Hollie Fitzhenry & Blake Walker
Nolita, Manhattan
If you look back in the Busboy archives, the one single restaurant that was mentioned so often as the go-to for a dinner for our f&b experts was Estela. So obviously, we HAD to get our way in with another one of Ignacio Mattos’ institutions, dare we say, the OG one that started it all? Luckily, we ourselves are also big fans of Estela and have been known to prop up at the bar with a glass of wine, an order of tartare and panna cotta to turn our evening around. We visited husband-and-wife bartending duo Hollie Fitzhenry and Blake Walker (can we just say - POWER COUPLE!?) to talk about what it’s like to be running the bar at the coolest club in NYC. Blake poured us chardonnay and San Pellegrino was free flowing. If there is a heaven, this is what it would be, at least for us.
Full name, age, where are you from?
HF: Hollie Fitzhenry, 33, Harvey, Louisiana a suburb 20 minutes outside of New Orleans (but I claim New Orleans :])
BW: Blake Walker, 37, from Spokane, WA.
What is your title and where do you work?
HF: Bartender at Estela
BW: I’m a bartender at Estela, and co-owner of a soon-to-open gin bar called Chin Up Bar.
Was food a big part of your upbringing?
HF: It was huge! My dad worked in restaurants on and off throughout his life, but his heart was in pizza. While working for Domino’s in the late 80s, he trained a couple of the fastest pizza makers in the world. At home, he spent years perfecting his sauce and dough recipes. Luckily, I got to be the guinea pig for the entire process. Coming from a community heavily influenced by the Cajun French, I grew up with gumbo, crawfish boils, jambalaya, red beans and rice, etc. My mom makes chicken and sausage gumbo for every holiday, which is an all-day affair.
BW: Absolutely. My mom is a very good cook, and I loved watching her in the kitchen. I think another formative experience for me was going to a high school in downtown Spokane. We had an open campus at lunch, so I had an hour to go wherever I wanted. My friends and I became “regulars” at a lunch counter for office workers called Chicken N More; we’d pool our money and buy some chicken wings – sometimes they’d even let us come in and sit with our sack lunches. This was when I first became obsessed with a restaurant. Restaurants usually interest me more than food itself, actually.
What are your earliest memories of dining out?
HF: We ate at a lot of chain restaurants – Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse, Outback, Copeland’s. For special occasions, we did eat at New Orleans institutions, which was always mind-blowing as a child. I still remember having the bananas foster at Brennan’s for the first time. In retrospect, I was totally unable to recognize how lucky I was to have been raised in one of the greatest culinary capitals in America. I grew up loving food with spice and decadence.
BW: It was definitely either a) the Spaghetti Station (editor’s note - closed in 2004), or b) the Old Spaghetti Factory. Like Eddie Van Halen wailing on a double-neck guitar, Spokane residents of the early 90’s got to choose between two awesome railroad-themed spaghetti restaurants. I can’t be sure which was my first – we ate at both a lot. Here’s what I do know: there was a train motif, there were crayons and paper tablecloths, and I ate a huge pile of spaghetti thickly coated with the kind of parmesan cheese you do not have to grate. Outstanding experience.
If you could give a piece of advice to someone who wanted to pursue your career, what
would it be?
HF:
1. Be a good listener; your guests and coworkers will love you for it.
2. Be curious; obtaining knowledge will increase your confidence and provide you with the necessary foundation to create a thoughtful experience.
3. Know your limits in terms of the number of days you can work behind a bar– burnout is real.
BW: One thing I’m really glad I did was pursue employment at venues outside my everyday social circles – or rather, I’ve used the pursuit of employment to help diversify my social circles. Over the course of the decade-plus I’ve been a full-time bartender in NYC, I’ve worked at clubs, dives, hotel bars, a French restaurant, an Ethiopian restaurant, a bunch of cocktail bars, and now Estela, with its adventurous food and wine program. I can confidently say that I can adapt to working at any kind of bar.
What do you think working in this industry has taught you?
HF: It has taught me to be kinder and more empathetic. It has also taught me to become one hell of a multitasker.
BW: Always pay attention to music and lighting.
What’s your favorite drink or dish on the menu?
HF: Our beef tartare has ruined me for all other tartares. I crave it regularly. The crispy sunchokes and the spice from the espelette pepper are perfect!
BW: I would love to pick a sleeper fave, but let’s keep it simple: the endive at Estela is the best salad on earth.
What is your favorite place to go out and eat at and what are you ordering?
HF: For lunch, I love going to Ginger and Lemongrass on Rivington for their $15 lunch special. I always order the same thing: spicy lemongrass soup with five spice brisket and the fried vegetarian spring rolls.
Post-shift, Blue Ribbon Brasserie is THE spot. It’s the quintessential New York restaurant. The people-watching, service, food, and martinis are always excellent, even at 1:30am. I always get half a dozen oysters and onion soup with an order of french fries. (Sometimes I end with a hot fudge sundae – if I really feel like going for it!)
For dinner near home in Brooklyn, Blake and I love going to Café Paulette, a charming French bistro with a great wine program across from Fort Greene Park. We always get oysters, one of their many salads, and the burrata.
BW: I’m so happy that Gaia opened a new take-out storefront on East 3rd Street. Some of my favorite meals this year were wolfing down her meat lasagna, paninis with baked-to-order bread, and excellent antipasti in the community garden across from Gaia’s shop off Avenue B. She’s also doing meal kits and other creative dishes that travel well so you can bring her incredible, affordable food home.
You’re on a desert island, what are the 5 kitchen items you need to run your business?
HF: Shaker tins, wine key, Hawthorne strainer, salt, and ice.
BW:
“Boston” shaker set (a glass pint and large metal tin)–they’re clunky, heavy, and breakable, but damn it you can do everything with a Boston set. After you make cocktails, you can drink a beer out of the pint glass.
A good Hawthorne strainer
A blender
A sharp knife
A huge stage directly behind me, equipped with massive speakers and state-of-the-art stadium lighting, on which Stevie Wonder performs a 4-hour set of material from his 1970’s peak. This part is key to my business plan.
