1. Brigtsen’s
Diners at this restaurant in New Orleans’ residential Riverbend neighbourhood could possibly be forgiven for pondering they’ve been invited spherical to house owners Frank and Marna Brigtsen’s private eating room. The same old home gumbo is filé with rooster and andouille sausage, though chef Frank’s gumbo repertoire is extensive, together with seafood, rabbit and vegan variations. Don’t go away with out attempting a slice of the chocolate pecan pie for dessert.
2. Pêche
At this seafood restaurant within the downtown Warehouse Arts District, chef de delicacies Nicole Mills doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel together with her seafood gumbo — it’s a basic, various with the day’s catch however more likely to include a cloudy broth, okra, shrimp and oysters. And, with a uncooked bar, snacks, small plates and complete fish, this can be a good place for sharing meals.
3. Liuzza’s by the Monitor
Positioned in a residential district, near a racecourse (which can be residence to the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Competition), Liuzza’s by the Monitor is a modest bar with just a few tables that belies the culinary mastery that takes place right here. The gumbo is stuffed with spice (in one of the best ways), and brimming with meats and seafood. Should you’re feeling actually hungry, pair it with the peppery BBQ shrimp po’ boy, a hearty sandwich that’s one other New Orleans speciality. 1518 N Lopez Avenue, New Orleans
4. The Munch Factory
A visit to this spot within the northern New Orleans district of Gentilly is properly well worth the cab fare for a gumbo that’s wealthy with a dark-roux broth and bolstered with each scorching sausage and smoked andouille, gilded with heaps of contemporary seafood sourced from the Gulf of Mexico. Chef Jordan Ruiz and his spouse, Alexis, welcome all comers to their restaurant, the place the menu options every part from plates of Bayou Nachos and Munchin’ Wings to elegant dishes like blackened fish with crawfish cream sauce.
5. Dooky Chase’s Restaurant
Full of works by African-American artists, Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, within the Treme neighbourhood, affords its model of a Creole gumbo. Chef Leah Chase, the restaurant’s matriarch, who took over the restaurant from her in-laws within the Nineteen Fifties, died in 2019, however not earlier than passing her recipe on to her household and kitchen employees. Should you go to throughout Easter week, e-book a desk for the particular Holy Thursday lunch of fried rooster and gumbo z’herbes, made with a wide range of greens and meats.
6. Saffron NOLA
Amid the darkish wooden and heat glow of this family-run restaurant on buzzing Journal Avenue, custom meets innovation and Louisiana meets India. Arvinder and Pardeep Vilkhu use regionally sourced produce and seafood to precise their twin heritage, and whereas dishes just like the curried seafood gumbo could look basic, you’ll discover a bit additional hit of spice in there. For extra of the native bounty, attempt the tamarind shrimp or nariyal Gulf fish.
Nearer to residence: the place to search out gumbo in London
Louie: This Covent Backyard spot is helmed by a chef from the American South — and it reveals. Slade Dashing made a reputation for himself at prime eating places, together with Brennan’s, in New Orleans, and his gumbo packs in seafood, okra and andouille sausage made in-house from Berkshire pork, with a contact of Spanish paprika. It’s served with crab rice.
Plaquemine Lock: This canalside pub in Islington has New Orleans artwork on the partitions, Louisiana scorching sauce on the tables and a critical angle to gumbo within the kitchen. Proprietor Jacob Kenedy realized to make it in Louisiana, and often adjustments the model on the menu. One favorite incorporates a darkish roux, selfmade andouille sausage, shrimp and rooster.
Published in Issue 15 (spring 2022) of Food by National Geographic Traveller (UK)
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