"hurricane katrina" news and stories

Five years after Hurricane Katrina, eating in New Orleans is definitely not the same. Quite possibly, it's better. "I'd argue that our restaurants are better today than before," says Brett Anderson, restaurant critic for the city's paper, the Times Picayune. "It has a lot to do with the remarkable number and quality of new places that were unimaginable before September or October [of 2005]."

Eating in New Orleans is geographically specific like in no other American city. And where there is eating, there is passion -- passion about the food, passion about the region, and passion about the neighborhood. "We have a tradition of eating in neighborhood restaurants," notes Anderson. Willie Mae's Scotch House, famous for its fried chicken, could only exist within the fabled streets of Treme, just as the Creole stronghold Antoine's is unimaginable anywhere but among the genteel blocks of the French Quarter.

Since Hurricane Katrina, only a handful of the best neighborhood spots haven't reopened, and it seems that for every one shuttered, two or three new ones have moved in. Among those Anderson names as the best are Coquette, an Uptown wine bar and bistro; the nationally renowned pork paradise Cochon; Mahoney's, a new po' boy shop ("It's not easy to make po' boys in this town and get noticed," attests Anderson); and Boucherie, a crew of young chefs reinventing Southern food (think Krispy Kreme bread pudding). "It's also the small things," Anderson says, "now, New Orleans is a better place to get Italian. You can get really high quality meats and better sandwiches."

Jambalaya. Photo: madaise, Flickr

Red Lobster this summer became the latest fast-casual chain to dip into the bayou for a promotional menu item, reflecting a mainstreaming of Louisiana flavors many experts attribute to the continuing diasporas of chefs displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Red Lobster, which has introduced many American landlubbers to seafood through its 600-plus locations, recently debuted a "New Orleans jambalaya," made with shrimp, sausage and "Creole seasonings." Earlier this year, O'Charley's tested a Cajun-spiced shrimp salad, while Chili's tried to lure customers by slashing the price of its Cajun chicken pasta. And Uno Chicago Grill set its sights south with a NOLA-beholden menu featuring a shrimp po' boy, bananas Foster and an andouille-sausage flatbread.

"Cajun-Creole is one of the most important regional cuisines in America, and more and more people are more educated about it than they've ever been," says Randy Cheramie, associate dean at Nicholls State University's John Folse Culinary Institute in Thibodaux, La.

It started as an innocent hobby. I'd pick a cookbook or two up at thrift stores and used bookstores when I was traveling or visiting my parents. Then I got a real job and had a bit of disposable income and so started filling the gaps in my cookbook collection, buying the ones that I had always longed for. Then I acquired books from the collections of others, including my aunts Flora and Anne, reader Kate and the mother of a friend of a friend. Suddenly my apartment was overflowing with cookbooks. I love the abundance of cookbooks, but at times it makes walking through the living room challenging.

So I was thrilled to discover on Shuna's blog that the Southern Food and Beverage Museum is in need of cookbook donations. They are located in New Orleans and lost more than half of their collection to Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. They are looking for new and used cookbooks that have something to do with Southern food, cooking and culture. I plan on culling my collection in order find anything that they might be interested in and putting together a package for them.

If you have some appropriate volumes in your collection, you can send your (fully tax-deductible) donations to:

Southern Food & Beverage Museum
attn. Liz Williams
1 Poydras Street, #169
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130

Source

Wow.

It has taken a long time to rebuild, but the point is that they have done it, and still are. After the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina, one of New Orleans' landmarks, The Commander's Palace, on the corner of Coliseum and Washington off of St. Charles in New Orleans' upscale Garden District, will be re-opening this weekend. Sunday, October 1 will be service of their first brunch since being hit by Katrina in August of last year.

[via: Blogging New Orleans]