FOOD+DRINK
LO C AL F L AVO R
NEW LIFE IN AN ICE HOUSE Chef Jenny Brulé discovered her own strength building Davidson Ice House
BY MICHELLE BOUDIN PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER TAYLOR
JENNY BRULÉ is a classically trained chef, cookbook author, and host of a weekly television segment on WCNC. But for years, the 51-year-old single mother of four struggled to make dinner for her family. Fifteen-year old Tess is a vegetarian; identical twin sister Mimi eats only meat and cheese; 20-year-old Camille is a pescatarian; and 22-year-old Claire doesn’t eat dairy. “I was constantly making meals where I would put out lots of small dishes and they would compile them into meals, whether it was a rice or sushi bowl or a
DAVIDSON ICE HOUSE
416 S. Main St., Davidson 704-895-5555 davidsonicehouse.com
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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // APRIL 2020
burrito or even a pizza,” she says. “I thought, ‘I’m not the only mom that must do this.’” This nightly struggle inspired the concept for Davidson Ice House, which she opened in 2018 in what was once the town’s actual ice house. The 98-year-old building has its original pine floors and exposed brick walls. Today the counterserve restaurant specializes in healthy, build-your-own bowls and burgers with toppings like firecracker pimento cheese, kale slaw, and chickpea salad. “There’s no more meat and potatoes,” Brulé says. “Everything is much more curated now with big, bold flavors.” Each ingredient that passes through Brulé’s kitchen is nutrient-dense, and her team makes everything in-house, like the sauces that customers drive out of their way for: tangy apricot, spicy jalapeño and parmesan green sauce, and lemon tahini. And while it’s generally health-
conscious, the restaurant has a reputation for their French fries and crunchy mushrooms, too. The author of Learn to Cook 25 Southern Classics 3 Ways: Traditional, Contemporary, International came by her love of cooking early. Both her mother, a retired minister, and her father, an international executive, took leaves of
