An interesting message for me popped up yesterday on Da Twittah:
I didn't specifically ask, but I'm going to assume "close to HOB" to mean walking distance of the the club. That rules out my first idea, which would be a lot of fun - get on the Canal Street streetcar line (the red streetcars) and go down to Mandina's in Mid City. They've got the upstairs as a dining room now, and it would be a fun experience. Getting folks out of the Quarter is always a good thing to my mind-show them a bit more of the city. With House of Blues in the equation, however, I'm figuring this is dinner-and-a-concert or some such, so we'll stick to the quarter and walk over to Decatur.
That leaves two great possibilities, Antoine's and Arnaud's. Both restaurants are sprawling French Quarter establishments that have taken over the blocks in which they're located. In addition to the main, public dining rooms, both have a number of great private rooms that can accommodate parties of all sizes.
Arnaud Cazenave opened the restaurant named after him on Rue Bienville in 1918. The menu is classic Creole-French cuisine, a great mixture of beef, chicken, and seafood entrees. Check out the private dining section of their website for specifics.
I have to admit a bit of bias towards Restaurant Antoine, because the place was my late mother's and father-in-law's favorite. When I was sixteen, I had a pen-pal who lived in Germany and came to visit us. My mom immediately said we'd take her to Antoine's. That's when I started with the restaurant. My father-in-law was a partner in a national accounting firm, and he'd entertain regularly at Antoine's. When his son got married, a small ceremony in a French Quarter courtyard, they had a sit-down dinner party in the Rex Room at Antoine's rather than a traditional wedding reception. Jack's (my f-i-l) retirement dinner party was also at Antoine's, and that's where we celebrated my wife's graduation from uni as well as our engagement. You get the idea. The Rex Room is the most magnificent of the private dining rooms, but a group of 50 is pushing it to that room's maximum. One of the upstairs rooms might make more sense if the number of guests will be that high. Check Antoine's private dining page on their site for details.
Antoine Alciatore opened his restaurant on Rue St. Louis in 1840, making it the oldest in town. The menu at Antoine's is also Creole-French, featuring some of the classic New Orleans dishes.
You won't go wrong with either of these choices!
If anyone would like to offer additional suggestions, feel free to do so in comments.
