Picnic Provisions & Whiskey Has Finally Unleashed Its Crawfish Boil Fried Chicken

The corner spot at State and Magazine is finally awash with heritage breed crawfish boil fried chicken, tableside cookie dough s’mores, and whiskey from Picnic Provisions & Whiskey, the hotly anticipated, casual new restaurant from James Beard Award-winning Commander’s Palace chef Tory McPhail, Commander’s Palace co-owner Ti Martin, and Reginelli’s Pizza owner Darryl Reginelli. It opened today.

The menu also includes West Indies crab tacos, smoke fish collars and faces, pork debris and egg biscuits, and other updated spins on picnic classics.

While the idea of a casual picnic inspired the restaurant, Martin says that the hospitality is on equal footing with the food. (The team describes the Picnic Provisions & Whiskey as “fast-fine,” rather than the ubiquitous “fast-casual.”)

The eatery combines “chef-driven ideals and cooking with a modern corner restaurant that embraces a fuller form of hospitality than your normal neighborhood restaurant. A touch more gracious, a touch more professional, while still extremely casual and comfortable,” according to Martin.

Courtesy

It makes sense that hospitality is as important as the menu, considering that Commander’s basically wrote the book on hospitality (and the symposium too).

“We could have not had any table service at Picnic Provisions & Whiskey. But...we just couldn’t help ourselves. We want that opportunity to connect with our guests,” Martin said.

She calls it “fanatical hospitality” and says the goal is to bring that level of hospitality to the casual restaurant genre.

The State and Magazine location was most recently the home of Noodle & Pie, which closed in May 2017 — about a year before news of Picnic Provisions & Whiskey first broke. Before Noodle & Pie, it was the longtime home of Reginelli’s, which moved across the street to a bigger location several years ago.

Opening hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily with dine-in, carry-out, delivery, catering, cocktails, and more.

Take a peek at the full menu:

• The Nine Most Anticipated Restaurants Opening in New Orleans This Fall [ENOLA]
• After 35 Years, Commander’s Palace Is Bringing Back Its Influential Symposium [ENOLA]
• The Teams Behind Commander’s Palace and Reginelli’s Pizza Are Plotting a New Restaurant [ENOLA]
• Commander’s Palace and Reginelli’s Teams Are Bringing Fried Chicken Uptown [ENOLA]
• Picnic Provisions & Whiskey Is Opening Very Soon [ENOLA]
• Picnic Provisions & Whiskey [official website]
• Commander’s Palace and Reginelli’s Launch Fried Chicken Restaurant: Picnic Provisions and Whiskey [NOLA.COM]
• Crab Boil Hot Fried Chicken Comes To Life at Picnic Provisions, New Eatery with Commander’s Palace Ties [ADVOCATE]