Local chef Sean Rivera and a talented team of restaurateurs at Driftwood Cask & Barrel
are working to transform the old Latil Stationery building into a comfortable, Mississippi River-themed gastropub. The group plans to open the pub, located at 326 Third St., by the end of April.
As 225 Dine details, chef de cuisine Beau Flaherty, general manager and co-owner Carter Cauley and assistant general manager and mixologist Matt Vondenstein are working alongside Rivera to create a collaborative and distinctive menu.
The most pertinent goal for the team at Driftwood, Cauley tells 225 Dine, is to create an easy-going atmosphere where patrons can enjoy thoughtfully paired food and drinks.
“We’re all working hand-in-hand to develop great flavor profiles,” he says. “We want to take the beer dinner theme and make it less formal and less expensive … so you can just come and enjoy a sandwich and a beer that goes with it.”
Cauley says he would like to carry at least one craft beer from every local brewery, though he hasn’t yet chosen specific types and flavors to keep on tap. Because the pub’s theme is a nod to the Mississippi River, beers from breweries such as Lazy Magnolia in Mississippi and Great Raft Brewing in Shreveport also will be available, 225 Dine writes.
A signature dish in the works consists of a lentil-fried bread bowl—with bread from local artisan bakery Rösch Bakehaus—filled with red curry, white beans and Gulf shrimp. The dish, in which the bread bowl is coated in ground lentils before frying, combines Indian flavors with foods sourced locally.
Rivera, who also previously worked as an executive chef with the City Pork team, says the menu will be small but adaptable, and will feature different seasonal specials as the restaurant gets up and running.
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