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A friend from out of town invited me to lunch at Galatoire's on Saturday.

And since nothing ever changes there, I hesitated to post anything about the lunch. But I had really forgotten how good it can be.

The same warm, killer French bread hits the table as soon as you sit down. So many trendy places seem to have forgotten how far that takes you - simply getting people started off right - get a glass of good wine or a cocktail in their hand and something to munch on right away. That is half the battle, right there. I know I'm happy, at least.

But I enjoyed finding their old classics still alive and as strong as ever. The Rockefeller is still the benchmark imo, as is their remoulade (even though the shrimp were overcooked to a mush, maybe even frozen, the friggin' sauce was so good that we didn't complain a bit). We were practically stabbing each other trying to get to the remoulade. Ditto for their same old oysters en brouchette.

I had pompano with crabmeat. I think that is my favorite salt water fish; I love that firm texture. Others had redfish and turtle soup. Turtle soup may still be the best around. The redfish was more buttery than my pompano and consequently it was heavier.

That bread pudding of theirs is hard to beat, too.

Later on, you do feel the heaviness of that old-style cooking, though. It is very rich.

But afterwards, I was glad they wanted to go down to the quarter, even on a Saturday. It reminded me of the value of checking in on some of the old standards, now and then.

I thought they had a good crowd for a Sat. lunch in this economy and near Thanksgiving; about half of downstairs full - upstairs closed.

I have to get there when I start craving the oysters en brouchette, they are that adictive.

You hit the nail on the head...sitting down at Galatoire's, you get the bread and your cocktail of choice, and there mine is usually a martini with their anchovy stuffed olives. It's the perfect beginning of a great meal.

Nice review, thanks for sharing. Made me smile

I'm glad you enjoyed it, but I am not accustomed to writing reviews and I completely forgot the most important part - we had a blast! I was still laughing on Sunday and I'm still smiling on Monday.

I forgot how much fun a Galatoire's crowd can be.

How many places do we go that serve great food, but for some reason or another, they are simply not "fun places".

For me and the benefit of others like myself who have never dined at Galatoire's, can someone explain just what it is that makes it so "fun" to eat there.

I can understand really good food and service being quite satisfying but what else is going on there? Is there some comedy routine going on? Is there live music? Can it be "fun" if you don't know anyone else there?

I was born here but lived away 16 years of adult life and no one's ever invited me to Galatoire's...and it never struck me as a place to dine alone.

By the time I was 15 I had dined at the Blue Room several dozen times and that was always fun...

It's the casual attitudes imo. The waiters and all the staff conduct themselves with the sort of confidence that comes with knowing your good. They are efficient without being overly stiff. They are not pretentious. They have fun with the customers. And that attitude is contagious.

It is a very old fashioned level of service that is almost extinct. First thing the maitre'd asks is, "Do you have someone special who takes care of you?"

I hate it when places do the Happy Birthday singing thing, but they do it and pull it off. Everyone was laughing and getting into it. (Usually a lot of wine involved at Galatoire's also. I had some really good stuff the other day! I would have sang anything by that point. ha)

But here is the difference: all those places I hate doing the bday song, will gather the clapping wait staff who all smile and sing blah blah blah terrible.

At Galatoire's, the waiter stood at attention beside his table and announced to the entire restaurant, "We are going to sing Happy Birthday to so and so. This is her 50th birthday. Happy Birthday so and so."

He informed them they were going to sing and they did. No laughing waiters. No clapping waiters. Very classy and fun. It was classic.

It's all about the vibe, Jerry.

Jerry, it's just being there with friends. It's an event, it's not lunch/dinner. It's so different than a lot of other places, and it's hard to explain but ratcheese did touch on it well. Next time a bunch of your friends need a place to get together for dinner/lunch, suggest Galatoire's and give it a shot.