TOP: AUNT ADELAIDE
CIRCA 1960;
RIGH1: EXECUTIVE CHEF
KEVIN VIZARD
By Ti Adelaide Martin
ating and Drinking a Carrying On"
"So nice of you to notice." - e fa rite to g ein-
cheek reply to a compli ent
"We're cas al tonno
sequins."
That's Aunt Adelaide - New Orleans' very own
Auntie Marne - they don't make 'em like that
anymore.
She was glamorous and generous; she was hard
working and spontaneous; she squeezed more run
and "carrying on" out of each day than anyone
we've ever known. She died in 1983 but for us she
still lives and Cafe Adelaide & the Swizzle Stick
Bar is all about her idea of The Good Life.
Don't exist - LIVE.
So here we go.
Where do you start?
First by pulling together a team that "gets it." By
refusing to sign on to a deal until you have the
leaders of that team who would do it the way you
would do it - real leaders, real New Orleanians -
not managers, but a New Orleans chef and a
restaurateur. Those words may mean more to us
than most. For us there's a big difference between
a General Manager and a restaurateur and between
a chef and a New Orleans chef.
DINNER AT CAFE ADELAIDE
You see, there is technically great service or true
hospitality and there are chefs who cook New
LOOK WHO'S TALKING A--·_·-
Gambit (Taken from Gambit Weekly's Swizzle
2004 section 4/27/04) "Tucked between the bold
clean palette of the Loews Hotel lobby and the
zingy tiger-striped walls of Caf~ Adelaide is the
little bar that's distinctive enough to serve as
more than just a walk~through from one
location to the other ..• This is a place suited for
hooking up with a bunch of friends before
dinner, dishing with a girlfriend, meeting a
blind date or people-watching. "
Gambit (T'aI«m from Gambit WeelcIys Restaurant
Review 4127104) "At Gaf6 Adelaide and The
Swizzle Stick Bar. opened within the Loews
New Orleans Hotel in. December and directed by
the Commander's Palace Family of Restaurants,
the cocktail culture Is so pervasive as to
become an ideoJogy. The wine list kicks off with
a borderline intellectual mix of classic and
original cocktail recipes - causing the diner to
never make it to the wine. Certain people don't
ever make it past the bar, where a bartender
sporting a red vest confidently embroidered
with the title
"Bar Chef"
hews glittering
shards of ice
from a center
glacierette .•.
Tom FiwnottU (Taken from nomenu.com message
tx:arJ) IS •• • the kitchen is run by Kevin Vizard, one
of the best chefs In New Orleans ... He has
perfect -pitch taSte for Creole cooking ... and
he's innovative enough that his menus remain
exciting... Cfe.Yer. Fun restaurant After two
mon1t1s. it seems to be rolling. ~.
>
TImes-niCllyt.lne (faken from Times~Picayune
May 2004, Lagniappe restaurant revfew by Brtitt
Anderson) "The whimsy in his cooking is
infectious... (Chef Kevin) Vizard's food
suggests an innate appreciation for how the
urban and the rustic conflate in New Orleans
restaurants. "
Orleans food or chefs
who have lived New Orleans
food. Chef Kevin Vizard is
the latter. Todd Hillburn is
our idea of a restaurateur
whose understanding of
hospitality is as much innate
as it is learned.
Now for our dream team
you add the quality
and slightly mischievous
attitude of the Loews New
Orleans Hotel. Our team all
wor ed at Commander's so we are from and of the same philosophy - that is to create
great dining memories not to simply serve you a meal. From the minute Lally Brennan
and I met with Kevin about a year ago in a local coffee shop and hit him with the Cafe
Adelaide idea, we all knew we were on the same page. We wanted it to be Commander's
sassy downtown little sister. Food ideas were dripping out of all of us. Lally had been
thinking of Brandy Milk Punch Ice Cream - now served with cookies and known as
Milk q Cookies on the menu. I was dreaming of Foie Gras Finger Sandwiches and
Kevin had Trout Meuniere ("like it used to be") on his mind and an Oyster "B.L. T."
appetizer he'd been playing with, now the most popular item on the menu.
It can be hard to get in sync with food - not this group, we finish each other's sentences
- we talk shorthand. Meanwhile, Todd Hillburn was meshing the Loews philosophy
with our own (which proved easier than we could have ever imagined [However, you
should have seen us explaining to Chef Kevin Vizard the "Loews Loves Pets" philosophy
and that he'd have to prepare meals for dogs!]). continued on back page
AUNT ADELAIDE WOULD HAVE LIKED THE LOEWS NEW ORLEANS HOTEL. We do.
From the smashingly stylish lobby that connects to our Swizzle Stick Bar to the serene indoor pool
and spa and the spacious perfectly appointed rooms (with
lavish bed linens and bathrooms you dream of having at
home) to the crisply uniformed, cheery doorman (remember
those?) she would have felt in her element. These people
understand "The Good Life."
Developers Darryl Berger and Roger Ogden knew what they
were doing when they teamed up with the Loews Hotel
Group. The Loews New Orleans is their 20th hotel and all are
unique, but the four star excellence and the hospitable .
philosophy they live by are all the same.
It seems to all start with President & CEO Jonathan Tisch who
is as committed to the details of service as he is to their
welfare to work program. Recently profiled on a Learning
Channel show called "Now Who's the Boss?" and the Today
Show, he's anything but an isolated ivory tower CEO. On his
last trip to New Orleans, Jonathan told us when working a
bellman shift he'd had a rough day on tips - only making $4
... But he gets it and he surrounds himself with people who get it, too. The professionalism and
integrity of the team from New York Headquarters to the New Orleans team headed by longtime friend
Steve Ferran is unmatched in our professional experience. We are proud to be associated with them.
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WINE DOG DINNER
I do not love
Hence the birth of our Grape
Nuts Dinners hosted by 1i and
the Wine Dog - aka Doug Frost, one
of only three people in the world to
be both a Master Sommelier and
Master of Wine.
DOUG FROST AND TI MARTIN
This was not your average wine dinner. No long
speeches about trellising or brix just Doug Frost
doing his brand of stand up wine comedy. You
barely noticed the gobs of information shared.
One guest said, "This is like having George
Carlin teach you about wine at Commander's."
It was rowdy and interactive - we said at the
start - "Talk, laugh, scream out questions.
We'll just talk over you." This is not school
and we're not "wine lovers" - we're "grape
nuts." Doug and I agree that there seems to be
some unwritten rule that all wine education
must be serious and boring. We do not concur.
The group that attended got in the flow
t's bright, it's bold, it's fun
and it's a little kooky - just
like Commander's Palace.
quickly and were on a roll after that.
We filmed the dinner for our television show
Off the Menu at Commander's Palace with
Turner South. (Look for it on Cox Channel 10
airing Mondays at 10pm, Thursdays at 8pm and
Saturdays at 12:30pm.)
I met Doug several years ago when I took the
first level course and test of the Master
Sommelier program that he was teaching.
Three intensive days of wine education, tasting
and testing. He made it fun and I thought -
imagine if this guy was doing this at a dinner
with no rules, no tests and great food? It was a
good thought that led to a great night.
Creating a dinner to showcase the wine as well
as Doug's talent was the type of challenge that
gets our creative juices going. Never heard of
Foie Gras Ice Cream served with Ruston Peaches?
Me either. I laughed too. Then I tasted it.
Wow! In retrospect we've always eaten foie gras
cold in mousse and pate form. It worked. The
wine it was paired with tasted brighter. The
rest of the meal soared along with the decibel
level. Chef Tory McPhail's team hit all their
marks and Front of House Manager Jorge Toro
put on a show. It took a lot of effort and
planning, but for us it's like opening night on
Broadway when all the elements come
together - it's then that you remember why
you love what you do.
In that same class with us was John Paddon
now our "Wine Guy" at Commander's Palace.
I am proud to say that since then - John in his
unending enthusiasm has shepherded six CP
team members through the introductory
sommelier course. That gives us a total of
eight. As we speak there are five more
Commander's Palace grape nuts signed up for
the course.
Two times a week this committed group
huddles around with dozens of glasses and
botdes in the patio or conference room.
Their commitment makes my buttons pop
with pride every time I see them.
John's commitment to
the guests and to wine
education has resulted
in a metamorphosis in
our wine list. With
selections 750 strong .
in an updated and
expanded wine cellar
the Commander's list is
full of wine that pairs
well with our food, old MARCELLE BIENVENUE, GENE BOURG, LALLY BRENNAN, DOniE BRENNAN
favorites and new AND STEPHEN PARKER
discoveries. With 50 wines under $50 he also
focuses on value. A few wines I adore that
John has turned me on to lately are Catena
Malbec. I'd pay $80 or more but you don't
have to. An Argentine value it's approachable
but with gusto and aromas of a fine
Bordeaux. Or in white try the Josmeyer Pinot
Blanc - what a surprise! But for a Pinot Noir
girl like me the one I'd knock you over for is
the Dutton-Goldfield, Russian River Valley.
Now at the opposite end of the spectrum,
I recently encountered a party of three
CP'S WINE GUY, JOHN PADDON AND
DOUG FROST, THE WINE DOG
spending $10,000 for dinner and you can bet
it was a wine extravaganza. I joined them for a
glass of Domaine Romanee Conti Montrachet
and they simply had to have Chateau Petrus
with the chocolate at dessert. But of course,
that's a whole other story.
Now, how do you do all that,
keep lots of the favorites and
come up with a new exciting
menu cover? Well, we owe
partial thanks to our new
restaurant, Cafe Adelaide. When
we did the new menu at Cafe
Adelaide, we did the menu
sideways - literally. Think about
most menus - they're vertical -
almost always. But that really
makes no sense. We read left to
right, not up and down. And
when you go to put your menu
on the table you always had to
turn it sideways so as not to
knock over your water. (These
Flounder with charred parsley sauce. No, I can't resist the
Louisiana Crawfish Boil Salad with Abita beer aioli and
"crawfish boil" vinaigrette. FLavor on top of flavor. With that
same intense flavor, but not overly heavy is the new
crowd-pleasing Crawfish Boudin Cake with smoked onions and
charred chili coulis. Of course, you can still get favorites like
Tasso Shrimp Henican with Crystal Hot Sauce beurre blanc and
five pepper jelly or Soups 1-1-1. We are soup people. But it
would be a shame to miss Local Tomatoes and Tabasco
Mozzarella or the west Indies Crab Salad with crushed lime and
grilled pineapple-scotch bonnet vinaigrette.
It's like Chef Tory is just driving through Louisiana grabbing
the best from the side of the road and then sneaking in to the
kitchens of grand homes of New Orleans making off with
elegant classics, returning to the kitchen
We have wanted to shake up our
lunch menu at CP for a while. It's
difficult when you're trying to do so
much at once. We had to keep our
two-course lunch specials with the
"best kept secret in town" prices starting
at $13.99. And, we love our Good
and Hearty special we do with
Ochsner Clinic Foundation and
Dr. Milani - healthy choices are so
important these days, though we've
been doing this for almost two years
now. We wanted to keep our Creole Luncheon, which steers
visitors who have never heard of half of our food to a great
meal. And we had to let everyone know about our
25¢ martinis going on with lunch everyday. Dottie convinced
us to do this 3 years ago. We thought it would only last a few
months and it's still going strong! Then we had lots of new
food we wanted to add and if we didn't emphasize some of the
great new salads Chef Tory McPhail and his team have been
putting out, well, Ella was gonna give us one of those
"talking to's."
are the things that keep us up at night.) So, once we did the menu
at Cafe Adelaide horizontally and it worked and the world didn't
stop turning, we started from scratch on the CP lunch menu.
Well, Lally got our friend Will Templin to do some funky, colorful
artwork of CP's exterior - we love it. Sally Graves began laying out
our sideways menu and Tory went to town with the food.
on Washington Avenue and
plotting the new wave of
New Orleans food. He likes
to shake it all up, deconstruct
it and then reconstruct it
again. Equal parts respect
for what has gone before and
curiosity and ambition about
Even we don't know what to order everyday. Hmmm - maybe what could come next.
I'll go with my favorite Remoulade Crusted Tuna Salad, or just
the Crabmeat Ravigote before the Pecan Butter Basted Now that's a lunch menu!
--=r-
~:&nd_2003
"That Commander's Palace was the first restaurant
back in the 1980's to shake up the entrenched
Creole establishment goes without saying," John
Mariani wrote in his Virtual Gourmet Newsletter.
The proud lineage of Paul Prudhomme, Emeril
Lagasse, and Jamie Shannon is continued in
McPhail, whom Mariani described as "remarkably
talented." USA Today praised McPhail's "perfectly
prepared Creole classics" as well as his
"innovative" original dishes such as deep-dish,
duck-and-foie-gras pie and Louisiana shrimp
napoleon with remoulade and salted lemon ...
More recently, Times-Picayune critic Brett
Anderson wrote that his meals after Mcphail's
arrival "taught me why the restaurant is
renowned."
Tory McPhail Bon Appetit September 2003 "It's a restaurant that shoots for the stars having
"I was 19 years old and just out of culinary school when I first already inherited the earth, " Anderson wrote.
started at Commander's Palace. Despite my training, nothing McPhail will be reaching for some stars of his own.
prepared me for the pressures of working in a fast-paced We can't wait to taste."
kitchen, or in a restaurant of such high quality. I think my
success came down to sheer effort and a lifelong passion
for cooking. Even as a kid, I loved playing with cookie and
pie dough ... "
Since anointing our new Executive Chef Tory
McPhail in 2002, his talent and enthusiasm have
kept him in the public eye. His nomination as one
of the James Beard Foundations "Rising Star Chefs
of the Year 2003" was certainly a testament to what
we always knew about Tory - he's headed for big
things. Here's just a taste of what else Tory's been
up to.
BRUSH WITH CELEBRITY: TORY AND
CRAIG KILLBORN ON THE SET WHILE
BROADCASTING 'THE LATE SHOW WITH
CRAIG KILLBORN" FROM NEW ORLEANS
LAST YEAR.
Tory McPhail Commander's Palace Food Arts May 2004
They loved it! PETIT CocHoN BAroN. "This dish is based on a 25 year old Creole recipe in the tradition of
couchon de lait or whole suckling pig roasted over hardwoods. The literal translation, "little piggy on a
stick" is a modern adaptation using the same concept. Skewer smoked pork rillettes seasoned with
Creole spices and crisped brown sugar-rubbed pork belly on a stick of sugarcane. Drizzle with Louisiana
sugarcane syrup and serve with homemade bread, onion confit, and creole mustard. The full flavor and
French influence of this dish is what Louisiana cooking is all about. I'm always looking for antique recipes
to update into the food we serve in the restaurant today."
I I
i.
j
I'
THE ULTIMATE GUMBO CHARITY COOK-OFF
II sturuner long, come and vote for your
favorite gumbo. Three of Louisiana's finest chefs will go
at it June 15 to September 15. (Two famous ones
and one well-qualified,
but not so famous.)
Eula Mae Dore a
longtime employee of
McIlhenny Company
(makers of TABASC()®
Sauce) will take on
Chef Kevin Vizard of
Cafe Adelaide and Chef
Tory McPhail of
CHEF EULA MAE DORE Commander's Palace.
Every lunch and dinner
at Cafe Adelaide or Commander's Palace you can
order "Gumbos 1-1-1"... a demi-tasse serving
from each of the three chef's gumbo creations.
Each chef has prepared five different gumbos
that will be featured throughout the summer.
That's 15 different gumbos you can taste in
total! Each time you order "Gumbos 1-1-1,"
we'll present you with a ballot so you can vote
for the chef who made the gumbo you liked the
best. On September 15th, all the ballots will be
counted and a "winning chef" will be
determined. Each chef has chosen a charity and
the winning chef will get to present a check for
$3,000 to that charity. The other two chefs will
also get to present a $1 ,000 check to their
favorite charity. So, as they say in Louisiana -
VOte early and vote often! But here's where you
corne in - each week, a ballot will be drawn
from all the ballots collected. The person who
submitted the ballot will receive a prize. Prizes
will range from great TABASCO® Gift Baskets,
a stay at the Loews New Orleans Hotel,
Commander's Palace gift certificates and on and
on and on . ..
We take gumbo very seriously! Too often, in
Louisiana {and Lord knows everywhere else} it's
taken for granted. We're always trying to elevate
gumbo - putting it on a culinary pedestal. You
may have already noticed at Cafe Adelaide that
Kevin Vizard has very specific opinions about
EXECUTIVE CHEF
TORY MCPHAIL
gumbo. This chef,
working III New
Orleans for 20 years,
thinks gumbo, when
done properly, is one of
New Orleans' greatest
gifts to the world.
Kevin's gumbos range
from subtle to
powerhouse.
Now at Commander's
Palace, Tory McPhail
may have realized how
serious we take gumbo. Upon his return to New
Orleans, he found us serving Seafood Gumbo as
an entree - with the oysters added at the very
last minute - to a concoction that had been
cooking for days. Tory made the best gumbo
I've ever tasted last year - a Roasted Garlic and
,
~ OF HOUSTON
n September, Brennan's of Houston welcomed new Executive Chef Randy Evans into the
family. Randy was named as part of the "Top Ten Bertolli Sous Chefs" in the country and it
hasn't taken long for him to make a name for himself in a city full of great chefs.
FOOD & WINE (taken from FOOD & WINE, June 2004
Dispatches from an Editor on the Road) "At the Midtown offshoot of the
The imple
Truth
New Orleans institution BRENNAN'S
(3300 Smith St.; 713-522-9711),
newly promoted chef Randy Evans
cures his own meats (pork-belly
pancetta, lamb-rosemary sausage)
and excels at preparing Brennan's
classics like turtle soup."
EXECUTIVE CHEF
THE SIMPLE TRUTH by Alex Brennan- RANDY EVANS
Martin is a refreshingly elegant and
back-to-basics approach to running any type business in today's
chaotic world. Categorically, it is a business management book.
But what sets it apart from the many consultant-inspired books
out there is that it is based on real world lessons that Alex has
.. -- .-. _ .. _ .. . -0- .--_. learned in the business. He basically has used Brennan's of
Houston as his laboratory and test kitchen in relaying universal
lessons that he's used in making (and keeping) Brennan's of Houston as a top performer both
locally and nationally. Look for Alex's book at your local bookstore.
EXECUTIVE CHEF
KEVIN VIZARD
Rabbit Gumbo. He
cooked the rabbit
over wood made
from old pepper
mash barrels used
to make TABASCO®.
Talk about intense
flavor!
Eula Mae believes
you have to do it
right. . . the oldfashioned
way. Eula
Mae has been cooking gumbo for the
McIlhenny family for as long as anyone can
remember. She's a little leery about "those fancy
New Orleans restaurants," but we've met Eula
Mae and we know she can hold her own in the
kitchen with anyone.
Eula Mae's charity is America's Wetland -
Campaign to Save Coastal Louisiana because
this is where most of the incredible Louisiana
seafood comes from. Tory has chosen Make-AWish
Foundation of Louisiana, which grants
the wishes of children with life-threatening
medical conditions across the state of Louisiana.
Kevin picked Girls First which reaches out to
underprivileged young girls in our community
by providing leadership training, health
education, and opportunities to explore
financial aid options for college.
So, vote early and vote often -
for great gumbo, for charity, for fun!
~~.
Vs.
TABlSCa BRAND PEPPER SAUCE
Vs.
mE ULTIMATE
CUMBO
CHARITY COOK-OFF
ff~J~LAS VEGAS
We'll be on our best behavior so you don't have to be on yours ..
This year marks the 4th anniversary of our Las Vegas outpost, and we're pleased to report that
Commander's Palace Las Vegas is still racking up the awards and distinctions. What happens in
Las Vegas may stay in Las Vegas, but people are certainly talking about Commander's Palace ...
DiRona Award 2004
Zagat Best Breakf.ist 2004
Wine Spectator
Award of Excellence 2003 .
EXECUTIVE CHEF
Las Vegas Life Magazine, December 2003
"The Vegas 100," Best Southern Cooking
Las Vegas Review Journal
Best of Las Vegas, Best Brunch 2003
CAFE ADELAIDE & THE SWIZZLE STICK BAR continued from cover
The Swizzle Stick Bar adds another dimension
to "the good life." A grown up bar. You ought
to be able to get a well-made drink - complete
with hand chipped ice from a professional
bartender - not a kid slinging drinks. In the
middle of our bar sits a large block of ice.
Now if you order a coke, you're getting regular
ice - but if you order a cocktail it will come
with chipped ice. It crackles and it lasts longer.
Long lasting ice is an important and revered
quality in a town with New Orleans'
temperatures. Much as every kitchen should
be lead by a serious professional with talent
and a passion to continuously educate himself,
so should a bar. We call him/her a Bar Che£
So we went looking - yes, the way you do this
is you go to a lot of bars and watch and order
drinks like Sazeracs.
Introducing Josh Despaux our Bar Chef.
Josh can flip bottles like a chef can flip food in
a saute pan, but much more importantly he
has a great palate and a great respect for the
history of cocktails and the profession of
bartending. He's a real pro. Young, yes - but
talented and a sponge soaking up history and
methodology - and oh yeah - he'll remember
what you drink.
Evenings in the Swizzle Stick Bar include the
occasional appearance of our very own fortune
tellers. (Aunt Adelaide loved having her
fortune told - and so do lots of the rest of us it
seems.) And Broadway Brunch on Saturdays
and Sundays may just give Jazz Brunch a run
for its money. Philip Manuel is one of New
Orleans' most talented treasures. To us he's like
a jazzy New Orleans version of Nat King Cole.
Smooth and stylistic. A handsome crooner who
likes to get low down. He sings show tunes
accompanied by our favorite pianist Larry
Sieberth. Sing with him, dance with him, carry
on - remember LIVE, don't just exist.
So - we're open. In the first week Chef Kevin
Vizard had lockjaw - really, there was a fire in
the hotel, and we filmed a television show of
the opening for Turner South in case we
weren't stressed out enough. That's about par
for the course with restaurant openings. We
survived all that and opening right before New
Year's Eve and the Sugar Bowl National
Championship. After all that we're in the
swing of things. Make a reservation or just
show up - we'll be here - eating and drinking
and carrying on.
