Antoine’s Hermes Bar

Last week, when we went to see the Pyrates behaving badly, we stopped in to a friend works in the recently remodeled Hermes Bar in Antoine’s restaurant.

Antoine’s is amazing- opened in 1840, it’s still a multi-generational family restaurant- and not only for the owners. When we returned on Easter Sunday for brunch instead of going to one of our usual holiday spots, our waiter was 4th generation waitstaff.

Each of the fifteen dining rooms has a unique bit of history attached to it, and we were lucky enough (well, that luck isn’t exactly exclusive; I’m pretty sure you just have to ask) to have our friend offer to take us around and tell us all the inside stories.

It was all really interesting, and the food, of course, was out of this world, but, well, we were sitting in the bar that night, after having been on Bourbon Street for some time already, and I was in a bit of a…uh…well, let’s call it a fugue. And as one does in such states of mind, I found myself fixated on their decanter, lit up on the bar waiting to be used to prepare an absinthe.

Sadly, no one ordered one while we were there, but it was gorgeous anyway, with its special spoons and delicate sugar cubes perched nearby.

Absinthe, being popular among artists and musicians, had been huge in New Orleans, and was still quietly available even after being banned. It’s recently been made legal again, so these decanters are starting to be seen around town once more.

For those unfamiliar with the whole ritual around The Green Fairy, here’s how it goes (complete with French accent, making it all the more authentic):

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