Louisiana/Texas: The Culinary Capital of North America
The other day I was involved in food conversation over on amber Bach and I made
a comment about this part of the country being the the culinary capital of the
country. Through the grapevine I've come to find out that someone thought I said
capital of the world, which I don't think I did, and I don't want to go to the
trouble of looking to see. I only say that it's not the culinary capital of the
world because I haven't eaten in the other places in the world that might be
contenders. That being said, I am prepared to defend my statement that Louisiana
and East Texas, overall, have the best food available on the continent.
I met a man in his 70's, about two years, ago who had traveled the world. He
said there are three cities in the world where you had to fight to get a bad
meal. The three cities were Monteal, Paris, and New Orleans. So, to our credit,
we have New Orleans. Other large cities, like New York, Chicago, or LA certainly
would have better eateries than here in Monroe, but those places serve imported
cuisine (Italian, Chinese . . .). The quality I'm talking about for this region
is the overall quality of the food. How do the average people cook? How's the
fare at restaurants? (Restaurant service is another matter entirely.) What sorts
of cuisine are native to the area?
I am from the South, I've lived in the Northwest, and spent time in the East and
Southwest. These other regions just don't compare. Sure, there are individual
dishes from these other places that deserve credit (crab/crab cakes in Maryland,
Maine Lobster), but the culinary value of an entire region cannot rest on one
dish alone. The Southwest has it's Mexican style food, but that's just as
available in Texas. The Northwest, of course, has nothing to offer. The best
they can hope for is great cooks to move there (I have known some of those). I
can't accurately comment on the BBQ. This region has great stuff, but Kansas
City and Memphis have reputations for good stuff too, and I haven't had a chance
to compare. Texas is the best place to get steak. They grow them the best and
cook them the best. (I'm sure some of you 'well-done' folks out there might
disagree, but Texans and true steak lovers would never spoil their meat by
cooking it well-done.) As with the rest of the South, Louisiana has some
excellent soul food. While soul food will never comprise the menu of a five-star
restaurant, for day-today eats you can't go wrong. Furthermore, Louisiana has
it's own genre: Cajun. Cajun food is glorious. No other nation or region of this
country can claim it. And who is the most famous chef in the country these days?
Emeril Lagasse - a Louisiana Cajun. (Please don't send me posts about not liking
Emeril as a personality. He got where he is because he can cook. If he wasn't
such a good cook, he wouldn't have the publicity that gave you the opportunity
to dislike him.)
If you like bland food, and salt is an exotic spice to you, then you're not
going to like the food here. But if you want excellence in a variety of areas,
then this is the place. There is no other region that can compare.