My Heritage Style

My favorite foods are those I grew up eating: Creole and Cajun. Or, New Orleans food.

I admit also to a preference for dishes whose tastes ring familiar notes. Although innovative dishes are fun to write about, few of them persist into the next season, let alone the long run. That’s because they appeal more to the mind than to the palate. And one of the hallmarks of the New Orleans palate is that it is not easily fooled by public relations.

On the other hand, the young, adventuresome chefs that inspired our restaurants during the last twenty years have added much to our pleasure. We now have an enormously improved variety and quality of eats. Not only can you buy fresh foie gras and fresh chanterelle mushrooms now, but almost every avid diner knows what they taste like.