After spending a year accustomed to the sound of silence, stepping into Bourbon Street on Alakea, with its live band and full-on party vibe, felt like venturing into a movie set in a different era.
As its name implies, Bourbon Street aims to bring the festive spirit of N’awlins to Honolulu, with live music during weekday evenings and Sundays with the expectation to extends its hours. The restaurant opened a few weeks ago on the former site of The Mandalay restaurant, which moved to Kaimuki.
Bourbon Street is the work of first-time restaurateur Beverly Chapman, a retiree from Dallas who said she got bored staying at home during the pandemic. Now, coming out of it, she says, “I just wanted to sit at a bar and eat some good food.”
When Chapman thought about good times she’d had in the past, the city of New Orleans came to mind.
As fate would have it, the pandemic had brought local boy Scott Nesbitt back home from a 10-year stint working in the kitchens of NOLA, most recently as executive events chef at the Culinary Institute of New Orleans.
Nesbitt’s father was in the military and that’s how Nesbitt found himself in Arkansas before moving on to the Crescent City to study architecture at Louisiana Tech. While there, he was drawn to the culinary world. When COVID-19 hit, he went from hosting upscale events to preparing 500 meals a day to help feed those in need.
“It felt good for the first six months, but I eventually got tired of working 70 hours a week,” he says.
That’s when he returned home, where his sister lives, and eventually met Chapman.
Currently, Nesbitt offers lunch and dinner menus of about 15 dishes that have been changing slightly daily while he gauges what diners want. Foodies will be drawn to Louisiana classics like chicken and andouille jambalaya ($12) and seafood gumbo ($8 cup, $16 bowl), which did not disappoint.
I don’t have to return to New Orleans to get an authentic taste of the city. I was smitten by the gumbo, which starts with a rich, dark roux, and the trinity and the pope, a reference to the holy trinity of onions, bell peppers and celery that form the base for Cajun and Louisiana Creole cuisine. “The pope” refers to the addition of garlic.
Nesbitt credits the savory brown gumbo stock to slow cooking over time.
The white rice adds to its thick, silky character, while slices of andouille sausage, Kauai prawns, and lump crab provide heft and texture. The flavorful jambalaya shows its Spanish roots, here resembling a paella full of smoked andouille and diced chicken.
A simple watermelon and tomatoes salad ($12), with greens and goat cheese tossed in a white balsamic vinaigrette, brings a needed light touch to an otherwise weighty dinner due to family-sized portions. Cornmeal-fried catfish ($26) and corn flour-dusted fried shrimp ($28) entrées are big enough to feed four.
Also recently available were grilled rib-eye ($36) with Maui onion jus and garlic confit, and chicken and waffles ($16). Grilled Kona kampachi ($34) is prepared Cajun style and served over dirty rice with a vegetable of the day.
Desserts included flambéed bananas Foster ($8) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and white chocolate chip bread pudding with bourbon milk punch ($6).
Before you get too excited about the flambé, the work is done in the kitchen so there’s no floor performance. The bread pudding had me swooning — the baked milk punch gave it the custardy texture of a good flan, and the toppings of sliced straw-berries and blueberries made for a bright, fresh touch.
On the Sunday brunch menu, creamy shrimp and grits ($18) hit the spot, and I was introduced to eggs Sardou ($16), a combination of anise liqueur-infused creamed spinach, artichoke hearts and poached egg finished with hollandaise sauce.
It’s essentially an eggs Benedict minus the English muffin and was created as a hangover cure in the 19th century at Antoine’s, where it was named after French playwright Victorien Sardou, who was visiting the city at that particular time.
Service will need some time and work. Like many restaurants, this one is short-staffed so patience is required.
Overall, it lives up to the sign on its walls, “Lassiez les ons temps rouler.”
Let the good times roll, indeed. I think a lot of people are ready.
Bourbon Street
1055 Alakea St., Honolulu
Food: ***½
Service: **
Ambiance: ***
Value: ***½
Call: 808-784-0351
Hours: 10:30 A.M.-2 P.M. and 4 P.M.-Midnight Tuesdays-Saturdays; 10:30 A.M.-6 P.M. Sunday brunch
Prices: About $50 for two without alcohol
Nadine Kam’s restaurant visits are unannounced and paid for by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Follow Nadine on Instagram (@nadinekam) or on YouTube (youtube.com/nadinekam).
