Apr. 21, 2010 - Issue #757: Face First

Revue

The South rising

Creole and Cajun cooking are on the menu at Louisiana Purchase

The terms "Creole" and "Cajun" are not interchangeable. Even though both culinary traditions arose in southern Louisiana, they draw on a different range of ingredients and techniques. A multitude of cultures contributed to Creole cuisine, including African, Native American, Spanish, French and South American. It makes extensive use of rice, tomatoes, peppers (both sweet and hot) and red beans. Cajun cuisine, in comparison, is a direct descendent from rustic French cooking traditions that migrated to the southern United States in a mass exodus of Acadian settlers from Eastern Canada. Similar to Creole cooking, Cajun cuisine often centres on rice, peppers and tomatoes. The Cajun tradition makes greater use of smoked meats, however, such as Andouille sausage. The base of many Cajun dishes is a "roux," which is a paste of fat—typically bacon—and flour, browned in a pan over low heat and used to thicken gumbo. Here, far removed from the humidity and bright colours of New Orleans, one may find both of these traditions keeping company at Louisiana Purchase.

Classic jazz and the scent of red peppers linger in the narrow entranceway, which opens on to a brick-walled dining room adorned with paintings of jazz musicians, an oversized Mardi Gras mask and a clever collection of hot sauce bottles. The room is buzzing with energy, and yet the acoustics are such that the numerous conversations blend easily with growling intonations of Gary US Bonds and Louis Armstrong. A plate of soft white bread appears at the table before I've opened the menu which is a who's who of Cajun and Creole trademarks: red beans and rice, jambalaya, shrimp etouffee, blackened catfish and others.

Alligator appears on the list of appetizers. I am intrigued but reconsider after my co-diner relates that gator has a propensity to taste like the illicit love child of Oscar Meyer and a chicken. Instead, we order the salmon, shrimp and crawfish boudin ($8). Boudin is a classic Cajun dish, a sausage traditionally stuffed with pork but appearing here with a filling of rice and seafood. The boudin duo appears, resplendent in a peppercorn cream sauce. The sausages themselves are moist, the rice inside tender and the seafood abundant. Even though the cream sauce is liberally studded with whole peppercorns, their fire is muted and adds pleasant complexity. Waiting for the main course, we nibble on hush puppies ($3). These deep-fried spheres of corn meal are served with viscous golden syrup, each bite an explosion of savoury crunch.

Steamboat Jambalaya ($22), my chosen main, is a hefty mixture of rice, spicy sausage and shrimp. A crab leg perches precariously on this hillock; a deft crack reveals delicate, white meat. Throughout the jambalaya are long, green beans and wedges of parsnip. The latter is an especially pleasant discovery, for parsnips tend to make few public appearances—a pity, considering the vegetable's innate earthy sweetness. The entire dish is a veritable party of flavours competing for attention but ultimately succeeding in complementing one another.

My fellow gourmand tucks into the "Satisfaction" plate ($15). This includes a different version of jambalaya, one which features cubes of ham and sausage with a generous smattering of cayenne pepper. It is a different but equally tasty interpretation of this Deep South standby. Nestled against the jambalaya are Creole shrimp. These chubby crustaceans loll in a chunky tomato sauce replete with bell peppers and a significant afterbite. Finally, a brick-hued puddle of red beans holds a length of pork sausage—a refined and filling version of pork and beans.

The volume of food is significant but does not outweigh the temptation of dessert. It's a toss-up between two Southern standards: pecan pie and bread pudding. I am swayed by the promise of rum sauce, and thus select the pudding ($8.50). It's a lofty, tawny cube flecked with plump raisins and surrounded by an amber pool of fragrant rum sauce. Each bite is reminiscent of dense, boozy French toast. The bread pudding is deceptively rich, but gently cleanses any residual notes of spice. Though they are a great distance from their natal bayou, the Creole and Cajun traditions are clearly thriving. V

Mon – Thu (11:30 am – 9:30 pm); Fri (11:30 am – 10 pm); Sat (5:30 pm – 10 pm); Sun (4:30 pm – 9 pm)
Louisiana Purchase
10320 - 111 St, 780.420.6779
 

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