Ian McNulty

If some people out there still don't yet appreciate the heritage of our cuisine and the natural abundance that fuels it, I really wish they would get with the program already. After all, I don't think our region can stand another brutal lesson in just how much it all means.

The holiday season is my favorite time to be in the French Quarter. The Old World architecture and the narrow streets seem especially evocative. Strings of lights curl around wrought iron balconies like ivy, carriageways are framed in green flocking and some gas lanterns even wear red Christmas bows as their orange flames flicker away against brick and reflect on flagstone paving.

Resurrected recipes and logos keep the long, local McKenzie's baking tradition going in New Orleans, while members of the chain's original family owners continue to turn out their own fried chicken. 

The McKenzie's Pastry Shoppes of New Orleans were born in the Great Depression, not an easy time for a new business to get started. Maybe that has something to do with why the old brand is so darn tough.

The banh mi is a staple in Vietnam, and in Louisiana it is sometimes called the "Vietnamese po-boy." Once found only in Vietnamese bakeries and noodle shops around the edges of New Orleans, they are now becoming increasingly common across the metro area.