Turtles to Parade Through French Quarter + St. Pat’s Weekend + Brennan’s Restaurant + New Orleans

When New Orleans restaurateur Ralph Brennan and Terry White bought the iconic pink stucco building that had long housed Brennan’s, they never dreamed that they would be acquiring a family of turtles — ten of them to be exact — who inhabited the fountain pool under a canopy of greenery in the property’s legendary courtyard. Last year, after the grand re-opening, Brennan’s welcomed the temporarily displaced turtles home, and is making that event a tradition by rolling out the emerald green carpet again for the Second Annual Turtle Parade on Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 11:00am. It will be a jubilant journey as ten turtles process through the French Quarter on decorative wagons in tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Mother Sauces, the foundation of New Orleans cuisine, complete with a police escort and bag-pipe and drum procession in “the slowest second line on earth.” The festive party is Brennan’s “green” take on the weekend of city’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, a nod to Ralph Brennan’s Irish ancestry.

As “Breakfast at Brennan’s” has become part of the common parlance — so have the “Turtles at Brennan’s,” named for the five ‘Mother Sauces’ of classical French cuisine so essential to New Orleans fare: Béchamel, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Tomate, and Velouté.  In accordance with the distinctive local lingo, the group has been dubbed “The Muthas and the Othas,” the “othas” bearing the names of five other sauces that complete a New Orleans menu: Remoulade, Ravigote, Bordelaise, Mignonette and Cocktail (the only male out of the ten.) As mascots to the legendary establishment, they have garnered quite the following on their @BrennansTurtles Twitter page, sharing their antics and adventures along with chatter on the celebrity clientele.

All are invited to march along with the Krewe of Turtles as they parade along the streets of the Vieux Carre and return home to the glorious historic residence with a blessing, champagne sabering, and complimentary hors d’oeuvres and confections. Out of regard for their mascot-status, the turtles will be formally pardoned, ensuring that none will ever land in a Brennan’s signature Turtle Soup!

Brennan’s | 417 Royal Street  New Orleans, LA | 504-535-9711
brennansneworleans.com | @BrennansNOLA