Henry Parsons Project (Pasadena, CA)

Henry Parsons Project Pop-Up
541 S Arroyo Pkwy, Pasadena, CA 91105
626-755-0518
www.henryparsonsproject.com
Fri 07/18/2025, 08:00p-10:25p





A recent birthday dinner brought me out to Henry Parsons Project, a whimsically-monikered, sporadically-operating restaurant that I only found out about last year. The place opened in late 2020 as a pandemic-era project, and its name is a reference to the 1993 song "Henry Parsons Died" by Widespread Panic, a Georgia-based rock band. HPP is the creation of the husband-and-wife team of Chef Kevin Irvin and Kari Irvin, while the food served is based on American Southern traditions, but with plenty of influences from other parts of the world.

About the Chef: Kevin Dale Irvin was born in May 1970 and hails from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area. He took on an interest in food at an early age thanks to both parents, with his mother instilling his initial curiosity about cooking, while his father set him down the path of Creole and Cajun cuisine, largely guided by the cookbook Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen. During high school, he met future life/business partner Kari Amundson (b. October 1972), from nearby Burnsville, and the two would eventually get married in 2004. Kevin worked in the film industry, and his career eventually brought the couple to the Los Angeles area, where Kari mostly toiled as a history teacher at the high school level.

Kevin was eventually forced out of his job, and given his considerable cookery skills, the Irvins decided to start their own food business called Little Lily's Kitchen. It bowed at the beginning of 2013 with a focus on meal delivery and catering for weddings and events. Things were chugging along quite well until the pandemic struck in 2020, when they had to change gears. Thus, they debuted Henry Parsons Project on November 6th that year as a takeout-only pop-up concept, which lasted until April 2021. Following, HPP reopened that May for veranda dining, though somewhat sporadically given that the catering business was picking back up again. A liquor license was then secured in August 2021, and by the end of the year, indoor dining had been instituted, which is basically where we stand now.




Henry Parsons Project resides in a building that was once home to Margarita Jones, and Manana way back in the day. It's a pretty large space, though not all of it is in use, and aesthetically, the dining room has been given a darker-toned makeover more befitting of the concept. There's also quite a bit of seating out on the patio, which is actually where most diners were.


Here we see the Henry Parsons Project menu, a strictly à la carte affair, though there used to be a tasting menu option. To drink, you'll find a decent wine list as well as a selection of beer, along with a smattering of cocktails. Meanwhile, corkage is $20 a bottle, limit two, but was graciously waived tonight. Click for larger versions.


fried oysters, remoulade [$14.00]
Deep-fried oysters featured crispy exteriors set against creamy, briny insides, and paired like clockwork with that extra pickle-y rémoulade on the side.


today's biscuit: angel biscuit, butter [$6.00]
Our angel biscuit wasn't quite as fluffy as I was hoping for, but was nevertheless rather tasty, and made a whole bunch of sense with a smear of that soft, sweet-ish butter.


To drink, I brought along a bottle of the 1982 Château Pavie, hailing from Bordeaux's Saint-Émilion region. First whiffs were surprisingly lively, with a healthy amount of tangy red cherry layered over a woodsy musk. Initial sips brought soft tannins and plenty of acidity, along with loads of sous bois commingled with leather and barnyard, all supported by an undercurrent of dark fruit. As the evening progressed, the wine became "bloodier" on the nose, as well as more herbaceous, but there was still plenty of cherry pie character in there, while the palate got even silkier, with again, more iron notes and cherry. Overall, I'd say that the 43-year-old claret made a fine showing for itself tonight.


tempura king oyster mushrooms, Alabama white sauce [$14.00]
King oysters showed off that firm, gratifying texture I was looking for, along with light, crispy battered exteriors and an herby astringency. The 'shrooms were enjoyable alone, but even better with a dab of that white barbecue sauce, which possessed its own zippy kick.


today's gumbo: duck and andouille [$13.00]
Unsurprisingly, our bowl of gumbo looked like pure comfort, and tasted like it too. I feel like I don't encounter duck all that often in gumbos, which is a shame, since the bird was pretty great, working hand-in-hand with the sausage and slight heat in the dish, while I also tasted a very distinct earthiness that I'm assuming was from the use of filé powder. The accompanying rice served as the perfect accompaniment (reminding us a bit of what you get with Hainanese chicken), and I liked the countering zestiness of those green onions, too.


NOLA-style striped bass courtbouillon, marinated tomatoes, Tuscan kale [$31.00]
Striped bass arrived with an aggressively smoky, heavily-charred skin that contrasted with the fish's tender, juicy, briny insides. I enjoyed the subdued heat present, along with those juicy tomatoes, while the kale imparted a marked bitter element.


crawfish étouffée, Cajun rice [$30.00]
The etouffee managed to be a table favorite, and for good reason. The savory, oceany flavors of the crayfish were forcefully conveyed, and married flawlessly with that rice, while once again, those chopped scallions served as the perfect accent piece. This was something you just want to eat a big bowl of.


fried chicken, West African peanut sauce, collard greens, sweet potato chip [$24.00]
A rather large piece of fried chicken showcased an assertively crunchy crust as well as supple, succulent insides. Collard greens demonstrated that earthy-bitterness I was looking for, and I didn't mind those sweet potato fries, either. However, the hero here was clearly that peanut sauce, which had this lovely nuttiness commingled with a bevy of bright, vegetal flavors and a spicing that reminded us of cumin.


Parsons Project shrimp & grits, lardons, mushrooms [$34.00]
Irvin's version of shrimp and grits satisfied, with the namesake shrimp coming out well-seared, full-flavored, and effectively accompanied by the fatty-salty smack of the bacon. The sweet, "corn-y" nature of the grits was also very evident, and I enjoyed both the incorporation of mushrooms and the brightness of that cilantro. My one quibble here was that the shrimp were cooked somewhat more than I would've liked.


hickory smoked grilled Duroc pork chop, blackberry bbq sauce, slaw [$36.00]
The pork was also a success thanks to its well-charred exterior, smart seasoning, and firm, juicy flesh. At the same time, the sweetness of the berry barbeque sauce wasn't as overwhelming as I'd feared, meshing easily with the chop, while the creamy zing of the coleslaw was just like I wanted.


A short menu of desserts and after-dinner libations. Click for a larger version.


peach cobbler, peach ice cream [$12.00]
Desserts ended up be complimentary (I'm assuming because we ordered so much), and our first was a tasty take on a cobbler, one with a particularly enjoyable ice cream that really made the dish for me.


Dessert beer duties were handled by the 2025 Horus PPR (Red Label), a quintuple barrel-aged imperial stout successively aged in Evan Williams barrels for 14 months, Larceny barrels for 10 months, Old Fitzgerald barrels for 9 months, Henry McKenna barrels for 8 months, and Elijah Craig 23 Year barrels for 6 months, with Papua New Guinea Planifolia/Peruvian Planifolia/Reunion Island vanilla beans added. On the nose, this was like a decadent chocolate brownie laced with vanilla. On the palate, think thick, dense, with loads of dark fruit, cacao, and of course vanilla, supported by an umami quality that actually recalled both soy sauce and hoisin.


strawberry pie, chantilly cream [$12.00]
Last up: a fairly classic strawberry pie that reminded me a bit of the similar pies my parents bought from Coco's during my childhood (not a bad thing).

Given this place's sporadic hours, I'd actually been trying to come here since late last year, but I'm glad that I finally made it out. Chef Irvin describes his cooking as "global soul food," and indeed, that sums things up rather succinctly. I definitely get the cuisine's basis in Southern tradition, and I think the kitchen's able to weave in just enough outside influence in a pretty seamless manner. If Henry Parsons Project were open like a normal restaurant, my guess is that it'd be a go-to spot of mine in the area.