Palm d'Or: Some of the dishes coming out of the innovative kitchen at Palm&Pine (photo: Palm&Pine)
Review: Palm&Pine
By Paul Oswell
There’s a sense that New Orleans is evolving as a culinary destination. The century-old grip of the grand institutions is loosening and there’s a new gastronomic diversity that’s brimming with talent and innovation.
Amarys and Jordan Herndon of Palm&Pine are a notable part of this new generation. James Beard Award semi-finalists last year, they join, among others, the Senegalese menu of Dakar and Alma Cafe’s Honduran celebration, as the new face of the city’s most exciting kitchens. The remit at Palm&Pine may be a little more general - Southern, Caribbean, Asian and Latin influences are to the fore - but the dynamism and invention are non less apparent.
We dined at prime time, entering a lively dining room on a Friday evening. The place is a-buzz with date nights, friend groups and service industry folk grabbing a pre- or post-shift bite. The energy is immediately infectious.
We’re a hair early, but we’re lead to the first bar where my old friend Cookie - a veteran bartender who looked after us at Molly’s at the Market back in the day - whet our appetite with cocktails. The pick of these was the Princess Pickled Peach, which blends bourbon with the sweetness of the honey and fruit to great effect.
Before we finish up our drinks, we’re escorted down the long- narrow dining room to the open kitchen counter, where we can see the innards of the place, close enough to the food prep to witness almost every stage of its creation. Beyond the bar, a small, tight team works with deft efficiency.
The menu is sensitive to seasons and markets, with some favored staples. Choices on the dinner menu are listed in order of scale, from delicate pickle plates up to the hefty griddled Wagyu. At first glance, the dishes might seem philosophically untethered, but delving in reveals the thought involved - chaotic menus don’t usually garner such high acclaim.
Food comes out as it comes. The P&P Salad is immense, with salt and pepper tomatoes, Prima Donna gouda, and toasted pecans embellishing the greenery. Speckled butter beans come out with lima bean cavatelli, and dried tomatoes, achieving a decadence beyond their station.
More memorable still were a couple of stand-outs. I’m still thinking about the lemongrass fried chicken gumbo, with its none-more-savory dark coconut roux, andouille, and potato salad. Balancing the flavors here is akin to a high-wire act, but chef sticks the landing with aplomb.
Perhaps the most notorious dish is their Corner Store Crudo, though. Meaty strips of yellowfin tuna sit in the shadow of huge, crispy shrimp chips, and bathe in a wash of Pineapple Big Shot Nựớc Chấm. Using a corner store soda brand as a stock could edge into being a hipster gimmick, but the presentation is so audaciously confident (not to mention tasty) that you can only bask in its greatness. Honorable mention goes to the corn babies, and the excellent dulce de leche apple cake.
Sitting and watching the team work their magic only made for more excitement about the food coming out, and if you can score a seat at the bar overlooking the kitchen then I highly recommend it.
Palm&Pine take the familiar but then lead your expectations in an unexpected direction. It’s daring without being alienating, the risk of originality mitigated by the expert hands shaping the menus. P&P joins the ranks of a new wave of restaurants that are standing up and forging a new culinary identity, one that reflects an evolution in the local landscape. Given the equally-innovative peers who are also being recognized way beyond the borders of Orleans parish, I'd say we’re in pretty good shape for the foreseeable future.
Wednesday & Thursday Dinner 5:30pm-9pm, Friday Dinner 5:30pm-11pm, Saturday Brunch 11am-2p, Dinner 5:30pm-11pm, Sunday Brunch 10:30am-2pm, Dinner 5:30pm-9pm, Monday Dinner 5:30pm-9pm (Industry Night)
Click here for the Palm&Pine website
By Paul Oswell
There’s a sense that New Orleans is evolving as a culinary destination. The century-old grip of the grand institutions is loosening and there’s a new gastronomic diversity that’s brimming with talent and innovation.
Amarys and Jordan Herndon of Palm&Pine are a notable part of this new generation. James Beard Award semi-finalists last year, they join, among others, the Senegalese menu of Dakar and Alma Cafe’s Honduran celebration, as the new face of the city’s most exciting kitchens. The remit at Palm&Pine may be a little more general - Southern, Caribbean, Asian and Latin influences are to the fore - but the dynamism and invention are non less apparent.
We dined at prime time, entering a lively dining room on a Friday evening. The place is a-buzz with date nights, friend groups and service industry folk grabbing a pre- or post-shift bite. The energy is immediately infectious.
We’re a hair early, but we’re lead to the first bar where my old friend Cookie - a veteran bartender who looked after us at Molly’s at the Market back in the day - whet our appetite with cocktails. The pick of these was the Princess Pickled Peach, which blends bourbon with the sweetness of the honey and fruit to great effect.
Before we finish up our drinks, we’re escorted down the long- narrow dining room to the open kitchen counter, where we can see the innards of the place, close enough to the food prep to witness almost every stage of its creation. Beyond the bar, a small, tight team works with deft efficiency.
The menu is sensitive to seasons and markets, with some favored staples. Choices on the dinner menu are listed in order of scale, from delicate pickle plates up to the hefty griddled Wagyu. At first glance, the dishes might seem philosophically untethered, but delving in reveals the thought involved - chaotic menus don’t usually garner such high acclaim.
Food comes out as it comes. The P&P Salad is immense, with salt and pepper tomatoes, Prima Donna gouda, and toasted pecans embellishing the greenery. Speckled butter beans come out with lima bean cavatelli, and dried tomatoes, achieving a decadence beyond their station.
More memorable still were a couple of stand-outs. I’m still thinking about the lemongrass fried chicken gumbo, with its none-more-savory dark coconut roux, andouille, and potato salad. Balancing the flavors here is akin to a high-wire act, but chef sticks the landing with aplomb.
Perhaps the most notorious dish is their Corner Store Crudo, though. Meaty strips of yellowfin tuna sit in the shadow of huge, crispy shrimp chips, and bathe in a wash of Pineapple Big Shot Nựớc Chấm. Using a corner store soda brand as a stock could edge into being a hipster gimmick, but the presentation is so audaciously confident (not to mention tasty) that you can only bask in its greatness. Honorable mention goes to the corn babies, and the excellent dulce de leche apple cake.
Sitting and watching the team work their magic only made for more excitement about the food coming out, and if you can score a seat at the bar overlooking the kitchen then I highly recommend it.
Palm&Pine take the familiar but then lead your expectations in an unexpected direction. It’s daring without being alienating, the risk of originality mitigated by the expert hands shaping the menus. P&P joins the ranks of a new wave of restaurants that are standing up and forging a new culinary identity, one that reflects an evolution in the local landscape. Given the equally-innovative peers who are also being recognized way beyond the borders of Orleans parish, I'd say we’re in pretty good shape for the foreseeable future.
Wednesday & Thursday Dinner 5:30pm-9pm, Friday Dinner 5:30pm-11pm, Saturday Brunch 11am-2p, Dinner 5:30pm-11pm, Sunday Brunch 10:30am-2pm, Dinner 5:30pm-9pm, Monday Dinner 5:30pm-9pm (Industry Night)
Click here for the Palm&Pine website
