Chef Tenney Flynn and his staff made the best panna cotta I have ever eaten in my life. It haunts my dreams.
Chef Tenney Flynn isn’t a New Orleans native, but after more than 20 years in the Big Easy, he’s not necessarily a tourist either. When he’s not serving up the city’s finest seafood dishes at GW Fins during Mardi Gras, Chef Flynn is watching the action from his French Quarter balcony.
What’s been happening at the restaurant in honor of Mardi Gras?
Well, GW Fins doesn’t regularly open for lunch; we only do lunch a few times a year. But the Friday lunch during Mardi Gras is a very popular party at GW Fins. We had a crazy, crazy lunch. There’s a dance troop called the Pussyfooters, who wear pink corsets and wigs, and they were doing a dance routine. We had the Krewe of the Rolling Elvi here — not on their scooters, though. There was a brass band and scantily clad tequila girls. It’s really fun, and people are already booking for next year. We were completely sold out, with 300 people for lunch! Everybody enjoys the eating, but the entertainment, the party atmosphere, and the drinking, that’s all very important, too!
In general, though, you never know what to expect with the Mardi Gras crowd. We are 60 feet from Bourbon Street. There are lots of people in costume to extremes and anything can happen!
Anything else?
On Saturday afternoon, we did the first ever walking culinary parade — throwing wooden spoons into the crowd. We had two old-style, mule-drawn floats for culinary royalty, which this year are Susan Spicer and John Besh. There are 200 people — and that’s probably every chef in town. It’s called the Krewe of Lafcadio, named for the writer Lafcadio Hearn, who famously said of New Orleans, “But it is better to live here in sackcloth and ashes than to own the whole state of Ohio.” Really for a lot of us, that’s the way we feel about New Orleans. There’s a lot of reason to not like it, but we like it so much anyway. I think people have very strong reactions to the city. They’re either horrified by it or they say, “This place is really cool and I’d like to live here.’ And I’m definitely one of the latter.
What foods do you associate with Fat Tuesday?
It’s really more of a drinking day. People nibble to fill the corners up so they can prolong their drinking activities. And, there’s certainly lots of cooking happening on the streets — covered pots of jambalaya and people grilling meats. I’ll be grilling on my balcony at some point!
What are folks drinking during Mardi Gras?
You name it. Anything! I don’t think people are drinking fine wine on the street, but definitely lots of beer. It’s perfectly okay to drink in public here, although you’re encouraged not to have glass bottles. But there are people with rolling ice chests. That’s part of the deal when you leave the house — you have an ice chest on wheels. People are also drinking a lot of specialty cocktails. The bars are in full swing. There’s been a cocktail resurgence here, like there has been in other cities around the country. People take their drinking seriously here. Drinking and eating — we embrace them with gusto.
Do you have favorite King Cake?
After 20 years, I’ve picked up on a lot of New Orleans stuff. I drink chicory coffee, but I’m not certain I’ve learned to love King Cake.
In terms of Ash Wednesday, do you have any suggestions for food to repent by?
I think everybody is into comfort food by that point. The mashed potatoes or bowl of pasta to help them ease back into normal life. For the locals, though, it’s probably business as usual. They really are more accustomed to this. You can’t jump right into excess. You have to gradually build up to it or you get hurt. The locals pace themselves — eating a little, drinking a little, dancing a little.
Anything you recommend for out-of-towners feeling green on Wednesday morning?
Spicy, greasy food and a couple of cold beers might be the way to go. The hair of the dog was one of my drinking rules when I was in the nightclub business.
With GW Fins being a seafood restaurant, will you see an uptick on Fridays?
The first Friday of Lent is a big seafood day here. The first couple of Fridays, we are extra busy.
Will you give up anything for Lent?
I have so few vices left, so I’m not planning on giving up anything. I’ve given up all the bad stuff. And 40 days is a long time to give up anything! You’re supposed to give up something that hurts a little bit to gain merit, but I’m not sure I want to give up anything I really like for 40 days.
Head over to Facebook to see pictures from GW Fins fun Friday lunch. And, if you’re in NOLA, reserve a table at GW Fins to sample sublime Louisiana seafood from Chef Tenney Flynn and his amazing staff.
Tags: King Cake, Louisiana seafood, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Tenney Flynn
