What: This classic NOLA breakfast dish is like a Creole take on eggs Florentine, traditionally involving poached eggs atop artichoke bottoms and creamed spinach, topped with hollandaise sauce. It is said to have been created at French Quarter restaurant Antoine’s (see below) for French playwright Victorien Sardou in the late 1800s.
Where: In the Garden District, Commander’s Palace (1403 Washington Ave., map) sometimes offers an amazingly tasty, updated version of this dish on its brunch menu: a poached egg on crab-boiled artichoke bottoms, topped with creamy green hollandaise sauce (instead of spinach). During one of our visits, the egg shared the plate with three artichoke leaves dusted with Cajun spices and three small fried oysters: salty, spicy perfection. This dish is not always on the menu, however, and sometimes it is prepared in slightly different ways.
When: Brunch: Sat, 11:30am-12:30pm, and Sun, 10:30am-1:30pm. Both are jazz brunches—fun times to visit here.
Order: Get the eggs Sardou (when offered, it appears on the brunch appetizer menu); if it’s unavailable, try whatever delicious variation of eggs cochon de lait there is. Aside from these egg dishes, we love the shrimp & tasso henican, oyster & absinthe dome, and bread pudding soufflé here—you really can’t go wrong. (Note: CP’s brunch menu is offered only as a three-course prix fixe, ranging in price from $29-$42 depending on the main entree you choose.)
Good to know: 90% of the ingredients used at CP comes from within 100 miles.
Alternatively: Go straight to the source at Antoine’s (713 St. Louis St., map) in the French Quarter, where eggs Sardou (with the addition of truffles, ham, and anchovies) is available during the Sunday jazz brunch. This dish is also on the jazz-brunch menu at R’evolution (777 Bienville St., map), where it is made with artichoke and absinthe, with the option to add crab or oyster.
