Culinary Tour

By Christina Ghubril

Randy helps serve up Saundra Green's home cooking!

From the moment I met Randy, he was all smiles and charm. A walking textbook of New Orleans knowledge, he spends his days giving tours of the city to interested visitors. Before Katrina, he would give three tours a day, seven days a week. Lately, he struggles to get four or five a week but things are looking up, he says.

I joined Randy for his Culinary Tour. Getting to know New Orleans through the history of its foods and cultures was a tasty way to learn about the communities and the transitions the city has gone through.

Randy gave us a run down of misused terms and cleared up what they mean. He shared that Creole means “native to the region.” The original settlers who came to New Orleans were French, Irish, African, etc. However, their children, regardless of their culture, who were born in New Orleans, were and are Creole. Another fun fact is that “Gumbo” is a West African word for the vegetable ocra!

Alongside of terminology, Randy cleared up misconceptions about food from New Orleans. It might not be spicy at all. Heat is not what defines food in New Orleans but rather, a layering of flavors. True New Orleanians cringe at the thought of covering their delicious meals with hot sauce!

What begins that savory flavor in most dishes is the roux. Carefully simmered oil and flour is browned to perfection to create the base for gumbo, etouffee, and many other dishes from New Orleans. How long the roux is simmered and what shade of brown it becomes determines what dish that particular roux will be used for.

Making the roux

After the roux, the “Holy Trinity” makes up the next layer of flavors with celery, onions and peppers. As various communities from around the world relocated to New Orleans, they had to find vegetables native to the region in order to make the dishes they knew and loved. Peppers, onions and celery were found in abundance and continue to make up a significant part of New Orleanian cooking today.

And then, it was time for the taste tour. Our first pit stop was Petunia’s for some gumbo. It was delicious! Creamy and full of flavor, I couldn’t imagine covering such a dish in hot sauce (and I love my hot sauce!).

Throughout the tour we stopped at Leah’s Praline Store (say it with me now, “prah-leen”) where we sampled freshly made pralines. A pit stop in Brennan’s taught us some fun trivia. The famous dessert, Bananas Foster was created under their roof!

From the rich history of the city and it’s cultures, the delicious dishes we sampled and the warm and inviting people met along the way, the culinary tour proved itself to be a “must do” for any tourist in New Orleans. And with Randy, you’ll learn all the economical ways to experience the hot spots in the city. Try going to Antoine’s for a cocktail and appetizer. Gain the experience, save the cash!

Bon Apetit!