Big Shot
At Palm&Pine, Chefs Jordan Herndon and Amarys Koenig Herndon use Big Shot soda to pay homage to New Orleans’ corner store culture.
illustration: Bashel Lubarsky
When Jordan Herndon and Amarys Koenig Herndon moved to New Orleans, they went all in on the city’s culture, going as far as changing their soda vocabulary from “Coke” to “Cold Drink.” Ingraining themselves in the local community, they began to recognize what anchors neighborhoods in New Orleans—small businesses, like your local corner store. “[The corner store] is very much a community hub,” says Jordan. “The buildings themselves go back 120-plus years, where they were a place of business or a grocery. You walk one block over from the parade, pick up your six pack or your cigarettes, and get right back in the party.”
These corner stores showed the Herndon’s whatNew Orleans’ hospitality is all about. “Your corner store, the one you’re a regular at, it’s even deeper than being a regular at a bar,” adds Amarys. “They know you, what you like, what you want, what your prices are, and there’s just a commitment.”
Some of the Herndon’s go-tos, besides Jordan’s tee shirts for $6.99 and Amarys’s hot sausage, egg, and cheese on a bun, are the elite packaged goods that New Orleanians have been hiding from outsiders. These include CheeWees (a.k.a the original Cheeto), some lesser known Zapp’s flavors (like Spicy Cajun Crawtators), and New Orleans own, Big Shot soda. “It’s right there with Crystal hot sauce, Zatarain’s, and Tabasco,” says Jordan.
COrner Store Crudo, Yellowfin Tuna, Pineapple Nước Chấm, Daikon, Fresh Herbs, Shrimp Chips
Chefs Amarys Koenig Herndon AND Jordan Herndon of Palm&Pine
Jordan’s first job in New Orleans was as a line cook at Arnaud’s Restaurant, where he worked beside “Mama Than,” a Vietnamese cook. “She taught me how to make nựớc chấm,” says Jordan. “I would make it, and it would never turn out like hers.” He recalls seeing Mama Than out of the corner of his eye, walking to the fountain machine and putting a drop of Sprite in hers.
Keeping it local, Jordan started putting pineapple-flavored Big Shot in his nựớc chấm at Palm&Pine. “Whenever we’re making food, the context is always the first thing we think of,” he says. “How do we make something feel like it’s a New Orleans dish?” The bright yellow, cloyingly sweet soda balances the acidity, fish sauce, and aromatics that are layered into their aptly named, Corner Store Crudo. Plus, the addition of shrimp chips acts as a fun ode to going to the corner store to pick up snacks.
To this day, the Herndons don’t have a vendor for Big Shot. They don’t get it delivered to Palm&Pine. Before service, they pick it up from the corner store.
