Galatoire's

Jean Galatoire arrived from a village near Pau, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, and opened a saloon on Canal Street in 1896. Nine years later he bought Victor's Restaurant at 209 Bourbon Street — Victor's had been in business at that location since the mid-1800s — renamed it, and began cooking the dishes he knew from France. His fourth-generation descendants still run the place. The first-floor dining room has high ceilings, slow-moving paddle fans, and mirrored opposing walls that maintain the look of a mid-19th century restaurant. That room takes no reservations. It never has. One Friday, President Ronald Reagan placed a call to Senator J. Bennett Johnston, who happened to be waiting in line for a table. After the call ended, Johnston returned to his position in line. The second-floor dining rooms, opened in 1999, overlook Bourbon Street and accept reservations. The restaurant specializes in French Creole cooking. Most of the waiters are long-time employees, professionals, local to south Louisiana. After 5:00 PM and all day on Sundays, men must wear a jacket in the first-floor dining room. In 2004, the James Beard Foundation cited Galatoire's as the outstanding restaurant in America. You go because Friday lunch at Galatoire's is the most important social ritual in New Orleans. Locals hold their family's table. Not tourists.