3 May 2024
Turkey and the Wolf. | Eater
Mason Hereford and partner Nate Barfield are opening Hot Stuff, a modern meat and three restaurant, later this month
The latest offshoot of New Orleans titan Turkey and the Wolf will add a modern touch to the Southern meat and three at a new restaurant in Uptown. Chef Mason Hereford is partnering with one of Turkey and the Wolf’s first chefs, Nate Barfield, for Hot Stuff, and will make its debut at 7507 Maple Street later this month, according to the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate.
Alabama native Barfield is spearheading the new restaurant, which will mimic a traditional Southern meat and three in setup if not details. The centerpiece is a long table loaded with a daily rotation of main dishes — buttermilk and hot sauce-marinated fried chicken, hamburger steak au poivre, and red beans and rice, for instance — alongside a slew of sides, like miso green beans and garlic chile crisp-topped charred cabbage wedges. While the pair won’t seek to “reinvent” the meat and three, Hereford tells the newspaper, diners can expect distinctive Turkey and the Wolf twists.
One twist feels especially like quintessential Hereford and company: the counter-service restaurant will serve diners pours of various spirits intended to be made into a DIY mixed drink at the soda fountain. It’s a playful, unpretentious formula reminiscent of Turkey and the Wolf’s beloved frozen margarita made with 7 Up.
Beyond make-your-own mixed drinks, Hot Stuff will contain other familiar Turkey and the Wolf touches: vintage toys and signs, eclectic posters, logos of Southern brands like Popeyes, and flashes of neon color. Otherwise, the former Favori Deli space is kept simple, with a 30-seat dining room and a small covered patio.
Eater
Turkey and the Wolf’s bologna sandwich.
Hot Stuff is the third spinoff restaurant from the Turkey and the Wolf team, a sandwich phenomenon with national acclaim that opened in 2016. Two years later, Hereford opened Magazine Street breakfast restaurant Molly’s Rise and Shine with co-chefs Colleen Quarls and Liz Hollinger, who were named James Beard Award Semifinalists for 2023 in the best chef, South category. In April 2023, Hereford, his wife Lauren Agudo, and Turkey and the Wolf chef Phil Cenac opened Hungry Eyes, the team’s first dinner restaurant.
When it opens in late May, Hot Stuff will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.