you are what you eat

what is it about a city with such a high incidence of small buisness ownership and independent restaurant ownership that has me longing for an applebees? my background. Coming from a place where it is more convenient to grab a quick bite at a restaurant where the menu is reliable and familiar has in itself a sense of comfort. The tendency of a culture to identify itself with a type of food is commonplace throughout the globe. Understanding the culture in New Orleans that has produced a need for communities to express themselves through food, and to identify themselves with a food however, holds a place set apart in United States culture. A sense of pride in neighborhood eateries, not just in the food that they provide, but in what they give back to the community, gives these places the identity they provide the community.
Neighborhood to neighborhood, more often than not, you will not have to look far to recieve a unique interpretation on an even more unique style of southern louisiana's cooking. Brown cajun gumbo, red creole gumbo, jambalaya, etouffe are all part of the cuisine that has identified this place as the food capital of the United States. The Contribution of the Acadian culture is felt and expressed best through the phrase "work like hell to make your money, then spend it all having a good time", this quote from a Les Blank film sums up the attitude of New Orleanians with regards to food. Meals are meant to be enjoyed and shared amongst neighbors. Crawfish boils are a regular occurance and meals become events.
Good local recipes give way to neighborhood icons. In this way small business here in New Orleans takes on a special role. With one of the highest rates of small business ownership of anywhere I have ever been. The role of small business on the psyche of the average person here in new orleans and the role of food then are very much intertwined for this reason. This connection between community pride through food and community pride through business ownership, along with the propogation of a a certain type of cooking which has infiltrated the larger United States as a symbol of the region, is what fascinates me, especially considering its humble origins as simply a method of bringing communities together to celebrate life.