2026 The Creole Connection: Gumbo and Beyond in New Orleans

New Orleans’ food, like the city itself, is impossible to compare. On this six-hour tour, we explore the roots of Creole cuisine through neighborhood restaurants, food shops, and the people who keep these traditions alive. We begin in the city’s oldest food marketplace with coffee and a praline-stuffed beignet, then continue with New Orleans-style iced coffee, Gulf oysters or boudin, and a wedge of muffaletta. Through streets lined with Creole cottages, we head into the Marigny for alligator meatballs, passing landmarks tied to rock ’n’ roll, R&B, and Tremé’s African American history. Lunch is at Lil Dizzy’s, known for its gumbo, followed by seafood by the pound, such as crawfish in season, and a drink at a local neighborhood bar. Along the way, we meet community members who bring Creole history to life through food, ending with something sweet — a praline or snoball — and perhaps, in true New Orleans style, a parade or downpour.