Korri McElfresh is bringing New Orleans to you with Vieux Carré's Inlander Restaurant Week menu. McElfresh has worked in the regional restaurant industry since she was 16 years old, later going on to work in management for chef Adam Hegsted's Eat Good Group until she decided it was time to start a restaurant of her own in 2021.
From its location in a historic building on the border of West Central and Kendall Yards, Vieux Carré satisfies Southern cravings with dishes like hushpuppies, gumbo and other Cajun-inspired cuisine.
RESTAURANT WEEK: What was the inspiration behind Vieux Carré?
McELFRESH: I struggled with what style I wanted to do, and I was sitting down with a girlfriend of mine [Amber Park] — she actually owns Wanderlust Delicato — and we were having coffee, and she was like, "You're describing what you want. You're describing New Orleans. And every time you go out to eat, this is the kind of stuff that you eat." She's like, "This is what you love." So I immediately booked a trip down to New Orleans while we were sitting there, and I just explored and shopped and went to every historical thing I could go to just immerse myself in it.
Do you have a guiding philosophy for good service in this industry?
One is, you never know who you're serving. You never know what their experience is that day. So you should always approach whoever you are serving, or whoever's walking through your door, like you would a family member. You don't know if they just had the worst day of their life or the best day of their life.
How do you try to stay creative with the food that you serve?
New Orleans is really a melting pot of all cultures, so it's really fun. You could really go any direction with it. There's a huge, obviously, Spanish and French [influence], there's a huge Jamaican influence there. There's a huge Italian influence there. There's everything. So you can go whatever direction, you can play with a lot of different flavors and ingredients and make something beautiful out of it.
What is special or unique about the region's culinary scene right now?
I think that what is special is that we have so much room for growth. We're not saturated yet, so there's so much room for growth, there is so much room for whole new ideas. People just need to grab the reins and do it. And I'm so excited for these up and coming to come into the area because I think that Spokane needs more.
What are some of the biggest challenges the restaurant industry is currently facing, and how are you and your team responding?
The chain of supply is always — well, now ever since COVID — is kind of a challenge. We just have good relationships with our distributors, and so we try to figure out, if we are short on something, we try to figure out another avenue or we have to adapt our menu and that's that. I think the rising cost in payroll is huge right now for restaurants. I guess to combat that would be to really stress the importance of efficiency and good quality work and wanting to be where you are to the employees.
What are you most looking forward to during this year's Inlander Restaurant Week?
Honestly, I'm hoping that more restaurants think outside the box on their menus and do some cool different things. And I don't want to talk down on anybody's choices, but when I look and I'm like, "Oh, there's a Caesar salad." I don't want a Caesar salad there, I want to try something that they're going out of their comfort zone and trying something new to see if that will work on their menu. That's what I look forward to every year.
What's something that diners can look forward to on your Restaurant Week menu?
We are trying out a new duck gumbo. We've had rabbit hand pies in the past, but we are doing a different version and seeing how well that goes. We have a Cajun custard tart that's going to be delightful. It's not Cajun spice, it's a custard tart. I have a couple of phenomenal bakers in the back. So yeah, we are just going to be trying out a couple different recipes and see what people like.
What advice would you give to diners going out during IRW 2025?
Make reservations. And, you know, this is a crazy week for restaurants and a lot of the stuff is new, and so give patience because it's not what the kitchen staff is doing on a normal basis. It takes a couple of days to get in the groove of things.
