Gumbos, Bisques, and Other Soups

The most famous soup in Louisiana is gumbo, in its endless isotopes. But there’s plenty more where that came from. You would think that in a place with as much heat and humidity as New Orleans sweats through, the soups would be light, maybe even cold. In fact, they’re among the heaviest in the soup world. Gumbo—especially the way it’s made these days—is so substantial that a bowl of it needs only a length of French bread on the side to be a meal unto itself. That is also true of crawfish bisque, which is more often served as an entrée than as a preliminary.