The Food of New Orleans

“New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin.” - Mark Twain, 1884

When your people come from all over the world, it is likely to show up in your food. New Orleans cuisine is like no other in the world, and people come from all over to sample its tastes and smell its fragrances. Few leave disappointed.

The Cajun and Creole foods of the city and south Louisiana are living examples of people adapting to their new surroundings and neighbors. Creoles are descendants of wealthy Europeans sent to establish New Orleans. Their taste tended to be richer with sauces and roux from the French, sausages from the Germans, spices and rice from the Spanish, and desserts and pastries from the Italians. These European descendants often intermarried or employed Africans from the West Indies or Africa who contributed spices, slow cooking methods, beans and rice, and the use of the tomato. Africans brought with them a vegetable used to thicken and flavor soups. We call this vegetable "okra," but the Africans called it "gumbo," giving the famous soup its thickness and name. Native Americans introduced the settlers to local vegetables and spices, including sassafras for file and bay leaf.

When all of these ingredients and cooking styles were shared between the cultures, we had all of the makings for now famous dishes: Gumbo, Sauce Picante, Red Beans and Rice, Jambalaya, Grilliades, Mirlitons, and other rich New Orleans dishes that can be found in restaurants and homes throughout the city.

Cajun cuisine developed on a different track. Cajuns were Canadians who were exiled from their native Arcadia in Northeast Canada. They settled in a very swampy area west of New Orleans where they had to learn to live on what was available locally. Luckily, they were in an area of abundant wildlife on both land and water. Cajuns (the name is a shortened form of Acadian) love to eat and love to cook. They celebrate life with food, music, and dance. The South Louisiana swamps provided them abundant shellfish, such as crawfish, crab, and shrimp, that they learned to cook with local spices including cayenne pepper. Local alligators are also eaten and can be found in dishes such as Alligator Sauce Picante.

The two cultures have blended so much that if you were to ask someone from New Orleans to explain the difference between Cajun and Creole cooking, most would not know, but could cook in both styles. As we say, we don’t call it Creole or Cajun. We just call it dinner.

New Orleans is also a city of restaurants. Prior to Katrina, thousands lined the city and ranged from inexpensive neighborhood restaurants that served up great dishes like Red Beans and Rice, fried seafoods, or a Po-Boy sandwich, to more expensive grand restaurants like Galatoires, Antoines, and Arnaud’s where waiters often inherit their jobs from their fathers and mothers. Most tourists are surprised at how inexpensive a delicious New Orleans meal at a local restaurant can be. While the city is a place tourists can have a grand time, it is also a place where people live and expect good local food—not unlike expecting good, cheap food at a local diner anywhere else in the country. So it is always recommended to have one grand meal and lots of local inexpensive dining experiences at places like Napoleon House, the Acme Oyster Bar, or Café Pontalba. Need a recommendation? Ask any local. They are always prepared to tell you their favorite restaurant or where they hope to eat next week.

Some words of advice for those visiting the city: