Jerry Slater brings a slice of the Kentucky Derby to Atlanta in May with a party at H. Harper Station, his restaurant in Reynoldstown. He had to learn quickly about the Derby after taking a job at a fancy hotel in downtown Louisville, Ky., the week before the 2001 race, won by Monarchos.
The Seelbach Hilton is the oldest hotel in downtown Louisville (Ky.), a grande dame with marble and chandeliers. That first week as the director of restaurants I was told first thing to get a tuxedo because I would need it the entire Derby week. I didn’t have a place to live yet, but I had a tuxedo.
The city comes alive for a two-week party for a two-minute race. There’s a balloon race, steamboat race, mattress race. There’s a Run for the Rose, with teams balancing glasses of wine to the finish line. Thunder Over Louisville is one of the country’s biggest fireworks displays. Friday morning before the Derby, we served a grand brunch during the parade of women’s hats, watched by men in seersucker suits and bow ties.
That first week was trial by fire. At times it felt overwhelming, but the excitement kept my energy level high. I met the singer Tony Bennett, who painted the Derby poster that year. I helped Wolfgang Puck pick out his own barrel of Woodford Reserve whiskey.
From Seelbach veterans, I learned to love playing the ponies. One waiter, who was brilliant, taught me to bet on the jockeys, not the horses, and look at the horse’s most recent races. You have to have luck, too.
The horses and bourbon help create the romance of the Derby. Special food also is associated with the race. There’s a tea sandwich with a Benedictine spread of cucumber and cream cheese. There’s the hot brown sandwich, which is a great hangover food served at the Brown Hotel.
At H. Harper Station, we serve a drink called the “Bufula Negra,” based on a mint julep. I substitute basil for the mint and balsamic vinegar for the bitters, and mix with Buffalo Trace bourbon, a balsamic and brown-sugar syrup and ginger beer that we make in house.
For a couple of years, I missed celebrating Derby Day, because of my tenure at One Flew South (restaurant at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport), and felt like I was missing something biological. When I opened my own place, I had to start the tradition again.
The 200 people expected at our third annual Derby Party will enjoy a buffet of traditional dishes, including those hot browns, cheese straws and Derby pie. We’ll have a big-hat contest and pick the most dapper gentleman. We’ll watch the race on big TVs and enjoy rockabilly music by the local act “Julea and Her Dear Johns.” By then I will have paid more attention and picked the horse I think will win.
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