Chef Ryan Gall first came to my attention when he replaced Michael Gottlieb at Tchefuncte’s. These were impossible shoes to fill, I reasoned, but I loved Ryan’s food. From there he moved to Pardo’s and I loved it even more. To my taste, Pardo’s struggled to regain its footing on the plate after it moved from the Hwy 21 location, and honestly, since the passing of the chef even before that. But I have grown to be one of the biggest fans of Pardo’s, and it was Ryan Gall that convinced me that Pardo’s was a favorite again.
And then I was told he was moving on to his own place, which was devastating news. It took forever for the renovation of the office space in downtown Covington, catacorner to John Besh’s new restaurant, in what has now become the most imposing building downtown. The Hampshire is hard to miss with its deep blue color, and inside the beautiful renovation are more rich tones in that palette.
We went on the second night it was open and the bar had a buyout, so the kitchen was stressed. When I saw the food going to the bar I was jealous. Platters of wonderful looking fingerfood kept passing our table. All the servers were clearly newbies but were solicitous and earnest. They were in it for us to win it. I wasn’t sure what would be on the menu because it says “Menu coming” online. This wasn’t a concern because I have had Ryan’s food at Pardo’s and always loved it. We were safe.
The cornbread “thing” is the complimentary bread here, though its presentation is more interesting than most. It is a large portion and comes in a cast iron skillet on a cutting board. A little bowl of honey with a honey server sitting in it is beside the skillet, and butter is also in this line of things. Very nice presentation, and I have to say that I liked this cornbread very much. (I usually don’t.) It was simple and good. The butter was a little weird in that it had dill and some lemon in it. Hmmm.
I got the crabcake as an appetizer, and we ordered a steakhouse dinner. There was creamed spinach and what was described as loaded baked potato soufflé as sides. And Ryan sent out some steak tip eggrolls.
The crabcake was enormous, and came in a bowl with a puddle of sauce dotted with coarse mustard seeds. On top was a mango salsa. I often say on The Food Show that I almost never eat mango, which is true. But I always enjoy it tremendously when I run across it, and I find it makes whatever I am eating sort of “breezy.” In other words, mango is refreshing in any application.
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This crabcake topper was no exception. It also contained chopped purple onion and some herbs. These contrasting flavors also buttressed the delicate crab flavor tower underneath it. The crabcake was so lightly “filled” that a pile of crabmeat fell out when the plate was set down. This was almost entirely jumbo lump crab. This situation is always a treat. I loved this.
The steak tips eggroll was set on a plate as pieces in a cheesy sauce. I wish I could have made a meal of this. There is a flavor in these eggrolls that I find mysterious yet familiar, rare, and very pleasing. I feel like cumin is involved in a very subordinate role. I wish I ran across this taste more. The goodness of these eggrolls was completely lost on ML.
We ordered a steak which at $48 was a steal. I knew it would be great beef and it would be expertly done. We ordered it medium and it was exactly both of those things: great beef expertly done. It was divided in the kitchen so it was like two small tournedos, nicely plated with a rosemary sprig and a little pitcher of wine sauce which was too congealed to be good. This sauce needs reworking.
What really needs reworking is the creamed spinach. As a fan of this dish who orders it everywhere, I can say that unequivocally. And stat.
We liked the loaded baked potato soufflé. I am not usually a fan of a twice-baked potato, which is what this sort of was. But I loved the presentation and I liked the dish. It had lots of butter and some cream and big crumbles of bacon. It was plated as though the potato was in a cup, which was different.
There were a few hiccups here on the second night, But I am looking forward to seeing what this chef will offer now that he’s in his own place. He landed in Covington after working on the PGA tour. And we know that those people know how to eat the best.
