The weekend we were there just happened to be the weekend of the Gumbo Festival and there was actually a panel discussion about what “real” gumbo was. It sounded interesting but I didn’t get a chance to hear it; apparently the debate was spurred by an entry in the 2016 festival of a gumbo made with quinoa that had caused a big controversy.
I don’t think so. They only opened a few years ago and would have mentioned it. The local paper ignores our 'hood, so they haven’t even been mentioned there.
And the sad part is, a properly-made cheesesteak is really easy to get right. You chop up some meat with a spatula (it doesn’t even have to be particularly high-quality meat), you maybe mix in some onions, you put a few slices of cheese on top, and then you put an opened bun over it and flip it over with a spatula. That’s all. The only thing that requires any particularity is the bun, which must be firm enough to hold in one hand. Anyone, anywhere in the country or even world, could do a good job at that, if they just try. And yet, almost nobody does.
Another gumbo shibboleth around here is “Gumbo shalt not contain tomatoes!” “Red” gumbo is popular in some parts of the South, but many New Orleanians will summarily reject the very thought of tomatoes in gumbo.
Tell me something, as a local there, do you feel like “authenticity” is about keeping a high standard, or do feel like the culture of “purity” is constraining and effectually holding the cuisine hostage?
There is a good reason you are unable to find a good guava turnover and that is because guava is terrible. I remember as a kid getting all excited because there was a Valencia cake at a birthday party only to find out instead of pineapple it was pukey guava.
Valencia cakes, are they considered regional food? Not cakes from Valencia, Spain but cakes from Valencia Bakery-- originally from The Bronx but now with bakeries all over NYC. Despite the name, I remember them being distinctly Puerto Rican, wet cake, fruit stuffing and all.
So, as I understood Alton’s point in the video–when he was on tour, he asked locals to tell him where to go for good locally know cuisine, and was largely disappointed. I believe the theory was that when a region becomes “known” for something, tourists that come in want to try that something–but since they have no idea what it’s supposed to taste like, it ends up decaying. Substitute a slightly cheaper ingredient, or drop some of the stronger spices? The tourists won’t know the difference, and while there may be a while when there’s still some “original” places around, eventually it all gets watered down.
I don’t think he was disappointed everywhere he went, just to places famous for a “thing.” Basically, the best wings aren’t in Buffalo, the best Cubans arn’t in Tampa, etc.
I couldn’t agree more. Try telling a New Yorker: “Yeah, I can get that same pizza right here in Dallas Texas” and they will look at you like your crazy.
I’d say it’s more about keeping a high standard. Make no mistake … home cooks experiment with local dishes all the time. Though most all local gumbo is “brown” gumbo based on roux (pan-browned flour & oil mix), there is much variation on the add-ins – chicken and/or sausage vs. seafood gumbo? If using crabs … lump crabmeat or whole crabs shells & all? Are other meats (e.g. brisket) OK to throw in? All of the above? And to thicken the base – okra or no okra? And to thicken the base, part 2 – file powder or none? How dark to make the roux – peanut-butter tan, milk-chocolate brown, or somewhere in between? And yes … tomato paste or no?
This is common (but not invariable) with a lot of restaurants in and around New Orleans’ French Quarter. I’m a little surprised Alton Brown didn’t get better off-the-beaten path recommendations. Or else get homemade samples of whatever dish he was looking for – for a lot of things, restaurants in general just aren’t the very best places to go.
He needs to watch Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
:flees:
See, I wouldn’t necessarily agree. The only place I’ve had really good New York style pizza is in the northeast. Not specifically New York, but that general area. Similarly, I’ve had things similar to Chicago style thin crust in other Midwestern cities, but none are quite an exact match. (Which is good–like I said, I like the regional takes on these things.) Similarly, I’ve never had a great Italian beef outside the Chicago area. I’m sure it must exist somewhere, but nobody has it like Al’s or Johnny’s. And I’ve never had blow-my-socks-off crawfish etouffee outside New Orleans, or a great Philly cheesesteak outside Philly. I mean, I’ve had very good versions of it, but they’re not the same. A number of places do Cajun/Creole here. None of them compare to what I’ve had in New Orleans. I suppose part of it can be the memory of the place that is clouding my judgment, but I really don’t think so.
I guess it depends on how granular you are in your food tastes and how good your “food memory” is. When I visit certain places, I get really excited because, while I may find a simulacrum of their food locally, it’s just not quite the same.
That said, I was a bit disappointed with Buffalo wings in Buffalo. But beef-on-weck or Ted’s Hot Dogs? Worth visiting Buffalo again just for that.
Food is good in the first place because of regionality. Countries with a real foodie culture like France, Italy, Spain, Japan, China, Vietnam, etc. used locally available ingredients to make the best dishes which over time became perfected and handed down the generations. Without regionality, food would not be as good — period.
Now that local grocery stores actually carry exotic ingredients from around the world — a relatively new development — of course chefs should innovate, but there is much more bad fusion food than excellent food which is better than the classics. Why do ambitious chefs still go to France or attempt dishes like brandade using odd ingredients like salted fish?
This is a bit different from Chicago hot dogs or New York pizza. Certain cities were more successful at attracting a group of immigrants from a certain country. Lots of regional foods are still not well known or made outside their hotbed. Something like Buffalo wings could have been invented anywhere — but they weren’t. Brown made headlines with his criticism, which showed a lack of respect for tradition. Italians were up in arms when a Domino’s opened in Rome or young chefs riff on Neapolitan pizza. Too far, but without tradition and regionality the best food and proven techniques might not exist at all. Regionality made food excellent, to say it ruins food is to forget its history.
I thought the Anchor Bar wings were fine, but the best I’ve ever had were at a mom & pop place in Anchorage, Alaska. Beef on Weck didn’t do much for me; it’s just roast beef on a salted bun with horseradish. It was okay, but I’ll take a pastrami on rye any day.
I’ve found that here in “foodie” town, the long-established places generally have the poorest fare. Long-time locals keep going to them out of habit or nostalgia, but the food at most of them is really meh. There’s a good example a block from us, a place called Gino’s. Worst Italian food I think I’ve ever had, but the place is bursting at the seams on the weekends because “It’s been here since I was a kid!”.
Yeah, it’s simplicity, but I’ve never had a better simple roast beef sandwich then the beef-on-weck at Charlie the Butchers. Stuff makes me drool. I mean, we have our Italian beefs here that are awesome, decent pastrami and corned beef on rye from Manny’s deli, but when I’m feeling simple, nothing beats the beef-on-weck from Charlie the Butcher’s or a pit beef sandwich from Baltimore.
I stopped in to mention the Philly cheesesteak, that’s a +1.