Golfers and ladies who lunch have been coming to the Audubon Clubhouse for the view for more than 20 years.
Since Dickie Brennan & Co. took over operations last year, a new cohort of diners has discovered this culinary gem tucked away in Audubon Park.
Sure, the landscape of ancient oaks and rolling greens is gorgeous. But the real draw is chef Copeland Crews’ Southern-meets-New Orleans comfort cuisine. And a new bar with good cocktails is just one of the many changes that has upped the game at this destination restaurant.
“We were a Sysco restaurant before,” Crews says. “We can do better than that.”
While the expansive covered porch is still at the heart of the dining experience, the Clubhouse has changed dramatically since Brennan took over catering and private events operations across the Audubon Nature Institute brand, including the zoo and aquarium.
As part of the restaurant group that operates Pascal’s Manale, Palace Cafe, Tableau and other restaurants, the Clubhouse now serves dinner for the first time ever along with a 3-5 p.m. happy hour Monday through Thursday.
Crews, a Columbia, South Carolina native, moved to New Orleans six years ago to be closer to family. The self-taught chef worked for two local restaurant groups: LeBlanc + Smith at Sylvain, and Alon Shaya’s Pomegranate Hospitality, as the chef de cuisine at Saba. After taking a pandemic-induced six-month sabbatical, she wanted to join a major restaurant group.
“I feel like Dickie Brennan & Co. is the right mix of corporate with mom and pop,” she says. “That family history is so strong.”
The idea of starting on the ground floor at the Clubhouse appealed to her.
“I can’t count how many laps I’ve done around the park over the years, and I didn’t even know the space existed,” she says. “It was exciting to start something new.”
The chef sources from regional suppliers including Coastal Plains Meat Co. and Covey Rise Farms. The company’s central Commissary supplies staples from turtle soup to bread and sauces.
While Crews appreciates having direct access to ingredients like house-made pasta and smoked turkey, her menu reflects her own style, combining a range of inspirations from her childhood and time in Charleston kitchens. Her redfish is seared and served with a delicate Cajun caviar beurre blanc, and you won’t find barbecue shrimp in her shrimp and grits.
“My shrimp and grits is South Carolina style, not typical New Orleans barbecue shrimp,” she says. “Pickled shrimp is something else that I grew up with.”
Her menu is rich with highlights. One is seared tuna paired with quinoa salad, robust with crunchy chili roasted carrots with a ginger vinaigrette. The chilled pickled Gulf shrimp appetizer comes with remoulade with mustard seeds and briny capers. Avocado toast is topped with chili crunch mayo and house-made furikake.
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There is a burger topped with Gruyere and a club sandwich that subs extra thick cut turkey and slices of avocado for the usual third slice of bread. House-made spaghetti is tossed with lumps of crabmeat in a garlicky tarragon cream sauce.
If sweet potato doberge cake is offered for dessert, forget about calories, just tuck into the densely moist treat served with caramel sauce.
Happy hour includes $6 cocktails and half-price glasses of wine, along with discounts on appetizers like the deep-fried deviled egg. Crews fries the hard cooked whites, then pipes in the deviled yolk topped with candied andouille sausage, a winning combination of sweet and savory flavors and textures in every bite.
“Imagine if a deviled egg and a Scotch egg had a baby,” she says.
The chef is not interested in what she calls “frou-frou” techniques.
“Alon (Shaya) always taught me that you can do 13,000 dots on a plate, but is anybody going to count ’em?” Crews says. “For me, it’s about making a delicious plate for people to enjoy and share — showcasing a great ingredient like a perfectly ripe tomato.”