Palace Cafe's Shrimp Tchefuncte (Part 1: The Back Story)

In June 2002, I went to New Orleans for a professional conference, which was held at the Sheraton on Canal Street, just outside the French Quarter. One day I decided to venture out on my own for lunch, and I decided that, despite my measly grad student budget, I was going to have real New Orleans food no matter the cost. It just didn't make sense to me to go eat at McDonald's when I could get that anywhere! I crossed Canal Street whereupon I found myself standing in front of Palace Cafe. I took a look at the menu outside and thought, "Well, it's a bit pricey, but the menu looks good and this seems to be a cute place. I'll just order something small." So into the restaurant I went.

As soon as I entered the premise, I knew I was in trouble. I was stunned by the hospitality. Turns out the restaurant was much more upscale than I had thought. I was greeted by a sharply dressed hostess, and had a total of three servers - all wearing bowties - waiting on me. Pretty soon I also noticed a string trio (or was it a quartet? can't remember now) offering private musical treats from table to table. I looked at the menu and decided it would make me look real lame to "just order something small," so I went with the Shrimp Tchefuncte, described as "sautéed Louisiana shrimp with Creole meuniere, green onions, roasted mushrooms, and popcorn rice." It certainly sounded delicious.

Inside the Palace Cafe in New Orleans (Photo from Yelp)

Meanwhile, the string trio (or quartet) has made its way to my table, and asked if I had a request. I didn't. So I just asked them to play whatever they wanted. Just imagine, a poor grad student, sitting in the middle of a fancy restaurant that was far out of her price range, being serenaded by professional musicians dressed in black suits. I felt a little out of place, but that was no excuse not to tip the musicians. "Ouch," said my wallet.

But let's cut to the chase and talk about the food: Shrimp Tchefuncte. I took one bite and OH. MY. GAWD. It was absolutely the best thing I had ever tasted. (It's been seven years now and it is still the best thing I've ever tasted.) I get the urge to book a ticket to fly down to New Orleans and head straight to Palace Cafe every time I think about their Shrimp Tchefuncte. It was THAT good.

Anyway, a couple of days later I left the Big Easy and headed home. I might have forgotten what I learned at that conference, but I never forgot Palace Cafe and their Shrimp Tchefuncte.

As luck would have it, I got to attend another conference in New Orleans in January of 2005. (Yay for meeting planners!) And as if the food gods heard the prayers from my stomach, the conference was once again held at the Sheraton on Canal Street! (Double yay!!) I stuffed my credit card in my pocket made my way over to Palace Cafe as soon as I got the chance. And needless to say, I ordered the Shrimp Tchefuncte. It tasted just as amazing as I remembered it. This time, I also got the crabmeat cheesecake (like, how could you not??) and a dessert. I was out $40 by the end of the lunch hour, but that's a small price to pay for absolute bliss. And I was grateful I could enjoy this kind of bliss more than once in my lifetime.

As I left the cafe, I told the staff about my story, how I specifically came back to their restaurant after three and a half years just to enjoy their Shrimp Tchefuncte. Then, to my absolute delight and surprise, they OFFERED ME THE RECIPE!! I could not believe it, and even though I didn't cook back then and knew I didn't have the skill to pull off that heavenly dish, I happily accepted their gift, brought it home with me, and stuffed it in a manila folder along with all the poster handouts I picked up during the conference.

(As a side note, Hurricane Katrina hit NOLA later that year in August, and I was actually concerned enough to go to Palace Cafe's website to see if the restaurant was affected! Luckily, other than some minor damage, Palace Cafe survived.)

Fast forward another four-plus years. Yes, I'm still thinking about the Shrimp Tchefuncte. But I think the recipe was lost a few years ago when I moved from Columbus to DC, when I decided to toss out anything that wasn't useful (which included all the poster handouts I had collected over the years). Only thing is, I didn't mean to get rid of my prized recipe!! I was devastated, and even thought of writing Palace Cafe to see if they'd be willing to send me the recipe again. Then, I had the brilliant thought of googling it online. Sure enough, I found a few that claimed to be the Shrimp Tchefuncte recipe from Palace Cafe! Even though there were some slight inconsistencies across recipes, I figured it'd be worth a try to see if I could recreate my favorite dish in the world...

Click here for Part 2: The Recipe and see my attempt at making Palace Cafe's Shrimp Tchefuncte!

Pertinent info:
Address: 605 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: (504)523-1661