Chef Kyle Gautreaux
At Stab’s Steak and Seafood in Central, Chef Kyle Gautreaux satisfies old-school longings and adventurous palates, too
For directionally challenged diners, the hardest thing about visiting Central for the first time might be deciding where the center of Central actually is. Long thought of as a loosely populated suburb of Baton Rouge, Central has grown dramatically since the community voted to incorporate as a city in 2005—a move driven by residents’ desire to create a school system independent from the capital city’s. Since then Central has become home to a lot of people—so many that the floodplain between the Amite and Comite rivers to the east and west, and Denham Springs and Zachary to the north and south, is now cross-hatched with new roads, along which have sprouted enough residential developments, strip malls, chain restaurants, and fitness places to make Central stretch the definition of “small town” based on population alone. But as anyone who grew up here will tell you, Central still feels like a small town—a place that retains a strong identity and a lot of civic pride, where folks support one another and their institutions. Indeed, the town’s motto is “A community that cares.” And if the success that Chef Kyle Gautreaux has found here is any indication, Central certainly cares about its food.
Along one of those new thoroughfares, at the restaurant Stab’s Steak and Seafood, Gautreaux has been doing his hometown proud since starting here as a line cook five years ago. Stab’s, opened in 2013, is the brainchild of Baton Rouge restaurateur Wayne Stabiler. Anchoring a shopping center upscale enough for wrought iron and a backlit fountain with fire spouting from its center, the restaurant welcomes diners into an inviting, high-ceilinged space with dining areas upstairs and down, a well-appointed bar, handsome wine room, and a curving staircase tying it all together. From the exposed brick and large, framed photos of Louisiana landmarks, to the leather placemats and chunky silverware, the restaurant exudes a confident, masculine aesthetic that is simultaneously contemporary and comfortable. The service is skillful and well-paced; the cocktail and wine lists are ambitious; the sound level is sensible. There are no TVs, which is a nice touch; Stab’s is a place you should come to come to talk to one another.
There are no TVs, which is a nice touch; Stab’s is a place you should come to come to talk to one another.
From his post in the kitchen, Gautreaux provides the diners of Central a chance to be both entertained and pleasantly surprised, offering a menu familiar enough to qualify as luxury comfort food, with enough adventurous touches to keep the curious coming back. Yes, there’s a towering burger and a richly marbled prime ribeye steak that arrives sizzling hot. But take his Savory Creole Bread Pudding: a richly satisfying appetizer Gautreaux makes by channeling the concept of French onion soup, but with fresh popovers in place of the cheesy toast and étouffée instead of soup. His Jumbo Lump Crab Cake appetizer—an expertly wrought version of the Creole classic balanced by spicy remoulade and beurre blanc—stands right alongside Cajun Boudin Spring Rolls—a Louisiana chef’s reimagining of the Asian mainstay, the earthiness of the pork boudin balanced by the bright, citrusy Japanese condiment known as Ponzu sauce. “Out here, it took us a while to learn what our customers liked,” admitted Gautreaux. “Sometimes you try something and it just doesn’t go anywhere. Other times it ends up on the menu.” Gautreaux’s testing ground is Tuesday’s “Tapas Night”—a Stab’s tradition, when he serves three experimental dishes small-plate-style and invites adventurous customers to road-test them. He’ll throw out things like carpaccio, homemade meat pies, or chicken livers fried homestyle and served with chili garlic buttermilk. “I use [the Tuesday night tasting menu] to float new ideas,” he said. “At first people weren’t sure. They’d look at a dish and say, ‘That doesn’t sound right.’ But I like to broaden the beat. It helps me kind of keep a clean head. If you don’t have a way to work out the creative stuff in your head, it causes a backlog. There’s not a whole lot of different varieties of food in Central. Introducing folks to different types of cuisines and approaches is a pleasure.”
Although he grew up in Central, Gautreaux gives much of the credit for his culinary approach to his grandmother, who lived in Iberville Parish. “My grandmother, my great-grandmother—they were always baking something, or kneading dough, or caramelizing a roux: that’s what my grandmother’s house smelled like.” And it’s what he grew up doing. He started getting paid to be in kitchens while still in his teens, beginning as a dishwasher and working his way progressively closer to the front of the line from there. After graduating from the Louisiana Culinary Institute in 2011, he did stints at Galvez Seafood in Prairieville and Galatoire’s Baton Rouge before coming home to Central and Stabiler’s new venture there. Stab’s opened with Justin McVey—a veteran of Stabiler’s other restaurants—as executive chef, and Gautreaux credits him for helping him build a solid foundation as a chef. When Stabiler opened a second Stab’s in Baton Rouge, McVey moved to the new location. Gautreaux took his place at the helm, and slowly but surely, the steak-and-seafood menu he inherited began to evolve.
Asked to name his favorite thing to work with, Gautreaux goes for pork, “… because I like breaking down whole things. It’s fun to see how far you can make the whole animal go, and how many things you can do with it.” Give Gautreaux a whole pig and he’ll go the whole hog, smoking it whole then turning out dishes ranging from a smoked pork entrée sauced with bacon jam and served on a jalapeño grit cake; all the way to boudin, hogshead cheese, and cured meats for a Thursday night charcuterie board. He does fun things with smoke, curing his own meats and fish, and incorporating house-pickled cucumbers, asparagus, and jalapeños to add sharp notes to smoked fare. He even smokes his own salt, noting that the idea of taking a natural resource and using it to direct a flavor “just feels right.” Beyond Louisiana’s culinary traditions, Gautreaux takes cues from Spanish and Cuban cuisines: the cumin, chili and cocoa powders that give Caribbean cuisine its signature jerk flavors. Eat your vegetables; at Stab’s they’re a force unto themselves. Gautreaux adores shallots, smokes tomatoes, creams potatoes with leeks, and serves a wild mushroom ravioli that wants for nothing in the flavor department. His vegetable philosophy: make ‘em good enough, people will come back for them just as much as for what they are served alongside. Asked to feed a visiting writer, Gautreaux sent out a blackened filet of redfish topped with lump crabmeat and served over a golden corn macque choux that made the dish as handsome as it was delicious. The creamy sweetness of the corn balanced the heat of the spices, satisfying without overwhelming.
Give Gautreaux a whole pig and he’ll go the whole hog.
So far his recipe seems to be working. At lunchtime on a recent Wednesday the tables at Stab’s were filled with folks having everything from business lunches to graduation celebrations, with more than a few couples lingering over lunches for two. If it’s the latter you’re after, Stab’s offers an extensive wine list and cocktails that range from classic (Rye Manhattan), to contemporary (Rosemary Pear with pear vodka, rosemary-infused simple syrup, lemon and lime juice, and served with a rosemary sprig). Whatever you order, it will be delivered balanced, well-executed, and beautiful to look at. Gautreaux is proud of that. “What we do here might not always be the most innovative, creative thing,” he noted, “but it’s good food done perfect. It’s been fun to see the transformation from what we were doing back then to what we’re doing now. But whatever we’re doing, I always preach consistency. People come back for the thing they like.”