PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIANew Orleans is renowned for its bawdy way of life, soulful jazz, Mardi gras and a love of letting the good times roll. Vibrant food and potent cocktails are the lubricants that keep this party machine well-oiled and humming along nicely. To experience this for yourself you don’t need to jump on a plane and head to the sultry city of delightful debauchery; just pop over the bridge and park your behind on one of the street tables at the New Orleans Cafe in Crows Nest. A buzzing hub of all things slightly naughty and very delicious, New Orleans Cafe opened its doors 12 years ago and has been rolling out the good times ever since with its zinging Cajun and Creole grassroots cuisine, mean cocktails and live tunes.
The traditional cuisine of New Orleans has been heavily influenced by a melting pot of French provincial, Spanish and African cuisine which relied heavily on making do with the edible stuff fished out of the Louisiana bayous. The menu at the New Orleans Cafe sticks as close to this style of cuisine as any restaurant you’d find on Bourbon Street. Start with buffalo wings (you control the spice factor) or the hush puppies, an old-school dish of deep fried balls of corn, jalapeno, parmesan, camembert and pecorino. The signature dish of N’awlins is also the signature dish of the New Orleans Cafe; thick, spicy seafood and chicken gumbo, plain and simple (but spectacular). With bands playing four nights a week and staff that seem to be having more fun than should be legal at work, the tradition of a rollicking New Orleans party lives on at this cafe.
Amy Looker, October 2007
