Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table

This proved the most insightful -- and unexpectedly useful -- book I read prior to going to New Orleans. In fact, you could say it provided a springboard for my exploration of the city. See, I always need a focus when I travel. For New Orleans, it was food and music. (A no-brainer, I admit, but I ain't proud... sometimes the obvious is the also the best.) This book made me seek out muffalettas at Central Grocery, po'boys, mudbugs, bread pudding, sezeracs, and (of course) gumbo. Oh, and a "lucky bean" at a St. Joseph's day feast. (Read the book and find out what that is.) Okay, 'nuff about me. About the book. What a banquet! There's so much here beyond the food -- it's a stew of rich experiences, well seasoned with humor, and garnished with verve and wit. Roahen's food writer's gift for vivid description extends to people and places as well. There's history here, too, to give it all perspective. And tragedy: Katrina. I'll definitely be re-reading this one before my next trip to New Orleans. And, oh yes, there will be another trip.

Like the author, Sara, I was also a non-native who had moved to New Orleans for my first ten years out of college, from 1987 to 1996. Even after I moved from New Orleans in 1996, I had never thought of reading books about New Orleans (not counting New Orleans and Cajun cookbooks, of course) until now, three years after Hurricane Katrina. I have not yet been back to New Orleans since Katrina, but I am planning a trip there next year. Two of the main aspects of New Orleans that I love so much is its food and music. It was my countless memories of New Orleans food that prompted me to read this book, and I was definitely not disappointed. Sara's descriptions of the food and dining in New Orleans are accurate, well-researched, evocative, and, as the Brits say, spot on. She writes with the informed knowledge of her background as a food writer and restaurant reviewer, but also with the fresh perspective of a non-native Midwesterner, and she paints a vivid picture of the passionate food culture in New Orleans, a culture that I was once an active part of (Emeril Lagasse once stopped by our table to chat during the first week that his Emeril's restaurant opened in 1990). Like a great Zatarain's seasoning mix, she accents all of the food lore with snippets of New Orleans culture, people, humor, and just the right touch of discussions of the city before and after Katrina (she lived in Philadelphia for awhile before moving back to New Orleans in April of this year). I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in food, or is interested in or planning a trip to New Orleans. My only quibble with this book was that I wanted more chapters or another book of hers to continue reading after I had finished this book; there are still plenty of New Orleans food topics to write chapters on. After I finished reading this book, instead of placing it amidst all of my other many non-fiction books, I placed with my row of cookbooks in the pantry; although this is not a cookbook, it just belongs there with my cookbooks! Also... Sara has a Web site where she has posted various "Photo Companion to Gumbo Tales" photos that are grouped and named like the chapters in her book: www.sararoahen.com\Sara_Roahen\Gumbo_Tales_Photos\Gumbo_Tales_Photos.html

I'm always searching for books about and related to New Orleans which can put me in a New Orleans state of mind even from the Northeast. It was fortuitous, then, that I selected Gumbo Tales as my most recent reading material. I fell in love with the city of New Orleans on my first visit four years ago, and I try to visit as often as possible. When I can't, a book or a movie is the next best thing, and I eventually plan to call New Orleans my home. Gumbo Tales provides the perfect window into the culture of New Orleans, and I was sad the book was over when I finished. One of the things I liked most about the book is that it's from the perspective of a non-native New Orleanian such as myself. That I could really identify with, moreso than I can with books and stories written by people who were born and raised. I identified with the process of coming from the outside, becoming enchanted, and wanting desperately to be part of the culture. I identified with Roahan's first experiences of New Orleans traditions as a newbie. I cackled out loud reading about her crawfish mishap. I cried several times because of the book, especially when she wrote about the city's struggling spirit in the wake of the events of 2005. Besides the sentimental feelings the book gives you about the city, the descriptions of food are really the main ingredient here- and they are brilliant. Roahan's book was the perfect find for leaving-town-reading, for keeping the feeling of NOLA going even when you're far away. Gumbo Takes made me feel not alone in my New Orleans experience and stubborn love for the place. I recommend this book to anyone who calls New Orleans home, once called it home, plans to call it home, or just wishes they did.

As a long-since transplanted--and not particularly "foodie"--native New Orleanian, "Gumbo Tales" reads like vivid, technicolor personal history to me: snowballs, Stage Planks, mirliton dressing, crawfish boil escapees... and how they all tie together a very specific, food-centered community. Since the hurricane, I've felt wierdly like part of my past was obliterated. (Yes, that's maudlin and self-indulgent considering what happened to those who lived in and around the city at the time of the storm, but there it is). This book can't bring back that missing part, but it certainly reminds me, all the more sharply, of what we've all lost. A note about a previous reviewer's complaint of poor copy-editing: I can get pretty outraged about others' crimes against the language (while forgiving myself similar sins, of course). I spotted a few misdemeanors--and maybe a felony or two--in this book, as in a lot of published material. They didn't overwhelm my ability to enjoy it. You can best judge whether they'll overwhelm yours.

Sara Roahen has written a kind, sweet, humble, and humorous book on New Orleans food culture. Its full of wonderfully human stories about food passion and connection, the region and its people. One dreams of getting down there, and I could taste the food. Its a scrumptious book, and a great read. Each chapter is beautifully finished with the lines of its last sentence. Pass the red beans and rice, please.