Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published November  27, 2006 Click here for the current edition Galatoire's Sells Tables At Auction Today The ad-hoc party that explodes in the downstairs dining room at Galatoire's on the Friday before Christmas became legendary in recent years. You no doubt heard about (or saw) the people who'd wait in line for days to get a table for that lunch. Maybe you thought they were homeless people (that's certainly what they looked like), and wondered why Galatoire's didn't run them off. Those weren't the people who'd finally lunch at the claimed tables, of course, but people who'd been paid hundreds of dollars to hold a spot in line until the actual diners arrived at 11:30 a.m. to commence the bacchanalia. Last year, Melvin Rodrigue, the general manager of the restaurant, had a brilliant idea. Instead of asking people to line up for those seats, he held an auction that would allot them to the hghest bidders, with the proceeds going to recovery charities. That event was hugely successful last year, stopping just short of $100,000 raised. This years' beneficiaries will be Children's Hospital and Covenant House of New Orleans. The auction is this Monday, December 4, at 5:30 p.m. It costs nothing to attend the auction, but you do need to reserve a bidding paddle in advance. (By calling Christi Gaudet at 504-525-2021.) The minimum bid is $100 per seat; I think there's a minimum of two seats. That amount is just for the rights to just walk in at noonish and claim your table, which you may occupy as long as you wish. You pay for your food and wine as you ordinarily would. Why would anyone want to pay for the rights to a table? Those who have been there on the Friday before Christmas need not ask. Everybody knows everybody in the place (you will, too), an extreme level of conviviality reigns, and more than a few people wear Christmas costume (there's no other word for it). It's an unruly ball. I'll attend the auction and report on it next week. © 2006 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com