Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table

As a direct result of reading this book, I have made my first gumbo (I even made a roux!) and find myself constantly lusting after po'boys and crawfish beignets. Eating a king cake is now on my unofficial to-do-someday list, and I'll be paying more attention to the flavor of my New Orleans iced coffee from Blue Bottle because they use actual chicory in it (hence the name).

It wasn't just the food porn that hooked me, though. The author's obvious love for her adopted city was just as wonderful to read about, and it makes me long to feel that way about a city of my own. Perhaps I should give New Orleans a try...

"People love New Orleans like they love a person."

This book is a love letter to the city and her food culture. Food in New Orleans is life, and community, and identity. It's more than a meal, and this author found New Orleans, as someone not raised there, to be home. That's what New Orleans does- she chooses you to be part of her.

Roahen divides her chapters by food (or cocktail) and delves into the history of each item just a bit, a nice touch. She references several sources in her exploration while relating her own experiences. This was fun to read, as well as great information about the city and its history. If you love New Orleans, or even just like her a little bit, this is a great read.

" A cocktail is more than a segue to dinner when it's a Sazerac, an anise-laced drink of rye whiskey and bitters indigenous to New Orleans. For Wisconsin native Sara Roahen, a Sazerac is also a fine accompaniment to raw oysters, a looking glass into the cocktail culture of her own family—and one more way to gain a foothold in her beloved adopted city.

Roahen's stories of personal discovery introduce readers to New Orleans' well-known signatures—gumbo, po-boys, red beans and rice—and its lesser-known gems: the pho of its Vietnamese immigrants, the braciolone of its Sicilians, and the ya-ka-mein of its street culture. By eating and cooking her way through a place as unique and unexpected as its infamous turducken, Roahen finds a show more home. And then Katrina. With humor, poignancy, and hope, she conjures up a city that reveled in its food traditions before the storm—and in many ways has been saved by them since."

What this description perhaps fails to get across is that this is more about falling in love with New Orleans as a place than being a cookbook. In fact, there are no recipes included, although you may find yourself reading it with a pen and paper nearby for note taking on the numerous cookbooks and websites that Roahen mentions. That's what I did. Roahen communicates fully just how intertwined food and place are in this unique US city. I fell in love with New Orleans (doesn't everyone?) during the course of many visits and, to my limited knowledge, this book rings very true. It is a wonderful way to answer the question that Louis Armstrong put, "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?" show less

I had resisted reading this library book for quite a while; it'd been an impulse grab from the new books shelf. What more could the author really have to say about an "over-hyped cuisine"? Well ... lots ... and nary a mention of any "blackened fish" to boot! Roahen has selected topics (gumbo, red beans and rice, etc.), explaining the variety of experience within each from native (and some not-so-native) points of view.
It'd be missing the point, however, to classify the book solely as a food guide - the people and places covered are as important to the story (there is a well-developed narrative thread here) as the discussion of roux thickness and red bean selection. Matter of fact, if you aren't that interested in "foodie books" call it show more "memoir","regional interest" or even "humor". Just read it and have fun!
I've given it five stars, though I suppose I could nick a small piece off one of them for Roahen's mentioning a "pupusa hunt" in passing, but not including a chapter on the Latin scene (as she did the Vietnamese). show less

I am drinking a Sazerac cocktail as I write this review. Roahen moved to New Orleans with her medschool student husband. With a limited background as a line cook, she becomes food editor for a local paper. In the process she explores the little nooks and crannies of New Orleans cuisine , learning to cook it as she goes. Each chapter focuses on one item, e.g., the Sazerac or poboys, but extends to people and origins. In the process of transforming herself into a native through the culture of food, she drew me back to a city I always have loved. Although the book spans pre- and post-Katrina the hurricane and its damage do not dominate the book or the spirit of the people in it. If you love New Orleans and its food, this book will give you show more a laundry list of new eateries to try on your next visit. show less

very good book. It's a slow read though, like reading a cookbook. Also, much of what it said can be repeatative, as each chapter deals with a different food and how it is view by New Orleanians and chefs. What I didn't count on was how emotionally charged this book was. As a New Orleans native, there were many parts of the book that had me on the verge of tears in remembrance. All in all a good book, just not one to pick up if you are looking for a quick, easy read.

This is a cute, easy-to-read book about New Orleans culture and food. Each chapter focuses on a different type of food and people associated with that food. Part of the book is spent on how food is helping to rebuild New Orleans post-Katrina.