The wine list is the size of the New Orleans telephone book. The French wines are divided by region and the first wine in the book was $2500. The service was first rate, with four people looking after your every need. The food was great and the selection and specials extensive. While it is one of the most expensive restaurants I have eaten in, it was worth the price.

The first time we ate here, we were in a hurry to get to the theater and had no reservations and had tried a couple of other places to no avail. Dickie Brennan's sat us at high tables in the bar area and when told we had to make the theater, they did a wonderful job to expedite the dinners, which were excellent. We decided right then to come back another night when we weren't so rushed and made reservations.

Great filet mignon and sirloin and banana foster bread pudding.

Our first experience with this restaurant was outstanding. Our original intention was to just have dessert, so we were told to take a table in the bar. Geri, one of the bartenders, became our server for the evening. She was awesome! We ended up with appetizers and side dishes as well as desserts and she was very happy to oblige.

The Deviled Crabcakes received mixed reviews from those who tried them: Louisiana blue crab meat, peppers and onions served on baby greens with a tomato and chipotle tartar sauce. The house salad was fabulous due to the pecan vinaigrette dressing. The potato-leek soup was creamy and flavorful.

For dessert, the crème brûlée received high accolades from all who tasted it. It was a large serving, compared to the small portions usually associated with this dessert. The Double Chocolate Mousse was good, but not our favorite. The best dessert, hands down, was the Ice Cream Sandwich. It consisted of two huge chocolate cookies, filled with creamy vanilla ice cream, drizzled with a delicious chocolate sauce. It’s one of those desserts that, no matter how full you are, you can’t stop eating until it’s gone!

Because the food and service were so great here, and because the restaurant was in easy walking distance of our hotel, we dined here the final night of our stay. It was 10:30pm when we were seated in the main dining room. Because of the late hour, we wanted to eat light. I don’t know if this was the cause of our comparatively poor service, or if our waiter was naturally snooty! Our water glasses often went unrefreshed, replacement sodas were not always brought quickly, and when we asked for a modification in the order in which our side dishes were to be brought out, our server practically had a conniption fit. We ordered the 12oz prime rib to split between four of us, and each of us ordered two side dishes plus dessert. The bill was still almost $100, not including tip, so I wouldn’t say we were being overly cheap.

The food, however, did not disappoint. Besides our previous favorites of potato-leek soup and house salad with pecan vinaigrette dressing, we tried the Pontalba Potatoes (roasted & sautéed with garlic, caramelized onions, wild mushrooms, ham, and scallions), which were wonderfully filling and delicious, Five Onion Soup, and Vegetable du Jour (mixed vegetables). We again had the ice cream sandwich for dessert, as well as the Coconut Cake, which was light and thoroughly enjoyable.

Hopefully, it was just an off night for our waiter and his assistants. Who knows; maybe they would have been able to go home if we hadn’t shown up so late, or maybe if we’d been drinkers and had a huge bar tab it would have made them more pleasant and attentive. Really, there was no excuse for the class of service we received that night from this otherwise very fine restaurant. Perhaps we should have used The Magic Words!