Of Beignets, Boudin, and Dirty Rice

Many of the foods in New Orleans are unique to the region and consequently may be unfamiliar. This list that will help you navigate local menus:

andouille (ahn-doo-we): a spicy Cajun sausage made with pork

bananas Foster:  bananas sautéed in liqueur, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter, drenched in rum, set ablaze, served over vanilla ice cream

barbequed shrimp: not actually grilled or BBQ-sauced, but a butter-soaked, garlicky, pepper-shot peel-and-eat Gulf specialty


beignet (bin-yay): a big, puffy, deep-fried, hole-free doughnut, liberally sprinkled with powdered sugar—the more sugar, the better

boudin (boo-dan): Cajun liver-and-rice sausage of varying spice levels

café brûlot (cah-fay brew-low): coffee, spices, and liqueurs, served flaming

crawfish: a tiny, lobsterlike creature common locally and eaten in every conceivable way, including boiled whole with spices and peeled by hand

debris: the rich, juicy bits of meat that fall off during roasting and carving

dressed: A “dressed” po’ boy comes with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and sometimes pickles.


étouffée (ay-too-fay): a Cajun stew (usually containing crawfish or shrimp) served with rice

filé (fee-lay): ground sassafras leaves, frequently used to thicken gumbo

gumbo: a thick, spicy soup of poultry, seafood, and/or sausage, with okra in a roux base, served with rice. Gumbo z’herbes, a Good Friday tradition, eschews meat for greens

holy trinity: onions, bell peppers, and celery: the base of much Creole and Cajun cooking

Hurricane: a local drink of rum and passion-fruit punch

jambalaya (jum-ba-lie-ya): a simmer of yellow rice, sausage, seafood, poultry, vegetables, and spices


lagniappe (lan-yap): a little something extra: a bonus freebie

mirliton (mur-li-tone): a pear-shaped squash also called chayote

muffuletta (moo-foo-let-ta or moo-fuh-lot-ta): a mountainous sandwich made with Italian deli meats, cheese, and olive salad, piled onto a specially made seeded round bread

oysters Rockefeller: oysters on the half shell in a creamy spinach sauce, so called because Rockefeller was the only name rich enough to match the taste

po’ boy, po-boy, poor boy: a sandwich on long French bread, similar to submarines and hoagies; often filled with fried seafood or roast beef, or famously with French fries and gravy, they can include most anything—the story goes that they were originally a free sustenance for striking transit workers, those “poor boys.”


pralines (praw-leens): a sweet confection of brown sugar and pecans

rémoulade: a spicy sauce, usually over shrimp, made of mayonnaise, boiled egg yolks, horseradish, Creole mustard, and lemon juice

roux: a mixture of flour and fat that’s slowly cooked over low heat, used to thicken stews, soups, and sauces

Sazerac: the official cocktail of New Orleans, consisting of rye whiskey (or sometimes cognac), sugar, and bitters

shrimp Creole: shrimp in a tomato sauce seasoned with what’s known around town as the “holy trinity:” onions, bell peppers, and celery

