Outstanding Food and Service at Brennan's

It is difficult to describe how exciting it was to visit such an iconic New Orleans restaurant as Brennan's. The restaurant opened in 1946 and was a successful upscale restaurant until 2013, when Brennan family conflicts over ownership resulted in the French Quarter landmark closing. However, restaurateur Ralph Brennan purchased the restaurant and it underwent a $11 million renovation, re-opening in 2014.

The eatery has certainly been restored to its former glory - and then some. Brennan's will soon open a wine room to complement its 300-plus dining room seating and dining rooms for private parties.

Now to the important part: the delectable food and experience we had at Brennan's. First, the servers, dining room captain and management make you feel like royalty, and take care of your every need. This is definitely the place to go if you want to feel special. 

The food, of course, was outstanding. We started with the Turtle Soup, which sported deep layers of flavor. Its kick of spice really made the dish. The appetizers you should try at Brennan's include the Blue Crab Remolaude and Veal Sweetbreads. The slightly sweet

sauce was a wonderful complement to the tender sweetbreads. They were one of the best - and most light sweetbreads - we have ever had. The New Orleans BBQ Lobster was also delicious - we have never tried a BBQ sauce like that - but the lobster was slightly overcooked and I would have loved more fresh thyme.

For entrees, the Smoked Pepper Seared Tuna was outstanding. We loved the barbecue/ smoky flavor to the tuna, which was the best tuna we tasted while in town. The black-eyed peas served with the dish had a wonderful smoky flavor as well. The Sauteed Flounder with Israeli cous cous was also perfectly prepared and the cous cous was delicious.

Now to dessert. Brennan's is the birthplace of Bananas Foster. Literally. Our server explained the history of the dish as he was preparing it table-side. I may have zoned out, as I was too busy drooling over the bananas being carefully heated in a sea of melted butter, brown sugar and banana liqueur to pay attention. Served with vanilla ice cream, this is the most outstanding dessert we have had in quite awhile.

Where: 417 Royal St., New Orleans.