Louisiana Eats

The weather is cooling down here in Louisiana, which means outdoor events are heating up across our state. Out on the Cajun Prairie, Le Grand Hoorah, a festival dedicated to the music, food, and culture of the people of Acadiana, is coming up November 1st. The annual event turns 10 this year – and to celebrate, Louisiana Eats brings you highlights from our road trip to attend Le Grand Hoorah in 20...

From the height of its popularity in the 19th century to its modern revival, absinthe has a long and storied history. A favorite pastime of artists, writers, and bohemians, the spirit known as "the green fairy" was subject to a near global ban for nearly a century due to myths about its hallucinogenic effects. Even after those bans were lifted around the turn of the millennium, its wild and myster...

With its proximity to Latin America, Louisiana has long enjoyed a treasure trove of delightful food and spirits from south of the border. This week, we take a long look at that bounty. First, we hear from two-time James Beard Award winner Ted Genoways, author of Tequila Wars: Jose Cuervo and the Bloody Struggle for the Spirit of Mexico. Ted tells the real story behind the rise of Mexico's tequila...

Located at the opposite ends of the country, the states of Louisiana and Maine appear to share little in common at first glance. But take a closer look, and you'll see two places that share a passion for their distinct seafood culture – each home to a galaxy of culinary rockstars who elevate their local cuisine. On this week's show, Louisiana Eats takes you with us as we travel to Maine to explore...

From crumbly cornbread that perfectly complements a home-cooked meal, to warm cookies that can make you forget any problem, baked treats are key to happy eaters everywhere. This week, we celebrate the delicious half-science, half-art that is baking! First, we hear from our old friend, food writer Anne Byrn. Her latest cookbook, Baking in the American South, is a beautifully photographed tome, feat...

New Orleans has long been known for its Spanish, French, and African influences, so it can be easy to overlook the role the Chinese have played in our culture and cuisine since the mid-1800s. On this week's show, we explore the Chinese in the Crescent City – yesterday and today. First, we hear from the Historic New Orleans Collection's Winston Ho, who fills us in on the captivating history of the...

Twenty years ago, on August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina violently swept through New Orleans. The storm and subsequent levee failures brought chaos and devastation to the city and surrounding areas. On this week's show, as we mark two decades since Katrina, we explore how New Orleans residents and businesses were able to respond quickly and creatively to rebuild our city. We begin with Richard Mc...

Every Labor Day weekend, tens of thousands of members of the LGBTQ community from around the world gather in New Orleans for the five-day party known as Southern Decadence. To celebrate, this week, we bring you stories of culinarians expressing queerness through food. First, we hear from John Birdsall, author of "What Is Queer Food? How We Served a Revolution." He tells us about the often-unknown...

In 1946, a New Orleans bar owner named Owen Brennan opened Brennan's Vieux Carré on Bourbon Street. Fresh out of high school, his sister Ella became his de facto manager there. Just before Owen's untimely death a few years later, plans were in place to move the restaurant to Royal Street, where the Brennan family dynasty truly began. Today, Brennan's Restaurant on Royal Street is grander than ever...

The origins of our food and foodways are usually not well known and can sometimes be hard to track down. After all, how do you figure out the origins of something that’s been around for centuries? On this week’s show, we learn the history behind dishes that define our American cuisine and the traditions surrounding them. We begin with Dr. David Shields of the University of South Carolina. His book...

Summers in Louisiana tend to linger longer than elsewhere in the U.S., and for many locals, the heat is a perfect excuse to skip town for more exotic destinations. But for those of us who plan to stick around, there are plenty of ways to take a vacation without needing to pack a bag. On this week's show, we travel virtually to the French Riviera with New Orleans chef Samuel Peery. Finding inspirat...

Although South Louisiana does not provide the easiest growing conditions, when fueled by passion and obsession, it's amazing what can be done. On this week's show, we introduce you to some real alternative thinkers who are successfully cultivating the unusual and the exotic. We begin with a trip to the SG Tiki Farm just across the state line in Pearlington, Mississippi. There, Chef Ernie Foundas g...

Each year in July, cocktailians by the tens of thousands descend on New Orleans for an industry convention unlike any other: Tales of the Cocktail. This week, we take you behind the scenes of the annual five-day event and meet some of the people you might run into there. We begin with Charlotte Voisey, who was just named Executive Director of the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation. As a Tales partic...

Here in Louisiana, intergenerational cooking is a way of life. Who doesn't treasure their great grandmother's gumbo recipe or still use their mom's roasting pan? This week, we talk with two women of East Asian heritage whose families and cultures share that motherly love expressed through food. Local-girl-made-good, Chef Nini Nguyen, grew up among the large Vietnamese population in New Orleans and...

French culture holds a special place in Louisiana's heart, whether it's music, language, or food! On this week's show, we travel to France virtually and bring home a taste of their lifestyle and cuisine. We begin with Makenna Held, author of "Mostly French: Recipes from a Kitchen in Provence," which is both a cookbook and a chronicle of life in the French countryside, where she runs an innovative...

A lot of magic can be made with nothing more than flour, sugar, and, of course, butter! On this week's show, we explore the magic that some folks are achieving with just that combination. First, we hear from Juliana Fernandes and Juliana Freire, the dynamic duo behind one of New Orleans' newest eateries, Juliana's Brazilian Bakery and Café. Playfully decorated in pastel pinks and greens, the cozy...

This month, as Louisiana Eats marks our 15th anniversary, we're relishing the opportunity to bring you some favorite moments from our archives. We begin with our 2011 interview with the late civil rights activist, Dr. Rudy Lombard. He talks about his role in the 1960 McCrory's lunch counter sit-in and what motivated him to write his seminal 1978 book, "Creole Feast." Then, we revisit our 2011 trib...

Louisiana Eats hit a major milestone last week – 15 years on the air. That's well over 500 episodes featuring somewhere around a thousand different voices! This week, we bring you three interviews from our archives that celebrate some late, great Louisiana legends. We begin with a tribute to Chef Paul Prudhomme, his wife Kay, and their lost French Quarter restaurant, K-Paul's. We revisit an unforg...

On this week's show, we're celebrating the 15th anniversary of our show's debut! We've dug through our archives to bring you some of our favorite moments over the past decade and a half, with an emphasis on Louisiana culture and cuisine. The very first episode of Louisiana Eats broadcast on June 9, 2010. That year also marked the 125th anniversary of New Orleans' streetcar line. We look back at ou...

In 1983, the Louisiana legislature named crawfish as the official state crustacean. In 2008, they proclaimed the Sazerac as New Orleans' official cocktail. And on June 1, 2024, Billy Nungesser, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, proclaimed Blue Plate Mayonnaise to be the official mayo of poor boy sandwiches. On this week's show, we explore some other essential poor boy ingredients. We begin with th...

With a unique history reaching back centuries, Louisiana is a state that lends itself to storytelling. On this week's show, we're joined by two historians to get the true stories behind some common myths and misconceptions. And sandwiched between them, we speak with two authors of historical fiction whose books make our state's past come alive. We begin with journalist and food historian Lolis Eri...

New Orleans began her love affair with coffee three centuries ago. Any local of a certain age can remember the grown-ups of their childhood spending hours around the kitchen table drinking a strong French roast blended with chicory. This week we sit down with a cup of coffee and some folks who can tell us the story of coffee in New Orleans. First, Patrick Brennan, of the famous Brennan restaurant...

This week, Louisiana Eats takes you to the Williams Research Center for the Historic New Orleans Collection's 2024 Food Forum, where host Poppy Tooker moderated a panel discussion that delved into the fascinating stories of three of the city's most enduring restaurants – all family-owned and -operated for generations. On the panel was Lisa Blount, representing Antoine's, the longest continuously o...

New Orleans is one of the oldest cities in America, but its acclaimed cuisine is hardly stuck in the past. Today, the local food scene is bolder, more diverse, and more inventive than ever. That’s what food writer Beth D'Addono discovered when researching her latest publication, "City Eats: New Orleans." Offering an extensive overview of the local restaurant landscape, the book also provides over...

Home. That’s a hard word to define. Is home a place? A person? A sense of belonging? On this week's show, we speak with chefs who have traveled great distances, literally and figuratively, to discover their own sense of home. We begin with Alon Shaya. In his book, "Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel," the award-winning chef frankly and unabashedly tells his life's story. From a l...