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At Neutral Ground, former high school teacher and native New Orleanian, owner and chef Kenyatta Ashford “marries the tastes and tales of my childhood to the traditions of my hometown with the care for craft that I learned at Culinary Institute of America,” he explains, “The concept is built around staples of New Orleans daily life, and the menu is intentionally created to be accessible to all.”
Opening June 2020 and maintaining Neutral Ground during a pandemic when so many others have struggled has been a feat but, besides the amazing food, the value and heart of the restaurant has been its lifeline.
“Neutral Ground was conceived with the ethos of including everyone and being a place where people can come together, no matter their race, creed, or class, and share together in the joy of food conceived and cooked with great care,” Ashford adds, “The Neutral Ground name unto itself is a value statement and an invitation for what I feel is most needed in these very charged times.” In the 1800s when the central median of Canal Street in New Orleans was declared neutral ground, with French Creoles on one side and Anglo-Americans on the other.
Restaurant in residence at Proof Bar & Incubator, Neutral Ground pays homage to Ashford’s upbringing and is a modern New Orleans style po-boy and yakamein restaurant offering Louisiana sausage or smoked oyster po-boys, and smoked brisket meatball yakamein just to name a few specialties. Featured in Travel Noire and the New York Times, Ashford received his training at the Culinary Institute of American in New York and was recently awarded the Jean-Louis Palladin Professional Work/Study Grant by the James Beard Foundation.
Sourcing locally, Ashford and his team drive seasonal specials so there is always something new and inventive on the menu under the Chef’s Freestyles. With a new menu just launching last week, po-boys, bahn-mi and yakamein are constants however their flavor and presentation are anything but routine. Po-boys or bahn-mi with lemongrass chicken sausage or crispy oyster mushrooms provide heaty portions of protein and flavor. Similar to ramen, yakamein is a Chinese noodle soup that originated in New Orleans’ now extinct Chinatown.
Stop by on the weekend for Sunday brunch as the exciting textures and flavors continue with items like sweet potato hash, coconut milk French toast topped with hot buttered rum sauce, sweet plantains and coco nibs. As mimosas and morning cocktails are a staple of brunch, the Proof Bar does provide ample selection but you may bring your own wine for a corking fee during any visit.
Located in a historic part of downtown at 422 East M.L.K., inside the Proof Bar and Incubator (a collaborative workspace community for those in the food and beverage industry), Neutral Ground’s dining room and patio await to serve you memories and meals that will feed your soul and your belly. Open Wednesday through Saturday 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. and offering a Sunday brunch 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., call (423) 541-6858 to make reservations or place an order for carry out.
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