We're madly jealous of Food Orleans's recent meal at the chef's table in the storied Commander's Palace in New Orleans; a visit to this lavish restaurant has been on our travel bucket list for years!
This is Commander's Palace. If it looks like a fairytale building, that's because it is. It's a place where stories are told, surprises happen at any minute, and everyone works together to entertain you and take care of everything you could possibly want. Prepare to be a princess, in other words.
Any time you eat at Commander's, it's special; from brunch on any Sunday to lunch on Thursday to dinner on Saturday night. But the best times to eat there are on holidays, like Thanksgiving, or special occasions: the birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries that are the most important days in the story of your life. I had a big ol' birthday this month; I turned 40. All I wanted was to eat at the Chef's Table at Commander's, and Paul, my wonderful love, he made it happen.
The Chef's Table is the ultimate experience of what Commander's Palace really does, which is nothing short of magic. The table is in the kitchen, right behind the grill line; you're not sheltered away in a corner — you're right in the middle of it. And the Commander's kitchen is quiet, controlled, and all business. As the sous chef, Jason Wells, who prepared most of our dishes that night explained to us (above), you can easily have a conversation in the Commander's kitchen, because there's no yelling. It's not like any other restaurant kitchen I've ever seen or heard of, save The French Laundry or Daniel or other places in the top tier of restaurants in the world. And the theatre of the kitchen is part of the experience of sitting at the Chef's Table.
