From the Editors

<B>Celebrating New Orleans' food culture, one specialty at a time.</B><BR><BR>A cocktail is more than a segue to dinner when it's a Sazerac, an anise-laced drink of rye whiskey and bitters indigenous to New Orleans. For Wisconsin native Sara Roahen, a Sazerac is also a fine accompaniment to raw oysters, a looking glass into the cocktail culture of her own family—and one more way to gain a foothold in her beloved adopted city.<BR><BR>Roahen's stories of personal discovery introduce readers to New Orleans' well-known signatures—gumbo, po-boys, red beans and rice—and its lesser-known gems: the pho of its Vietnamese immigrants, the braciolone of its Sicilians, and the ya-ka-mein of its street culture. By eating and cooking her way through a place as unique and unexpected as its infamous turducken, Roahen finds a home. And then Katrina. With humor, poignancy, and hope, she conjures up a city that reveled in its food traditions before the storm—and in many ways has been saved by them since.
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Customer Response

A veritable feast
This proved the most insightful -- and unexpectedly useful -- book I read prior to going to New Orleans. In fact, you could say it provided a springboard for my exploration of the city.

See, I always need a focus when I travel. For New Orleans, it was food and music. (A no-brainer, I admit, but I ain't proud... sometimes the obvious is the also the best.) This book made me seek out muffalettas at Central Grocery, po'boys, mudbugs, bread pudding, sezeracs, and (of course) gumbo. Oh, and a "lucky bean" at a St. Joseph's day feast. (Read the book and find out what that is.)

Okay, 'nuff about me. About the book. What a banquet! There's so much here beyond the food -- it's a stew of rich experiences, well seasoned with humor, and garnished with verve and wit. Roahen's food writer's gift for vivid description extends to people and places as well. There's history here, too, to give it all perspective. And tragedy: Katrina.

I'll definitely be re-reading this one before my next trip to New Orleans. And, oh yes, there will be another trip.

Food and Culture Experience
Even before you open Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table, a new book by Sara Roahen, you might get a sense of the place. The beautiful dust jacket evokes the spirit of New Orleans, a city of traditions that involve not only food, but celebrations, music and much history. The cocktails sign may be a little faded , like the city itself, but the wrought iron lanterns over the doorways are warm and welcoming .

Roahen serves up chapter after chapter of New Orleans' specialties as vignettes of the different inhabitants of the city. There is a tremendous amount of interesting history of the people and their indomitable spirit who eventually called New Orleans their home and blended their culture with the cultures of others.

The reader experiences the joy of St. Joseph's day, the riotous enjoyment of Mardi Gras and other such ethnic diversions. Through the different foods, the reader is introduced to the importance of gumbo, oysters and po'boys. It seems in New Orleans, errant husbands do not bring home flowers, they bring po'boys ! Interesting note that Italian culinary traditions have spread in the Metro area, second only to Creole. Whatever ethnic neighborhood, food and family are the common themes.

Roahen uses such beautifully descriptive phrases that make readers feel they are transported to New Orleans and the specific location she is writing about . With the use of incredible imagery, the reader can almost smell the cooking aromas and feel the presence of the other diners in what ever restaurant she is describing. In one café she describes, there are only two other people in the bar with her, a lone drinker of Chivas Regal and the server. The room is dim and only lit by the light from the window. While the jukebox wails out its plaintive song, the server begins to dance while humming and spinning around with her eyes closed. The man sips his drink while Roahen samples some turkey gizzards. This is just one of such numerous dining experiences.

If you have never been to New Orleans, after reading this charming tale , you will feel as though you know the city and its people quite well. There is also such a sense of poignancy and heart break about the city after Katrina changed not only the landscape but the people but there is also hope for new beginnings. Roahen states one of her strongest lesson so far is "the power of the place is not limited to where: it can also be a why and a how."

Whether you are a die- hard foodie or not, or just have an interest in the history of different cultures, people and their traditions, you will enjoy this book. Almost four pages of bibliography for further looks into cooks, cooking, and how to make a perfect cocktail round out this personal memoir of a former line cook turned food critic in her much beloved city of New Orleans . A recommended read.

An excellent foodie tribute to one of the best cities for eating!
Like the author, Sara, I was also a non-native who had moved to New Orleans for my first ten years out of college, from 1987 to 1996. Even after I moved from New Orleans in 1996, I had never thought of reading books about New Orleans (not counting New Orleans and Cajun cookbooks, of course) until now, three years after Hurricane Katrina. I have not yet been back to New Orleans since Katrina, but I am planning a trip there next year.

Two of the main aspects of New Orleans that I love so much is its food and music. It was my countless memories of New Orleans food that prompted me to read this book, and I was definitely not disappointed. Sara's descriptions of the food and dining in New Orleans are accurate, well-researched, evocative, and, as the Brits say, spot on. She writes with the informed knowledge of her background as a food writer and restaurant reviewer, but also with the fresh perspective of a non-native Midwesterner, and she paints a vivid picture of the passionate food culture in New Orleans, a culture that I was once an active part of (Emeril Lagasse once stopped by our table to chat during the first week that his Emeril's restaurant opened in 1990). Like a great Zatarain's seasoning mix, she accents all of the food lore with snippets of New Orleans culture, people, humor, and just the right touch of discussions of the city before and after Katrina (she lived in Philadelphia for awhile before moving back to New Orleans in April of this year).

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in food, or is interested in or planning a trip to New Orleans. My only quibble with this book was that I wanted more chapters or another book of hers to continue reading after I had finished this book; there are still plenty of New Orleans food topics to write chapters on. After I finished reading this book, instead of placing it amidst all of my other many non-fiction books, I placed with my row of cookbooks in the pantry; although this is not a cookbook, it just belongs there with my cookbooks!

Also... Sara has a Web site where she has posted various "Photo Companion to Gumbo Tales" photos that are grouped and named like the chapters in her book: www.sararoahen.com\Sara_Roahen\Gumbo_Tales_Photos\Gumbo_Tales_Photos.html

Succulent as the Crawdads and Oysters!
Wisconsin native Sara Roahen writes of her adopted home with a passion that jumps off of every page. Gumbo Tales is part travel guide, part history/culture lesson, part culinary exploration.

In 268 pages, Roahen takes readers through the neighborhoods of New Orleans to become acquainted with the foods, the people, and the history of a city--a history that is still being written thanks to the devastating effects of an act of nature.

Roahen has done a superb job of making the food, the place, the people, and even Hurricane Katrina characters in this initmate look at New Orleans. Each chapter holds the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of a different neighborhood in a city that harbors an amazing diversity. Roahen moves her readers from po'boy sandwiches to crawfish and from gumbo to sezeracs (a rye whiskey based drink) with ease and grace. Always mindful of the fact that she is a "transplant" to the area, she lends some insightful references to how her New Orleans life both mirrors and differs from her life in Wisconsin.

One cannot read Gumbo Tales without feeling an immediate urge to pack her bags and head to New Orleans to partake of these taste treats, hear the music of the area, and meet the people who make New Orleans what it was before Katrina and what it is striving to be once again.

by Lee Ambrose
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

She caught the magic of the food, the city, and the people...
What a fun book. I live in Houston, and know New Orleans from several over-eating visits. Sara really brought you right back there and so far beyond in the history and fun details. I'm looking forward to going back. Her writing style is playful and fun, perfect for her topic. She hit just the right balance with Katrina details - since it will never be the same, yet will always be the same.

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