Celebrating Dads
Father’s Day Brunch at Galley and Garden is an annual tradition.
By Jan Walsh
As we valet the car, the garden welcomes us. Friendly flowers, such as Black-eyed Susans and Echinaceas pop with vibrant gold and purple tones. Complimenting Maître D’ Stan Reynolds on the garden, he shares that he also has plums out back… This man’s talents never cease! He came to Galley and Garden in 2014, from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Today not only does he have a green thumb, he has the hands of an artist. Drawing on his art degree from Auburn, he adorns Galley and Garden’s walls with his framed watercolor paintings. We catch up as he pours sparkling water from a glass bottle that we did not order. But he knows to serve.
Kev and I wish our fathers were here today. Both would love brunch at Galley and Garden. I even imagine Daddy Copeland and Dad Walsh sitting at the two empty seats, with us, at our favorite table… Perhaps they are.
Galley and Garden’s regular brunch menu of (your choice) two or three courses is offered today, with generous, complimentary Father’s Day options. First, mimosa or prosecco is offered on the house. Kev has the mimosa and I select prosecco for our Father’s Day toast. Next arrives a scrumptious, complimentary chip and dip appetizer. What a special sip and dip for all brunch guests today!
Also complimentary for fathers today are two four-ounce filets of beef cooked to order, with entrees. In our fathers’ memories, we order what we expect each would have enjoyed. Kev’s three courses include Southern Pickled Shrimp, 5 Points Original with side of steaks, and Crème Brûlée. Lucky Kev, he gets the only Salted Caramel Crème Brûlée in the house or today’s coconut and pineapple. And I choose what Daddy would want: Minestrone Soup, Shrimp and Grits, and Chocolate Mousse Cake.
Kev’s pickled shrimp brings back memories of shrimp cocktail on Christmas Eve, at his parent’s Scranton, Pennsylvania home, where shrimp was a once-a-year treat. And we carry on this tradition in our home each Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving Eve. Fresh, firm, and succulent, the Gulf shrimp is accentuated by the pickling without overpowering, along with pickled onion, capers, mixed pepper, crackers, and lemon for squeezing. Chef Jessica makes incredible soups. So, I never miss the opportunity to order Galley and Garden’s soupe du jour. And today’s minestrone is reminiscent of Daddy’s sausage and beef veggie soup, the only recipe that he ever developed himself. Deep layers of acidic tomato, tender beef, flavorful herbs, and Southern vegetables synthesize into one beautiful bowl. It fulfills my soul. Executive chef, Jessica Lindeen stops by for a table visit. And I take the opportunity to compliment her on the soup and request she make her memorable chicken and dumplings for Christmas Eve Supper again this year, a supper that has also become a Walsh tradition.
Along with our entrees, comes warm rolls with apricot butter. They are a favorite of Kev’s as they bring back another memory from his childhood home, where a bakery across the street made similar rolls.
Kev’s entrée is made for a dad’s appetite. Scrumptious scrambled eggs, crisp Beeler’s Smokehouse Bacon, comforting potato hash, and a light and fluffy biscuit slathered in a creamy, dreamy sausage gravy round out the plate. And his two tender, juicy steaks are served on a side plate. Surely, he cannot eat all this, so I “graciously” take half of the biscuit. Oh, my! Next time I want my own. My shrimp and grits remind me of when Daddy and I were dining while traveling in China. The entrée was served family style being passed around the table of our group. We happened to be the last two to get the big bowl of seafood. There was no shrimp left, only carp, which is considered lucky by the Chinese, but called “bottom fish” by my dad. He never got over the couple beside us piling shrimp on their plates and leaving us without. Today he would dive into Galley and Garden’s famous, signature bowl of the shrimp and grits, as do I. Plump and pink, Gulf Shrimp float atop a bed of creamy, complex, creole sauce, and around a bed of stone ground grits with parmesan. This dish is elevated in flavor and texture with bites of bacon and Conecuh Sausage and bits of peppers, onions, garlic.
Our desserts would make any dad proud, especially ours! Tapping the crème brûlée’s thin, crunchy layer of caramel, reveals a divine sweet tart custard that is only made better by the salt. My chocolate cake is a chocoholic’s dream. Built on chocolate crunch crust, this dark, decadent wedge of chocolate mousse rises to chocolate heaven, where it is drizzled with caramel. From here to Heaven, Happy Father’s Day!
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