August 19, 2019 • 55 mins
Regional cuisine is trendy, but it’s been the focus of New Orleans' restaurants for decades. We talk with restauranteur Richard 'Dickie' Brennan about growing up in Prudhomme and Emeril’s kitchens, how education empowers, and how New Orleanians live life.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hello, and welcome to Savor production of I Heart Radio
and Stuff Media. I'm Annies and I'm Lauren Vocal Bam
and today we have an interview for you. Yes, we
have so many interviews just stockpiled. I'm glad we're sharing them. Yes,
because some of them, this one in particular, are just
so much like the voice of a of a person
(00:28):
and a personality and um within them a part of
a culture subculture. And yes, this one is Mr Dickie Brennan,
who we met in our trip to New Orleans, which
also feels like when was that, oh gosh, decades millennia, millennia,
no one was even alive then. Um. Yes, that the
(00:50):
Brennan family collectively owns and operates thirteen restaurants in New Orleans.
They're a little bit of a dynasty. Yes. And we
spoke in our New Orleans episodes about how we got
in touch with Dicky in in particular and like meeting him,
and it was it was really great because it was
just kind of comedy of errors. Oh yeah, that turned
(01:11):
out in the absolute best way possible because we weren't
looking to we we thought that he was an above
our our pay grade and his publicist was just sort
of like our marketing human was just sort of like, oh, yeah, no,
do you want to talk to Dicky? And we were
like sure, And we got po boys and fries and
one of those uh we were there for the Bourbon thing.
We got one of those two. So it was pretty
(01:34):
pretty good. It was incredibly lovely. I was not expecting
to eat that much. And then I ate everything. Hopefully
there's not too many mouth noises in this interview, hopefully not,
hopefully not. And also I believe he invited us to
his house at Marty Gras and I haven't forgotten as
all on safe so I hope you're serious. And he
comes knocking on the door, Who are you? How could
(01:57):
you forget us? I'm sure he He strikes me as
a kind of guy who doesn't forget to face or name.
I agree anyway, Um, so yes, let us get to
the interview picture it we're on them that that the
interior balcony at a at a large table in Bourbon
House in New Orleans, which is this grand, beautiful, decked
(02:19):
out restaurant, and uh, we've been in a crazy rush
all morning trying to figure out how to actually get
into the building. Uh we finally get in. Uh, we
through through a different entrance, go up to a bar
tender at this relatively unrelated bar and say, we're so sorry.
Do you know where Dicky Brennan might be? And he
(02:40):
just points kind of kind of languidly. It says, why
he's sitting right over there, and sure enough he was
so so so we're still in this headspace of like,
how where are we going? And then we get up
to this like just beautiful empty place and Dickie is
so gracious and this interview follow us. Hi, who are you?
(03:05):
I'm Dickie Brennan, and I get planning and you you
are the founder and an owner of a restaurant group
here in New Orleans. Yea, you know, founder of several
restaurants twenty five years ago. I started a company. But
(03:26):
I grew up in a family business, restaurant family. So
you know, my entire life has been involved in the
restaurant world, food world. So, uh, what was it like
growing up in and around your family's restaurants? You know? Uh,
we lived in this neighborhood called the Garden District, and
(03:47):
in the neighborhood they had this Russian called Commander's Palace.
So Commanders like the second oldest restaurant in New Orleans.
So in sixty nine we um Mr Morand passed away.
My dad went to pay respects. We lived two blocks
away from the road to Miss Moran, and she's like,
I'm eight years old. I don't want to run a
(04:09):
restaurant my kids. At the time, we had Brendan's down
the French Quarter. And my Dad's like, well, we're in
the restaurant business. We live in the neighborhood. If you
want to sell it, let us. So we bought Commander's
Palace in nineteen sixty nine. So as a kid, are
you kid? And this was like, you know, our our
play playground, you know. So I was around nine years
(04:31):
old at the time, and I can't recall a time
my life where I wasn't something doing something around this
wonderful restaurant that you know, it was just a special
part of my life. When when did you when did
you start cooking? I guess, you know, at the restaurant,
(04:55):
I might have been twelve thirteen years old, and it
was that summer. Paul Pruden was our chef um, you know,
and I guess, uh, maybe earlier, but in the professional kitchen.
It was more around twelve or thirteen that I actually
got to participate, you know, in the professional kitchen, which
(05:17):
was kind of neat. But at at home, you're making
a divide had you always been in there. So I
love food. I mean I'd come home from school and
make I'd scrambled six eggs just as a snack to
hold me over till dinner. So um. So now I
was always cooking. Both of my grandmother's with phenomenal cooks. Um.
(05:41):
And my mother's a great cook, but she was running
around busy, so um. We had this wonderful woman that. Um,
they're all all over this city, these wonderful women that
that just can cook, you know, and they cook for
families and um, babysit or just it's like a second mother,
you know. And I grew up with a woman called Mandy,
(06:02):
and you know, just it was interesting when someone's cooking. So,
I mean, I had so much opportunities to be around
cooking as a kid professionally at home. It's it's talked
really part of the culture in New Orleans. What kind
of what kind of dishes do you remember from back
thending your childhood. What's interesting is my dad would sit
(06:27):
down early, we'd have dinner at the house, and then
he'd walk two blocks of commanders and go taste everything
in the kitchen and eventually have a meal there. So
we you know, at home, it was more home cooked
whole recipes, you know, be red beans and rice with
pickle porks. Wee pickle pork. Not only many people nowadays
(06:51):
the experienced pickle pork and their red beans, but you know,
as the kids, it was the protein, the meat that
we would all fight over when we're having red beans
and rice. Nowadays, things on dewey sausage, you know, sausage
and your redbeans. Uh, just a lot of chicken creole
and you know, just great smother chicken, you know with rice.
(07:11):
I mean we're Louisiana, so there was rice and a
lot of our meals, you know that you would have
so uh gumbo, Aman didn't stop. There was always something
coming out of the pot. So um, how how is uh?
How is all of that influenced what y'all do at
(07:32):
your restaurants? You know what I love about New Orleans?
Um one our climate we can farm you around, so
there's always something coming in the sea, So that played
a lot of what you need at home as well
as what was on the rest of menu. The other
thing is is we're at the mouth Mississippi River. It's
(07:54):
most fertile fish grounds in the world. So, I mean,
we have so much a bounty of seafood and it's
all seasonal, and some of it's in the mars, some
of it's in the in the coastal waters, and a
lot of its inland. So I mean, like when our
blue crabs are going out of season, crawfish are coming
in the season. It there's always something that's gonna peak
(08:15):
at different times of the year. And really, I mean
our flossi in the restaurants and it's the same thing
at homes. We're eating what's in season, what's peaking and
uh and it you know, it was a lot of
options there. When did you when did you know that
you wanted to be part of the part of the
family business. Did you have heard ever have a moment
(08:35):
where you're like, yes, hear this, I'm gonna None of
us were encouraged to be in the business, you know,
and um, so there's no pressure to be in the business.
I can't think of a time where I was like,
screw this, I don't want to be in the business. Um,
I just was. You know, I said, I'm the luckiest
guy in the world. I grew up in just a
(08:55):
hell of a time, in a hell of a location,
with a hell of a family. Um. You know I
mentioned Commander's Palace when our family bought it in my
earlier years. Um, we my dad and his brothers sisters
left Brendon's in the seventies mid seventies, they we decided
to divide up the family business and so uh so
(09:17):
when they moved in the Commanders, Frindons was a flagship
and Brendan's. You know, my dad worked Sunday breakfast because
his older sister Ella wanted to work Saturday's because she
loved the entertaining. So he'd wake up and go to
work do a thousand people for breakfast at Brendan's. I mean,
it was our big thing that she did. When we
(09:39):
bought Commanders at twenty people came by after church on
a Sunday. That was a good crowd. So he's bored.
He's like I can't and he's like, I'm not doing
breakfast and print. It's that's that restaurant were leaving there.
So we were somewhere on a trip and we're eating
and there was a band out in the lobby playing
some music or we're having brunch, and he just he
(10:00):
came home and said, I want to do it jazz brunch.
And so he called alban Acorn and great trumpet player,
and so three men showed up and they roamed around
the dining room. Paul Prudence the chef at the time.
We did this great brunch menu and you know, I
worked the first jazz brunch with my dad. You know,
(10:22):
that was you know, and to see where it is today,
I mean every rest in the city as jazz. What
I mean, to be able to just a wait with
your family and watch them you know, create something. Uh,
it's been so interesting. I mean it's always something like
that jazz brunches we were talking about. Yeah, how how
(10:43):
does do do you feel like there's uh there's like
cross cross connections in between how um uh how how
how a kitchen works and how uh those those musicians work? Like?
Oh absolutely, I mean we always say cooking with jazz,
I mean, you know, our our seasonings here, I mean
(11:06):
we use a blend of seasons um, you know, and
it's to really enhance the flavors. Takes something makes it blossom.
So I mean, it's like making music. It's definitely a
great correlation between making music and making food. I mean
it's but we um. Yeah. The other thing that happened
(11:27):
in the seventies, and Paul Pruton was an American local guy,
whereas a lot of the chefs were Europeans. Um and
Paul knew all the farmer and fishermen and they grew
up in the country. So we started happening at Commanders
early on in the seventies, we started doing local regional foods.
(11:47):
UM Commanders turned a heart years old and so we
there was this award that they would get findining restaurants
around the country, the Holiday Awards, and was always done
in Chicago, an annual dinner and people would receive the awards,
all the restauranturs around the country would go and meet.
(12:09):
So we asked, could we host it in New Orleans
this year and have everybody helped to celebrate a restaurant
being a hundred years old in America and so everyone
you know, so all these restaurant tours shafts from around
the country came the New Orleans and I never forget
the dinner. Um. One of the courses of sautell craps,
(12:30):
which it was the time of the year. We didn't
know if they're gonna be busting out or not. So
we had planned b if it wasn't gonna be a sausa.
But it came from a certain farmer. Uh, we had squad.
It was from a farmer in Mississippi. Everything on the
menu and we had written was what was it? Where,
where did it come from? Who was raising it? Then
(12:52):
we had an American wine with each course this is
and we had we had duck On seventy eight Cabernet,
which was his first vintage. Um some I mean it
was cake bread. We had Callaway made a late harvest
dessert one called Sweet Nancy. I mean, everything was American.
(13:13):
And we that night told all these restaurant tours, which
basically back then you were either Italian, French, German. If
you will find dining restaurant. Most of them were in
the downtowns. You know, they weren't neighborhood restaurants. Said we
know today and when that the next year was the
first American reason Supposium, where people in America started saying,
(13:37):
we're a regional American restaurant, We're not a French, German,
Italian restaurants. I mean that dinner got to look at
the world we have today. I mean, it's classically trained
for American chefs. You know, institutes like CIA have given
young Americans men and women the opportunity to become great chefs,
you know, and so these things didn't It wasn't an
(13:58):
American food, so it was you were classically European train
and then that just changed. I mean in the eighties
have changed. We became American, we started educating, and so
much of that happened at Commanders and you know, like
I said, I can't believe I was sitting there as
a young kid. I mean that's where I started, you know,
(14:22):
and it's never stopped the American food scenes. So it's
been a nice journey. H D. I mean it sounds
like you, like firsthand personally witnessed Cajun and Creole cuisine
(14:42):
go from being something that was really just cooked in
homes or cook in neighborhoods to to a national to
a national trend and something that people respected. I mean,
I mean, for at home, time, Like, how how wild
has that been? You know, the creativity is really I
(15:03):
guess when you mentioned cage and a Creole, for so
many generations, it was the same dish. There wasn't a
lot of evolution. You know, red beans and rice with
red beans and rice, um, Gumbo was gumbo um. But
with in the last twenty thirty years. And it's I
(15:24):
really believe it's because young American men and women have
gotten these formal educations, so they had this foundation to
work from. I just think in America we're creative. You know,
in a city like New Orleans is incredibly creative. I mean,
my god, we created jazz. Prior to jazz, you had
old world music. If I've played a certain way, I mean,
would happened New Orleans. Look how it's changed the world.
(15:47):
You know, music, So this creative and that's what I love.
It's hard for us to say this is a Creole
or Cajun dish because they've all you know, the regional
seasonal products you know, in both cuisines, and now they're blended. Uh,
you know, which is exciting because it's food is always
(16:09):
um should evolve and it's just like us. I mean,
I think My palette evolves over the years, you know,
whether it's food, wine, spirits I have. You know, my
palte keeps changing, So it's nice to see food evolving
at the same time. Jazz Jazz. We have some more
(16:37):
of our interview with Dicky for you, but first we
have a quick break for word from our sponsor. We're back,
Thank you spons here, let's get back into the interview.
The name New orlengees in more songs than any other city,
(16:58):
tenfold really because it inspired so many musicians. I mean,
how's the rise and I mean yes, uh, creation and tradition.
Are you? Are you sort of a nerd for for
the cocktail history around here? Have you? Yes? If I
(17:20):
called it a nerd that I'm passionate, I think. I
think I can't help it. I mean, my god, it's
so much a part of how New Orleanians live life, uh,
you know, and so it's a daily part of our
culture is connecting with people and the majority of that
(17:41):
is connecting on the table with food. And how can
you not have a great meal without spirits wine? Uh?
And it's such a rich tradition in this city, you know,
I mean, being a part of creating a cocktail. You know. Uh,
it goes way back, originated something like a cocktail, just
(18:01):
the bourbon, I mean the way Bourbon ebolbed. It was
New Orleans at the time wasn't getting a you know,
the brandy coming from the old world. So they knew
they were making some whiskey up the river, and they said,
send us some whiskey. Well, they didn't know how to
ship it or whatever. They had to fear how to
take which basically his white dog and his moonshine and
(18:24):
they had to figure out how to get it to
New Orleans. And so they took these wooden kegs and
a lot of the kegs were used with things like
nails storage that had ross. So they had to sanitize
these wooden kegs, which they charred the inside. They put
this white dog in the keg, sent it down the river. Well,
(18:44):
when it got here and they drank it, they sent
word back up and he said, send us some more
of the red whiskey. And they're like, what are they
talking about? So I mean it that, you know, that's
why we're sitting here in Bourbon House. You know, I
grew up with a dad, and I think so many
people drank the European spirits, the Scotch, Jensvodkas. He just
(19:07):
kept saying, it's American drink, drink, drink Bourbon, It's American, um,
you know. And that even goes back to the way
we evolved the American theme for our restaurants back in
the seventies and navies, so um. You know. In the
other part of the story with with the Bourbon whiskey
coming down here, they didn't send the barges back up
(19:29):
river then, so that most of the houses here, the
foundations were made from the wood off these barges. So
the men that came down from Kentucky and it was
a great opportunity for them to make money. They get
enough money, and it was it was the Spanish that
brought horses to America. So New Orleans was Spanish occupied.
(19:49):
I still don't know why we call it the French corn.
It was filed during Spanish occupation. But so they had
the money and they would buy a horse, and there's
a trail, it's not just trace, to go from New
Orleans to Louisville, and they would rode back up to
go back home. And those horses of what seated the
horse industry in Kentucky. So New Orleans is a very
(20:15):
interesting city when you study and you find out you know,
just all this stuff. So you know, that's why I say,
I mean, the food world is attentional, it's creative, it's
always evolving, it's living, it's growing. It's no better city
to be in the food world in New Orleans. So
(20:38):
I've never not thought of doing anything other than what
we did. Um. How all right? So so you've got
you've got bourbon coming in from Kentucky, You've got rum
coming in from the Caribbean. Uh, and all kinds of
other other ingredients flitting around. How did Yeah? I mean
(20:58):
other people are just kind of going like, oh, that's great.
How do cocktail cultures start here? Going way back in
time with the creation of a cocktail, I think it
was it was just a part of the daily routine.
You know. They were called coffee houses, and that's where
(21:18):
you would take the break to go in and have
a drink um, you know, in the middle of the
day or in the morning. You know, when I lived
in France, if you go to the market early in
the morning and you go into the coffee shops, someone
might be having an expresso but someone else is having
a cocktail you know, um, and then you know, an
(21:39):
absent or whatever. So I think a lot of that
culture was here in the city um drinking. Um. But
what I love about today is it's like when in
the eighties we started educating with color institutes. We now
have a generation and they've gotten educated. In the spirits world,
(22:04):
what do we call mixologists? You know, not quite sure
yet where we're going with the name, but they're professionals
and they're really uh can give a customer an experience
that you didn't experience when you walked and say, give
me an old fashioned you know now it's what bourbon
would you like with your old fashioned? You know? And
then the young mixologists saying, we'll tell me kind of
(22:25):
what what what do you like? You know, what do
you like? Sweet? Do you like did or you know
it picks the right wrong or picks the right bourbon
for you to have that great experience. UM. So I
mean it's I don't know what's going like in ten years,
but what's happened the last ten years has been crazy,
certainly in the spirits world. Um, are there any drinks
(22:49):
for which your traditionalist? Is there anything that you want
the one way and that's the way that it should be. UM.
Or do you like do you like rips? Do you
like that experimentation that you You know, there's some things
that I don't want to mess with. UM, like a
bloody Marry. You know, there's the original restpe It's very basic,
(23:10):
you know, great tomato juice, a little bit of a
u Wistershire sauce, tabasco. That's it. UM. And I think
when you make that drink and you drink it with
a good vodka, it works. Nowadays we're sticking so many
things in it and it gets too gritty because you're
(23:30):
putting all these too much pepper, too much all. You know.
That's I'm like, don't mess with a good thing now.
If you want to mess with it, call it something else.
Because we certainly have created some great things from a
Bloody Marry. So I'm all about the evolution of whatever,
whether it's food, spirits, cocktails. I think that's the exciting part.
(23:56):
And uh, And we've never been in a better time
where the quality of the evolution of these trinks or
whatever has been has been better. I mean, it's phenomenal
what's going on right now? Um, is are there any
evolutions from from uh ear places here that you're particularly
(24:19):
proud of or excited about. So I grew up where
we made a basic milk punch and for years it
was brandy milk punch. Then our family started doing bourbon
milk punch. UM. So I grew up with a very
simple bourbon milk punch recipe. And when we opened up
(24:40):
here on Bourbon Street, Bourbon House, the this proliferation of
dacary shops up and down the street, you know, and
they're real sweet, I mean not knocking them. And the
fun thing about New Orleans you could walk up and
down the street with a cocktail. UM. So we knew
we wanted to do something to add two to enhanced,
(25:01):
to be a little different, um, and so we created
a frozen bourbon milk punch. It's uh I call it
an adult milkshake because basically, you know, it's not what
you would find in the in the dictories, you know
sweet and I mean this is it's a custard that
we freeze with bourbon and you know, um, and it's
(25:26):
it's really become one of our signature items. That was
a good evolution um um risk on the frozen room
because now he had the frozen Bourbon punch, but he
also had a martyr. Kinkakes are really popular here, so
we do and the kincake Betty, which is the kincake
(25:48):
version of the frozen bourbon punch. What does what does
that look like? Well, we got you know, on top
of the kincakes, you have a little different color of sugar,
so we do a little bit of dusting. Um. The
one I really like is, you know, our family created
banana foster. We have it which is flamb rom so
(26:09):
at Palace where we feature broms um. You know, we
do a derivative of the Bourbon milk punch, but it's
a banana faussa milk punch and so it's flavored with bananas,
some cinnamon and the rum. But it's another one he's
frozen drinks. So people really the nice things. You get
(26:31):
to an end of a meal and you don't want
to have a dessert. These drinks have become the go
to for a lot of our clientele, and being in
the French Court New Orleans, it's the ideal thing. You're
finishing the meal, you don't and you can take it
and go outside and see what's going on. There's a
lot of interesting wanting to walk around the French court.
So our adult milkshakes have become very popular. We just
(26:58):
had that video of the s Foster last night. By
the way, it was not not the drink, but the
whole thing. Yeah, it was. It was so good. Um Uh,
do you have a dude? Do you have a favorite
or perhaps a shortlist? I hate it when people ask
me my favorite thing. I'm like everything, literally, everything I've
(27:19):
ever tasted is my favorite. Um, but did you have
a Do you have a favorite cocktail? Something that you
just go back to all the time. Maybe a raightmus
gen fizz? Uh? I don't know why, but I just
it's uh, I can't say someone it's on the top
of a bunch of them. You know. I've always loved
(27:40):
the breakfast drinks and their owns, you know, right, or
milk punch a sas rack, you know, is a wonderful
I've put it more in the category and a pett
of teeth, you know, it's something I want to enjoy
before I'm going to have a meal. Uh, you know,
and just the flavoring. Oh you think of a size right?
(28:02):
My god, it's it's the whiskey. But then you run
the glass with um, you know herb saying is our
local ICs. Yeah, and then you're putting in these different bitters.
There's so many ingredients in these bitters that they were
created by pharmacists in New Orleans way back because of
the medicinal purposes. Um. But it was all food based,
(28:27):
um ship that the bidders are based from foody product spices. UM. So,
I mean, what's going on when you put all that
with a great bourbon? You know, boom? That's I mean
makes your mouth go wow, what's going on in here? So?
So I've been fortunate that I've always been able to
enjoy been exposed growing up in New Orleans to just
(28:52):
some incredible spirits, cocktails. And so you mentioned you, Um,
we're reviewing a restaurant in New York recently. What other
things besides all the stuff we're doing with this, what
what else have you involved in? Shoot? Our biggest thing
(29:19):
we've been working on the last five years is a
new culinary. It's it's too in downtown New Orleans. And
I say culinary, but it's really you know, We're gonna
start off this January with the baking and chef correctultion,
but it's it's really an institute that we hope evolves
in a lot more than just training chefs. So we
(29:42):
say hospitality. We want to focus on the front of
the house service UM and our real plan from day
one when we found this incredible property it's a hard
thousand square feet, it's a beautiful building right in downtown
New Orleans, was to partner up with all the different
universities in I mean, we don't want to recreate the
(30:02):
the wheel here, but we think our industry. You know,
when I've made reference to the institutes like Culinary Institute
of America what it started doing to help young Americans
be classically trained, it's changed the food seeing. You know,
you had finite restaurants in the downtowns. Then you had
mom and pops neighborhood restaurants. Our mom and pop neighborhood
(30:25):
restaurants are at the same quality of a you know,
four star restaurant that would would have existed in a
form of environment downtown. So that was education, and so
that's the The food industry is huge, I mean with
the biggest employer behind the government. UM, and it's just
(30:46):
involves a lot of things. I mean, uh, I don't
want to ramble on. I mean I can run on
a lot about this in too. So when I say
we wanted the evil, ILL use this as an example. Um,
there's no architecture school in America that has any concentration
(31:07):
on food service design. Now, architects will give you a
restaurant they loved to, but they'll ask you who's doing
your kitchen? And typically it's the person that sells you
the equipment, and they have the computers and they put
it on that and they send it to the architect
and the architect stamps, and it's a person who's selling
(31:30):
certain brands is designing kitchen. I hope is is that
we can go the next level to where there could
be people that are trained in what is the ultimate kitchen. Um.
You know, we've got evolved the equipment. You know, we
just redid Palace Cafes kitchen after twenty seven years. And
(31:52):
next to each station that has traditional which would be gasperning,
we put in an induction range next to it, trying
to get our young culinarians to learn how to cook
on a different But it's it's going to be you know,
it's what is gonna be the future best uses, best
pieces of equipment, a lot of research development. So with Noki,
(32:14):
you know, our idea is we don't want to start
an architecture school. Tulane has an incredible one two miles
up St. Charles. At All they have to do is
hire one teacher that knows food, serves design and create
at a at an NBA level for architects to go
get this specially to where they really know kitchens and
(32:38):
put that under the Noki brand. So I mean it's
one teacher teaching something that no one teaches. And it's
because we created this Nooki Institute, which is about trying
to create education to all different areas of the food world.
And when you take two Lane and l s U
medical schools, I mean how much opportunities there with Tropical
Science School of Food being part of the R and
(33:02):
D of food, going into medicine, going into healthcare. So
really trying to create a new industry New Orleans that
higher education but which I want to focus on the
food world. It's endless what it can be. So but
now we've always been involved in a lot of things.
(33:24):
I mean we never I grew up with parents that
they would always say, you can't just be inside your
four walls. You have to be a part of your community,
be a part of your industry, um, you know, and
get out there. So I mean, we've all my goodness,
this town has so many great efforts going on and
(33:45):
good causes and you know, uh ah, it's hard to
kind of listen things that that I've been involved in
over the years. One fun thing we just we're gonna
do this. Um thirty something years ago we created a
(34:05):
Louisiana Children's Museum and down to you know, in the
warehouse yestroom, and uh so the last year they've been
building a brand new facility in City Park are Vnesta
Park and uh and so we're gonna do the food
service in the new children's museum, which is really exciting
(34:25):
because also in City Park you have another Africa going
on growed that you know, we do who that it's
a growed that and it's a it's a farm, it's
a working farm so that people can learn and be educated.
So we're really excited about taking what we're doing in
the museum with the kids. We've got the food, you know,
(34:47):
the farming going on and what we can do together. Um,
it's gonna be a great project, you know, being able
to work with the kids and educate them on where
your food comes from and how to cook it. It's
gonna be fun. Him. It's kind of tomorrow. Oh right, yeah,
(35:09):
I was reading about this. You you helped institute an
oyster shell recycling program, right. Um. You know, I love
fishing and I'm going to My cousin has a great
fishing camp just thirty minutes south of the city, and
I'm driving down there one day and where a lot
of the oyster boats. You know, it's a it's a
(35:31):
commercial fishing village as well as rec regional camps. This
is huge mound of limestone rock and they've got a
front loader that's scooping it up and putting it on
an oyster logger. So when they're going out there rebuilding
beds because we have to move where the oysters are
(35:51):
if we're gonna do fresh word diversions to rebuild the marsh.
And the biggest obstacle is it's not a fisherman catching
fish and move around. It's the oyster farmers that have
a lot of time invested in making a bed. So
there a lot of efforts to make beds in different
areas so that we can bring fresh water. And but
I'm like, that's there's no limestone, Louise, and I don't
(36:14):
know how far you gotta go to find limest. So
I'm like, we're buying a product, we're shipping it here,
and we're trying to rebuild bets when we have so
we can grow oysters. All right, we have oyster shells
that we throw away. They go to the landfill but
for out and it's just it makes no sense. So
(36:36):
that kind of instigated what can we do to recycle? Uh,
how can we get these oyster shells as part of
rebuilding the coast instead of letting them fill up our landfill?
So so it worked out. I mean it's been a
very successful. How many times we're talking like four thousand
(36:56):
tons that we're recycled miles and miles will Oister Creeve
being able to build which also replacing them. There are
islands that were using so they're serving into a purpose
there the ground to raise additional oysters there also in
cost erosion, right, so they can certainly build a bed,
(37:21):
but they would put them in these baskets. Um it's
like a sleeve. You fill it up, you're tied. Then
it goes inside a big crate so that these could
be anchored and they're like looks like this table and
they're maybe this deep. And so our coastal erosion, that
coastline wherever it is in the marshal went out on
(37:44):
the it just keeps eroding. So if you take this
basket and you put it ten yards in front of
where the existing coast is and you anchor them in,
it just natural will fill and instead of the erosion
going in one direction, we build back the coastline. And
that's what's worked really nice with this Oister recycling. So
(38:07):
I mean because of that, we'll make it progress. UM.
So it's exciting. I mean, it's it's something we should do. Um.
What's the what's the food and drink community like around here? Like?
What's it? What's it like? Uh? Not just not just
you know, people coming in and enjoying things obviously, but
what's it like working working with these farmers and U
(38:29):
and these producers, UM and and other restaurants around town.
I mean I feel sorry for people that do other stuff.
I mean, to have to talk to a farmer or
go out on the boat fishing and you know, being
outdoors and just seeing all these understanding where it's coming from.
(38:50):
And then bringing into the restaurant with all these wonderful
talented people that want to cook, you know, and they
they want to see someone enjoy it. Um, I don't know.
I mean, I've never not enjoyed this experience, you know,
the daily ritual of that food part. Now trying to
(39:13):
make the business work and looking at the payroll and
all the other things. You know, that's not the fun
part of the day. But the food part, the product part.
You know that this is in season, it just came
in the back door, you know. Then we get to
prepping in a way that we can give it to
someone they and they really just have a great experience.
(39:35):
That's good stuff. My dad always said what he liked
about our business was people came to us to have
a good time, you know, and you really helped create
memories for people, people together celebrating as opposed to if
I was a banker, people coming to me they need money,
if am an attorney, they come into they got to
(39:56):
the father doctor, you're going as you're hurting. I mean,
people come to us to have a good celebration. It's
a real positive attribute. We've got a bit more of
this interview left, but first we're going to take one
more quick break for a word from our sponsor, and
(40:24):
we're back. Thank you sponsor, and back to the interview. UM,
what do you what do you see coming in the
future other other than this this awesome institute, Like you
know what a what do what do you? What do
you hope for for y'all and for New Orleans? And
I guess what what other problems are you working on tackling?
You know? One of my hopes with this new institute. UM,
(40:50):
it amazed me how many young men and women work
in New Orleans restaurants and they never get past the
line cook possession. They don't become that manager, they don't
become the soux chef chef. And I'm convinced it's because
they don't have that formal education. UM. And a lot
of these people aren't going to be able to leave
(41:12):
state and go to Johnson and Wales a color issue,
It's just not gonna happen. So one of my biggest
from day one mission with this new institute is we
want to take I certainly want to take individuals that
have been cooking for fifteen years. What I mean, they're
in it and they know what they do, and they
(41:32):
have great skills, very talented, but be able to put
them in that classic environment where they I say, learn
a language. I mean, if you don't, you can make
holidays as like a Michael Jordan playing basketball, but if
you don't know the word emulsify and and the chemistry
behind what you do and why it works it, I
(41:56):
think it keeps you from having confidence. And that lack
of confidence is where these men and women don't go
to the next level. Because there's so many I've worked
with over the years and I've said, come on, want
you take a little responsible now I'm I'm I'm good
doing what I'm doing. And then I've seen young men
and women from out of state that have graduated from
(42:18):
these wonderful programs, and so many of them go, I
want to cook in New Orleans and so it's a
young confident you know, someone just graduated co Schood's coming
in and they're getting the sex chef position and then
they become the chefs. I mean, I'm certainly not knocking
an animal. Look Gosspi I mean, it couldn't be a
greater example of you know, animal came in started working
(42:40):
my family and you know, look look where he's gone.
So I really hope this institute because in New Orleans,
you know, we have certainly have our challenges when it
comes to I'll just saying it's racial relationships and so
and a lot of people leadership on both sides. When
you have and conversation, you know, a lot of time
(43:01):
the leadership will say, well, I don't see anybody out
of the African American community being the chef or be
in the business owner. You know, you know at some point,
you know that has to evolve. And so I think
this is an opportunity Friday industry instead of people being
you know, stock and can't get to the next level,
(43:23):
that this should open that door. And if because we
have the talent. It's like musicians, I jazz musicians a worldwide.
We have athletes that are just incredibly probably have more
of them in the NFL than anyone. We had the
same talent that can cook, they just don't have that
education to where they're going to go be a chef.
(43:43):
My hope is in a short period of time there'll
be men and women out of this community that will
be a chef in New York City, the East Coast
of West Coast and really changing that path that hadn't
really been here in New Orleans. Yeah. Um, that's a
(44:05):
big one. But it's it would help me on so much,
you know. I mean, we're a wonderful city. We have
so much going on for us. But I just you know,
my dream is it's a great city and it's not
a great city when like we're saying, I mean, not
every man and woman in this community has a path
(44:25):
to really live American dream. My family has lived the
American dream. We had nothing, you know, and we worked
hard and we had a lot of good luck. We're
our um you know, and good mentors when we were educated,
and it helped us live an American dream. So nice. Yes,
(44:47):
I hope we can do for New Arts, thank you. Um.
I guess speaking of learning, is there anything that you
feel like you're still learning personally? Sorry, didn't mean to
get personal, you know, I mean you're just going through
(45:13):
different stage in life. I mean I have grown up
kids in a nowl you know, getting educated, getting great
because they want to come into the family business. Um My,
nephew is already in the business working was UM. So
I'm kind of at this stage. And I grew up
with my dad was certainly this way. He didn't want
to be an eighty year old going to work telling
(45:35):
everybody what to do. He wanted me to get educated
so I could come back home and sit around with
him and the team and we talked about something, and
I'd be able to go we haven't tried this, or
why are we doing that? Because I gotten educated in
that in a short period of time, the team would
be going. Junior is not here because Junior junior seriously,
(45:56):
he's got some skill and could become part the leadership
and the thing. So we had these early uh transitions
from a senior generation to the next generation of being
able to run the business UM. And I've really valued
the time after I graduation from college when I went
(46:16):
and worked outside the family before I came back. Value
that and to see it to be on the other
side where I'm now my dad watching my kids go
get that exposure and they're smart, they get they're doing
better than I did with what their experiences are, but
they're bringing it home. And because I'm looking forward to
(46:37):
transition and out of having the you know, it's that term.
I want to be on the sideline. I want to
help them. I want to be there, uh you know,
their resource. Whatever they need, I want, but it's their
turn to do it. So so it's a wonderful part
of my life. I mean, I'm freeing up. I don't
(46:57):
have all the responsibilities and I've got a great team
that they don't need me to open a restaurant. Flows
a restaurant and U. So life is pretty good. Yeah.
Do you more of that celebration that's where the live life? Yeah?
(47:19):
Do is there anything we you would like to speak
to you that we didn't ask you about? Or do
this just a philosophy. I mean we have four restaurants,
and I mean Bourbon House was when we first decided
let's focus on a spirit and with all the history
we've talked about with Bourbon, there was let's do the
(47:40):
spirits here um Palace Cafe. More recently, we did a
major renovation. We added a bar on the second level
because it really didn't have a bar, and we decided
to do wrong now, I mean romh, my god. Hundreds
of years ago we started growing sugarcane in Louisiana and
(48:01):
it was the Jazuits. And one of the first areas
that they grew sugar cane was right across Canal Street
where Palace Cafe is. I mean that's where they were growing.
And I mean sugar is what makes wrong. So so
that was our connection with wanting to do that spirit.
And then, uh, at the steakhouse, it's always, you know,
(48:25):
been that classic old world spirits, the Scotch, the wrong
I mean vodka gin. But my family's Irish, so we
have an Irish whiskey collection there, just to pay some
homage to our heritage. Uh. And it's a nice way
that we can do it. Uh. And then you know,
(48:45):
our youngest well, you know, so we just recently added
a Martini card, so we go duke table side martinis
and uh, you know, this is where we keep saying,
I'm a big I don't want to change for the
sake of change. But you got evolved, you know. So
(49:06):
there's a lot of fun for us. Rohan evolved things.
And this is where instead of that martini just showing up,
it's a whole different experience. I mean, you're looking at
these incredible products that are gonna garnish. That are the
options to take your martini to another level and a
real trained professional that's making it perfect, the right temperature
(49:28):
in the right glass. I mean, life short, let's eat,
you know, to it right, eat good and then Uh
but I knew it's for restaurant tableau. Um. You know.
It's it's in a part of the quarter where originally
the French Court was built. It's right next to St.
(49:48):
Louis Cathedral. Uh, you know, when they founded the city
and decided this is where we're gonna put the build
the city. There was a priest there and they say
build a church there. And it's the oldest cathedral in America.
But it's it's where the city was developed. We're right
(50:09):
next to it. A block behind it is the oldest
ballroom in America. Because we celebrate, We've always celebrate. So
it's just that feeling of being around that area there.
We do sparkling and champagne, you know, because it's just
it's where we should be celebrated. And it's part of
Lempatit Theater, which is the oldest community theater in America.
(50:31):
So it's about going to enjoy theater in this wonderful
restaurant with a balcony in the courtyard. Champagne Sparkly kind
of works in that environment. So I love the fact
that we've focus on something, and because each of our
restaurants is totally different, different experiences. But it's just it's
(50:53):
just a matter of time for we can kind of
find something that we can specialize in. It's been for
I don't know what we're gonna do at the Louisiana
Children's Musing. Yeah, we were. We were talking yesterday to
(51:20):
um Isaac Troupe. Um. I think, uh yeah, but um
they were. They were talking about how New Orleans is
different than many other places in the way that is
that it treats alcohol in the way that it you know, uh,
the way that kids are allowed to grow up around
it rather than it being you know, the kind of
(51:42):
like puritan things up in your experience, you know, and
I mean looks my experience and clients you certainly you know,
consuming one and stuff like that at a table at
home from the early age. I mean, I'll work in
kitchens where we would sit down and do our family
meal before the service, and we certainly drank wine, you know.
(52:05):
So I don't think it's just New Orleans. But I
think New Orleansians we lived like I never forget who
was the uh. He was one of the original ankleman
UH franklet David Brinkley, so he was whatever channel we had, Cronkie.
(52:25):
Three of them did the nightly news. And he was
a dear friend. He was in New Orleans all the time,
and he had had he was having dinner with my
and Ella and handful of people is probably a Lyndi Boge,
you know, wonderful group of characters, and and all of
the whole night kept saying to him, you know, we
(52:48):
can't get this right, and we're not you know. It
was all things that she was disappointed with with the
leadership of the city, and we couldn't get anything, you know.
And he was just a polite gentleman. They had a
fantastic meal, and I think animal was very young, the chef,
so it would be back in those late eighties. So
he calls him the next morning. He says, Ela, it
(53:10):
pains me that you that upset with New Orleans. He said,
first of all, couldn't have had more fun last night.
Always loved the company, and the food was fantastic. Then
he says nobody's traveling as much as I've seen so
much in my life doing what I do, he said.
I want to tell you this, when I go to Italy,
(53:33):
nothing works. They're on strike. Everything's off time. He says.
With Italians, they do something better than it. They live
life there daily cultures, they live life, he says. Anywhere
else I travel, certainly in America, there's only one other
place that I can say the local people live life.
(53:55):
He says. It's New Orleans. Y'all live life, he says.
Get over all this stuff not working. So here, I'm
the next generation, and I've already said I want my
say to be great. You know, I want to be
perfectly clean and everything working and all that stuff. But
when I think of that, it helps me get over
my love hate relationship where I'm like disappointed we're not
(54:16):
doing something better because that man was right. I mean,
we really connect with each other all day long, and uh,
when we live life. So we have arrived at the
end of this interview. We hope that you enjoyed it
as much as we enjoyed doing it. Yeah, and I
hope that you also had someone bring you po boys
(54:40):
in the middle of it, or that maybe you went
and got a po boy first. Oh, we should have
put like a po boy warning at the top of
the episode. We should rookie mistake, make mistake. I when
we first get back from these trips, we have these
massive we get transcripts of everything, and we have this
big document where we just put in quotes that we like,
and I remember, for some some interview is it ends
(55:01):
up being the whole interview and you eventually have to
go like, well, well we can't use everything. So yeah,
I think he was one. He was one of the
ones who made it into a lot of episodes. But
I really get a kick out of just kind of
going through the whole thing. So I hope I hope
you all also feel the same way. I hope so too,
And I also hope that you'll you'll reach out contact us.
(55:24):
You can email us. Our email is hello at savor
pod dot com. We're also on social media. You can
find us at savor pod at Instagram and Facebook and Twitter.
We do hope to hear from you. Savor is production
of I Heart Radio and Stuff Media. For more podcasts
from my heart Radio, you can visit the heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
(55:45):
Thank you, as always to our superproducers Dylan Fagin and
Andrew Howard. Thanks to you for listening, and we hope
that lots more good things are coming your way.
Hello, and welcome to Savor production of I Heart Radio
and Stuff Media. I'm Annies and I'm Lauren Vocal Bam
and today we have an interview for you. Yes, we
have so many interviews just stockpiled. I'm glad we're sharing them. Yes,
because some of them, this one in particular, are just
so much like the voice of a of a person
(00:28):
and a personality and um within them a part of
a culture subculture. And yes, this one is Mr Dickie Brennan,
who we met in our trip to New Orleans, which
also feels like when was that, oh gosh, decades millennia, millennia,
no one was even alive then. Um. Yes, that the
(00:50):
Brennan family collectively owns and operates thirteen restaurants in New Orleans.
They're a little bit of a dynasty. Yes. And we
spoke in our New Orleans episodes about how we got
in touch with Dicky in in particular and like meeting him,
and it was it was really great because it was
just kind of comedy of errors. Oh yeah, that turned
(01:11):
out in the absolute best way possible because we weren't
looking to we we thought that he was an above
our our pay grade and his publicist was just sort
of like our marketing human was just sort of like, oh, yeah, no,
do you want to talk to Dicky? And we were
like sure, And we got po boys and fries and
one of those uh we were there for the Bourbon thing.
We got one of those two. So it was pretty
(01:34):
pretty good. It was incredibly lovely. I was not expecting
to eat that much. And then I ate everything. Hopefully
there's not too many mouth noises in this interview, hopefully not,
hopefully not. And also I believe he invited us to
his house at Marty Gras and I haven't forgotten as
all on safe so I hope you're serious. And he
comes knocking on the door, Who are you? How could
(01:57):
you forget us? I'm sure he He strikes me as
a kind of guy who doesn't forget to face or name.
I agree anyway, Um, so yes, let us get to
the interview picture it we're on them that that the
interior balcony at a at a large table in Bourbon
House in New Orleans, which is this grand, beautiful, decked
(02:19):
out restaurant, and uh, we've been in a crazy rush
all morning trying to figure out how to actually get
into the building. Uh we finally get in. Uh, we
through through a different entrance, go up to a bar
tender at this relatively unrelated bar and say, we're so sorry.
Do you know where Dicky Brennan might be? And he
(02:40):
just points kind of kind of languidly. It says, why
he's sitting right over there, and sure enough he was
so so so we're still in this headspace of like,
how where are we going? And then we get up
to this like just beautiful empty place and Dickie is
so gracious and this interview follow us. Hi, who are you?
(03:05):
I'm Dickie Brennan, and I get planning and you you
are the founder and an owner of a restaurant group
here in New Orleans. Yea, you know, founder of several
restaurants twenty five years ago. I started a company. But
(03:26):
I grew up in a family business, restaurant family. So
you know, my entire life has been involved in the
restaurant world, food world. So, uh, what was it like
growing up in and around your family's restaurants? You know? Uh,
we lived in this neighborhood called the Garden District, and
(03:47):
in the neighborhood they had this Russian called Commander's Palace.
So Commanders like the second oldest restaurant in New Orleans.
So in sixty nine we um Mr Morand passed away.
My dad went to pay respects. We lived two blocks
away from the road to Miss Moran, and she's like,
I'm eight years old. I don't want to run a
(04:09):
restaurant my kids. At the time, we had Brendan's down
the French Quarter. And my Dad's like, well, we're in
the restaurant business. We live in the neighborhood. If you
want to sell it, let us. So we bought Commander's
Palace in nineteen sixty nine. So as a kid, are
you kid? And this was like, you know, our our
play playground, you know. So I was around nine years
(04:31):
old at the time, and I can't recall a time
my life where I wasn't something doing something around this
wonderful restaurant that you know, it was just a special
part of my life. When when did you when did
you start cooking? I guess, you know, at the restaurant,
(04:55):
I might have been twelve thirteen years old, and it
was that summer. Paul Pruden was our chef um, you know,
and I guess, uh, maybe earlier, but in the professional kitchen.
It was more around twelve or thirteen that I actually
got to participate, you know, in the professional kitchen, which
(05:17):
was kind of neat. But at at home, you're making
a divide had you always been in there. So I
love food. I mean I'd come home from school and
make I'd scrambled six eggs just as a snack to
hold me over till dinner. So um. So now I
was always cooking. Both of my grandmother's with phenomenal cooks. Um.
(05:41):
And my mother's a great cook, but she was running
around busy, so um. We had this wonderful woman that. Um,
they're all all over this city, these wonderful women that
that just can cook, you know, and they cook for
families and um, babysit or just it's like a second mother,
you know. And I grew up with a woman called Mandy,
(06:02):
and you know, just it was interesting when someone's cooking. So,
I mean, I had so much opportunities to be around
cooking as a kid professionally at home. It's it's talked
really part of the culture in New Orleans. What kind
of what kind of dishes do you remember from back
thending your childhood. What's interesting is my dad would sit
(06:27):
down early, we'd have dinner at the house, and then
he'd walk two blocks of commanders and go taste everything
in the kitchen and eventually have a meal there. So
we you know, at home, it was more home cooked
whole recipes, you know, be red beans and rice with
pickle porks. Wee pickle pork. Not only many people nowadays
(06:51):
the experienced pickle pork and their red beans, but you know,
as the kids, it was the protein, the meat that
we would all fight over when we're having red beans
and rice. Nowadays, things on dewey sausage, you know, sausage
and your redbeans. Uh, just a lot of chicken creole
and you know, just great smother chicken, you know with rice.
(07:11):
I mean we're Louisiana, so there was rice and a
lot of our meals, you know that you would have
so uh gumbo, Aman didn't stop. There was always something
coming out of the pot. So um, how how is uh?
How is all of that influenced what y'all do at
(07:32):
your restaurants? You know what I love about New Orleans?
Um one our climate we can farm you around, so
there's always something coming in the sea, So that played
a lot of what you need at home as well
as what was on the rest of menu. The other
thing is is we're at the mouth Mississippi River. It's
(07:54):
most fertile fish grounds in the world. So, I mean,
we have so much a bounty of seafood and it's
all seasonal, and some of it's in the mars, some
of it's in the in the coastal waters, and a
lot of its inland. So I mean, like when our
blue crabs are going out of season, crawfish are coming
in the season. It there's always something that's gonna peak
(08:15):
at different times of the year. And really, I mean
our flossi in the restaurants and it's the same thing
at homes. We're eating what's in season, what's peaking and
uh and it you know, it was a lot of
options there. When did you when did you know that
you wanted to be part of the part of the
family business. Did you have heard ever have a moment
(08:35):
where you're like, yes, hear this, I'm gonna None of
us were encouraged to be in the business, you know,
and um, so there's no pressure to be in the business.
I can't think of a time where I was like,
screw this, I don't want to be in the business. Um,
I just was. You know, I said, I'm the luckiest
guy in the world. I grew up in just a
(08:55):
hell of a time, in a hell of a location,
with a hell of a family. Um. You know I
mentioned Commander's Palace when our family bought it in my
earlier years. Um, we my dad and his brothers sisters
left Brendon's in the seventies mid seventies, they we decided
to divide up the family business and so uh so
(09:17):
when they moved in the Commanders, Frindons was a flagship
and Brendan's. You know, my dad worked Sunday breakfast because
his older sister Ella wanted to work Saturday's because she
loved the entertaining. So he'd wake up and go to
work do a thousand people for breakfast at Brendan's. I mean,
it was our big thing that she did. When we
(09:39):
bought Commanders at twenty people came by after church on
a Sunday. That was a good crowd. So he's bored.
He's like I can't and he's like, I'm not doing
breakfast and print. It's that's that restaurant were leaving there.
So we were somewhere on a trip and we're eating
and there was a band out in the lobby playing
some music or we're having brunch, and he just he
(10:00):
came home and said, I want to do it jazz brunch.
And so he called alban Acorn and great trumpet player,
and so three men showed up and they roamed around
the dining room. Paul Prudence the chef at the time.
We did this great brunch menu and you know, I
worked the first jazz brunch with my dad. You know,
(10:22):
that was you know, and to see where it is today,
I mean every rest in the city as jazz. What
I mean, to be able to just a wait with
your family and watch them you know, create something. Uh,
it's been so interesting. I mean it's always something like
that jazz brunches we were talking about. Yeah, how how
(10:43):
does do do you feel like there's uh there's like
cross cross connections in between how um uh how how
how a kitchen works and how uh those those musicians work? Like?
Oh absolutely, I mean we always say cooking with jazz,
I mean, you know, our our seasonings here, I mean
(11:06):
we use a blend of seasons um, you know, and
it's to really enhance the flavors. Takes something makes it blossom.
So I mean, it's like making music. It's definitely a
great correlation between making music and making food. I mean
it's but we um. Yeah. The other thing that happened
(11:27):
in the seventies, and Paul Pruton was an American local guy,
whereas a lot of the chefs were Europeans. Um and
Paul knew all the farmer and fishermen and they grew
up in the country. So we started happening at Commanders
early on in the seventies, we started doing local regional foods.
(11:47):
UM Commanders turned a heart years old and so we
there was this award that they would get findining restaurants
around the country, the Holiday Awards, and was always done
in Chicago, an annual dinner and people would receive the awards,
all the restauranturs around the country would go and meet.
(12:09):
So we asked, could we host it in New Orleans
this year and have everybody helped to celebrate a restaurant
being a hundred years old in America and so everyone
you know, so all these restaurant tours shafts from around
the country came the New Orleans and I never forget
the dinner. Um. One of the courses of sautell craps,
(12:30):
which it was the time of the year. We didn't
know if they're gonna be busting out or not. So
we had planned b if it wasn't gonna be a sausa.
But it came from a certain farmer. Uh, we had squad.
It was from a farmer in Mississippi. Everything on the
menu and we had written was what was it? Where,
where did it come from? Who was raising it? Then
(12:52):
we had an American wine with each course this is
and we had we had duck On seventy eight Cabernet,
which was his first vintage. Um some I mean it
was cake bread. We had Callaway made a late harvest
dessert one called Sweet Nancy. I mean, everything was American.
(13:13):
And we that night told all these restaurant tours, which
basically back then you were either Italian, French, German. If
you will find dining restaurant. Most of them were in
the downtowns. You know, they weren't neighborhood restaurants. Said we
know today and when that the next year was the
first American reason Supposium, where people in America started saying,
(13:37):
we're a regional American restaurant, We're not a French, German,
Italian restaurants. I mean that dinner got to look at
the world we have today. I mean, it's classically trained
for American chefs. You know, institutes like CIA have given
young Americans men and women the opportunity to become great chefs,
you know, and so these things didn't It wasn't an
(13:58):
American food, so it was you were classically European train
and then that just changed. I mean in the eighties
have changed. We became American, we started educating, and so
much of that happened at Commanders and you know, like
I said, I can't believe I was sitting there as
a young kid. I mean that's where I started, you know,
(14:22):
and it's never stopped the American food scenes. So it's
been a nice journey. H D. I mean it sounds
like you, like firsthand personally witnessed Cajun and Creole cuisine
(14:42):
go from being something that was really just cooked in
homes or cook in neighborhoods to to a national to
a national trend and something that people respected. I mean,
I mean, for at home, time, Like, how how wild
has that been? You know, the creativity is really I
(15:03):
guess when you mentioned cage and a Creole, for so
many generations, it was the same dish. There wasn't a
lot of evolution. You know, red beans and rice with
red beans and rice, um, Gumbo was gumbo um. But
with in the last twenty thirty years. And it's I
(15:24):
really believe it's because young American men and women have
gotten these formal educations, so they had this foundation to
work from. I just think in America we're creative. You know,
in a city like New Orleans is incredibly creative. I mean,
my god, we created jazz. Prior to jazz, you had
old world music. If I've played a certain way, I mean,
would happened New Orleans. Look how it's changed the world.
(15:47):
You know, music, So this creative and that's what I love.
It's hard for us to say this is a Creole
or Cajun dish because they've all you know, the regional
seasonal products you know, in both cuisines, and now they're blended. Uh,
you know, which is exciting because it's food is always
(16:09):
um should evolve and it's just like us. I mean,
I think My palette evolves over the years, you know,
whether it's food, wine, spirits I have. You know, my
palte keeps changing, So it's nice to see food evolving
at the same time. Jazz Jazz. We have some more
(16:37):
of our interview with Dicky for you, but first we
have a quick break for word from our sponsor. We're back,
Thank you spons here, let's get back into the interview.
The name New orlengees in more songs than any other city,
(16:58):
tenfold really because it inspired so many musicians. I mean,
how's the rise and I mean yes, uh, creation and tradition.
Are you? Are you sort of a nerd for for
the cocktail history around here? Have you? Yes? If I
(17:20):
called it a nerd that I'm passionate, I think. I
think I can't help it. I mean, my god, it's
so much a part of how New Orleanians live life, uh,
you know, and so it's a daily part of our
culture is connecting with people and the majority of that
(17:41):
is connecting on the table with food. And how can
you not have a great meal without spirits wine? Uh?
And it's such a rich tradition in this city, you know,
I mean, being a part of creating a cocktail. You know. Uh,
it goes way back, originated something like a cocktail, just
(18:01):
the bourbon, I mean the way Bourbon ebolbed. It was
New Orleans at the time wasn't getting a you know,
the brandy coming from the old world. So they knew
they were making some whiskey up the river, and they said,
send us some whiskey. Well, they didn't know how to
ship it or whatever. They had to fear how to
take which basically his white dog and his moonshine and
(18:24):
they had to figure out how to get it to
New Orleans. And so they took these wooden kegs and
a lot of the kegs were used with things like
nails storage that had ross. So they had to sanitize
these wooden kegs, which they charred the inside. They put
this white dog in the keg, sent it down the river. Well,
(18:44):
when it got here and they drank it, they sent
word back up and he said, send us some more
of the red whiskey. And they're like, what are they
talking about? So I mean it that, you know, that's
why we're sitting here in Bourbon House. You know, I
grew up with a dad, and I think so many
people drank the European spirits, the Scotch, Jensvodkas. He just
(19:07):
kept saying, it's American drink, drink, drink Bourbon, It's American, um,
you know. And that even goes back to the way
we evolved the American theme for our restaurants back in
the seventies and navies, so um. You know. In the
other part of the story with with the Bourbon whiskey
coming down here, they didn't send the barges back up
(19:29):
river then, so that most of the houses here, the
foundations were made from the wood off these barges. So
the men that came down from Kentucky and it was
a great opportunity for them to make money. They get
enough money, and it was it was the Spanish that
brought horses to America. So New Orleans was Spanish occupied.
(19:49):
I still don't know why we call it the French corn.
It was filed during Spanish occupation. But so they had
the money and they would buy a horse, and there's
a trail, it's not just trace, to go from New
Orleans to Louisville, and they would rode back up to
go back home. And those horses of what seated the
horse industry in Kentucky. So New Orleans is a very
(20:15):
interesting city when you study and you find out you know,
just all this stuff. So you know, that's why I say,
I mean, the food world is attentional, it's creative, it's
always evolving, it's living, it's growing. It's no better city
to be in the food world in New Orleans. So
(20:38):
I've never not thought of doing anything other than what
we did. Um. How all right? So so you've got
you've got bourbon coming in from Kentucky, You've got rum
coming in from the Caribbean. Uh, and all kinds of
other other ingredients flitting around. How did Yeah? I mean
(20:58):
other people are just kind of going like, oh, that's great.
How do cocktail cultures start here? Going way back in
time with the creation of a cocktail, I think it
was it was just a part of the daily routine.
You know. They were called coffee houses, and that's where
(21:18):
you would take the break to go in and have
a drink um, you know, in the middle of the
day or in the morning. You know, when I lived
in France, if you go to the market early in
the morning and you go into the coffee shops, someone
might be having an expresso but someone else is having
a cocktail you know, um, and then you know, an
(21:39):
absent or whatever. So I think a lot of that
culture was here in the city um drinking. Um. But
what I love about today is it's like when in
the eighties we started educating with color institutes. We now
have a generation and they've gotten educated. In the spirits world,
(22:04):
what do we call mixologists? You know, not quite sure
yet where we're going with the name, but they're professionals
and they're really uh can give a customer an experience
that you didn't experience when you walked and say, give
me an old fashioned you know now it's what bourbon
would you like with your old fashioned? You know? And
then the young mixologists saying, we'll tell me kind of
(22:25):
what what what do you like? You know, what do
you like? Sweet? Do you like did or you know
it picks the right wrong or picks the right bourbon
for you to have that great experience. UM. So I
mean it's I don't know what's going like in ten years,
but what's happened the last ten years has been crazy,
certainly in the spirits world. Um, are there any drinks
(22:49):
for which your traditionalist? Is there anything that you want
the one way and that's the way that it should be. UM.
Or do you like do you like rips? Do you
like that experimentation that you You know, there's some things
that I don't want to mess with. UM, like a
bloody Marry. You know, there's the original restpe It's very basic,
(23:10):
you know, great tomato juice, a little bit of a
u Wistershire sauce, tabasco. That's it. UM. And I think
when you make that drink and you drink it with
a good vodka, it works. Nowadays we're sticking so many
things in it and it gets too gritty because you're
(23:30):
putting all these too much pepper, too much all. You know.
That's I'm like, don't mess with a good thing now.
If you want to mess with it, call it something else.
Because we certainly have created some great things from a
Bloody Marry. So I'm all about the evolution of whatever,
whether it's food, spirits, cocktails. I think that's the exciting part.
(23:56):
And uh, And we've never been in a better time
where the quality of the evolution of these trinks or
whatever has been has been better. I mean, it's phenomenal
what's going on right now? Um, is are there any
evolutions from from uh ear places here that you're particularly
(24:19):
proud of or excited about. So I grew up where
we made a basic milk punch and for years it
was brandy milk punch. Then our family started doing bourbon
milk punch. UM. So I grew up with a very
simple bourbon milk punch recipe. And when we opened up
(24:40):
here on Bourbon Street, Bourbon House, the this proliferation of
dacary shops up and down the street, you know, and
they're real sweet, I mean not knocking them. And the
fun thing about New Orleans you could walk up and
down the street with a cocktail. UM. So we knew
we wanted to do something to add two to enhanced,
(25:01):
to be a little different, um, and so we created
a frozen bourbon milk punch. It's uh I call it
an adult milkshake because basically, you know, it's not what
you would find in the in the dictories, you know
sweet and I mean this is it's a custard that
we freeze with bourbon and you know, um, and it's
(25:26):
it's really become one of our signature items. That was
a good evolution um um risk on the frozen room
because now he had the frozen Bourbon punch, but he
also had a martyr. Kinkakes are really popular here, so
we do and the kincake Betty, which is the kincake
(25:48):
version of the frozen bourbon punch. What does what does
that look like? Well, we got you know, on top
of the kincakes, you have a little different color of sugar,
so we do a little bit of dusting. Um. The
one I really like is, you know, our family created
banana foster. We have it which is flamb rom so
(26:09):
at Palace where we feature broms um. You know, we
do a derivative of the Bourbon milk punch, but it's
a banana faussa milk punch and so it's flavored with bananas,
some cinnamon and the rum. But it's another one he's
frozen drinks. So people really the nice things. You get
(26:31):
to an end of a meal and you don't want
to have a dessert. These drinks have become the go
to for a lot of our clientele, and being in
the French Court New Orleans, it's the ideal thing. You're
finishing the meal, you don't and you can take it
and go outside and see what's going on. There's a
lot of interesting wanting to walk around the French court.
So our adult milkshakes have become very popular. We just
(26:58):
had that video of the s Foster last night. By
the way, it was not not the drink, but the
whole thing. Yeah, it was. It was so good. Um Uh,
do you have a dude? Do you have a favorite
or perhaps a shortlist? I hate it when people ask
me my favorite thing. I'm like everything, literally, everything I've
(27:19):
ever tasted is my favorite. Um, but did you have
a Do you have a favorite cocktail? Something that you
just go back to all the time. Maybe a raightmus
gen fizz? Uh? I don't know why, but I just
it's uh, I can't say someone it's on the top
of a bunch of them. You know. I've always loved
(27:40):
the breakfast drinks and their owns, you know, right, or
milk punch a sas rack, you know, is a wonderful
I've put it more in the category and a pett
of teeth, you know, it's something I want to enjoy
before I'm going to have a meal. Uh, you know,
and just the flavoring. Oh you think of a size right?
(28:02):
My god, it's it's the whiskey. But then you run
the glass with um, you know herb saying is our
local ICs. Yeah, and then you're putting in these different bitters.
There's so many ingredients in these bitters that they were
created by pharmacists in New Orleans way back because of
the medicinal purposes. Um. But it was all food based,
(28:27):
um ship that the bidders are based from foody product spices. UM. So,
I mean, what's going on when you put all that
with a great bourbon? You know, boom? That's I mean
makes your mouth go wow, what's going on in here? So?
So I've been fortunate that I've always been able to
enjoy been exposed growing up in New Orleans to just
(28:52):
some incredible spirits, cocktails. And so you mentioned you, Um,
we're reviewing a restaurant in New York recently. What other
things besides all the stuff we're doing with this, what
what else have you involved in? Shoot? Our biggest thing
(29:19):
we've been working on the last five years is a
new culinary. It's it's too in downtown New Orleans. And
I say culinary, but it's really you know, We're gonna
start off this January with the baking and chef correctultion,
but it's it's really an institute that we hope evolves
in a lot more than just training chefs. So we
(29:42):
say hospitality. We want to focus on the front of
the house service UM and our real plan from day
one when we found this incredible property it's a hard
thousand square feet, it's a beautiful building right in downtown
New Orleans, was to partner up with all the different
universities in I mean, we don't want to recreate the
(30:02):
the wheel here, but we think our industry. You know,
when I've made reference to the institutes like Culinary Institute
of America what it started doing to help young Americans
be classically trained, it's changed the food seeing. You know,
you had finite restaurants in the downtowns. Then you had
mom and pops neighborhood restaurants. Our mom and pop neighborhood
(30:25):
restaurants are at the same quality of a you know,
four star restaurant that would would have existed in a
form of environment downtown. So that was education, and so
that's the The food industry is huge, I mean with
the biggest employer behind the government. UM, and it's just
(30:46):
involves a lot of things. I mean, uh, I don't
want to ramble on. I mean I can run on
a lot about this in too. So when I say
we wanted the evil, ILL use this as an example. Um,
there's no architecture school in America that has any concentration
(31:07):
on food service design. Now, architects will give you a
restaurant they loved to, but they'll ask you who's doing
your kitchen? And typically it's the person that sells you
the equipment, and they have the computers and they put
it on that and they send it to the architect
and the architect stamps, and it's a person who's selling
(31:30):
certain brands is designing kitchen. I hope is is that
we can go the next level to where there could
be people that are trained in what is the ultimate kitchen. Um.
You know, we've got evolved the equipment. You know, we
just redid Palace Cafes kitchen after twenty seven years. And
(31:52):
next to each station that has traditional which would be gasperning,
we put in an induction range next to it, trying
to get our young culinarians to learn how to cook
on a different But it's it's going to be you know,
it's what is gonna be the future best uses, best
pieces of equipment, a lot of research development. So with Noki,
(32:14):
you know, our idea is we don't want to start
an architecture school. Tulane has an incredible one two miles
up St. Charles. At All they have to do is
hire one teacher that knows food, serves design and create
at a at an NBA level for architects to go
get this specially to where they really know kitchens and
(32:38):
put that under the Noki brand. So I mean it's
one teacher teaching something that no one teaches. And it's
because we created this Nooki Institute, which is about trying
to create education to all different areas of the food world.
And when you take two Lane and l s U
medical schools, I mean how much opportunities there with Tropical
Science School of Food being part of the R and
(33:02):
D of food, going into medicine, going into healthcare. So
really trying to create a new industry New Orleans that
higher education but which I want to focus on the
food world. It's endless what it can be. So but
now we've always been involved in a lot of things.
(33:24):
I mean we never I grew up with parents that
they would always say, you can't just be inside your
four walls. You have to be a part of your community,
be a part of your industry, um, you know, and
get out there. So I mean, we've all my goodness,
this town has so many great efforts going on and
(33:45):
good causes and you know, uh ah, it's hard to
kind of listen things that that I've been involved in
over the years. One fun thing we just we're gonna
do this. Um thirty something years ago we created a
(34:05):
Louisiana Children's Museum and down to you know, in the
warehouse yestroom, and uh so the last year they've been
building a brand new facility in City Park are Vnesta
Park and uh and so we're gonna do the food
service in the new children's museum, which is really exciting
(34:25):
because also in City Park you have another Africa going
on growed that you know, we do who that it's
a growed that and it's a it's a farm, it's
a working farm so that people can learn and be educated.
So we're really excited about taking what we're doing in
the museum with the kids. We've got the food, you know,
(34:47):
the farming going on and what we can do together. Um,
it's gonna be a great project, you know, being able
to work with the kids and educate them on where
your food comes from and how to cook it. It's
gonna be fun. Him. It's kind of tomorrow. Oh right, yeah,
(35:09):
I was reading about this. You you helped institute an
oyster shell recycling program, right. Um. You know, I love
fishing and I'm going to My cousin has a great
fishing camp just thirty minutes south of the city, and
I'm driving down there one day and where a lot
of the oyster boats. You know, it's a it's a
(35:31):
commercial fishing village as well as rec regional camps. This
is huge mound of limestone rock and they've got a
front loader that's scooping it up and putting it on
an oyster logger. So when they're going out there rebuilding
beds because we have to move where the oysters are
(35:51):
if we're gonna do fresh word diversions to rebuild the marsh.
And the biggest obstacle is it's not a fisherman catching
fish and move around. It's the oyster farmers that have
a lot of time invested in making a bed. So
there a lot of efforts to make beds in different
areas so that we can bring fresh water. And but
I'm like, that's there's no limestone, Louise, and I don't
(36:14):
know how far you gotta go to find limest. So
I'm like, we're buying a product, we're shipping it here,
and we're trying to rebuild bets when we have so
we can grow oysters. All right, we have oyster shells
that we throw away. They go to the landfill but
for out and it's just it makes no sense. So
(36:36):
that kind of instigated what can we do to recycle? Uh,
how can we get these oyster shells as part of
rebuilding the coast instead of letting them fill up our landfill?
So so it worked out. I mean it's been a
very successful. How many times we're talking like four thousand
(36:56):
tons that we're recycled miles and miles will Oister Creeve
being able to build which also replacing them. There are
islands that were using so they're serving into a purpose
there the ground to raise additional oysters there also in
cost erosion, right, so they can certainly build a bed,
(37:21):
but they would put them in these baskets. Um it's
like a sleeve. You fill it up, you're tied. Then
it goes inside a big crate so that these could
be anchored and they're like looks like this table and
they're maybe this deep. And so our coastal erosion, that
coastline wherever it is in the marshal went out on
(37:44):
the it just keeps eroding. So if you take this
basket and you put it ten yards in front of
where the existing coast is and you anchor them in,
it just natural will fill and instead of the erosion
going in one direction, we build back the coastline. And
that's what's worked really nice with this Oister recycling. So
(38:07):
I mean because of that, we'll make it progress. UM.
So it's exciting. I mean, it's it's something we should do. Um.
What's the what's the food and drink community like around here? Like?
What's it? What's it like? Uh? Not just not just
you know, people coming in and enjoying things obviously, but
what's it like working working with these farmers and U
(38:29):
and these producers, UM and and other restaurants around town.
I mean I feel sorry for people that do other stuff.
I mean, to have to talk to a farmer or
go out on the boat fishing and you know, being
outdoors and just seeing all these understanding where it's coming from.
(38:50):
And then bringing into the restaurant with all these wonderful
talented people that want to cook, you know, and they
they want to see someone enjoy it. Um, I don't know.
I mean, I've never not enjoyed this experience, you know,
the daily ritual of that food part. Now trying to
(39:13):
make the business work and looking at the payroll and
all the other things. You know, that's not the fun
part of the day. But the food part, the product part.
You know that this is in season, it just came
in the back door, you know. Then we get to
prepping in a way that we can give it to
someone they and they really just have a great experience.
(39:35):
That's good stuff. My dad always said what he liked
about our business was people came to us to have
a good time, you know, and you really helped create
memories for people, people together celebrating as opposed to if
I was a banker, people coming to me they need money,
if am an attorney, they come into they got to
(39:56):
the father doctor, you're going as you're hurting. I mean,
people come to us to have a good celebration. It's
a real positive attribute. We've got a bit more of
this interview left, but first we're going to take one
more quick break for a word from our sponsor, and
(40:24):
we're back. Thank you sponsor, and back to the interview. UM,
what do you what do you see coming in the
future other other than this this awesome institute, Like you
know what a what do what do you? What do
you hope for for y'all and for New Orleans? And
I guess what what other problems are you working on tackling?
You know? One of my hopes with this new institute. UM,
(40:50):
it amazed me how many young men and women work
in New Orleans restaurants and they never get past the
line cook possession. They don't become that manager, they don't
become the soux chef chef. And I'm convinced it's because
they don't have that formal education. UM. And a lot
of these people aren't going to be able to leave
(41:12):
state and go to Johnson and Wales a color issue,
It's just not gonna happen. So one of my biggest
from day one mission with this new institute is we
want to take I certainly want to take individuals that
have been cooking for fifteen years. What I mean, they're
in it and they know what they do, and they
(41:32):
have great skills, very talented, but be able to put
them in that classic environment where they I say, learn
a language. I mean, if you don't, you can make
holidays as like a Michael Jordan playing basketball, but if
you don't know the word emulsify and and the chemistry
behind what you do and why it works it, I
(41:56):
think it keeps you from having confidence. And that lack
of confidence is where these men and women don't go
to the next level. Because there's so many I've worked
with over the years and I've said, come on, want
you take a little responsible now I'm I'm I'm good
doing what I'm doing. And then I've seen young men
and women from out of state that have graduated from
(42:18):
these wonderful programs, and so many of them go, I
want to cook in New Orleans and so it's a
young confident you know, someone just graduated co Schood's coming
in and they're getting the sex chef position and then
they become the chefs. I mean, I'm certainly not knocking
an animal. Look Gosspi I mean, it couldn't be a
greater example of you know, animal came in started working
(42:40):
my family and you know, look look where he's gone.
So I really hope this institute because in New Orleans,
you know, we have certainly have our challenges when it
comes to I'll just saying it's racial relationships and so
and a lot of people leadership on both sides. When
you have and conversation, you know, a lot of time
(43:01):
the leadership will say, well, I don't see anybody out
of the African American community being the chef or be
in the business owner. You know, you know at some point,
you know that has to evolve. And so I think
this is an opportunity Friday industry instead of people being
you know, stock and can't get to the next level,
(43:23):
that this should open that door. And if because we
have the talent. It's like musicians, I jazz musicians a worldwide.
We have athletes that are just incredibly probably have more
of them in the NFL than anyone. We had the
same talent that can cook, they just don't have that
education to where they're going to go be a chef.
(43:43):
My hope is in a short period of time there'll
be men and women out of this community that will
be a chef in New York City, the East Coast
of West Coast and really changing that path that hadn't
really been here in New Orleans. Yeah. Um, that's a
(44:05):
big one. But it's it would help me on so much,
you know. I mean, we're a wonderful city. We have
so much going on for us. But I just you know,
my dream is it's a great city and it's not
a great city when like we're saying, I mean, not
every man and woman in this community has a path
(44:25):
to really live American dream. My family has lived the
American dream. We had nothing, you know, and we worked
hard and we had a lot of good luck. We're
our um you know, and good mentors when we were educated,
and it helped us live an American dream. So nice. Yes,
(44:47):
I hope we can do for New Arts, thank you. Um.
I guess speaking of learning, is there anything that you
feel like you're still learning personally? Sorry, didn't mean to
get personal, you know, I mean you're just going through
(45:13):
different stage in life. I mean I have grown up
kids in a nowl you know, getting educated, getting great
because they want to come into the family business. Um My,
nephew is already in the business working was UM. So
I'm kind of at this stage. And I grew up
with my dad was certainly this way. He didn't want
to be an eighty year old going to work telling
(45:35):
everybody what to do. He wanted me to get educated
so I could come back home and sit around with
him and the team and we talked about something, and
I'd be able to go we haven't tried this, or
why are we doing that? Because I gotten educated in
that in a short period of time, the team would
be going. Junior is not here because Junior junior seriously,
(45:56):
he's got some skill and could become part the leadership
and the thing. So we had these early uh transitions
from a senior generation to the next generation of being
able to run the business UM. And I've really valued
the time after I graduation from college when I went
(46:16):
and worked outside the family before I came back. Value
that and to see it to be on the other
side where I'm now my dad watching my kids go
get that exposure and they're smart, they get they're doing
better than I did with what their experiences are, but
they're bringing it home. And because I'm looking forward to
(46:37):
transition and out of having the you know, it's that term.
I want to be on the sideline. I want to
help them. I want to be there, uh you know,
their resource. Whatever they need, I want, but it's their
turn to do it. So so it's a wonderful part
of my life. I mean, I'm freeing up. I don't
(46:57):
have all the responsibilities and I've got a great team
that they don't need me to open a restaurant. Flows
a restaurant and U. So life is pretty good. Yeah.
Do you more of that celebration that's where the live life? Yeah?
(47:19):
Do is there anything we you would like to speak
to you that we didn't ask you about? Or do
this just a philosophy. I mean we have four restaurants,
and I mean Bourbon House was when we first decided
let's focus on a spirit and with all the history
we've talked about with Bourbon, there was let's do the
(47:40):
spirits here um Palace Cafe. More recently, we did a
major renovation. We added a bar on the second level
because it really didn't have a bar, and we decided
to do wrong now, I mean romh, my god. Hundreds
of years ago we started growing sugarcane in Louisiana and
(48:01):
it was the Jazuits. And one of the first areas
that they grew sugar cane was right across Canal Street
where Palace Cafe is. I mean that's where they were growing.
And I mean sugar is what makes wrong. So so
that was our connection with wanting to do that spirit.
And then, uh, at the steakhouse, it's always, you know,
(48:25):
been that classic old world spirits, the Scotch, the wrong
I mean vodka gin. But my family's Irish, so we
have an Irish whiskey collection there, just to pay some
homage to our heritage. Uh. And it's a nice way
that we can do it. Uh. And then you know,
(48:45):
our youngest well, you know, so we just recently added
a Martini card, so we go duke table side martinis
and uh, you know, this is where we keep saying,
I'm a big I don't want to change for the
sake of change. But you got evolved, you know. So
(49:06):
there's a lot of fun for us. Rohan evolved things.
And this is where instead of that martini just showing up,
it's a whole different experience. I mean, you're looking at
these incredible products that are gonna garnish. That are the
options to take your martini to another level and a
real trained professional that's making it perfect, the right temperature
(49:28):
in the right glass. I mean, life short, let's eat,
you know, to it right, eat good and then Uh
but I knew it's for restaurant tableau. Um. You know.
It's it's in a part of the quarter where originally
the French Court was built. It's right next to St.
(49:48):
Louis Cathedral. Uh, you know, when they founded the city
and decided this is where we're gonna put the build
the city. There was a priest there and they say
build a church there. And it's the oldest cathedral in America.
But it's it's where the city was developed. We're right
(50:09):
next to it. A block behind it is the oldest
ballroom in America. Because we celebrate, We've always celebrate. So
it's just that feeling of being around that area there.
We do sparkling and champagne, you know, because it's just
it's where we should be celebrated. And it's part of
Lempatit Theater, which is the oldest community theater in America.
(50:31):
So it's about going to enjoy theater in this wonderful
restaurant with a balcony in the courtyard. Champagne Sparkly kind
of works in that environment. So I love the fact
that we've focus on something, and because each of our
restaurants is totally different, different experiences. But it's just it's
(50:53):
just a matter of time for we can kind of
find something that we can specialize in. It's been for
I don't know what we're gonna do at the Louisiana
Children's Musing. Yeah, we were. We were talking yesterday to
(51:20):
um Isaac Troupe. Um. I think, uh yeah, but um
they were. They were talking about how New Orleans is
different than many other places in the way that is
that it treats alcohol in the way that it you know, uh,
the way that kids are allowed to grow up around
it rather than it being you know, the kind of
(51:42):
like puritan things up in your experience, you know, and
I mean looks my experience and clients you certainly you know,
consuming one and stuff like that at a table at
home from the early age. I mean, I'll work in
kitchens where we would sit down and do our family
meal before the service, and we certainly drank wine, you know.
(52:05):
So I don't think it's just New Orleans. But I
think New Orleansians we lived like I never forget who
was the uh. He was one of the original ankleman
UH franklet David Brinkley, so he was whatever channel we had, Cronkie.
(52:25):
Three of them did the nightly news. And he was
a dear friend. He was in New Orleans all the time,
and he had had he was having dinner with my
and Ella and handful of people is probably a Lyndi Boge,
you know, wonderful group of characters, and and all of
the whole night kept saying to him, you know, we
(52:48):
can't get this right, and we're not you know. It
was all things that she was disappointed with with the
leadership of the city, and we couldn't get anything, you know.
And he was just a polite gentleman. They had a
fantastic meal, and I think animal was very young, the chef,
so it would be back in those late eighties. So
he calls him the next morning. He says, Ela, it
(53:10):
pains me that you that upset with New Orleans. He said,
first of all, couldn't have had more fun last night.
Always loved the company, and the food was fantastic. Then
he says nobody's traveling as much as I've seen so
much in my life doing what I do, he said.
I want to tell you this, when I go to Italy,
(53:33):
nothing works. They're on strike. Everything's off time. He says.
With Italians, they do something better than it. They live
life there daily cultures, they live life, he says. Anywhere
else I travel, certainly in America, there's only one other
place that I can say the local people live life.
(53:55):
He says. It's New Orleans. Y'all live life, he says.
Get over all this stuff not working. So here, I'm
the next generation, and I've already said I want my
say to be great. You know, I want to be
perfectly clean and everything working and all that stuff. But
when I think of that, it helps me get over
my love hate relationship where I'm like disappointed we're not
(54:16):
doing something better because that man was right. I mean,
we really connect with each other all day long, and uh,
when we live life. So we have arrived at the
end of this interview. We hope that you enjoyed it
as much as we enjoyed doing it. Yeah, and I
hope that you also had someone bring you po boys
(54:40):
in the middle of it, or that maybe you went
and got a po boy first. Oh, we should have
put like a po boy warning at the top of
the episode. We should rookie mistake, make mistake. I when
we first get back from these trips, we have these
massive we get transcripts of everything, and we have this
big document where we just put in quotes that we like,
and I remember, for some some interview is it ends
(55:01):
up being the whole interview and you eventually have to
go like, well, well we can't use everything. So yeah,
I think he was one. He was one of the
ones who made it into a lot of episodes. But
I really get a kick out of just kind of
going through the whole thing. So I hope I hope
you all also feel the same way. I hope so too,
And I also hope that you'll you'll reach out contact us.
(55:24):
You can email us. Our email is hello at savor
pod dot com. We're also on social media. You can
find us at savor pod at Instagram and Facebook and Twitter.
We do hope to hear from you. Savor is production
of I Heart Radio and Stuff Media. For more podcasts
from my heart Radio, you can visit the heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
(55:45):
Thank you, as always to our superproducers Dylan Fagin and
Andrew Howard. Thanks to you for listening, and we hope
that lots more good things are coming your way.
Savor News
Hosts And Creators
Anney Reese
Lauren Vogelbaum
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