Commercial kitchens are the workplaces (and playgrounds) of some of the most inventive people around and they have some of the best soundtracks on the planet.
When your dinner reservation is still just a pencil mark in a ledger, long before the candles are lit, before the linen table cloths are smoothed and the cutlery is placed just so, your favorite restaurants are suffused with great music. Rock 'n' roll, gut-bucket blues, country, funk, ska, and jazz make the food taste better because the chefs are listening. And their musical taste is just as refined as any other.
So, we've asked some of our favorite chefs to share a recipe with us and to pair it with the music they dig the most. What's the perfect tune, for example, when you're elbow-deep in offal? Music Inside Out is pleased to share the recipes and the music that goes with them. Let us know when you try a dish and we'll pass the word on to the chef. Bon appétit and happy listening!
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Pimento Cheese
Chef Nathan Richard
Restaurant R'evolution / New Orleans
paired with: K. Gates / Tom Petty / Luke Bryan
Praline Bacon
Chef Josh Galliano
The Libertine / Saint Louis
paired with: The Meters / Archie Bell & The Drells / Earl King / Jesse Hill
Southern Style Cranberry Hot Sauce
Chef Alex McCrery
Tilit Chef Goods / New York City
paired with: The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band / Nate Dogg / The Black Keys
Coca-Cola Fried Chicken
Chef Ryan Trimm
Sweet Grass / Memphis
paired with: Taj Mahal / Dire Straits / The Band / Credence Clearwater Revival / JJ Cale
Red Boudin
Chef Jeremy Conner
Village Cafe—POUR / Lafayette
paired with: Slayer / Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeroes / Les Frères Bassette
Grilled Octopus with Lentils
Chef Justin Devillier
La Petite Grocery / New Orleans
paired with: Otis Redding / Bob Dylan / Willie Nelson
Banana Fritters
Chef Susan Spicer
Bayona / New Orleans
paired with: The Rebels / Harry Belafonte / Ike & Tina Turner / Joe Turner
Love What's On Your Coaster and It Will Love You Right Back
Host Gwen Thompkins
Music Inside Out / New Orleans
paired with: Johnny Adams / Paul Simon / Dr. John
