NOLA BRUNCH & BEIGNETS SERVES BIG EASY IN THE ALAMO CITY
WORDS BY KIMBERLY SUTA
Photo by Kimberly Suta
In San Antonio, chef Pieter Sypesteyn of NOLA Brunch & Beignets is synonymous with New Orleans-style cuisine. That’s because he grew up there and spent his childhood in his parents’ restaurants.
“That’s where I got my first glimpse into running an independent restaurant. In my home, food was always a big thing, as well as entertainment and hospitality. It was a way of life,” says Pieter.
But, where this chef truly fell in love with cook- ing was at the Art Institute in Orange County. “At that point in my life I needed some structure, and I was able to express myself as an artist through food,” recalls Pieter of his time there.
It was also in California where he met his wife and business partner, Susan Sypesteyn, and they now have a thriving family with four kids — three boys and one girl. After working at the Los Angeles Country Club in Beverly Hills, the couple moved to San Antonio and Pieter continued to learn about the art of fine dining and operations by working at a few now-shuttered yet once renowned restaurants, such as The Grill, Le Reve and Il Sogno.
At that time, food trucks were also gaining notoriety across Texas. In Austin, chef Bryce Gilmore had opened Odd Duck, building a big following out of a trailer producing restaurant-quality food, for instance. “I thought maybe I could do that,” says Pieter, “and show people real New Orleans food out of a truck and see what the response would be.”
Thus, Pieter embarked on his first foray as an entrepreneur and opened Where Y’at food truck in 2012, creating New Orleans-style dishes from the heart and soul and eventually finding a regular home at Alamo Street Eat Bar in Southtown.
“It’s where the world discovered Where Y’at and barbecue shrimp,” he laughs. “It was wild. I learned so much. The food truck was always meant to be a part of our path to get a restaurant. Let’s run it for two years, save money and open a brick and mortar.”
And two years later, to the day, the Sypesteyns signed a lease for a building adjacent to the St. Mary’s Strip and opened The Cookhouse, which featured Pieter’s exceptional take on New Orleans-style fare, including that finger- licking-good barbecue shrimp and one of my all-time favorite dishes of his, grillades and grits.
Next for the Sypesteyns, just five years after that, came NOLA Brunch & Beignets, which was originally around the corner in a cozy space, but eventually moved into The Cookhouse’s building for more room. It’s fair to say that Pieter kicked off San Antonio’s brunch restaurant trend.
“At the time, there was nowhere that was really a committed brunch spot,” he explains. “So, for NOLA, we wanted to offer a menu that people wouldn’t or couldn’t create at home — an assortment of curated brunch dishes that are just as thoughtful and creative as what we had been doing for dinner. And, of course, there’s beignets.”
Besides the restaurant’s hugely popular dishes like Pieter’s playful take on oysters Rockefeller called Green Eggs and Ham, his fried chicken (glazed with Steen’s Pure Cane Syrup) and beignets, plus a fantastic muffaletta, NOLA also serves beignets filled with seasonal flavors and a perennial lemon curd.
But, it only gets better! NOLA Brunch & Beignets is thrilled to have just opened at a new location along the Broadway corridor, just south of the Historic Pearl. The new restaurant is more expansive with double the space, and features an outdoor patio, private room for special events and free parking. According to Susan, the new restaurant, which just opened, already feels like home.
Beignets photo by NOLA
The new space captures the essence of New Orleans’ Garden District with an old-world feel and a touch of urban style. It’s welcoming, comforting and fun. It’s a space with a heartbeat. You can see it everywhere you look, from the curated artwork (some made by Pieter, some made by his dad) to the artful dishes.
“I’m excited about everything that this new space will allow us to do. It reopens some creativity and different ways to serve people better,” shares Pieter. “We hope to create a real hub in our community.”
Susan adds, “The culture is so crucial for us, and it’s one of the things we love about this new neighborhood. It’s a very vibrant part of the city that’s very walkable, and we’re really close to the river, the park and other restaurants … these are some of the things we fell in love with and also what we love about New Orleans. It gives our customers a better glimpse of what San Antonio has to offer and speaks to the growth of our brand.”
With the new space next to Woof Gang, too, NOLA is more dog-friendly than ever. The walk-up window makes it easy for dog walkers and other passersby to order some heavily powdered-sugar-dusted beignets and a cup of coffee to go. Plan accordingly, because as Pieter once told me, “You aren’t doing it right if you don’t end up covered in powdered sugar.”
The walk-up window, which will showcase an abridged menu, is also ideal for grabbing a couple of mouthwatering Po’ boys for a quick bite, but you can certainly order from the main menu via their website and have it delivered, too.
Finally, keep an eye out for announcements on specials and themed events taking place throughout the year. Since NOLA now has access to the nearby park, the Sypesteyns are looking forward to reactivating their El Mardi Gras fundraising event to support their nonprofit, Third Coast Charities, which primarily helps constituents in District 1 that need assistance.
Hopefully, downtown residents are a little happier now that we have a taste of authentic New Orleans in the neighborhood! If you see me walking around with errant powdered sugar on my clothes, you’ll know why.
About the Contributor
Kimberly A. Suta is editor of Edible San Antonio, a filmmaker, food writer, event planner, culinary tour guide and has a media company called Homegrown Chef. She loves nothing more than sharing the phenomenal food, chefs and restaurants that San Antonio and Texas have to offer.
