N’awlins

 

Our flight from New York to New Orleans was early. Very early. We were in a cab to JFK before dawn and our departure was bittersweet. I was so sad to say goodbye to the city but excited to visit the South. We were welcomed in N’awlins with warmer weather and compared to the East Coast it was positively balmy. Our cab driver was a surly woman and as we drove on the freeway headed for the French Quarter we went past the Louisiana Superdome, which was home to so many people when Katrina hit. Although it has been five years since the disaster, the city still bears the scars and I was in two minds about whether or not it would be right to visit. But I was glad we did, especially because so many locals were grateful for our tourist dollars.

In reality, the main reason for our visit was the food. New Orleans is a melting pot – France and Spain both occupied the territory at one point – and this is evident in their unique cuisine. For me the attractions were dishes like gumbo, jambalaya and crawfish etouffee. To me, Southern cooking is the ultimate in comfort food and there is nothing more comforting than fried chicken. We had heard that Willie Mae’s Scotch House on Saint Ann Street served up the best fried chicken in town.

It opened under the direction of Willie Mae Seaton, who was the head chef and a master of fried chicken. The restaurant was badly hit by Hurricane Katrina but it was rebuilt by the local community with donations and the time of volunteers. The journey from rubble to a thriving restaurant was even the subject of a short film, which you can watch here. If you have a spare ten minutes, I would recommend watching it – you really get a sense of how important the restaurant is to the local community. Never underestimate the power of fried chicken.

Actually, it was the best dining experience I had in New Orleans because it felt so genuinely welcoming. The food is honest and delicious and you really get a sense of the pride that Willie Mae has in her cooking. It was exactly the Southern dining experience that I wanted to have. If you are ever in New Orleans, I would definitely add this to your agenda. It’s not in the French Quarter, and I wouldn’t walk there alone, but it’s worth a visit.

Hands down, the best fried chicken I have ever tasted

Greens and rice served with fried chicken

The French Quarter is a beautiful place to visit. It’s filled with lovely old buildings and musicians playing on the street corners. It really seems like a unique part of America. But Bourbon Street is a seedy, lecherous strip lit up with neon lights, bars and pulsing with frat boys filled with beer and cheap cocktails. We were there in the weeks after the Saints (the New Orleans football team) had qualified for the Superbowl but before their historic win and we were also there in the week before Mardis Gras. So really, the city was relatively quiet and preparing itself for an onslaught of tourists and celebrations.

The rest of the meals were a bit hit and miss. We mainly stuck to the French Quarter (we were warned by hotel staff and a number of locals not to wander outside the boundaries because it was not safe at night) and I think we were subject to the curse of ‘tourist food’. We visited Acme Oyster House (a landmark) for oysters, po’boys and gumbo. The oysters are a lot larger, briny and creamy but not to my taste. I think I haven’t quite mastered the texture and the plump oysters were a little too much for me but plenty of tables around us were ordering platters and platters and happily gulping them down.

Root beer at Acme Oyster House

Another landmark restaurant is Johnny’s Po-boys. Po-boys are actually short for “poor boys” and they are sandwiches on French bread. They were named po-boys because these sandwiches were first served to striking streetcar operators for free and when they turned up for a feed, people would say “here comes another poor boy”. Our tour guide also told us that they were also served out of the back of kitchens and would be filled with whatever leftovers they had from the day and sold to the “poor boys” for cheap.

Menu at Johnny’s Po-boys

Johnny’s Po-boy restaurant

Café Du Monde is an institution in New Orleans, a coffee shop serving up café au lait and beignets, and it is open 24 hours. It is filled with tourists wearing fanny packs and souvenir t-shirts, sipping on overpriced coffees and chomping down on beignets drowning in icing sugar. The most intriguing thing about the café was not its signature dish but the Vietnamese waitresses. I know that sounds odd but in the corner of the courtyard, next to the line of people waiting to place their orders, was a big steaming vat of pho surrounded by fresh beanshoots, basil, mint, lemon and other pho condiments. The waitresses on their break sat huddled around the table, slurping loudly on their lunch almost oblivious to throng of tourists around them. It was actually strangely comforting (pho is another favourite of mine).

Jambalaya

I wish we had a local to help us find the best restaurants. In fact, there is a walking culinary tour of the French Quarter but unfortunately we were unable to make a booking. I think that would be the perfect way to explore the area. But we managed our own culinary tour. I tried fried chicken, jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish etouffee, alligator (which tasted strangely of battered sweet and sour pork but I think that’s the way the restaurant prepared it), beignets, po-boys and catfish – I think we did alright…

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