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Preservation Bar & Grill
CHEFS MATTHEW AND ALEXIS INDEST ELEVATE THE COMFORTS OF SMALL TOWN CAJUN COUNTRY Story by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot • Photos by Paul Kieu
From the Preservation Bar & Grill menu: A New York strip special topped with chimichurri, fried potatoes, house-made tortilla chips, and seafood tartare.
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n Chefs Matt and Alexis Indest’s Preservation kitchen in downtown New Iberia, a basket of Gulf shrimp is made golden by the melding tastes of the tropics and the Cajun prairie: shredded coconut and tasso. Nearby, more shrimp cheerfully mingle with scallops and crab in a citrus marinade—waiting to be artfully 38
arranged in a succulent tower of seafood tartare, drizzled in house-made chimichurri. A fried softshell crab poses seductively atop a pile of linguine and Puttanesca sauce. Buffalo sauce simmers on the stove, ready to paint a fresh-fried plate of frog legs. And if it’s Steak Night (Wednesday), the filet mignons, flat irons, and butcher block specials are practically fly-
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ing out the door (at fifteen percent off). Struggling to articulate a definition for his culinary style, Matt said, “I kind of fuse everything together. Take bits and pieces and put our own spin on it.” On his menu, you’ll find elements of Italian, Mediterranean, Central American, and traditional French cuisines—all integrated into a locally-rooted comfort
foods, crafted using traditional methods of preservation—smoking, pickling, aging, fermentation, and salting. “It’s about making the most out of your food,” said Matt, who grew up as an outdoorsman in New Iberia, enjoying the distinct cuisine of the region. But with Preservation, he and Alexis wanted to offer something more than just another Cajun restaurant. “I’m not trying to duplicate something that your grandmother’s been making,” said Matt. “Nobody can beat your grandmother’s cooking. We don’t really want to compete with that. We want to try to do something along those lines, but with a different delivery.” “We’re drawing out the comfort food that people are already accustomed to around here,” added Alexis, “and taking a subtle spin on it, offering something more worldly when it comes to tastes and flavors.” Unaware of Wednesday night’s significance at Preservation Bar & Grill, my husband and I waltzed right in from the sleepy downtown streets at 6:30 pm, surprised to find it bright and bustling, crowded even. Dressed in work clothes and postured in a way that signaled comfortable familiarity—patrons sipped cocktails, bent over steaks, and wandered from table to table, patting each other on the back and asking “How’s your mama?” “It’ll be about an hour wait,” our hostess kindly told us. Surprised, our stomachs growled, but we smiled back at her—“No problem,” and settled in at the bar, where we were immediately tended to. In addition to its extensive list of organic, biodynamic wines (“though of course we still have the Kendall Jacksons—some things you just can’t get away from when you’re working in a small town,” laughed Alexis), Preservation’s cocktails are all original creations energized by names like “Mario Speedwagon,” “Yoga Pants,” and “Magnum P.I.” The concoctions themselves are elevated, but approachable: a vodka drink with cherry limeade, Topo Chico, and Sprite; Amador Bourbon with orange bitters and smoked simple syrup. I elected for La Yarara—tequila sweetened by prickly pear and seasoned with black sea salt. Our bartender, we learned later, has been with Preservation since its beginnings in 2019, along with much of the current staff. “We’ve had our same crew pretty much since the beginning,” said Matt, noting that even considering the restaurant industry’s nationwide “Great Resignation” crisis, Preservation has
