Located on Royal Street, The Court of Two Sisters is an easy walk from anywhere in the French Quarter. The outside is very unassuming for such a highly rated restaurant. As you walk through the entry, take a moment to brush your hand across the wrought iron gates. Wrought in Spain and delivered to the Court of Two Sisters in 1832, legend has it they were blessed by Queen Isabella and bestow charm on all who touch them.

Our large party of 10 was welcomed and seated quickly on a Thursday night. As we walked through the empty buffet area (a daily Jazz Brunch is served here), I caught the smell of dirty dishcloths. You know the smell — after too many tables have been wiped with the same rag. Fortunately when we entered the dining area, the smell dissipated.

The menu offers a nice selection of seafood, steak and chicken, as well as three vegetarian entrees. There is a section for a four-course meal with several choices for each course priced at $39. The a la carte menu is quite extensive (and expensive). Some of the items our table ordered: Crawfish Maison ($8), Baked Oysters a la Two Sisters ($8), Hearts of Palm Salad ($6), Baked Onion Soup ($6), Filet of Trout ($21), Filet Mignon ($25), and Steamed Asparagus ($6). I ordered the Vegetarian Galette ($17), a puff pastry tart filled with an extensive assortment of vegetables and feta cheese. After eating so heavily for several days, the vegetables felt so good for my body. But I think I really wanted steak, because I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I thought.

Desserts received mixed reviews. The Crème Brulee was very good, but not as good as that at Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse . The Chocolate Espresso Torte was outstanding. The New York style cheesecake was too dry. The strawberry topping on the vanilla ice cream was sweet and divine. Cherries Jubilee was flamed at the table and was delicious. Service here was very good. Prompt, friendly, accurate, and quick to refill glasses. That’s really all I ask.

On the way out, I stopped at the hostess desk to ask for a souvenir menu. I waited for about 30 seconds while the hostess was on the phone. She must have overheard me telling my husband what I was waiting for, because she handed me a menu with "souvenir" stamped on it, but she barely looked at me and didn’t even take the time to pause from her phone conversation to thank us for patronizing the restaurant. Hmmph! Not a very nice way to treat customers who just dropped a bundle of money at your establishment!

I would strongly recommend this to anyone dining in New Orleans. The atmosphere was excellent as well as the service. We spent a very romantic and enjoyable evening there. The waiters were excellent and the captain great. The display of the food was superb and the taste magnificent. They made you feel like royalty.

You enter the restaurant through what appears to be an old New Orleans alley-way, complete with hanging moss and iron light fixtures, reminiscent of "A Streetcar Named Desire." However, once you turn the corner into the restaurant-proper, the scene changes dramatically. Artwork and fine linens adorn the tables and walls and make you truly feel as if you've entered a five star restaurant. The menu certainly doesn't change that perception.

The fixed menu of appetizer, salad, entree and dessert seems to be the house specialty and the food options provide a wonderful palate of tastes and flavors that complement each other wonderfully.

In New Orleans, one would be remiss not to try the seafood gumbo as an appetizer choice. It was delicious. A thick blend of shrimp, clam, and okra with creole seasonings was a treat that I shall not soon forget.

For your salad, choose the caesar option. Impressively, they prepare the caesar dressing at the table blending the classic ingredients with an anchovy and generously topping the fresh greens. It will cost you an extra couple of dollars, but the tableside preparation is worth the difference in price.

The entree choices are wide ranging but overall include mostly seafood options. I tried the "Trout Wellington" a play on words of its more famous cousin beef wellington. They start with a large filet of trout and encase it within a fluffy, crumbly pastry shell (of course shaped like a fish) and then surround it with shrimp, crawfish and crabmeat topped with a choron sauce, a rich flavorful sauce that will leaving you craving more.

Save room for the delectable dessert options. Born in New Orleans, the local favorite is Banana's Foster but the cheesecake and homemade pecan pie looked excellent also. The Banana's Foster, too, is fixed tableside. Flambe bananas with banana liquor, rum and brown sugar and serve over ice cream and the resulting concoction is a fabulous dessert to top off a fabulous meal that will leave you needing an after meal walk around the French Quarter.

Besides the great dinner menu. Court of Two Sisters is known for their jazz brunch served daily in the courtyard for which the restaurant is named. Although I have not been fortunate enough yet to try the brunch, I'm told that brunch is served buffet-style with more than 80 different choices under the canopy of ivy on the courtyard, all set to the stylings of a live jazz band.

All in all, the quality of food, and the unique New Orleans feel make this a truly special restaurant that deserves at least a repeat visit!

Many of the French Quarter restaurants are poor. The service is bad and the food is equally bad. The only people that go to these types of places are tourists so the restaurant knows the diners won't be back. So ask around or do some research before you go. Food is a highlight of your trip to New Orleans, but only if you avoid places like this.

To sum up, I said, "run while you still can".