Holding court at Clancy's
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Clancy's sits at the corner of Webster and Annunciation streets Uptown. Photo: Courtesy of Clancy's
We humans are, by nature, creatures of habit, but only some among us exhibit this to such a degree that they earn a name all unto their own: Regulars.
Why it matters: New Orleans sports columnist Jeff Duncan is a consummate regular, and he will be performing at his most elite level during Super Bowl week as he holds court at Clancy's at least three nights in a row.
The big picture: Clancy's opened in its current form in 1983, an exemplary example of the upscale neighborhood restaurants popular throughout New Orleans at the time.
- Although many of them have disappeared over the years, Clancy's has soldiered on with its nationally recognized cooking, white tablecloth service and tuxedoed waiters.
- For years, it was overseen by owner Brad Hollingsworth, who died last fall. His family, led by former Clancy's chef Brian Larson, has continued to carry the torch.
Yes, but: A restaurant's employees, even a family as dedicated as the Larsons, can only do so much.
- Eventually, what a place like Clancy's becomes — what it's really about — are the people who visit, even more than its popular brie-topped oysters or how everyone squints to read the menu's loopy script.
- "When you walk in the front door," Larson says, "when we're packed with locals, it might take that person 20 minutes to get to the back of the dining room because they know everybody in the place."
A longtime Times-Picayune columnist, Duncan is like that.
- One Christmas Eve, Duncan says, he spotted former Saints head coach Sean Payton, and they ended up gabbing for a half-hour before Duncan joined his own party. At the end of the night, the waiter said Payton had picked up the whole table's tab, plus a 30% tip.
Duncan also knows the staffers by name. Many are sports fans. The vibe in the room at Clancy's helps give him a temperature check on how the city's feeling about its teams.
- Plus, it's not uncommon for someone to text him if the kitchen manages to get tripletail fish from the suppliers. That way, he knows first it'll be on the menu that night.
The intrigue: Duncan, who's lived just down the block for the past eight years, guesses he's at Clancy's once a month, on average.
- The Larsons laughed at the estimate.
- "That's funny. … We will see him weekly," Mary Larson said. "Sometimes multiple times."
"We're a generational-type place," Brian Larson says. "I like to use the Mannings as an example."
- "We've been feeding the Manning family for 40 years. … I remember feeding Peyton and Eli and them bringing their dates for the homecoming dance. And that defines a regular: Somebody who's been coming to take care of us through those doors for all those years."
That magic works both ways, too. The Larsons make a point to take care of the people who take care of them.
- During busy times, like this week with Super Bowl crowds in town, that means doing the delicate dance of deciding who gets the coveted front dining room seats, and holding a table or two back for a last-minute call from a regular.
- "We've fed the upper crust of New Orleans for 40 years," Brian Larson says, "and we hope to do it another 40 years."