Commander's Palace, the turquoise Victorian building at the corner of Washington Avenue and Coliseum Street, is one of the most celebrated restaurants in the United States and has defined New Orleans haute cuisine for more than a century. Commander's Palace opened in 1893 and passed through several owners before the Brennan family purchased it in 1969 and began its transformation into the culinary institution it is today. The Brennans hired a succession of extraordinary chefs whose influence spread far beyond this dining room: Paul Prudhomme worked here in the 1970s, developing the Louisiana Country Cooking style that would make him famous and popularizing blackened redfish across the country.
Emeril Lagasse succeeded Prudhomme in 1982 and refined the Creole-Cajun fusion approach that made him a national celebrity. The current kitchen continues that tradition of elevating Louisiana ingredients — Gulf seafood, andouille sausage, local produce, Creole spices — through classical French technique into dishes that are unmistakably of this place. The turtle soup has been on the menu since the beginning.
The bread pudding soufflé is legendary. The weekend jazz brunch, where a small band plays between tables and the champagne comes in carafes, is among the most pleasurable dining experiences in the country. The restaurant survived Hurricane Katrina, which caused severe flooding nearby, and reopened as a symbol of the city's recovery.