October 2010 • Anthropology News

19

A S S O C I A T I O N B U S I N E S S

Dates to Remember

Oct 202010 Annual Meeting Housing Deadline

Nov 17–212010 AAA Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA

Mar 1–April 12011 Annual Meeting Call for Papers Open

ContactCommunications about the program theme should be addressed to Program Chair Monica Heller at aaaprogramchair@gmail.com. Please refer all other annual meeting questions to Jason G Watkins or Carla Fernandez of the AAA & Sections Meeting Department at aaameetings@aaanet.org or 703/528-1902.

A few useful online resourcesGambit restaurant reviews

http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Section?oid=oid%3A4310Times-Picayune reviews

www.nola.com/diningNew Orleans Magazine reviews

www.myneworleans.com/My-New-Orleans/Food-DiningNew Orleans Menuwww.nomenu.com

New Orleans Menu discussionswww.nomenu.com/talkfood

New Orleans.com reviews and discussionswww.neworleans.com/food.html

Chowhound, New Orleanswww.chow.com/restaurants/regions/9/new-orleans

Urban Spoon, New Orleanswww.urbanspoon.com/c/57/New-Orleans-restaurants.html

B E Y O N D T H E F R E N C H Q U A R T E R

This is the second of a three-part series on sites, activities and dining suggestions for readers attending the AAA meeting in New Orleans. The November column will include neighbor-hood walks, other activity options, and opportunities to volunteer, particularly geared toward attendees interested in extending their stay. Check the AAA blog (http://blog.aaanet.org) and website (www.aaanet.org) for more information and updates.

David Beriss U New Orleans

Five years after Katrina and the federal floods shut down every restaurant in New Orleans, the city remains one of the world’s great dining destinations. The local culinary culture retains many of the characteristics that made it distinc-tive, including strong ties between restaurant food and what people eat at home, a preference for local and seasonal products and a love of seafood from the Gulf of Mexico. Yet there have also been interesting changes that can be linked to the city’s shifting demographics and a growing self-consciousness about local foodways.

New Orleans remains home to a distinct, sophisticated, urban Creole cuisine developed by the descendants of Africans, Europeans and Native Americans. From gumbos to étouffées, many local recipes start out with “first, you make a roux,” followed by the Creole holy trinity of bell pepper, onion and celery. Then add local seafood (crabs, crawfish, oysters, shrimp, drum, red fish, pompano, flounder). Creole cuisine includes food found in neighborhood joints, elegant restaurants and homes all over town. It includes red beans and rice and po’boy sandwiches (made with local French bread and roast beef, sausage or fried seafood). It also includes Creole Italian cooking, which is a red gravy Italian cuisine that draws heavily on seafood.

At the affordable end, consider visiting Acme Oyster House, Central Grocery, Dooky Chase, L’il Dizzy’s, Mother’s and the Praline Connection. Mid-range options include the Palace Café, Mr

Creole, Cajun and Cutting Edge Cuisine in New Orleans

B’s Bistro and Irene’s Cuisine. Classic Creole fine dining can be found at Commander’s Palace, Galatoire’s, Antoine’s and Arnaud’s. Stop by the Café du Monde for beignets and local coffee, which is strong and chicory flavored.

New Orleans is not a Cajun town, as Cajun territory is south and west of the city. But Cajuns have long lived in the city and have had a signifi-cant impact on New Orleans food. The popu-larity of crawfish boils, of boudin (a rice and pork sausage), andouille (smoky pork sausage) and dirty rice all point to the Cajun influence in New Orleans. Paul Prudhomme brought this sensibility to Commander’s Palace in the 1970s and you can still sample it at K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen. Jacques-Imo’s restaurant builds on this same tradition. The latest chef to bring delicious Cajun innovations to New Orleans is Donald Link, whose restaurant Cochon is one of the best to open since Katrina.

New Orleans is a city of immigration. Since the 1970s, a substantial Vietnamese community has established itself, making significant contri-butions to the culinary culture. A visit to the Vietnamese market in New Orleans east or to Vietnamese restaurants (Dong Phuong Bakery, in the east, or Nine Roses, on the west bank of the Mississippi) allows you to sample a wide range of delicious foods, including pho noodle soups and Bánh mì sandwiches, which have been enthusiastically adopted locally as “Vietnamese po’boys.” The city has long been home to a large Central American population, but the post-Katrina influx of Latino workers has contributed to the growth of restaurants serving Mexican and

Central American foods. Try Felipe’s, Taqueria Guerrero Mexico or Fiesta Latina.

In recent years many local chefs have revo-lutionized the Creole dining canon. Chefs like Susan Spicer (Bayona, Mondo), Donald Link (Cochon, Herbsaint), John Besh (August, Luke, Domenica, the American Sector), Adolfo Garcia (RioMar, La Boca, A Mano), and others have turned New Orleans into a cutting-edge dining city. If you travel uptown, you can also find bistros serving both Creole classics and stunning innovations. These include Upperline, Gautreau’s, Dick and Jenny’s, La Petite Grocery, Brigsten’s, Bistro Daisy and Patois.

From Katrina to the recent BP oil spew, New Orleans has faced significant challenges in the last five years. Yet the food culture has thrived—there are more farmer’s markets, more urban gardening and more new independent restaurants than anyone expected. We have a new museum—the Southern Food and Beverage Museum—devoted to regional culinary heritage. All of this probably says something about the resilience of people and culture, and about the importance of food in shaping how New Orleanians view their world. One thing is certain: There has never been a better time to eat in New Orleans.

2010 Annual Meeting

Searchable Online Program and Itinerarywww.aaanet.org/meetings/program