DINE WRITE HOLLEY ’ S BRINGS IT HOME
By Janice Schindeler | Photography by Sarah Miller
Oyster Bourbon Flight
WHEN DEVELOPING THE CONCEPT FOR HIS NAMESAKE MIDTOWN RESTAURANT , MARK HOLLEY SIMPLY “ TOOK IT HOME .” HOME TO HIS KENTUCKY BOURBON-SOAKED ROOTS , HOME TO HIS “ CREOLIZATION ” YEARS AT THE ELEGANT COMMANDER ’ S PALACE , HOME TO THE STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE DEMANDED BY BRENNAN ’ S , HOME TO THE SEAFOOD HAVEN PESCE , WHERE HE CHEF-ED FOR MORE THAN A DECADE , AND HOME TO HIS FAMILY .
“ I wanted Holley ’ s to reflect me – to reflect what I had done over the past 30 years and the people that helped me get here ,” says Holley , as he introduces the various areas of the restaurant .
There ’ s Lancelot , the bourbon bar , named after his Kentucky grandfather . Lawrence , the semiprivate dining room , honors his father . Main dining room , Vivian : Holley ’ s mom and the woman who told him to cook southern . And the wine room , Mary , in honor of his stepmom . His reasoning being that “ to keep up with a Holley man , a woman needs to sip a little . And Mary liked her sips .”
“ I didn ’ t want to do upscale but I did because that is what I was used to ,” says the gregarious , always smiling Holley , who actually did both . Lancelot has that just off Bourbon Street feel , casual almost homey with its exposed bus station and ice tea dispensers , high table tops with bar stools and the upbeat tunes of Chuck Berry and classic Motown setting the mood for an evening of bourbon flights and baked oysters . Around the corner , the formal dining room , a . k . a . Vivian , has soft elegance , tall enveloping banquettes , business casual dress requested and Holley ’ s faves , Old Blue Eyes or Diana Krall , softly crooning .
Two atmospheres but one menu , dominated by seafood , tones of Creole , notes of Asian and a tease of pan-American flavors . And Holley keeps the family connections alive even here . The most elegant of his baked oyster preparations , Oysters Yvonne , with its lump crabmeat , seductive champagne fennel sauce and briny , crunchy American lumpfish , is named for his bride .
He digs deep into the cuisine of the Carolinas for the roots of the creamy , dreamy peanut soup with its luscious and snappy honey-cayenne glazed shrimp .
18 LOCAL | february 17