So you’re the owner of Peso’s and the new Toulouse Petit. Toulouse Petit seems to be a more serious restaurant than Peso’s, with an 80-item menu and dishes influenced by French and Creole cuisines. What do you see as the differences between the two restaurants?

I think the kitchen at Toulouse Petit is far more capable than the one at Peso’s. We’ve assembled a team of chefs that are truly world-class and a menu that’s a lot more extensive. But what’s nice is that there are items on the menu at Toulouse Petit that are just as inexpensive.

I would like the five-dollar alligator happy-hour special, please. Where do you get your gators?

The alligators, as well as the blue crab, crawfish tails, and gold shrimp, are flown to Seattle on domestic flights from Louisiana. They fly Southwest, below the passengers.

What’s your favorite dish at
Toulouse Petit?

I really like the warm duck confit salad with endive, radicchio, and poached duck egg. It’s a very textural dish, with a lot of different elements.

Website reviews of your new restaurant have largely been positive. However, you’ve attacked the reputation of the one person who gave your restaurant a low score. Isn’t the customer always right?

I’m not in the business of correcting people’s perceptions, but sometimes people write things online that are factually false. The person who posted the anonymous review claimed to have eaten an item that isn’t on our menu anymore. As I was reading, I had the feeling that it was a hit piece. Since we’re a new restaurant and our image is still being formed, I thought it would be important to respond to the poster because I didn’t think he’d actually been here.

You were briefly in the news when you sued the Matador for stealing Peso’s menu and decor ideas. Now that your menus have diverged and Matador has taken down its Day of the Dead decorations, do you consider the feud over?

I don’t give it any thought anymore. We were dragged into that lawsuit, and I’m just glad it’s all over. Can we talk about something else?

Sure. What do you think of rival French restaurant Bastille?

I think it’s a beautiful environment. The owner, James Weimann, was my partner at Peso’s, so I wish him well. I haven’t tried enough of the food to comment. recommended

8 replies on “Chow Bio”

  1. How exactly can you be “DRAGGED” into a lawsuit if YOU are the one suing? Sounds like false statements on the internet are something YOU like to partake in as well.

  4. I too had the misfortune of working at Peso’s-hands down the filthiest kitchen I’ve seen in 15 years of cooking. Unqualified people working in first world sanitary conditions. This guy had no background ( informal or otherwise) in cooking yet referred to himself as the chef. It shows-who would brag about ” a menu that’s alot more extensive”? Do a select number of things and do them very well, otherwise you come off as having ” Chinese restaurant menu syndrome”[No offense to Chinese restaurants]. 80 items indeed.

  5. I’ve been wanting to try Toulouse Petit for awhile now, but decided to look at some reviews first. Saw the Yelp reviews and noticed the owner’s replies. Ugh, sounds like such a douchebag. Then I saw this interview, and realized – yup, definitely a douchebag. Pesos is already not very good to begin with, but I am definitely telling everyone I know to avoid Toulouse Petit like the plague. I don’t care if the food is awesome, I don’t want to support this guy in any way.

  6. I must say, I am in fact an employee of Brian’s and I find all of this personal drama to be distasteful an downright childish. I can assure you that Brian is a sweet guy with a big heart, as well as a passionate restauranter. The food and environment at both of his establishments are simple proof of this. I can understand exactly why Brian addressed the negative comments in a swift and verbose manner. I KNOW he would have no problems with an honestly negative review, in this case however, some of the comments were obviously of a more personal nature and outright slanderous.
    We’re talking about a restaurant here. How is the owner relevant? In the long run, the positive feedback will speak for itself, and that’s the way it should be. Is the food and experience a positive one? If so, does anything else even matter?
    If you are so interested in vicariously living a dramatized life, then go watch ‘Gray’s Anatomy’ and stop picking on real people with real passion.
    You can also rest assured that I am NOT Brian, unlike the would-be slanderer that seems to be engaging under many a pseudonym.
    Cheers and good eatin’ all!

  7. funny, the guy who’s insulting all of his clients is not the childlish one? please foodiedesigner. your boss is rude. no owner of a restaurant should talk to his clients on Yelp the way your boss does. My review was true to my experience and he attacked me.

  8. great post again. thank you for your article, quite effective information. Generic Viagra
    these look absolutely mouth-watering. thanks for posting!ice post, i would like to request you to one more post about that keep it up

Comments are closed.