Mondays at Katie’s are pretty much like any other day of the week: the tables and bar are filled with moms, dads, uncles, aunts, maw maws and paw paws. You’ll likely find lifelong friends comparing notes about Saints’ games, soccer teammates from a nearby school, and co-workers – all gathered in what feels like a New Orleans culinary clubhouse.

But there’s one notable difference on Mondays: red beans and rice is on the menu.

And keeping an eye on it all is owner Scot Craig.

A Culinary Awakening in Gentilly

Craig discovered cooking as a boy growing up in Gentilly, finding his culinary awakening in the kitchens of his Creole neighbors.

He explains his interest this way: “We’d be out playing, I’d stop in the kitchens [of friends and neighbors] and ask, ‘What are you cooking there?’”

“I’d talk to them about it. I learned a lot from the Creole ladies while growing up in that neighborhood,” he says, crediting them with his red beans and rice recipe.

“I learned how to make it right,” he notes, admitting that in the process, he also found out how to make it wrong.

“It’s about getting that creamy texture that’s so important,” Craig says. And for that, he credits soaking Camellia Red Kidney Beans.

“I’ve tried to use other [company’s] red beans, and they just don’t cook the same,” he says. “Other beans are harder, and they don’t absorb water the same.”

Plus, Craig adds, “I never saw anything but Camellia beans in a Creole lady’s house.”

Meats Bring the Flavor

Craig shares that he makes his red beans and rice like he makes his greens —with a lot of meat.

“I like to use smoked sausage and pickled meats, sometimes I’ll add turkey necks or other meats, anything that will bring it flavor,” he says. “But most importantly, smoked ham hocks and chunks of ham.”
The red beans begin soaking on Saturday, with the cooking process starting on Sunday.

Craig — or Chef Joey Trippi — starts with the traditional trinity of chopped celery, bell pepper and onion and cooks it down in butter, then adds it to the soaked red beans. Next are the bay leaf, butter, water, and the meats.

“We let it cook down,” he says, with the red beans ready on Monday for the first lunch order.
In addition to rice, patrons can have red beans with a smoked and grilled sausage link or hot sausage patty, fried chicken (available for dinner only), fried or grilled pork chops, or Andouille sausage.

A Special Creation

There is one red beans and rice creation that Craig says came together after a number of cocktails: the red beans and rice po-boy.

“It’s freaking incredible,” he says about this once-in-a-blue-moon special.

“You put a layer of mayonnaise and ketchup on the bottom with a layer of cooked red beans,” he says. “Then you add a real crispy hot sausage. I like hot sausage. And then you finish it on top with a little bit of red beans with some rice. It’s killer.”

Katie’s Restaurant and Bar, 3701 Iberville St., katiesinmidcity.com; on Instagram; 504.488.6582. Hours: Mon.-Thus. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

When an Iconic Restaurant Changes Hands

It isn’t easy to open a restaurant, so imagine what it’s like to buy an established New Orleans neighborhood eatery where the regulars expect their favorite dishes in an atmosphere that is the same as it was when they originally walked through the doors. Which may have been 50 years ago.

“It’s both very exciting and daunting,” said George DeCastro, who bought Liuzza’s on Bienville in fall 2022 with Erin Clark and two partners in Miami.

“I have the opportunity to step into an iconic New Orleans restaurant and serve food to diners who have been coming here for generations,” he said. “To carry that torch and still be a part of the fabric of New Orleans culture carries great responsibilities.” DeCastro is mainly in the kitchen/back of house, while Clark runs the front of house.

They are familiar with the city: Clark and DeCastro were part of the crew that opened Finnegan’s Easy in the French Quarter. Both relocated to New Orleans when they bought Liuzza’s business, building, and recipes.

Liuzza’s Keeps it Old School with its Red Beans and Rice

Among the original recipes was red beans and rice.

“I found out when I came to New Orleans that locals are very particular with the food products they know and love,” said DeCastro. “They are a very knowledgeable group when it comes to traditional cuisine.”

And, of course, there was no changing up the recipe when it came to using Camellia Red Kidney beans.

In keeping with the Liuzza’s red beans tradition, the beans are rinsed, not soaked. They are put in a large kettle to which assorted meats such as homemade tasso and smoked sausage are added, as well as the “trinity” (onion, green peppers and celery), Creole seasoning, garlic and other ingredients.

“We just keep on tasting it to see if it’s the cleanest consistency that we want,” DeCastro said. “It usually comes out the same every time.”

The red beans are made in a large batch, then frozen in portions which are taken out as needed.

“Once it goes into the freezer, all the flavors and everything that goes into it condenses,” DeCastro said.

He emphasized that when they heat up the red beans, they don’t microwave them, but put them in a small double boiler.

What the Future Holds: A Delicate Balance of the Old & the New

Many like to enjoy the red beans and rice alongside the restaurant’s signature 18 oz. goblets of frosty cold beers — or an Abita root beer. Other signature recipes include the Frenchuletta (Muffuletta on French bread) and shrimp and oyster beignets.

While committed to the restaurant’s traditional recipes, DeCastro said that he is also looking to “explore a lot of other Louisiana foods.” Sounds a lot like Vincent Liuzza, who founded the restaurant in 1947, and like his successors, blended Sicilian foods with Creole and Cajun flavors.

“I want to grow as a brand but walk the line that stays true to what Liuzza’s is to the local community,” said DeCastro. “Being a flag-bearer of a 70-year-old [plus] tradition is a great responsibility that so far, our guests have enjoyed.”

Liuzza’s Restaurant and Bar, 3636 Bienville St., New Orleans; liuzzas.com; Hours: Mon. 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., Tues. Closed; Weds. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Thurs.-Sat.11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

The Missing Dish

Their menu featured pulled pork, beef brisket, smoked turkey, rack of ribs, cracklings, bbq (baked) beans, and other barbecue favorites.

But something was missing.

“Red beans and rice,” said Evans, co-owner and chief barbecue tech.

The dish wasn’t on the menu because Blue Oak BBQ wasn’t open on Mondays, the traditional day to serve and eat red beans and rice.

So in 2020, when Evans and Moseley decided to open on Mondays, adding red beans and rice as a special was an easy decision.

“I’ve always loved red beans. I grew up eating them,” said Evans, a native New Orleanian.

Red Beans with a Barbecue Flair

Once they made the decision, the next question was how to make their dish stand out from others.

Instead of serving their red beans and rice with a traditional link of sausage or fried chicken or pork chop, the restaurant introduced smoked meats made in-house.

“We felt it was only natural to hold true to the tradition and put a little barbecue flair on the plate by adding some brisket and ribs,” said Moseley.

There is still sausage that comes with the dish, and it’s spicy green onion – the restaurant’s version of a “Texas hot link,” said Evans.

The temptation to add one — or all — of the three smoked meats to the red beans is often irresistible.

The red beans recipe was created by Evans, and his mother was the inspiration. “Red beans were in my mom’s repertoire. She also made black bean soup with Camellia black beans. It was always Camellia beans, all the time,” he said.

Surprise Ingredients: Pulled Pork & Pickle Juice

Evans’ red beans and rice recipe starts with the trinity (celery, bell pepper, onions) cooked down in pork fat. Then chicken stock is added. “We add more sausage and cook it down, then fold in the pulled pork, which gives it a nice texture,” said Evans.

That mixture is then poured into the red beans, which have soaked overnight, and it all cooks together into a creamy blend.

There are a few surprise ingredients. Cumin, chopped green onions, and pickle juice, the latter of which “just kind of gives it a little brightness and acidity,” said Evans.

The red beans and rice combo, which is only available on Mondays, took off, said Evans.

How red beans and rice ended up on the menu may seem like an evolution; now Evans claims, “It’s probably my favorite dish on the planet!”

Blue Oak BBQ, 900 N. Carrollton Ave., blueoakbbq.com, open 7 days, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Blue Oak BBQ, 900 N. Carrollton Ave., blueoakbbq.com, on Instagram; Hours: open 7 days, 11:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m.