Dr. Jones is what is happening when two chief friends, David Rouse (Dr in Dr) and Billy Jones, finally opened their own place.
The compact metairie restaurant with its open kitchen and its handful of tables is a real gem, the product of two well -paid chefs in daring flavors superimposed unexpectedly. It is also a big surprise, especially given its affordable prices and its byob option.
Rouse, from Mandeville, and Jones, of Slidell, met in Louisiana Culinary Institute almost 20 years ago. Although their personalities are polar opposites, they are related culinary minds that have remained close over the years.
Jones worked with the Link and Rouse restaurant group with the Besh Restaurant Group (now named BRG Hospitality). A dozen years ago, they moved to Chicago together on a whim to discover the culinary scene of another city. They lasted a year, working on the stage of Michelin Star restaurants in this city.
“It was five degrees when we left Chicago,” said Jones. “We got home just Tuesday Gras.”
They worked for the group of pig and herbsaint links before Jones opens the American Chinese restaurant now closed Blue Giant. After closing, he took a break. Rouse did the same after way to the sea was in progress.
“It was strange to see how we were both in the same place, ready to come back,” explains Jones.
Rouse was restoring his house, cooked private dinners and provided green dishes in places like the Fillmore and the Saenger Theater. He saw the potential in the small space on the commemorative boulevard of veterans, which formerly houses the house of Yakuza.
The two friends gathered the group and praised it. What started as a restoration quickly turned into the wonderful Dr Jones coffee.
The menu is compact and the guests could order all the options in a single session. Each dish seems simple at first, but there is always a culinary sleight of hand that has a delicious meaning.
The chicken and andouille gumbo obtains a depth of flavor of the tomatoes and the roasted Gombo during the night and the addition of Djon Djon, a black Haitian fungus which brings a goodness to each spoonful. The butter barbecue shrimp seems familiar, but the chiefs have it with Berber, a mixture of complex Ethiopian spices relaxing with cumin, garlic and ginger.
Mirliton takes a star turn that has nothing to do with its usual cooked texture. Here, it is shredded and exchanged for the usual green papaya salad, a Thai dish scented with citrus, fish sauce and peppers. It is a refreshing mixture that can be hot for sure.
Jones brings the same love for the ingredients he used in Blue Giant at the blackened eggplant, which is treated with Nuoc Cham and a lot of coriander. Natchitoches meat pies benefit from a plunging lime cream sauce.
Partners admit that their yin and yang can make things happen a bit.
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“I am frank and fly on the seat of my pants,” explains Jones. “David is reflected and thinks everything all along. He still thinks. My palace is more spicy, his is more refined. But we are not afraid to have difficult conversations. We have been friends for so long.
The 32 -seat restaurant is mainly a place to have lunch, open from Wednesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., but on Saturday, the hours extend until 9 p.m. which allow chefs to bend their culinary muscles.
A series of dinner of monthly choice of the chef is also in preparation. The first will include an All-Seafood menu on Friday March 28. The meal is $ 75 per person, with seats at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
“We already have a lot of regulars in the neighborhood,” explains Jones. “We want to create an experience for them. Having so many regular customers is really a good feeling. »»
Brooks Reitz likes the construction of the world.
