The Cajun Foodie

Palace Cafe is located downtown on Canal Street in the historic Werlein’s Music Building.  The restaurant is the creation of Dickie Brennan’s culinary empire with Executive Chef Darin Nesbit dishing out contemporary New Orleans Creole cuisine.

This was probably the first restaurant that I went to when I moved to the city.  A few of my friends worked here at the time and really talked up the place.  Unsure if my friends were just biased or if the food was actually that good, I made my way to Palace Cafe to find out for myself.  Since then I have been back many times.

The turtle soup served at Palace Cafe is one of my favorites in the city.  It has just the right amount of lemon and sherry to go along with an ample amount of turtle meat.  Turtle meat may seem somewhat intimidating if you are not from the South, but I’d encourage anyone to try it. It’s probably the most delicate and delicious meat there is.  The sherry in turtle soup is what makes or breaks the dish.  Too much sherry and the dish will be overpowering, masking the flavors of the other ingredients.  Palace Cafe’s version hits the mark with the perfect amount to complement the dish.

The Cafe Spinach salad is downright awesome.  I can go here and just eat this and be content.  Palace Cafe’s rendition consists of spinach, chopped boiled egg, red onion, candied bacon, and a flavorful sherry cane vinaigrette.  The candied bacon and sherry cane vinaigrette are the stars of this dish.  After one bite, you will be searching for the rest of the bits of bacon goodness.

If you are looking for a seafood dish, try the Gulf Seafood Au Gratin.  Not your ordinary au gratin, it includes shrimp, crab and fish to go along with caramelized onions and mushrooms.  The sauce that brings the dish together is a super rich romano cheese bechamel sauce.  The au gratin is topped with bread crumbs and broiled golden brown.  I suggest ordering this dish as an appetizer for the table so that you won’t get full before getting to your entree.

The Shrimp Tchefuncte is a spin on BBQ shrimp, sort of.  Large gulf shrimp in a meuniere sauce with mushrooms, green onions and fluffy rice make up this tasty creole concoction.  (A meuniere sauce is made from lemons, Worchestechire sauce, hot sauce, cream and butter.  This sauce is used in a variety of Cajun and Creole dishes because of the great flavors it brings to the table.)  The shrimp are sauteed with butter, the mushrooms and green onions then added to the meuniere sauce.

If you are in the French Quarter and looking for a good taste of New Orleans cuisine, be sure to stop by Palace Cafe.  The food, service, and decor make this place very popular amongst locals and tourist alike.  Although a very nice restaurant, it is not at all intimidating as some comparable places.

Dickie Brennan’s Restaurant Group also offers other great dining selections such as The Bourbon House and Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse.