epicurious.....part 1

I have one reason to be in New Orleans; Kentucky New Orleans Architecture Studio. The education that I am getting from this program is exceptional as suppose to a normal studio that I could of take at the University of Kentucky. No wait, I have one more reason, it is the food of New Orleans. The food that I am eating here is delectable as suppose to the food that I use to eat in Lexington. “New Orleans is a town where food is almost a religion,” says John Rosenthal. Being here in this city and eating its food, I think he is very right. Yet I still want to know why, and therefore I ask myself the following three questions:

First Am I going to be a restaurant critic?

My main goal is to start eating at New Orleans style restaurants to analyze different menus from different restaurants. What makes different restaurants have different tastes? What makes a dish in a particular restaurant famous? Who is behind this famous dish? In the next couple of weeks, I will be visiting these restaurants to interview their chefs, cooks, and may be the people eating there.

Second Am I going to know what does Cajun mean?

Before getting to New Orleans, when someone mentions the word Cajun, I always thought that he or she refers to a flavor. But after talking to the people here, I find out that it is more than that. My next step is to find out what does Cajun mean? What are the roots of the word Cajun? And how does it relate to food?

Finally Am I going to create the next signature plate?

I have been a chef assistant at a Japanese restaurant in Charleston for two years. I did enjoy being a chef assistant. I also enjoyed cooking in the kitchen of this restaurant. At the mean time, I am enjoying the food here in New Orleans. Recalling the past and experimenting the present a question pops in my head: Am I going to be an architect or a chef or both? I think I am more leaning towards the word both. In fact, after dining at Baru Bistro & Tapas with my classmates, Bob and I created the next Chimichurri called the “centrino sauce”.

centino recipe:

4 ounces cilantro, chopped

3 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 ½ teaspoon old bay

3 tablespoons fresh olive oil