Food

By Ian McNulty

New Orleans, La. –
New Orleans is a town with a culinary identity quite unlike anywhere else in the world. But we're also a city where the most universal of all American comfort foods, the most crowd-pleasing, democratic, everyman meal, has an especially close following. That's the hamburger, of course, and perhaps the best illustration of what I'm talking about can be boiled down to two words: Burger Week.

Shrimp Creole
From Woodstoves to Microwaves

2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 large onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons green pepper, minced
1 tablespoon flour
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 to 2 cans water
Pinch of thyme
2 tablespoons parsley
2 pounds shrimp, cleaned
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

By Ian McNulty

New Orleans, La. –
Fielding a few menu questions might seem like a perfunctory step for waiters at some restaurants. Not so at Feast, a new place in the Warehouse District. Here, that same exercise can prompt a string of ardent inquires from wide-eyed customers. What's bubble and squeak? How about Bath chaps? And is cock-a-leekie an appetizer, an entr e or a diagnosis?

Chocolate Truffles (Yields 30)

1/3 cup heavy cream
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup cocoa powder (or combination of other powdered ingredients) for dusting