When most people think of New Orleans cuisine, they often think of our bountiful seafood platters spilling over with shrimp, oysters and soft shell crabs, crawfish étouffée or backyard crawfish boils. But the Crescent City has always had a deep and abiding love and appreciation for carnivorous delights, as evidenced by our storied history of classic steakhouses. Hence, a great steakhouse is nothing particularly novel in this town, so if you’re going to open one, locals and visitors alike know that it’s got to be something special.
John Michael Rowland and Winnie Rubin had exactly this in mind when they opened their second Freret St. restaurant, The Husky, last November. The pair made major waves with their homage to New England seafood with the lauded Pigeon and Whale, and their newest installation on the Freret corridor is no less impressive both in design and execution. Even though we have more than our fair share of beef palaces in this city, Rowland and Rubin still saw room in the market for something familiar and comforting, but also a little bit different.
“I think the main thing was to not be a steakhouse in the traditional sense of things,” says Rowland. “We’re not trying to have ‘The Old 96er’ or a lot of dry aged products. And there are a lot of items on the menu that you wouldn’t necessarily always find at a steakhouse.”
Rubin agrees. “It’s the kind of place where me and five of my girlfriends can come in after fitness class. We might not want a big old steak for dinner, but you can have six different appetizers from our ‘opportunities’ list and still feel completely satisfied and like you’re not missing out on something. But John Michael and his four buddies will come in at nine o’clock and drink old fashioneds and eat steaks all night. We can accommodate two drastically different views.”
That sense of culinary balance is clearly and thoughtfully reflected on the Husky’s menu. Appetizers – called ‘opportunities’ as with Pigeon and Whale – earn a well-deserved place next to the restaurant’s tidy list of steaks. Lighter starters like a crudo with ponzu and satsuma give way to heartier options like pistachio-crusted lamb lollipops with harissa yogurt, a gorgeous steak tartare inflected with Asian flavors and a soy-cured egg, and a platter of to-die-for fried oysters paired with a creamed spinach dip and parmesan and topped with crispy prosciutto. And more adventurous carnivores would be daft to miss out on the roasted marrow bone topped with buttery escargot, which is exactly as decadent as it sounds.
When you’re ready to step up to the butcher’s block, The Husky has your needs covered, and then some. You’ll encounter a few options not readily found in traditional chophouses, like a panéed pork tomahawk with caper bordelaise, or their bison short rib with sweet potato risotto, as well as much more familiar fare including a classic roasted half chicken, and a killer griddle-smashed hamburger garnished with Dijonaise and draped in American cheese.
Then, of course, are the steaks. As Rowland noted, you won’t encounter a phone book-sized list of cuts and chops, but rather a smartly cultivated selection of winners, cheekily on the menu under the heading “What You Really Want.” Those include both petite and standard-sized fillets, a strip, a ribeye, and the real showstopper ripped right out of culinary history and rarely seen on modern menus: a classic Beef Wellington. “No one else sells a Wellington in the city, it’s kind of genius,” said chef Jeremy Latimer, who also leads the kitchen teams at Pigeon and Whale as well as Station 6. “It still has all the classic components. It’s still rubbed in mustard, it still has mushroom duxelles and is wrapped in prosciutto. It’s done very classically,” he said.
Naturally, you can pair your meat of choice with a variety of classic steakhouse sides like whipped potatoes, grilled asparagus, creamed spinach or mac and cheese, but don’t ignore the Husky’s pasta offerings, including pork cheek cannelloni with mushrooms, radiatore with Gulf shrimp, peas and prosciutto, and a deceptively simple rigatoni bathed in a creamy vodka sauce that has just the right amount of red pepper kick. Finishing out your dinner, you’ll find Rubin’s creative touches on the dessert offerings, notably a delightful plating of cheesecake, candied nuts and fruit dressed up to mimic a meaty charcuterie board.
Once fully sated by the Husky’s hearty fare, you can sit back, sip on an option from their Old Fashioned or martini list and enjoy the handsome coziness of the beautifully appointed space, which embraces an aesthetic Rowland and Rubin are fond of calling “Gatsby’s mountain lodge.” Since opening, The Husky has been off to a rollicking start that befits its roaring 20s decor. I think we underestimated the need for something like this in this area. It sounds like a lot of new fun things are happening on [Freret Street.] We’re excited to be a part of it!”
About the Chef
Originally hailing from Ohio, Chef Latimer began his culinary journey washing dishes in a local restaurant as a teenager, and soon knew that kitchen life was his calling. While attending the Culinary Institute in New York, Latimer completed his externship under Gary Danko at San Francisco’s acclaimed Waterfront Restaurant, and planned to return there after graduation, however a twist of fate led the young cook to New Orleans during the thick of Mardi Gras. A job at Emeril’s Delmonico led to Latimer to another opportunity in Antigua, where he cooked for a few years before New Orleans’ siren call led him back. He was later tapped to head the kitchen at Station 6, Pigeon and Whale, and now the Husky. Latimer’s love for the city and its cuisine shines through his work. “I love the diversity here,” he said. “I just love that you can just go to different parts of town and find Thai, Haitian and just anything that your heart desires. And the city is kind of small in a way, so everybody knows each other, and I just love being around the industry people and the vibe were everybody just wants to work together and make big, bold flavors. That’s what makes it fun!”
