When we asked Twitter fans for their favorite cajun restaurants in Western New York, only two answers came up: Shango and Chester's. This isn't a surprise, as they're two of only three area places specializing in New Orleans-style cooking, and they were both worthy of including on our Top 100 Buffalo Restaurants list. But how do they actually compare with restaurants in Louisiana? That's what we're going to tell you this week as we pay a long-awaited visit to New Orleans, a city that even today is still recovering from 2005's Hurricane Katrina, yet basking in the glow of last month's Super Bowl victory. "Who Dat?" signs and t-shirts are everywhere, with fleur-de-lis insignias covering everything from Saints jerseys to scarves. The Big Easy mightn't be so easy these days, but it still has a lot to offer, especially for big eaters.
The topics we'll explore over several articles will include authentic versions of dishes pretty much everyone knows - gumbo (shown, picture 1), jambalaya, and po' boys - some that you may or may not have heard of, including beignets (shown, picture 2) and muffulettas, and specialties that are relatively rare outside of New Orleans, such as chargrilled oysters (shown, picture 3). If you love shellfish, spicy food, or sandwiches, you'll want to see the pictures and read the articles we have coming up this week. We're looking forward to sharing them with you.
