Eyecandy

Mason Hereford’ssplashy newrestaurant by Beth D’Addono |

IFAMOODY’80SNIGHTCLUBFELL HARDFORANAILSALON,Hungry

Eyes would be theirlove child

TheMagazineStreet lounge and restaurant from theteambehind Turkey and theWolfand Molly’s Rise and Shinetakes thecompany in anew direction, and it’s amindfulway to grow that spotlights MasonHereford’scommitment to supporting histeam’spotential and development.

Hereford and hiswifeLauren Agudo broughtTurkeyand the Wolf chef PhilCenac into the ownership loop.LahzieTakada, last of Faubourg Wine, is the GM andsommelier,and bartender Carlos Quinonez runs the cocktailprogram

Hereford hasparlayeda fine-diningbackgroundatplaces like Coquette into atake-no-prisonersapproachtofast casual sandwiches and breakfast.It’s an approachthatearnedTurkey and theWolfthe topspotinBon

Appetit’s 2017 listofthe best new restaurantsinAmerica.Hesees

HungryEyesasanopportunity to developthe team

HungryEyesisatrip. First came thename, areferencetothe song immortalized in “Dirty Dancing,” and everybodyagreed it wasa perfect name fora restaurant. The ’80s themebloomed from there. Housed in thestorefrontthat wasformerly Italianrestaurant RedGravy,the 40-seat space shines with custom neon from BigSexyNeononOrethaCastle

HaleyBoulevard and vintage piecesHerefordfound with the help of Chicago-baseddesigner Paul Octavious. They unearthed allkinds of treasures at the sprawlingantiquesshowin RoundHill,Texas,hauling back everything from original Paris streetlampstomirrorsand iconic Patrick Nagelposters.Apretty back patiooffersadditional leafy seating.

Close upsofbee-stung lips and come-hithereyesabound

Arevolving playlist, curated by staff, customersand friendslike

TouréFolkes from Turning Tables,keeps thevibegoing.

Theidea, Hereford says, is forHungry Eyes to be the kind of place dinerscan come to afterwalking theirdog,meet up with friends and have nibbles and drinks.Or youcan strapon thestilettos and strike apose.

“The cool thing about the’80sis they were equal parts playfuland sensual,” says Hereford,who at 37 wasbornin the’80sbut grew up in the’90s.

“Wewanteda funplace to be.”

Chef Cenacdevisedacompact butaction-packedmenu that flirts with familiarity butstrikes itsown path.Thereare about 15 itemsofwhatHerefordcalls

“unpretentiousluxurydrinking food forthe curious.”Herecommends five dishes fortwo people, or more forthe famished Thebest-sellingplate is artichokes on thehalfshell,and with goodreason. Importedbaby artichoke hearts arenestled into deep ceramicLoftinoyster shells and served sizzling with a thick, smokymoritachili sauce and garlicky Parmesan cheese House-made ciabatta fordipping is served on theside.

Grilled pastrami is cubed and threaded on skewers,brushed witha zippyred wine barbecue sauce and served with lettuce fortucking into wraps. Thefun of offering somethinglikefried veal sweetbreads with peanuts and puffed rice or Alaskan halibut crudo with pineappleand bird’s eye chili isn’tlostonchefs used to composing creative sandwiches at acounter-servicerestaurant. Thestacked nuts and seed tostadaisa stellarplant-based option.It’sa saladindisguisewith aslather of salsamacha,cashew cheese andsomeheatfromarbol chilies.Itlooks daunting, butdinerscan breakthe seed-studded tortillas andscoop away

Pastry chef KeiraWattis behindthe sourdoughciabatta and creative desserts like the B52Vienetta, vanillaice cream encased in dark chocolate and doused withaB52 shot of Baileys IrishCream,Grand Marnierand coffeeliqueur.Technicolorriffs on martinisaboundonthe drinks menu,along withzero-proofsips and awinelistfocused on small bio-dynamic producers

“Wereally wanted afun place to hangout,” Hereford says.“It all came together thankstothe badass people on theteam. It ain’t aboutme.”

Emaildining@gambitweekly.com

Bushwines

LIFTINGTHELIDONATRAILER-MOUNTED GRILLBYTHEVINEYARDTASTINGROOM revealedaharvest of Louisiana ducks, headsand beaksincluded, slowly gainingamoredeeplyburnished hue. Thearoma of roasting meat and wood smokepermeated theoutdoor cookingareaaschef Marcus Jacobsapplied moregarlickyglaze in thefinishing phases.

An outdoorwinedinner was abouttobegin at Wild Bush Farm & Vineyard,but therendering of these localbirds wasnot theonlychange taking shape.

Wild Bush is thenew namefor aproperty that hadlongbeen knownunder previous ownership as PontchartrainVineyards

It’s in Bush,a fewmiles northof Covington. Here,the alluvial landscape of southeast Louisiana gives waytogentlyhillyterrain,horse ranchesand farms. Peelingoff the country highwayand drivingdown atree-lined,winding dirt road,Wild Bush emergeswith vine rows running across abackdropofgreen fields It looks like apiece of wine country transportedtothe BayouState Rightnow,WildBushismaking wine that wasliterally transported from West Coastwinecountry and finished here. In thenearfuture, Wild Bush will producewinefrom grapesgrown on-site, part of its proprietors’ visiontoshake up the idea of what Louisiana wine canbe. Thegrape typesthathistorically have been able to contendwithour climate tend toward thesweet, like muscadine.

Butwithnewly developed hybrid grapesand adifferent outlook on wine in general, thecouple behind Wild Bush areconvinced their property canbea showcase for Louisiana wine alignedwithchangingmoderntastes

That couple is Monica Bourgeois and Neil Gernon.Theyare seasonedveteransinthe NewOrleans wine scene, coming up through restaurantsand distributors.In 2009,theystarted theirown wine labelVending MachineWines, whichisinfacta localcompany makingNapaValleywines

VendingMachine labels like Double Shotgun(ared blend)and Crooked Mayor(acabernet) are familiar findsonlocal retail shelves and restaurantlists

Thecouple bought former PontchartrainVineyards from founderJohn Seago last year.A pioneerinLouisiana winemaking, Seago made Pontchartrain Vineyardsintoa destinationfor popularevents, like theJazz’n theVines outdoor concertseries. That continuesatWildBushwith AmandaShawonMay 20 and Rockin’ Dopsie Jr.onJune3

Before theproperty changed hands,the vineyardshad become overgrown.Workisunderway to rehabilitate thevines and plant newones. In some cases, that meansbringingback30-yearold vines. Forthe newplantings, Bourgeois says they areusing hybrid grapes,newly developed by theviticulture programat University of California at Davis.

Onenow planted,camminare noir,issaidtohave characteristics of cabernetand petite syrah, while thecaminante blanc brings characteristicsofsauvignonblanc and chardonnay. Another,paseante noir,issaidtoresemble zinfandel Eachwas cultivatedtobemuch more diseaseresistant and better suitedtoour humidclimate.It will be severalyears before these plantings aremature enough for winemaking, perhapsfouryears

In themeantime, there’splenty of wine comingthrough Wild Bush underits ownlabel. It is made with grapes from Napa andOregon’s WillametteValley. It’s truckedhere to Wild Bush,whereit’sfinished and bottled.

Wild Bush also is growing four varietiesofmuscadinegrapes, old-schoolNortongrapesand blueberries,which will allbepartof thewinemakinghereoncethey’re readyfor harvest

Wine tastesare moreopen these days,withlessfamiliar typesof wine gettingmoreattention from sommeliersand consumers. Pétnats (a naturallysparking wine), aromatizedwines (likeaperitifs) and orange wines(derived from grape skin contact) have allbuilt niches andfollowings

“The adventurous drinkerismakinga mark in theindustry,not so much guided by wine guidescores or even necessarily location,” Gernon says

In themidst of this,Bourgeois and Gernon believe Wild Bush canmake amarkwith winescomingfromthe localsoilthatare distinctivelythemselves,and decidedly notthe sweet elixirs forwhich Louisiana winemakinghas been known.

“Wewanttochange what people thinkaboutwhen they hear ‘Louisiana wine.’Wewanttomake somethingtheycan show friends from other places,and saythis is what Louisiana wine canbe,” Gernon says Bourgeois and Gernon aregiddy withthe possibilities at Wild Bush, and notall of them arepurelyinwine.

TheduckJacobswas cooking oneApril nightwas forawinedinner Wild Bush hosted in conjunction with BackwaterFarmstead, aduckfarmlocated just up the road in Bush andknown forits foie gras production

Jacobsisco-founder of Marjie’s Grill and SeafoodSally’s,two New Orleans restaurants. Themain coursewas finished with honey produced on Wild Bush property overthe lusciousduckfattiness of it all, served with dirty rice.WildBush pairedthiswith twored blends Onewas called TheKid’s GotHeart, which givesa smokyfinish; theother wasCreature Feature,which could be describedasdarkand brooding, though Gernon callsita wine with “a lotofanger andnoregrets.”

Themeal wasroundedout by duck fattamales served with an aromaticpét-nat called Hot Biscuits in Love;aduck-based take on French onions lacedwith cheese from BelleEcorceFarms in St.Martinville, accompaniedby achardonnaycalledI Know ILove You; and finally aduckfat pecan pie with asavory back beat,served withportbottled hereearlier by PontchartrainVineyards

These Wild Bush bottlings are very smallproduction, topping out at 200cases forone label, and as small as 35 casesfor that chardonnay. Some aresold in thetasting room only;othersare distributed around Louisiana

Bourgeois and Gernon seethe vineyard as alaboratoryfor their ownwinemakingendeavors,and also forpeople around aculinary realmwho want to collaborateina unique Louisiana setting.

“It’sa playgroundfor us,” Gernon says. “Wedon’t have rules forit. Doesittastegood? Howcan we combinewhatgrows heretomake somethingthat’sgreat,ordoeswhat we’regrowing taste good enough to be asinglevarietal?There’ssomuch we candohere.”—IAN McNULTY /