I am still in a fog after spending four days last week in New Orleans for the annual Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA) summer field trip. NOLA was chosen because it has been 10 years since our last group visit, July 2005. Hurricane Dennis chased us out our last day, and Hurricane Katrina wasn’t far behind. Katrina came and left like a drunk and rude relative at a holiday gathering — no thought or consideration for the efforts or home of the host. Members of the SFA gave time and labor heading to the city to help rebuild Willie Mae’s Scotch House in the Treme neighborhood and Dooky Chase’s restaurant a few blocks away.
We gathered 10 years later to listen to locals give their view on New Orleans. Joel Dinnerstein, Clark Chair of American Civilization at Tulane and author of the forthcoming book “The Origins of Cool in Postwar America,” spoke of the cool factor today versus pre-2005.
He talked of the hipster movement, prevalent in NOLA now, which is a more studied cool. I learned that Austin has peaked on the cool curve; Nashville is on the way down; and my hometown of Athens, Georgia, is just at the top of the cool bell curve. That unexpected edginess and feeling of the unexpected around the next corner are hard to find, says Dinnerstein.
Wayne Curtis — who writes about travel, architecture, history, drink and historic preservation and author of “And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails” — also spoke of the danger of New Orleans becoming a generic hip town. One of his points was that while gentrification can be good and is certainly preferable to an unrebuilt neighborhood, it has a down side as well. Corner groceries are few in 2015 New Orleans, and the neighborhood bar is just a real estate closing away from being polished up and ready to showcase artisanal syrups and shandies.
But, it was the photographs of Pableaux Johnson that brought tears to my eyes. I met Pableaux in New Orleans 10 years ago on that SFA field trip and have followed him on Facebook. He is a tireless record keeper, through his camera lens and his pen, of the beauty and majesty of the Second Line groups, most especially the Mardi Gras Indians. Pableaux showed his and others’ appreciation of the SFA through a beautiful slide show of photos pre- and post-Katrina, from 2005 until today.
At the table
Now, the food side. We ate and drank and paid homage to the influence of the Vietnamese culture in New Orleans, from their work as fishermen and in commercial fish houses to their cuisine. We had what seemed to be a 20-course meal at Restaurant August, cooked by John Besh’s favorite Vietnamese chef, and ate bahn mi barbecue pork sandwiches next to our Central Grocery muffaleta and root beer roasted ham po-boys. And we saluted the bread bakers and sandwich makers of New Orleans with the SFA Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame award.
Back to Pableaux Johnson. Every Monday night Pableaux opens his home to 10 or so friends or soon-to-be friends for conversation, both deep and not so. He serves red beans and rice every Monday. I love this idea. Terry and I don’t entertain much; well, really not at all over the past five years or so. But, I tried once to invite four to six people over twice a month for a simple meal, something that wasn’t scary and didn’t involve extensive kitchen time. It lasted two months. But a delicious pot of red beans and rice, cornbread and good friends weekly is so inviting to me. Don’t know if I’ll get there on my own, but I’ll mentally embrace Pableaux every Monday. His recipe is below. It serves 10 on a Monday night in New Orleans — or anywhere and any time lovers of New Orleans gather.
PABLEAUX JOHNSON’S RED BEANS AND RICE
1 1/2 pounds Camellia dried kidney beans (soaked in water 4 hours or overnight)
1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
7 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
2 medium onions, diced fine
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
3 ribs celery, diced fine
Olive or vegetable oil (for saute)
4 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
Tony Chachere’s Seasoning
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
2 teaspoons salt (then, to taste)
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon Tabasco Chipotle Sauce
1 bunch flatleaf parsley. minced fine
1 bunch fresh green onions, chopped
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