Lets’ talk about Bananas Foster. But, we can’t do that without Brennan’s restaurant in New Orleans. Brennan’s began in 1946 when Owen Brennan decided to prove Count Arnaud wrong regarding the culinary skills that were not likely possessed by an Irishman. The now classic Creole restaurant has allowed Owen Brennan and family to prove the Count wrong and earn their place among the great restaurants of New Orleans. Now located on Royal Street in the French Quarter, Brennan’s greets you with a bright pink facade and a New Orleans flair on the interior with lavish furnishings, bright colors and nods to New Orleans culture and heritage all about. The Bananas Foster was created by chef Paul Blangé in 1951 after instructions from Owen Brennan to create a dessert using bananas because his younger brother’s produce company had a surplus. Bananas Foster is made table side, starting with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon which are melted into a golden brown sauce. Bananas and banana liqueur are then added to the pan to sauté the bananas. Once they soften, rum is added to the pan and flambéed, producing a “wow” from the crowd and shortly after, a delicious dessert. Once the flame dies down and most of the alcohol is cooked off, the bananas and sauce are poured over vanilla ice cream. It’s a creamy, buttery, sweet delight that shouldn’t be missed. I don’t know how it took me until perhaps my 20th visit to New Orleans to finally make it here and sample the Bananas Foster at the bar. Don’t be like me, go get some Bananas Foster the next time you are in town.
