The rich culinary traditions of New Orleans cause people to base their entire vacation eating their way across the city. From roots in French cuisine to Creole and Cajun traditions, the influence of African cooks to Italian immigrants—don’t take a New Orleans vacation right after you’ve started a diet.
New Orleans takes its food seriously; surrender and let it take charge.
Creole and Cajun cuisine both came by way of France, and each uses roux (flour browned with butter) and local ingredients, but their paths to New Orleans cuisine differ. Creoles, born in southern Louisiana, blended with Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and African groups that settled in large numbers in the region. Cajuns settled in southwest Louisiana after they were expelled from Nova Scotia in the 1700s. Their food is largely “country food,” and not often presented as the refined “city food” that Creole cooking is considered. While many cooks argue over what makes something uniquely Creole or Cajun, it really doesn’t matter as long as the food is good.
Gumbo, the super soup of the region, is used in both Cajun and Creole food: Creole cuisine uses okra as a thickener while Cajun cuisine uses filé, or ground sassafras leaves. But jambalaya, a one-pot paella with meat, vegetables, rice and stock, is strictly a Creole dish. Cajun dishes are more likely to feature ingredients from the country, like crawfish. Cajun cooking also uses hot peppers and spices, so take a look at that bottle of Tabasco in your cupboard. It’s from Cajun country. Same with spicy andouille sausage.
5 Hot Picks
New Orleans can be frustrating to a food lover, because there’s just not enough time to try all the city’s world-famous restaurants. Give these five New Orleans restaurants a taste—they’ll quickly find a place on your list of favorites.
Bayona
Tucked into an old Creole cottage in the French Quarter, Bayona is a great restaurant for a romantic evening. Each of its three dining rooms has an individual theme; the courtyard is open on pleasant-weather days; and the intimate wine room feels like a hideaway. Chef Susan Spicer, who honed her skills in France, is a New Orleans treasure. Try the oyster and Italian sausage gratin with spinach, fennel and Parmesan breadcrumbs for a starter. Then dig into the artichoke and chorizo-stuffed rabbit-roulade with tomato-pepper sofrito. 430 Dauphine St., tel. 504-525-4455. www.bayona.com
-
The seafood platter at Brigtsen’s is also known as the ‘Shell Beach Diet.’
Courtesy of Brigtsen’s
Brigtsen’s
In a sweet Victorian house at the Riverbend in Uptown New Orleans, Brigtsen’s offers a delicious interpretation of Creole and Acadian (Cajun) food. Chef Frank Brigtsen trained for years under acclaimed Chef Paul Prudhomme. The roast duck with cornbread dressing and honey pecan gravy is a favorite of many regulars, but there’s something here to please everyone. 723 Dante St., tel. 504-861-7610. www.brigtsens.com
Cochon
Chef Donald Link opened Cochon (French for “pig”) in 2006. It features authentic Cajun cuisine and a special love for pork. “Cochon is a good place to go to experience upscale Southern/Cajun food,” says Robert Peyton, restaurant columnist for New Orleans Magazine and food blogger.
I’ve been “stuck” here during a rainstorm and spent the time trying most of the plates, but my favorites are the jalapeño spoonbread with stewed okra and field peas; the spicy grilled pork ribs with watermelon pickle; and the Louisiana cochon with turnips, cabbage and cracklins. Cochon Butcher, a neighborhood butcher shop, opened in January at the same address.
If you can’t get enough of Chef Link, check out Herbsaint—a restaurant that also benefits from his talent. 930 Tchoupitoulas St., tel. 504-588-2123. www.cochonrestaurant.com
More Insider Picks
“In the French Quarter, I like to take people to Broussard’s and to the Bistro at Maison de Ville,” says Robert Peyton of New Orleans Magazine. “Broussard’s isn’t as well-known as the other Creole Ladies [like Antoine’s, Arnaud’s and Tujague’s], but the food is good or better, and also more innovative.” The Bistro, still open after the Maison de Ville closed in December 2008, “is a tiny little restaurant tucked into a side-street off Bourbon. The food is consistently good, and recently they’ve improved the décor as well,” says Peyton. 727 Toulouse St., tel. 800-643-1600. www.hotelmaisondeville.com
Visitors should also try MiLa, in the Renaissance Père Marquette Hotel. “It features some very haute Southern/Louisiana cooking by a husband and wife team of chefs from Mississippi and Louisiana (thus the name) who spent some quality time earning their stripes in New York City,” says Peyton. 817 Commons St., tel. 504-412-2580. Milaneworleans.com
Lüke
Lüke features Old World French and German-style food, and is an homage to old-style New Orleans brasseries. Chef John Besh grew up in southern Louisiana and has a treasure of great local restaurants: Restaurant August, La Provence and Besh Steak. I heartily recommend the flamenküche, a thin Alsatian onion tarte with bacon, caraway and Emmenthaler cheese; the cochon de lait pressed pork sandwich (think roasted suckling pig); and the Lüke burger, which has caramelized onions, tomatoes, Emmenthaler cheese and yummy bacon. If you like licorice, get an Ojen Frappé, made with Ojen, an anisette formerly made in Spain. After the distillery closed, New Orleans bought up all the remaining stock. 333 St. Charles Ave., tel. 504-378-2840. www.lukeneworleans.com
Upperline
This contemporary Creole restaurant is in a rambling home packed with paintings, drawings, sculpture and photographs. All the artwork has been collected by owner JoAnn Clevenger, who is also the key person at Upperline to make you feel right at home. The fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade dish originated here, so you have to give it a try. If you’re new to Creole and Cajun cooking, try the Taste of New Orleans—a tasting dinner of some favorites; $38.50. 1413 Upperline St., tel. 504-891-9822. www.upperline.com
Next: Neighborhood Spots
Comments
1 Comments on this article | read all commentsby DC on February 17, 2009
New Orleans Restaurants This article made me hungry.