Galatoire's is (or should I say used to be) one of my favorite New Orleans restaurants. I have had half a dozen meals over the last ten years, and I had never had a bad meal there until two weeks ago. I was with a bunch of restaurant critics from around the country and we just had a dreadful meal. What did we have? Mealy, dry shrimp in many forms and crab meat that tasted suspiciously like it had come from a can; Trout Almandine that was dry and tasteless; and turtle soup that tasted like Campbell's had made it. It's still a cool-looking, timeless kind of place, and it's still possible to have a great time eating there. I only hope it was an off night and not a harbinger of future meals. And, to top it off, Gilbert "Louis" LaFleur, the charming Cajun waiter (Galatoire's is known for having nifty waiters that you can ask for when you walk in the door) we had that night, keeled over and died from a heart attack the next morning. I only wish the last meal he served at his restaurant had been just a little bit better.