Dooky Chase New Orleans

It’s Holy Thursday in New Orleans, so it’s the annual return of gumbo z’herbes and that means there are 9 new friends out there I’m waiting to meet this year. Who are they?

Holy Thursday at @dookychaserestaurant is one of the great community food days of New Orleans.

Gumbo z’herbes is not a special - it is a happening here that takes over the kitchen entirely. Preparation begins days in advance. This green gumbo, fried chicken and cornbread comprise the entire one-day menu.

The gumbo itself is a hearty mix Creole flavor and Catholic faith. The tradition also brings the restaurant’s own community role into focus by convening so many people who feel a connection to it.

While vegetarian gumbo z’herbes recipes are traditionally prepared for Good Friday, following the Catholic stricture of meatless fasts, Dooky Chase’s meaty gumbo z’herbes became a Holy Thursday staple to fortify the faithful before those deprivations. It’s made with brisket, ham, at least two types of sausage and stew meat in the mix.

Lore and ritual are also key ingredients to the dish, especially in the Chase kitchen. The number of greens used in cooking must be an odd number and is said to represent with how many new friends you’ll make. 

This year had 9 greens - so look out friends I haven’t met yet.

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #gumbo #nolafoodie #creole #creolefood #neworleansfood Less

Ever heard of “table chicken?”

It means simply ordering a communal plate of fried chicken to share, while everyone at the table orders.

It was another regular of @dookychaserestaurant who introduced this to me a while back, and I’ll pass it along because it is such a really good tactic for a feast.

This way you can have the chicken and more across this menu of Creole classics.

Here’s my own trick: I like to take some of the brabant potatoes at the base of the shrimp Clemenceau and add them to the gumbo that I’m slowly nursing on the side; it soaks up the roux for that “Clemenceau gumbo.”

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #gumbo #friedchicken #visitneworleans #visitnola #creolefood #neworleansfood #neworleansrestaurants #nolafoodie #nolafood Less

At @dookychaserestaurant , a hug — from a member of the restaurant family or their long-serving staff — is so common and genuine, for regulars it can feel like a first course to the meal.

On Tuesday, the embraces were a little tighter, and lasted just a bit longer.

It was the first day back for the Treme landmark, four days after a brazen shooting in the restaurant.

New Orleans people showed up.

Dooky Chase’s is more than a place to eat.

It’s home to a shared New Orleans culture of connection, told through distinctive food that becomes more than a meal.

It’s the way the experience makes you feel.

It’s the history of the restaurant, and the way its next generation make an expanded notion of family feel possible through hospitality.

On Tuesday, hospitality was a two-way street as it clearly flowed back to the restaurant — from people who value its role in their city, who needed to express their care for the people behind it.

Link in my bio has my full @nolanews column on this and more photos by @cgranger

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nola #nolaeats #nolafoodie #nolafood #community #neworleansfood Less