As to be expected in New Orleans, the Krewe of Red Beans’ Bean Madness Championship in 2019 was fiercely contested,  bringing red beans and rice to the spotlight of culinary competitions. And, as with any challenge, there can only be one winner. 

The Queen of Red Beans is crowned.

Emily Shaya was crowned the Queen of Red Beans — with her recipe now creating new fans at Miss River, where red beans and rice isn’t just a Monday tradition — it’s celebrated daily. The restaurant, located in the Four Seasons New Orleans Hotel, is part of Pomegranate Hospitality, which owns Saba and Safta’s Kitchen in New Orleans, as well as other restaurants in the U.S. and the Bahamas.

The restaurant’s cuisine is guided by Emily’s husband, Chef Alon Shaya, himself a winner of two James Beard Foundation Awards. But when it comes to red beans and rice at Miss River, which is Chef Alon’s culinary homage to Louisiana cuisine, it’s Emily’s red beans and rice recipe that’s the star.

Studying the art and science of perfect red beans.

So how did this native of Georgia embrace one of the city’s most beloved dishes? Emily’s deep dive into New Orleans food began when she attended Tulane University as an undergraduate and its A.B. Freeman School of Business. Afterwards, while living in Atlanta, she got homesick for New Orleans food. “I missed New Orleans so much that I wanted to bring that piece of it there,” says Emily.

She experimented with cookbook recipes and the instructions on the back of the Camellia Brand Red Kidney Bean bag, brought back ingredients from her trips to New Orleans, and used her creativity to craft her signature dish.

“I decided I really wanted to perfect red beans,” says Emily.

Once she returned to New Orleans for good, her kitchen became a hub for friends and family to gather around simmering pots of beans.

The meat stock is the thing!

The red beans recipe would evolve even more with trips to local grocery stores. “I’d see what kind of interesting meats we could get — sausage or pickled pork … we eventually found pickled turkey necks and experimented with that for a while,” she says. 

A key ingredient became a rich, gelatinous stock made from chicken wings and sometimes pork. “I think the stock is really important,” says Emily. “It makes the beans creamy because the base is not water.” That and simmering the beans all day are “kind of like my secret weapons.”

Another key step for Emily is soaking the beans. “I just think it makes life a little bit easier,” she explains. “You don’t have to watch over the beans as much if you soak them.”

Here’s where to come eat these perfect red beans:

Her red beans recipe was adapted for Miss River, “So it has all the love and care that we do at home. The team here in the kitchen does it every day.” Emily’s red beans and rice are featured in two ways at Miss River: as a side dish, Emily’s Famous Red Beans and Rice, or as an entrée, Emily’s Famous Red Beans and Rice with Buttermilk-fried Chicken.

“We really wanted to pair fried chicken with our red beans and rice,” says Emily. “We’re kind of famous for our fried chicken here. We [also] do a whole chicken that is really a spectacle.”

Why Camellia Brand beans? For Emily, the answer is simple: consistency. “When you are soaking your beans, you can see how clean the water looks. You know you will always get beautiful beans from Camellia.”

Emily, who is a co-founder and director of New Projects at Pomegranate Hospitality, is still making her red beans and rice for family and friends as often as she can.

Whether in her own kitchen or made by the staff at Miss River, each pot carries the same intention: to feed, comfort and create lasting memories.

Emily Shaya’s Famous Red Beans and Rice Recipe

Bring Emily Shaya’s red beans home — a soulful, slow-simmered taste of New Orleans tradition, straight from Miss River’s kitchen.

Courtesy of Emily Shaya | Founder and Director of New Projects, Pomegranate Hospitality (New Orleans: Saba, Saba’s Lounge, Miss River and Chandelier Bar at Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, Safta’s Table; Denver: Safta, Ceci! Italian Lounge; Bahamas: Silan at Atlantis Paradise Island)

Miss River, Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, 2 Canal St.; (504) 434-5701, missrivernola.com/; on Instagram. 

If there is a restaurant known for both its adherence to tradition and innovation in the culinary and hospitality world, it’s Commander’s Palace.

Guests know when they go to the restaurant, the menu will have turtle soup au sherry, shrimp and tasso Henican, eggs Sardou and Creole bread pudding soufflé, among the offerings. But they also know that new dishes, in keeping with the restaurant’s practice of allowing its chefs — which included legends Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse — to add unique flavors to the menu.

So, when COOLinary, an event that happens throughout August featuring New Orleans restaurants, Commander’s Palace Executive Chef Meg Bickford got busy dreaming up some new dishes.

The Cochon de Lait Tostada

The result? Among them, the Cochon de Lait Tostada, a dish that has been on the restaurant’s menu in other variations, but now it had a Bickford twist.

This multi-layered iteration consists of garlic- and hot sauce-rubbed fall apart 18-hour smoked pork shoulder on a crisp tortilla with smoky boudin, creamy red bean purée, pickled corn and okra chow chow, crumbled Cotija and charred poblano aioli.

Not only does the red bean purée made from Camellia Red Kidney Beans act as the foundation of the dish — and contributes a “rich, earthy flavor,” says Bickford — it is a great sauce to dip and mix the dish’s other ingredients into. It is also a time-tested Commander’s Palace recipe.

“We braise the red beans with tons of andouille and house-made tasso,” says Bickford. “Then we puree the whole thing with pickled okra and roasted garlic. We’ll add a mound of butter into it so it’s nice, shiny and silky.”

“It’s just phenomenal … I could eat with just a spoon!”

Camellia Beans: An Essential Ingredient

Bickford, whose family is from Cut Off and New Orleans, grew up well-versed in south Louisiana cuisine, “Both my parents cooked, kind of everybody in my family cooks. It’s a rite of passage.”

“We always had Camellia Beans in the pantry. And no matter where we lived, we always used Camellia Beans.”

“It’s a very consistent product. They’re very clean, which a lot of people don’t think about. But when you’re not finding rocks or sand in your beans, it’s a big deal,” she says.

“It also goes beyond brand recognition … you want to use a local product, and that product proves itself to be superior.”

Rich and Buttery

Camellia Red Kidney Beans are also used for the red beans and rice made for the staff meal on Monday.

“Serving red beans and rice every Monday is more than just a meal — it’s a tradition rooted deep in New Orleans culture. It’s how we start the week together, just like families have done here for generations,” says Bickford. “Around that pot of beans, our team becomes a family, sharing stories, laughter and the spirit of this city we love.”

Everyone in the kitchen takes turns making the family meal — for Commander’s Palace, it’s all part of working as a team and part of its culture.

Another bean Bickford is a fan of is the Camellia Cannellini Beans for the garlic-braised white beans, served with a pork tenderloin.

Bickford favors these beans because they are “super rich and buttery, and it kind of gives this nutty flavor a little.”

She also features the cannellini bean in the heartier white bean cassoulet available at the restaurant’s Le Petit Bleu, its Parisian-style cafe next door highlighted inside and out by the restaurant’s signature color, Commander’s blue.

Rooted in New Orleans culture, the restaurant’s use of local Camellia beans — from red beans to cannellini beans — honors heritage, quality and good food not just for COOLinary, but all year long.

Commander’s Palace, 1403 Washington Ave., NOLA 70130; 504.899.8221; commanderspalace.com/ ; on Instagram.

Defying gravity, Galliano’s Pork Chop LaPlace is a study in vertical culinary construction: a base of red beans, then cornbread and ham hock dressing, topped with an andouille-stuffed Berkshire pork chop (cold smoked and grilled), upon which three onion rings are carefully placed, then finished with a “tiger sauce.”

It has probably given a few diners pause on how to start eating; nevertheless, it is one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes.

A Cajun Concept Restaurant

Located in the Warehouse District, Galliano opened in December 2016 as a “very casual Cajun concept,” says co-owner Manny Pineda. When COVID-19 hit in early 2020 and the restaurant lost a steady customer base from the nearby Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the decision was made to revamp the menu offerings.

“I am a fine dining brat,” admits Pineda, who worked his way through college at a number of fine-dining establishments in New Orleans, including Emeril’s. It was there that he met Chef Ricky Cheramie, with whom he and a business partner opened Restaurant Rebirth, a Creole-and Cajun-inspired farm-to-table restaurant. Later, he opened Galliano on the same city block.

For the new Galliano menu, Pineda and Cheramie harkened back to their fine dining backgrounds and added traditional homestyle Cajun dishes with a few twists — such as the Pork Chop LaPlace, a Cheramie creation.

But even with this menu elevation, traditional dishes such as red beans and rice are on the menu – alongside jambalaya, gumbo, blackened Gulf fish, and others.

The restaurant also focuses on local sourcing, such as Camellia Red Red Kidney Beans – for Pork Chop LaPlace, as well as the traditional red beans and rice offering.

Traditional Red Beans & Rice: How They Make It 

“We start with the trinity [onion, bell peppers, celery]. Add all the seasonings such as Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Meat Magic Cajun Seasonings, paprika, and cook it all down,” says Pineda. “We add a little bit of ham hock in there, some andouille sausage, cook it some, then throw in the Camellia red beans,” which have been soaking overnight.

“Chicken stock is added, then bay leaves, and it is all cooked down to the right consistency.”

What is the “secret” ingredient? “We add a couple of smoked pork chops in, while the red beans are cooking down,” says Pineda.

Once the pork chops are done, and the chef pulls them out, the meat basically falls off the bone. It is then chopped and mixed back into the red beans to cook further. When finished, the red beans are served with Louisiana long-grain rice.

It all combines into a hearty dish, one that has its roots firmly in Galliano, the town in southeast Louisiana that Cheramie hails from.  

Galliano, 200 Julia St., gallianorestaurant.com; on Instagram; Mon.-Sat. 5 p.m.-10 p.m.

Photo: Kat Kimball

Elevating the Meat-and-Three

Like many beloved Southern restaurants, Hot Stuff may look like an unassuming building on the outside with a smoker in the parking lot — but on the inside, a culinary party is waiting to start.

Nathan Barfield, the co-owner of Hot Stuff, wanted to open a “meat-and-three” restaurant – an old school, Southern, cafeteria-style plate lunch spot centered around the tradition of one meat accompanied by three sides and bread.

It’s a style of restaurant found across the South, though mostly outside of New Orleans. But at Hot Stuff, the concept has found a new home.

The menu features meats that include fried chicken, hamburger steak au poivre, Mississippi pot roast, and smoked chicken wings with pineapple habanero white barbecue sauce. Daily specials include New Orleans’ favorite Monday dish, red beans and rice

Photo: Kat Kimball

A Monday Must: Red Beans and Rice

Barfield starts his red beans by soaking the beans overnight. When it’s time to make the beans, he adds the Trinity (bell pepper, onion and celery) to another pot, and sautés it in vegetable oil until soft. Then comes the Creole seasoning, Crystal Hot Sauce, black pepper, salt, red beans and usually a smoked meat.

“It could be a ham hock, or any of the trim when we smoke ribs — in general, some sort of smoked pork,” says Barfield, adding that sometimes it could contain just one type of pork, or a mixture of all three, giving each Monday’s offering a slightly different flavor, but still consistent in taste.

Rather than adding smoked sausage during the cooking process, he instead adds Conecuh sausage on top when serving. Diners can also request the red beans and rice with a piece of chicken or a pork chop.

Barfield, a native of Monroeville, Alabama, learned how to make red beans and rice when he moved to New Orleans. He worked at The High Hat Café, followed by a stint at Turkey and the Wolf. There, he met Hot Stuff’s co-owner Mason Hereford, and the duo came up with the idea for the restaurant.

Barfield only uses Camellia Red Kidney Beans for the dish, as well as the company’s Blackeye Peas for one of the restaurant’s vegan sides.

“It’s the standard. They’re good,” he says, about Camellia Beans. “With other beans, you have to sort through them to see if there are rocks and other things. In the years I have been cooking, I have never had a bad bag of beans. It gives me peace of mind knowing I can just open the bag to use it, and it’s good.”

Photo: Kat Kimball

An Homage to Southern and New Orleans Culture

The attention to detail can also be found in the décor of Barfield’s restaurant with its homage to Southern and New Orleans culture. A Mardi Gras Indian suit from the 9th Ward Seminole tribe, sewn and worn by one of the restaurant’s cooks, Durel Randall, is one of the first things you see upon entering the restaurant.

Photo: Kat Kimball

The back patio — its Southern shack feel adorned with old signs, including one from Bojangle’s — is Barfield’s pièce de résistance. “I like to say it’s like your redneck uncle got hit by a bus, finally got his insurance payout, and he needed to spruce up the area where he drank his beers.”

Hot Stuff, 7507 Maple St.; Mon, Wed, Thurs, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri and Sat. 11 a.m. – Midnight, Sun. 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; hotstuffneworleans.com; @hotstuffneworleans.

It’s Monday morning at 3 Southern Girls, and customers are starting to drop in, looking for their favorite dish. It might be a stuffed bell pepper, turkey necks, a fried catfish plate, gumbo, or as it is the traditional day for it — red beans and rice, served with pickled pork, potato salad, and cornbread.

It’s the type of comfort food that reminds you of home.

And that’s just how owner Gabrielle Smith likes it. 3 Southern Girls is all about food and family, which also includes the neighborhood’s residents — and fans near and far — who have embraced the restaurant.

How 3 Southern Girls Came to Be
Located in Jefferson, 3 Southern Girls is a result of Gabrielle’s dream, hard work, and faith.

While the restaurant business is part of the family’s heritage — her grandmother owned Ebony’s and Maxine’s in Shrewsbury (in Jefferson Parish) — Gabrielle isn’t a formally trained chef and had never worked in a full-service restaurant. But she wanted to share her love of food with others, praying fervently before making the decision to open a restaurant. “God said it was going to work,” she told her father, just before she signed the lease for the restaurant’s building.

She opened on Feb. 29, 2020. The restaurant had just started to hit its stride when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and restaurants closed.

It was another test of faith. And Gabrielle persevered.

A Red Beans & Rice Recipe Inspired by Her Grandmother

Today, 3 Southern Girls is a mainstay, and while the red beans and rice is a Monday special, it’s also available every day with smoked sausage.

“Typically, I’m going to soak my beans the night before. So when I come in the morning, it’s two hours max for my cooking time,” says Gabrielle.

After she arrives, the beans are drained, and the pot is filled back up with water. It is then put on high heat for the first hour.

“That second hour, I’m going to add my dry ingredients, my bay leaf with a little chicken flavor, as well as add garlic powder, onion powder, and other seasonings.”

Traditionally, many chefs add the trinity — bell pepper, onion, celery — at the start of the cooking process. Gabrielle takes a different tack; in the last 30 minutes of cooking, she adds these ingredients raw – not cooked or sautéed.

“My grandmother taught me to finish with your fresh seasoning — not start with it,” she says.

It’s something, she notes, that is hard for people to understand. “When you start cooking with all your seasonings, everything cooks out of your pot. But if you finish with it, everything’s still there,” she explains, referencing the flavor.

Another essential ingredient she uses is Camellia Brand Red Kidneys beans and the brand’s Lima beans (butter beans) for other dishes.

“I’m going to stick to what I know works,” she says. “And I just feel like when you’re talking about beans, it’s what you are raised on. I’ve never seen any other kind of beans in our house.”

Who are the 3 Southern Girls — the ladies illustrated in the restaurant logo? The name was dreamed up in honor of Gabrielle and her two sisters, who don’t work at the restaurant, but like Gabrielle’s customers, appreciate her delicious food. Because it’s just like being home

3 Southern Girls, 4402 Jefferson Highway, (504) 381-4276; Facebook: @3SouthernGirls504; Instagram: @3SouthernGirls_; Hours: Mon-Fri. 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

When it comes to red beans and rice, there are traditionalists who say that some sort of meat, preferably ham, pickled ham, or smoked sausage, has to be part of the recipe. The crew at Creole Queen Paddlewheeler would beg to differ; it serves vegan red beans and rice. “It’s super creamy and flavorful,” says Creole Queen Food and Beverage Manager Tydra Ekeh, noting it reminds her of her grandmother’s red beans at Sunday dinner. “It’s a delicious and healthy alternative to the meat options,” she adds. Made with Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans, the dish is also practical. It is the only vegan offering on the Creole Queen and is soy- and gluten-free, catering to those with food allergies.

A Nostalgic Dish on the Mighty Mississippi
Prepared off-premises by Pigéon Catering using a Creole Queen recipe, the dish is available on brunch and dinner Mississippi River cruises leaving from New Orleans Spanish Plaza. In keeping with the nostalgic feel of the paddlewheel, the red beans and rice are another link to an earlier era. According to Susan Tucker’s New Orleans Cuisine, red beans have always been “a cultural phenomenon, a tradition dating back for hundreds of years.”

Red Beans & Rice and Historical Sights
Passengers enjoy the vegan red beans and rice while sitting in one of the paddlewheeler’s dining areas during the scenic five-mile route along the river. Between the red beans and the views, one can experience a meaningful connection to New Orleans’ rich history, seeing modern cityscapes alongside historical sights, while enjoying a dish as ubiquitous a symbol of New Orleans as the fleur-de-lis.

Launched in 1983, the Creole Queen is a replica of an authentic 19th-century paddlewheeler, and Captain Brian Clesi has been at the helm since 2005. The boat has a diesel-electric engine to power the stern paddlewheel, a big difference from those that plied the river in the 19th century. These boats were first introduced in 1811 by Robert Fulton, Robert R. Livingston, and Nicholas Roosevelt.

It’s hard not to imagine Mark Twain on a paddlewheeler back in the day, savoring the red beans and rice, much like today’s families, couples, and travelers do on the Creole Queen. After all, it’s a culinary rite as common as Carnival.

Creole Queen: Spanish Plaza, New Orleans, tickets/reservations, 504.587.1719 or 1.800.445.4109; creolequeen.com;

Bienvenue Means “Welcome” in French

It’s those personal touches that make Bienvenue — which means “welcome” in French — a great addition to the roster of classic, old school, New Orleans neighborhood restaurants.

Open since 2018, Bienvenue offers a menu that’s a creative mix of American/Southern cuisine and traditional New Orleans dishes. Almond-crusted gulf shrimp and filet mignon are served right alongside po-boys and red beans & rice.

Red Beans & Rice: A Classic Slow-Cooked Recipe

What type of beans does Bienvenue use? Camellia Brand Red Kidney Beans, of course.

That’s the way it has always been. The current chef, Matthew Knoff, uses a classic recipe developed when the restaurant opened.

As per Bienvenue custom, the beans are soaked in water for 24 hours, and “I season them while they soak,” says Knoff. He adds bay leaves and some other spices, which he says are a “secret.”

When the 24 hours are up, the mixture is cooked over a low flame.

Knoff then chops green peppers, red peppers, and onions, and adds them to a pan in which he has cooked smoked sausage and bacon, adding more bacon grease as needed. When completed, this mixture is added to the beans.

The Result is Creamy Red Bean Goodness

Five hours later, the result is creamy red bean goodness. Knoff says cooking the red beans slowly for a long time is the key to the right consistency. “We don’t want something with chunks of vegetables,” adds the chef.

Knoff cooks red beans twice a week, batching them for future servings. Capella guesses they get about 150 servings per batch, or 20 quarts. The red beans are served with rice and a Patton’s hot sausage patty, though Capella noted they can be served with chicken or grilled shrimp, as one customer prefers. The final touch is a slice of Gendusa’s bread on the side.

You’ll Also Find Red Beans in the Big Easy Wrap

The red beans also find their way into the restaurant’s Big Easy Wrap – a combination of red beans, rice, fried chicken tenders, smoked sausage, provolone cheese, and an in-house “tiger” sauce.

New Orleans’ Favorite Comfort Food

Knoff, who has been the chef at the restaurant for just a few months, is originally from the Northeast. He had his first taste of red beans and rice in 2009, and liked it, noting he understands the local love for the dish. Comparing it to a favorite comfort food from his neck of the woods, he adds, “It’s kind of like eating mashed potatoes and gravy to me.”

After all, red beans and rice is comfort food that’s right at home in New Orleans.

Bienvenue, 467 Hickory Ave., Harahan; (504) 305-4792; bienvenueharahan.com; Hours: Mon.-Thus. 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.- 8 p.m.; Fri. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat. 5 p.m.-8:30 p.m.; Sunday brunch 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

It started with a tortilla.

Then a pupusa, followed by a birria taco and ultimately a Central American restaurant with a full menu.

But first, that tortilla.

Mawi Tortillerias on January 8, 2024. Photo by Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee rhrphoto.com

Expanding Their Tortilla Empire

Will Avelar started Mawi Tortilla with his father Carlos and brother Fernando in 2017 as a wholesale tortilla bakery.

During COVID-19, Mawi Tortilla business was down due to most restaurants’ reduced operations, so the company began making and selling pupusas (inspired by Carlos, who is from El Salvador) and then birria tacos, which went viral on Instagram.

“Since then, we realized this location would probably benefit more from doing retail food than just wholesale tortillas,” says Will. The production of tortillas is now in Kenner.

The Spotted Rooster Rice

One of the restaurant’s popular dishes is Gallo Pinto, which translates roughly as “spotted rooster.”

The restaurant likes to use Camellia Brand small red beans or small black beans to make the Costa Rican-style rice and beans dish.

A New Orleans native, Will spent time in Costa Rica, where his mother’s family lives. In Costa Rica, “black beans are a big part of their rice dish,” he states in a Camellia Beans video. “Most Costa Rican homes have a pot of Gallo Pinto and rice. It’s that much of a staple item that you always have it.”

Crafting the Gallo Pinto

The dish starts by boiling the beans. “You can soak them to speed up the process, but it’s not necessary,” says Will.

“From there, you take the cooked beans and strain the liquid, but keep it. Then in another pot — or once you’ve cleaned out the same pot — you sweat the aromatics like onion, bell pepper, garlic, and cilantro in olive oil or butter,” he says.

“Add uncooked rice, toasting it a little bit, then add the bean liquid to cook the rice, and add the cooked beans, stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Taste the liquid to ensure the seasoning is good,” he says.

“Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.”

Gallo Pinto pops up as a special, sometimes as part of a Costa Rican-style breakfast served with eggs, cheese, some sort of protein, and plantains.

Red Beans Versatility

The restaurant also uses small red kidney beans to make refried beans and sopa de frijoles, a traditional bean soup, which is cooked with fried pork rinds and served with rice, boiled eggs, and avocado.

Another specialty that is more New Orleans in style, but with a Central American twist, is the restaurant’s version of red beans and rice, served on Mondays as a special.

It starts as traditional red beans and rice, prepared using Camellia Red Kidney beans and using the “trinity” (celery, onions, bell pepper), garlic and bay leaf. But it is a meatless version, made as a “way to cater to our guests who want a meatless option,” says Avelar.

A new addition are the sides of two pupusas served with curtido [pickled cabbage] and salsa, which “are two things you must have when eating pupusas,” says Avelar.

Freshly sliced avocado is also added, which may seem unusual. But there is a reason.

“My father always adds avocado to any beans he’s eating so I thought of putting that on our red beans and rice as something that our guests would like to try because it’s unique to the way he eats his beans.”

Avelar said he created this dish with the purpose of connecting both Louisiana and El Salvador on one plate.

“It represents traditions I identify with in my cooking and upbringing,” he says.

Blending Culinary Influences

If Will Avelar’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he has been involved in four of Chef Emeril Lagasse’s restaurants, working his way up through the ranks of Emeril’s, NOLA, Delmonico, and finally, as the opening chef for Meril. In addition to running Mawi Tortillas, he recently became the corporate chef for Hufft Marchand Hospitality.

“It’s the flavors that I’m familiar with, techniques I grew up learning in my career, but also incorporating that into the traditional foods that we have in Central America,” Will says of Mawi Tortilla’s dishes. He likes to experiment — crawfish pupusas, for example — but also keeps traditional favorites on the menu, sometimes adding a bit of Louisiana flair with Camellia Beans.

Mawi Tortillas, 5050 W. Esplanade, Metairie, mawinola.com, on Instagram, (504) 644.2624, Mon. – Sat. 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

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.

If variety is the spice of life, then Chicken’s Kitchen in Gretna could be considered one of its culinary epicenters. So much so that it was named to The New York Times “Restaurant List 2022: 50 Places In America We Are Most Excited About Right Now.”

On the Menu

The menu — colorfully written on a large blackboard on the wall — features daily specials Monday through Friday that include fried chicken, braised beef, half-stuffed Cornish hen, oxtails (the first Tuesday of the month), smothered turkey necks, Five-Star Mac (named for the five cheeses used for it), potato salad, seafood smothered okra, and candied yams, to name just a few. Other options include red beans, white beans, and black-eyed peas with rice dishes.

Then there are the multiple ways you can combine them: a fried pork chop with white beans, cabbage, and candied yams might be your preference, or perhaps red beans with fried chicken, Five-Star Mac, and honey cornbread is more your style.

Each combination offers a unique and delicious flavor profile. (Combine some white beans and rice with the candied yams. Trust us.)

And don’t forget to finish the meal with a sweet treat by Anointed Confections.

Take-Out Plate Lunches

The man behind this culinary cornucopia is restaurant owner Marlon Chukumerije — his nickname is Chicken, hence the restaurant’s name.

Chukumerije’s mother and grandmother taught him to cook, and in 2014, a friend asked him to cater a wedding. Out of this adventure grew a catering business, and when the opportunity arose to open a restaurant in September 2020, he took it.
The menu he created features New Orleans and southern-style dishes that work well as take-out plate lunches.

“The idea was to find things that hold well in the heat, things that could stay long and not
change the quality,” says Chukumerije.

“There are things I would love to add to the menu, but we just can’t,” he adds, stating certain pasta dishes and vegetables don’t work well for take-out, while others do.

Red Beans & Rice, Perfected

One dish he worked hard to perfect was the red beans and rice.

“When we opened, we made red beans four or five different ways,” he said. “It was trial and error.”

“And I landed on this version because I got the most consistent feedback from customers.”

The version Chukumerije and his crew hit on starts with Camellia Red Kidney beans soaked overnight.

Green onions, celery and parsley are added, then Tony Chachere’s, Italian seasoning, onion, garlic powder, and chicken bouillon powder, which he says amplifies the flavors.

When it came to pork, he worked hard to find the right cut and flavor.

“Certain people have pork issues,” he says, noting that ham seasoning, salt pork, and pickled pork (tips, tails, for example) were not popular.

The one ingredient everyone liked was smoked sausage. “That’s the only meat we put in it,” he says.

For the restaurant’s white beans dish, Chukumerije uses Camellia Navy Beans and the same cooking process and ingredients used for the red beans.

As for the blackeye peas, Chukumerije uses scraps from that day’s fried ribs to add flavor.

Red beans are traditionally served on Monday, blackeye peas on Tuesday, and white beans on Wednesday.

A Love of Green Onions

Another unexpected ingredient used in Chicken Kitchen’s bean & rice dishes is green onion. “Something I learned here that I think gives our beans a unique flavor, which most people don’t do, is we finish it off with lots of green onions,” he says. “Right when we are doing the cooking, while it’s still super hot, we put the chopped green onions in there and mix it.

“It elevates it to a whole different level,” he says.

Praise for Chicken’s Kitchen

What Chukumerije is doing is working based on the line of customers outside of the restaurant who know to get there early as food often sells out fast. And, of course, the restaurant’s recognition in the New York Times.

“It’s a gratifying achievement that wouldn’t even be possible without the community support we get on the daily. That’s more special to me,” he says.

Chicken’s Kitchen, 629 Derbigny St., Gretna; Mon.- Fri., 10:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., chickens-kitchen.com; on Instagram.

When owner and chef Jeffrey Heard opened the doors to his restaurant on March 2, 2015, his wife made the red beans and rice.

“She had always cooked them for me at home,” Heard says. “So I let her cook them here.”

But when he entered the Krewe of Red Beans “Bean Madness” contest in 2017, he decided to take on the challenge himself. Working from the memory of his mother’s red beans and rice recipe, he made a batch and had his oldest brother do the taste-testing. His brother proclaimed them “marvelous.”

Heard’s red beans made it to the final eight contenders out of 64 in the competition, but in trying to make more batches, he wasn’t able to cook the beans long enough. “They didn’t have enough time to break down right,” he says, and they didn’t make it to the final four.

Despite that, Heard was hooked on making red beans and rice.

Precision: The Key to Heard’s Red Beans

The process for making everything he serves at the restaurant is precise — including the red beans and rice.

“What I do now is soak them in water overnight. Then, the next day, I cook them on a high fire for about eight hours,” he says.

“And then after that, I simmer them on a real low fire for about 12 hours. I don’t put any seasoning or anything in it. I’m just trying to get them broken down.”

Once they reach the consistency Heard likes, if he doesn’t need them right away, he separates the red beans into portions and puts them in the refrigerator or freezer. Heard then sautés onions, peppers, and pork sausage and puts that aside, divided into portions, as needed. His dry seasonings, including garlic and onion powder, are all ready in a Ziploc bag, again, divided into portions.

Most of the prep takes place on Saturdays, so when Mondays roll around, “I’ll just put it all in the pot, so with that process, it takes me about an hour to an hour and a half to finish cooking.”

His secret? Don’t rush the beans. “I found slow cooking them on that real low fire is what really will make them creamy.” His preferred bean is Camellia Red Kidney Beans. “It’s just something my mom always used. It was like it was a rule and the only kind we had in the house, actually,” he says.

From Front of House to Back of House

Heard was born and raised in New Orleans, the second oldest of six boys. He worked in the hospitality industry for more than 30 years, serving in a variety of front-of-house positions, including waiter, operations manager, and banquet captain at places such as Restaurant August and the Crowne Plaza/W Hotel/Le Méridien on Poydras Street.

Though Heard didn’t work in the kitchen during that time, he watched and learned from chefs such as Michael Gulotta, Michael Stoltzfus, Brian Landry, John Besh, Alon Shaya and Agnes Bellet. And he credits learning the importance of how to plate food so it looks appetizing to his time at Restaurant August.

While working at these establishments, he would often be asked where to find authentic New Orleans food – “I want to go where you eat,” people would say to him. No one knew better than he did, so when the opportunity came along to open his own restaurant, he took it.

A Restaurant of His Own

Heard’s family members are his main collaborators: son, Jeffrey Heard Jr. and daughters Tia’Nesha Heard-Dorset and Angel Heard.

The restaurant’s Audrey Mae’s Catering is named after his mom. Heard was catering before he opened the restaurant at the corner of Magnolia and Felicity streets, in a building with historic roots. Built by Johann Heinrich Keller of Keller Southern Soap Works, it housed the largest manufacturer of soap products in the South in the late 19th century, with products distributed to the eastern U.S., Mexico, and Central America. The front of the building still has the Keller name on it. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it accommodated a food store and the restaurant’s dining area, but neither the food store nor the inside dining area have re-opened.

Heard Dat Kitchen’s menu is available for take-out or can be eaten outside at the picnic tables, but Heard is hoping the owner will soon re-open the building. He’d like to use the larger kitchen and offer inside dining again.

“It would be a perfect spot for coffee, as the neighborhood doesn’t have a coffee shop,” says Heard, who prefers to wear a t-shirt proclaiming, “Exceed Expectations,” a phrase based on Ephesians 3:20.

The red beans and rice do live up to the promise of the t-shirt’s expression; served with a choice of fish or chicken that’s blackened or fried, it is a popular menu item. (Heard points out the blackened chicken works well with the red beans.) Two other signature menu items include the Superdome — a blackened fish dish in a lobster cream sauce with fresh corn and crispy onion rings, and Bourbon Street Love — a baked macaroni dish topped with fried chicken and a crawfish cream sauce.

Heard Dat Kitchen is both a neighborhood spot and a place people seek out – for the food, the experience, and for Jeffrey Heard himself.

Says Chef Gulotta, “I worked with Jeffrey years ago when we had to execute massive private dinners together, and he was unflappable through countless high stress situations – and his knowledge and love of great wine is also unmatched. When I tried his food at Heard Dat Kitchen, he floored me again.”

“My biggest motto is, I tell people that I’m in the memory-making business,” says Heard.

Heard Dat Kitchen, 2520 Felicity St., (504) 510-4248, @_hearddat_ on Instagram, heardatkitchen.com. Hours: Mon. – Sat., 11 a.m.- 8 p.m.

Nestled in a restored 1920s-era train depot in downtown Covington, Lola is a place where you will run into your neighbors, co-workers, family and friends — anyone who has a hankering for what co-owner Chef Keith Frentz says is “simple Southern fare.”

That’s because for the past 17 years, Keith and his wife, co-owner Nealy Frentz, have hit on a comfy alchemy of food and atmosphere that has made Lola a success.

The duo, who both went to Johnson & Wales University culinary school in different cities, met just before Hurricane Katrina when they were sous chefs at Brennan’s. Keith was born and raised in Covington; Nealy is originally from California. 

The Lola Menu

The menu — featuring an assortment of Southern-inspired dishes with a focus on seafood — is what brings customers back. Another highlight is the restaurant’s charming set-up; it conjures up the small town-feel of Covington during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when it served as a transportation and commerce hub for the Northshore.

The brick-walled main dining room is part of the original depot and features a large painting of a pig by Simone Burke. (Keith says he won’t ever sell it, even though he has had offers.) Also on the walls are the daily specials – listed on a brown Kraft paper “poster.”

What’s fascinating is that the kitchen and an adjacent dining room are fashioned out of railroad cars. Of note is “The Doodlebug” – a Model 75 Gasoline Engine Driven Rail Car commissioned on Nov. 24, 1925 by the Columbus & Greenville Railway Company and built by the J.G. Brill Company. After years in service, it was retired in 1948 and went into private ownership, eventually moving to downtown Covington. Refurbished in 2017, the car’s exterior was painted the same green as that of New Orleans streetcars.

Red Beans and Rice, Made the Lola Way

Red beans and rice, which figures prominently as a Monday special, is one of Keith’s favorite things to make, though he admits gumbo is up there, too. (Both were big sellers for take-out during the COVID-19 pandemic.)

As it turns out, Keith didn’t grow up eating or even making red beans.

“I never experienced red beans until I was working at Brennan’s, and one of my old friends, cook Kenney Riley, taught me how to make them,” says Keith.

Riley instructed, “One pound of beans, one pound of butter, 10 pieces of bacon, and the trinity [onion, celery, bell pepper].” Keith remembered thinking that was a lot of butter for one pound of beans; but, after Riley added the sausage, Keith realized it was the best thing he had ever tasted. 

The red bean bug had bit, and Keith proceeded to develop the recipe he now uses at the restaurant.

Keith’s Secret Ingredients

Now, some may think that the butter would be the secret ingredient, but for Keith it is bacon fat. 

“I always cook bacon for my sandwiches, so I always have at least eight sheet pans of bacon made on Monday,” he says. “The excess bacon juice goes into the beans.”

Another must-have ingredient is Camellia Beans, which Keith says are the only ones he will use.

“I don’t soak them because they cook really fast,” says Keith. “They are going to reduce down and smash each other. Once I get them to a boil, I put them on low because unfortunately, I have burned a lot of red beans.”

Mondays at Lola

Keith’s Monday morning routine is this: “First thing I do when I arrive is put my pot of water on, then add the butter, all the dry seasonings such as paprika, salt and pepper, cayenne, dried parsley, garlic, and thyme, then red beans, and I let it boil for a while,” he says. “Next, I will add the trinity and smoked sausage. When the bacon is done, I will add the bacon fat.”

When completed, the red beans and rice is served with cornbread.

And on Tuesdays…

The red beans and rice often sells out on Mondays, but when it doesn’t, Keith will make red bean hummus or red bean succotash on Tuesdays. His red bean succotash is a variation on part of a dish that earned him the title of King of Louisiana Seafood in the 2012 Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off. The full award-winning dish was a cornmeal-dusted wild Des Allemands catfish with Camellia red bean & local crawfish succotash, braised collards, and house-made tartar sauce.

Has Keith ever used red beans in other dishes? Yep, in a red bean gumbo. “And it was good!” he exclaims.

Here’s hoping to find that dish on the Lola menu soon! But if not, red beans and rice will remain a well-seasoned favorite at Lola.

Lola, 517 N. New Hampshire St., Covington; (985) 892-4992; http://lola.kitchen/; on Instagram @lolacovington; Hours: Mon.- Fri. Lunch, Dinner Fri. and Sat.

When You Really Love Red Beans

How much does Saint John Chef Daren Porretto love red beans?

He has a tattoo of one on his finger.

For this New Orleans-born and-raised chef, the city and its food are his passions, and he shares them at the French Quarter restaurant. Through those passions, Saint John customers get a culinary awakening — a conversion, perhaps — of Southern and Louisiana food that goes beyond tradition.

The proof? The moment a waiter places the pork belly cassoulet down on a table, there is a pause: Take a photo, inhale the heavenly aroma, or just dive into the flavor? Most people do all three, as simultaneously as they can, when it comes to this brunch favorite.

A Cassoulet Made with Camellia Beans

Making the cassoulet is a two-day process that starts by soaking Camellia Great Northerns overnight. Then, it’s time to render the meat (Andouille sausage, tasso and ground pork belly), throw into chicken stock, and add vegetables including the trinity (onion, bell peppers, celery), plus garlic, bay leaves, salt and pepper. 
“All the usual suspects,” Chef Porretto says, cooked to the right balance, so the mixture is buttery and smooth.

Finally, the pork belly is braised in root beer and topped with a cornbread crust.

A combination of flavors, the cassoulet creates a historical connection between its French origins and Louisiana, with beans as the common denominator.

 And Porretto wouldn’t use anything other than Camellia Beans.

“I feel like I don’t have a choice to use anything else,” says Porretto jokingly.

Camellia Beans is what his grandmother relied on when the two of them cooked together. And when Porretto worked in New York City for a year, she made sure he was well-stocked. Her care packages included at least three different types – usually white beans, red beans, and one other.

“New Orleanians stick to our roots,” he says. “It’s like if you go to the grocery store, and there’s no Camellia Beans, you go to another store to find it. It’s something ingrained in my DNA.”

It’s that DNA — along with a dedication to Southern and Louisiana food — that Porretto and restaurant owner Eric Cook are bringing together in a modern, updated cuisine that never forgets its roots.

Hoppin’ John Oyster Salad

Another example of their culinary philosophy is the Hoppin’ John oyster salad, a fresh take on the New Year’s Day Southern tradition of serving cabbage or greens (symbolizing money, or dollar bills), with blackeye peas (symbolizing prosperity, or coins), and cornbread (symbolizing gold) – all with the goal of starting the new year with good luck.

Instead of cabbage, the salad features Bibb lettuce topped with crispy fried Gulf oysters. It is then ringed by a combination of crumbled bacon, chopped red peppers, and slow-cooked, smoky blackeye peas, “which bring a great flavor and texture to it,” says Porretto. Dressed with a green remoulade — not the traditional pinkish-hued version — it is a light, flavorful combination that melds Louisiana and Low Country traditions.

Red Beans and Rice

And what about the red beans and rice? The classic dish was added back to the menu — Mondays only, as per New Orleans’ custom — with Porretto putting just as much thought into it.

 However, he is keeping that favorite more traditional, as any New Orleans native would.

Saint John, 1117 Decatur St., (504) 581-8120, saintjohnnola.com, on Instagram; 
Hours: Brunch and dinner, Weds.-Mon.

It’s in New Orleans’ neighborhood restaurants where you’ll find the heart and soul of the city’s cuisine.

Since it opened in the 1970s, Joey K’s Restaurant and Bar has been keeping Uptown well-fed, with Southern and New Orleans dishes that have been on the menu since day one.

Always on the Menu
One such traditional New Orleans dish that has always been on the menu is the red beans and rice.

“I’ve never seen an actual recipe written down,” says co-owner Tommy Spain.

The chefs are still using the same recipe, but each has their own flourishes. And while the base is the same, what you get “… really depends on who’s making it, to be honest with you,” Spain adds.

Chef Weston Banks has been here for five years with a short break in between. The other chef is Dexter Johnson, who has been cooking at Joey K’s for 17 years.

“It’s a mixture of both of them,” says Banks, referring to the restaurant recipe and his own. Banks learned his craft at home and while working at other restaurants around town.

How Joey K’s Cooks Red Beans

There are a few constants; among them, using Camellia Beans and not soaking.

“We just put them in the pot, add water, our spices, let them cook,” says Banks. “Once we let them cook, we add smoked sausage and seasoning, onion, bell pepper, and a ham base.”

The dish is available every day as a main or side dish, and while it doesn’t always sell out, it is a best seller.
Why do customers like their red beans and rice? “They are the right amount of firmness, which I think comes from not pre-soaking the beans,” says Spain. “The other thing people have a tendency to do is to over-salt them, and they get too soft. And, we don’t season so much that it hides the taste.”

The restaurant is a regular stop for the New Orleans Secrets Tours’ Magazine Street Foodie Tour. Tour co-owner Mark Aspiazu likes Magazine Street because it is walkable and has good restaurants for stopping and sampling the food.

“It’s one of my favorite places to eat,” says Aspiazu about Joey K’s.

The red beans are “cooked perfectly, scream authenticity, and are creamy and delicious,” he says. “I can get red beans and rice anywhere, but not these, which are the best in town.”

“How could I not bring guests here?”

In fact, the popularity of Joey K’s red beans was celebrated when the restaurant was one of the final four competitors in the inaugural Bean Madness tournament (created and organized by the Red Beans Parade). 64 New Orleans restaurants and chefs were pitted against one another to see who makes the city’s best red beans.

From the Beginning to Present Day
While Joey K’s was founded in the 1970s, it was originally one block away and called Tony’s. It was owned by Joey K’s mother, and passed on to him when she passed away in the late ‘70s. He then moved the restaurant to its current location and named it after his daughter Joey Kay, later shortening it to Joey K’s. In the late 1980s, Cindy and Sam Farnet bought the business, and more recently, Spain and his wife purchased a portion of it.

Spain pulls out an original menu from the late 1980s to compare it to one from 2022. There are menu items that are now long gone, but the classic Joey K’s offerings remain, including red beans and rice, white beans and pork chop, beef brisket, chicken cordon bleu, and the “All You Can Eat Catfish” Friday special. Prices, alas, have changed: red beans and rice was once $4.25, and today it is $11.95.

What hasn’t changed is what brought people here in the first place – the food.

In fact, Spain admits he eats the red beans and rice every day, maybe even twice a day!

Joey K’s Restaurant and Bar, 3001 Magazine St., (504) 891-0997; joeyksrestaurant.com; on Instagram; Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m

It’s a bustling scene inside Mother’s Restaurant. Visitors simultaneously look around, taking in this old school New Orleans eatery, while perusing the menu and trying to make a decision about what to order. Should they get the restaurant’s Famous Ferdi Special, a combination of ham and roast beef “debris” with its juices unabashedly soaking into the po-boy bread and down the sides? Perhaps Jerry’s Jambalaya, named after the late owner Jerry Amato, or the signature red beans and rice. Regulars go straight to the always-in-motion serving/deli line to get their favorite dish. Tables are overflowing with Mother’s food and those who enjoy it, a testament to the enduring popularity of this restaurant.

Much of that has to do with brothers Jerry and John Amato, who bought the restaurant in 1986. And much has to do with the staff — such as Miss Pat, who has been there for more than 30 years and has done a little bit of everything.

It’s family. It’s New Orleans. It’s about the relationships between people, as well as with food.

A Recipe is Born
It was Jerry – with culinary training from previous hospitality jobs, studies at Delgado Community College and The Culinary Institute of America – who had an innate sense of what tasted good and which flavors worked together. He was always able to take traditional New Orleans dishes and elevate them.

“Jerry really brought a culinary take on it,” says Charles Pizzo, who does public relations and social media marketing for the restaurant, about the food at Mother’s.

An example is the red beans and rice.

The origin of the red beans and rice recipe at Mother’s starts with the founders, Simon and Mary “Mother” Landry, who opened the business in 1938 on Poydras Street. It was there where they fed the neighborhood’s longshoremen, warehouse workers, and others looking for po-boys and hearty New Orleans dishes.

Years later, Chef Odie Mae Peters refined the red beans and rice recipe.

“She tweaked the recipe a little bit,” says Pizzo. “She added more ham because Mother’s cooks its own ham.”

When Jerry arrived on the scene, he saw all the leftover ham fat as the result of trimming, and realized it could be used in the red beans, among other dishes.

“It is a secret ingredient to a lot of Mother’s old-time dishes,” shares Pizzo.

Chef Roland Swazy agrees: “Though it’s no longer fashionable, it’s fat that makes the red beans taste good. And Mother’s happens to have a lot of ham trimmings available.”

After the ham fat is rendered, then the vegetables — onions, green onions, bell peppers and garlic — for the red beans are cooked in it.

Mother’s ham is cooked at the restaurant. “We only use Chisesi Brothers ham,” says Alex Salas, daytime manager, who has been at the restaurant for 16 years.

In addition to cooking the vegetables in the rendered ham fat, the ham bones, which are cut in half, are boiled with the red beans.

Pizzo notes that the ham is not salted. The flavor is enhanced by Mother’s secret sauce, a glaze that covers the ham when it is cooked. Ham chunks are also used in the red beans recipe, as is smoked sausage from Creole Country that is made to Mother’s specifications.

Mother’s uses Camellia Red Kidney Beans. The beans are not soaked, but instead, they’re put through a few rinses to help release the starches. (The restaurant also has specialized equipment so it can cook the beans low and slow at a controlled rate.)

The beans are then boiled in half chicken stock and half beef stock, a.k.a. “debris gravy.” The stocks are made in-house.

The Legacy Continues
Chef Swazy has been put in charge of carrying on the restaurant’s culinary traditions. Swazy started as a dishwasher in 1987 and worked his way up to become head chef, learning what made Mother’s so special along the way.

“Chef Jerry Amato, who mentored me, was big on the need for consistency. Regulars come to Mother’s Restaurant year after year, and they want and expect everything to taste the same,” says Swazy. “While some restaurants try to be cutting edge, Mother’s aims to be traditional. We’ve seen adult children bring their elderly parents in to eat,” he added. “These are folks who worked in what were once office buildings along Poydras Street, such as the Lykes Building or One Shell Square. They tear up and get emotional, telling us ‘Your food tastes exactly like I remembered it.’”

And that’s why Mother’s Restaurant remains beloved.

Mother’s Restaurant, 401 Poydras Street, mothersrestaurant.net, (504) 523-9656. Hours: 7 days 7 a.m.-10 p.m.

Arkesha Baquet is a busy woman. It’s just a half-hour before opening at Li’l Dizzy’s in Tremé, and menus must be reviewed, supply deliveries confirmed, and she needs to peek in the kitchen to check on the Creole-Soul food favorites this beloved eatery is famous for.

If a restaurant can embody a city’s culinary history, traditions, and heart — as well as its past, present and future — then Li’l Dizzy’s is it.

Arkesha, and her husband Wayne Baquet Jr., are second-generation owners of the restaurant founded by Wayne’s father, Wayne Baquet Sr., in 2004.

The Baquets and Their Long-Standing Culinary Legacy
The family has a long, rich culinary legacy in New Orleans. Before Li’l Dizzy’s, there was Zachary’s on Oak Street, and before that, Eddie’s in the Seventh Ward, run by Wayne Sr.’s father, Eddie Baquet Sr. Eddie learned the business working for his aunt and uncle, Ada Baquet Gross and Paul Gross, at their restaurant, Paul Gross Chicken Coop. The Chicken Coop opened in the mid-1940s and was among the first Black-owned restaurants in the city.

Li’l Dizzy’s is the last of the Baquet family restaurants that’s still in operation today, and Arkesha and Wayne Jr. took it over in February 2021, after Wayne Sr. retired during the pandemic. (Those who are curious will appreciate this tidbit: the café was named after Wayne Sr.’s grandson Zachary, who played the trumpet at St. Augustine High School and was nicknamed Li’l Dizzy after famous trumpeter, Dizzy Gillespie.) Says Arkesha, “It’s a family business where a lot of people like to come with their families.”

Some Things Have Changed, While Others Have Stayed the Same
With Arkesha and Wayne Jr. at the helm, only a few things have changed: the restaurant just serves lunch, the buffet has been removed, and service is now tableside and take-out. Food is served in take-out containers for the ease of both customers and staff.

What hasn’t changed are the recipes. Those have been part of the Baquet family lore for generations. Wayne Sr.’s wife, Janet Jourdain Baquet, created the recipes. A few are by his mother, Myrtle Romano Baquet.

The red and white bean dishes, credited to Janet, are legendary, and the recipes can be found in “The Baquet Family Cookbook”.

The two recipes are the same, except for the beans used, but as Arkesha learned early on, the white beans better be Camellia’s Great Northern beans – and not lima beans.

“People will have a fit,” says Arkesha. “Because, I’m telling you, when we first opened up (post-pandemic), and we started selling white beans, the question almost every customer asked was, ‘What kind of white beans are these?’ They did not want those lima beans.”

Arkesha was asked this question so many times, that she even called Wayne Sr. about it.

“He said, ‘If you give them something else, they’re not going to be happy,’” says Arkesha.

Soaking the Beans and Secret Ingredients
Some additional things that haven’t changed are the way the red and white bean dishes are made — using Camellia Beans — and soaking the beans overnight.

“My mother said that it’s sacrilegious not to soak your beans,” Arkesha says. “I don’t know how you would get away with them being good. That’s what would scare me; are they going to be hard?”

One ingredient that gives the bean dishes a special kick is the notable hot sausage the Baquets make in-house. The hot sausage can also be served alongside the beans, or customers can choose options like smoked sausage or fried chicken.

The red beans are served only on Mondays and usually sell out, while the white beans are served only on Tuesdays, and are just as popular.

Customers can thank head chef John Cannon (who some may know for playing the tuba in the Stooges Brass Band) and lead cook Lawrence Miller: Cannon makes the red beans, and Miller makes the white beans.

Li’l Dizzy’s Third Generation
Li’l Dizzy’s third generation includes Arkesha and Wayne Jr.’s children, Jene and Jace, who can be found helping out on Saturdays. Wayne Jr., who is the president of a wholesale company, is there, as well.

“We’re all here on Saturdays,” says Arkesha.

And they’re dedicated to keeping the Baquet culinary legacy alive.

Li’l Dizzy’s, 1500 Esplanade Ave., lildizzyscafe.net; on Instagram; (504) 766-8687; Mon-Sat. 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Opening During the Pandemic

Opening a restaurant is always a risk, and Allison and Glenn Charles took on an even greater one when opening Nice Guys in June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the duo – natives of New Orleans – had a dream, a plan, and were determined to move forward.

They haven’t looked back.

The restaurant took off, so much so that the Charleses are in the process of expanding Nice Guys into a former Japanese restaurant that was next door and renovating a Canal Street space as a second location.

The Secrets to Their Success

What could be the restaurant’s secrets to success? The Charleses’ savvy business sense: they took a long-empty building on Earhart Boulevard and renovated it into a place that is welcoming and casually chic.

The not-so-secret-secrets are Chef Fred Andrews and the menu, featuring classic yet innovative dishes that New Orleanians know and love. The restaurant’s tagline is “New Orleans food with a twist!”

A great example would be the red beans and rice.

Andrews boils smoked turkey legs in a seafood boil, such as crab, before adding them to Camellia Red Kidney Beans — which he doesn’t soak — during the cooking process.

He then adds the “trinity” — onion, celery, bell pepper — plus garlic, red pepper, salt, pepper, and pickled ham, and a “whole list of secret ingredients,” he says.

Andrews cooks the red beans and rice the day before serving, so the flavors are enhanced overnight.

The restaurant serves red beans and rice on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and “we always sell out each day,” says Glenn Charles. “People love it, and I think it’s because of the smoked turkey meat that we use.” (And whatever the secret ingredients are!)

An Original Take on Traditional Dishes

What else do the restaurant’s customers love? The menu’s original takes on traditional dishes. Shrimp and grits is now SLG (shrimp, lobster, and grits) and French fries are Earhart Attack Fries – a combination of marinated chicken, hot sausage, smoked sausage, bacon, jalapeños, and seasoned fries topped with crawfish cheese sauce and a fried egg. And then there are chargrilled oyster options, including the Oysters Rockefeller version.

Even snowballs get a special twist with little bottles of alcohol flipped into the icy mixture, while daiquiris get their own enhancements of fruit and more.

Allison Charles points out that the Wednesday special of the seafood hot box features a combination of seafood rice with potatoes, sausage, and corn boiled in crab boil, and is finished with Nice Guys’ garlic butter and the seafood of your choice (though some people like to add turkey legs).

Nice Guys Finish First

It’s no wonder that online reviews for the restaurant are raves and often include kudos to the wait staff.

About their success, Allison Charles says, “We were blessed, really blessed.”

It’s no longer a secret that Nice Guys do finish first.

Nice Guys Nola, 7910 Earhart Blvd. NOLA 70125, (504) 302-2404, https://www.niceguysnola.com/

1905 Alabama diner ad featuring camp stew

Across the Yellowhammer State, cooks of every description have been lighting fires under old kettles and cooking camp stew for well over a hundred years. From the Tennessee Valley in the northern part of the state to the Mobile-Tensaw Delta on the Gulf Coast, camp stew is available nightly in hundreds of households, barbecue shacks, meat and three joints, and of course, hunting camps. The fortunate among us may find the dish in the backwood taverns that dot the rural countryscape across the region. Camp stew is so ingrained in the psychology of Alabama eaters that it made the 100 Dishes To Eat In Alabama Before You Die list published by the Birmingham News, a journal with roots that stretch back to the 19th century.

1912 barbecue stand as for camp stew

What It Is & Where to Find It
Snack bars at fiddler conventions, pro-wrestling matches, National Guard Armories, high school football games, beauty pageants, and Baptist homecomings held across the entirety of the state reliably have big pots of camp stew burbling on the range. If you’re not from Alabama you may ask yourself, what is this dish? It’s the stuff of fever dreams: a potent witch’s brew of all manners of meats, vegetables, and starches including but not limited to common ingredients such as pork, beef, and chicken serving as proteins with tomatoes, onion, and corn filling the role of vegetables. Worcestershire sauce is a crucial component. Wild game like alligator, squirrel, quail, and feral hog may also be found in an adventurous cook’s stew.

A 1913 Alabama newspaper article mentions that Democrats and suffragettes alike enjoy camp stew

Beans: A Must-Have Ingredient
Butter beans, Limas, or Baby Limas are often included, and you may even find Great Northern beans or Pintos depending on what part of the state you’re exploring. “If it ain’t got beans in it, it ain’t camp stew,” is a common refrain heard when discussing the dish. Piscine versions of camp stew may be found as you explore diners and cafés alongside rivers like the Choctawhatchee, Black Warrior, and Escatawpa.

A 1908 recounting of a camp stew feast served to Alabama prisoners

Feeding the Masses in Good Times and Bad
In the early 20th century the penal colonies of the day were not immune to the charms of camp stew. The Montgomery city jail cooked a few large vats of the stuff to feed their prisoners at Thanksgiving time. Montgomery would prove itself to be a critical nexus in the furtherance of the popularity of camp stew as the 20th century gathered steam. Saloon keepers in the heart of the city began using the dish as a powerful magnet to get the drinking men to frequent their establishments. With purchase of a cocktail or cold draft beer, these enterprising business owners would set out a bowl of the stuff with nary a charge. When the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 struck, the good citizens of Alabama swung into motion and launched a camp stew-based charitable festival and sold a thousand tickets to a massive stew party held at the legendary Pickett Springs Resort near Montgomery. All the moneys were remitted to the citizens of San Francisco to assuage their suffering.

A 1931 advertisement seeking the services of a camp stew and barbecue man

A Badge of Honor
No less a luminary than legendary woodsman, author and naturalist Horace Kephart would soon integrate the cooking of camp stew into the regimen of becoming an official Boy Scout. In that halcyon era, a young scout had to demonstrate proficiency in the preparation of camp stew to earn his cooking merit badge. Want to become an Eagle Scout? Fire up that pot of camp stew, and it better taste good. By the time the 1930s came along, a regional derivation of camp stew called Lumberjack-style was being practiced in Jefferson County in the central portion of the state, but the details of what was surely pure deliciousness have been lost to the sands of time.

In 1949 the first canned camp stew made its way to market

A Canned Version, Extra Heavy on the Meat
At mid-century, a canned version of camp stew was being offered in Birmingham grocery stores but the enterprise was not fully formed enough to attach a name brand to the product. That would change as the Reynolds-Holston Canning Company of Troy, Alabama, soon waded into the fray with their own canned version of the food stuff. No strangers to marketing, the ads of the day trumpeted their product as being “extra heavy on meat”, and “100-year-old formula” was often prominently mentioned as well.

1960 ad for an Alabama barbecue stand featuring camp stew

Fundraising for Civil Rights & Putting Restaurants on the Map
As the Civil Rights-era dawned, camp stew played a prominent role in fundraising activities. Black women fanned out across Montgomery County, Alabama, selling fried catfish sandwiches, chicken and dumpling plates, and yes, camp stew. The money was plowed straight back into the movement, and these humble foods helped foment real change across the region. One now-successful restaurateur threw what she called “Heaven and Hell suppers” as she was trying to raise money to get her business going. A fiery camp stew would be served followed by ice cream and pound cake. Martha’s Place is now in its fourth decade and feeds upwards of 500 people daily. Camp Stew helped Martha Hawkins make her dream a reality. Camp stew is writ into the genetic code of Alabamians. The elixir has a thousand mothers and a thousand fathers, each claiming primacy. Truth be told, there is no “one true camp stew”. It’s the one that is currently in front of you that will most likely serve as the best one you ever ate. That is until you visit Aunt Hazel and Uncle Ralph’s cabin near Wetumpka this weekend, when a new ranking will be loudly and enthusiastically affirmed.

A young camp stew cook tending to his kettle in the early 1980s

This post hails from R.L. Reeves, Jr., a Texas photographer and writer who is living and documenting life in the 9th Ward of New Orleans. His recipes and cooking notes can be found on his food and culture blog, scrumptiouschef.com

NOTE: As of 10/2024, Mahoney’s is under new ownership and doesn’t serve red or white bean dishes and the French Quarter location ​is now closed​.

Mahony’s Po-Boys & Seafood’s Casey Levy had just received an urgent text from his staff at the French Quarter location. It wasn’t about the air-conditioning acting up or a delivery that hadn’t shown up yet. Nope – his staff wanted to know how soon he was going to bring the white beans over. White beans and rice — they are periodically on the menu as a special — are a favorite for staff and customers at Mahony’s.

Quality and consistency on the menu
For both the red bean and white bean dishes at Mahony’s, that meant using Camellia Beans.
“The quality and consistency achieved from about a century of maintaining those standards – how could we not want to use a local brand that lives that?” said Levy.

For every white bean there is a season
The white bean specials — Mahony’s uses Camellia Bean’s Great Northern variety — only happen about six months a year, divided somewhat by seasons. During the fall and winter months, that version is “looser, more old school style,” and is served with griddled shrimp with house seasoning that adds sweetness to it. The creamier version usually comes out during Hogs for the Cause, a culinary benefit in late March, and like the festival, is pork-centric.

Red beans: always on the menu
The red beans, which are always on the menu, are also made creamy. For that dish Levy “went to the drawing board … back to basics of what I learned early on in my family’s restaurants …. red beans old school, let the ingredients talk to themselves and figure out how they will handshake together.”

But instead of soaking the beans overnight using cold water, Levy said “we use hot water and add the smoked ham hock right away, with soaking only needed for five hours.”

After that, the smoked ham hock is removed, the beans are rinsed off quickly, then put back into the pot. “The absorbing of the smoky water into the beans gives them a different ‘bite’ when eating the beans. Lets you have that porky goodness without all the heavy oils needed,” said Levy.

Always cook the garlic in bacon fat
“Add your normal trinity, then garlic rendered in bacon fat,” said Levy, “a bay leaf and a little salt and pepper. We don’t add much seasoning at all.” They let the mixture simmer for a bit with the bay leaves and spices, then add in thin-sliced andouille sausage. “This will cook into the beans and give them that ‘lil extra flex,” says Levy.

Near the end of the cooking, when the red beans are creamy, a dab of Tabasco sauce is mixed in, before it is served with popcorn rice, smoked sausage and jalapeno butter cornbread. Some customers opt to have fried chicken with it.

Keeping it old school
“Like with many restaurants in Louisiana, the varying ways that they cook their beans lends to a great sampling of old school and newer flavors that can exist in the ‘kitchen sink’ cooking of the red and white beans world,” says Levy. “I like to think that ours has a taste and ‘feel’ that lets people remember a simpler way of cooking them and create that simmering of memory that made them fall in love with red beans in the first place.”

Mahony’s Po-Boys & Seafood, 3454 Magazine St., (504) 899-3374; 901 Iberville St., (504) 717-2422, mahonyspoboys.com