Bon Appetit has named New Orleans’ own Turkey and the Wolf the best new restaurant of the year. The respected culinary publication had plenty of good things to say about the innovative and off-kilter sandwich shop, which critic Andrew Knowlton visited four times over the course of the past year.
“Don’t think for a second that just because Turkey and the Wolf serves its food on goofy plates or has a framed poster of a cat dressed like a sandwich that the cooking is a sloppy, intoxicant-fueled afterthought,” writes Knowlton. “What they are offering—wildly inventive sandwiches, salads tossed with ingredients like pig’s ear cracklin’s, and cheeky snacks like homemade Bagel Bites—is as difficult to pull off as most tweezer-built dishes found at so-called serious restaurants. That’s not because of the techniques involved. It’s because Mason’s menu plays with something more daunting: expectation”
Founded in August 2016, Turkey and the Wolf quickly developed a dedicated customer base in New Orleans’ famously competitive culinary scene. The restaurant was featured in OffBeat on two occasions during the last year, first as an “In the Spirit” subject (bartender Laura Holton made a drink inspired by Randy Newman) and then as a “Dining Out” review.
According to Knowlton, he and colleague Julia Kramer had momentary reservations about giving the coveted Best New Restaurant honors to a “counter service-only sandwich shop” that serves “what some might call… stoner food,” but those reservations were quickly abandoned.
“That nostalgia for the foods and fashions of his early-’90s childhood inspires pretty much everything at Turkey and the Wolf,” Knowlton continues. “There’s that turkey sandwich, a tribute to his beloved childhood deli. There’s the fried bologna sandwich, influenced by the ‘sh*tty’ version his mom made for him after school. The headcheese ‘tacos inauthenticos’ are inspired partly by Taco Bell. The classic deviled eggs are like ones everyone would take to neighborhood gatherings, except Mason’s version comes topped with fried chicken skins and house-made hot sauce. And then there are cocktails with names like ‘When I was 10 I Went to School as a Dead Cheerleader for Halloween’ and ‘The Best Part of Waking Up, at Noon.’ Every dish and cocktail has a backstory or a memory that it’s rooted in. Then Mason and his team rip that idea to pieces, play with it, reassemble it, and, ultimately, improve it to the point where it becomes something totally new.”
Turkey in the Wolf is the latest New Orleans restaurant to get some love from the Bon Appetit Best New Restaurants list. Mid-City newcomer Marjie’s Kitchen appeared on this year’s list of 50 finalists, while Bywater establishment N7 made it into last year’s Top 10.
