Russell Jackson, the dissident chef with a pirate fetish, opens Lafitte for dinner tonight after a complete build out at Pier Five and bit of a delay in the original opening plan for winter 2008. The restaurant held soft-opening dinners on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of last week; and for tonight's first public appearance, the "menu of logic" will feature asparagus and foie gras, sweet onion and anchovy tart, and pork sausage with pork belly and flageolets, among other things. In case you haven't been following along, Jackson has no set menu or plan for the food at Lafitte, besides following the "whims of nature and availability." So don't expect to peep the menu on line or anything.
Jackson, who hasn't owned a bricks-and-mortar establishment since his LA burger spot Russell's shuttered in 2007, has been staying in practice at his underground dining operation SubCulture Dining for the past few years. He has a fairly decent crew with him at Lafitte, so we're interested to see how this concept, which the press release tells us is "loosely based on the premise of revolution," will pan out. Jon Larner, co-founder of The Independent is an investor and operating GM; Shannon Tucker, who worked on the wine programs at bacar and Eccolo, is managing the beverage program, and "culinary bad ass" Patricia Barclay, who is only about 23 years old and worked at Google's Left Coast Cafe prior, will be helping Chef Jackson as Sous Chef. The restaurant's publicist tells us there are still some seats left tonight and for later this week, so if you want in on that action, we suggest you call soon to grab a res. Lunch service will start on May 1. And for you media and industry types, they are planning some sort of benefit/media shin dig for later in April or early May.
· Lafitte Nears Opening Day [~ESF~]
· Construction Now in Full Swing at Pier Five's Lafitte [~ESF~]
· PierWatch: A Date, Designer and Pleasure Boats for Lafitte [~ESF~]
· PierWatch: Taking an Early Look at Pier Five's Lafitte [~ESF~]
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