Bugsy Siegel, Apparently.
My mother walks into the room and declares loudly, “Alright, fuh Thanksgiving, I made res-uh-vations for the Pelican Club.” She’s a meticulous and amazing researcher. Even though she’d never been to the Big Easy yet, she did her due diligence. “The Pelican Club? That sounds like an old gangster hang-out,” my dad retorted. “It’s a restaurant, Steve. In New Aw-lins.” I can listen to my parents have normal run of the mill conversations all day long. Even the most generic and normal topics are nothing short of hysterical.
While I was excited about eating at the Pelican Club for Thanksgiving dinner, I couldn’t help but also be nervous. We were bringing our seven month old son with us, and well, babies and fine-ish dining don’t always jive.
I’m sure the maitre’d felt the same way, because despite having made reservations months in advance, he tried to squeeze our party of 4.5 into the barroom at the front of the joint. Don’t get me wrong, a really rustic and bold vibe — great for a cocktail, but not where we wanted to eat our Thanksgiving meal.
After telling the maitre’d that we’d rather be treated like paying guests than lepers, we were promptly seated in the elegant dining room which had MORE than enough capacity and space for us. Not a good way to make a knock out first impression. But, the staff and the rest of the experience did manage to make up for it.
The Drip.
We entered Pelican Club on Thanksgiving day and…yeah — I could see some big time gangsters passing an evening here back in the days of Capone and Rothstein. The main dining room immediately hearkens back to a time of 20th century, old world sophistication and elegance, but not snobbishly so. It is very hard to find a restaurant that has exceptional food and feels exclusive, but also not pretentious. I hate the kind of places where the staff are thrown into cardiac arrest when you use the dinner fork for salad. The Pelican Club is a really good balance between refined and comfortable.
The spacious dining area is slightly dim and faintly glowing. The room appears to go on for miles and miles and everything in it screams ‘grandiosity.’ The paintings which hang on the white and tan two toned walls are as big as a bathtub. The ceilings are enormously high and decorated with wood paneled ceiling fans. The chairs have wood paneling as well and are covered with black leather, giving the room a warm, muted aesthetic. The table cloths of course are white and perfectly starched. The ambiance is undoubtedly southern, but also possibly transported from another era entirely.
Elevated Southern Cuisine.
The duck, shrimp, and andouille gumbo is to die for, full stop. My three favorite proteins in one warm and delicious cup? As Michael Scott would say, that’s a win-win-win. The Pelican Club boasts some amazing entree options. I was most impressed by the offering of Thai Massaman Curry – one of my favorite dishes when visiting Thailand.
However, I’ve an affinity for lamb, so I chose that and was not disappointed in the least. It was unbelievably tender – one of those “like butter” deals where you could probably cut the lamb with a spoon. The crispy outside and heavy seasoning makes me salivate even writing this, and the asparagus and potatoes on the side were a phenomenal touch.
In terms of alcohol, I highly recommend the sazerac, shoo fly, or pomegranate martini to accompany any meal. The shoo fly being an elevated and sexy take on the gin and tonic, incorporating features such as lavender bitters and violet liqueur.
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