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Laissez les bons temps rouler! Eatocracy is in New Orleans this week getting ready for the second edition of our Secret Supper. We'll be sharing the people, purveyors and places that make this such a significant food town, and hope you'll join in with your questions, memories, restaurant suggestions and general bonhomie. The young man with the broad, gold-capped smile slammed the van door and picked up the microphone. "My name is Anthony, and I'll be your shuttle driver today. If this is your first time in New Orleans, there is one thing you need to know: eat all the food you can. You cannot go wrong with that." Perhaps it's possible to find someone within the New Orleans city limits who is neutral on the subject of food – agnostic on the provenance of the city's best po-boy (or for that matter, how to spell it) and content with a frozen burrito on a Monday night when by all means they ought to be having red beans and rice. Chances are they just haven't been in town long enough for a local to set them straight, lead them by the hand to a proper coffee shop or sno-ball stand and then maybe on over to the house for Friday night gumbo. Don't worry about them – it'll happen, because goodness, do New Orleanians love to talk…and argue……and educate…and opine about food. It's who they are, and what has kept them going, even when their very way of life was in danger of being swept away forever. "Here in New Orleans, we hear a great deal about good eating; our enthusiasm for food is unending. A familiar scene in New Orleans restaurants is a table laden with spectacular food surrounded by New Orleanians eating happily while already planning their next meal," wrote cookbook author Rima Collin in her 1975 introduction to "Brennan's 417 Royal St.: A Souvenir Cookbook." The statement - and the restaurant - still stand. McCarthy attributes a certain amount of that intrinsic passion to the city's ethnic underpinnings and cultural Catholicism. "Fusion before fusion" is how he refers to Creole cooking. While the French made it their mission to maintain canonical cooking practices in the region, Spanish, African, Indian and other influences began to meld with it and form an entirely new cuisine. The Catholic calendar, along with the progression of the seasons, defined times for food-based rituals and celebration. On Fridays between Twelfth Night and Fat Tuesday, no matter the secular or non-secular nature of a school, often there will be King Cake. Children learn to bite down gently so as not to chip a tooth on the small baby figure that may or may not be baked into their slice. The lucky recipient of the baby is crowned as royalty for the day and bears his or her prize home proudly to parents who might be less enthused; they're on the hook for providing the next week's King Cake. This, needless to say, does not happen many other places in the country. As McCarthy puts it, these New Orleans food traditions transmute into the "rhythm of who and where you are." Radio host, culinary activist and cooking teacher Poppy Tooker attributes the city's food fixation to catholic tastes – in the lower-case sense of the word. "It transcends gender and race," she says. "You walk down the street and you hear everyone talking about what they ate and where they got it. It might be a group of women. It could be a bunch of businessmen talking about the meat they shot and how they're going to cook it. It's just everybody." People in New Orleans are passionate preservationists of their city's food history, for it is a massive part of what has sustained them. Coming in as a first time visitor, it's impossible not to notice in the structures and the statements: every event is couched as "before the storm" and "after the storm." Bustling new eateries – more than 300 of them established in the past five years – abut grand dining halls that have served up pommes soufflé, Oysters Rockefeller and shrimp remoulade for over a century. Tooker refers to these restaurants – Galatoire's, Arnaud's, Antoine's and the like – as "living food museums." Says she, "In France, they'd forgotten about some of these dishes. They're oddities. We'd never stopped making them." She continued, "The average New Orleanian is only happy if she walks into one of these places and the Trout Meuniere and ideally even the waiter are the same as when she used to come in with her grandmother. Everything has to remain the same. You end up with a perfectly preserved food culture." And yet these living, lively culinary artifacts and new ventures coexist with buildings and entire neighborhoods that still sit derelict after Hurricane Katrina. The residents live among, as Richard McCarthy says, "complicated layers of decay – the marvelous ghosts and tragic ones." What's the first thing you grab when the floodwaters are rising and you don't know when or if you'll ever see your home again? Many people didn't get a chance to make that decision, and many never made it out. Despite the city's intrinsic connection with food, very few people's first inclination was to stash a suitcase full of family recipes, comb-bound cookbooks and New Orleans-specific ingredients. They were just happy to get out alive. Those who did, waited. Disallowed entry back into the city for many weeks, and unsure what damage might greet them upon return, many residents sought shelter elsewhere and hungered for home. Lu Brow, a cocktail book author and bar chef at the Swizzle Stick Bar at Loews Hotel, took refuge with her family in Shreveport, Louisiana, for six weeks. Bereft of routine – or anything else – and in terrible fear of being a burden, she had a hot dinner and cold cocktails on the table for them every night. "I had to have something," she said. She cooked her childhood favorites, like brisket with roux gravy, chicken and dumplings and endless red velvet cakes and pies for them. They loved it. Still, she knew she had to go back and dreaded telling her ailing, elderly father that she was going back to the unknown of post-flood New Orleans. "I know you are," he told her. He gave her a $2 bill he'd been carrying in his wallet since 1922 saying, "I didn't raise a quitter." Poppy Tooker did not take kindly to exile either. She and her family, who had been staying with family in Baton Rouge, fought their way back into the city as soon as they were able, and she sprang into action. She and Richard McCarthy collaborate closely on the Crescent City Farmers Market. It was founded, in large part, as an homage to the New Orleans markets that in the 1800s were, on any given day, home to over 400 fruit, vegetable, game and seafood vendors from every corner of the globe. In 2005, however, the market had become a nexus for several dozen local farmers, fishermen, bakers and food artisans as well as a deep cross-section of the population who relied on the vendors for fresh, affordable food. It closed on August 27, as the city was hearing its first warnings about the storm that was bearing down on the Gulf Coast, and McCarthy and Tooker tried desperately to communicate with their vendors to see if they had made it through. An e-mail came through from Kay Brandhurst, the market's "Shrimp Girl." She, her husband Ray and their four children had made it out, but they had lost their home and their boat – which was their livelihood. She asked not for aid, but for work. She got a miracle. Members of the Slow Food movement from across the country banded together to provide sweat labor, PR muscle and financial assistance. On Tuesday, November 22, when the Crescent City Market reopened, shoppers returned and hugged the stuffing out of Brandhurst, who was there with a truck loaded up with fresh shrimp for her customers' Thanksgiving feasts. It has not been an easy haul for Brandhurst and her family. Left homeless after the storm, the six of them lived crammed into a one-bedroom apartment above a pain clinic, with a daily 4 a.m. journey to pick up the night's haul, get the fuel for the boats and get the kids to school. She did her best to maintain her family's morale, but it wasn't easy. "There just wasn't much open, even if there wasn't any damage," Brandhurst says of the local markets. "There was a Save A Center nearby, but it was eerie and creepy and they didn't have much. There was never a 'so what do you feel like eating?'" Respite finally came one day. "We were dying for fried shrimp. All of a sudden one day, I could get some shrimp. I didn't have flour or fish fry. I fried it up with pancake batter and I swear, we still talk about it. That fried shrimp is the best thing we ever tasted. Food is where it's at!" Tooker also recalls the grimness of the post-Katrina grocery stores. "When the grocery stores reopened, there was no butter, and just no place for anyone to buy fresh food." Then one day – a glimpse of normalcy. She says, "Way up on the top shelf, under the generator lights, I saw a package that looked familiar and I pulled it down. There's this bakery called Brocato's that had just celebrated their centennial, and I'd heard that they'd gotten five feet of water and I couldn't find the owners. I figured I might never see these cookies again, so I bought maybe 20 packages of them." Tooker continued, "I was sitting on my couch surrounded by all these cookie boxes and I saw this sticker on the side, next to the centennial sticker, and it said 'Best by August 2005.' I started crying, saying I should just get a tattoo that said the same thing because that's going to be true of all of us." Still, little by little, hope shone through. The chefs came back and had to face the horrifying prospect of cleaning out their walk-in refrigerator that had been without power for days or even weeks. Tooker recalls sitting with chef John Besh in his flagship restaurant August as they planned fundraising strategies. Besh and his team had been using August as a home base to feed relief workers 20 hours a day in the wake of the flood. She recalls, "He had a truck parked out front with a hose coming through a knocked out window in the front so they could get fresh water, and still, I couldn't believe this, he kept apologizing for the flies. It was so surreal." After the worst had passed, the city's restaurants rallied. Says Tooker, "No matter if it was a little sandwich shop or a grand place, Each restaurant that reopened was a little bit of victory. Customers would be crying when they saw each other; they hadn't known who was still alive." As McCarthy says, "As we were swiped about from one trauma to the next, the anxiety of losing it all created sense of kinship and an attachment to the taste of memory. In this crisis moment of Katrina we had to fight like hell to defend our traditions, and chefs and cooks showed extraordinary creativity. Juggling tradition and innovation – that’s the story now." Today, five and a half years later the city is changed, but not broken. Poppy Tooker does a star turn around the Crescent Street Market. Fans of hers and Richard McCarthy's come up for a hug and to show off their purchases of fresh satsumas, Creole cream cheese (the method for which Tooker helped preserve from extinction) and Cajun grains rice. Kay Brandhurst is also in attendance, vending fist-sized, sweet-smelling Louisiana shrimp from the back of her truck. The BP oil spill dealt a blow to her business – but not from any physical peril to her family's hauls. She assures buyers that seafood is more rigorously tested that at any previous point in history. Still all but two of her 80 vendors outside of the region have dropped her, saying that their customers still just don't think it's worth the risk. After all she's weathered, Brandhurst still has faith in herself and the system. "I think I can do anything now. I try to accept life for what it is, and I trust that [BP claims administrator] Mr. [Kenneth] Feinberg will get it right." "You're an eternal optimist," teases Tooker. She's displaying a little bit of faith herself today, buying several pounds of Brandhurst's shrimp to make an etouffee for guests that afternoon. She's got no qualms about its safety; she just knows that it tastes like home. "This is the kind of dish that got us through." Later this week: Leah Chase and why she matters and Poppy Tooker's shrimp etouffee recipe More good reading: The New Orleans Food Timeline | 'Cooking Up A Storm' | Poppy Tooker's Louisiana Eats! | In Katrina's Wake | Crescent City Farmers Market | Kay and Ray Brandhurst |
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Had shrimp etouffee in an Anthro class as part of a familial food culture exchange class project. Amazingly tasty stuff!
Katrina happend years ago, stop talking about the dam storm and rebuild already. Yes it sucks and will go down as a great tragedy in American History. The fact remains the city is populated by over 80 percent of the population living off the government. I feel no sympathy for those people. I have lived through the same situation all my life living in Houston and in Galveston.
Have empathy much?
I remember visiting New Orleans for the first time right after Katrina. Even though the city was empty, my stomach wasn't. I appreciated the great gumbo I got on a street corner. That is New Orleans. NOT Katrina.
http://www.travelbyfork.com
I will not entertain the stupidity of most of these remarks, we have heard them all before. What I will say is that New Orleans will always be my home. I cried every day I was away. My mama's house is more beautiful than ever ; she paid for it with her OWN money too, not the governments. I look forward to coming home on much needed leave, I am in the military. I always plan my trips to which place I want to get a poboy first to what bands and bars I will visit every night. We make the most out of our lives and our fun in New Orleans. We have seen dark times and that is why we enjoy the light at the end of tunnel so much. People need to stop being haters and just be positive.
I don't think food saved New Orleans, I think it was OUR LORD JESUS!!!!
RE NOLA is so "soulful" and music and food are its backbone . . . .
While other states and cities pride themselves on agriculture, technology and the arts, NOLA is busy trying to make a living selling po' boys and hawking sex on street corners and ripping off wide-eyed tourists who just "love" the people but for some reason or other don't want to live there. Oh, and that jumble of car horns and reeds and tubas that make music. It is godawful.
Otherwise, great economy, loser city.
LOL
I have been to NO a few times and found the city to have very friendly folks that have alot of heart and soul. I cant say for anyone else's opinion, I personally feel the city's tenacity is part of its heritage and magic. Qualities i aspire to and have kept me going. , New orleans is a unique jewel in a sea of uneventful towns with mass marketing as an excuse for culture...
Kartrina food = MRE
I'm a native New Orleans girl -moved away 22 years ago and STILL call it home. New Orleans is one of the most unique cities that ever existed. My children have never lived in New Orleans and still consider it "home". The food is phenominal, music is suberb, and wow - what a great place to go to college!!! All of the derogatory comments on this site are from moronic individuals who just can't get through a day without being ugly about something. God bless your poor pathetic sorry souls.
Well, I for one am a NYC girl who is more than happy to be going to NOLA, arriving March 7th with my husband and we can't wait to eat everything we can, drink everything we can, see and do everything we can and spend our money there. It will be our first visit to the birthplace of jazz and after all we've heard, wish we were leaving tomorrow!
You go Bayou Girl.
from a Gentilly expat,
Sante!!
Thanks Eileen!!!! :-)
I got married in Eunice, LA 1981, I'm still married. We lived in LA for 2 years, I've got to say that out of all the places we have lived over the last (almost) 30 years, that I loved living in LA. The people there made me feel at home, I was far from home -Jackson, MO. Food was GREAT ! I want to go back this year, can't wait for the Cajun food. We visited New Orleans many times, Love that place !
As a native now living as an expat, it is so good to see that in many ways my home has rebounded from not one but two disasters. I know that some are tired of hearing about Katrina and maybe even BP, but those that tir of hearing about it never had to go through it and they are missing the most important element of each story, the never say die spirit of those who have come back and are trying to make NOLA the vibrant city it once was. There are those that want to see a lot of changes, such as closing down Charity Hospital where I was born, to them i say change is good but not all change is good.
The Gulf coast is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Let's help it thrive. It's not just New Orleans but an entire region and ecosystem that must be preserved! And yeah, mmmmm... Gumbo! Peace!
For those of you who are sick of hearing about new Orleans and Katrina- you need to take a trip down and see that even after all this time things are not even back to 50% of what they were pre-Katrina. Maybe you should come and lend a hand to someone who is still living out of a tent or someone else's home. These people were just begining to regain their barrings when the BP spill happened and put a stop to the progress that was being made. Stop the complaning and think about if you yourself were put into that positon!!
THANK YOU! You hit the nail on the head, cher!
It took my husband and I three years to get home after the storm, because, well, we lost everything. We were just finally getting our bearings back when the oil spill happened and companies began laying off employees (and subsequently shut down.) My husband and I both lost our jobs, and with the NOLA economy being what it is right now, we had to relocate to Houston six months after the spill. (That's when the savings finally ran out, unfortunately, and Texas seems to be the only state with a semi-stable economy.)
I miss New Orleans so much, it hurts. That city is, was, and always shall be my first love. Lord willing, we'll be coming back home in a year or two.
The food that saved me during Katrina in NOLA was MREs.
Now that is a rational comment.
I'll bet you're invited to all the kids parties.....
You might imagine that in person I try to be far more gentle than I do in a brief paragraph online. Would you prefer that I weep and gnash my teeth?
I would prefer you to be bound by your feet, tied to the back of a cigarette boat powered by at least 3 outboards and be dragged all over the Gulf of Mexico for approximately 3-5 hours. Maybe then, that hair that has become lodged so firmly up your arse will be washed out and you, my friend, would lighten the hell up.
I'm from up North (the Northeast, to be exact), but, one, you think *Cajun cuisine having originated in **New Orleans** * is a myth? Try the myth that NOLA is built below sea level! (You didn't hear THAT myth until KATRINA!, now, *DID!!!!* YOU!!!?!!!) My gosh!, if all of the "Big Easy" were below sea level, then, darnit, how the heck do you explain the so-called "sliver by the river" (New Orleans neighborhoods that suffered less [or any?] damage from Katrina)!?! Number two(@Stephen:), if you don't like New Orleans (or Atlanta, New York, London, Miami, Philly or whatever), that's YOUR business! With New Orleans still recovering from Katrina (in no small part by rebuilding), the last thing the city needs is your negative comments toward same. (Toward N.O., that is.) Besides, as another poster commented previously, the city played so big a part in American culture that it isn't funny. As said individual also pointed out in the same comment, it is the birthplace of jazz, not to mention that New Orleans played a big role in the early development of rock 'n' roll. (Speaking of rock 'n' roll, NEW ORLEANS EVEN BIRTHED THE TOP-40 RADIO FORMAT! [And rock 'n' roll is rooted at least partially in the South in general as it is.])
@David: What part of my posts seemed to indicate a dilsike of NOLA? I will say however that saying it's the birthplace of Jazz is facutally incorrect. Put aside the rampant emotion for one moment and remember that people make that music, not a place, and who are you to decide what is a better outcome? You think the food of NOLA was borne of a happy story?... come on. Who's to say that your nostalgia isn't keeping people from:
1.) A better and safer life.
2.) New music, new food, without losing any of the old.
So much fear here, and so little fiscal responsiblity.. yet it's a good Red state. You realize that music and food have nothing to do with why NOLA was saved, right? OIL. GAS. The MOMENT the risk-reward tips in favor of another city or region, you're done, just like Detroit. You can point at other cities, and they have their problems too, some as or more severe. Still, you seem to really need to focus on one thing a time, so lets stick with this. Oh, and don't even bother with your "birthplace of ******" nonsense; like the "right way" to hold a knife or throw a strike, you can smell BS a mile away coming off unfounded and uncited declarations.
I live in Colorado–great scenery, terrible food. I go to New Orleans as often as I can and come home unable to wear anything but my sweats, and it's worth it!
@ANW: That's what Lisa *MEANT*!: neither New York City nor the L.A. neighborhood or suburb–I forgot which–of Northridge weren't knocked after 9/11 and the '94 earthquake, respectively, but, yet, New Orleans, LA "gets dumped on" after and as a result of Hurricane Katrina. There's a double standard to this **somewhere**. Is it because New Orleans was more heavily African-American even at the time Katrina was forecast? And even if it weren't that heavily black, could the double standard be because New Orleans is located in the South? Just asking, yo.
Well let me ask how you fell about huge cities being built and rebuilt on a faultline? Putting the past aside (NO is back, we can't sell it out, same with LA), when the next disaster occurs... should it be rebuilt in the same place? If it never occurs, fantastic, but IF it does... what then? We can't afford to lose those economies, so we saved them... it pays us back in theory. The same is true for NO... you do know that right? If you think that every city that "dies" is saved, go to Detroit or ~95% of DC. You got dumped on by people who were upset that:
1.) It's not clear that NOLA is salvageable in PRACTICE, although in theory it is.
2.) NOLA is a port, and could be replaced... the day that is more financially and politically feasible, it will be done, you realize that.
The world is not a static thing, and this desperate attempt to preserve something very visible at the expense of less visible issues doesn't strike me as anything, but selfish.
@Nola29 – I hate to tell u this, mon amie, but it's not only cities that America has a laissez-faire attitude towards, judging by the comments. Sammie – save me some food! ;)
You mean like your attitude towards anyone who probably doesn't share your particular subset of values? I'm so impressed it aches, but don't be insulted when I pass on the seafood fromt he gulf for the next 20-30 years. You just keep that faith in Uncle Sam and your "Aime ton prochain". I wish you the enormous amount of luck you'll need, for personal, practical, and moral reasons.
This article made me hungry and made me miss my home. Good food and good people.
The food and the people... I'm asking this genuinely: can they exist outside of NOLA, or is there an inextricable link. Im not talking about the pure romance, I mean is it the people and what they bring that makes the place, or the place that makes the people?
Tsk! Such insensitivity. Is this the best we can give each other? So-called 'Voice of Reason'- if you know what it's like, then you of all ppl should have more sympathy. @Barre – I'd love to!
If you need a sensitive environment I don't think the comments section of CNN is a place you want to be. You may also want to consider that in your sympathy, you're actually concerned about those elements of NO culture you like, not its actual long-term wellbeing. I'm not hearng a lot about the great police culture, or race relations... possibly because that's not the part you care to save or emphasize?
I sympathize with anyone who's experiencing pain, but that doesn't stop me from examining the realities. Remember, flood-waters, high winds, economic diffiiculties and all of those other things don't care to be sensitive... they just ruin lives. I'm hearing a lot of love for NOLA from people who are doing well there, but not so much considering how much poverty exists. Oh right... those people are probably too busy to comment here about their outrage, so you can speak for them. PHEW. One thing, you might want to check on their needs and desires before you do that, especially if you expect to be taken seriously.
Ah, and nothing says, "trying to sound like a school marm" like good "tsk" in writing, Losing the affectations may help you as well.
To Ryan, Stephen, and the rest of the bitter, angry little people above,
Please keep your attitude in your town that has apparently made you very unfriendly and negative. Maybe you will never understand the rhythm of New Orleans culture. We are tired of hearing your complaints in New Orleans as well.
Some of you Debbie Downers have posted your poison more than once. That is astonishing to me, but I may not understand the rhythm of your towns.
Have a nice day,
Jazzfester
I don't believe I claimed to understand your culture, which would be arrogant and absurd. I do however have some understanding of the other issues involved that are pertinant to those of us who wish to be realistic. Still... Debbie Downer?... am I also a "Don't Be" or shall we go back to radio?
I'm also impressed that you manage to begin your post with insults that at no point have been made my me at least, and end with that lovely sentiment that I assume is code for **** you. You remind me of those fine upstanding religious folk who say they'll pray for you like they're throwing knives.
Well, thanks for showing us the mature way to belittle others who are simply stating their views, injecting an element of reality into your pre-'50's fantasty. I'd wish you a nice day, but it would be insincere... I can't honstly say that I wish you anything good or bad.
@ Stephen: It reads: AMONG the best in the world...not the BEST in the world! And of course, Nola29 has facts to back her/his opinion up...yours is subjective but thanks for the compliment! Have a great evening! Viva la New Orleans!
You want me to argue semantics.... all food is "AMONG" the best in the world, including K-rations. You're either removing the meaning and intent of what Nola was saying, or simply being rhetorical. Either way, I'm unmoved, but you have a fine evening as well.
Not arguing anything but if you misread, then you MIS-answer! LOLOL!!!!! You wanted everyone to know your travels because you think that makes you more of an expert to answer if NO has the BEST food, whereas it read AMONG the best!! Say what you mean, mean what you say. Rhetorical!? Mmmm.....I won't bother, you will probable read it wrong and I'll never get a straight answer from you! LOLOL!!! Have a great day!!! Viva la New Orleans!
@dnote: The damage that Katrina did to Mississippi made the news all right: it's just that New Orleans got more play than even NOLA suburb-slash-next-door neighbor Chalmette, Louisiana. Why? Simple!: BECAUSE NEW ORLEANS IS A MAJOR CITY!!, ***THAT'S!!!*** WHY!
@dnote: The damage that Katrina did to Mississippi made the news alright; it's just that New Orleans got more play than even suburb/next-door neighbor Chalmette, LA. Why? Simple, BECAUSE NEW ORLEANS IS A MAJOR CITY!!, *THAT'S!!! WHY!
New Orleans cuisine is among the best in the world. What is amazing is that our cuisine is completely independent of the region around us. Although dominated by American culture, New Orleans has blazed its culinary trail and the results have been astounding. Although Creole cuisine (Jambalaya, Gumbo, etc...) dominate the culinary horizon in the city, other cuisines are embraced such as Cajun, Spanish, Mediterranean, you name it. As the cuisine shows, New Orleans is as much a lifestyle as it is a place.
Among the best in the world you say?! Interesting, I've traveled my entire life and while the style is often impressive, the ingredients excellent, and the service friendly... there's much better in the WORLD. How much have you traveled to draw such conclusions, especially when your take on the history of the food is so very high in romance, but low on facts or even a source.
John you are an idiot, Bayou Girl you are probablly a die hard democrat. If your pissed off at your insurance coverage, then read your policy on what your paying. Dont have insurance then dont complain. It's not like this hurricane popped up over night. Because all of the people that decided to stay after ignoring all the warnings, then you want my tax dollars to send emergency personnel into save you risking their lives as well. Sorry no sympathy from me. When life kicks you where it hurts, you get up, dust your self off, and keep going. You dont sit on your arse waiting for Uncle Sam to come bail you out. I lost a home in Ike. I know the feeling of losing everything, but I got of my arse, and rebuilt the home with my own two hands.
As one comment said up above, you want some cheese with that wine!
@The Voice of Reason: You think this is a PARTY issue?... get over yourself. Calling people idiots isn't going to help, and failing to aknowldge the role that "uncle sam" plays in KEEPING people in NO is purely ignorant. I'm realistic, but you just seem pleased to see something fall apart. In short, you sound like the usual child-nihilist who styles him/her self as "Libertarian". I call that being able to see problems, but unwilling and/or unable to entertain solutions. Should NO be rebuilt?... no. Should people be stuck in trailers and told to WAIT and then come home? NO. If you're going to be an ***, be useful too.
I am not PISSED off any my insurance company as I do not live in NO but if you recall or research, alot of insurance companies never had the definition of flood insurance in their policies. For example, when GA flooded, some people had to leave their homes and start over because of the same reason but by that time, regulations had change and people were able to cover themselves if they were located in what is considered a "flood zone". Your repeated chants of do it themselves, dust yourself off, etc. are really your lack of research on what the communities, city and State of Louisiana is/are/have done to rebulit the city. I hope you just stop making comments for the sake of just having to rebuttal, because you are no VOR. Have a great day!
I agree with you... this is clearly a sign of the "the end of days" :P
Look, if you dont like NO for whatever reason, fine, stay away. But the argument that the city shouldnt be rebuilt is ludicrous. Our country owes a lot to this city. Washington was built on a swamp. So was Chicago. Huge swaths of land are below sea level in Scandinavia. Just go visit NO and I promise you'd change your tune.
I love you crazy New Orleanians. There aint nobody like y'all!!! See ya soon.
It's not a matter of what is liked or not liked, it's a matter of what is or is not sinking, and whether or not federal money is spent to stop the process. I've visited NO, and it's beautiful, soulful as others have said.... I loved it. Still, it's a dead city walking, and infusions of cash just lets you savor the corpse a little longer while the rest move on. I'm sorry that such an interesting place is going down the tubes, but it is what it is. I'd rather see my Federal dollars spent getting people like NolaMom and her kids OUT of harms way, not protecting antiques; the places and people.
First of all, a great deal of this city is above sea-level. Second, there are ways to protect this city. On your logic we need to abandon every major city that is in harms way. Would you be willing to abandon San Francisco? New Orleans has a culture that has defined America. Jazz was started here, and New Orleans had a huge influence on Rock'N'Roll and Blues. New Orleans has existed for 300 years and has centuries before her. Honestly, if the United States believes that New Orleans is not worth saving, then New Orleans (and Louisiana) should not have to be subject to the ignorance of this viewpoint. New Orleans has plenty of assets it could use (oil, and ports) to pay for the restoration of its coast and construction of levees.
Once your gross generalizations are removed... there aren't many candidates that match. "First of all, a great deal of this city is above sea-level."... I'd add, that less of it is every day. You let your protections go through mismanagement on the state and federal level, and now your city is dying. It's a pity, but don't expect people to care as they might for Chicago. NO is a port city, and otherwise it's purely cultural... welcome to the Realpolitik. You think that trying to save NO wouldn't just cause more diffuse pain that is less culturally sensitity? Please.
New Orleans's economy, although hurt by Katrina, has rebounded. New Orleans has a vibrant movie industry, a huge culinary scene, oil and natural gas, tourism, and two huge port systems. New Orleans is a city of 1.2 million people, this is well worth saving considering we account for 35% of Louisiana's population. Has it ever occurred to you that if the wetlands near New Orleans were allowed to erode all the way and our port system to die, then the Mississippi River would not be navigable? The sediment would build up and collect and large ships would not be allowed to navigate the river. America is amazingly ignorant when it comes to the amount of services this city provides. Oil pipelines, ports, etc.. pass through this city. New Orleans is a city well worth saving, and any other country would realize this. America's "laissez-faire' attitude towards its cities is allowing the degradation of some of the country's most important economic assets. New Orleans will survive with or without your tax payer dollars, but an investment now will save the country huge financial burdens from not having this region in the future.
Now we're talking, and if a case is to be made for NO that's the one to make. In fact, and don't kid yourself, the gas and oil is the reason why all of those other industires (except for movie) are there. The port-nature of NOLA is precisely what gave rise to its culture in the first place, so let me ask you:
Would you rather spend billions upon billions when you will INEVITABELY have to completely rebuild (yes, I would argue this for SF, LA, etc), or take that opportunity to move away from the disaster area? The people make the culture, which is why the economic recovery in NOLA is so tied to the return of people there. Look at Detroit... that's the result when a city becomes defunct... without the culture and port... you just have the people. NO has a real culture to share, Detroit may not, so I'd say that part of saving your culture is moving it.
We're always happy to put tigers in cages in the name of saving them from the inevitable, but people will stay until they end in poverty and death. Are you paying attention to the huge population that doesn't WANT to return, or would take another option if it existed? Your zeal is admirable, but it's essentially self-serving at the expense of those who are always left behind, such as NolaMom and her 8 kids.
Your logic is not feasible. There are easy ways to help New Orleans. New Orleans can easily survive with sound levees and an asserted effort to rebuild the wetlands. The New Orleans region has 1 trillion dollars in infrastructure. And you missed my point. The ports of New Orleans (Port of New Orleans and Port of Louisiana) cannot be moved. If the river were to recede to New Orleans, then the sediment build up would halt river traffic which is a crippling proposition for America. Also, moving an entire city is not feasible. Many American cities lie on or near fault lines (LA, SF, Memphis), many are vulnerable to oceans (Charleston, New Orleans, Miami, etc..) and many lie in tornado alley. You cannot move all these cities. New Orleans has existed for almost 300 yrs now. This is the first time that the city has been crippled by a disaster. It is better to spend the money to build up the defenses of the city than abandon a trillion dollar infrastructure that cannot be replaced. I agree with you that the people are New Orleans's top asset. However, the culture of the city is a product of its history and its environs. New Orleans's history is constantly around us. We have huge Creole mansions, huge cemeteries, and many other assets that make this city truly unique. We are not the Carribean and we not America....we are New Orleans. And we all acknowledge the problems the city faces here and are aggressively fighting those problems. However, this is not a time for America to spit on us while we are down and insult our people and our culture. New Orleans has the culture and the infrastructure to make it an essential part of this country.
"Your logic is not feasible. There are easy ways to help New Orleans. New Orleans can easily survive with sound levees and an asserted effort to rebuild the wetlands."
You're right, but it hasn't happened and isn't happening. It's not going to happen because the interests that bothered to rebuilt NOLA do not care about its longevity. That may be short-sighted on their part, but until I see some evidence that anyone "saving the wetlands" isnt just laughed out of congress, sad as that is, I wouldn't bet on NOLA. I don't see the point of further discussion, as we clearly can't agree on the basic realities. Now, NOLA HAS had the investment, so don't think I'm advocating that it be left... that period has passed.
Let me ask you this however... lets say, and forbid this happening, the biggest catagory 5 hits NOLA, the levees fail, and Katrina is made to look like a pleasant memory. Now we have a choice again, rebuild, or relocate. What do you do? Feel free to apply this to any city you like, but please account for the political and economic realities. For example, NYC is built on swamps, but it's going to be rebuilt as often as it takes for many reasons, not the least of which is economic. That said, if the place were hit by a city-buster (a few megatons) nuclear weapon, that would have to be moved.
I'm not against NOLA, and I'm not saying that places should be razed and abandoned because of what MAY or may not happen at SOME time. I'm saying that when these events occur, we need to be more careful and aware of the situation. You may have noticed that NYC is taking more time with 'ground zero' reconstruction that NO has taken for the whole STATE. I find that more than a little disturbing, and if anyone thinks that cuisine which was BORNE of portability, and culture can't move, simply haven't studied human history.
It is a bit ironic after all... NOLA wouldn't exist except for the transient nature of humanity in the long-term.
The investment to fix the levees is there. 16.1 billion dollars have been spent by the corps to shore up and improve levees throughout the city. The coast is a more complex issue. The oil spill shined a huge light onto that issue. The army corp is about to do a 3 billion dollar coastal restoration near New Orleans. These investments are all necessary for the long-term viability of the city. And call me optimistic, but I believe they will work. The army corp needs do more to fix the coast of the state. The coastal issue is complex. The oil companies were allowed to go into the coastal wetlands and dig canals. Salt water from the gulf entered the fresh-water bayous from through these canals and killed the swamps. Louisiana has lost land the size of Massachusetts over the past few decades. And despite the butchering of the coast, the federal government refused to let Louisiana have any oil revenue even though Texas and every other state amassed huge personal fortunes off oil.
Louisiana could fund many of its own project if the government gave the state more oil funds (we started receiving some after katrina, but not even close to the amount Texas receives). New Orleans and the surrounding region can solve these problems. After all in 5 years, we have drastically reformed our public school system and have weeded out huge amounts of corruption in local governance.
If a category 5 hurricane hit and destroyed New Orleans, then the economy of Louisiana would collapse. The New Orleans metro area accounts for 60% of the state's revenue. Assuming we were devastated again, then I would say America does not have a right to own the state of Louisiana and Louisiana should be given the option of leaving and being able to tax boats on the river and receive 100% of its oil revenue. What is the point of living in a Union if the Union doesn't care if you exist or not?
I understand your position, especially as a resident, but you must know that the USA would never let a state cecede? This is why, despite the grim outlook, I'lm pointing out that 16.1 Billion at LEAST is invested: look at what is being prososed as spending cuts from the NIH and sciences to basic programs. You don't have to like reality, but the fact is that NOLA has made its money through tourism and fossile fuels. The former is always unstable, and the latter is passing. Instead of seeing this as a death, I might consider what an amazing thing it is to have had it for any period of time.
You are doing a real disservice to the American People by promoting the consumption of seafood from the Gulf Of Mexico. It's toxic. I would not eat that if it were the last food on earth.
I know the people of Louisiana count on the seafood industry, but risking the welfare of our nation's health is not worth its promotion.
@Brian61- Yes Brian people need to read our history for facts. I am in total agreement with you when you say how our country has changed. However, I disagree that people of NO have not rolled up their sleeves and rebuilt. If you research and even visit NO the progression of the city has been through citizens rolling up their sleeves and rebuilting. The assistance that FEMA provided were a mere $2k for families that lost everything. Even insurance policies were being DENIED because they claimed it didn't cover floods! Are you kidding me?! So most citizens of NO have not had any choice but to roll up their sleeves and rebuilt the city themselves. And the cost of supplies, new building standards, codes etc. has/will cost more than the woods buildings/homes which were rebuilt in Galveston. Is anyone tired of hearing about the Trade Centers tragedy?! No because the insurance companies didn't deny the city over 90% of their claims and the families received more than enough compensation for the many lives lost. We live in a world full of emotions and unweighed opinions! People wake up!!!! Viva la United States!!!!!
News flash! Everyone's home city is the best in the world! (Except mine)
NO sure does have some good food though. And I like to hear the stories of how people actually help other people.
But seriously? I mean, c'mon...C'MON..........c'mon?
Wow – all this fuss over some "good ole supper"
I live in SW Louisiana – my home, city, friends & neighbors were devasted by a less media covered Hurricane Rita – less than a month after Hurricane Katrina ~ Cameron Parish was totally wiped out, there was not even remants of buildings left after that Cat 4 storm blew through; Calcasieu Parish suffered tremendously. The loss of life was less in our area (by God's Grace) but the damages to homes, bldgs, business, etc has been reported to be equal in dollar amounts. Sometimes it's a little disheartening when you still see your friends, neighbors and people struggling to recovery, rebuild and continue on – just as I'm sure some of the folks from Mississippi must feel as do some of the folks from Texas must feel trying to recovery from Hurricane Ike. Maybe even some of the people from Florida – you know they had a few years with back to back Hurricanes too and some people seem to get all the help, breaks and no one even remembers, no one offers a little bit of concern or care ~
The start of Hurricane season makes me a little nauseated – just the possibility of what might happen – but you know – this is my home – this is my culture, this is my food, this is my life – If we get a little help recoverying – Thanks, if we don't – that's ok too –
We will be just fine – more than anything we ask for your prayers and kind thoughts
If you don't want our seafood – that's ok – we will eat it – we love it. We've been eating it for years and yes we know the risk – but this is our lives we can't live our life in fear of everything –
Sometimes "You just do the best with what you got"
We wish our neighbors in New Orleans the best ~ Glad they are getting a llittle hand up and ask that if they have a spare moment – they send the same wishes this way to us – Because we ARE Louisiana – North, South, East, West – Cajun, Creole, RedBone, RedNeck – whatever you choose to call us –
We love our state & We will be just fine!
Good grief people, it's an article about FOOD, good food at that. Enjoy it and get off the politics, race, etc.!!
All of you ignoramuses should read "The Great Deluge".
Vive La Nouvelle Orleans!
@The Voice of Reason: Can you please re-read what you wrote and tell me how reasonable that is? First and foremost, in any situation you will see people do ridiculous things when they are given money, its what's most important to that individual, the WHYs we have no idea. But to base ONE incident on the whole city thinking in the same capacity as ONE or TWO or a FEW more purchasing BIG SCREEN TVs is a comment from an IDIOT not a reasonable person of thought!!!! Hell, I think I would have had to purchase a couple of bottles of BOOZE myself to help me through that mess!! FEMA's checks were all that great either! And we know your harsh comments are directed at the BLACKS-EBONICS really? And yes Bush IGNORED the people of New Orleans as well as their mayor and governor! Before you call yourself making reasonable comments or the voice of reason, please please research, get your facts together and don't just form a reasonable opinion but a concrete intelligent one as well!!! Have a great evening! Viva la New Orleans!!!!!!!
Yeah, and let's not rebuild California and the west every time there is an earthquake or forest fire. Those people should know better than to keep living over the San Andreas fault and in the desert!
And WDINDallas, I'll take an american citizen down on their luck ANYDAY over all of the illegal immigrants here in Texas. Texas tax dollars pay for them to learn SPANISH in the public schools in Texas, USA!
FYI CNN, New Orleans is CREOLE, the rest of south Louisiana is CAJUN, north of Baton Rouge is BIBLE BELT.
Vive La Nouvelle Orleans! Vive La Louisiane!
Come on Eileen......
Where you see distinctions, you shoudl be aware that the rest of us simply see "Southern". You think anyone except a Cajun, Creole, or Bible Thumper gives a rat's behind what you call yourselves? It's not just NOLA people couldn't care less about kid, it's your entire state, because without NOLA you're just a swamp and a port of call.
If you want to know how much our country has changed, compare the 1900 Hurricane that hit Galveston with the 2005 Hurricane that hit NOLA. There was NO advance warning of the 1900 Hurricane. ALL of Galveston was under at least 12 feet of water at the apex of the storm. EVERY structure on the island suffered damage ranging from significant to total. There were so many dead bodies, they could not bury them all. The bodies were weighted and thrown out to sea. But without any FEMA, without any federal aid, without any federal rules and regulations, the citizens rolled up their sleeves and rebuilt their city in a matter of weeks. Read the history books, you will be amazed. The survivors in Galveston did not need federal handouts, and they did not expect any. In the generations that followed FDR's New Deal, however, look how things have changed. Was Katrina a huge tragedy? Absolutely. But a much worse tragedy is how "progressive" policies have destroyed the can-do, self-reliant spirit of many Americans.
Very well said my backside! Yall are all being nieve! This wouldn't fly any where else in the United States. However, since New Orleans is made up mostly low income families, corrupt political officals only our for votes with the promises of fame and fortune, your buying into it. Any where else in the US if this would have happend the city would have rebuilt in half the time and never heard about it again. We are going to hear Katrina this and Katrina that for the next 100 years. Give me a break.
@AleeD – very well said!!!!
Wow... I am taken back by some of the insensitive comments which are posted. When people voice that they are tired of HEARING, READING, SPEAKING of Katina, it makes me KNOW that they have NEVER been through anything that has been so life changing....not just losing your home and other material possession, but a lot of people lost their family members...some saw theie family, friends, neighbors floating by unable to help because they were awoken in the mist of flood waters and they are trying to find higher grounds themselves as well as save others...like children! People were stranded for days amongst the dead humans and animals with food, shelter or water. And YEARS later, when or if you ever pass through NO, there is still devastation. Everyone has a right to there opinions, even if they are hard and/or heartless. But those comments have me thinking that those who say them, are they ENVIOUS and/or JEALOUS of the people in NO\Louisiana? Of there culture, survivial, resilience, dedication and committment? Yes the Mississippi coast was devastated and lives where lost, but they didn't wake up to flood waters and they weren't stranded amongst the dead either! Whatever makes a community, country, city get back to what can be normal, I say GREAT! Food, laughter, dance whatever! And Ryan, if I am paying taxes (government) and find myself to be unfortuately in a disaster, you d@mn right my hands will be out!! I paid my taxes for such. To all have a great day!!! Viva la New Orleans!!!!!!
Sadly it's as simple as having empathy (for the insensitive louts, that means "putting yourself in someone else's shoes") for the plight of another person or being. They say the hateful things they do because (a) they can't imagine something like that happening to them or (b) dig in emotionally and refuse to envision themselves in that (or similar) situation because they're afraid they wouldn't be able to handle it as well as the survivors being spotlighted. Sad.
I laughed and cried at the memories this story brought back. I remember walking into a Winn-Dixie in Destrehan, La. 2 weeks after the storm to buy plain old French's Classic Mustard. There wasn't any. No mustard. No mustard of any kind. That Winn-Dixie was the only store open all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and everyone on their way back into Metairie and New Orleans stopped there to pick up bread, cold cuts, and condiments. It was a tragic time, but I'm very proud of the progress we've made. Sad to say, my husband's investing in a business in Houston took us away, but La. will always be home and I will always know what it means to miss New Orleans. God bless the people and the city of N.O.
Sure, go ahead and eat up. Everyone knows that you can always believe the government and media when they tell you something's safe. A few spices here and a few spices there and you can hardly notice the dispersants or oil. And if your kids are born with gills and webbed feet, so much the better if you happen to live in bayou country.
BTW, luv the Star Trek trivia!
Jerv, Catie, and Erin-amen! Where is the empathy and civility? That lack is what is hurting our country. Never been to NOLA, but with food and ppl like that – heck, I want to MOVE there!
Come on down, Dizzy... we love company!
New Orleans is a fun town. However, it's also one of those towen that is fun to visit, but even better to leave. Good food, good music, piss poor hospitality at best.
As for all the other talk, it's hard for me to support a city where living off the system is a way of life. Let me make it really realy simple for everyone in the Big Easy, if you want something in life you have to earn it. There is no such thing as a free lunch. The people do not deserve the same finer things in life that the average, middle class American enjoys just because you can breathe and speak (And I dont mean ebonics either). Taking a FEMA check and spending it on booze and a flat screen TV give me a break! Your house is falling down and mold is growing everywhere but heck, you got a nice 42" TV.
As for the Bush comment above that he ignored the people in New Orleans, someone needs to check the history books. Your stupid mayor and govenor ignored their people, because they didnt want the state to incur the expense moron!
Since when was New Orleans "saved"? What about the story on here just days ago about tens of thousands of abandoned homes and businesses full of squatters? If NOLA has been saved, could you please call the "victims" who are living all over Tulsa back home? They're skewing our crime statistics.
Lots of words, but it don't say much. It left out Naw'lens four basic food groups – shrimp, oysters, crab, and crawdads.Fresh out the bayou every morning. The best meal is a couple of pounds of each, boil them up (oysters raw), some fresh baked French bread and some beer. All the food, from po'boy to Galatoires, is based on these.(a side note on Gallatoir's – check if they take credit cards now. Back in the day, they didn't, so we had to bring a wad of cash; But Felix's around the corner is cheap and has fresh oysters raw or cooked a 1/2 dozen ways). And the Cajuns do know how to cook!
This is a wonderful feel good story about the difficulties of getting back on you feet after a disaster. It would seem that the people of NOLA are doomed to repeat this in the future because they can't come together to fix the problems of storm surge, but they can all come together to make some seafood dishes. Focus people!!!!
I never respond to blogs, but a friend sent me this article and I made the mistake of reading the comments. Here's the skinny:
For Louisianians outside New Orleans: Get over your anger about the attention New Orleans receives. We only get it because it's where tourists land. I love my state – THE WHOLE STATE – but we all know the masses reach the rest of the state through New Orleans. So instead of slamming it, you should be celebrating it because the tourism dollars spent here help everyone in the state. I have worked in hospitality for my entire career, and I promise you one thing: from the bus boy, to the valet parker, to the hotel housekeeper, to the sales manager, we tell tourists to get outside of the city to taste the full flavor of Louisiana. The reason media focuses on New Orleans is because we are the flagship city for this small portion of the country. No one knows better then New Orleanians that we were not the only ones who suffered. We feel for our neighbors in Mississippi, the coastal towns of Louisiana, Lake Charles, as well as Texas. We feel for the flood sufferers in Nashville and Middle Tennessee, the tornado victims in Oklahouma, the Earthquake victims in Haiti, and last but certainly not least, ALL victims of the 9/11 incident. I have never heard a neighbor or friend trash anyone else like we in New Orleans have been trashed. It makes me sad. We can talk about the devastation of many people/towns...it's all relative. We should support each other or shut up about it because no matter where you are in the world, the next disaster could be yours. And I wouldn't wish that on anyone!
Great post, NOLA Girl !
God Bless you Nola Girl, I do not know how you all got through it emotionally, but you are all an example to the rest of us. ( and I am not referring to the prisoners who escaped and trashed the city ) I know who you are as a people and I am proud to know you
shout out to skegee
It is good to hear the encouragement that such an article promotes and recognizes. When a lot of the media seems focused on sex and violence, it's refreshing to see news that doesn't focus on the two. I'm praying for the residents of New Orleans and those that haven't returned. May we all appreciate even the simplest things like a good meal with family and friends.
Cajun food may be the greatest thing to ever happen in this country... Just thinking of it now... Damnit... At work...
I would have to agree.
As a Yankee my fond memory was visiting friends and getting a shrimp po boy from Gater Corner (a corner gas station) and eaitng it on a dock on the Bayou Corn. Now that corner gas station is a dirty nasty casino like they all are. LA has so much to offer. Too bad the drive through is marred by casinos all over.
I understand that most of you are sick of hearing about Katrina, BP oil spill and New Orleans. It is just like I am sick of hearing about the snow in New York City, Oklahoma City and Chicago. The snow melted and the residents still had their homes, their hospitals, their schools, their resturants, their roads, their family and their jobs.
Spot on!!!
Touche'
Can I get the recipe for that shrimp dish? It looks sooo good...I have a mild allergy but that pic has my mouth watering.
The etoffee also looks great, although I'm not entirely sure what that is.
My husband and I are New Orleans natives. We recently relocated to Houston from New Orleans six months after the oil spill, after the company he worked for laid off over 300 people. (Thanks, BP!) We fought our way back home after the storm, and I know we'll be coming back home soon, if God's willing.
We come back to visit pretty often, and the first place we go is Central Grocery to get a muffaletta and some cold Abita beer. One bite, one sip, and I know I'm home. Of course, there's Antoine's, Galatoire's, Commander's Palace, Tujagues, Mother's, etc... but the Grocery's our traditional first stop in town. ;)
We love you, New Orleans. <3
Hurry back, ExPat... we be missing ya!
Even though I had to leave, I think about Commander's Palace brunch every day. And the Abita! Thank God it finally found it's way to Nowhere, Illinois. See you all at Mardi Gras.
katrina ..I went to the hardest part that was hit by that storm and the city looks better than the average American town .
Hey Bob – what the heck are you smokin' dude? If you say you've been to the hardes hit section of the city and that it looks better than the average American town, then you are a big fat LIAR. Unlike you I have been there (it's called the Lower Ninth Ward by the way though I'm sure you wouldn't know that based on your stupid statement) and if what I see is better than the average American town, then we are all in trouble. I don't mind people having their own opinion; I'm not expecting everyone to have the same as me. But don't come on these sites and comment about something you obviously know NOTHING about and all of us who are from there and/or live there know you are an a$%...along with all the other people making negative comments about NO. UNLESS YOU HAVE BEEN THERE, LIVED THERE OR ARE FROM THERE you have NO RIGHT to make a comment.
Great article. I've never even been to New Orleans, but after reading this I realize I have to go someday- I am a real food addict.
Maybe this food will attract all of these low-life ghetto bums that have stayed in Texas after Katrina. I'll buy them all lunch if you come get them! It over doubled our welfare burden!
p.s. and guess what if I want to be healthy or unhealthy that is my choice, I am still free here in the good ole usa, as far as I know. I am willing to pay more in health insurance and I am even willing to buy two seats on an airplane if I get that big. Thankfully I am not there yet. But, it is still my choice. Remember, my body my choice
The only food those people need is some cheese to go with their never ending whine. The only purpose Katrina served was to reinforce how one very unwelcome segment of our society behaves when there is a crisis. When that happens, the menu consists of murder, rape, and looting with a dessert consisting largely of government handouts.
And when a catastrophe happens in your "back yard" I guarantee you will be singing a different song.
Well, if you didn't live though it and have to work during after the storm, STFU!!!!! I never whined are cried when the city love went down in ruins because of Katrina. I served in the military at the time in which I was deployed there to bring law and order. If you never seen dead bodies floating, people's whole lives disappear overnight, then keep your mouth shut!!!!!!! I did and never want to experience it again!!!!! All of you have no idea what we as a city and state have been through. So, before pointing fingers and calling whiners, I want to know would you feel if you had to ride out not one(Katrina) but two(Rita) hurricanes????? Tell me what would you say then???? Don't worry, I'll wait!!!!!!
Thank you Que'.. for your help in the aftermath.
Your screen name suits you well. That is all....
So... there was an ENTIRE episode of No Reservations on TV about this specific topic years ago. I am glad CNN is finally caught up on the news...
I love Louisiana, I have never had a bad visit there. The people are like no other. So gracious and just love you for who you are. They are very unpretentious.
Michelle Obama, while I am thrilled with your move it program to energize our young kids. And I have been fighting for years for better quality food in the school cafeterias. STAY AWAY FROM MY CAJUN FOOD!! This is a treat and when I go to Louisiana and go out to eat I want to treat myself. I am an adult and I can decide what and when I cut back on calories, fat and salt. Not my government. So, God bless you for taking care of those little ones who don't know how to choose properly for themselves, But enough is enough of you pushing your idea of food portion and ingredients to restaurants. We actually can decide what is best for us, we do not need the government thinking they know better
Come on back, Catie! We'd love to have you.. and we'll sneak you some good food with giant pieces of buttered french bread 'round back where no one can see you. Ms Obama can watch out for the little ones... we'll be EATING!
Merci Sammie, I try to explain to my friends how different the Cajuns are. You are a people to be admired. You see I am married to a Cajun and when Katrina, and Rita ( always forgotten about) rolled around his family and friends lost so much. They ended up comforting me and I just saw a strength and a FAITH that surpases any other State I have lived in. Your Faith is what got you all through it. I am honored to be a part of your culture. Thank you
Oh man... I love New Orleans / Cajun food...
I could eat that stuff constantly. jumbolaya, binets, muffaletta sandwiches, hand grenades, oh man...
LOL.. yeah. .why do people click on the article, read it. .then whine about having to hear about it?
Anyone else notice the trolls b!tching about it are the ones who turned the article into something it was not.... A city like no other with people (and food!) like no other, Proud to call it home!
And excuse us if we still whine on occasion, some things stick with you. Like losing my Dad three months after the storm and having no way to bury him in a timely manner. A little hard to forget.
Yup, sure have noticed. The apparent lack of empathy and civility is disturbing. Sorry for your loss and the difficulty involved in getting your father buried.
Jealousy WhoDATGirl... just plain old jealousy that THEY can be from THE most amazing city on earth. Hang in there..
Sorry for all your loses. I love New Orleans, the food, music and people. We are always made to feel welcome in your City and I for one can't wait to come back soon, it never get old Way Down Yonder in the Land of Dreams!
Well, that didn't take much.
Kudos to NOLAGIRL! I'm a Native New Orleanian. So sad to watch it all unfold from my TV in B/R. At the time, I was living and working in B/R. I t was several days before I learned that my cousin from Lakeview, had been found floating in her back yard.
Forget? Never! Get tired of hearing about it, NO!
New Orleans will ALWAYS be my HOME, and I feel so sorry for all the bitter folks on Comments this morning.
I don't know about them, but, my Parents taught me that if you didn't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything.!!!! BTW, they were from Louisiana, too.
The fortitude of the people of this area is remarkable and we enjoy our visits to New Orleans and hope that our support of the businesses there will help. However, as always, buyer beware. Not every meal we've had has been stellar and many established establishments are taking the easy way by relying on their storied charm. We recommend that travelers use the research available on many travel websites to help them make the right decision and to send a message to the operators on how they are being received by the paying public. In many instances, one will find the new and upandcomers are putting more effort into their products and services. This is the right business model. There is no sense to supporting businesses that are giving their market what they want...no one is too big or too small to fail...pick up the pieces, learn from your mistakes and start again.
Wow, some of these bloggers are crazy! Have slice of king cake and maybe the sugar will sweeten y'all up. As a lifetime New Orleanian, I too get tired of hearing the name "Katrina" on EVERY newscast; however, I NEVER tire of hearing stories about all of the great people who came back to rebuild or the selfless volunteers dedicated to restoring the BEST CITY IN THE WORLD! Thank you!!!!!!
The connection, and importance, of food to the culture of New Orleans is not a unique thing. Many cities all over the world have used food to represent at least some aspect of thier shared cultural understandings. The thing about New Orleans' food and culture is that it seems to be such a strong binding factor that many people have (and continue) to use food as a way of connecting to something beyond themselves. The traumas that we have faced here are not idealized individual problems. A method used to help repair what was lost and affected by those tramatic events is our food ways. The Crescent City Farmer's Market and the Restaurants of New Orleans have provided the city residents a public forum for healing and common cause.
In short, food and the food ways of New Orleans, serve as access points for members of the cultural group to bind together in a way that other avenues have failed. The people of New Orleans have used our proud food ways to say more than we are hungry and like tasty things. We have used our food to bridge the gap between the past and the present, but more particularly we have (and will continue to) use our food ways as a hopeful bridge to the future.
I think that all of real cajuns and coona$$e$ ... like myself.... are bound amongst each other by the tradition of swampland survival that permeated the tables and gumbo pots all over the rural regions of the bayous of South Louisiana. Gumbo was the survival tool because it enabled you to obtain sustainance from the creatures of the swamp and marshlands in a way that no other "civilized" culture in the United States could do (without having to eat 'possum). Crawfish, shrimp, snapping turtle, frog legs, catfish, flounder, .... fried, stuffed, etouffee'.... these are all dishes that the "uptown" New Orleanians were able to financially capitalize on. ...not that they required them for survival. I remember a letter from my great grandmother citing the concept: "...these cajuns, as they call themselves, eat creatures from the swamp in a stew they call gumbo..." , So, I'm not so sure that the "authenticity" of a New Orleans based food culture is really centered about the true traditions of the real bayou cajuns. My poor great grandmother remained in Louisiana amongst the cajuns from whom the husbands and wives of her progeny sprang forth. Alas, now us poor cajuns who eat the creatures from the swamps in our gumbos are again subjunct to the confines placed upon us by the "more important" New Orleanians...
I very much agree. The marketable aspects of NOLA / Food culture does blur the boundaries of the authentic food ways to be sure. And like the survival needs of your great grandmother (what an incredible cultural artifact her notes / stories are!!) and her neighbors, food has helped her / them / us deal with the dramatic blows we faced as a community. Each individual loss is indeed measurable, but when combining the losses of the whole GNO region (Greater New Orleans; to include those true coona$$e$ et. al.), a broader collective understanding of who we are is defined by our love and dedication to our food ways. Survival is not the same now as it may have been "back in the day", but one of our main collective ways of dealing with our contemporary survival needs seems to have transcended historical limitations.
Wonderful article. Reminds me we are due for a visit.
not all BP fault, its cutting corners about the $$$$
copop....must be nice never too loose a family memeber, house, every memory of your childhood, and your JOB because of Katrina and BP!!!
Well....the BEST place to find REAL 'cajun cooking is anywhere within about 50 to 70 miles and South of Lafayette Louisiana. New Orleans is a nice party town, BUT, the REAL 'cajuns are in places like Breaux Bridge, Lafayette, Abbeville, Mamou, Ville Plat, Rayne, Crowley, Pierre Part, Eunice, Delcombe, and of course the heart of 'cajun sauce: New Iberia, including Franklin, and Morgan City, Thibodaux, and Houma. Also, down the Lafourche Bayou... and a few others. New Orleans is a lot of show, but, does not have the TRADITIONAL and AUTHENTIC 'cajun food from true Acadian French decendants of the 'cajun expulsion, save for a few. Bon Appetite mes amis!
Just start in New Olreans.. and EAT YOUR WAY all the way thru cajun country. You cant' go wrong, chere!
Rich until you have walked a mile in OUR shoes shut the heck up. So you are telling me to say to all the families who lost loved ones during Katrina just to get over it because it was just a storm.
Contrary to the cynical belief of many, our seafood does not have an oil flavor. Try it, you'll like it.
Second that
It matters not how often one talks of Katrina, or the oil spill, South Louisiana food is always a great topic of discussion. From the Creole concoctions of New Orleans to the Cajun mixtures of the bayou, food it the glue that keeps it together through thick or thin.
Does the author prefer her shrimp served with an ethyl, premium or high test glaze?
I'm willing to bet the author would prefer that you eat some stfu NO shrimp.
And I'm willing to bet that you havent' eaten any shrimp from the Gulf in years. stfu
Go get 'em Sammie!
You too, Big Bird... I guess NOT being from the greatest city in the world is just too much for some people.
It is close to 6 years since Katrina hit – I am among many who are just sick and tired of hearing about it. Ike happened 2 years ago and we, in the Houston area, do not whine and complain like the New Orleaneans or expect a handout for years to come. It is just high-timed to get over Katrina, the BP oil spill and everything else and move on.
Ike was an incredibly strong and damaging hurricane, especially for an area not accustomed to being hit by tropical weather. But to compare it to Katrina? Are you mad? Did the entire infrastructure of your city crumble before your eyes? Did bodies float down the streets of your town? I didn't think so. Katrina is and will always be part of our story. Most of us don't use it for pity or sympathy. But it's hard to tell the story of New Orleans without mentioning the huge event that forever altered it...and us. Some are still whining with their hands out to the government and BP in the wake of the spill. But most of us? We wake up every day. We go to work or we look for work. We get by. We eat well, drink well and laugh often. Nobody keeps their boot on our neck for very long, so I'm sorry if you are tired of hearing about the resilient nature of our city. It's who we are and guess what buddy, we're not going anywhere. So, in your wise words, move on.
Ike was bad, for Galveston. Houston? A bit, I suppose.
OK, this is by far the best thing that I have read this week. Well done. I have only been there once, but the magnetic pull of the Earth that I felt there was quite strong. I salute Lu Brow, and especially her father, for knowing...
No matter what nonsense people may write online, there is a small place in every American's heart that cheers for the people of New Orleans. Although far from Louisiana, I will now walk up the street for lunch and savor every bite.
Well done yourself, Arch Stanton.
yes they have good food but it is hard to eat when the whole downtown smells like urine. Quit complaining and get to work. Mississippi Alabama have repaired our stuff. We did not wait for the goverment to come in and fix everything. Thats right you can't get back to work yet because BP has not fully paid claims. I do not eat or fish in the gulf anymore because we STILL have tar balls washing a shore and BP laid off clean up crews.
You weren't steeped in tepid nasty water for 6 weeks either. Biloxi was wiped off the face of the map.. very little clean up there prior to the rebuilding starting.
How about we stop trying to outvictimize each other
OH, pathetic Papa! You were hardly touched by Katrina, or the spill. You are a passive-aggressive whiner, whining about nothing! You fixed nothing, because you had nothing to fix! In your tedious little burg.
Most of the cajun food that's highlighted in the last few CNN articles are not uniquely New Orleans. NOLA is known for Creole food, and Cajun food is prevalent in the rest of Louisiana (hello, "cajun country' like Lafayette and the rest of Acadiana) and even the rest of the northern Gulf Coast. Being from coastal AL–I can say we eat much of the same stuff because of our similar French/African/Spanish/Creole culture, and yes, we even talk about great food (that we've had or will have) while eating dinner.
And please, CNN, do a story about New Orleans (after all, it's Mardi Gras season–which means you'll be going on about NOLA Mardi Gras and not mention the celebrations in Mobile, AL, Pensacola, FL, and even Galveston, TX) without mentioning Katrina. And stop making New Orleans the biggest victims of the BP oil spill. Yes, seafood and the oil industry are big in NOLA, but the real victims are the fishermen and other workers who depend on the Gulf in the coastal parishes, coastal AL, coastal MS, and coastal FL. New Orleans actually MADE MONEY from the immediate effects of the oil spill (because their hotels–and thus restaurants, shops, etc–were full of people.
Yea, I can tell you know where the REAL gumbo and crawfish (pronounced kraw-fish) etoufee' resides!
so let me get this straight...there was a hurricane named Katrina that hit New Orleans in 2005? This is the first I'm hearing of that... God bless all of the people who survived such a disaster. I am glad that the people of N.O. have managed to return and rebuild after such a horrible tragedy. But maybe people could just bring to light the good food in N.O. instead of always making everything about hurricane Katrina. Just an idea.
Let the swamp creatures have it back!!!
Counting the days to NOLA Jazz and Heritage Festival! 122 Food stands and not one burger or dog. Every vendor serving the best food with a smile and a kind word. 10 bands every hour. Come on down and support the locals. April 29 – May 8.
Along the Way, you will never know what it felt like to sit in a house 300 miles from your home and see the images that were flashed on TV 24/7. We did not know if our homes survived, where or friends and family were and when or if we would see them again. It got even worse when we went camping in Texas for New Years '06. We met family that live in Texas and some of their friends. And as always the topic turned to New Orleans and should it be rebuilt. Imagine hearing someone say "Why should we pay to rebuild such a cesspool"? I couldn't believe it! Did the country help rebuild Los Angeles after the Northridge earthquake, YES! Did we do the same for New York after 9/11, YES! So, why not New Orleans. It is the most UNIQUE city in the country.
Katrina was an experience I NEVER want to relive or would wish on my worst enemy. My daughter was so traumatized, that when we evacuated for Gustave she was hysterical about the thought that she would lose her new friends whose families had flooded for Katrina and said they would not return if flooded again. Before Katrina, I would have felt confident telling her not to worry, it would be all right. But I couldn't. It broke my heart to see how distraught she was. So you can sit where ever you are and STUFF IT!
Lisa,
Millions were spent rebuilding Northridge. Millions were spent fixing NYC after the attacks. Millions were spent rebuilding New Orleans. I don't get why some people think it was treated any differently.
No one cares about New Orleans! It was a sh***y city befor Katrina and it is still a sh***y city after.
Nice name
Glad not to have you potty mouth.
"No one cares about New Orleans!"
And enough said about you as well.
Is this one of the trolls of which you speak?
If ya doan care den doan drip your shist here. Find another blog to pollute.
And Rich with your sh#$$Y attitude, your just sh@$#y as the city I love and proud to call home. Dumba$$
Aww what wisdom. Your parents must be so proud of you. "rolls eyes" Can't have you hurting that brain with intelligent words. What jail are you posting from?.
Unlike you, the city has class. AND GREAT FOOD!
I WANT A REAL POOR BOY. AND I DONT MEAN THE SANDWICH. OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH IM SO NAUGHTY. CUZ IM A GUY
God Bless New Orleans, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and all who were affected by Katrina. The recovery still has a long way to geaux, but progress continues to be made.
How boring the food must be in other parts of the world. Cajun or Creole, who cares? It's all good! The roots are mostly Creole in New Orleans, however.
I get back to my hometown as often as possible. Saving New Orleans, one poboy at a time! :-)
The softshell crabs ain't bad, either. Couldn't make up my mind, so got one fried and one sauteed!
http://www.zydecocruiser.com/CarnivalTriumph/nola/nola2a/P1170258.JPG
Love Zydeco. Dwayne Doopsie ain't bad either!
Dwayne!!! Went to NOLA a year and a half ago, fell in love with the city, the food, and the music, and was amazed at Dwayne's abilities as a musician!
Much (not all) of Louisiana is blessed with great food. Check out the offerings of boudin we have: http://www.boudinlink.com
Once asked a waiter at Mr B's "is the gumbo good" He replied "son, it keeps the lights on!" Better food is found in Acadiana though; around the Lafayette area. WOW!
You know it baby!
They have the best seasoned food in the world!
Having married a New Orleanian, birthed both of my sons there, and buried one there, I will say this, I feel New Orleans, is a life style, and a culture all its own. On our first trip back after Katrina, we both cried at the damage still left unfixed. Our church where we were married, the school where our sons attended, even the park where my husband proposed to me was still in ruins. But getting down to the French Quarter, and along the river was like coming home to the home we knew. Three cheers for the chefs that made it back, and have done all they can to help renew this beautiful city. By way of food, it brings all of us a little closer to the city that was, and can be. So while some people are getting tired of hearing about Katrina, some people are getting very tired of hearing about joblessness, and the kindergarten behavior of our politicians. We know that we are jobless, but yet the politicians are still playing games. AT least New Orleans has people who are willing to work together and work on solutions to their problems.
I can certainly understand why people in Louisiana would be tired of hearing Katrina-this and Katrina-that. Ever since the storm, Katrina and Louisiana have been fused together as one, and people have a hard time talking about New Orleans without mentioning Katrina. I'd get tired of it, too.
However, stories like this inspire outsiders, who want to hear how people affected have dealt with it all this time. Perhaps it is a way for us to reassure ourselves that if the same scale disaster should happen in our area, we could recover with as much grace.
Carol... this article has nothing to do with saving America. It is an article about a city and food. You don't want to read it, then don't read it but keep your snide ugly comments to yourself. I swear, I can't stand b**ches with attitude. You my dear are the problem.
I titally agree w/ Lisa. To know NOLA is to love it! It is such an amazing place, as are the people, the food and the history. Having been there many times. The culture is awesome. Hang tough NOLA!
I wonder if they got the shrimp from the toxic gulf? Its nice that they are trying to promote New Orleans, but its kind of a death sentence. People are sick and dying all along the coast from the oil spill and we are still talking about Katrina. I understand Katrina was horrible, but we have moved on to a much more dangerous situation that will be felt world wide as time goes on. Do your self and everyone else a favor, DON'T EAT GULF SEAFOOD, AND DON'T GO SWIMMING IN IT EITHER.
Are ye feeble?!? "Katrina was horrible, but we have moved on to a much more dangerous situation that will be felt world wide as time goes on." How will an oil spill in the gulf, that didn't even spread much past the FL Keys "be felt world wide?" To date, a larger percentage of the spill has been cleaned up. At the current rate of clean-up, by this time next year it'll be history. Conversely,we're coming up on the 6-year anniversary of Katrina and there are still people who have been left HOMELESS as a result of that hurricane.
it's just that you enjoy standing up on that soapbox and screaming whatever blather comes to mind, eh? Knock yourself out ........... no really ........ please knock yourself out.
Can't argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
Capeche. It's just that some of ignoray-mooses are so painful .........
I rarely swim in seafood, but thanks for the tip anyway.
Touché !!
Hey Toxic Shrimp. Don't worry, we won't eat you so long as you don't pop your little head up near our nets! GUMBO!
I've never stopped eating gulf shrimp (or oysters or...), but I long ago stopped listening to alarmists.
" long ago stopped listening to alarmists." Yup, diggin' your MO, Z.
Smokin' in NO is right about arguing with an idiot. A farmer doesn't waste his time telling a pig his breath smells like ***t.
Are you kidding me!?!? I'm buying up all the gulf seafood I can get! Then I wring the oil out and sell it at $60 a barrel. I'm eating great seafood AND making money! Woohoo!
@Toxic Shrimp: Your comments are absurd. I fish these waters, the seafood is fine. I eat oysters and shrimp weekly, and fish more often. No one is sick. The industry is suffering from negative press, which you energetically encourage. You have no idea what you are talking about, where are you? The biosphere here is very active, not like Alaska. Can some oil residue be found? Yes, mostly buried. Are there some dead areas? A few will take a couple of years. Mostly good? Yes. Whose axe are you grinding?
Oh, you all make me want to go back to New Orleans now...yum! Thanks for sharing the stories and food.
We took a family trip there last Spring. Spent 4 days, walked all over, took streetcars, in short had wonderful time and amazing food. Only disappointment was Antoine's. We went for lunch, were seated in front room, then asked if we wanted to see the famous back room (we didn't care but they kind of insisted). It was empty, although two other tables were seated soon after. Made the mistake of ordering the "special" the waiter pushed. Lean Cuisine would have been a vast improvement: food was bland, flabby and tasteless, obviously prepared well in advance and then reheated to order – at over $150 for 4. Heard lady at table next to us chewing waiter out over food...said she came there all the time. Excuse given was new management. Beware! They seem to be coasting on reputation. On a positive note, best BBQ shrimp of the trip was Mister B's. Absolutely fantastic!
So..."Along the Way"...exactly how ARE thing in one of the internationally famous vibrant cosmopolitian metropolises in which you reside? Sounds like youre from Bunkie, or Ruston, or Leesville, or wait a minute...as cultured and eruidite as you seem to be you MUST be from beautiful downtown Shreveport,! Right?! After all you seem to speak for the masses of Louisianians who have obivioulsy sought you out for your sage pronouncements and extraordinary insight in to other peoples thoughts feelings and desires. Either that or Myrtle from the Dairy Queen, who thinks you are as wise as Solomon! So please, "Along the Way"...continue to regale the great unwashed masses with you philosophy and worldview. I for one cant wait to hear your views on sun spots, Middle East unrest, the validity of the Mayan calenders time of the Apocalyspe, and most importantly...when ate the Blizzards coming back to DQ? Concult with Myrtle and get back to me wouldja? Happy Mardi Gras!
Hear, hear! " Along the Way" is well overdue for a mental oil change.
Amen to that! "Along the Way" can keep going along the way right on past New Orleans – they obviously don't know a great place when they see it. Keep on goin', hon – we won't miss ya! Laissez les bon temps rouler y'all!
This sounds like a Baton Rouge type of person. They are sooooooooooooo jealous of NOLA!
I know that many readers are "sick" of hearing about Katrina and the failed levees. There is much fault to go around, including the Government of LA allocation of Federal funds that were supposed to go to the levees into other private investments, for the enrichment of local power brokers.
All that aside for a moment, I'd much rather see articles enticing visitors for the food than more attempts at getting more Government money, and thus just raising taxes...which will also go to local power brokers.
In short, tourism is the answer, and the food is the attraction. Tourism has the advantage of actually going to THE LOCAL PEOPLE, rather than local politicians. I applaud this article and its intentions.
sanjosemike - How much did the government pay you to spread this false and misleading propaganda?
Well Ezra it was during the Bush administration, so it wouldn't surprise me. He was the worst president ever. Kind of like another Dan Quayle.
Probably the same entity that creates these fantasyland puff pieces about how great New Orleans is..........
Ezra you and Ryan both need a big ole bowl of that stfu gumbo... yummmmmm
@Ryan: Again?! What's got your panties in a wad? You've got a lot invested in bad-mouthing New Orleans? I wonder why? I mean besides being a bored, bitter, lonely, angry Okie?
@Ezra: Sorry, I know it sounds like a fantasy, but it's all true!
When I left my home after Katrina, you know what I missed? The food. Well, that and home in general. Happy Mardi Gras, and I miss you home.
Not everyone from New Orleans,is part of this older culture.
I, for one, love to hear these stories. I dont live there but I've been to New Orleans over a dozen times. And as I wept for the city (but mostly for the people there and in the region) I had NO DOUBT that y'all would bounce back. Never crossed my ind in the least that you would roll over and die. It just aint in 'ya! I understand those who want to move on and that is happening. But these stories continue to bolster my faith in the great people of New Orleans and the Gulf region. Have a happy Mardi Gras y'all. I miss you desperately.
Come on back and visit, Aaron.. we'd love to have ya.
I'm trying to get there for Jazzfest! Haven't been down since '09. Craving a po-boy from Mandina's!!!!
Very good read, Kat. Looking forward to "Leah Chase and why she matters."
Cajun food was a type of cuisine originating on Earth in the state of Louisiana – specifically New Orleans. Among the spices used in Cajun food was cayenne. (DS9: "Accession") Jambalaya was another type of Cajun food. (DS9: "Favor the Bold")
Trip Tucker once thought Cajun food was hot until he had his first taste of Haljaran. (ENT: "Oasis")
In an attempt to berate his doctor, who had criticized his lack of care of his health, Joseph Sisko complained that despite the fact that his doctor has been living in New Orleans for twenty years, he still couldn't tell the difference between Cajun food and Creole food. (DS9: "Homefront")
After preparing several specialty dishes for Nog, Sisko later considered offering Cajun-style tube grubs on his menu. (DS9: "Homefront")
New Orleans isn't Cajun, its Creole!
you right elizabeth
Thank you Elizabeth. I wish ppl would get a clue of what the difference is.
@Creoleone
What makes you think people give a rat's a$$ what the difference is?
Right, Jim?
dang – whatta conversation -
Bush ignored all the citizens of new orleans – isn't that nice? BTW, where are all the Haitians/Africans AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS who were the ones who GAVE the french flavor to make great foods? No sistas or brothus in the pictures – just 'anglos' in the pics – So sad – Don't be fooled – BLACKS have the heart for New Orleans Quisine and started it ALL! Where are the black restaurants in this story??? C'mon man – Tell the truth!
go girl. most cajuns reside in sw la, not no!
Sorry- get your history right. Cajun culture and food grew up in the swamps, bayous, and praries of Acadiana- west of New Orleans. There are a lot of Cajun eateries in New Orleans now, but did not originate there. New Orleans cooking can be more appropriately called Creole.
As a Creole, I am quite aware of this. Also, I am a native. My family is been in New Orleans since the 1800's. I got it. We also have Mexican restaurants but that doesn't define New Orleans food either. Ppl label any New Orleans type food automatically as Cajun. It is a generalized statement about all of our food and it is also dead wrong.
Seriously you guys couldn't tell these were Star Trek quotes?
They are a few light years short of planet Brainiac.
They are experiment in Artificial Stupidity.
LOL. Newbies.
Nice. I was wondering where our Star Trek trivia was today. I knew Beta III couldn't be it.
Hahah! Yeah I thought that was a nice touch by Cheech McHammerpants.
Oh. And everyone, STOP comparing every turn of the wind and rain to Katrina. It's as bad as hearing "GREEN" in reference to being environmentally conscience. Enough already!!
I'm greener than you and aren't you just a bright little ray of sunshine today?
Who peed in YOUR cornflakes? Take a Midol with some Godiva and go back under your rock.
Those must be frosted cornflakes because only a dumb blonde in a freezer would make such a stupid comment.
While along your way, "Along The Way," I will be sure and pull you over. With an attitude and face as ugly as yours I can write you a ticket for mooning.
there is no law against mooing
...or simply DPS.... Disturbing the Peace by Stupidity!
Hey John, did you know that you IP address is logged each time you make a post here? Do you understand how profoundly stupid it was for you to make that comment if you are indeed a state trooper? Thanks for making my night interesting; I'll be sure to report your real information to whoever has placed the most flags in your file. That is of course, unless you're just a security guard who failed the psych test to be a beat cop?... hmmm? :)
Thanks, Trooper John, say hello to Danny F for me.
Mmmmmmm....etfouffee.
Ugh. Does the rest of the world (AND CNN) know just how sick most of Louisiana is sick and tired of hearing about Katrina? That would be almost all areas of Louisiana except for New Orleans. Next!!
When the BP oil spill added insult to the injuries we were just beginning to get ahead of here in NOLA, unfortunately America had to stand up for New Orleans and recognize the resiliency of her people and our loving relationship with food. We have to eat it to save it!
The rest of America is trying to survive too. I'm sure the last thing on America's mind is saving seafood in New Orleans.
What an incredibly myopic view. Here, have some stfu gumbo.
Since when do you know what's on "America's mind?" I am prescribing you some stfu pills for rectal bleeding out of your brain.
I'm from the Northeast. I've been to NOLA before and after Katrina. There is no more soulful city in the country, perhaps the world, and food and music are it's backbone. There are few things which can bring you closer to God than a softshell crab po-boy and listening to Irma Thomas's tribute to Mahalia Jackson.
Tell 'em, Poppy...
Or, and here's a thought... you could take that lovely culture above sea-level. You're eventually going to be underwater, and the only reason NOLA was rebuilt is for the sake of fuel shipments. Deal with it, and enjoy your shrimp while you can.
Carol, you must never have been to NOLA; I KNOW you've never eaten there. You'd be singing a different tune if you did. Heck, I'd rather shut down NASA than see NOLA's seafood industry suffer.
Dear Stephen D ... anytime you're ready for guests let us know ... can't wait to move above sea level ... me and my 8 kids need a place and appreciate the offer.
@NolaMom: I should be clear that i"m talking about people who WANT to stay, not people who have no choice because of circumstances. I think it's frankly irresponsible for our government to place you and your family in this kind of situation. I can't help you, I'm sorry, but I certainly don't wish you anything except luck and success for you and your family.
@Carol: Can't wait to hear about your challenges. Bought a $800,000 house on an income of $40,000/year? Ran up $60,000 in credit card debt on $25,000 a year? Five kids (5?) and no job? Tragedies all, but all with that little kernel of earned consequence. I'll show you my compassion, if you'll show me yours.
What I can't understand is why they are building the city in the same place. Who in his right mind would build a city below water level? Should've taken the chance after Katrina and built New Orleans in Iowa.
True, but then adorable Poppy here wouldn't make the front page of CNN! They need content, the poor dears. *rolleyes* It's OK, she's already proven that unlike the city's poor, she can get out in time. You have to love spin, and this plague of nostalgia... it's money.
If they could use Iowa as a port for Oil and gas... NOLA would be Detroit already.
Personally, I think it's a great article and demonstrates the strength of human nature when people band together and pull through the hardest of times, instead of sitting whining about their fate. If one doesn't like hearing or reading about Katrina-related stories, then don't click on the link!
Lisa, totally agree with you. I liked this article.
Agreed. Anyone with any sense knows katrina didn't destroy new orleans, the levees did, along with piss poor planning of building a city under sea level that close to the coast. Katrina destroyed the Mississippi gulf coast, but you never heard about that.
Thank you.
ID 10 T error: the levees failed because of the storm surged caused by Katrina.
Love it when y'all pick 'n' choose what to gripe about. Makes you sound so much more ignorant.
KUTGW!
Nobody planned or built a city below sea level. The French Quarter, established as a French colony in 1620, is above sea level. It is as far up river as big ships want to go which is why the port is there. The rest of the city grew up around it over the course of 375 odd years before Katrina hit. So, nobody was SO STUPID as to build a city below sea level and it is not the FAULT of anyone who lives there. People need to get off of that trip. It is just stupid to think that way.
I am pretty sure the stupidity of having a city BELOW sea level at the face of the Sea destroyed New Orleans nothing else.
Or should we just agree and say GRAVITY destroyed New Orleans.
Not many people would stand in front of a car at WOT while being held back by a chain all their lives.
actually we did. not to sound cold, but it's just not the same – not the same disaster or the same unique area of the country and world. that's just the reality.
Thanks dnote, and @failinggrade and the other imbecile. A few details: The levees in New Orleans failed at 80% of their design capacity. Sort of like your house collapsing in a 60 mph wind. If they'd been built by private industry the builder would have been liable for all damages. Had they not failed I would have had $604 damages, not $250,000. Federal incompetence, corruption, and laziness, caused the disaster, not the hurricane. Absent the hurricane, no damage? True. Present levies as designed no damage? True. Port cities by necessity are pretty much at sea level. That goes for New York, Boston, Charleston, Savannah, Miami, Los Angeles, you name it. A Katrina strike would have ruined them all. Levies, dikes, and dams protect huge swathes of our country. Look around you, your might be surprised, you heartless scum. And we're (mostly) not below sea level, that's a popular myth.
If you think you are sick of HEARING about Katrina, imagine how sick the people of New Orleans are of confronting it on a daily basis. Katrina and the levee failures that followed are one of the greatest disasters to befall an American city. There are many lessons to be learned from it, not the least of which is that New Orleans and her residents are incredibly resillient. Great attitude – you must not be a native.
No, actually I live in an area that doesnt rely on bashing the government 24/7 with my hands always outstretched.
When government fails – the people pick up the slack, succeed, and learn not to rely so much on government. New Orleans still hasnt learned that lesson.
So no, Im not a native.
We thank god for that ryan... stay right where you are!
Wow, you really are an ass! No one likes to ask for help, but it's good to know it's there when you need it. I'm so sick of idiots like you taking an uplifting story and just trying to make it into a negative. Just die.
One lesson learned: don't build a city that needs a levee.
@Ryan: I think you are from Kansas, or Oklahoma, possibly Wichita, they seem a focus of heartless, ignorant, simplistic people. If you'd been here you'd have seen people almost universally (myself included) getting back into town illegally, opening their houses, and starting to rebuild. Did we need help? Absolutely! Tell me of when somebody blew up your house, and every house for a 30 mile radius, destroyed the sewerage and water supply systems, the underground gas pipes, and above ground electrical, telephone, and cable systems, then locked you out for 2 months. How did you handle that? I think the worst thing that's happened to you is a hangnail. I lived in a chemical plant, a borrowed bedroom (kids, lovely Disney stuff), an unfinished bedroom (boards and lumber), a borrowed house, which i helped fix, with 3 families, a rented apartment across from my house, and now I'm home, and better than before. You need a tornado, Okie, and no insurance.
This is in reply to "LakeviewGal": My Internet name is also Lakeview Gal, and a friend actually just asked me if I'd written your comment! (Good comment, by the way.) As you might have guessed, I'm a New Orleans native born and raised in Lakeview, but have lived far away for many years – don't get home as often as I'd like. I haven't read all these comments because some will probably reflect the misconceptions about Katrina, and it's frustrating that many people still don't understand that the storm would not have caused the catastrophic flooding if the levees had been built correctly in the first place. It's all been documented – I just wish everyone would get the message, and then maybe we wouldn't have to keep repeating it.
Speaking of someone who volunteered to help work to save your city, I would ask you to stfu regarding Katrina. It was a pivotal event in your city's history and it always will be, so deal with it.
That said, i would like to go back now and see the renovations. Would be nice to not live on c-rations and canned drinking water (which we dubbed "Floodweiser")
@Truth: I'm not sure your welcome, so stfu. They were MREs, not Ks, and I never saw canned water. Not sure you were here, sound like a troll. You sound like a pretender, so get over it.
@Truth – Sorry you were right, I just Googled canned water and it was used in post-Katrina relief efforts. My bad. Thank you for helping out our fair city in it's time of need. People like you restore my confidence in this country!
I find it nay impossible to believe you speak for "most of Louisiana" in your diatribes. From the entries here, sounds like you are in the minority. Hurricane Katrina caused a major disaster in a world-renowned city that is STILL under reconstruction. This subject should leave the pages & sites of the media just because YOU want it? Maybe you haven't been instructed on how to use the buttons on websites so you can drop your drivel on OTHER SITES.
If it doesn't interest you, feel free to go away.
If the people who, to this day, still don't have a home as a result of this storm, then this story needs to be front & center in the news.
So in your view of the world – the homeless person in New Orleans is much more important than the person who just got foreclosed upon, or cant pay their healthcare costs, or cant put food on the table because of high unemployment.
Gotta love the shallow minded liberal point of view. Never thinking outside of "Me! Me! Me!" Land.
How in the world do you draw that conclusion from "If the people who, to this day, still don't have a home as a result of this storm, then this story needs to be front & center in the news?"
Because Ryan's a cherry picker: "Let's pick out 2 words here; that phrase there; and jumble it all up into Jello and rant ridiculously because we have a tiny pen!s."
LOL! That and his training bra is too big.
@Ryan: Who's talking about homeless, but if you're pushing the whole personal responsibility thing you're probably foreclosed because you bought way too much house with way too little income. Healthcare is a national issue, if you don't support universal healthcare (which I doubt you do) you have no business talking about insurance woes. High unemployment, same point, 8 (2000-2008) years of disastrous policies.
So in your view of the world – the homeless person in New Orleans is much more important than the person who just got foreclosed upon, or cant pay their healthcare costs, or cant put food on the table because of high unemployment.
Gotta love the shallow minded liberal point of view. Never thinking outside of "Me! Me! Me!" Land.
That is sick and uncaring!
Behind what you see as sick and uncaring is a death's head humor at a terrible situation. You have a minority of people who make money from the NOLA culture, those who love it (period), and those such as NolaMom who can't get out. So which is uncaring?... Celebrating this culture as though it's not based in a city that is LITERALLY sinking into the gulf... or aknowledging that change occurs and making a coordinated effort to help people who want out?
For those who want to stay until the inevitable... let them stay, but we don't need to spend federal money on them either.
Hear! Hear! This is exactly what I was thinking when I read the title of the article. I am SO SICK of hearing about that stupid hurricane. With so much else going on in the world both at home and abroad, who gives a flying frak about "The Food That Got Them Through"?
Don't click on the article if you are "so sick" of hearing about Katrina. I'm from New Orleans and lived their during and after Katrina. Clearly you've never been there so you really shouldn't be able to have an opinion on the article.
I think this article is more about this delicious dish .... and how good food can help to make a bad situation better ... geez, people, get a grip and have some shrimp etouffee ... you'll feel better ... promise!
HAHAHA I remember when Katrina happened...I celebrated actually by eating out at a local Sea Island restaurant. Good times good times. Still brings a smile to my face. Jumbo Shrimp.
All I know is that food looks tasty!!
This is front page news? Please. I lived in that dump for a decade and know why Venice doesn't slide off into the Gulf... because NOLA sux.
Douglas, the people of NOLA thank you for leaving. Your comment alone tells me that you were clearly not contributing much to the bottom line or the intelligence quotient. We can do without people like you.
Front page??? Douglas, you do realize you are on a computer, right?
Ugh – when I seen the headline "The Food That Got Them Through".....why does "Medicaid" come to mind?
Ryan the Okie again. Suck prairie dust. You should be so lucky as to live here. Actually, I hope not. Stay where you are. It's clearly left you happy and content, full of warmth for the world. That's why you're trolling around looking for people to spit on.
Very true! Get a bunch of poor people complaining and start the violins. Tired of hearing this stuff too! Not to think of all of that trash that washed down from New Orleans and people are eating the seafood from that. The area has one of the highest cancer rates in the U.S., now more I bet.
I lived down there. The place sucks. Before Katrina I meant. Especially Slidell.
What went wrong? Couldn't get any? Couldn't hold a job? Nobody liked you (why?)? Was it the heat? None of the bars played disco?
Along the Way......Even those from New Orleans are tired of hearing about Katrina. New Orleans is well-known for much more than Katrina!! The only people who are not tired of it is the media!!!!! period.
Odd but all over the south and rest of the country there are loads of people still relying on Katrina for their checks, be it RE housing, food, schools, medcial aid and spending money. Their badge is katrina.
To everyone who wants us to move the city somewhere else ... quick question.. WHERE THE @#$%^ ARE WE SUPPOSED TO MOVE AN ENTIRE CITY?!? (don't say north of the lake either, because then you are just showing your ignorance, because there is already cities there).
Ps. Not all of New Orleans is below sea level .. it's a myth. there are certain parts, yes, but not large parts & def. not all of it. so, stfu & read a book.
Nothing can or will save new orleans, cesspool of the gulf.
Blah, blah, its heritage, blah, blah blah its traditions and blah blah its art.
The insurance industry and the govt. will go broke trying to fix this third world country hiding under a pretense of good dixieland and gumbo and prostitution but little else.
Ask the 750,000 who have voted with their feet.