Restaurant R'evolution

Throughout modern day history, renowned duos in the arts and entertainment world have enchanted thousands upon thousands of delighted admirers.

Think: Barnum and Bailey, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Simon and Garfunkel, Lerner and Lowe, and in the gourmet genre—Batali and Bastianich. And now, Folse and Tramonto.

If the enjoined names don’t quite have that familiar ring just yet, stay tuned—it is happening. The culinary arts pairing of distinguished Chefs John Folse and Rick Tramonto is reverberating already.

The duet’s initial project—Restaurant R’evolution in New Orleans’ Royal Sonesta Hotel—is the talk of the town.

A third unwritten partner in the new restaurant is the Royal Sonesta. If it hadn’t been for the persistence of Sonesta President and General Manager Al Groos, the project may not have happened.

Groos had a larger plan for the hotel, to modernize and bring in authentic New Orleans features such as PJ’s Coffee Café and Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse in strategic partnerships with the hotel. He knew Chef Folse and had approached him about opening a restaurant in the hotel.

“I showed him the space and we went back and forth for maybe eight or nine months,” said Groos. “I had reached a point that the time had come to move on and do something. I called him and asked, ‘What do you think?’ I told him he was my first, second and third choices for a partner and that I didn’t have a fourth choice yet.”

Folse contacted his friend, Tramonto, and it just happened to be the right time, the right person and right offer.

With all the new restaurants opening up in New Orleans (more than a dozen at just past the year’s mid-point with others on the way) there is nothing like R’evolution. The place is an homage to the culinary arts and Louisiana culture.

The space encompasses the upscale Bar R’evolution, overseen by bar manager John Lyons, with excellent craft cocktails and a knock-out selection of small plates, soups and salads, sandwiches, charcuterie boards and terrines, pastas and desserts.

On the opposite wall of the long oak bar, glass-covered displays showcase a mini-museum of Chef Folse’s collection of culinary antiquities, including a silver spoon from the 1915 sinking of the luxury British ocean liner Lusitania and a late-1800s silver duck press.

Like everything at R’evolution, the bar is evocative of local history with its French Quarter carriageway-like entrance, gas lighting, slate floors and other details.

Rather than referencing New Orleans’ early 1900s red light district, R’evolution’s Storyville Parlor recalls a gilded age in the city when people entertained lavishly in the parlors of their elegantly furnished homes. The room’s vivid murals reflect the history of the seven nations—from the Native Americans to Spanish, French, Creole, English, German, African-American and Italian—who influenced Louisiana’s culinary culture. Artist Grahame Menage, a former New Orleanian now based in Atlanta, created the murals.

The parlor also features a magnificent 1830s Italian chandelier, a large antique mirror painted with a hand-written classic turtle soup recipe.

Other dining rooms, each with its own character, are the Courtyard with views of the Sonesta’s lovely tropical landscape, the Bienville Suite overlooking Bienville Street, and the Market Room—an homage to Solari’s Delicatessen, a French Quarter mainstay for nearly a century.

The Market Room features an exposition kitchen where chefs are preparing dishes while a huge rotisserie roasts suckling pigs, game and other meats.

The Chef’s Dining Rooms provide guests an opportunity for a secluded, private table of six with a view of the main kitchen. The Wine Room adjacent to the 10,000 bottle wine cellar can accommodate up to a dozen seated dinner guests for private dining.

The custom built glass and wood cellar is a treasury of fine wines crafted by master oenologists. Under the direction of wine director and sommelier Molly Wismeier, R’evolution’s extensive wine program represents the great wine regions of the world in offerings by the glass or bottle, all presented in impressive fashion in full digital iPad glory.

In creating R’evolution, every little detail was examined, discussed, and agreed upon by Chefs Folse and Tramonto. The principals scrutinized every design, every plate, every glass—over and over again to make sure they got it right.

As far as the food, that was the easy part according to the chefs, both of whom have great connections with each other on all levels. They’re both authors, philanthropists, multi award-winners and have an enduring passion to share their love for great food.

The two men met ten years ago when Folse guest-chefed at Tru, Tramonto’s 4-star Chicago restaurant. They stayed in touch over the years and held fundraisers together.

Tramonto also visited Folse in Louisiana and was exposed to the area’s culinary culture, touring swamps and following the boudin trail as Folse schooled him on the history of the seven nations and their contributions to the state.

Describing his relationship with Tramonto, Folse says, “We have no ego between us. We have such a mutual respect and admiration for one another. It’s great to just talk about the things you absolutely love and that are so much a part of the fabric of your life.”

Chef Tramonto, who now owns a home in Gonzales, noted, “It’s really great when you’re blessed to pick and choose whom you want to work with and where you want to be. I’ve written all the books, won all the honors, have been financially rewarded, now I can choose what projects I want to do.

“We truly wanted to do this project together and wanted to do it in New Orleans and we’re doing it for all the right reasons,” he said. Folse noted that he had never been in the New Orleans restaurant industry and that he wanted to “keep the passion flowing, sharing it with everyone.”

The two partners worked together on research and development, testing and tasting through all the menu items and going through the accompanying history lessons supplied by Folse. Each provided input to get the desired taste.

“Rick’s a genius when it comes to presenting our creations and a great collaborator,” said Folse. “He’s the consummate creative chef. I’m intrigued by his unbelievable attention to detail and quality.” As for Tramonto, he is amazed by Folse’s knowledge and perspective on Louisiana cuisine.

All the iconic south Louisiana dishes are Folse creations, many of which were filtered through Tramonto’s visuals to perhaps update and polish the presentations.

One of Tramonto’s signature dishes at Tru was the caviar staircase, a stellar presentation, which is replicated at R’evolution.

Tramonto likes trios like the triptych of quail. Diners are presented a plate with three birds—a southern fried plantation style, absinthe glazed, and boudin-stuffed quail.

There’s also a trio of seafood appetizers featuring ahi tuna, smoked salmon and a seafood salad. Other menu items featuring threesomes are the triptych of Kurobuta pork, lamb “tongue in cheek” trio and a cheesecake triptych.

Tramonto reached into his Italian roots and came up with some fantastic specialties including all the pasta dishes. The steaks and toppings are all Tramonto driven, given his extensive experience in Chicago, the world’s meat packing center.

Every dish has a spin, a story or historical aspect that servers are ready and willing to share.

For example, Death by Gumbo, a dish Folse prepared some years ago for the late New York Times food writer Craig Claiborne, depicts the evolution of Cajun and Creole cuisine—in a bowl.

The corn and crab cappuccino captures the historical marrying of the wild corn growing in the new world with the readily available seafood bounty. In Europe, corn was used to feed the animals. In fact, in 1728, the first cooking school in the country opened in New Orleans where women were taught to cook corn.

Many of Tramonto’s presentations and combinations are playful such as the Bird in a Cage—a coq au vin with black truffles served with a “cover” of thyme laced tuile, a thin, crisp, savory layer atop the dish.

Oysters appear in several dishes, a Cajun fried oyster salad with bacon and blue cheese dressing; oysters on the half shell with mignonette and cocktail sauces; sizzling oysters R’evolution with smoked Bienville butter and cold oysters on the half shell with cucumber lemon granita and tangerine salsa, an incredible dish that’s as appetizing to view as it is to eat.

Oysters also appear in a crawfish stuffed flounder Napoleon with an artichoke and oyster stew and as a topping for chops and steaks.

The choices are dizzying, delicious and varied. And definitely demand repeat visits.

Details. Details. Details.

Restaurant R’evolution

777 Bienville Street

New Orleans, La

(504) 553-2277

revolutionnola.com