A Taste of New Orleans

Boy, does this city love to eat. And boy, does it offer visitors a range of choices. Thanks to influences from French Provincial, Spanish, Italian, West Indian, African, and Native American cuisines, it covers the whole span from down-home Southern cooking to the most creative and artistic gourmet dishes. New Orleans is one of the few cities in America that can justify a visit solely for cooking and cuisine.

Many of the famous dishes here started out as provincial French recipes brought to the New World by early settlers. Native Americans introduced the settlers to native herbs and filé (ground sassafras leaves); the Spanish added saffron and peppers to the mix somewhat later. From the West Indies came new vegetables, spices, and sugar cane, and when slave boats arrived, landing many black women in the kitchens of white slave owners, an African influence was added. Out of all this came the distinctive Creole culinary style unique to New Orleans. Later, Italian immigrants added yet another dimension to the city's tables. In addition, many traditional Old South dishes remain on menus. Keep your eyes peeled for the now rare "Wop salad" (containing olives, shrimp, asparagus, and topped with anchovies), a contribution of the aforementioned Italian population, and a victim of political correctness, even though said Italians didn't mind the name (in this context) a bit.

From this international past, residents of New Orleans have inherited a love of exciting culinary combinations, and from the city's old-world traditions, they've retained an appreciation for fine service in elegant surroundings. There are lots of ironies here, too; you can get gourmet dishes served in the plainest of settings and plain meals (such as boiled crawfish or red beans and rice) in the fanciest of eateries. New Orleanians are voracious restaurant goers and are notoriously strict in the qualities they expect from an eating establishment. If a place is below par, it probably won't last very long. And woe to any classic restaurant that dares to remove a beloved dish!

You Got Your Cajun in My Creole!

Cajun and Creole are the two classic New Orleans cuisines. What's the difference? It lies chiefly in distance between city and countryside.

Cajun cooking came from country folk -- the Acadians who left France for Nova Scotia in the 1600s and, after being expelled from Canada by the British in the 1700s, made their way to the swamps and bayous of rural Louisiana. French dishes traveled with them, but along the way recipes were adapted to locally available ingredients. Their cuisine tends to be a lot like their music: spicy and robust. Etouffée, a classic dish, features sausage, duck, poultry, pork, and seafood prepared in a rich roux and served over rice, while jambalaya is rice with many of those same ingredients cooked in it. Both demonstrate how to turn a little into a lot, a necessity for an often-poor people. Creole dishes, on the other hand, were developed by French and Spanish city dwellers and feature delicate sauces and ingredients of fancier quality.

In practice, however, the two cuisines have discovered such a happy marriage in New Orleans that it's often difficult to distinguish between them. Because Creole is already such a hodgepodge -- there are so many different ways of defining it that two entirely different restaurants might correctly call themselves Creole -- it may soon swallow up Cajun food as just another influence. Paul Prudhomme of K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen calls the result of Cajun and Creole cross-fertilization "Louisiana food." He goes on to say, "Nowhere else have all the ethnic groups merged to combine all these different tastes, and the only way you'll know the difference, honey, is to live 'em!" No matter how a New Orleans restaurant classifies its culinary offerings, you're bound to find one or two examples of Cajun and Creole cooking on the menu.

Chuck Taggart's Red Beans & Rice

Chuck Taggart is a native New Orleanian currently residing in Los Angeles. For more than 10 years, he has been a music programmer and DJ, producing and hosting Down Home on KCSN, 88.5 FM, a program featuring Louisiana music and roots and traditional music from around the world. He is the creator, author, editor, and Web master of the Gumbo Pages (www.gumbopages.com), a site devoted to Louisiana music, culture, and cuisine. He recently produced the critically acclaimed box set Doctors, Professors, Queens and Kings: The Big Ol' Box of New Orleans. A noted "cocktailian," he also aspires to become a chef -- if he can ever tear himself away from his cushy day job.

Red beans and rice is the quintessential New Orleans dish, traditionally served on Monday. It's going to take a little practice before you get it right. You'll probably want to fiddle with it each time you make it and arrive at the exact combinations of seasonings you like. Feel free to alter this recipe to your taste, but don't stray too far.

1 pound dried red kidney beans

1 large onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

5 ribs celery, chopped

As much minced garlic as you like (I like lots, 5 or 6 cloves)

1 large smoked ham hock, 1 big chunk of Creole-style pickled meat (pickled pork), or 3/4 pound smoked ham, diced

1 to 1 1/2 pounds mild or hot smoked sausage or andouille, sliced

1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed

1 or 2 bay leaves

Crystal hot sauce or Tabasco, to taste

A few dashes Worcestershire sauce

Creole seasoning blend or red pepper, to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Fresh Creole hot sausage or chaurice, grilled or pan-fried, 1 link or patty per person, for serving (optional)

Pickled onions (optional)

White long-grain rice, for serving

Add 1 teaspoon (or to taste) liquid-smoke seasoning

Whole Lotta Muffuletta Goin' On

Muffulettas are sandwiches of (pardon the expression) heroic proportions, enormous concoctions of round Italian bread, Italian cold cuts and cheeses, and olive salad. One person cannot eat a whole one -- at least not in one sitting. (And if you can, don't complain to us about your stomachache.) Instead, share; a half makes a good meal, and a quarter is a filling snack. They may not sound like much on paper, but once you try one, you'll be hooked.

Several places in town claim to have invented the muffuletta and also claim to make the best one. (Some fancy restaurants have their own upscale versions -- they are often delicious but bear no resemblance to the real McCoy.) Popular opinion, shared by the author, awards the crown to Central Grocery. But why take our word for it? Muffuletta comparison-shopping can be a very rewarding pastime.

Judging from the line that forms at lunchtime, many others agree with us that Central Grocery, 923 Decatur St. (tel. 504/523-1620), makes the best muffuletta. There are a few seats at the back of this crowded, heavenly smelling Italian grocery, or you can order to go. Best of all, they ship, so once you're hooked -- and you will be -- you need not wait until your next trip for a muffuletta fix. Take your sandwich across the street and eat it on the banks of the Mississippi for an inexpensive romantic meal (about $13 for a whole sandwich). Central Grocery can make up their sandwiches early in the day, so they are ready to go as the rush hits. This means you can sometimes get a sandwich that is just a bit less fresh. Go early, to get them shortly after they are constructed, or later, if there has been a big rush, forcing production of more later in the day.

Then there are those who swear by the heated muffulettas served at the Napoleon House, 500 Chartres St. (tel. 504/524-9752). Others find them blasphemous. We recommend that you start with cold and work up to heated -- it's a different taste sensation. Feeling experimental? Go to Nor-Joe's Importing Co., 505 Friscoe, in Metairie (tel. 504/833-9240), where what many consider outstanding muffulettas are constructed with such iconoclastic ingredients as prosciutto and mortadella. Even bigger than the ones at Central Grocery, these are so good they have been known to make converts to the cult of Nor-Joe!

A Snoball's Chance

While towns across the USA enjoy ice cream (and New Orleans is no exception), New Orleans does have another iced dessert that is especially popular among the locals: the Snoball. These mouthwatering concoctions are made with only the best-quality shaved ice, sometimes so fine, skiers envy the powder. And the flavors -- including exotic ones such as wedding cake (almond, mostly), nectar (think cream soda, only much better), and even orchid cream vanilla (bright purple and must be seen to be believed) are absolutely delectable. You can order them with condensed or evaporated milk if you prefer your refreshing drinks on the more creamy side. At any time of the day during the hot New Orleans summers, lines at local snoball establishments can be out the door. You should stop in at any snoball stand you see, but the following locations are tops and worth the drive uptown for, though you should call for hours because they vary, especially during the winter when they might be closed entirely. Go with a sweet-tooth and get plenty of napkins.

Hansen's Sno-Bliz, 4801 Tchoupitoulas (tel. 504/891-9788), is a city tradition after decades of service, still provided with a smile by the third-generation owner Ashley Hansen, who officially took over after her grandparents died in the months after Katrina. Her grandparents invented the particular shaved ice machine in use here and their own special syrups. Their snoballs come in a souvenir cup. Try the bubble-gum-flavored Sno-bliz. Plum St. Snoballs, 1300 Burdette (tel. 504/866-7996), has been cooling New Orleanians for over 70 years. Local favorites include the chocolate and cream vanilla-flavored snoballs. Served in a Chinese food container, the way it ought to be.

Back to Top

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

		Email			Print			RSS

				Frommer's New Orleans 2008 Author: Mary Herczog Pub Date: December 26, 2007 Price: $16.99				Related Titles: Frommer's Atlanta, 10th Edition Frommer's Maryland & Delaware, 8th Edition Frommer's Nashville & Memphis, 8th Edition