Food, like travel, has the unique ability to change us. To open our eyes to new cultures, new flavors, and new experiences, and to create lasting memories through all five senses. Each dish has a story of its own: its creation, its ingredients, the hands that crafted it, and in some cases, the many years of tradition it carries. The first taste of a dish can transport you to another world, another time. It can evoke a distant memory and instantly create new ones.
In New Orleans, a city clearly known for its food, we have a saying: At breakfast we’re talking about lunch, and at lunch we’re planning what’s for dinner. To a great extent our days are centered around our meals. Dining is more than just the food; it’s an experience.
We were brunching before it became trendy, and the best business deals happen during “Friday Lunch”: when you go to lunch on a Friday and eat, drink, and socialize until (or through!) happy hour without worries or cares of going back to work. Bonds, relationships, and many inside jokes are made: “you simply had to be there.”
People always wonder what the secret is to the deliciousness of New Orleans cuisine. We’ve long answered that it is the heart and soul of the people who create it. The same with our music. It is less about the measurements and more about the feeling. I believe that great New Orleans cooking is intuitive, and with each dish that carries that soul, you experience a part of us.
It brings you closer to who we are.
And that’s one of the best byproducts of the dining experience. It is the breaking of bread—shared between friends, traveling companions, and business constituents—and the bonds it creates. It is also the connection of a diner to the homeland of the dish.
Just thinking of certain dishes can evoke images of the places they are from in your mind: deep-dish pizza, seafood paella, clam chowder, dim sum, cheesesteak, pho, masala, spanakopita, gumbo … the list goes on and on. The love and appreciation for the cuisine of a destination can make you feel more connected to that place even if you have never been there. It can also be a reason to travel there.
My bucket-list destination is India—for many reasons, but definitely for the food. I travel quite a bit, and no matter what city I am in, I always find a local Indian restaurant to try. I order way too many things, chat with the owners or staff, and let the scents and flavors take over. My mind conjures images of brightly colored clothing, stunning waterfronts, and ornate architecture. I cannot wait until one day I am eating Indian food in India!
Most people can expect to have 82,000 meals in their lifetime. That’s 82,000 chances for a new experience, a new connection … or a memory relived.
It’s 82,000 chances to feed your soul.
Sherry Constance is director of sales for The Court of Two Sisters, a legendary restaurant located in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
Photos by New Orleans & Company
