Arnaud's: traditional Creole cuisine lives on

Nation's Restaurant News, May 8, 1989 by Tracey Taylor Woodard

ARNAUD'S Traditional Creole cuisine lives on

When Archie Casbarian and his wife, Jane, took over Arnaud's in 1978, the aging New Orleans restaurant was housed in a labyrinth of 11 18th- and 19th-century French Quarter buildings connected by obscure hallways and secret passageways. All but one bar, the main dining room, and kitchen had long been shuttered. Now after 11 years and a $3 million renovation, the massive Creole restaurant features six public and 10 private dining rooms, two bars, a Mardi Gras museum, and an almost original menu. "We didn't change the format of the menu," Casbarian explains. "We serve Creole food. We haven't deviated into nouvelle or light or anything else."

The Casbarians, who leased Arnaud's from the founder's aging daughter, Germaine Cazenave Wells, knew that for the restaurant to succeed, they would have to restore its original glamour. The first step was to search the attics and closed-off, pigeon-filled dining rooms of the old restaurant to find an original menu. While the restaurant had always served Creole food, Archie Casbarian says, the number of items available each night had dwindled from hundreds to a handful. With the help of a 1937 menu and the memories of several New Orleans natives, the couple revived much of the original food lineup.

"To this day people come in and order the same lunch they've had since God knows when," Jane Casbarian notes. "Sometimes it drives us nuts. We want them to try something different."

Returning are items like Shrimp Arnaud, cold boiled shrimp marinated in a homemade spicy Creole version of the classic French Remoulade sauce served over a slice of tomato on shredded lettuce.

Also restored to the menu were oysters Bienville, with oysters baked with a mixture of shrimp, mushrooms, and bread crumbs and topped with glacage; oysters Ohan, oysters baked with an eggplant mixture and Camembert cheese; and Oysters Arnaud, a combination plate.

Another old favorite, Trout Meuniere, a deep-fried trout topped with Arnaud's meuniere sauce, made with lemon, butter, and veal stock, has also reappeared.

The Louisiana flavor of these old favorites is enhanced in the main dining room, in which 14 restored crystal chandeliers and a wall of beveled glass windows hang.

In true Southern style, the original ceiling fans whirl year-round, and tables with white linen and black bentwood chairs feature silverware and china patterns resembling the original settings.

Completing the dining experience is an often-ordered Cafe Brulot, coffee flamed with cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange, and lemon rind with brandy and Grand Marnier served tableside.

Born in Egypt to Armenian parents, 53-year-old Casbarian was educated in the British school system in Egypt and is a graduate of l'Ecole Hoteliere de la Societe Suisse des Hoteliers in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, N.Y.

After working in luxury hotels in Berne, Lucerne, Cairo, Curacao, Los Angeles, and New York, Casbarian was hired by Sonesta Corp. and eventually was named vice president and managing director of the Royal Sonesta Hotel in New Orleans.

Upon winning the lease to the restaurant, the Casbarians embarked on a $3 million renovation that included gutting, rebuilding, and outfitting the kitchen; overhauling the electric and plumbing systems; renovating and decorating all dining rooms and bars; and renovating and decorating all back-of-the-house areas.

Though the restored menu and elegant dining room helped Arnaud's regain its fame, several other promotions also helped.

In 1983 running slightly short of cash to continue renovations, Casbarian decided to "sell" 10 choice tables in the restaurant. For $10,000, owners received $12,000 in food and beverage credit, a brass plaque over their table, and access to a private line for reservations.

"We were fighting an uphill battle," Casbarian says. "We had a bad reputation locally from people who had been to the restaurant in the '70s. The table sale put us on the map promotionally."

A second, unexpected boost came when Folger's coffee dubbed Arnaud's "one of the world's great restaurants" and filmed a taste test in the dining room.

"We still get people that come in and say, `Hey, this is where they filmed the Folger's commercial," Jane Casbarian comments. "Tourists still have their pictures taken under the sign out front."

Arnaud's most recent boost came when President George Bush chose the restaurant for his family's dinner before he accepted the Republican nomination at the party's New Orleans convention this summer.

Casbarian completed the purchase of the buildings and land from the Cazenave descendants on the last day of 1986. And, in keeping with the history of the restaurant, he runs it as a family affair. His wife keeps the books, his father is in charge of all purchasing, and his mother runs the housekeeping staff.