Coming from a hippy town in
California, New Orleans has been a drastically different experience in every
way. All of these differences can be exemplified by many different aspects of
New Orleans, but no part of the city’s culture is a better metaphor for the
city as whole than the food.
The most
important part of New Orleans living, to me, is living a lavish, extravagant
and excessive lifestyle, whenever possible. In this case, food is the most
common example. New Orleanians, in contrast to Californians, eat very, very
well, all of the time. Things like fried chicken, hush puppies and biscuits and
gravy are extremely common, and things common in California, like sandwiches and
omelets are made with butter, fat, and everything else that makes food taste good.
When my parents came to visit me the first time in New Orleans, which was both
of their first trip here, they were astounded about two things about the food.
First, they were surprised how delicious the food was but also awestruck at the
sheer caloric value (butter). New
Orleans also exhibits this attitude in other parts of its culture as well.
People come to New Orleans from all over the world simply to drink heavily and
party: something people choose to do just because of this excessive attitude.
Mardi Gras is a whole holiday centered around just that. People eat well, drink
better, and generally have a good time without regard for their health of work
the following morning.
New Orleans
is also a place with much history and tradition. From Mardi Gras, to all of the
festivals, to red beans and rice on Mondays, New Orleans has many traditions,
and more than anything, these traditions are food based. Guys Po boys is a good
example of the importance of tradition
to New Orleans. It was originally established in 1952, and when it was bought
from the original owner in 1992, the current owner was adamant about changing
as little as possible, despite the building being generally run down, but even
today he strives to keep Guy’s as close to the New Orleans institution that he
originally bought. Food festivals are another tradition that blends food,
music, art, and many other aspects of New Orleans culture. These festivals
include the Po Boy Festival, Jazz Fest,
French Quarter Fest, and many, many others which celebrate years of culture and
traditions. Most of these traditions come from a very long time ago and are
almost exclusive to New Orleans. New Orleans jazz music, as known as
traditional or trad jazz, is mostly still played the same way it was in 1925, and
is nearly unheard of outside of New Orleans, besides bands like the
Preservation Hall Jazz Band which tours nationally. Despite being founded in
1961, a time when jazz music was going in many progressive directions, the
Preservation Hall Jazz band still plays as if jazz is still in its youth. Just
like in cooking, New Orleans music has, in many cases branched out,
incorporating more modern rhythm and blues influence, though it is still, like
the streetcars and the rest of the city, somewhat living in the past. Something
similar can be seen in the restaurant scene as well. Eating in the French
Quarter or other touristy destinations, one mostly finds most traditional
creole food, but branching out one can find many more progressive restaurants
as well. The “new” Freret Street in a great example of these kinds of places.
These new restaurants on Freret, such as
Dat Dog or Company Burger, provide innovation to mostly fairly contrived
food, and fresh, high quality ingredients, something that is not found in many
New Orleans restaurants.
New Orleans is, and has always been
a very diverse city, and this is especially reflected in New Orleans’ cuisine.
This includes not only Cajun and Creole cooking, but also many other New
Orleans ethnic groups, such as Italian contributions like the muffaletta, and
Vietnamese foods such as Bahn Mi po boy sandwiches and Pho. So-called “New
Orleans” cooking is especially diverse, since it has so many influences from
old-world cooking traditions. Po Boy sandwiches for instance, take New Orleans
and southern ingredients and puts them on traditional French baguettes. Diversity is found even in different people
cooking the same dishes. When you order gumbo or jambalaya at a restaurant it could be drastically different than the restaurant
up the street or someone’s home cooked rendition. This can often come down to
ingredients, such as someone’s specific “trinity”, or influence from other
kinds of food, especially in contemporary New Orleans restaurants.
New Orleans may be living in the
past, but there’s a reason for it. People love to come to New Orleans to have a
good time, and in a city of plenty to
indulge your self in, the best part of living in New Orleans is the incredible
food. The New Orleans experience can be defined in an infinite amount of ways, hearing
old-school jazz music, getting shit faced on Bourbon Street, but if you ask me,
there’s no better way to experience New Orleans than a messy po boy sandwich and
a cold beer. So while you’re here, don’t worry, be happy, it’s later than you think.
