Until just a few years ago, you couldn't just call up Antoine's and get a reservation. If you didn't know a waiter (and, more importantly, if he didn't know you), you had to go to the front door and get a table in the front dining room. Competition for the diner's dollar forced the Guste family to make some changes in the time-honored system (you can now call and make a reservation without knowing a waiter), but the waiter system is still alive and well. If you want to book a table for two, four, or you want the whole Rex Room for an evening, you just call your waiter--he'll handle everything. Waiters at Antoine's are sort of like middle management in a company. They interface with the owners, the kitchen, and have a staff of assistants and bus boys working for them. Make no mistake--these folks are not merely working for minimum wage and tips; these are some of the best restaurant people in town. My late father-in-law's waiter is a gentleman named Sammy LeBlanc. Sammy recently retired from Antoine's after 52 years of service.

Can you be an Antoine's regular? You bet! When you call for a reservation, ask for Matthew Ousset. Matthew took excellent care of us throughout the afternoon we did the photo shoot, making sure we got the pictures needed as well as seeing to our meal. We got to observe him in action with other diners, and I can assure you that Matthew will take care of you when you dine. If Matthew is unavailable, ask for Richard Moreland. Before Matthew was recommended to me by the proprietor, Mr. Bernard Guste, Richard was recommended to us by a member of the New Orleans Mailing List. Since Sammy was retired, I figured I'd give Richard a try. He was quite fascinated by the fact that we came to him via the Internet! Richard only works part-time, however, and only for dinner. Since I dine at Antoine's for lunch more often than dinner, Matthew now takes care of us. You can't go wrong with either one, however, and make sure you tell them that Ed and the folks at Virtually New Orleans send their regards.

Reservations at Antoine's are for the evening; there's no attempt to turn the tables in the back dining room. Whether you arrive at 7:00pm or 10:00pm, it's your table. The up side of this arrangement is that nobody is pressuring you to eat fast. The down side is that your waiter may vanish into the front dining room for a while, since he has tables to work there as well. This doesn't mean service suffers; you just have to keep an eye out for your assistant waiter, who will bring your bread and such at the beginning of the meal. All of the wait staff wear nametags. Make sure you catch the name of the assistant, so you can grab his attention if you need something. Antoine's waiters are experts at timing courses and such, therefore they tend to appear just at the right time, no matter what they were doing a moment before. If you need something in-between those times, however, just wave for your assistant if you don't see your waiter.

Well, are you hungry now that you've read all this background stuff? On to the food!