Eating like Rockefeller

     Antoine's Restaurant has been serving meals in New Orleans since 1840.  In fact, it claims to be the oldest family owned eatery in the country.  And by far their most famous dish is Oysters Rockefeller.  The exact proportions of the ingredients are a tightly kept secret and there are many imitations, but only one original.  It was developed perhaps using kitchen scraps of herbs and greens in 1899 and because of it's richness was named for the most wealthy man in America at the time, John D. Rockefeller.
     This we do know, the main ingredient is the familiar bi-valve that has been shucked and left on the half shell.  The rest of the recipe is conjecture ranging from celery leaves to chervil, but never spinach, as some claim.  Everything is mixed carefully and adorn the oyster before getting a drizzle of butter and a thin blanket of bread crumbs and then baked or roasted.
     Virtually every restaurant in The Big Easy has a form of oysters on their menu.  And they did not disappoint.  Almost every evening we enjoyed an oyster appetizer before our entree.   Here is documentation to that fact:

     In the French Quarter the Acme Oyster House is a favorite spot to dine, although we never had that opportunity.  They do not take reservations and the line was always out the door and down the street!



     But following up on a tip we ventured across Canal Street, past the Harrah's Gaming Parlor (gambling is illegal in New Orleans, so they changed the nomenclature) and got a table at Drago's Restaurant.  Choosing not to imitate Antoine's recipe, Drago's has developed one of their own, serving up the absolute best char-broiled oysters known to humankind.  After all, what's not to like about something slathered in hot butter and sprinkled with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese?  On our last night of culinary research we made the oysters not an appetizer but our main meal.