Court of The Two Sisters

Christmas Eve Brunch in Nola
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​This past Christmas, Don and I changed up tradition and spent a few days in New Orleans.

 

We lucked out with some last minute brunch reservations. We wandered from our hotel in the French Quarter and arrived at this iconic restaurant on Royal Street, at 10:30 am.

Since 1832

I was excited to finally visit the Royal Street restaurant. The building has been here for 132 years, but it wasn't always a restaurant.

The French, townhouse-style building was first home to the Cavalier family. In 1886 the house and street level store was purchased and two sisters from an aristocratic Creole family, opened up a fine notions shop. 

When we entered the restaurant on Christmas Eve morning, it was hard to picture the space, back in the day.

Emma and Bertha would have displayed imported gowns and perfumes in their shop.

I wonder where the arched doorway would have led, before it was turned into bar seating? 

I'm sure the brick fireplace kept the shop cozy on cold mornings. On pleasant days, the sisters would have escorted their special guests, back to the courtyard for cakes and tea.

The Courtyard!

It was nice to arrive before the things got too busy. The staff was cheery and relaxed, inviting us to take a look around and decide if we wanted to eat in, or out.

The famous courtyard is the largest in New Orleans. It looked inviting with its wishing well and fountains. But it was a tiny bit chilly on that December morning.

Royal Court and Grand Marquis

I found more dining areas upstairs and in the front of the building.

They weren't serving in the formal spaces, but it was fun to see all the chandeliers and white tablecloths. The Fein Family has owned and run the restaurant since 1963.

I'm how these spaces were used before then. The Sisters closed shop in the early 1900's. I believe the building has been serving food and drink since the 1920's.

The Terrace

Back downstairs, we peeked in the Terrace Dining Room. It looked inviting, with a jazz trio and large windows, overlooking the courtyard.

The dining room was bright and airy, but the green garden colors lured us outside.

Table by the Fountain

The air was cool, but we warmed up with coffee. Chicory! We knew we were in New Orleans.

Our waiter Mario, kept the coffee coming. He said he'd only been at The Court for 2 years, but he had worked at another famous nearby restaurant for 42 years. "You were hired as a baby?" I asked. He laughed and said he started working at Brennan's, at age 12.

Buffet

​It was nice to be some of the first guests to hit the buffet. What a wonderful spread!

First I took a good look at all the options in the inviting, black and white serving area. There was an Eggs Benedict station and a meat carving station.  

There were Creole favorites, like turtle soup and crawfish pasta.

Best of all, there were lots of Christmas sweets and pieces of Christmas King Cake!

Feasting in the Courtyard

While Don and I feasted, I waited for the right moment to share a little something with Mario.

When there seemed to be a lull in activity, I pulled the old Ford Motor Cookbook from my bag.

"Does this recipe look familiar?" I asked. Mario took a long look at the old book from 1959. He laughed at the courtyard image, that accompanied the recipe for Shrimp Au Gratin. "Where is this from!"

Yay! I love adding a cookbook adventure to an already fun meal. It almost always gets a good reaction, but I had been a little concerned about sharing on a busy holiday. Mario showed the book to a couple other waiters, then he happily agreed to pose with us. So fun!

Heading Out

We finished up and wished Mario a Merry Christmas. 

Instead of heading out through the old house, we exited through the back of the courtyard. We passed through a gate, that seemed to match the wrought iron in the cookbook illustration.

​History

How have these separate buildings been used over the years? Did many buildings share the courtyard equally? I left with so many questions about this old place.

Cheers to three generations of Feins, for keeping this restaurant running on Royal Street for so many years. Cheers to Emma and Bertha! It was a fun dining adventure!