jymbee
Well-known member
Very true. I hear folks say such-and-such state or city SUCKS only to have based their experience on very limited experiences there. Something like a cancelled flight or lost baggage at an airport even...
Trip to Bourbon Street
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Isaac-1
Well-known member
I tend to generally agree, though the gas station food you are looking for is Boudin, and Boudin balls, not Pistolette. Where I live in western Louisiana is in the transition area, you can get Boudin and Pistolettes in some gas station, but you don't drive there or even really stop in because they have a reputation for good gas station food. By comparison I can think of at least 3 gas stations I would stop at just to get such things only 30-40 miles south of here. Much the same can be said about people of Cajun heritage, we have them here, my wife being one of them, but they are not from here, and their local roots go back maybe one or two generations, and their extended family will mostly be in places like Abbeville, Mamou, Ville Platte, Kaplan, New Iberia, etc. or in my wife's case the Lake Charles area, which itself is really on the western fringe of Cajun Louisiana.
Isaac-1
Well-known member
When people think of Louisiana culture, they tend to think of New Orleans, and maybe Cajun Culture, munch in the same way that when people think of New York culture, they think of Manhattan, not Albany or Buffalo. The truth is there are at least 4 or 5 distinct regional cultures in Louisiana, with different ethnic make ups, and styles of food.
New Orleans, which is not cajun, and is a melting pot of French, German Creole, and a lot of other stuff. I am not going to write much more here, as this is the part of the state most often shown in media (though often inaccurately)
Baton Rouge area, which itself is a bit of melting pot, but distinctly different than New Orleans (a 90 minute drive away), it is more concervative and not nearly as much of a party atmosphere, though they still like their LSU football.
Cajun, already mentioned in previous post, mostly the southern central coastal part of the state going as far north as near Alexandria. Sugar cane and Rice are the two major agricultural crops in this region (along with Crawfish). The Cajuns were displaced people of French descent driven out of eastern Canada by the British in the 1700's many of whom settled in the bayous of south Louisiana as well as other places along the gulf coast, and tended to live in very isolated communities until about a century ago.
North Eastern Louisiana, though this can extend almost to the north west corner of the state, this region is dominated by crop lands along the historical river flood plains of the Mississippi, Red and Ouachita rivers, and as far south as Alexandria. Crops here are primarily cotton and soy bean, most of the region is very economically depressed, almost every city and town has seen population decline by 25-30% in the last 40 years, some by more than that, the town my mother is from in north east Louisiana has seen over a 50% population decline since 1980. This is bible belt Louisiana dominated by Baptist and Pentecostal churches, and culturally is very similar to the delta region of Mississippi. Lots of families that remain in this region have deep roots going back to the 1800's or before. Local food here is primarily southern soul food, fried catfish, corn bread, greens, etc. Think Duck Dynasty culture.
Then there is western Louisiana where I live, this region is primarily timber land, with some pasture and farm land, it is a roughly 40 mile wide strip of land along the Louisiana / Texas border, which was considered no mans land until the late 1800's as it was disputed territory, with the Spanish claiming the border as the Calcasieu river and the US claiming the border was the Sabine river (where it is today) until after the Texas revolution in the 1830's. Most settlers came to the region in the late 1800's primarily driven by the timber industry as this was the last stand of virgin timber in the eastern United States. Settlers in the region are a mix of mostly northern carpet bagers and Europeans immigrants (Dutch, etc.), so distinctly different than the rest of Louisiana and very similar to the settlers of the piney woods region of east Texas.
New Orleans, which is not cajun, and is a melting pot of French, German Creole, and a lot of other stuff. I am not going to write much more here, as this is the part of the state most often shown in media (though often inaccurately)
Baton Rouge area, which itself is a bit of melting pot, but distinctly different than New Orleans (a 90 minute drive away), it is more concervative and not nearly as much of a party atmosphere, though they still like their LSU football.
Cajun, already mentioned in previous post, mostly the southern central coastal part of the state going as far north as near Alexandria. Sugar cane and Rice are the two major agricultural crops in this region (along with Crawfish). The Cajuns were displaced people of French descent driven out of eastern Canada by the British in the 1700's many of whom settled in the bayous of south Louisiana as well as other places along the gulf coast, and tended to live in very isolated communities until about a century ago.
North Eastern Louisiana, though this can extend almost to the north west corner of the state, this region is dominated by crop lands along the historical river flood plains of the Mississippi, Red and Ouachita rivers, and as far south as Alexandria. Crops here are primarily cotton and soy bean, most of the region is very economically depressed, almost every city and town has seen population decline by 25-30% in the last 40 years, some by more than that, the town my mother is from in north east Louisiana has seen over a 50% population decline since 1980. This is bible belt Louisiana dominated by Baptist and Pentecostal churches, and culturally is very similar to the delta region of Mississippi. Lots of families that remain in this region have deep roots going back to the 1800's or before. Local food here is primarily southern soul food, fried catfish, corn bread, greens, etc. Think Duck Dynasty culture.
Then there is western Louisiana where I live, this region is primarily timber land, with some pasture and farm land, it is a roughly 40 mile wide strip of land along the Louisiana / Texas border, which was considered no mans land until the late 1800's as it was disputed territory, with the Spanish claiming the border as the Calcasieu river and the US claiming the border was the Sabine river (where it is today) until after the Texas revolution in the 1830's. Most settlers came to the region in the late 1800's primarily driven by the timber industry as this was the last stand of virgin timber in the eastern United States. Settlers in the region are a mix of mostly northern carpet bagers and Europeans immigrants (Dutch, etc.), so distinctly different than the rest of Louisiana and very similar to the settlers of the piney woods region of east Texas.
jymbee
Well-known member
As an upstate NYer I can vouch for your comments as to what many people think of when you say "I'm from NY". Now if I say I'm from New England, that conjures up a completely different, and more accurate image. Vermont is even closer to where we live and the stereotypical view of VT also closer to the mountain area of our home.
Of course, every city in the country has its own distinct cultural areas. With NY you have the 5 boroughs each with its own character and even within Manhattan e.g. you have dramatically different cultural and economic segments.
Isaac-1
Well-known member
Jymbee, perhaps New York with all the cultural diversity surrounding Manhattan was not the best example, I probably picked it because my ex-brother in law grew up outside of Albany, so I know a bit about how different the culture is there
Oldgator73
Well-known member
Folks ask us where are we from and we have to ask do they mean where do we live or where are we from. I grew up in Daytona Beach, Fl and my wife is from Buffalo, NY. Her family moved from Buffalo to Riverside, CA and then to Daytona. A few years after we were married I joined the AF. We moved to Wichita Falls, TX, Bossier city, LA, Ft Walton Beach, FL, Mountain Home, ID, Las Vegas, NV, King Salmon, AK, Misawa Japan, San Antonio, TX, Atlanta, GA, Middle Tennessee, Gainesville, Fl, Umpqua NP, Oregon, Dover, DE, Warrensburg, MO, Belleville, IL, Cambridge UK and ended up back in Dover, DE.
Larry N.
Well-known member
When I'm asked that I have to ask them, "When?" I went to 12 different schools as a kid, in three different states.
Surprising too is the number of people from NYC who if asked what Long Island is like will say "I've never been there, I'm from Queens". We live in the far North of the DFW metro, 15 mi from Dallas. Our kids from 400 miles away are in Dallas more than us.
Ohiosnowbird
Well-known member
Was going to try this when I get home (if I can find Steen’s):
Recipe over 125 years old: Nan Boones’ Syrup Cake – Gâteau de Sirop | RealCajunRecipes.com: la cuisine de maw-maw!
Ohiosnowbird
Well-known member
Why?
Because it's a bypass. Spend a minute in any part of the city outside the touristy section and you'll quickly get an education. When the hotel you're in is surrounded by a 10' chainlink fence you could be in a war zone.
LarsMac
Well-known member
Heck, no different than Newark.
Oldgator73
Well-known member
Vegas is the same.
Ohiosnowbird
Well-known member
Got it!
We stayed in a hotel in the high country in Guatemala where there were armed guards at the gates to the pool….
Ohiosnowbird
Well-known member
But for anyone headed to NOLA, saw this in Garden and Gun:
gardenandgun.com
A New Must-Visit New Orleans Seafood Shop
A New Must-Visit New Orleans Seafood Shop
The sustainability-minded Porgy’s brings a wild-catch seafood market and restaurant to Mid-City. Plus, get a recipe for Cuban ceviche
gardenandgun.com
Oldgator73
Well-known member
I think sustainably minded and wild caught are mutually incompatible concepts. Sustainably minded and farm raised, maybe.But for anyone headed to NOLA, saw this in Garden and Gun:
A New Must-Visit New Orleans Seafood Shop
A New Must-Visit New Orleans Seafood Shop
The sustainability-minded Porgy’s brings a wild-catch seafood market and restaurant to Mid-City. Plus, get a recipe for Cuban ceviche
Ohiosnowbird
Well-known member
Yeah, I read that too. I generally skip over the gobbledygook mumbo jumbo supposed to make one feel good stuff and go decide if the product being offered is good myself. Can’t tell you how many of those kinds of words got thrown around at the farmer’s markets we used to sell our produce at. It’s another place to buy fish, does it smell when you walk in there? How do the deceased critters behind the glass look? Are they on ice? Are they fresh? Do they pack your purchase in ice? Are they knowledgeable about how to prepare the item you’re purchasing? One of the old-timers we talked to in South Carolina said he was concerned American shrimping industry was going to go away with the next generations, they all want “Sustainably minded and farm raised” which he said comes from other places. He said 93% of the shrimp imported to the US today come from Asian countries, not sure I believe that, but he did. He also said they are covered in preservatives, again, not sure I believe that, but he did. His fish were spectacular.
Most of those Asian shrimp are farmed. Nevertheless retailers are going to sell whatever makes the greater margin.
Adventurous Traveler
Well-known member
Anyone who lives in NYS will tell you when traveling and asked where you are from, Buffalo, NY, they'll go on and think Buffalo is a suburb of NY City. Tell them that Buffalo and NY are 500 miles apart and their jaw drops.
