2220 Highland Ave. S.
939-5551
Lunch hours: Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
Dinner hours: Mon.-Sat. 5:30-10 p.m.
Sunday Jazz Brunch hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
By Jan Walsh Photography by Beau Gustafson
Veranda on Highland Executive
Chef Thomas Robey is not just the
head of the kitchen. He is the heart of
the kitchen and the restaurant. Being
the chef here is a full-time passion for
Robey. It is both his work and his play.
“I love having a beautiful restaurant
like the Veranda to run. The place is
always on my mind,” Robey says. “I
am usually at the restaurant. Even on
Mondays when we’re closed, I spend
an hour or two just poking around,
putting together orders and such. And
when I’m not here, I’m shopping at
the market or cooking.”
A native of Ocean City, N. J., Robey began his career as a chef after graduating culinary school at Johnson and Wales University. He worked briefly for Trump Castle before finding his way to New Orleans and Commander’s Palace. Over the next 18 years, Robey learned his craft under two of Commander’s renowned chefs, Jamie Shannon and Tory McPhail. Through the years that followed, Robey moved from line cook to sous chef and helped lead the restaurant’s expansion into Las Vegas. Along the way, he absorbed the wisdom of his mentors, as well as Commander’s famed owner Ella Brennan.
Since coming to Veranda on Highland in 2007, Robey has put that wisdom and experience to work— delighting diners who lunch, brunch and have dinner here. “I consider what I do to be Southern cuisine, but certainly with a heavy influence from my time in the ‘Big Easy.’ There will always be a gumbo and turtle soup available daily. And classics like Shrimp Remoulade and Beef Debris have been big hits at the restaurant,” he says. As a tribute to Birmingham, several dishes such as the Sweet Tea Lacquered Duck are new on the fall menu.
Also from Commander’s came Sous Chef Jeffrey Hansell and General Manager Stan Reynolds. Reynolds is a Selma native who worked his way through Commander’s ranks—from a back waiter, front waiter, captain and then a manager—during his 21-year tenure there. Thanks to Reynolds, the service at Veranda on Highland is unsurpassed. “While I don’t know that I would call our service proper French, we like to think of it as ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen,” he says. In the front of the house two waiters also came from Commander’s, Brandon Williamson and Billy Langston.
There is no Birmingham restaurant more beautiful than Veranda on Highland. Dating to the 1920s, this charming, historic building is a beautifully renovated home with nine separate dining rooms, glowing fireplaces and stained glass windows, a private patio and a veranda. The most recent renovation is a handsome, climate-controlled wine cellar.
It includes private wine lockers for Veranda’s best customers and can be reserved for private dining and special events. The chef’s table is centered in the cellar. “Not only does the chef’s table give my kitchen staff and me a chance to do some cool stuff that later finds its way to the menu, but I get to spend a good deal of time with customers and get their opinions on the dishes,” Robey says.
Dinner begins with a basket of hot, crusty slices of mini French bread and butter and a peek at the wine list. The list won the Award of Excellence 2008 and deservingly so. There is both a main and a reserve list that is a cross section of the best. We pair a food friendly 2006 Whitehall Lane Sauvignon Blanc with dinner.
I love soup and could live off Robey’s. Offered and varied daily is Veranda’s famous “Soups 1-1-1” (one cup of three different soups). There is also a du jour soup by the cup or bowl, such as today’s Redfish Court Bouillon.
“In traditional French cooking, a Court Bouillon is a poaching liquid for seafood. The Creole version is a soup with fish, tomatoes, garlic and herbs, and the ‘holy trinity’ of celery, onion and bell pepper. And we twisted it a little by adding some of the fresh Alabama vegetables: sweet corn, baby limas and pink eye peas,” Robey explains.
Cups of the redfish bouillon are deep, dark and delicious. And with no rice, it is appetizing rather than filling. “I love making soups because you can take the most basic ingredients, like chicken bones and crab shells, and turn them into something beautiful.
How corny is that?,” Robey asks. There is nothing corny about Robey’s passion, and it shows in every bite. Next we opt for the house-made Crawfish Boudin and herb grilled Mississippi Quail. Two, large, round house-made boudins (smoky pork and rice sausage) are served with a lovely and tasty pickled okra, baby greens and a jack Daniels honey mustard. The quail is huge and moist and topped with a sunny side up quail egg. It is served on a sauté of Chilton County peaches, spicy pecans, fried sweet potatoes and pea tendrils—drizzled with a Southern Comfort and black pepper honey sauce.
From the menu an entrée of Mustard Crusted Smoke Duroc Pork is ordered along with tonight’s tuna. The Duroc pork shoulder was smoked and braised in smoked chicken stock and then coated with Creole mustard, rolled in seasoned breadcrumbs before being baked. It is served atop white grits from Anson Mills, with Louisiana crawfish and green onions.
And the dish is topped with a grilled pepper salad. The beautiful tuna is served rare, but it can be cooked to guest’s preference. “I’m not one of those people who looks down on those with different food opinions. If you want ketchup, ask for it,” Robey says. The tuna floats on a crisp, fresh and zesty salad of pea tendrils, shaved fennel and red onions finished with lemon thyme oil.
Robey’s desserts are always a treat. The peanut butter pie is always to die for, and his praline cheesecake is a masterpiece. But tonight I try something new—Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cake and Café au Lait Crème Brulee.
The cake is dark, firm, with a coconut anglaise—much more chocolaty than sweet—and topped with chocolate curls. And the brulee with chocolate covered espresso beans is warm and rich, and irresistible to the bottom of the white ramekin.
Robey has brought a taste of New Orleans to Birmingham and has developed a taste for Alabama’s produce and products. And for a staff—from executive chef to servers—who have only been at Veranda on Highland for little more than a year, Birmingham is definitely home. And Birmingham is better for it. Robey seems to have only one recommendation. “Do you think we can start up Mardi Gras here?” he says with a laugh.
