Exploring Antoine’s
Posted on July 18, 2008
Filed Under Sonja Kassebaum | Leave a Comment
Sonja Kassebaum is an Illinois-based distiller and fan of good drinks. She documents her interests at Thinking of Drinking.
Last night we had the privilege of dining at Antoine’s, perhaps the oldest restaurant in New Orleans (and one of the oldest in the country). They moved to their current location in 1868, after their first location (starting in 1840) was razed for redevelopment. The restaurant has 15 rooms, according to their website, and we got to see several of them.
By far, my favorite was the Mystery Room. Partly because of the name, and partly because of the padlock on the door, I had to ask to see it. The gracious manager at the front opened it up for us, and we got to see an interesting part of history. The room is currently under redevelopment, which is why it was locked. It was really interesting despite the rough edges.
Among the items on the wall was the painting/print called All is Vanity, the manager told us. He told us that if you stare at it long enough, you’ll see a woman rather than the skull. Wikipedia says this painting is by Charles Allan Gilbert.
Next to the room, you’ll find a hallway with a phone. During Prohibition, this phone was the secret way to order a drink. This area was a speakeasy, and drinks passed through the room that is now the Ladies’ restroom, and through to the Mystery room. Upon emerging from that room with a coffee cup full of booze, the answer to the question “where did you get that drink?” was “it’s a mystery to me.” The manager told us that the floors were coated with sawdust in this area, so in case the authorities busted in, the drinks could be quickly dumped onto the floor and covered up with the sawdust.
There were some other interesting finds, including these:
The Rex Room, decked out in green, which honors one of the krewes in the Mardi Gras celebration each year
Some interesting bottles in the cases lining the walls (including one from the days when “charcoal filtered” was a prominent selling point for a whiskey)
Apparently, there are several more rooms upstairs, which used to be a residence. One of them, the Japanese room, was closed shortly after Pearl Harbor, and was only reopened in the mid-80’s, we were told.
The food was great, the cocktails (by St. John Frizell of Pegu Club, following the writings of Charles H. Baker Jr.) were classic, and we had a fantastic time.
