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| Opening Night at Parlor Market |
I had a special opportunity last week.
The Parlor Market held their "soft opening" for friends and fellow food industry folks. Kitty and I were lucky enough to get an invitation and we brought Mandy and Anders Ferrington with us to take it all in. I've been following the progress of this place since Donna Ladd introduced me to Chef and Owner Craig Noone this spring when the old building on State Street looked more like bombing range target than a restaurant. Last night's dinner was probably the most anticipated Jackson opening night in recent memory.
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| Cornbread with Buter |
Craig greeted Kitty and me at the door and the balanced look of sheer panic and pure elation in his eyes belied the fact that his dream was becoming reality and that the time for planning and practice was over and the time for putting his promises on a plate was at hand. The bar and the dining room were abuzz with energy and the menu was as intriguing to the guests as the marble, wood, steel, brick and stainless that make up the big-city hip environment. Everywhere in the place, groups of two and three members of Jackson's see-and-be-seen crowd stood or sat with their attention focused on the three column, single sheet menu filled with dishes, terms and ingredients unfamiliar to most.
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| Ryan Bell Putting Finishing Touches on a Salad |
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| Duck Confit with Duck Cracklin |
Since we arrived at a little before eight, some of the early diners were mid-meal and the looks on their faces told the whole story and gave an accurate prediction of what we could expect. Some were gushing with smiles and rolling their heads back in ecstasy while others had looks of trepidation as they bit into foods they found exciting, albeit a little scary. But this is exactly what you expect when a restaurant is opened by a team of all star chefs, executing a shared vision of exciting, local, seasonal dishes. When you swing big, you either strike out or you hit a home run. Craig Noone has belted this one into the cheap seats, way out in center field.
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| Mussels + Matchsticks |
The food is Southern. Not the Southern you would expect at a small town country club, but the Southern that could be easily explained if Eric Ripert had been adopted at age six by a soul food cook in Clarksdale or if Daniel Boulud had been born in Natchez to parents who owned a BBQ shack and a catfish house. The flavors and aromas are like watching a childhood home movie of someone who looks like you, but lives in Provence. It is simultaneously comforting and exciting, foreign and familiar, local and far-flung.
We abandoned any thought of trying to choose dishes and instead asked our waiter to let the kitchen know that we just wanted to be fed. Chef's choice for a table of chefs and foodies. The order was as much a challenge as it was a compliment. We essentially asked the crew to "show us what you got."
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| Oysters George |
We opened up with four dishes: Mussels + Matchsticks, Oysters George, Duck Confit and a half dozen raw oysters with Lime Guajillo Granita. The fries could have been more crisp, but the broth in the bottom of the bowl of mussels was sopped up until the plate looked like it had been through the dishwasher. Both of the oyster dishes were exquisite. The fried ones on the Oysters George were perfectly battered and prepared with a crisp, salty coating and a just warm and still juicy flesh underneath. The raw oysters were cold, briny and well complemented by the tart granita. My favorite was the Duck Confit. The richness of the duck, cooked in its own fat, was well matched by the acidity of the pickled onions and the shaved fennel added a light hint of licorish that pairs so well with duck. The only thing missing was a bucket of the duck cracklins. One just isn't enough. When we thought we were finished with our appetizers, Craig arrived at our table with a Georgia Salad...just because. The homage to all things from the Peach State would have made Jimmy Carter blush. Grilled peaches, fried Vidalia onions, a peach sherry vinaigrette and best of all...boiled peanuts make for a delicious (albeit unconventional) salad.
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| Cowboy Ribeye |
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| PM Burger |
Back in the kitchen, the chefs picked out for "large plates" for us: the Cowboy Ribeye, the PM Burger, Red Snapper and Beef Tenderloin. We had a wait a little while for these dishes, but it gave us some time to have another glass of wine and do a little people watching. Honestly, on an opening night I would have forgiven an hour-long wait, but although the staff kept apologizing for the delay, our wait was only about twenty five minutes. We hardly noticed and didn't think the fuss was necessary and the food was worth the wait. For those of you not familiar with South Carolina, Low Country food, a Frogmore Stew is more of an event than a recipe. It's what we might call a shrimp boil, replete with potatoes, sausage, shrimp and corn, all boiled in one giant pot. The PM boys took this idea and turned it into the base/sauce for their Red Snapper dish. It could easily stand on its own, but man does it work with snapper. The ribeye was spiced and charred beautifully and served with a smoked tomato gravy. Craig explained that there had been some discussion about the gravy and whether or not they would serve it. They chose wisely and it made the dish. Beef tenderloin is usually my least favorite cut, but this one was properly prepared and delightfully tender. But the star of that dish was the shrimp maque choux and cheese. They should seriously consider making this accompaniement a main dish, or at least a small plate. You would never have the Rolling Stones as the opening act for 38 Special so why relegate this, perhaps the best thing I ate all night, cheesy-shrimpy perfection to the role of side dish. The PM Burger was melt-in-your-mouth good and worth every penny of its $15 price tag. If you are a "burger person" stop reading right now, pick up the phone and make a reservation. That night, the bun seemed a little spongy and overworked, but when I had it again on the radio show a few days later, they seemed to have worked out the kinks. Craig chalked it up to asking his professional pastry chef to reach below her usual culinary heights and make something as pedestrian as a hamburger bun. To lubricate our conversations and complement our meals, we chose the Alexander Valley Cabernet Savignon, which stood up well to all of the fat and bold flavors we were stuffing into our faces.
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| Dessert Carnage |
When it came time for dessert, we abandoned any sense of responsible dining and just ordered the lot. These were very interesting dishes. Two of them I would call "chef dishes" because they might not appeal to every palate, but offer a complexity that could take an adventerous spirit to appreciate. I'll start with those. The Mason Jar Strawberry Cake combines sweet with hot with bitter and with tartness. The blackberry ricotta icing is a great foil to the richness of the dense, buttery strawberry cake and the acidity in the strawberry black pepper reduction is brilliant. I adored the lack of cloying sweetness and the chances they took with this dish. Craig said it was getting 50/50 good to bad reviews from the diners and this is what I would expect. He tried to explain to the customers who didn't like it that they needed to eat the cake with a dip of the reduction, but dishes shouldn't come with instructions. If everyone likes every dish, you are playing it too safe. The Key Lime + White Chocolate Mousse is a little less adventerous, but still foreign to many. The coriander and graham cracker crust is delightfully savory, but may not appeal to everyone. For broader appeal, Craig and his crew put three other desserts on the menu that strike a much more familiar chord. The Affogato (doughnuts, espresso and gelato), Nancy Nanner (boiled peanut ice cream with peanut butter and banana toast) and Walk Down Memory Lane (mini moon pie, push up pop and gusher cupcake) would not confuse even the most meat-n-potatoes customer and really...who can resist a push-up pop.
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| Anders Ferrington, Craig Noone, Kitty Cook Ramsey |
When it was all over, we leaned back into our chairs and marveled at the damage we had done. Everyone was impressed and we will certainly go back again and again. My only negative comment would be the wine list. Too much valuable real estate on the menu is dedicated to "Southern Wines." I know that Craig wants to stay true to his roots and offer a uniquely Southern experience, but that should not come at the expense of quality. There are just way too many great wines out there and narrowing great wine choices in the name of thematic presentation is selling the food short. There's also a glaring hole on the wine list when it comes to premium bottles. Looking at the incredible selection of very expensive whiskeys, I can't understand why the highest-dollar bottle of grape on the page is $68 Chardonnay. Parlor Market is the kind of place that begs for celebrations and the lack of premium wines cuts this short. The good news is, the ABC truck runs every couple of days, so correcting this problem is easy...a phone call and check.
Although I might be a little biased by my friendship with these guys, I can honestly say that Parlor Market served me one of the best meals of my recent memory and is on par with some of the finest restaurants in New York, Chicago, New Orleans, London or Paris. Great job guys. Now you just have to keep it up.
«««« (Four Stars out of a Possible Five)
Nobody gets a perfect score on opening night. See you soon for the follow up guys.
