Treated Like a Queen at Commander's Palace

I absolutely love COOLinary time in New Orleans because you can get two and three course meals at really great prices at some of the city’s best restaurants. When I went to the site to check out menus, ya’ll already know I had BRUNCH on my mind. The only brunch menu that really stuck out to me was Commander’s Palace because they had an array of options that all sounded delicious. Now I’ve been to Commander’s Palace yeeeaaarrrsss ago but for lunch, so this time was a whole new experience!

I attended Sunday brunch with my mom and the service was amazing and everyone was very pleasant. From the valet guys, to the hostesses, the waiters to the owner..chile even the band! Great customer service is such a vital part to an amazing brunch experience and they had a perfect score in that.

The restaurant is beautiful and way bigger than I initially thought. It’s two-floors with an indoor and outdoor dining option. There are fun balloon centerpieces on the tables that create a very inviting atmosphere. I love that you get a signature chef hat for your birthday. I think every restaurant needs a signature touch.

My favorite spaces were the Garden Room which is beautiful with big windows that bring in the perfect amount of natural lighting... perfect for food pictures. The courtyard was nice as well and featured a picturesque fountain with beautiful fish swimming in it. Shoutout to our fabulous waiter DeWayne for giving us a mini tour…he was everything! He brought us into the Tranquility Garden which sits behind the courtyard and it’s literally a green oasis and super photo-worthy.

Now let’s get to the the good stuff…literally. I didn’t go with the typical mimosa, instead I went with a Peach Bellini and my mom had a Saint 75 which is a play on a French 75. It has St. Germain, Tanqueray gin, basil and sparkling wine. For appetizers, I went with the Whiskey Smoked Salmon which is sweet pepper & whiskey cured smoked salmon over lemon-thyme whipped goat cheese on toasted housemade focaccia with avocado, toasted seeds and a poached egg. It was delicious! My mom went with the Commander's Creole Gumbo which I tasted and it was delicious as well.

As we were dining Ms. Ti who is a co-owner was making her rounds to each table and checking in to see if everyone was having a good time. She is so nice by the way and very lively. So her and my mom were chatting and one thing about Mothers…they gonna brag on their kids…lol. My mom mentioned that I was a brunch blogger and next thing I knew we had a blue ribbon on the table which signifies a “very important table”. It’s funny because we were already feeling like VIPs from the way the staff were treating us so this was a pleasant bonus. We got to try some additional courses on the house. The first of these courses was a Watermelon Salad with Louisiana Crab and Caviar…yes CAVIAR and sorry guys but this one wasn’t on the menu. It’s something that the chef came up with…talk about feeling like a VIP! The flavors worked so well together.

Next was a Citrus Marinated Gulf Shrimp, which was plated so pretty and tasted as good as it looks! Next was the Petite Zephyr Squash Salad, which was local Northshore squash, toasted seeds, Southern Maids Dairy cheese, pea tendrils and Creole tomato-basil buttermilk. It’s also an Eat Fit NOLA item. It wasn’t bad but just not for my taste buds. And last but certainly not least! My favorite dish of the entire brunch experience, Shrimp & Tasso Henican! It’s wild Louisiana white shrimp, with tasso ham that they stuff in the back of the shrimp, pickled okra, sweet onions, five pepper jelly and Crystal hot sauce beurre blanc. It was sooo good! It wasn’t really spicy to me but I’m not the best judge of spicyness because most of the spicy foods I can handle, my family can’t lol.

Okay back to our regularly scheduled programs of what we ordered because yes…there’s more lol. When I tell ya’ll I left there feeling like a Thanksgiving Turkey! For an entrée, I went with The Chicken or The Egg which is a soft poached hen's egg over "fall off the bone" smoked chicken hash with caramelized onions, grilled baby sweet peppers & red bliss potatoes with fire roasted red pepper hollandaise and poblano pepper jelly. Now this isn’t the dish I thought I ordered. I glanced at someone else’s table and instead of asking what the dish was, I blindly ordered this one instead. Nonetheless it was pretty good but my mom’s tasted better. She had the Des Allemands Catfish, which was corn fried local Louisiana catfish with charred sweet peppers, grilled onions, cilantro popcorn rice and a citrusy spiced coconut curry broth. It was really good and the fish was fried perfectly. We also had a side of the best bacon I’ve tasted to date. The Black Pepper Cane Syrup Bacon!

Next up dessert! I ordered the Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé which I think is a bomb take on the typical bread pudding dessert. They crack the top of it for you and pour the sauce inside. It was so good. My mom loves anything with ice cream, so she ordered the Pecan Pie à la Mode which is pecan pie & vanilla bean ice cream with melted chocolate, candied pecans and a Fleur de Sel caramel sauce. Now I know I told ya’ll my mom is a pancake connoisseur but she has a Ph.D. in dessert tasting and she is very hard to please. This dessert got the stamp of approval and the plate was left spotless. Don’t tell her I told ya’ll that.

And just when we thought the treats were over, our waiter DeWayne surprised us with a Watermelon Mule on him. It was the perfect treat to end the experience. Commander’s Palace has definitely moved into my top three list of brunch experiences. I won’t say who’s moved out..haha. Overall we enjoyed our experience from the band serenading us with My Cherie Amour by Stevie Wonder to the amazing hospitality. This restaurant is truly a gem and I love the atmosphere. I can’t wait to come back for dinner!