Six oysters on the half shell, baked with a brilliant green sauce of butter, parsley, green herbs and absinthe, finished with breadcrumbs and salt. Named for the wealth of John D Rockefeller.

Oysters Rockefeller was invented at Antoine's in 1899 by Jules Alciatore, son of founder Antoine Alciatore. The dish was an Antoine's response to a French escargot shortage; Jules wanted a baked-oyster dish as rich and as expensive-tasting as escargots. The sauce was named for the wealth of John D Rockefeller. The exact original recipe has been kept secret by the Alciatore family for over a century, but it is widely known to NOT contain spinach (a common modern substitution). The canonical version uses butter, parsley, watercress, fennel, scallions and Herbsaint (the New Orleans anise liqueur). Antoine's at 713 St Louis still plates Oysters Rockefeller every night.

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