Few places capture the essence of New Orleans
like the Napoleon House: A 200 year old
landmark that's as casual and unique as
its French Quarter surroundings.
The
building's first occupant, Nicholas Girod,
was mayor of New Orleans from 1812 to 1815.
He offered his residence to Napoleon in
1821 as a refuge during his exile.
Napoleon
never made it, but the name stuck, and since
then, the Napoleon House has become one of
the most famous bars in America, a haunt
for artists and writers throughout most of
the 20th century.
Owned
and operated by the Impastato family since
1914, it's a place that suspends you in time,
where you can hear Beethoven's Eroiqua, which
he composed for Napoleon, and the music of
other classical masters, while sipping a
Pimm's Cup, and basking in an ambiance that
could only be New Orleans
The
Scene
Napoleon House was supposedly built by French
loyalists in the hopes that it would be used
by Napoleon Bonaparte, who was exiled on Elba
at the time. With classical music providing
a genteel background, the restaurant sports
a dark, quiet and comfortable ambience, making
it a hangout for bohemian and eclectic types.
Besides sandwiches and traditional local fare,
this spot also serves homemade desserts
Folklore has it that the name of this place
derives from a bit of wishful thinking: Around
the time of Napoleon's death, a plot was hatched
here to snatch the Little Corporal from his
island exile and bring him to live in New Orleans.
The third floor was added expressly for the
purpose of providing him with a home. Alas,
it probably isn't true: The building dates
from a couple of years after Napoleon's death.
But let's not let the truth get in the way
of a good story, or a good hangout, which this
is at any time of day, but particularly late
at night (though not at this time, see hours),
when it's dark enough to hatch your own secret
plans. Somewhere between tourist-geared and
local-friendly, it serves large portions of
adequate versions of traditional New Orleans
food (po' boys, jambalaya), plus the only heated
muffuletta in town. Luckily, this historic
place sustained no storm damage, but for the
foreseeable future, they ahve severely shortened
|
