It opened in 1880 in New Orleans and became synonymous with the phrase “fine dining,” winning enough awards and accolades to fill a warehouse. With its graceful, Victorian architecture, nestled in the well-heeled Garden District of the Big Easy, its faithfully executed Cajun and Creole menu, and superior service, Commander’s not only stayed in business for more than 125 years it excelled in an industry that enjoys finding the “next great thing.”

Hurricane Katrina changed all that, bringing ruin to the city and to the restaurant itself. Although the structure was sound, the interior of the place was severely damaged and the restaurant closed for more than a year.

But like the city itself, Commander’s has been reborn and has opened its doors once again. Friends of mine got to do a “test run” before the place welcomed the general public and the reports they sent back were long on the superlatives. The interior of the restaurant has received a facelift but retained much of its old-world charm and the food – well, the food is apparently just as successful as it has always been.

Since I couldn’t make it back to New Orleans to visit the original, I decided to do the second best thing: eat at Commander’s Palace in Las Vegas.

Located in the Desert Passage shopping mall at the Aladdin (soon to be The Mile shopping mall at Planet Hollywood), the Vegas version of this restaurant is superb on just about every level. Anyone who says it isn’t just as good as the parent restaurant is just being nitpicky.

The facility in Vegas, just like the original in New Orleans, is divided into several dining rooms – a lively and boisterously loud café style area and several more formal dining rooms done in rich fabrics and woods that evoke a Victorian elegance. Although, like most things in Vegas, this is fake old-world Victorian elegance but it is a more than adequate surrounding in which to have a very fine meal.

We started with the Truffled Crabmeat Imperial, finely chopped crab meat done with black truffles and chives, topped with a crumbly crust and accompanied by a sweet, creamy sunchoke aioli sauce (that you could pour on top or do as a shot straight out of the glass). It was out of this world, bursting with competing flavors that mixed elegantly.

Their famous Turtle Soup was spicier than I remembered it from previous visits, but still just as enjoyable. If a full bowl seems like too much of a commitment, try the 1-1-1 option, which provides a demitasse portion of it, their gumbo (in this case a sausage and shrimp confection), and a soup of the day.

For an appetizer we tried the Louisiana Alligator “Cordon Bleu,” with the alligator meat (it tastes like chicken – seriously) done in a crispy Creole breaded seasoning and stuffed with Creole mozzarella and prosciutto. This was probably the least successful dish on our gastronomic tour of the evening, simply because it didn’t live up to its Creole promises. Like I said, it tasted like a simple battered and grilled chicken, but it was stuffed with cheese and ham so that makes it all okay in my book.

For dinner we tried a couple of the seafood options. Now you’ll never, ever find fish as fresh and tasty in Las Vegas as you will along the gulf coast, but darn it if they don’t come really close here. They fly in all of their fish daily and it shows, with the dishes we sampled (the Louisiana Pecan Crusted and the Swordfish special) expertly and lovingly prepared from the freshest ocean denizens they could find.

The Creole seasoned filet mignon was served over a warm Creole smashed potato with crispy fried onions in a Worcestershire sauce and was also excellent. I’ve reached the point in my life where a steak, without some sort of dressing up, just doesn’t do it for me anymore. This one, tangy and flavorful on its own but then juiced up with the spicy Creole seasonings, was what cow-based meats were intended to be and will pretty much ruin you from those regular hunks of beef at places like Outback.

Dessert consisted of their legendary (there’s that word again) Creole Bread Pudding Souffle (done with a velvety bourbon whisky sauce) and warm beignets, stuffed with white and dark chocolate and served on a raspberry sauce that was inspirational.

There is a little something for all tastes on the menu – duck, veal, buffalo short ribs, and several other seafood items dominate the entrée category, while salads and sides run the gamut. It is all done with the distinctive regional Creole and Cajun flairs, but don’t let that scare you off. Just as all French food is not done with heavy sauces, not all Creole and Cajun is spicy. If you are sensitive to that, be sure to inform your servers and have them guide you.

Something they would undoubtedly be happy to do, since service here is, in a word, perfect. Presentation is key, as each course comes at you in a wave of servers and dishes, turning the act of putting a plate on a table into something like a ballet. Worth noting is the fact that meals like this were designed to be savored and enjoyed so give yourself plenty of time to get through the whole thing. We spent more than two hours stuffing ourselves to the gills.

Prices, as to be expected of a restaurant of this caliber, are expensive. Soups and appetizers run from $8-20, entrees $23-40, side dishes from $6-15, and desserts $8-10 so with wine, tax and tip you’re looking at $100 per person easily unless you really skimp on something and quite frankly if you do, you’re missing out on a truly amazing dining experience.