New Orleans, an undisputed culinary capital in the United States, is where people discuss what they’re going to have for breakfast, before dinner is even over. Inspired by the bounty of the Bayou, the Gulf of Mexico and the diverse cultures that have called the city ‘home’ for 300 years, the city is defined by the evolution of its Creole kitchen, a style of cooking that’s more than the sum of its varied parts.
French settlers harvested the local landscape and adapted their cooking tastes and skills, to the new ingredients. Choctaw Indians shared their knowledge of gathering and cooking local plants. Saffron and peppers were introduced by the Spanish.
Enslaved Africans brought in their own cooking methods, techniques and tastes. Cajun cooks introduced rustic French country preparation techniques (sauté, smoke, grill), and applied them to local farm, gulf or swamp produce.
Later, the city’s palate expanded to include specialties from Vietnam, Korea, Mexico and Central America. Despite the popularity of nouveau NOLA cuisine, traditional recipes continue to have a following.
Beignet bites
As soon as I land in the city, I head to one of its famed cafés offering the beignet. The official doughnut of Louisiana, it was introduced by the French Acadians in the 18th century, and is best consumed hot, fresh, robustly puffy, cooked to a golden brown and liberally dusted with powdered sugar.
Seafood rules
Just as New Orleans is a fusion of global cultures, so too is the gumbo. However, in a city given to experimentation, there are always playful variations afoot. I try gumbo with alligator sausage. Much of Creole cuisine, I learn, is founded in seafood. The oysters from the Louisiana waters are considered to be the most sumptuous. Oysters Rockefeller, a dish of Oysters on the half-shell, topped with a sauce of butter, herbs and breadcrumbs, is playfully claimed to be as “rich” as Rockefeller himself.
Po’ boy sandwiches
A grilled shrimp Po' Boy sandwich.
The stories behind the dishes are as fascinating as the foods themselves. In 1928, the Po’ Boy sandwich, originally called the “Poor Boy” was created by the Martin brothers (restaurant owners) to sustain striking streetcar workers. Today this portable meal is French bread stuffed with fillings (like fried shrimp and oysters). Your server will want to know if you want your Po’ Boy dressed – say yes, for a Po’ Boy layered with tomato, shredded lettuce, mayo and pickles, adding to its scrumptiousness.
Italian touch
Another city original is the muffuletta. Italian by birth and yet without counterpart in Italy, this sandwich is layered with selections from the local Sicilian deli — salami, ham, mortadella and sliced provolone cheese. With every bite I think of the massive Sicilian immigration here in the late 19th century and the ingredients they brought in.
Bananas Foster
Bananas Foster
As the late restaurateur Ella Brennan, who created the Bananas Foster (a dessert made of banana and vanilla ice-cream with a sauce blended from butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, dark rum and banana liqueur) remarked, “In New Orleans we live to eat!” This appetite for life, dining and community is so passionate, there’s even a festival to celebrate the crawfish (freshwater crustaceans, similar to lobsters). At a neighbourhood Crawfish Boil, friends and neighbours are warmly welcomed.
Regarding dessert, no matter which flavour you crave, the city has a praline (the nuttier cousin of fudge and a signature sweet here) to satisfy you.
But to merely eat my way around a city, which arguably invented the cocktail, feels amiss. And so, I head to the Sazerac House. This immersive museum explores the history of the Sazerac cocktail and the spirited culture of the city. It reveals that while the Sazerac cocktail evolved over time, its ingredients mirror New Orleans, in which it was born. The sugar and lemon come from local crops. The Herbsaint is a reminder of French absinthe. The rye whiskey is all American. The bitters are a potent blend. Worthy of a dissertation are the classic cocktails invented in this city. The Ramon Gin Fizz, Café Brulot, Vieux Carre and the Hurricane are guaranteed to give you a good night and a late morning. New Orleans makes it easy to believe in spirits.