In the 1940s, Stroubes was known as a downtown drug store, popular for its beloved lunch counter and soda fountain.
It wasn’t until three years ago that the name Stroubes popped up again, but this time as an upscale restaurant on the corner of Third Street and North Boulevard.
Every once in awhile, Eric Carnegie, general manager of Stroubes Steak and Seafood, says he hears a story about the old Stroubes.
A month ago, one older patron e-mailed Carnegie, asking if the restaurant was connected to the original, because that former location had the best egg salad sandwich she had ever tasted.
The message struck a nerve, Carnegie says.
“I thought, ‘If she can remember that one thing, there has got to be other people that remember other things about Stroubes,” he says.
Co-head chefs Mark Reilly and Brad Andries added the egg salad sandwich back to the menu recently and dubbed it the 1942 Stroubes Original. Developed from the memories of the lunch counter’s patrons, the sandwich features bacon in its egg salad mix on slices of wheat berry bread kept together by olive skewers and served with potato chips. That recipe is a variation on what the customer told Carnegie—the original sandwich featured egg salad and olive relish on thick wheat bread.
“Once we got that e-mail, a light bulb went off in our heads,” Carnegie says. “We immediately put the sandwich on the menu. It was such a unique story. That e-mail reinvigorated us with sticking with the traditional stuff.”
Stroubes’ kitchen has also been reinvigorated thanks to chefs Reilly and Andries stepping up in the departure of former chef Scott Varnedoe, who left for an opportunity to work alongside Chef John Folse in late Spring.
To show off the chefs’ versatility, Stroubes is offering an inexpensive tapas-style tasting called “Taste of the House” each Thursday during dinner service. For $35 per person, patrons can enjoy anywhere from 8-16 small plates of whatever the chefs are preparing.
“It’s not unlimited,” Carnegie says, “but whatever the kitchen is cooking at the moment, you’re going to get a taste of it. You’re going to sample as much of Stroubes as possible. It’s our way of letting people know we’re here but also we want to get these chefs’ names out.”
Reilly comes to Stroubes after working at Roberto’s on the River. Andries has worked in a few two-star Michelin-rated restaurants in Italy.
For Andries, Stroubes is an opportunity to expand on the traditional favorites of Baton Rouge. He wants Stroubes to be known not just for steaks, but the duck, the candied collard greens and duck fat-braised baby back ribs.
“We’re trying to stay outside of the box and want to be known as the place where you can get a meal that’s different than anything else in Baton Rouge,” Andries says. “Taste of the House is perfect for new and old guests. We’re working them through our menu, and it allows them to experience what we’re about and who we are. Hopefully, it will break them out of the traditional item they might order.” —Matthew Sigur
