Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published March 9, 2009 Hermes Bar Opens Onto St. Louis Street Antoine's Opens First Bar In Its History It's been a subject of discussion for as long as I can remember, and now it's reality. Antoine's, after getting along for 168 years without any kind of bar that you can walk up to and order a drink, now has one. Its name is the Hermes Bar, named for the long-running Friday-before-Mardi Gras Carnival krewe. It's just to the left of the main entrance of the enormous old restaurant, with windows and doors opening onto St. Louis Street. It also has an entrance from the Mystery Room, which Antoine's used for a time after the hurricane as an alternate entrance to the entire restaurant. The room was formerly one of the largest of Antoine's many private dining rooms. Now it sports a large wooden bar and fixtures, all of which are brand-new, if antique in style. "I went all over the country looking for an antique bar, and all the ones I found were pretty beat up," says Rick Blount, the CEO of the restaurant, and the great-great grandson of Antoine Alciatore himself. "I said, let's just build one ourselves." Light boxes set into the walls are filled with Carnival memorabilia, much of it from Hermes. The floors remain the small square ceramic tiles that have been there for a long time. A gilt-framed antique mirror hides an unambiguously modern touch: a large-flat-screen television. When it's off, it's just another mirror. "We don't plan on having it on much," Rick says. In most ways, the new bar looks as if it had been there all along. But one detail leaves me a little cold: the high-top tables and high chairs. It looks too much like a . .  .bar. But I suppose this is something we'll get used to. They plan on serving a limited bar menu, too. On it is an idea so good it's a wonder nobody thought of it before. (Although I'll bet the chefs have been making this for themselves for years.) It's the oysters Foch poor boy. That places cornmeal-coated fried oysters on a length of French bread spread with pate de foie gras, and topped with the unique, dark-brown Colbert sauce--a hollandaise with a few enrichments. Also available are oysters Rockefeller in threes, shrimp remoulade, crabmeat ravigote, soufflee potatoes, and a few other nibbles. The grand opening will be after Easter. "Too many people give up drinking for Lent," says Yvonne Blount, Ricky's mother. But ion its soft opening, the place was hopping. When I arrived, there wasn't a single spot to be had at the bar itself, and several of the tables were full. Some of them didn't exactly look like Antoine's customers. But Bourbon Street is not far away, and since Katrina dress codes have died. Antoine’s. French Quarter: 713 St. Louis. 504-581-4422. Classic Creole. © 2009 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com