“New Orleans is not like other cities, and its Jazz & heritage Fetival is not like other music festivals,”’ Eliza Barclay writes in her article about her po-boy sandwich experience. She describes New Orleans’ Jazz Fest as “wonderfully chaotic and yet orderly.” I feel like this statement could describe New Orleans as a whole city, not just its Jazz Fest. When I think of New Orleans, I think of Mardi Gras, drinking, and Bourbon Street. All of which are “wonerfully chaotic” yet some how orderly simutaneously. The city does a lot of planning and working together with members of the community in order to make events in New Orleans run smoothly. At any New Orleans event, there is always food, music, alcohol, and lots of people. Most cities can’t handle all of these at once bt New Orleans does it year-round. From big events like Jazz Fest to smaller events mostly known to local and not so much tourists that seem to take place weekly, there is always something wonderfully chaotic going on in New Orleans that runs exactly according to plan in New Orleans. New Orleans puts so much effort into these productions because they are what holds the community so tightly together.

At the beginning of the semester I thought nothing of the concept of “Creole”. I heard it was a fun class so I signed up for it. Never had I imagined I would learn so much. I learned more than I ever thought was possible in a month. Not only did I learn about the indefinable Creole culture but I learned about its history and the history of New Orleans in general. When I came here, to New Orleans, at the beginning of the school year all I was focused on was getting through class, making new friends, and honestly, hitting up the boot. This class has broadened my horizons in so many ways. I knew a little bit about the rich culture and roots of New Orleans, but not as much as I should have. I had always thought it would be cool to do the tourist things like visiting plantations and voodoo shops, but without this class I’m not sure I ever would have. Reading about the history and touring the city made me aware of how many enriching and important things I am surrounded by each and every day. I am so thankful that this class and Dr. Hunt enabled me to experience so many interesting things throughout New Orleans. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our Saturday field trip.

Dooky Chase's

There are many, many wonderful things I have learned from Creole Crossroads. I have listened and participated in awesome discussions, read interesting books, and went on some spectacular field trips. Another great aspect of this class is.... NO EXAM! And even better than not having an exam is going out to lunch at one of New Orleans' most famous restaurants, Dooky Chase's. As we read in Gumbo Tales, the restaurant is famed for many scrumptious menu items including its gumbo z'herbes. I am looking forward to experiencing eating a such a famed restaurant! I searched the web for some history on the restaurant and on Ms. Chase, herself.

Here's what I found:

First off, Leah Chase didn't start the restaurant. I found that somewhat surprising. She married Dooky Chase II. His father and mother (her mother and father in law) had started the restaurant in 1939. Since segregation was still present during that time, the restaurant was primarily a social haven for the black community. It was "the place to be." When Leah married Dooky II and began working at the restaurant, she didn't have any formal training or familiarity with the restaurant's cooking. Nevertheless, she jumped right in and began cooking and creating the Creole creations the restaurant is so famous for.

Leah is still cooking at the restaurant today. However, she is getting old and now her grandson is sharing the kitchen with her. Although she is a great cook and a famous New Orleanian, she still is an extremely kind and humble woman. People who have dined at the Dooky Chase's say that Leah will often come out of the kitchen and visit with her guests. Despite all her success, she still has incredible customer service!

While I couldn't find extensive history on Leah Chase or the restaurant, I hope that this little bit of information is helpful. I look forward to lunch at Dooky Chase's. I hope all of you can make it! It's great food and an awesome opportunity to experience some great New Orleans cuisine!

So Long, Farwell....

I must say that not only this semester, but this year has been an incredible one. The highlight of my whole year, though, has been the time I've spent in Creole Crossroads. I never would have thought that I would be taking field trips in college. But thats not the only reason why I love Creole Crossroads, I love this class because it challenged my mind and allowed me to love my hometown again. At the beginning of semester, Dr. Hunt asked the class if we thought this was one of the greatest cities in the world in terms of culture. I said no. The reason why I said this was because I could not get past the negative aspects of the city, such as crime, corruption, and poverty. Over the course of this class I learned that there is more to New Orleans than I ever realized. I learned that though New Orleans gets a bad rap for being corrupt and party all the time kind of city, there is something beautiful through it all. The art, architecture, food, music, and most importantly the people make this city unique and larger than life. Also, I gained a general understanding of the Creoles and Cajuns, but there is still so much I have to learn. I will start by reading Creoles of Louisiana over the summer. I want to thank you all for sharing your experiences and allowing me to know something about your hometowns. I mostly want to thank Dr. Hunt for introducing us to another side of the city and genuinely caring about us. I hope that we all will meet again in the future, but if our paths do not cross again I wish you all much success and happiness.

Peace & Blessings,
Jasmine

sunrise on top of monroe

I though everyone would enjoy the sunrise over the beautiful city of New Orleans!

Goodbye

It is all finally coming to an end. My first semester of college has been a great one, full of learning inside and outside of the class room. I was a bit reluctant about my freshman seminar class, but I know now that it was well worth my time- I have gotten a lot of this class. I have learned the real difference between a creole and a cajun (something that has also perplexed me), and have gotten to know New Orleans and all it really has to offer. I feel that Louisiana, in general, gets a pretty bad rap. We are at the top of the list for illiteracy, obesity, and bad public education. I was always a kind of upset when I had to tell people I was from the south, but now it is one of the first things I tell new people I meet. I have learned so much about creole culture and live in New Orleans, and can spread this knowledge to all of my friends. Thanks to everyone who has made this school year a good one. I hope you all have a good summer, and I hope to see you next fall!

My Final Post . . .

Hello all,

This will be my final post to end up our semester together. I had a very nice time with all of you as we discussed various social problems and went on various excursions. Unfortunately, because we ran out of time, we were unable to read George Washington Cable's book "Creoles of Louisiana." However, I plan to read it over the summer and maybe you can do the same. It answers the question that many scholars debate over, "What really does it mean to be Creole?"

Below are a few photos throughout the course of the year that I've taken. I hope they will kindly "sum up" what we've learned both in and outside the classroom.












Before ending, Jazz Fest is this weekend! I hope you all can go. For those interested, there is also the International Festival in Lafayette. However, with all the bad weather that's expected, it might be beneficial to just wait until the next weekend (like me.)

Anyway, I wish you all a great summer and success on all your exams.

I remain,

Your "Creole" classmate,

--André L.

The power of illusion

I thought our class discussion on Wednesday was very interesting. What classifies race? Is it where you are from, who your parents are, where you were born or how you were raised? I personally believe that race is a social concept, not a biological one. First impressions are generally based on physical appearances, whether they be right or wrong. I am somewhat ethnically ambiguous physically; generally most people think I am some type of Spanish or Middle Eastern ethnicity. However, I am not. Race is the power of illusion, people will believe what they want to believe about themselves and about others. The truth is, we were all derived from the same “race”.

"There is more and more hard genetic evidence that all of humanity has evolved as a single unit, with regional variations, but that's all they are, slight variations," said Templeton. "A race has to be a sharply defined, geographically circumscribed population that represents an isolated or nearly isolated lineage within the species. There's nothing at all like that in humanity.

http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/184.aspx

I think of ethnicity associated more closely with cultural background. Your actions speak louder than your appearance.

JAZZ FEST!

I was brainstorming ideas for this blog entry, and I thought that Jazz Fest would be a great one. It is obviously an important event for the city of New Orleans, but also an event that many of us are looking forward to. Little did I know, the history of Jazz Fest started in Congo Square! It reminded me that Voodoo is truly connected to New Orleans culture and heritage in innumerable ways.

First off, Jazz Fest is formally called the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The first festival was in April of 1970. As I mentioned before, it was held in Congo Square. It was a rather spontaneous and last minute event. Although it started small, those who started it always dreamed big. They hoped that it would become a staple event that would provide a meeting place for heritage and jazz. As we know today, that dream has come true. They wanted to ensure that the event was special and unique enough to pay respect to New Orleans as the birth place of jazz.

The event originally was planned for just one weekend. However, in 1976 it expanded to two weekends like it currently stands. Although Jazz Fest no longer showcases only jazz, it still encompasses the heritage of jazz by celebrating its history and the city of New Orleans' role in jazz's journey. Today artists of all different genres of music such as hip-hop, rock and roll, rap, and many more are featured. The festival attracts big names in the music industry, but continues to feature many Louisiana artists.

This year there are many big name artists playing at the festival. Here are some you may be familiar with: The Dead Weather, Simon and Garfunkel, Lionel Richie, The Black Crowes, My Morning Jacket, Drake, Allman Brothers Band, Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes, Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler, Aretha Franklin, Gipsy Kings, Band of Horses, Pearl Jam, Old Crow Medicine Show, Van Morrison, B.B. King, and MANY MORE!

Tickets are $45 in advance and $60 at the gate. I know that many of us are living on an extremely humble college budget (I certainly am!), but if you can find the funds somewhere you should go! It should be lots of fun, good music, and you would be attending a festival that is part of New Orleans history!

Roots

I thought yesterday's class discussion was fascinating. What I thought was the most fascinating is what Dr. Hunt said about Henry Louis Gates Jr. going back to Africa, and telling the people

that he was one of them. Though he had the same skin color, they probably felt he was too Americanized to relate to one of them. It was so weird that we were discussing this particular topic because earlier that week I watched Roots for the first time. It is the a story about author Alex Haley's family who was forced into slavery. The main character Kunta Kinte was one of many stolen from his village in Gambia and forced to come to America. Once here he saw others similar to himself and his people back home, but they were not the same. They talked differently, dressed differently, and some even helped the white man capture blacks from Africa. At the same time, American slaves saw him as wild and dangerous. This was quite mind boggling to me because I figured that the American slaves would welcome Kunta with open arms. They eventually warmed up to him, but I believe that he should have been accepted in the first place. I know the past is the past, but I cannot help the way I feel. People with a common problem should stick together, regardless of where they came from. And this goes back to our discussion of how most Creoles tried to separate themselves from both the whites and the blacks. I find it funny that even though they tried to separate themselves they consciously or subconsciously showed favoritism to the whites. I am not saying that all of them did, but to me it seemed that most did. They praised themselves for having white parentage, and light skin. They also tried to keep that "light" complexion in their families and in some cases they only helped their own kind. In the video Andre posted about Creoles a while back, one of the people said that they had a family member that was darker than the rest, and he was constantly teased. This might have been fun and games, but it can be quite hurtful to the person targeted. There are so many other aspects to this race and color "game" that I find so pointless and stupid, but I do not see it going away anytime soon.

There is also a book about the "One Drop" rule, its called One Drop by Bliss Broyard. Here is the cover:

Saint Canonization

When we were discussing the book Voodoo Queen on Thursday, the topic of the canonization of saints came up. Canonization is the name that the Catholic Church uses for the process they use of making a person a saint. We talked about it briefly, but I wanted to look further into it because it really sparked my interest. The canonization process changed greatly since Pope John Paul II became Pope. Initially, those considered for canonization were chosen by public acclaim, but gradually the responsibility of the decision process became that of the Vatican. Those considered for canonization are regarded as holy Catholics. Next, a panel of theologians within the Vatican vote on whether the candidate is "venerable." If voted venerable, the candidate moves on to the beatification process. During this step, the candidate is required to show one miracle. A miracle happens when someone prays to the candidate, who is by that time deceased, and as a result the candidate heals them or performs a miracle. Once the miracle is performed and proven to be a miracle, the potential saint is considered beatified. However, in order to be canonized the saint has to perform another miracle. This means that before a candidate officially becomes a saint, he or she must perform TWO miracles.

Okay. Blah. Many of you may find this uninteresting, especially those of you who are not Catholic, but I was very curious about it!

ENJOY YOUR WEEK!

P.S.

The Delta Gamma beach retreat was so so GREAT, but I am still very jealous and sad I missed out on the Saturday field trip! I can't wait to hear all about it!

Calypso!

On Wednesday night I went to a concert in Nunemaker hall put on by Loyola’s Latin American Studies program. At first I was not too excited for it but once I arrived and began to learn and listen to the wonderful upbeat Calypso music, I was more than excited. The concert was especially interesting for me because I am thinking about going into a Spanish major or Latin American and Caribbean studies program. The concert “Calypso” was very exciting and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The main musician was Manuel Monestel from Costa Rica. Two other men from Mr. Monestel’s band in Costa Rica played with him. Also, students from Loyola’s music program played. The main instruments used were the guitar, a “washtube bass”, banjos, ukuleles, trombones, saxophones, tambourines and flutes. One girl who was from Loyola played the trombone like a professional, she was fantastic. I have never learned much about this tropical music called Calypso. It originated in the Caribbean, especially in Trinidad. It has managed to make its way to New Orleans and intertwine with the jazz culture here. This music was just plain happy and made me want to dance. My favorite song was written by Walter Ferguson who is evidently the most famous person in this style of Music. This song was about a man who wanted to be a dog instead of a person. Other songs were about a green called Callalou, about conserving water, and about a boy who smoked marijuana and needed his mother to help bring him back to reality. Mr. Monestel explained that many Calypso songs are written about the problems of society. If anyone ever has a chance I highly recommend attending any live Calypso music concerts available. It is more than interesting to see how the Caribbean and Creole cultures are intertwined.

A Brief Reflection . . .

Hi all,

I am writing this blog primarily on the focus of our last few classes, Voodoo in New Orleans. To begin, I must say that I absolutely enjoyed Martha Ward's Book, "Voodoo Queen: the Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau." I though Ward really did a good job at addressing the big questions of the time: race, gender, and class.

The most interesting aspect i found of this book was Le Plaçage. I actually wrote my paper on it. In it, I discussed the importance of Delille and Laveau in New Orleans and how they both essentially defeated this system.

Below is a video of Martha Ward's comments about the book:



Anyway, as Doctor Hunt wrote, I look forward to going see the plantation and cemetery on Saturday.

I hope to see you all there!

Best,

--André L.

Gentlepeople,

Here is what I am thinking for Saturday. Meet at 10 am in the Horseshoe. Go to the Voodoo Museum in the Quarter, then make a quick trip to the Cemetery to see Homer Plessy and Marie L., walk up the street to Congo Square, then head out to the country for a tour of Laura Plantation. I know it is a busy day, but time is running out and I would love to show you these sites. You would need to bring money for lunch but otherwise, I will get the rest.

Let me know what you think!!!

Music Traditions of New Orleans

Tonight I attended a concert of calypso music by a group of three Costa Ricans playing alonside students from Loyola's music program and much mention was made about the connection New Orleans has to calypso music. Actually, before coming to New Orleans last semester, I tried to familiarize myself with some basic types of music from the city and Calypso was one I came across. It formed as an Afro-Carribean genre on the island of Trinidad, an English-speaking nation, over 100 years ago as a way to spread news throughout the island. And from there, the genre migrated to other Carribean islands, especially to English colonies like Jamaica and the Bahamas, but also to New Orleans and the eastern coast of Central America, as the Costa Rican group proved. The concert was very lively in my opinion and was hard to sit still, but the calypso featured was not what I had familiarized myself with previously. I had known the calypso that used washboards as guitars and boxes as drums, as if the players used whatever they could find as instruments. The musicians tonight had a much more professional, commercial appeal, I thought. Earlier in the day, the percussionist in the band came to my Spanish class to converse with us students and he showed us one instrument he played in the concert that is used in Costa Rica as a form of spreading news like in Trinidad. But this instrument imitates the sounds of birds.
Another genre of music local to New Orleans, or rather the state of Louisiana is cajun music which I have known more to incorporate accordians, fiddles, and banjos. The lyrics are most often in French and the music comes from backcountry Acadiens that, as said in class, were historically looked down upon by urban whites and Creoles.
Both styles have corresponding dance traditions and are unique to this region, as is zydeco music which is a kind of mix between Afro-Carribean and Cajun music. It is more closely associated with New Orleans' Creoles. It includes both washboards and fiddles and developed here in New Orleans as a fusion, rather than something passed down from elsewhere.
And of course the city has legends in jazz and rock and roll music, but I think those are more modern and national forms of music found throughout the US.
Here are some samples I found on youtube because I don't know how to upload music from my computer to this post:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q2k7YT6D7Q&feature=related
(The first song here talks about tomatoes, just to clarify :) )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19L36mGXLtI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXId-5dYJjE

French Quarter festival

Over the weekend I went to the French Quarter festival down town. As my friends and I headed to the streetcar I was a bit bitter because I was all for going to the Strawberry festival in Ponchatoula, which was also this weekend. I assumed that this festival would be like all of the other festivals in New Orleans, and that I within an hour would be ready to leave, but I was wrong. I had some great food and got to listen to some very interesting music. One of the best parts about the festival was that admission was free! On the website I was excited to learn about that the French quarter festival as well as a few others were non-profit.

“Orleans Style, and the Satchmo SummerFest.
For more than 20 years, FQFI has contributed approximately $150,000 toward maintenance and beautification of public
areas such as Jackson Square and Woldenberg Riverfront Park. The organization generally pays approximately 
$10,000-$12,000 per year in city sales taxes, depending on the success of individual events. The financial health
of the organization relies solely on self-generated sponsorships, event revenue, grants and fundraising.”

http://www.fqfi.org/about.html

I am still upset about missing one of my favorite festivals, the strawberry festival, but am glad that I got to experience the delicious and culturally satisfying French quarter festival.

Walking Tour

On Thursday, some of us went on the walking tour downtown. The walking tour was directed by Walter Johnson. He is a Harvard historian who specializes in slavery. Although he is a witty man, he is not hot (Dr. Hunt says you will never hear hot and historian in the same phrase). Luckily, the weather was beautiful and the tour was great.

I have to admit I wasn't extremely excited for the walking tour. I was tired that day and had visitors coming that night. However, I am so very glad I went! I learned not only about slavery in New Orleans, but slavery throughout the States. I realized that many of the facts and conceptions I had myself about slavery are in fact not true. I of course had to ask a lot of questions to find this out, but my mom always said you can't learn without asking. I have taken that advise to heart - probably to the dismay of many of my teachers :). My first misconception was that nearly anyone and everyone who was white and owned property also owned slaves. This is in fact wrong. Johnson said that it costs nearly $1,200 for a slave. This amounts to between $25,000 and $30,000 today. Although I have no real understanding of money these days, I think of that is the price of a car. Well sure, most middle class families today own two or three cars. However, cars are paid with through a down payment and then monthly payments. BUT, slaves could not be paid for in payments and down payments. Therefore that $1,200 would have to be paid in full. Most middle class families today could not afford to pay $25,000-$30,000 upfront in full today for a car so they probably could not afford to pay $1,200 upfront back then. Nearly 40% of New Orleans population during the Antebellum period was white landowners WITHOUT slaves.

My next question was about the title given to the period. The period of heavy slave trade in New Orleans (and in the United States) is referred to as the Antebellum Period. Antebellum means before war. This period was of course pre- Civil War. However, it's kind of a stupid name to give to the period if you consider that fact that people weren't aware that it was a pre- war period while it was going on.

Despite my first notions of not wanting to go on the walking tour, I ended up really enjoying it. It was interesting and very educational. And as always in the French Quarter, we experienced fumbling drunks, magicians, palm readers, and wreckless drivers.

Spring!!!

After going home to Washington, D.C. for break I was ready to come back to New Orleans for warm weather! So far since the weather has been so nice, I have got to do a lot of fun outdoor New Orleans activities. One of my first was a trip to Plum Street Snoballs. I loved the snoballs and I also loved the store itself. Its a small town neighborhood shop within the city, which is refreshing. The chapter on snoballs in Gumbo Tales was one of my favorite chapters because it discussed the history of Hansen's snoballs. After going to Plum Street, I was more interested in their history. After some research and talking to friends of mine from New Orleans I learned a lot. 

Plum Street Snoballs was founded in 1945, shortly after Hansen's and is one of the oldest snoball stands in New Orleans. Similarly to Hansesn's, Plum Street Snoballs was founded during the Depression. During this time snoballs were very cheap, they are still very affordable. However, the still do very well with business. Plum Street snoballs have become so popular, that they offer catering services as well as snoball stands at special events such as Jazz fest, French Quarter fest, and many other community events. It is also a very family oriented business. The present owners, Donna and Claude Black, employ their relatives to work at the stand and cater to various events. I'm very happy to have discovered Plum Street snoballs through our classwork! I'm excited to make snoballs a spring time tradition of my own!

Attacking Slave History

Thursday's tour of the French Quarter and its heritage of slavery really drew my attention to how history should be approached. On one side, almost all of the sites we visited that were supposedly previous slave markets had been converted into hotels or banks or something commercial to adapt to modern American capitalism. In this sense, history was completely erased and nobody passing those sites with limited knowledge of where the centers of slavery were located in antebellum New Orleans would think a single moment on the history. History was erased from view and basically forced into oblivion for 21st century visitors. On the other hand, museums are established to record history, but in a very intellectual, and almost unemotional and cold manner. Monuments are set up to commemorate tragedies like slavery and the Holocaust and to honor the victims. But such treatment of history almost conditions visitors to romanticize these tragedies and exaggerate or underestimate the reality of the anguish and pain suffered therein. On yet another side, we did see one building that was supposedly very reminiscent of the slavery market that previously existed there, if not completely unchanged since then. As a reminder, this was were the man drunk as a skunk wobbled through the group. The tour guide appealed to my emotions at least when it described the place as one where babies could be heard crying, slaves could be seen singing and dancing, malnourished workers could be seen suffering, human beings could be seen being sold, human sweat and blood could be smelled. It is nearly impossible for us now to really understand and absorb the reality of slavery, but visiting sites where years before slavery markets existed and imagining myself witnessing such atrocities, but also attempting to understand the mindsets of those who owned and sold slaves. It is so easy to judge members of a different era by present-day standards. Today we can say how awful the slavery of institution, but we can fall into the trap of not understanding the forces that drove people to enslave others. So on extremes of the debate for approaching history in my view are the complete removal of remnants of history by building banks and hotels over these sites, and building museums that record history but cause romanticization of reality. One prevents placing oneself in history as if it never happened and tells people to continue on with their lives; the other sticks people in history as if that's all that mattered and life should not move on. In the middle is something like that last place we visited, where the structure remained wholly intact and made it possible to imagine what occurred there, but had been employed as a house or some other kind of building. All I can say is that sincerely trying to place myself in the history of Southern U.S. slave-society, the tour at moments did give me goosebumps, feelings of being connected, even if just slightly, to something higher: an understanding of the institution of slavery.

A Few Words . . .

Hi all,

I want to begin the blog by saying how happy I am I went to tour today. I think all of us who went can take along something that will last forever. In a word, we toured Downtown New Orleans (and French Quarter) to discuss several aspects of the "Antebellum South." One thing that I found interesting was that not many whites owned slaves. Slaves, in essence, were only for the wealthy. I originally had the thought that all whites owned slaved; however, the speaker told us statistics that proved otherwise.

Anyhow, this weekend I'm going to the New Orleans City Hall. There will be a Unity Walk for all Cajuns and Creoles (whatever that means?...hehe.) I think it will be a fun event. Should you decide to come, here is some information:

Louisiana Creoles and Cajuns in Louisiana are cordially invited to the UNITY WALK in New Orleans, Saturday, 10 April 2010. The event begins at 10am at New Orleans City Hall and ends at 2pm at Lafayette Square. Bring your Louisiana Creole and Cajun flags and march for unity. Contact: Anna 504.821.7228

Next, since we're talking about Creole culture, I think Henriette Delille should be mentioned. After the tour, we visited a small plaque that was dedicated to her. I think she was an incredible woman with an enormous heart. According to the Times Picayune, Henriette Delille spent years caring for cast-off slaves, impoverished Africans and people of color in antebellum New Orleans.



According to the article I read, Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday issued a decree declaring Delille “venerable,” a status two steps removed from being formally recognized as a saint. It means the Vatican process that examines the historical record is formally convinced that Delille lived a life of “heroic virtue.”

I'm going to briefly attempt to sum up Canonization procedures in the Catholic Church. Basically, in order to be a saint in the Church, two miracles need to be accredited to you. (You can be dead or alive.) Various research (taking several years) is done to make sure that it is truly an 'out-of-the-ordinary' miracle that occurred.

Basically, Vatican has begun to do research into one of the miracles accredited to Delille. The potential miracle was one done in 1998. It was the cure of a 4-year-old Houston girl suffering from an overwhelming pulmonary infection. However, it may be many months, or more, before the order knows whether the Vatican concurs.

According to the article, advocates are encouraging people to ask for Delille’s favor in prayers, so that she will receive the two miracles needed for canonization.

For Complete Article Click Here.

Also, before leaving, please go to the French Quarter Festival! French Quarter Festival is from April 9 - April 11.

For more information Click Here.

I wish you a great weekend. There are plenty of activities that you can do!

Have fun,

--André

History, History, and More History!

First, I want to thank Dr. Hunt for allowing us to experience such an amazing adventure through history. I think it is essential for students and people in general to have some bit of knowledge of their hometowns. I remember in 8th grade, I had to take Louisiana history and I hated it because my teacher (even though she was really nice), was not that into it. Thankfully those days are long behind me, and now I have a greater appreciation of Louisiana.

Now, for the tour. I must say that Walter Johnson does know his stuff and I enjoyed being out on such a beautiful day. As he was showing us the places that used to house slaves, I could not help but picture how it would have looked. In my mind I saw dirt roads, with horse carriages coming back and forth. I did not want to picture the slaves too much, because even though it was so long ago, it still hard to imagine people as property. During his tour, Johnson mentioned John White a bit so I decided to look him up. However, I stumbled upon the Journal of American History which featured a historical case presented by Mr. Walter Johnson himself. It was called The Slave Trader, the White Slave, and the Politics of Racial Determination in the 1850s. The case was about a young 15 year-old girl by the name Jane Morrison (she claimed her name was Alexina) who was bought by a New Orleans slave trader, James White in 1857. Shortly, after she ran away. That was not the last time the two would see each other, because eight months later, Jane/Alexina filed suit against White to prevent him from taking her again and selling her. The case was bought before the Louisiana Supreme Court twice, and considered by three different juries. This might seem like a case where the slave wanted to get back her master, but it wasn't. Jane/Alexina had blonde hair and blue eyes.

I did not go that far into the account, but it was very interesting and I would like to know the outcome. This is the link if you would like to read it:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2567914?seq=1

I also have something very funny to share. On my home page is the att. news and they always give a list of the best or the worst things in America or the world. The topic today was the 7 worst roads in America. What's so funny about it is that some of us were mentioning how bad the streets in New Orleans are, and low and behold we are at the top of the list. Here is the link for that as well:
http://shine.yahoo.com/event/travel/7-worst-roads-in-america-1229355/

Have a great weekend :)

Really, really, ridiculously good food.

Over break, I got to get off campus and actually enjoyed some home cooking, and it was awesome. But it was long that I realized I'd pretty much eaten every typical Louisiana dish possible.

When I went to Mississippi, my dad made me red beans and rice (and it was on a Monday. Haha). His are pretty much the only red beans I'll eat. I'm really picky about my red beans.

And then before I made way back to Lafayette, I went to this restaurant in Slidell called Crawfish Paradise (It actually is now closed temporarily, it closed the day after we went, because the owners are at ends with each other and is soon to only be under one owner who has to change the name. So complicated.) located on Gauze Blvd. with my family where we enjoyed boiled crawfish. For a restaurant, I was pretty impressed. It had a good flavor, although not spicy enough for my taste, but the thing that really got me is they made it with garlic cloves (my favorite) and lemon, which I've never had a restaurant do before. P.S. Has cute waiters...just sayin. (The woman in the picture is my grandmother a.k.a. Pat)

If for whatever reason you're heading over to Lafayette, the first exit right after getting off Atchafalaya (Woo! Spelled that right on my first try!) bridge is called the Cecilia-Henderson Exit.

I would highly recommend getting off at this exit and going to the Boudain Shop and Country Store, also known as Chicken on the Bayou (Because apparently they have awesome chicken. I haven't tried it yet since it's a rarity that I stop here). Honestly, I can't think of a really good boudain place that's actually in Lafayette. The best one's are always outside the city. My other favorite place to go is in Carencro (affectionately known as "Da Cro") and I couldn't even tell you how to get there.

Here, you can get crawfish and pork boudin links and balls, pistolettes, and other things which can either be cooked up for you or you can buy frozen and take home to cook yourself. And of course, they have cracklin, which I had been craving since talking about it class, made fresh when you order it. If you ever decided to get it, ALWAYS make sure it's fresh; If it sits out for too long, it can get hard and difficult to chew and has even been known to crack some teeth (hence the name, maybe?).

Boudin Ball

Cracklin

And on top of that, my mom made seafood gumbo and shrimp and crawfish ettoufee.

After eating all this delicious food and gaining, like 50 million pounds, I realized something... I CAN'T COOK ANY OF IT! Like seriously, I can't even make rice in a pot right. I always burn the bottom and it's never the right consistency.

So it is going to be my own personal mission to learn to cook all these wonderful dishes made by, in my opinion, the best people possible, family. And I'm going to make my own cookbook from it, because no one can tell you how they make things, they just do it. That's the bad thing about Louisiana cooks trying to tell you their recipes. Should be fun :)

P.S. I took my friend over to Plum St., and got him his first New Orleans sno-ball; he's pretty much addicted.

I hope everyone has been enjoying their break as much as I have! This week has been the first week it has really felt like spring. The weather has been more than beautiful and all of the cars are covered in pollen. To celebrate this season I made a trip to the snowball stand by my house with a few friends. As I enjoyed my delicious sugar attack I thought about creole crossroads and Gumbo Tales. A few days later I enjoyed a crawfish boil with my family and friends. We sat outside on the lake and enjoyed our crawfish in the 75 degree weather. I just started reading Voodoo Queen a few days ago (I had to order it because Banes and Noble doesn't carry it in store) and am still not very far. I am excited to lean about Marie Laveau's life, reputation and status. I am familiar with the name, but only know the basis of her life and her seemingly interesting story.

So Far So Good!

Well, I've been bombarded with loads of homework over my spring break, so I haven't had time to go out as much. I have, however, had time to start reading Voodoo Queen and I find it a very good read. I'm still on the first chapter, but what I've read so far about Marie's origins and her family are very interesting. I am not sure about Martha Ward's take on the Voodoo Queen with a questionable history; sometimes it seems to me that she is making the whole thing up. But I haven't dedicated myself to research Laveau's history, so I think I might have to trust Ward's word....for now.

Hope everyone is having a good break!

Houston's Taste of Creole

Zatarains Creole Seasoning

Movies filmed in and set in, in whole or in part, the city of New Orleans.

http://www.listology.com/list/new-orleans-film

What Makes New Orleans So Popular?

When I think of New Orleans, I think of the French Quarter, Mardi Gras, the Saints, Hurricane Katrina, food and jazz.The French Quarter is a historical site that brings tourist all around the world to visit. It has a coffee stand called Cafe du Monde where tourists and natives go to get some coffee and beignets. Beside the coffee stand, there are little shops that sell either souveneirs, masks, and clothes. A big part of the quarter is the Jackson square. In the Jackson square, there are local artists that sell their artwork and fortune tellers. Also, there is a St. Louis Cathedral nearby where people can admire its beautiful architecture.Mardi Gras is a big thing in New Orleans where people whether from New Orleans or not gather on the small streets of the city waiting for the extravagant floats to pass by as they excitedly catch their beads and enjoy the booming music coming from the high school marching bands.An extremely big thing for New Orleans, is the Saints. Since they won the Superbowl, that Saints is a very big deal for the city and the people. As a matter of fact, there was even a Saints parade whether they won or not. Everywhere you go in New Orleans, there is always someone wearing a Saints Jersey or a who dat shirt. Even cars have saints flags or houses have banners saying "Go Saints".
A more traumatic and emotional image of New Orleans is Hurricane Katrina. Although it occur about five years ago, it is still being reflected on. Houses are still being built and some are still left abandoned. There are even tours that focus on the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
The last two images of New Orleans is jazz and food. In the city of New Orleans, you will always see a random person playing jazz. Usually they are found in Jackson square or sometimes I even find them near the aquarium. The famous jazz player of New Orleans is Louis Armstrong.
A big part of New Orleans is their food. New Orleans has cheap seafood where you can buy a pound of crawfish for just three bucks. Besides its seafood, there are different types of food here such as Cajun food and Creole food that it is unlikely you will find it outside of New Orleans.

A Few Thoughts . . .

Hi all,

I'd just like to mention a few things in this blog. First, I'd like to say that I'm pretty excited to begin reading our next book on Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen. She is extremely important for New Orleans culture because she pioneered a mixed version of African Ritual and Catholicism that we know today as "Voodoo."



Next, I'd like to go back to a previous book we read, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. According to Dr. Hunt, Le Petit Théâtre is showing a one-man show of the the play this Saturday I believe. So, if you liked to book, i think it might be worth your while.



Also, I'd like to make some Restaurant suggestions.

1) Café Dégas (French Restaurant)
2) Mr. Ed's (Creole Restaurant)
3) Mr. B's (Pricey 'Restaurant' Creole Food - owned by Brennan family so it's going to cost a 'pretty penny')
4) Mike East-West (Delicious Creole Food with Asian Twist)
5) Three Sisters (Delicious Creole Restaurant)

Lastly, this is a bit random, but I'd like to share a good New Orleans 'desert' with you. I personally feel a little piece of heaven every time I eat one of these.




Those are just some humble suggestions. I hope you all have a safe, fun Spring Break.

Best,

--André

Red Gravy

I still have yet to decide whether or not I liked Gumbo Tales. I would never say I didn't like it, but it questionable whether I like it or whether I am just apathetic to it and don't really have an option one way or another. Many of the foods in there I was not familiar with or would never have associated with New Orleans. I obviously expected for gumbo, coffee (particularly Cafe Du Monde), oysters, crawfish, king cake, and sno balls to be in there. However, I do know that I was surprised by some of the foods that were put in there. The one that caught me off guard the most was "Red Gravy." Most of all I was surprised at how influential Italian heritage is to New Orleans. Coming from St. Louis where there is an entire Italian neighborhood and at least one Italian restaurant in every other neighborhood, the Italian influence was always obvious. But here, it doesn't seem so "in your face." I would never describe St. Louis as an Italian neighborhood, but it certainly seems for prevalent there than it does in New Orleans.

The chapter discussed Italian food and traditions prevalent in New Orleans Italian communities.There are so many Italian traditions that were brought with the immigrants to New Orleans. One of the traditions that was talked about in the book was St. Joseph's Day. This day is celebrated every March 19 in celebration of St. Joseph, who saved the Sicilians from a drought. They promised St. Joseph that if he stopped the drought, they had to have a big feast and celebration in honor of him. An important part of the feast is the altar. In the book we read about the wonderful and elaborate altar Marie Fagot and her family hosted for many years. I really enjoyed reading this part of the book. Although I somewhat enjoyed reading about the food traditions, I really liked reading about how food and traditions bring families and even communities together.

After reading the book, I now know just how important the Italian influence is in New Orleans. I think it is just wonderful because not only do they bring great cuisine to the city, but they also keep New Orleans rich in tradition and community togetherness.

Antoine's

This past weekend my mom and grandmother came to visit. My sorority, Delta Gamma, had its Founder's Day luncheon. We were able to extend the invitation to important women in our lives. Although the luncheon was the motivation for their visit, it was not the only highlight of the weekend. In fact, the highlight of the weekend was probably dinner at Antoine's. Antoine's is a famous historical dining establishment in the French Quarter on Saint Louis. In fact, Antoine's is mentioned in Gumbo Tales. My grandmother, Mimi, had read the book Dinner at Antoine's, by Frances Keyes, so she thought it would be cool to eat dinner at Antoine's herself. She did that for the first time nearly 40 years ago when here and my grandfather came down to New Orleans for vacation. She absolutely loved the restaurant and was adamant that she get to return when she came down to visit me. So on Saturday night we made 8 o'clock reservations for Antoine's.

Antoine's was opened in 1840 by Antoine Alciatore. He was a young and talented French chef. He first moved to New York from France but then sought to move to New Orleans as advances in his career seemed more available here. He first opened the restaurant in the kitchen of the St. Charles Hotel, but the success of the restaurant called for bigger quarters. So in 1868 Antoine's moved to St. Louis. The same building and architectural accents that existed over 100 years ago are still there today. The fame and success of Antoine's has been consistent, if not growing since its opening.

Saturday night was my first, and certainly not last, visit to Antoine's. When our taxi arrived at the restaurant we were immediately assisted out of the car by well dressed men in suits. They checked us on the reservation list and we soon proceeded in. All of the servers were men who were also finely dressed. The decor was obviously antique. When I learned it was the same decor from 1868 I was not surprised as it had that antique charm. The table was set with a complete arrangement of dining utensils for a elegant meal. The menu was different than most. The appetizers for only meant for one person, rather than to share. Your main dish didn't come with a side. Rather, vegetables could be ordered separately and would be served with your main course. I ordered gumbo as my appetizer. It was excellent. It had a dark roux. I order their famous puffed potatoes as my vegetable and Pompano Pontchartrain as my main course. Pompano Pontchartrain is grilled Pompano in a buttery sauce topped with lump crab. The meal was excellent. Not only was the food excellent, but so was the service.

I would certainly recommend Antoine's as a suggestion for a New Orlean's dinner. However, it is very expensive. At least for me, my college budget doesn't allow hardly eating out at all, let alone expensive fining dining establishment. Once all of us graduate with incredible GPAs and land extremely high paying jobs (as we should with such an awesome education) I will expect that everyone eat there at least once. :)

Popular images of New Orleans

Since I began living here, the images that come to mind when I think of the City of New Orleans have radically changed. I'd seen this city in movies and photographs, and heard word of mouth stories about it my whole life, but I had never walked down the narrow French Quarter streets or witness its legendary Mardi Gras celebration for myself until just this school year. Now that I have navigated the city somewhat and experienced the day-to-day life for a while, I realize that most of what outsiders see in popular culture and mass media doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what New Orleans has to offer. I will clarify my point with these images:

Here is a great view of the city. This picture is used on an airline's website in an advertisement for flights to New Orleans. In the very center of the photo, it shows the Louisiana Superdome, a well-known feature of the city because it is the home of the Saints, the site of several Superbowls, and the subject of much discussion around the time of hurricane Katrina due to the damage it sustained and its use as an emergency shelter. It makes perfect sense why an airline would choose this very recognizable monument to be at the center of their image of the city, but it doesn't really tell a prospective tourist anything. It's only purpose is to present something recognizable to everyone so that they can maximize the amount of people who go "Ohhhh the Superdome. I've heard of that. I've heard a lot about that in fact. I should go see it for myself, I think I'll buy a plane ticket and go to New Orleans." Without that white circle in the middle, this image could be confused for any number of different cities, and it would have very little advertising value. With this picture, prospective visitors see only a winding, gray interstate and none of the beautiful boulevards with the green medians and the colorful signs. It is interesting to note, however, how the Mississippi River appears in the background of the photo. It is really the only other feature that an outsider might recognize that distinguishes the city as New Orleans rather than any other urban center, which shows how New Orleans is known partly for its geography as a river city.

Unlike the previous photo which is all-encompassing and rather void of detail. This picture zooms in on a particular spot in the city, and one of the most well-known. If you've heard of New Orleans, chances are you've heard of Bourbon Street. It's pretty much known as the street with the largest and longest ongoing party in the world. All of the travel guides I've encountered about New Orleans have some kind of picture depicting this place either on the cover, or if not, in the first few pages. It is New Orleans' number one 'must-see', and yet its largely commercial and scarcely a fulfilling 'cultural' experience.

The architecture of the French Quarter is highly recognizable and often depicted in popular images of the city. The multi-story buildings with the ornate balconies, archways, hanging plants, and suspended shop signs are almost as recognizable as the Bourbon Street sign. Most recently in pop culture, the Xbox 360 game Left 4 Dead: 2 included a level known as 'The Parish' which was modeled after the City of New Orleans and particularly French Quarter architecture.

Here is a collage of images that is very telling in terms of how New Orleans is viewed in mass media. The left image depicts a masked figure with an elaborate purple costume, which represents the many festivals and parades, including Mardi Gras, that the city is famous for. Center-left we see one of the aforementioned balconies on an elegant building. The center image is suggestive of New Orleans' rich musical heritage as the birthplace of Jazz. Center-right depicts a brightly lit downtown area right on the river, the glow of the lights is reminiscent of the many neon signs that can be seen in the CBD on Canal and in the French Quarter on Bourbon. The image on the far-right seems to be showing a close-up of a statue and a colorful plant mounted on the crafted bars of railing or balcony. The statue has on Mardi Gras beads. It's a pleasant, dense image that is mildly representative of the uniqueness and detail of the city's layout.

Gumbo Tales?

This book did nothing for me. Before reading the book I had high expectations, which I guess isn't very good to begin with. I thought the book would be of the same caliber as Confederacy of Dunces, but sadly it wasn't. Sara Roahen is a good story teller, however I think she is way overexcited about food culture here in New Orleans. I literally found myself rolling my eyes at every page. Don't get me wrong, I love my city and I believe that we have the best food in the whole world, but I'd rather let the food talk for itself. The problem that I found with Roahen's book is that it felt like she was putting on a show. It's hard for me to describe, but if I was a tourist I would find it hard to believe some of the reactions she had for some the situations she described in her book. For example, when she describes how she drove around to her friend Pableaux's house to see if he was being truthful in not making red beans. She acted as if it was the end of the world. There are numerous instances in this book that made me want to throw out the world, but I would be here all day listing them. Even though I did not like the book, I cannot say that it was boring. I think what would have made it better for me, was if the author grew up in New Orleans. I really think I would appreciate it more.

The Princess and the Frog

I grew up on Disney and Barbie. In fact I had Disney princesses that had been made into Barbie dolls. So naturally I was uber excited for the release of the newest Disney princess, Tiana. In preparation for the movie, my friends and I visited the Lakeview Mall's Disney Store. As expected there was a huge display just for Tiana. My friends and I were enraptured! Walking around, looking at all the Tiana dolls, one particular doll caught my eye. This Tiana doll was pretty in all the right ways, except for one. This Tiana doll had lumpy, nappy, cotton-y hair. This irritated me, especially since the adjacent Snow White doll had nice, soft, velour hair. To me it was particularly distressing that Disney chose to make dolls with nappy hair. I was miffed because I don't have hair like that and I didn't think it was a fair representation. I then put back both dolls and left.

On the opening night of the movie, my friends and I were ready to see it. The movie was ok, (ok for a group of 19 year olds, magical for a child) I especially loved Prince Naveen, Mama Odie and Doctor Facilier. Doctor Facilier was a con artist, who used voodoo as his way to trick his patrons. Conversely, Mama Odie was a voodoo priestess, and was the "fairy godmother" of the film. I liked that the movie used the two interpretations of voodoo which is often controversial and viewed negatively. Aside from the ugly doll that Disney made, I was pleased that they finally chose to show a black princess AND in New Orleans.

"Good Hair"

“Good Hair” was nothing like I was expecting it to be. Honestly, I was ready for a semi-stupid comedy making fun of everything, not a documentary. I was thoroughly impressed with Chris Rock and his movie “Good Hair”. The topic is something I have actually been curious about before as I drive past wig shops and what not. I had read about the long and expensive process of getting weaves but I never knew it to be as expensive and time consuming- not to mention important- as it was portrayed in the documentary. It is interesting how good hair takes priority in many people’s lives over what one would think of essential things. I consider myself pretty low maintenance and it amazes me that people are willing to spend so much money on looking a certain way. I never knew that hair was so important to different people and that different types are considered more attractive than others. I have really thick and annoying hair but I realize that after this movie I should be thankful that I have the hair I have. If not for the appearance reasons than at least I can sell it if I am ever really desperate for money!

Throughout the past couple of months in our Creole Crossroads class we have discussed the rich and diverse culture throughout New Orleans. We have read about it in Confederacy of Dunces and in Gumbo Tales. I have grown to love many unique aspects of this city that I could not have done without living here for this short period of time. There is so much to see and do in this city that when I have visitors there is not nearly enough time to explore the city at our leisure. This is especially because all they want to do is see Bourbon Street. Bourbon Street, while possibly what New Orleans is most renowned for, may be my least favorite thing about the city. It is a tourist trap, simply put. It should have signs that read, “If you want to pay for expensive tourist drinks in expensive plastic souvenir cups, come here!” While it can be fun for special occasions, it irks me that when my friends come visit all they want to do is spend their time on Bourbon. I try to drag them away to such culturally rich places like Frenchman street to hear some local music or to a hole in the wall oyster shack, but all they want to do is see Bourbon. While it is (I guess) an important aspect of New Orleans, it shouldn’t be all. Perhaps this blog is a little bit harsh (okay, a lot harsh), but I just wish more young people who visited the city or live her would explore deeper than superficial Bourbon.

New Orleans

When I wake up and it is hot out that is my favorite part of going to school in New Orleans.  The city has so much to offer with the history, diversity, traditions, parties, food, everything.  But when I talk to my friends or family that are home in the North East in the snow and gross weather, I get so excited that I am not present in the gloomy nastiness.  The days when we can go to the Fly and just sit and be in front of the Mississippi and hang out with friends in the sun is just so amazing.  I love that there is so much to do in our city and that going to school at Loyola, one is able to have the best of everything.  The students are able to live in the city, but at the same time have things like parks and open space available to them.  Its also a plus that the school is so small but with Tulane being such close proximity it doesn’t feel like we have are attending a university with under 5000 undergrad.  I love that almost everything is walking distance and that there is never a boring moment.  This past weekend my friend from home had visited me.  She currently is attending Loyola University in Maryland.  Loyola Maryland is a very popular school in my hometown and so often when I told other I was going Loyola they automatically assumed I meant the college in Maryland.  No one had heard of Loyola New Orleans and thought it was so strange to be going to a school so far away and unspoken about.  However, I am so glad I went against the trend of the typical schools (Richmond, College of Charleston, Penn State, Clemson, Wake Forest) because I seem to be having the most fun.  All of my friends seem to be doing the same things we did in High School and are with all the same people.  They are not experiencing new things but instead are at Frat parties playing beer pong every night.  The drama that was present in High School is still occurring and I feel bad that they are not having half the fun we have while going to school here.  Every day I have a new friend asking to come visit and see the city, they look through pictures and cannot get over the fact that it is rarely under sixty degrees.  My friend before while on the phone with her mom just kept talking about how much there was to do here, and how everyone was so nice.  I get frustrated sometimes because there is so much to  see that one weekend is not enough time to show someone New Orleans.  But after the beautiful weather this weekend, I can honestly say how lucky I am to be living in such a beautiful place like New Orleans.

Good Hair Reaction

I found the movie “Good Hair” by Chris Rock to be very entertaining as well as very interesting.  I never realized how important it was to have this idea of good hair but after watching this movie, it was present what an issue it is.  Whenever Andre spoke in class about his families differences based of race comparing the hair of the two it didn’t seem like that would be such a great distinction of the two.  

I could not believe how much money and time and chemicals some people put in their hair to make it look a certain way.  The fact that it sometimes can cost up to 1000 dollars for a single weave amazes me.  I also could not comprehend how painful it must be to have braids tied to tightly to your head and than a chemical that is strong enough to burn through coke cans sit on your scalp for a period of time.  

This video made me grateful that I have the hair I do and how lucky I am that I don’t have to go through the things so many of these women did.

I also don’t agree with some of these treatments because I think many of the women had beautiful hair naturally.  Although it is different than Caucasian hair it doesn’t make it less beautiful.  The fact that women spend that amount of money a month just to upkeep a certain look was ridiculous.  But than thinking about it, it really isn’t that strange.  I feel every race spends money on their hair, it doesn’t matter if they are african american, caucasian, asian, indian, anything.  No matter your descent in a society so based on appearance there is always a way to alter your look to be more main stream and “beautiful.”  Asians typically have very straight hair, some spend large sums of money a month in order to give their hair more body and more curls.  Highlights, perms, extensions, relaxers, dye jobs all are expensive and it shows what people go through in order to look more appealing.  The one aspect that really bothered me was the little girls who were getting these relaxing treatments done.  They are so very dangerous and getting their hair straightened at ages as young as 3 is absurd!  Not only is it dangerous for these little girls, it is also putting an image in their head that they are not beautiful and they must change.  It isn’t fair that so many little children as seen in the video think straight here is beautiful and their natural hair is not good enough.  These children will grow up with a complex thinking they have to conform to this beauty that is based off the idea that white is superior, which is not true.  

New Orleans Cuisine . . .

Hello all, today I thought since we've been talking about 'food,' I thought I'd mention some different things about New Orleans Cuisine.

To begin, I think it is important to mention that New Orleans Cuisine is a rich mixture of various cultures. As we've discussed in class, it's principally a mixture of: African, Mediterranean, French and Spanish foods. I put African first because I can't think of a single dinner meal that is eaten without Africa's main contribution, rice. Besides rice, Creole cuisine also borrowed peppers and beans from Africa. So, for this reason, things like Red Beans and Rice are central to New Orleans cuisine.

Next, I'd like to briefly mention some of my favorite meals. I must say that I love seafood. All sorts of it. Crabs, Crawfish, Oyster (even raw), Shrimp, etc. Some of my favorite foods are Gumbo, Crawfish Bisque, Crawfish Étouffée, Jambalaya, 'Dirty Rice' (don't let the name fool you, it's quite delicious), Red Beans, Shrimp Creole, etc. Wow, just writing all these foods make me sooo hungry. Also, for dinner, it's very 'Creole' to eat shrimp, crawfish, fish, etc. with some good ol' grits! My favorite breakfast mean is 'Pain Perdu' (Lost Bread). It's basically an egg fried in bread. Very good. For desert, Bread Pudding is very good.

Below is Dooky Chase, well known Creole restaurant in New Orleans:



Here is Ms. Chase, who was once asked "How do you know if food is actually 'Creole'?" to which she responded, "If a Creole cooks it, then it's Creole cooking":



Hope you get something out of this!

Read Gumbo Tales to learn about New Orleans Cuisine!

Your classmate,

--André

Food Cultcha as Noo Awlins' Religion

As I'm reading Gumbo Tales, I can't help but thinking about the movie Julie and Julia. Normally, I am very interested in food, but I think the reason I struggled to really delve into this book was because I'm not a food critic, I would much rather eat food than read about food, and nothing the author mentions holds a personal significance to me. Much like the movie, it seems the author of this book often tries to recreate legendary dishes and record her experiences doing so. Inher case, it is New Orleans dishes she attempts to make, rather than dishes from Julia Child's cookbook. But as Sara Roahen discusses various restaurants, and as I have never been to any of them nor know anything about them, all these restaurant names just kind of blend in and sound like jibberish to me. I now understand that the sazerac is an alcoholic drink unique to the Big Easy; the po-boy is a spin on a deli sandwich, as is a muffeletta; a sno-ball is a flavored ice form of air-conditioning for the stomach; gumbo is a melange of different Southern foods, just as it's characteristic sausage is; turkducken also is a combination food, actually of turkey, duck, and chicken; and vegetables, green foods, and seafood all have had the mark on this city. And each food speciality has its own ethnic origins, whether it be French, Italian, Spanish, West African, or Creole. As for the Italian influence, I had not previoulsy realised that Italian food in New Orleans is second only to Creole cuisine. I figured Cajun would have been up there with Creole before Italian food because New Orleans is not one of the first places in America that comes to mind for having a strong influence. Reading about the altars to St. Joseph definitely enlightened me about that Italian power in the Crescent City. I also learned about mirliton or chayote and the Latin American influence on Creole cuisine. Also new to me was the Vietnamese food power here, manifested in the Asian gumbo called pho.
All in all, I had to really motivate myself to read an entire book about food. The parts that most caught my eye were those in which the author discussed people or their accents, religious traditions, and the differentiation locals make between their lives before and after Hurricane Katrina. I think if a book were to focus more on those topics in regards to New Orleans, I would have more interested. I just resign myself to believe that Sara Roahen wrote Gumbo Tales for a specific, food-critical audience, and although I don't think I was part of her intended audience, I did learn some facts, I did find different perspectives on this city, and I did, in the end, gain a greater appreciation for what sets New Orleans apart from other Southern cities, other American cities, and other Creole cities.

I was not able to take the trip to the Ogden last week and seeing the pictures I know that I missed out! The Ogden seems like a very interesting museum focused on New Orleans art. I don' t know anything about New Orleans art and hope to one day take a trip to the museum on my own.

Yesterday I went back and reread some of the sections of Gumbo Tales that i had previously skimmed. When I had previously been reading the book I was a little bitter about the author, and the context of her anecdotes. In class on Tuesday I found that I was not the only one that had these feelings. As a Louisiana resident, quite a bit of the references in the book were personally familiar to me and my childhood. I felt as if the author was giving readers a false impression of her past life. She moved to New Orleans post Katrina, and only live in the city for about two year before writing the book. Dr. Hunt persuaded me to take a different approach the author’s view. Instead of looking at the book as a story of personal experiences, I looked at the stories in a historical context. The author is a food critic, and made a point to experience some of the most prominently New Orleans foods. She gives a quick explanation of the food and a brief history. She makes a point not to look like an outsider; this attitude could be seen as arrogant or as an attempt to fit in. I enjoyed the book a lot more with my new attitude, and look forward to cooking some of these delicious foods.

Trip to the Ogden

Last week's trip to the Ogden Museum was wonderful. Before taking this class, I've never even heard of this museum. Thanks to Dr. Hunt, I was able to see more of what Louisiana has to offer, in terms of art. The art featured in the Ogden was not just from Louisiana, but from the South in general. Most of the art was so beautiful that it was hard for me to focus on just one particular piece. Some of the art reminded me so much of my grandfather's work, which mostly features African Americans. These are some of my favorites.