At Antoine’s, Tradition Is the House Specialty

NEW ORLEANS — Under the watchful eye of a single family, Antoine’s has served its famous cooking through the Civil War, Prohibition, World War II and the cyber age.

And the more things have changed, the more they’ve stayed the same.

Sure, the restaurant now takes reservations over the Internet, but the best way to be seated in one of the more desirable dining rooms is to have an in with a waiter--just as it has been for decades.

And the Creole menu at the restaurant that created the classic Oysters Rockefeller is indeed world famous, but there are those who say you have to be a regular to get a truly fabulous meal.

The restaurant was started in 1840 by French immigrant Antoine Alciatore. Today, it is run by a fifth-generation family member, Bernard Guste, making it the oldest continuously owned family business in Louisiana, according to a study by Bryant College in Rhode Island.

The secret to its success? Make dining more than a meal.

“This place is about a legacy of service: doing the same simple thing over and over and never getting tired of it,” Guste said.

Antiques store owner Les Shapiro has been a patron of Antoine’s for 40 years.

“We like the waiters. We like the atmosphere,” he said. “It’s always a favorite of the locals.”

The restaurant, which began nearby as a lodging facility that offered meals, moved to its current location in 1882. It expanded into adjoining buildings so that it now takes up two-thirds of the 700 block of Rue St. Louis in the French Quarter.

The waiter system is at the heart of Antoine’s. The head waiters, who can earn $65,000 a year, are responsible for coordinating with the kitchen and management, and overseeing a team of assistants and busboys.

“I like dealing with the public,” said 36-year-old Michael Hoffman, who has been working at Antoine’s since age 14 and expects to soon become a head waiter. “I like working here because they are good to the work force.”

Hoffman’s father, John, is a 47-year Antoine’s veteran who still works there as a head waiter.

Although the restaurant can seat about 900, knowing a waiter is the key to getting a table in one of the dozen historic back rooms, as opposed to being seated in one of the two large dining rooms.

Another advantage to having a regular waiter: whispered advice that a certain dish may be excellent or, on this particular day, not quite up to par.

Walter Cowan, retired editor of the old States-Item of New Orleans, had his first meal at Antoine’s as a cub reporter in 1938--at a table behind President Franklin Roosevelt, who had come to Louisiana to mend political fences with the Huey Long machine.

Cowan recalled that FDR sat next to Gov. Richard Leche and, of course, had Oysters Rockefeller. The memory of the meal probably lasted longer than political peace--the federal government sent Leche to prison the next year for tax evasion.

The dining rooms are on two floors and many are filled with curios and memorabilia.

One tiny room was formerly the lockup of an old Spanish jail. One remains as it was decorated for a 1940s party for Rex, the most prestigious Mardi Gras club. The Mystery Room, a small, red-walled dining room, still has the hidden door used to guard Prohibition-era drinkers. The President’s Room has hosted Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter. The Japanese Room, decorated in the fashion of the times, was closed for nearly 50 years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Other rooms have photographs of celebrity diners or books on cooking and wine, including one volume from 1659. Down a long, dark corridor, guarded by a metal-mesh gate, is Antoine’s wine collection.

The front main dining room is the acknowledged weak link. It’s the likely landing place for an impulsive diner without a reservation. With its white walls, white curtains and bright lights, the room is “the source of many of the unfavorable reviews one reads about Antoine’s,” according to the restaurant’s Web site (https://www.antoines.com).

Some of the oldest locals avoid the front room altogether. They simply come in through a side entrance, have their regular waiters summoned and are escorted to a table.

The 1990s have brought some changes to Antoine’s. The restaurant provides English translations of its French menu.

“I liked it better when it was [totally] in French,” Guste said. “It led to more dialogue between the customers and the waiters.”

What’s on the menu? Oysters Rockefeller, of course, created by Antoine’s in 1899. In the early 1990s, Antoine’s estimated it had served more than 3 million orders of the oysters on the half shell topped with spinach and seasonings. Other appetizers include variations of crawfish and gumbo. Entrees feature crabs, pompano, boneless chicken and tenderloin, all with homemade sauces. Among the vegetables is another trademark dish--fried potato puffs.

With tips and liquor, dinner for two can easily run $150, even with a restrained appetite.

Will there be a sixth generation to run Antoine’s? Guste isn’t sure, but he’s hopeful. His four children already work in various capacities at the restaurant. Guste says it will be up to them--just as the family let him make his own decision.

“Would you want your heart surgeon to be a heart surgeon because his father and grandfather were or because he wants to be?” Guste asked. “We don’t know what’s in store for the future. It’s been five generations. In and of itself, that’s a miracle.”