Since having Sun, I have checked my work voicemail and e-mail every day. And the benefit of this contact finally arrived: the invitation for the attorneys to have dinner with the summer clerks. At Galatoire’s. Tonight. One hour of drinks and hors d’oeuvres followed by dinner. Ahhhh.

To say that I am looking forward to tonight is an understatement. I didn’t anticipate my senior prom with this much excitement. Galatoire’s with adults and liquor and no babies. On someone else’s dime. Folks, for me, this is quite the prize.

I scoured my closet and found a dress (a real, non-maternity! dress) that actually fits nicely. And I get to wear dressy shoes, too! Which necessitated a pedicure yesterday. I dropped Sun off with CS at our shop and spent a nice relaxing hour getting my feet rubbed and polished. Thinking about Galatoire’s.

The last decadent meal I had before discovering I was pregnant was at Galatoire’s. The last drink I had was there–an Old Fashioned. And it will certainly be the drink I order tonight!

I know that a lot of tourists come to New Orleans and go to Galatoire’s all aflutter because they’ve heard us locals gush about it being one of the best restaurants of our fine city. And many are disappointed–yes, the food was good. But they don’t “get it.” Let me try to explain it.

To me, Galatoire’s is really a bar with amazing bar food. They will seat you even if all of your party is not yet there (like a bar and unlike uptight she-she restaurants). Thus, it has been custom for folks to send someone to save a table for their party. Oh, the stories I have heard of my firm sending its law clerks to reserve a table hours ahead of time only to get sloppy drunk and say and do things in front of our most senior partners that have reduced some of them to tears on the kitchen floor. Now that they take reservations (for upstairs), this need to send someone to save a table isn’t as critical.

One thing to know about Galatoire’s is that things move really slowly in there. With deliberation. They won’t rush you out of your table to seat a new party and they will let you sit for hours waiting for your party to arrive. And once your party has all arrived, they want you to sit back, relax, and enjoy yourself. Really. Don’t rush it. Take a deep breath and slow down. They don’t rush with menus or order-taking (other than to get your drink order) or food-serving. No, it is all with deliberate slowness that the waiters move. For your benefit.

Next is their menu. Galatoire’s menu goes on for days. But the waiters can get fussy if you ask to see one. Instead, they prefer for you to tell them what you are in the mood for–what is your heart’s (or stomach’s) desire, and they will set you up, whether it is on the menu or not. So to the waiters, the menu can limit your imagination–a travesty of fine dining in their eyes. If you can dream it, they can serve it. Seafood, lamp chops, steaks, succulent salads. They even serve fried chicken. I don’t mean dainty, frilly, chic fried chicken. I mean down-home, buttermilk, southern fried chicken. Like ya grand momma made. Indulge your waiter and get his input on what you should order if you can’t settle on something on your own.

Speaking of their waiters, that’s another peculiar thing about Galatoire’s–as they seat you, they ask if you have a waiter you prefer. If you don’t, that is okay. Make friends with the waiter you get (which is amazingly easy to do–by the end of the night, you’ll feel like you’ve know him forever) and next time you come you will be able to get your same waiter (waiters make careers of working here). The waiter will even give you his card so you’ll remember to ask for him. If you want to cheat it, ask for Dorris–he’s who we ask for.

Back to their drinks. This place mixes drinks like its life depends upon it. I always feel like my grandmother drinking a “hi ball” (as she called it) when I am sipping their strong cocktails. These drinks have serious booze in them. Order a martini and they bring along with your drink a plate of garnishments–olives stuffed various ways (be careful of the one stuffed with an anchovy unless that is your thing) as well as cocktail onions.

And if you are in the mood for a mixed drink that can be done oh-so-wrong at your typical bar, then get it at Galatoire’s–it will be spot on. Thus the reason I ordered an Old Fashioned last time I was there. This drink was ordered in honor of a friend who has since been diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer. Her birthday is soon and a toast will be said for her tonight.

Galatoire’s is the equivalent of an upscale neighborhood bar. You walk in and see friends–even if it is just the wait staff. You can almost hear them screaming your name the way they welcomed Norm at Cheers. The mirrors wrapping around the first floor assist in this feeling of comradery–from wherever you sit, you can all but see everyone else in the place. Joviality abounds and table hopping is rampant. And the amazing food (because their food is really amazing) is just a bonus. A kick-ass, longed-for, soon-missed, decadent bonus.

And I get to go there tonight! Oh, lucky me.