Louisiana Eats

It's been a long time since May 5, 2019 – when the high temperature that beautiful sunny Sunday barely hit 72 degrees at the New Orleans Fairgrounds and Jazz Fest 2019 called it a wrap. The following year, the festival went silent, one of the earliest high-profile events forced to cancel due to the unfolding global pandemic. Plans for a 2021 edition of the fest were also scrapped. With the festiva...

Between the levee and the Mississippi River is the batture – a lively slip of wilderness that a tiny community calls home. There's batture land right here in the midst of metropolitan New Orleans – but unless you're lucky enough to know a batture dweller, there's a good chance you weren't aware of one of the city’s most unconventional neighborhoods. That was certainly true of Macon Fry when he arr...

Since 1960 the Rouses family has specialized in making customers feel right at home when shopping in their stores - which now number 64 groceries stretching across Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. One of the ways Rouses ensures that feeling of home is through their employees. There are few better examples of that than Marc Ardoin, manager of the Rouses Market on Freret Street. Marc has been wit...

What do Antoine’s in New Orleans, Sylvia’s in Harlem, The Mandarin in San Francisco, and the once powerful chain of Howard Johnson’s restaurants all have in common? According to Yale professor Paul Freedman, they are all part of an influential group of Ten Restaurants That Changed America. On this week’s show, we sit down with Paul to discuss his book by that name, which weaves together culinary a...

Just across the causeway in the sleepy little town of Covington lies a landmark hotel, The Southern Hotel. Originally built in 1905 the mission-style hotel has lived many lives over the years. Opened in 1907 the hotel boasted hot water electric lights AND carpeting. In 1912 it was bought by a physician and used for a while as a sanitarium/resort treating people with respiratory illnesses. Shuttere...

Spring is in bloom in the Bayou State, which means festivals, outdoor gatherings and, of course, Easter! If you grew up in the Gulf South, there's a good chance your Easter basket was filled with treats from Elmer Chocolate – our state's very own heritage candy company. On this week’s show, we hop over to Ponchatoula to tour the factory where Elmer’s prized Gold Bricks, Heavenly Hash, and Pecan Eg...

The beignet. That simple square of fried dough is undeniably one of the Crescent City’s most famous foods. Few visitors leave town without a ceremonial dusting of powdered sugar that occurs with every beignet bite. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the ubiquitous donut has been sold from French Market stands accompanied by steaming hot cups of café au lait. Twenty-first century chefs and restaurat...

On this week's show, we explore backyards, balconies, and rooftops where folks are cultivating their own food. We begin with Big Okra. That’s the name that gardener Jack Sweeney has given to his over 15-foot okra plant towering over his New Orleans backyard. We visit Jack and the Okra Stalk on site – but what made it grow so tall? Was it the seeds that spawned this Guinness World Records-worthy pl...

In today's fast-paced world, where virtually every recipe can be conjured up by doing a quick search online, do cookbooks really matter? After hearing this week's show, we think you'll join us in a resounding yes. Cookbooks teach us techniques and introduce us to new ingredients and cultures. They expand our palates and remind us of old-fashioned ways of doing things – ways that can evoke memories...

Down here in Louisiana we love any excuse for a party. Our very Catholic culture dictates that Ash Wednesday is supposed to usher in 40 days of fasting and abstaining, but thanks to a few saints whose feast days fall during that Lenten period, our party just continues. First comes St. Patrick’s Day, when everyone's Irish for the day. Then, just two days later, on St. Joseph’s Day, it's the Italian...

The old adage is that a woman's place is in the kitchen. Despite that well-worn saying, it wasn't until the second half of the 20th century that women began finding their place in the restaurant kitchen. For this week's show, we gather together a powerful group of females who are breaking barriers and setting new standards for excellence in their fields. We begin with Nina Compton of Compére Lapin...

John Kennedy Toole's novel A Confederacy of Dunces is internationally revered for having captured the essence and eccentricity of New Orleans — and for introducing readers to its larger-than-life protagonist, Ignatius J. Reilly. On this week's show, we take a culinary look between the pages of the book that was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1981. We begin with Spud McConne...

Mardi Gras 2022 may just be the year of the king cake – at least on Louisiana Eats it is! A few weeks back, we devoted an entire episode to the topic. This week, we're back for seconds! We begin with Patrick Bordnick. Like Pavlov’s dog before them, Patrick's three canine companions have been conditioned to salivate whenever they encounter king cake. Nearly every day from Twelfth Night to Mardi Gra...

Racism in many forms has played an outsized and unfortunate role in Louisiana history. But throughout that history there have been strong, brave leaders who have worked to right the wrongs of the past. On this week's show we introduce you to pioneers past and present who have made a difference. We begin with the newest crusader, Touré Folkes of Turning Tables. Touré is working tirelessly to bring...

There’s a lot brewing in Louisiana today. On this week’s show, meet the innovators, the brewers, and the mixologists who are making that magic happen. We begin with the newest – Wetlands Sake. That favorite drink of Japan is now being made right here in our state using Louisiana rice. Founders Nan Wallis and Lindsey Beard give us a tour of the first sake brewery in the Bayou State. Then we meet PJ...

The life of a chef is often regarded as glamorous and exciting, but in reality it’s a hard life – exemplified by long hours and frequent financial challenges. For many, it’s the only life imaginable. Nathanial Zimet, the ambitious chef behind Boucherie and Bourrée in New Orleans, falls directly into that category. Drawn to the restaurant business at the age of 15, the North Carolina native soon le...

On this week’s show, we’re traveling through Acadiana to explore traditional and contemporary Cajun foodways. We begin with George Graham, who shares his obsession through stories of cooking in the region through his nationally recognized blog and book, Acadiana Table: Cajun and Creole Home Cooking from the heart of Louisiana. Then, Then, we revisit our 2017 trip up River Road to LaPlace to see ju...

It's the time of year for gathering together family and friends to celebrate all that has been and all that will be. An important element to all those spirited celebrations are the spirits themselves. On this week's show, we look at cocktail culture and mixed drinks perfect for any type of get together. We begin with T. Cole Newton, one of New Orleans' premiere bartenders and bar owners. His book,...

Food just tastes better when you know the farmer who grew it, the beekeeper who spun the honey from the hive, or the cottage producer of some delicious new fermentation purchased from your farmers market. On this week's show, we meet them all. We begin at JD Farms in Poplarville, Mississippi, where Donald Van De Werken and Jeff Brown have been growing the biggest, sweetest, best blueberries in the...

There's no denying the last two years have been a major challenge for everyone. Between the pandemic and the surge of natural disasters across the nation, we've seen it all. On this week's show, we learn how people are coping from coast to coast. We begin in New Orleans with Chef Eric Cook, who battled to keep his first restaurant Gris-Gris open in 2020 while somehow finding the inspiration to ope...

Though he’s been on the local restaurant scene since 2010, Chef Jeff Mattia didn’t move to Louisiana until well into his culinary career. At that point, the Marine vet had already worked with some serious luminaries like celebrity chefs Tom Collichio and Todd English. While his career was centered in New Orleans for the first four years, Jeff and his family felt decidedly more at home across the l...

On this week's show, we take a journey into the Ice Cream Underground to uncover the magicians taking America's favorite dessert to new heights right here in Louisiana. We begin with Sam Caruso, who has overcome a host of challenges to find a sweet opportunity with Laozi Ice Cream. Then, we meet Rahm Haus Ice Cream's Jillian Duran, who draws on her fine pastry-making skills to create batches of ic...

New Orleans is well known for its legacy restaurant families. And now, just across the Mississippi River in Gretna, the Mandina clan is poised to claim its own place in our culinary pantheon. On this week's show, we meet three generations of family who have made Tony Mandina’s a Westbank culinary institution. We begin with the restaurant’s namesake founder and his wife Grace Blanchard Mandina. Hav...

How does a recipe become a retail offering? On this week's show, we track the path of great dishes and drinks from restaurant to retail. We begin with the Bayou State's spiciest new business, Louisiana Pepper Exchange. Founder and CEO Chris White tells the story of how a particular engineering feat of his led him to launch the new company. Then, we visit with research and development chef Ross Rob...