Inspired by David Simon's award-winning HBO series Treme, this celebration of the culinary spirit of post-Katrina New Orleans features recipes and tributes from the characters, real and fictional, who highlight the Crescent City's rich foodways. From chef Janette Desautel's own Crawfish Ravioli and LaDonna Batiste-Williams's Smothered Turnip Soup to the city's finest Sazerac, New Orleans' cuisine is a melange of influences from Creole to Vietnamese, at once new and old, genteel and down-home, and, in the words of Toni Bernette, "seasoned with delicious nostalgia." As visually rich as the series itself, the book includes 100 heritage and contemporary recipes from the city's heralded restaurants such as Upperline, Bayona, Restaurant August, and Herbsaint, plus original recipes from renowned chefs Eric Ripert, David Chang, and other Treme guest stars. For the 6 million who come to New Orleans each year for its food and music, this is the ultimate homage to the traditions that make it one of the world's greatest cities.

Author Biography

Lolis Eric Elie is a New Orleans-based journalist, filmmaker and food writer. He joined the staff of the HBO series Treme as story editor shortly after the series launched. Working with the award-winning director Dawn Logsdon, he co-produced and wrote the documentary, Faubourg Treme: the Untold Story of Black New Orleans. From 1995 to 2009, he wrote a thrice-weekly column for the New Orleans' Times-Picayune. A recognised expert on New Orleans food and culture, he is the author of Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country and co-producer and writer of a documentary based on that book.