Staplehouse Awards

Staplehouse Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant & décor: A historic Old Fourth Ward building that once housed a famous photo studio gives Staplehouse the texture of old brick walls and soaring ceilings for its abode. One of the most exciting restaurants in the city, Staplehouse requires a pre-paid deposit to secure a reservation, or guests may chance finding a spot at the small eight-seat bar. Reservations for no more than four persons are released at noon on the second Friday of each month for the following month. After-tax profit is contributed to The Giving Kitchen, which aids area restaurant workers facing crises.

About the food: Chef Ryan Smith’s frequently changing dishes often incorporate locally foraged and grown elements (including from the rear garden) and exotic items, too. Staff is well trained and at ease when explaining the unusual components. Presentation shows precision in concept and execution. Vegetarians will delight in their choices, one of which is a first course offering carrots and sweet potatoes poached in carrot juice and arrayed to suggest flower petals with a wild sorrel sauce banked against the arrangement. Snapper comes wrapped in spinach-like komatsuna atop a pool of fermented crab broth. There will be only one dessert available; a white chocolate-topped creation of amazing intrigue kept our spoon busy.

About the drinks: The wine program is intelligent and challenging, with selections drawn from around the wine-growing world. Ask for the dessert wine list straightaway if you want an apéritif such as a dry sherry, white porto or vermouth. Cocktails are very much a focus, and the spirits inventory features small-batch bourbons, ryes, Scotches and Amari. Glassware is top quality.