Ye Olde College Inn: Is It Worth It?

Most of the places in this series are serving the same style and quality of food they have served since forever, be it roast beef po-boys or blackened fish. Times and tastes change. The average American has a higher food IQ in 2012, than in 1970. A restaurant opening today is required to not only have a board of house made charcuterie but also s forager and in-house pickler. How then can a restaurant stay both classic and current?

A good example of how to accomplish both can be found at Ye Olde College Inn. Part of their success is due to their proximity and relations with Rock and Bowl, which provide a steady stream of visitors with disposable income to both properties. Whereas some restaurants might take this to mail it in, Ye Olde College Inn has ratcheted up its food offerings in recent years. Credit for that belongs to the Blancher family who have turned surrounding properties into farms and to Chef Bradley McGehee, who arrived over a year ago.

The premises are dominated by dark woods and exposed beams. The religious icons scattered about may be a little strange to those of you not schooled by the Archdiocese.It seems sharing a block with the Archbishop creates the same design aesthetic as a sports bar near the Dome being filled with Saints memorabilia. Start your meal with an Old Fashioned, possibly the best in the city and served in a large, heavy glass and just enough ice to cool it down without drowning out the flavors.

Follow that up with a bowl of rustic seafood gumbo which relies on a fragrant seafood stock to carry forth plump shrimp. Whereas the greatness of Louisiana shrimp were on full display in the gumbo, they hide, to their detriment, behind an overly assertive remoulade and thin discs of fried green tomatoes. Two pucks of boudin encased in a crispy shell, gilded with pepper jelly vinaigrette and a red pepper sauce, get a welcome dose of saucy richness from the running yolk of a poached egg. Breakfast dressed up for supper.

The benefits of having your own farm showed up on the next course. A medley of corn, sweeter than a sleeping infant, peas, and cherry tomatoes was a delicious way to eat your vegetables. The whipped potatoes were smooth and luxurious. Of the two gravies, the classic was a much better flavor with the mushroom demi glace giving off a burned taste. The hamburger steak itself was a shade dense and chewy, a risk with ground grass-fed beef, outweighed by its deep, mineral taste.

Dessert was a chocolate peanut butter pie which we devoured in less than two minutes. Had Peter been dining with us, we would have had to order a second one. Chocolate and peanut butter silk pie is an absolute dinosaur of a dish and has been around since the ancient times of the Seventies (if not the Prehistoric era of the Sixties). Yet it is a classic for a reason because it is the world's best pie.

The foods on offer at Ye Olde College Inn should be familiar to anyone who has spent time in the hallowed halls of the Law Firm of Mandina, Liuzza, et al. But the raw ingredients are better, the cooking more careful, and the products well sourced. Ye Olde College Inn also does the little things better than other spots in its genre. For example, right when you are ready to ask for a second beer the waitress is ready to take your order or she may convince you to order dessert without upselling you. All of this melds into a classic restaurant which is no longer a dinosaur, but has evolved into a vibrant well run "modern" restaurant without sacrificing its soul.

If you are looking for a classic New Orleans neighborhood spot, I don't think you can do much better than Ye Olde College Inn.

Ye Olde College Inn: Is It Worth It? Absolutely.
3000 South Carrollton Ave.
866-3683
Tues. - Sat. 4-11 pm

Ye Olde College Innterview

A statue of Saint stands guard over the garden which supplies Ye Olde College Inn. Crop yields are also helped by Archbishop Gregory Aymond's weekly meals. Two months ago Brad McGehee took over as Executive Chef of the historic kitchen. A native of the Bay Area (Francisco, not Louis), he originally came to New Orleans just for a quick internship. Several years later, he finds himself with a kitchen and a garden all his own. Let's put 20 ish questions on the clock.

I was always surrounded by good food through my family. I come from a family who really enjoys good wine and good food. Plus, I had a southern grandmother who always cooked classic southern food.

I've been in the restaurant industry since I was 14 years old, but before culinary school always in the front of the house. Graduated from the Culinary Academy of San Francisco in 2003 and came to New Orleans originally only for a 6 month internship at Commander's Palace under Tory McPhail. Been here ever since. Also, trained under Tom Wolfe at Wolfe's on the Lake, Peristyle, and Wolfe's in the Warehouse. Then went to work at the Ritz-Carlton under Matt Murphy.

It is fun to balance my style of food with the food that traditionally has been served at Ye Olde College Inn. I am a big advocate of using farm fresh food. The farm across the street certainly sparked my interest when they pitched the job to me. I am not going to take the veal chop off the menu, but I may serve it with some radishes or squash from across the street.

So far been pretty well-received by the regulars and they tell me to "keep it up." Really the specials are where I am able to show my creativity. And most importantly I am starting to get a pulse on what people want changed.

Getting new tools in the kitchen. Adding simple things like a blender or chinois in order to create better sauces. Or how to butterfly the shrimp in a certain way so they cook better. I am a big believer that it is doing the little things correctly which make a great meal.

Did a dish last night called Fig St. Farm Flatbread. Basic flatbread that I top with whatever is fresh from my walk through the garden that morning. For instance, recently has been flatbread topped with basil pesto, cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and some spicy shrimp. Sold 120 in three days as an app.

Nothing tackier than dollies and clouding on buffets. But hotels are doing it again. Wish they'd stop. It is really cheesy.

Anything fresh, especially vegetables. I find myself centering a dish on the vegetable rather than the protein now.

My slotted spoon. I use it for everything. It is an oversized slotted spoon that I always have at my station. I use it to finish plates at the pass, be it adding crabmeat or some other garnish.

I really like cooking for people who challenge me. We have a regular guy who is a real foodie. He came in the other night with some folks from Georgia. I went out and chatted with them and mentioned I had some great peaches from Chilton County, Alabama and that I heard they were the best peaches. So the people walk by to the guy's house and bring back Georgia peaches. So I cooked two dishes, one with Chilton peaches, one with Georgia peaches. Georgia won.

All of the above. If the customer wants to drink wine, we can do a refined dish. If they want beer, we can cook to that. It is whatever the occasion calls for.

Taqueria D.F. on Claiborne. I really like getting the green plate special from the Farmer's Market, and Ziggy's pastries from Maple St. Patisserie. I enjoy eating simple, casual food.

New Orleans can be frustrating for a young chef because it is such a small town. Tough coming in as an outsider. Everyone always asks me where I went to school, but they really want to know is where I went to high school. (Editor's note: McGehee married a local girl. She went to Dominican)

Joy of Cooking, Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, The French Laundry Cookbook, On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee.

As a young kid, we used to always go out to eat for holidays. I remember distinctly one time going to a brunch at a big hotel in San Francisco and being struck by food as entertainment. There was a guy flipping omelets, all the carved fruits, people everywhere. That was my first wow moment with food.

Gumbo, then the flatbread pizza, then finish up the meal with the Crawfish Delacroix which is baked redfish topped with crawfish etoufee and served with rice.

I am very anal when it comes to cleanliness in the kitchen. Comes from working under chefs who drilled that into me. Kitchen has to be clean.

Spend time with my family. The Blanchers, who own this place, are big family people and understand that people need time off. I had off for Father's Day off last Sunday, my first as a dad. That was the first holiday I've had off in 6 years.

Shrimp tacos. Grill shrimp, place in corn tortilla with some cilantro, diced red onion and chipotle mixed with sour cream. Squirt of lime. That's it.