New Orleans Cuisine Basics
New Orleans Cuisine is best represented by one of its most
famous dishes: Gumbo. Gumbo is a soup that is a combination
of many different ingredients. It can be made with seafood,
chicken, sausage, vegetarian, or a combination of all of these.
That's what New Orleans food is all about. Over the years we
have assimilated the best aspects of French, Spanish, African,
Carribbean, Central American, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc., cuisine
and blended it into a gumbo that is uniquely New Orleans.
"Creole" food is a catch-all classification for most of the food
we eat in New Orleans. There are sub-categories, such as Creole-
French and Creole-Italian. Gumbo is Creole. So is Oysters Bienville.
Most French and Italian restaurants in New Orleans are "Creole," in
that their cuisine reflects their New Orleans roots as well as their
Continental ones.
Creole cooking in New Orleans crosses just about all racial and ethnic
lines. There's not much in the way of classic "Soul Food" in town,
because everyone eats the same basics, and they're Creole. In fact,
there is only one restaurant in town that can even be classified as
a "Soul Food" place, and that's Dooky Chase's.
NO!!! The trend of "blackening" meat, chicken, and fish was
popularized by Chef Paul Prudhomme (K-Paul's Cajun Kitchen).
"Blackening" has become a part of our cuisine as Prudhomme has
grown more and more popular, but there is much, much more to
New Orleans food than just this aspect.
Yes and no. Red Beans and Rice at Mother's is pretty spicy, but
Chicken Rochambeau at Antoine's is quite subtle. There are some
restaurants (like K-Paul's) where much of the food on the menu is
spicy, but that's not typical of all New Orleans food. One of
the reasons you'll find one or more kinds of red pepper sauce on
the table at many restaurants in town is because tastes for hot
food vary even among locals.
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