcooked. However, this was remedied in what seemed to be a matter of minutes and the matter was quickly forgotten. The replacement dish was good and cooked precisely to order. My wife had the Couchon de lait that she had the last time we were here for brunch. This time, her poached eggs were perfect – I sopped up a bit of sauce with some bread and can vouch for the excellent flavors present on her plate. For myself, I had the crab and avocado frittata. This was good, but there were only one or two good lumps of crab meat in the dish, which was a bit disappointing.

Finally, dessert. It is a pity that one really doesn’t have a choice when it comes to dessert here. Every now and then I or one of my companions will try something else, a strawberry shortcake, or chocolate served seven ways and, no matter how successful that other dish is, nothing can compare to the bread pudding soufflé. Suffice it to say we ordered one each and everybody was happy.