iStockphoto / Ingo Dörenberg
I don’t have time to rank my favorite types of cuisines because that might take me a lifetime of getting stuck in an endless loop talking about why I couldn’t cut Italian, French, Mexican, etc. out of my diet for a million dollars but I’ll save some time and say that Cajun food would be near the top of my list.
The Southern-style French Creole has been a personal favorite of mine for as long as I can remember loving food. I’ve eaten at notable restaurants all throughout New Orleans and some other great ones across the country. In college, we used to drive 40-minutes outside of Tallahassee at least once a week to hit our favorite Cajun spot.
This morning I came across this clip from Great Big Story and learned about a restaurant ~90 minutes outside of New Orleans in Galliano, Louisiana that’s run by one woman, Alzina Toups, and it’s so popular that reservations book up over a year out. Furthermore, the only way to make a reservation is by calling her landline.
Having lived in NYC for nearly a decade I look at restaurant hype like this with a skeptical lens. I can count on my left hand the number of times that restaurant lived up to the hype after I had to wait more than 3 months for a reservation. But this restaurant isn’t a 2-Michelin Star spot in Manhattan and the food looks beyond amazing:
The restaurant name is eponymously named Alzina’s for the owner and operator Alzina Toups. If you ever wanted to get on the year-long waiting list and have the best Cajun meal of your life then the phone number you’ll have to call is (985) 632-7200 and their address is 117 E 132nd St, Galliano, LA 70354.
After watching this clip above I did some Googling and landed on this article from Garden and Gun about eating a meal at Alzina’s. I need to eat there. It’s my new culinary goal in life. But I’ll start by tracking down one of her cookbook’s which seem to be sold out everywhere. In the meantime, I did track down a few recipes.
Here is Alzina’s recipe for ‘Shrimp Ala Creole’ for anyone interested:
SHRIMP ALA CREOLE
1 lb shrimp
oil
2 onions, chopped fine
1 sweet pepper, chopped fine
4 stalks celery, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
1 fresh tomato, chopped
1/8 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp red hot sauce
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
Salt to taste
In oil, add Onions, pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook until wilted. Add tomato, seasonings and shrimp. Cover and cook on low for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve with rice.
There are a few more recipes on TigerDroppings if you’re interested.