Every meal at North of Bourbon starts with a little lagniappe, a small gift from the kitchen to kick things off. It’s usually boiled peanuts, brined in salt and chiles, and it’s the first signal that hospitality is top of mind at this new restaurant in Kentucky.
Owners, brothers Eric and Brad Jennings and Daniel and Stacy Holyfield, long harbored a dream of opening their own place together, one that might bring them back to the food of New Orleans’ French Quarter, one of their favorite places to visit. When a Germantown space became available, they pounced, with plans to bring foods of the deep South and an epic bourbon program to the neighborhood.
Chef Lawrence Weeks, whose own family hails from parts of Mississippi and Louisiana, runs the kitchen—he grew up eating Creole and Cajun foods in central Kentucky and has worked for chefs like Todd Richards and Ouita Michel. “I used to spend my time chasing hot new things and dishes but now I just want nostalgia,” he says.
Witness his rouxed peas piled over mustard greens tangled with tasso, or the shaved mirliton salad, the thinly sliced gourd doused in a truffle vinaigrette. Drawing directly from bayou cuisine, he does a standout po’ boy with fried catfish; densely packed crawfish boudin balls that sit atop a spicy creole mustard; and a chicken and sausage filé gumbo loaded with Kentucky-grown proteins and Carolina Gold rice.
More than 300 bottles of bourbon await behind the bar of this restaurant in Kentucky, with a range of styles and ages. A cabinet of dusty-ish bottles near the entrance offers a few rare gems, or dive into the list of old fashioneds where you’ll spot bacon fatwashed Wild Turkey in the Turkey and Bacon, and chai infused Old Granddad Bottled in Bond in the Chai Me If You Want. A hand-shaved ice contraption means there are boozy adult desserts, and there’s a bourbon storage locker available to regulars toward the back. Bourbon dominates the design, too, with several booths set into what look like massive barrels, complete with charred staves.
Whether you’re coming in for Weeks’ red beans and rice, or a couple of pours of a 1970s-era Jim Beam, the night usually ends the same way it begins—with a little taste from the kitchen. After about 10 pm each night, Weeks sends out another gift, this time something sturdier, like boudin burritos or dumplings, to help soak things up.
Don’t Miss:
Salad
Delta Wet Salad with smoked tomato, cucumber, and red wine vinaigrette
Appetizer
Crawfish boudin balls with spicy pickles and creole mustard aïoli
Main
Crab bucatini with crab roe butter, peas, asiago, smoked tomato, Herbsaint, and black garlic
