Previews

Menu Items and New Details from the Chapel Restaurant and Preservation Hall West

An elevation of the proposed adaptive reuse of the New College building at 777 Valencia.
An elevation of the proposed adaptive reuse of the New College building at 777 Valencia.

Jack Knowles, owner of À Côté in Oakland, made known over the summer that he intended to bring a New Orleans jazz venue and restaurant to the former New College complex at 777 Valencia Street. Today he goes before Planning to discuss his plans for Preservation Hall West, and thus we’ve got some renderings, a few new details, and sample menu items for the proposed Chapel Restaurant and adjacent Second Line Café. Signs point to approval for the project, which will take the abandoned main building and turn it into a lively food and entertainment venue.

Preservation Hall West will be the West Coast home of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, started in 1961 and based at New Orleans’ original Preservation Hall Jazz Club. The Music Room will adjoin the restaurant, but will be a separate space with its own bar, kind of like the venue at Yoshi’s.

Matt Colgen, who has served as executive chef at À Côté for years and who’s also overseeing the kitchen at Knowles’s new Oakland project, Los Compadres (4239 Park Boulevard), will serve as executive chef at The Chapel, which will be a semi-formal dining venue with “bistro-like ambiance” and communal tables. They’ll serve food late, with a menu heavy on New Orleans influences, and there’ll be a total of 160 or so seats in the restaurant and lounge with an additional 28 at two different bars. Some sample menu items are below.

The Second Line Café will be an ancillary space, with 25 indoor seats, counter service, and a 50-person patio. There’ll be a limited menu of items from the Chapel menu available in the evening, plus full breakfast and lunch menus in a more casual setting.

Serving as project manager will be Pat Dedekian, who was instrumental in helping restore and adaptively reuse the Fox Theater in Oakland.

The timing for the project is unclear from the documents, but the construction looks pretty major. Don’t expect to see this place open before late 2011 at the earliest, but probably 2012.

The Chapel - Sample Menu Items

Appetizers:
• Crawfish Fritters with Serrano Chile Remoulade
• Corn Bread with Andouille Sausage Gravy
• Fried Okra and Fried Green Tomatoes with Cucumber Relish
• Crab Cakes with Smoked Tomato Aioli
• Baby Spinach Salad with Apples, Point Reyes Blue Cheese and Candied Pecans
• Little Gem Lettuce with Green Goddess Dressing

Entrees:
• Pan Seared Flounder with Curried Black Eyed Peas
• Smoked Turkey Gumbo with Andouille Sausage
• Smoked Brisket with Horseradish-Whole Grain Mustard Sauce and Baked Beans
• Shrimp and Grits with Tasso
• Fried Rabbit with Corn bread and Andouille Gravy
• Onion Smothered Pork Chop with Dirty Rice and Collard Greens
• Spicy Braised Chicken and Dumplings

Desserts:
• Bourbon Pecan Pie
• Pralines with Candied Ginger Ice Cream
• Mile High Sweet Potato Pie
• Chocolate Pot de Crème with Caramelized Bananas


The Second Line Café - Sample Menu Items
Additonally, at dinner, there will be desserts and selected menu items from The Chapel

BREAKFAST
• Beignets, served with Powdered Sugar or Chocolate Espresso Sauce
• Andouille Sausage and Mirliton Scramble
• Maple French Toast with Bourbon Glazed Bananas
• Cajun Blackstone with Fried Green Tomatoes, Bacon and Hollandaise
• Spicy Chicken Sausages Wrapped in Buttermilk Crepes
• Cornmeal Pancakes with Blueberry Compote
• Hambone Steak with Redeye Gravy and Savoy Spinach
• Grits with Poached Eggs, Tasso and Greens

LUNCH
Sandwiches
• Po Boys with Mardi Gras Slaw and Spicy Remoulade (Oyster, catfish, or soft shell crab)
• Pork Shoulder with Smothered Onions on Torpedo Roll
• Sliced Brisket with Horseradish-Mustard on Sliced Rye
• Fried Chicken Sandwich with Cabbage Slaw and Smoked Tomato Aioli
• House Smoked B. L. T. with Avocado Creme Fraiche
• Andouille Sausage on Bun with Spicy Beer Mustard and Sauerkraut

Sides
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Pork Cracklings with Hot Sauce
• Baked Beans
• Fried Okra


Planning Commission - 777 Valencia Street (.pdf) [SFGov]
Earlier: New College to Become Four or Five New Restaurants; The Summit Gets an Address [Grub Street]

Menu Items and New Details from the Chapel Restaurant and Preservation Hall West