[aephi alum]

Y'all are going to think I'm out of my mind, because the restaurant in question is a New Orleans stalwart. It did manage to redeem itself, but it took 35+ years.

The restaurant: Commander's Palace.

When I was 8, my parents and I (who lived in New York) visited New Orleans. We went to dinner at Commander's. When I was a kid, I was super noise sensitive, and Commander's is noisy. So my parents proceeded to put away two martinis each, a bottle of wine, and a couple of rounds of after-dinner drinks. I was sitting there in tears. I begged my parents to let me step outside for a few minutes to get away from the noise - and they wouldn't let me. I asked them if one of them would step outside with me for a few - nope. (It's not like they couldn't have taken their drink outside with them!) They didn't care how I was doing, because they were plastered. I could understand their reluctance to let me step outside if we were in the French Quarter, but Commander's is in the Garden District, which is mostly residential. I swore then and there that I would never step foot in Commander's again as long as I lived.

Fast forward 35+ years. I moved to New Orleans, and I stuck to my guns about Commander's. Until ... one of my best friends wanted to take me to a three-martini lunch, and the only one she could find was at Commander's. (You can get up to 3 martinis for 25 cents apiece.) So we went and had an awesome lunch! Not only am I less noise sensitive now, but it's easier to deal with the ambient noise when you can actually drink alcohol. Plus, their turtle soup...!