New bar brings New Orleans to Brisbane
The former co-owners of Brisbane’s award winning Canvas bar, Marco and Emily Nunes, are set to open the doors to their long awaited New Orleans-inspired bar and restaurant, Papa Jack’s, tomorrow night.
The new 60-seater venue is located in Fortitude Valley and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner – serving up tasty Creole dishes, such as gumbo, muffuletta and Po’ Boy sandwiches, as well as share plates, soups, salads, beignets and daily sweet pies, cooked up by executive chef Grant Skinner.
“Creole cookery has its culinary roots in France yet blends a fantastic array of influences from the various cultures of New Orleans: Native American, African, Caribbean, Italian, Spanish, German, and Portuguese, to name a few. These roots allow for a depth of flavour that is distinctive to America’s most colourful city and something that is not available in the Brisbane,” Emily Nunes said.
“We love the New Orleans style… they are really passionate about music, food, drinks, friends and family, which is a really great theme for a bar. And there is no one else doing Creole food. Creole’s got a real French influence which ties in with Marco’s passion for French food and his background studying hospitality in France.”
Papa Jack’s New Orleans-style fit out includes a brass top bar, curved banquette seating with Bayou swamp painting insets, and domed wall lighting to give the venue an intimate and sophisticated feel.
“The venue is a little bit bigger than Canvas, but it’s in a much busier location – we are in between two of Brisbane’s busiest entertainment precincts,” Emily Nunes said.
Complementing the Creole food menu will be an exceptional drinks list, which includes a frozen bourbon milk punch, Hurricane-style cocktails, as well as Sazeracs on tap. The bar also has a great selection of spirits, wines and American and local craft beers, and boasts a ‘dream team’ behind the stick.
“When we started working on this project a couple of years ago we wanted to build a team with the right balance of experience, creativity and personality so I couldn’t be happier to have what we affectionately refer to as our ‘dream team’ in place," Marco Nunes said.
“Managing Papa Jack’s bar will be Perryn (Pez) Collier who most recently headed up Alfred & Constance bar. Pez joins our team of award winning bartenders who possess a wealth of international knowledge. We’ll be encouraging patrons to take a walk on the New Orleans wild-side and consider a twist on the classics.”
In addition to the celebrating the food and drinks from New Orleans, Papa Jack’s is also embracing another element the city is famed for –music –and will be showcasing a range of live soul, R&B, jazz, blues and roots performers.
Located on the corner of Connor and McLachlan streets, Fortitude Valley, Papa Jack’s is open from 7am to midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and 7am to 3am on Friday and Saturday.
Source: The Shout, 27 November 2013
