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HE LAST WORD Overcome by choice T here is a world-famous restaurant I remember having a candid conversadisposed of a few cocktails and got down tion with a manufacturer's representative here in New Orleans of which I'm to ordering. sure you've heard. It's Antoine's, the mecca of Creole cuisine since 1840. (I know what you're thinking: "Another editorial with food in it." Leave me alone; I like to eat.) When tourists come to town, mouths watering for a definitive New Orleans meal of the highest order, they head for this venerable landmark. Up until late 1989, I had never been to Antoine's. This is an embarrassing con- cession coming from a foodie like myself. A combination of factors caused this. Actually, there were only two: my parents The waiter handed us our menus. We flipped them open and, to our horror, found all of 138 dishes from which to choose! Worse yet, the entire menu is written in French. Luckily for my compadres, though, I had done some research before arriving. Articles and word-of- mouth gave me a good idea of the dozen or so best dishes in the house. Cutting to the chase, this was a grand meal. We feasted on such things as oysters Rockefeller, shrimp remoulade, oysters Foch, chicken Rochambeau, filet weren't going to take out a loan to indulge mignon with marchand de vin sauce, about the state of the industry. I told him, "Maybe I'm being naive or way off-base, but don't you think if manufacturers would release a new product every six months, for example, that those games would stand a better chance of gaining operator acceptance?" He replied, "Of course! But every manufacturer sees his competition releasing game after game, and he doesn't want to fall behind." A classic case of "doing it because everyone else is," I say. Unfortunately, when you have a market flooded with 160 different videos and pins, many good games end up in the scrap heap. Who can fault the gun-shy operator, who's been told "I've got a gods were smiling down upon me. As I reflected on that night, the size of fabulous new game for you" one time too my grand tastes, and I had no cash flow to speak of. I don't necessarily have much now, either, but I do have credit. Have American Express card, will travel. Three friends and I dressed up one Saturday night, made a reservation, and headed down to the French Quarter for a night of serious food and wine. (We didn't bother with dates; I'd have to like a woman pretty strongly to fork over this fresh creamed spinach, and crabmeat ravigote. The Bordeaux flowed. The food tourists in line without reservations to announce our arrival to the maitre 'd. He whisked us off to the main dining room, a veritable shrine to Antoine's storied past. Photos of former kings of Carnival and framed snapshots of celebrities who'd dined here lined the walls. After languishing at the dreaded "table without a station," i.e., one just on the outskirts of every waiter's domain, we fall through the cracks are worthy of a diner's consideration, yet somehow many. To this operator, things will have ed to me. I wondered: suppose, for sake to change before he comes out of his of argument, that "those in the know" game-buying shell. the menu and its endless choices return- narrowed down the 38 best soups, ap- I don't purport to know how to change petizers, main courses, and desserts. That this situation. Maybe you even think I'm would still leave 100 menu items rarely or not painting an accurate picture. But kind of money). We brushed by the poor never ordered. How many of these that enough games have gone the way of most manage to languish in obscurity? am. The same dilemma, it seems to me, exists in our industry. In 1989, there were 142 video games and 18 pins released. How is an operator supposed to know which games among this crush of machinery are good? Manufacturers release a game, give it some promotion, finally received a menu. Upon learning and just when an operator readies to buy that we were life-long locals, the waiter it, whoosh!, here comes another granted us vastly improved service. We latest-and-greatest. 228 PLAY METER/March 1990 menu items at Antoine's-lost and forgotten-to make me think that I Christopher Caire Christopher Caire News Editor