The restaurant under SOFAB‘s (Southern Food and Beverage Museum) roof in New Orleans has just closed in the last few days. It’s Purloo, and that’s a shame because our lunch there earlier was pretty great. Wish I had posted this just after our visit, but perhaps I can refer back to it when they reopen in their new location.
Purloo isn’t a dish associated with the city, but the restaurant positions itself as one cooking the broad flavors of the south.
We sat at the bar at the open kitchen
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Listed as more of an app, I had the Southern Board as my entree — pimento cheese, smoked lamb, green tomato chutney, fried pickles, crackers, deviled eggs meuniere
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…and boiled peanuts
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I love those kind of little picnic selections when they’re offered, like this one I had at Hominy Grill in Charleston, and this one at Root in New Orleans.
Av had the pan-seared Gulf drum with artichoke barigoule and fried pickles. Not sure fried pickles really made sense in this dish. Everything else was good; the fish was cooked perfectly.
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Dessert was incredible — Av had this chocolate selection
and I had the little individual “Alabama lane cakes” with bourbon-soaked pecans, raisins, coconut, chocolate sauce, and coconut ice cream
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You know I was in love because I got to talk Lane cake history with the pastry chef.
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Purloo closed a few days ago and announced plans to open elsewhere later, but no details were given.
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Gov Bentley signed Lane cake in as Alabama’s official state dessert in April. This news article from today mentions that Jimmy Carter named Lane cake as his favorite, and that it was served in his home when he was growing up.
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I haven’t had one yet, but The Cakerie in Birmingham makes Lane cakes upon order. Their FB page has more examples of the custom cakes they’re making, and this one is pretty funny. As they put it, “Fancy in the front. Party in the back.”