Sunny Side Up
Grand Slam McMuffin

If you happen to wander into Molly’s Rise and Shine on Magazine Street for a hearty breakfast on a whim, you might think for a second you’ve stumbled into a crazy wormhole of pop culture nostalgia. You’ll find walls festooned with memorabilia from the Gen X and Millennial childhood sweet spot, your breakfast sandwich gazed over lovingly by He-Man, The Ultimate Warrior and Beetlejuice. A life-sized replica of E.T.: The Extraterrestrial keeps company as you sip coffee and await the arrival of your papas rancheras or “Grand Slam” biscuit. You immediately get the sense that this place wants you to lighten up a bit and have a good time. And that, of course, has been its aim from the beginning.

“The whole point is to have fun,” said Chef Liz Hollinger, who, along with Chef Colleen Quarls, form the restaurant’s culinary dynamic duo. “We’ve all worked in hard, serious jobs, and we’re living life. You should have fun while you’re here! It’s just what we believe in. And if you’re having a good time, you’re going to make good food.”

If this ethos seems familiar, it’s likely because you recognize it as the brainchild of Chef Mason Hereford, of Turkey and the Wolf, who garnered quick acclaim for serving upscale versions of downscale cuisine, like fried bologna sandwiches on white bread served on fast food collectible plates.

“I was working there as the chef de cuisine at Turkey,” Quarls said. “Liz came on board a year or so after we opened, and that’s where we met and just became fast friends. Mason was ready to expand, and he started developing a breakfast restaurant, and I was kind of ready to move on. So he was like, ‘Cool, come on over! Liz is coming, too. She does pastry things.” 

An infectious sense of joy and whimsy pervaded the kitchen at Molly’s from Day One, and it shows on the menu, which takes seemingly ordinary American favorites and ratchets them up with a healthy injection of culinary artfulness. Not only will you find a mile-high fried chicken biscuit slathered with mayo and honey butter, and an English muffin sandwich stacked with sage pork sausage, American cheese, grilled onions and a crispy hash brown patty, you’ll also discover delightful specials like house-made chocolate banana Pop Tarts or even, at one point, crawfish-boil inspired Detroit-style pizza. Even a simple bowl of yogurt and granola finds itself in next-level territory with a delightful carrot marmalade and hints of lemon zest and mint.

This attention to detail and spirit of culinary freedom didn’t escape the attention of the James Beard Foundation, which recently placed Hollinger and Quarls on their long list of nominees for “Best Chef: South.” The two were “shocked and humbled” by the nod, but they refused to let it distract them from their ultimate mission: making great food and having a blast.

“I think it’s the kind of place we would want to go for breakfast,” Quarls said. “It’s got good vibes. It’s got hilarious throwback decorations from our past that bring you back to childhood, that make you smile and remember that food is fun. And food should be fun!  We’re genuinely having a good time cooking food for everyone that comes here, and we’re so happy that people come and eat our food.”

Molly’s Rise and Shine, 2368 Magazine St., 504-302-1896, mollysriseandshine.com.


Sunny Side Up

About the Chefs

A formally trained pastry chef, New Orleans native Liz Hollinger studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York and worked at the award-winning Flour Bakery in Boston before eventually returning to her hometown. While managing HiVolt Coffee, fate brought her together with Mason Hereford, and soon thereafter to Turkey and the Wolf, where she quickly befriended its chef de cuisine Colleen Quarls, a veteran of Chicago’s acclaimed Publican restaurant, as well as New Orleans dining favorites Coquette, Chochon, and La Boulangerie. The pair’s adventures even brought them to appear with Chef Mason Hereford on an episode of “Iron Chef,” before eventually joining him to open Molly’s Rise and Shine, which has a singular, overarching philosophy: “Put a smile on peoples’ faces.”