Picnic Provisions and Whiskey

Commander's Palace is an amazing restaurant on all counts, but it's really not the kind of place you go to all the time. That's not the case with Picnic Provisions and Whiskey, the latest project from Commander's chef Tory McPhail. Situated way uptown at Magazine and State, Picnic, a partnership with Ti Martin, a co-owner at Commander's and Daryl Reginelli, a founder of Reginelli's Pizzeria, is exactly the kind of neighborhood place that everybody wants on their corner. The fried to order chicken is farm-sourced, brined and treated to a crawfish-boil dusted crust, served with a mound of Crystal hot sauce pepper mash for some extra heat. The ooey-gooey grilled cheese oozes mozzarella and cheddar between thick slices of Texas toast. The fish collar dip is creamy with a hint of horseradish and plenty of smoke, accompanied by perfect homemade saltines. As for the cracklin' fat fried fingerlings, crispy outside, creamy in, those spuds are darn perfect. Frequented by families, neighbors and lots of Tulane students, Picnic isn't exactly an edgy scene and the music could stand a bit of funking up. But the food is some of the best around and for sure you'll be back for more.