above I-10

[joiei]

I know about food from below I-10. How about your favorite restaurants from above the infamous "I" line that means hot by influence (north) and hot by the grace of God (south).

I can think of two Louisiana restaurants that have got it going on food wise, both in Shreveport. For the best asian food you can not beat "Lucky Palace" and for creative American "Bella Fresca" on Line Ave. The wine selections at both places is beyond Kendall-Jackson also.

[FistFullaRoux]

There are the famous meat pies available at a number of places in Natchitoches, along with great pie in LeCompte (Lea's Kitchen).

I have a sister in Alexandria, a good friend in Bossier, and my brother went to school in Natchitoches, but the only thing anyone ever mentioned from above say, Opelousas, were the two listed above.

Isn't Hammond sort of about 35 miles north of I-10? To be technical about it...

That reminds me of my uncle. He was from waaaaaaay in the swamp. "North of I-10, they're yankees. North of Alexandria, they're damn yankees."

[Gator]

It's not much above I-10, and I don't know if it's been discussed here before, but the Johnson Grocery in Eunice has some seriously expert boudin. The meat counter is located in the back. Pick up some saltines on your way to the cash register. Very friendly folks.

[Jason Perlow]

Wait, there' stuff besides swamp and alligators above I-10?

[Lone Star]

Several years ago while visiting in Shreveport, we were taken to a place downtown that served wonderful catfish, but I cannot remember the name of the place.

[FistFullaRoux]

Wait, there' stuff besides swamp and alligators above I-10?

It is, in fact harder to find gators north of I-10. They are there, they just don't snatch little old ladies dogs out of the yard as often...

[joiei]

I have driven past the Panola hot sauce factory and it is in "almost ARkansas" Louisiana. And i do have a fondness for that product. Surely there has to be some food of recognition in Monroe, or Alexandria. I do grant anyplace along I-12 special dispensation. It is the northshore after all, garden paradise of Lower Louisiana and home of Abita Root Beer(best by far).

[Mayhaw Man]

I am going to answer this question in long (and still, admittedly incomplete) form.

Louisiana is an incredibly diverse place, much like out neighbor to the west, Texas (they're big ). There are both historical ( I am a historian, so I believe that this is most important) and geographical reasons for the diversity.

The topic of the thread is North of I-10, but it is not that simple to draw the line between the places that many of you think about as Louisiana and the other two thirds of the state.

New Orleans is another planet from the rest of Louisiana. One of the largest seaports in the worlds (if you count Southwest Pass at the tip of the river up to Baton Rouge as a single port, it is, in fact, the largest port in the world based on mixed tonnage). Immigrant groups of all sorts flocked here and outside of the New York Corridor, was one of the largest jumping off points for the immigrants that came to America during the nineteenth century. The New Orleans working class accent and the Bronx/Brooklyn accent is basically indistinguishable due to the fact that all of the same immigrant groups were learning a new language at the same time. The food in New Orleans represents many cultures and socio economic groups and today can be pretty well generalized into either French Creole or Italian Creole.

Going Northwest out of N.O. up through Baton Rouge and across the remainder of the state, everything to the South of I-10 is basically classic Cajun Country. Up to the time of the 1927 Flood (Mississippi River flowed over and into the Atchafalaya River Basin and displaced a couple of hundred thousand people) the majority of people here spoke French as a first language and there are still pockets where it is spoken among families as a first or at least a "close second" language and their English is heavily accented. These people are primarily Catholic and did not miigrate much out of the area where their ancestors originally settled after they got run out of Canada. THis is where the food consists mainly of what most of you call Cajun cuisine.

Central Louisiana (let's say west of Baton Rouge-east of Lake Charles-South of ALexandria is a mixed bag. Lots of French was spoken here and the English you here today has a lot more in common with their neighbors to the south than the ones up north. It is often called the Western Prairie (a holdover from the early nineteenth century when western and central Louisiana WERE the wild west). This is some of the finest farmland in the world, fed by ten thousand years of floods on the Atchafalaya and Red Rivers. Today you will see mostly sugar cane, corn, soybeans, rice, and as you get a little farther towards Alexandria, cotton. Here you are most likely to find a combination of the foods of South Louisiana and some influences from the Mississippi Delta(classic soul food-for lack of a better descriptive term).

At Alexandria you can draw (pretty much, I am being very general) an east-west diagonal and use Hwy 165 as an east west division. To the east of 165 (going north through Monroe and Bastrop up into Ark.) is the Louisiana portion of the Mississippi Delta. It is essentially no different than Northwestern Mississippi, Eastern Arkansas, Western Tennessee. People North of here are primarily Protestant. The accents don't vary much throughout the whole area (not geographically anyway, clearly there are economic and social differences in the way people talk). The the west of 165 you will find miles and miles of piney woods on sandy red loam. Bad dirt. Grows almost nothing. This area has much in common with any other timber area in the South. Pulp wood mills dot the towns and pretty much define the economy, although there is a fairly large military presence in both Alexandria (Ft. Polk) and Shreveport (Barksdale AFB).

West of Ruston and on into Texas (basically above I-20)are oil fields. The East Texas, South Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana oilfields were the sight of some of the biggest discoveries in the teens and twenties and even today the Hunt Family owns huge tracts of real estate as a result of some of the strikes and the land acquired around them. Monroe sits on top of what has been the largest producing gas field in the world. Virtually all of the natural gas that all of you Northerners hold so dear passes in pipelines just north of Monroe through a little town called Sterlington. During the Cold War, when I was growing up, they used to tell us the Russians had bombs aimed right at us so they could "freeze out the Yankees and make 'em surrender to the Ruskies". I always found that both terrifying and entertaining.

Part two (the part about the food with some links is coming next. maybe tonight.

There will be a test on this material the next time the class meets, so be prepared.

[fifi]

Great overview, Brooks. I am fascinated by the different styles of gumbo. That has started to blur in the last few years. But when I was learning the gospel of gumbo from my gumbo saint in Reserve about 35 years ago, there were definite geographical differences. Robb Walsh has a great essay on the different meanings of Creole in his book Are You Really Going To Eat That. He introduced me to some nuances of that history that I hadn't thought about before. For instance, as you move to the NW (I think) you get into African/Spanish heritage, also called "Creole", and you will find gumbos with tomato.

[froufrou]

Natchitoches (NAK-a-tish), KIER, is half way between Shreveport and Alexandria. It's the oldest town in the Louisiana Purchase, very historic, and has a beautiful downtown area.

Great restaurant downdown (only two miles) is The Landing. Louisiana style food of all types. Reasonable lunch prices. If

Two other decent places to eat in Natchitoches are Mama's and Papa's (two separate resturaunts) one is an oysterbar/seafood place and the other is more of a sandwich (PoBoy) place they are right next to each other on Front St. in Down Town just a block from The Landing. Good food, quick service, and not too pricey.

This is food that is mostly known as South Louisiana cooking.

Best meals around north louisiana and what north louisiana is really known for as for as food goes..turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens, crowder peas, purple hull peas, black eyed peas, butter beans, fried pork chops, fried catfish, corn on the cob, potatoes in white sauce.

Lots of gardens grown up there and this is the meals..they most enjoy.

I know..I'm one of them.

The next time you are looking for a great food place in North Louisiana...stop any

place serving down home cooking and this is what you'll find.

One of the post mentioned meat pies..here's the place that makes them.

Lasyone's Famous Meat Pies, a Natchitoches tradition, is a friendly, casual establishment, located at 622 Second Street.

For over a quarter of a century, we have been the stopping place for many domestic, as well as, international travelers touring the "Heart of Downtown Natchitoches" - Louisiana's oldest city - founded in 1714.

We offer a large menu, specializing in the Meat Pie Lunch" and for dessert, our very own "Cane River Cream Pie." Some other tasty, southern specialties are our "Red Beans, Rice and Sausage" served with hot cornbread, as well as our "Fillet Catfish Platter".

Magazine, newspaper and television media have made our meat pies known nationwide. We've been featured in such publications as The New Yorker, Gourmet Magazine, Southern Living and Good Roadfood as well as many others. So take the drive into Natchitoches and come "Eat Hearty" at Lasyone's.

Our Meat Pies:

Single Meat Pie Mini Meat Pies

What's in a meat pie? Here are the delicious ingredients:

80% Ground Beef

20% Ground Pork

Our own special Lasyone's seasoning mixture

All ingredients are lovingly stuffed into a hand made pastry ready to fry

Oh yes....this city offers the most spectacular fire works display the first Sat. in Dec. each year.

If you are trying to figure out the places to visit in North La., this should be one of them, it's a historical and beautiful small town on a river.

Check out the book store on front street..it's full of La. history.

Renee