North to South

FILÉ STEAKHOUSE AND OYSTER BAR IS BRINGING THE FLAVORFUL GOODNESS OF SOUTH LOUISIANA DISHES AND SERVING THEM WITH NORTH LOUISIANA ATTITUDE

BY VANELIS RIVERA AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY MOORE CLARK

Winnsboro, the Stars and Stripes capital of Louisiana, is a rural American view. Though the word ‘rural’ may conjure images of unkempt backwoods land and time-honored country mannerisms, it also depicts a quiet charm, seldom found in heavily bustling metropolises. The scenic drive down US Route 425 is a trance-inducing blur of lime-green pastoral fields, clay-colored dirt roads, and wood panel houses. Amid long standing buildings and the largest American flag you’ll ever see (standing at forty by seventy-five feet) is a new culinary establishment pushing the comfort zone of many of the town’s inhabitants. Changing the food culture while striving to showcase local flavors and ingredients, Filé Steakhouse and Oyster Bar is bringing the flavorful goodness of South Louisiana dishes and serving them with North Louisiana attitude.

Brian Mabry got into the restaurant business because of his wife Jessica. Her family owns Big John’s Burgers, a Winnsboro oldie but goodie serving all-time American grill classics since 1976. While the couple grew up with local convenience store go-tos like fried catfish and burgers, Brian wanted to introduce something different to his town. So when the building next to Big John’s became available, they bought it, remodeled, and opened Filé in December 2017. His vision for a “nicer, upscale restaurant” was initially daunting. Naysayers would comment that upscale doesn’t work in a small town. “It’s scary, ain’t no doubt!” exclaims Brian. But the nagging feeling that it just might succeed was a lot stronger than his doubts: “If it didn’t work, it didn’t work, but we were gonna give it a shot.” Three years later, with very little advertising and relying on word of mouth, the restaurant has gathered a steady buzz of clientele. “So far so good. We’re still here,” says Brian. More than just still being there, the restaurant stays packed every weekend.

Filé’s menu is an open book of the couple’s favorite foods, which aimed attention at the coastal dishes of New Orleans and South Louisiana. Eventually, visiting restaurants in cities like Monroe, Shreveport, and Baton Rouge became reconnaissance missions. As head cook of the restaurant, Brian would pay attention to ingredients, flavor combinations, and styles of presentation that he was excited to make his own. He may not have the professional background of a chef, but Brian sure thinks like one. Like most country folks, he grew up observing his mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather work their way around the kitchen, learning to use whatever ingredients were available to concoct new recipes. “Living way out in the country, you couldn’t just run to town and get something to eat,” he says. Cooking outside of the box is his strong suit, a skill he’s developed by merely learning as he goes. “He’s really creative when putting things together,” beams Jessica, who is more adept in front of the house matters, while Brian flourishes in the kitchen.

Always gravitating toward fresh fish and seafood during their food expeditions, Brian and Jessica knew that would be the keystone of their menu, but it’s tough to get a variety of fresh fish in North Louisiana. Not to mention, they risked introducing saltwater fish to a potentially disinterested customer base. “Everything is fried catfish up here,” says Brian, admitting that at first people were skeptical. Brian took a few chances, fixing up scaly novelties like black drum, sheepshead, and tripletail. He’s even served shark! At first, many people wouldn’t try the seafood specials until either Brian or Jessica recommended something, but now that’s all customers ask for. “It’s almost as if they trust us a bit more,” says Jessica.

On any given weekend, something “crazy” is bound to be one of their specials. The board often showcases a few seafood items like Chilean sea bass, scallops, mahi, and salmon, as well as different cuts of meat and some of Brian’s craftier dishes like the Redfish Courtbouillon, a recent hit. “We wanted to showcase the redfish because it’s Louisiana,” says Jessica. Brian served his courtbouillon recipe with rice, like he would gumbo. But always thinking of what he can do to improve his dishes, Brian thought of cutting the redfish in half, using one part in the courtbouillon, blackening the other half, and then placing that on top of the bed of rice with the courtbouillon gravy around it. “We sold out,” chimes Jessica.

A few of Brian’s dishes are culinary pastiches, pieced together by thoughtfully arranging some of his favorite finds. On the menu, the Riverboat Red Fish exemplifies this ingenuity. The red fish is stuffed with a crawfish cake, broiled, then served with a crawfish cream sauce, house salad, and corn maque choux. Always wanting to flaunt local flavors, the Catfish Acadiana features Haring catfish (a catfish farm located in Wisner, Louisiana), blackened and served with crawfish cream sauce, corn maque choux and red hot potatoes. Kinloch pecan oil is also a Winnsboro item featured in their house-made pepper jelly dressing, where it is mixed with Tabasco pepper jelly. Order this sweet and sour dressing as a side item for dipping their wood fire grilled shrimp or try it in their Plantation Salad: grilled shrimp, greens, pecans, cranberries, purple onion, shredded cheese blend, and tomatoes.

A substantial learning curve for the couple concerned the oyster bar–how were they going to sell and market fresh oysters in North Louisiana? It seems pretty straight forward: find a provider and get oysters delivered. But Brian took his time, meticulously going through a few providers in order to search out what would work best for the business. Even after landing a provider that delivered on a tight schedule, customers were dubious. Brian reveals that he often gets asked whether the restaurant buys a bucket of oysters and then slyly places them on shells. “I’m like ‘no.’ Who does that?” exclaims Brian, mentioning that the evidence of fresh oysters can be seen on the sidewalk near the restaurant, where the shucked shells lie scattered like pearly leaves. Before opening the restaurant, the Mabrys had their two sons shucking oysters in preparation for expediting, a daunting task that requires attention and a steady hand and which they now excel at. The menu offers raw oysters on the half shell and chargrilled oysters (woodfire grilled and topped with garlic butter and parmesan cheese). Filé gets an order of oysters twice a week, and they “go through them quick,” says Jessica. The most popular oyster night is Saturdays when they run a fifty cent raw oyster special. “There’s no money in it for me, but it gets people coming to my business,” says Brian. “And it keeps our cooler fresh,” adds Jessica. Their goal is always to sell out of oysters on Saturday, so get there early if you don’t want to miss out!

Developing their business has been a series of firsts, but none of those experiences compare to their stamp in Winnsboro history as the first restaurant in town to have a bar area installed. But still being part of a dry parish, Winnsboro does restrict the sale of alcohol to a degree. For the restaurant that means they can only sell alcohol that is six percent proof or less. Although a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon would pair excellently with their USDA Choice Buckhead Beef selections, customers have to make do with more fruity wines like Moscato. That’s great news for those with a sweet tooth, though, because the wine’s unique floral aroma perfectly accompanies the dessert selections offered: warm bread pudding with rum sauce, classic beignets, and Mardi Gras beignets (decorated with purple, green, and yellow icing).

Though ahead of their time and place in some respects, Brian’s vision for the interior of the restaurant kept to tradition. Mimicking a rustic steakhouse, the furnishing is mostly cypress wood booths. Barrels accent the hostess table, displaying roughly cut wood slabs. In the bar area, an old tin roof is used as the backdrop for wine bottles on display. Refurbished antique metal containers adorn the space as light fixtures, illuminating basket-weave brick pattern floors. Brian’s personal touches extended beyond the kitchen when conceiving the space. He built the table tops using metal flashing bought from MSR Steel Roofing (in Winnsboro), treated with acid, then cleaned and sealed to highlight the effect. And in a nod to the restaurant’s namesake, some of the wood tables are even made from sassafras. For those that don’t recognize the connection, filé powder, the spicy herb used in gumbo, is made from the dried leaves of the sassafras tree.

“It’s been fun. It’s been scary,” admits Jessica. But true to her own lineage, Filé Steakhouse and Oyster Bar is a family-run business. Their sons now expertly shuck oysters for hungry customers, and their daughter works the front of the house from time to time. Brian is often conversing with customers, actively working toward changing the palate of North Louisiana. He’s even been known to negotiate from time to time, offering a free plate of food to anyone who doesn’t like what they tasted. He has a way of getting people over the hump, his thick southern accent compelling even those who aren’t “big” fish eaters.

Filé Steakhouse and Oyster Bar is located at 3942 Front Street, Winnsboro, Louisiana. They are open Thursday and Friday 10:30 AM to 9 PM, Saturday 4:30 to 9 PM, and Sunday 10:30 AM to 2 PM. Call them at 318-367-5190 to make a reservation and follow them on Facebook.