Junebug’s Shadow Man must be appeased.
In a city full of ghost and haunting stories, it’s no surprise there is some strange account at a building from 1840. That’s the case at Junebug, a new bar and restaurant at 744 Camp St. in the Warehouse District.
“We definitely have felt a presence that we call Shadow Man,” says Sophie Burton, the restaurant’s bar manager and assistant general manager. “This building has so many quirks, so many seams and different bricks. It’s a Frankenstein’s monster of a space. It wouldn’t be a surprise if there were multiple entities here.”
They placed a cigarette and a glass of overproof gin by the restaurant’s host stand just in case. “We thought we’d try to appease our ghost,” she says.
Junebug is the 19th concept from the Virginia-based Neighborhood Restaurant Group and its third restaurant in New Orleans, joining nearby Brewery Saint X and Devil Moon Barbecue.
The team opened the spectacular space on March 20, with 3,700 square feet of event space. There’s the high style bar and restaurant on one side and the pretty Secret Spot flower shop on the other.
Even without the ghost tales, the space has a notable history of its own — a bridge to New Orleans R&B and funk. Between 1967 and 1978, the building housed the upstairs headquarters of legendary producer Cosimo Matassa’s Jazz City recording studio. Allen Toussaint produced and recorded hits there, and it’s also where The Meters recorded their funk classic “Cissy Strut” and other tunes.
A music theme is woven through the restaurant, including etched musical note tributes to local artists, the bar’s two turntables and 600-album collection and the horns of vintage Victrola record players used in light fixtures. Cypress and exposed brick add to the bar and dining room’s appeal.
It’s a stunning setting for executive chef Shannon Bingham’s Southern-meets-French menu. Composed of mostly small plates, the menu starts with dishes beyond the typical bar snacks, like warm, house-made potato chips and cashews tossed with rosemary, miso and brown butter. There are croquettes monsieur, a crispy ham and oozing cheese take on the popular bistro sandwich, as well as candied pecan pimiento cheese and crackers, a ruby red yellowfin crudo with sweet potato vinaigrette, and spicy fried oysters atop an Escoffier-worthy celeriac remoulade.
The duck and bacon crepinettes feature a creative, coarsely ground meatball with pomme puree and bordelaise on the side. There’s a “pick three” option in each menu section, perfect for sharing.
The chef also is aware not everybody likes the lazy Susan approach to dining.
“When Sophie and I go to a restaurant, we like to try as many things as we can and sample a bunch of cocktails,” Bingham says. “But I didn’t want to lose sight of the fact that some people want a steak for dinner, regardless of the restaurant.”
So, there is also a hanger steak served with beer battered onion rings.
A pate melt is a high-brow grilled cheese with a griddled slab of rustic pate de campagne, Gruyere, confit onions and Pommery mustard between slices of rye bread. Pescatarians will find a pan-roasted drum with crawfish. There’s also a brilliant twist on traditional gnocchi, swapping cornbread for potatoes, and the dumplings are topped with a lamb neck ragu.
A late-night menu is available until midnight Tuesday through Sunday. Besides many of the same snacks offered at dinner, it also has a fried chicken sandwich, a brisket cheeseburger and a duck Reuben, all $16 and under.
“We want locals to come in and feel like they don’t have to break their food budget for the week,” Bingham says.
Burton’s bar includes classic and house cocktails, with a section of the menu that offers drinks either full-strength or lighter on the alcohol content. Burton focuses on eau de vie and fruit brandies mixed into cocktails or served on the rocks. There also are a dozen beers on draft and a bottle list that goes beyond the usual suspects.
Add in a spacious outdoor patio for al fresco dining and a soundtrack of R&B and funk, and Junebug adds up to an intriguing new haunt. Surely, the Shadow Man agrees.
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