King, the new restaurant at Kimpton Hotel Fontenot rooted in the style of beloved brasseries of the French Riviera region while weaving in rich culinary traditions of New Orleans.
New Orleans Brasserie: Fusion of Local and French Riviera Cuisine
Executive Chef Samuel Peery spent several weeks traveling throughout the French Riviera region exploring the cuisine before creating the menu for King. And with the dish ideas he brought back, he also really wanted to highlight the flavors and styles of the city and the South as well as the amazing seafood from nearby bayous and the Gulf.
Among the crowd favorites on the menu are the Crawfish Beignets with a crab fat aioli and an in-house spice mixture that resembles the flavors of a crawfish boil, the Roasted Oysters with wild ramp butter and brioche, and the Grilled Octopus with a vadouvan and sweet potato curry and lardons of Benton’s bacon to give it a nice smoky finish. If they have signature dishes, one would be the King Carbonara with hand-cranked bigoli pasta and a sauce made from sea urchin, reduced cream and parmesan, topped with garlic fried bread crumb & bottarga and black truffle.
The other would be the King Bread Service, which guests have found irresistible. King’s version is an homage to brasseries Chef Peery visited in the French Riviera and includes Party Chef Lanna Talley’s epi baguette, brioche madeleines and focaccia in a canvas bag. This is complemented with familiar flavors of Louisiana like an olive tapenade topped with choupique caviar and sugar cane butter. I also always hear glowing praise for Chef Talley’s desserts, like the Caramel Torte and the Menton-Brest. A unique anecdote about Chef Talley’s background is that she was once the pastry chef at Dollywood in Tennessee.
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Breakfast at King is also amazing. And I’ve heard feedback from several guests that the Farm Egg Frittata with roast garlic, heirloom tomato, baby kale and crispy potatoes is the best they’ve ever had. Being right next door to the hotel’s cocktail lounge, Peacock Room, the King’s cocktail menu is small but mighty with drinks like the Corsicano, Cote d’Azur, and Pisco Punch.
