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fandomhigh2025-09-11 01:01 am
carbsliftthespirit) wrote in fandomhigh2025-09-11 01:01 am
Entry tags:
Food Adventures, Thursday, First Period
"All right, take two!" Raiden declared once his students had met him at Portalocity. "Now with everybody not a pony who's supposed to not be a pony, I hope?" Probably yes. He was going with it. "So, I'm Raiden, and this is Food Adventures, the class where we go places and eat food, or do other fun food stuff. Now, before we head out and start eating, I want to talk about some ground rules that I didn't get to last week." Because he was a pony and that was distracting, okay?
"Rule number one: You do not have to eat the food. If you have an allergy or a religious restriction or something like that, then obviously do not eat the things that applies to. If you have dietary restrictions that are less, I dunno, binding, you may find that different cultures don't accommodate them so well as you're used to. In some cultures 'vegetarian' is a foreign concept, or fish and even chicken may be considered to fall under that umbrella, and anything like low carb or gluten free is going to get you blank looks in some places. You may have to explain what you're talking about, and it may not be possible for it to be accommodated everywhere. So...be prepared for that. But beyond that, you may encounter ingredients or flavor profiles or preparations that are completely new to you in this class, and you may find some of them offputting or even upsetting. You do not have to try those things, but I want you to keep an open mind. That brings us to our second rule, which is to be respectful. The words 'gross' and 'disgusting' are banned in this class. I don't want to hear them. That's somebody's culinary tradition you're talking about, and we are visitors in their society. Think about why they might eat the things they do, and what it is about it that you find 'gross.' And think about trying it. You might like it, and even if you don't, you're more informed than you were before. Does anybody have any questions?"
After he'd paused to allow time for said questions, Raiden clapped his hands together in excitement, looking not unlike a kid about to enter a candy store. "I hope everybody came hungry, because today we're going to one of the greatest food cities in the world and a fantastic example of what happens when different cultures' food traditions meld: New Orleans, Louisiana. If you're unfamiliar, New Orleans got its start as the location of a trading center used by Native American tribes, and when Europeans began colonizing the area the French recognized its strategic location and built a city there at the bend of the Mississippi River. The city was a French colony, then a Spanish one, then it went back to the French before finally being purchased by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. So you've got those different waves of settlers, plus enslaved Africans brought over to work the land, some influences from the Native American tribes in the area, and then later waves of Italian and Vietnamese immigrants--plus a few other groups, like the Irish and Germans, whose influence is felt less in the food but still there.
"If you're confused about the difference between Creole and Cajun, historically it's a whole thing about when and where from you immigrated to Louisiana. The Cajuns spent time in Canada first, you see. But the easiest way to think about it is that 'Creole' culture is focused on the city of New Orleans, and 'Cajun' culture is more out in the country, down in south Louisiana. There are a few places to get good Cajun food in the city, but really you need to head down toward Lafayette for that, because that's where Cajuns live." Gambit was a special case. "There are lots of differences, but the most noticeable one, culinarily speaking, is that Creole food uses tomatoes in things like jambalaya and gumbo, while Cajun food does not, because...I don't know, reasons." The Cajuns had just as much access to tomatoes as the Creoles, so it didn't make a lot of sense to Raiden, who was always in favor of adding over subtracting.
"The local food is very seafood and pork heavy. You can probably figure out why the seafood, and the prevalence of pork is, just spitballing here, probably because you need much less land to raise pigs than cattle, which is great when large portions of the available land are also sort of water and full of alligators, plus pork can be preserved in various ways that, before modern refrigeration, kept better in the heat, like pickling or cured sausages. Speaking of gators, this is also one of the only places in the US you'll regularly find them on the menu, and because carrots don't really grow well here--plus the Spanish didn't really use them--instead of the French mirepoix of celery, onion, and carrot the backbone of Creole cooking is the trinity: celery, onion, and green bell pepper, accompanied, of course, by the pope. That's garlic, see, because a clove of garlic looks kinda like a little pope hat if you squint...yeah.
"One of the greatest examples of culinary fusion I can think of is jambalaya, which, if you know your food history, is pretty clearly what happened when an African cook tried to recreate paella based on a Spaniard's description and using the New World ingredients available to them, and didn't really land on paella but did create something absolutely delicious. Gumbo, the classic soup of the region which is meant to use whatever the hell meat you could get, is thickened either with file," pronounced FEE-lay, "which is pounded sassafras leaves, a very Native ingredient, or okra, which was brought over from Africa. In New Orleans you'll also find some of the best fried chicken you'll ever put in your mouth at places like Dooky Chase or Willie Mae's Scotch House," because this was a New Orleans where the OG Willie Mae's wasn't closed due to a fire, "and it's the birthplace of not one but two great sandwiches, the po'boy and the muffuletta, and you can also get fantastic banh mis, thanks to that wave of Vietnamese immigrants a few decades back. I've heard that the very first brunch restaurant was here, and there's still no shortage of great brunches, especially bottomless brunch." The local restauranteurs knew what hungover tourists wanted.
"Speaking of invented here, the city can lay claim to both Oysters Rockefeller and Bananas Foster, and while we're in the wrong season for king cake you can bet we won't be leaving this city without getting beignets and cafe au lait...ah, man, I could just go on and on, and I'm making myself so hungry. And I haven't even touched on the city's rich cocktail history! But don't worry, most of the places we're going sell booze, and New Orleans is a civilized city, meaning you can take your drink with you while we walk around! It's another hot one today, so I recommend a Pimm's Cup. It's a whole thing here." Had he forgotten some of his students were underage or did he just care as little as your average Bourbon Street bartender? Could go either way. "Let's head through our portal to the French Quarter, where we're going to meet up with our guide and go on a food tour to experience just a little bit of what this amazing city has to offer, and then if you can still move you'll have some free time to explore the French Quarter. Maybe pick up some pralines or hot sauce for souvenirs! Don't worry, you'll get back in time for your next class through the magic of portals or whatever." They might need a nap first after all the food, though...
Before they headed through said portal to a point just outside the entrance to the French Market, Raiden paused to check, "Oh, nobody wore all black, did they? Because we're going to Cafe du Monde, and...yeah, you'll see." If they had to learn the hard way, at least they would learn.
"Rule number one: You do not have to eat the food. If you have an allergy or a religious restriction or something like that, then obviously do not eat the things that applies to. If you have dietary restrictions that are less, I dunno, binding, you may find that different cultures don't accommodate them so well as you're used to. In some cultures 'vegetarian' is a foreign concept, or fish and even chicken may be considered to fall under that umbrella, and anything like low carb or gluten free is going to get you blank looks in some places. You may have to explain what you're talking about, and it may not be possible for it to be accommodated everywhere. So...be prepared for that. But beyond that, you may encounter ingredients or flavor profiles or preparations that are completely new to you in this class, and you may find some of them offputting or even upsetting. You do not have to try those things, but I want you to keep an open mind. That brings us to our second rule, which is to be respectful. The words 'gross' and 'disgusting' are banned in this class. I don't want to hear them. That's somebody's culinary tradition you're talking about, and we are visitors in their society. Think about why they might eat the things they do, and what it is about it that you find 'gross.' And think about trying it. You might like it, and even if you don't, you're more informed than you were before. Does anybody have any questions?"
After he'd paused to allow time for said questions, Raiden clapped his hands together in excitement, looking not unlike a kid about to enter a candy store. "I hope everybody came hungry, because today we're going to one of the greatest food cities in the world and a fantastic example of what happens when different cultures' food traditions meld: New Orleans, Louisiana. If you're unfamiliar, New Orleans got its start as the location of a trading center used by Native American tribes, and when Europeans began colonizing the area the French recognized its strategic location and built a city there at the bend of the Mississippi River. The city was a French colony, then a Spanish one, then it went back to the French before finally being purchased by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. So you've got those different waves of settlers, plus enslaved Africans brought over to work the land, some influences from the Native American tribes in the area, and then later waves of Italian and Vietnamese immigrants--plus a few other groups, like the Irish and Germans, whose influence is felt less in the food but still there.
"If you're confused about the difference between Creole and Cajun, historically it's a whole thing about when and where from you immigrated to Louisiana. The Cajuns spent time in Canada first, you see. But the easiest way to think about it is that 'Creole' culture is focused on the city of New Orleans, and 'Cajun' culture is more out in the country, down in south Louisiana. There are a few places to get good Cajun food in the city, but really you need to head down toward Lafayette for that, because that's where Cajuns live." Gambit was a special case. "There are lots of differences, but the most noticeable one, culinarily speaking, is that Creole food uses tomatoes in things like jambalaya and gumbo, while Cajun food does not, because...I don't know, reasons." The Cajuns had just as much access to tomatoes as the Creoles, so it didn't make a lot of sense to Raiden, who was always in favor of adding over subtracting.
"The local food is very seafood and pork heavy. You can probably figure out why the seafood, and the prevalence of pork is, just spitballing here, probably because you need much less land to raise pigs than cattle, which is great when large portions of the available land are also sort of water and full of alligators, plus pork can be preserved in various ways that, before modern refrigeration, kept better in the heat, like pickling or cured sausages. Speaking of gators, this is also one of the only places in the US you'll regularly find them on the menu, and because carrots don't really grow well here--plus the Spanish didn't really use them--instead of the French mirepoix of celery, onion, and carrot the backbone of Creole cooking is the trinity: celery, onion, and green bell pepper, accompanied, of course, by the pope. That's garlic, see, because a clove of garlic looks kinda like a little pope hat if you squint...yeah.
"One of the greatest examples of culinary fusion I can think of is jambalaya, which, if you know your food history, is pretty clearly what happened when an African cook tried to recreate paella based on a Spaniard's description and using the New World ingredients available to them, and didn't really land on paella but did create something absolutely delicious. Gumbo, the classic soup of the region which is meant to use whatever the hell meat you could get, is thickened either with file," pronounced FEE-lay, "which is pounded sassafras leaves, a very Native ingredient, or okra, which was brought over from Africa. In New Orleans you'll also find some of the best fried chicken you'll ever put in your mouth at places like Dooky Chase or Willie Mae's Scotch House," because this was a New Orleans where the OG Willie Mae's wasn't closed due to a fire, "and it's the birthplace of not one but two great sandwiches, the po'boy and the muffuletta, and you can also get fantastic banh mis, thanks to that wave of Vietnamese immigrants a few decades back. I've heard that the very first brunch restaurant was here, and there's still no shortage of great brunches, especially bottomless brunch." The local restauranteurs knew what hungover tourists wanted.
"Speaking of invented here, the city can lay claim to both Oysters Rockefeller and Bananas Foster, and while we're in the wrong season for king cake you can bet we won't be leaving this city without getting beignets and cafe au lait...ah, man, I could just go on and on, and I'm making myself so hungry. And I haven't even touched on the city's rich cocktail history! But don't worry, most of the places we're going sell booze, and New Orleans is a civilized city, meaning you can take your drink with you while we walk around! It's another hot one today, so I recommend a Pimm's Cup. It's a whole thing here." Had he forgotten some of his students were underage or did he just care as little as your average Bourbon Street bartender? Could go either way. "Let's head through our portal to the French Quarter, where we're going to meet up with our guide and go on a food tour to experience just a little bit of what this amazing city has to offer, and then if you can still move you'll have some free time to explore the French Quarter. Maybe pick up some pralines or hot sauce for souvenirs! Don't worry, you'll get back in time for your next class through the magic of portals or whatever." They might need a nap first after all the food, though...
Before they headed through said portal to a point just outside the entrance to the French Market, Raiden paused to check, "Oh, nobody wore all black, did they? Because we're going to Cafe du Monde, and...yeah, you'll see." If they had to learn the hard way, at least they would learn.
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During the Lecture
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New Orleans!
For those of you who don't want to watch an hour-long video about New Orleans food (can't relate) here are the stops on our food tour!
1. Tasting hot sauces at the French Market. (Crystal or Tabasco? The answer is Crystal.)
2. Oysters at MRB, the bar at the center of The Great Bubble War of 2025. ("If you don't feel up to trying a raw oyster, you can try the chargrilled ones," Raiden told his students. "They're drowned in garlic butter and then covered with Parmesan cheese, so there's no way they can be bad. You could put that on a shoe and it would taste good.")
3. Muffulettas at Central Grocery.
4. Beignets & cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde, where you will learn why Raiden counseled against wearing black (or dark colors in general, really): beignets come with an absolute mountain of powdered sugar on top.
5. Duck & andouille gumbo at Tableau (or substitute turtle soup, another great New Orleans tradition!)
5a. A flying stop at Antoine's, the oldest restaurant in the city.
6. Blackened chicken (or shrimp) and (Cajun) jambalaya at Royal House Oyster Bar
7. Pralines at Leah's Pralines, because obviously after Cafe du Monde you needed more sugar.
8. Not-so-classic shrimp po'boy from Killer Po'Boys, taking major inspiration from the banh mi, in the back of the Erin Rose, which makes a great frozen Irish coffee.
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It was all fantastic, though, and his hope for the class to inspire him anew was certainly rising to the occasion.
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What? He needed to keep his blood sugar up.
Especially with what was coming in his next class.Re: New Orleans!
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Oh! Was the something a fork?
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"Sweet tea snoball!" she said proudly. "Figured it'd be a nice treat after suffering from sweet tea deprivation up north."
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She could get an unsweetened ice tea, but she didn't understand why Northerners enjoyed suffering like that.
"Yep!" she said, pulling out a plastic-wrapped trio of disposable utensils from her bag. "And if you're willing to share, sure! I know the polite thing to do it be all like, 'No, I couldn't possibly'--" look, she didn't want him to think that two years in Maryland had destroyed her manners "--but the longer I politely decline, the longer before either of us can enjoy it."
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"And we're only in New Orleans for a little while," he said with a nod of agreement. "We've gotta make the most of it. Have you been here before?"
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She didn't have Raiden's appetite, but she'd be damned if she let any of it go to waste.
And, you know...while she was here...perhaps a few flavorful souvenirs...?
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This was 'thank you for trying,' in Illyana. Even if she wasn't good with the words for it.
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Arden glanced up and gave Illyana a smile. "If we pass a good barbeque place? Maybe."
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She still didn't have much of an appetite, but, well, when in Rome...
And she wasn't going to turn down a chance for cafe au lait.
Talk to Raiden
OOC
2. Also as I said last time, Bourbon Street is a circle of hell next question.