One of the first questions I was asked after being seated near a mirrored wall corner of Brennan’s restaurant in New Orleans French Quarter was,

“So, are you opposed to eating turtle?”

Without the slightest hesitation I answered, “I have no problem eating turtle.”

As long as we are not talking endangered, and believe me, we are not. Several times during the famous three course breakfast (expected to take as many hours) the meal was referred to as “an experience”, why stop short of trying the rue based turtle soup? Bring. It. On. And so they did.

Ron, our waiter, could just as easily have been a football linebacker. He leaned inward, comfortably filling the space between two in my party like a missing puzzle piece. He was cool, man, and had a stance “Like the Duke” he joked. Meaning Ellington, not John Wayne. In baritone whispers he went through the menu, history included. One thing we were all sure of, we would finish the meal with bananas foster, a world famous dish created right here in this restaurant on Royal Street in 1951. The promise of flaming rum over bananas held strong throughout the experience.

After the tangy tomato turtle soup appetizer, we were served the main course. I’m an eggs Benedict fan, and most of the entree’s included in the $36 fixed price breakfast menu are Benedict-esque. Unique to Brennan’s breakfast menu, each delicious dish has a suggested wine to accompany it. Both the Eggs Bayou LaFourche, a dish with Cajun andouille sausage, and the Oysters Benedict are paired with a Gerwurztraminer. A Fume Blanc goes nicely with Eggs Sardou, poached eggs on artichoke bottoms and creamed spinach.

From my seat I could see the large pastel watercolor portrait of Owen Brennan, founder of the iconic eatery in 1946. Historically remembered for his warm, welcoming, humorous, good nature, Mr. Brennan would likely be pleased to know the staff in his legacy restaurant treat customers today in the exact manner. Maitre d’ Jorge Blanco, an immigrant from Nicaragua, has worked for the restaurant for more than 20 years. As if we were old friends, Jorge agreed to my request to check out the courtyard. With hints of remorse he pointed out a new magnolia tree, replacing an older more magnificent tree that suffered Katrina’s wrath. We talked briefly of the restaurants come back after the storm. Still not serving quite the number of breakfasts as pre-Katrina, they are recovering.

Beginning to make our way toward the exit, Jorge introduced us to Mario, another long time member of the staff, working 37 years at the restaurant. We’d seen Mario earlier, making jokes to the room full of patrons during Ron’s blazing of the bananas for our desert.

“If you see me running, you run!” He told us.

Jorge pointed to a particular framed photo along the lobby wall, an old image of the Royal Street corner back in 1895 with a small child out front.

“See, here?” his finger tapped a figure of a small child “this is Mario, as a boy” Then he burst out laughing, as did we. These two seem like family, everyone here, in fact, seems to be all part of one fairly large family. There are many words to describe a morning enjoying the famous Breakfast at Brennan’s, but calling it “an experience” does sum it up nicely.

Brennan’s Restaurant
417 Royal Street
In the French Quarter
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: (504) 525-9711 | Fax: (504) 525-2302