Brickyard South, the eclectic bar on the edge of downtown under the Mississippi River bridge, now hosts the weekly Dinner on the Patio, a limited supper club on the bar’s patio.
Held at 7 p.m. on Mondays, the dinners are cooked and curated by Danny Wilson, a former chef and current owner of Brickyard South. Dinner on the Patio began as a small endeavor 12 weeks ago, but Wilson says the events have grown in popularity and have been sold out since week two.
At the pop-up on Monday, June 5, Wilson served a rustic Southern meal: crawfish and deer sausage chowder with Bloody Marys, jumbo barbecue shrimp and a seasoned bread bowl with white wine spritzers. For dessert: strawberry vanilla cake with cream cheese icing and Irish Coffee.
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Each Dinner on the Patio is three courses and loosely themed, Wilson says, meaning that the cuisine varies each week. Sometimes they’re themed by countries or holidays, or catered toward any sports events that might be happening.
Some previous menu themes included barbecue for Memorial Day, featuring charred watermelon and goat cheese salad, blackened barbecue chicken with potato salad and mustard-rubbed pork with baked beans. Another hit was classic bar food: buffalo wings with Sriracha ranch, bacon cheddar poached egg sliders and cheesy poutine fries.
Wilson also prepares specialty drinks for each course, usually a personal spin on a classic cocktail. This week’s Irish Coffee featured Baileys Irish Cream, Jameson Irish Whiskey and cinnamon tequila blended with coffee ice cream and topped with whipped cream and a strawberry.
Despite the popularity, Wilson says he doesn’t plan to expand the events or bring his cuisine to community events or festivals.
“I really love it the way it is,” he says. “Being a former chef, I know how it feels to cook for 100 people versus cooking for 30 to 40 people. This way, I can really focus on the quality and up the ante of the dinners I’m serving my guests.”
Wilson also uses Dinner on the Patio to mentor aspiring chefs, taking one in each week to help prepare parts of the meal. This week, Wilson brought in Gabby Nata, an LSU student who loves to bake. Nata prepared the strawberry cake from scratch, a spin-off of her own recipe for blueberry lemon cake.
“The young chefs I bring in don’t have to be in culinary school or even want to cook as careers,” Wilson says. “They just have to love what they’re doing, love the process.”
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Brickyard South posts the weekly menu on Instagram and Facebook, and diners can also sign up for a weekly newsletter at the Dinner on the Patio website.
Dinner on the Patio welcomes 36 guests each week, and tickets are $25 with drinks or $20 without. Brickyard South is at 174 South Blvd. The bar is open 3 p.m.-2 a.m. every day.