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Gnarleans: Misconceptions

Aug 06, 2013 • City Contexts, Creative Writing, Food and Culture

Misconceptions-1 This week’s comic was inspired by the New York Post’s unintentionally hilarious review of an “authentic” Louisiana-style seafood restaurant in NYC, where guests can eat “crayfish” for $13 a pound (though corn and potatoes only come with orders of 2 pounds or up), wearing bibs and rubber gloves just like real New Orleanians! This terrifying recreation of a beloved bayou tradition left me wondering what other aspects of New Orleans life might be misunderstood by outsiders.

So, in the above guide, I set forth to correct certain misconceptions about the city and its people.

The thing I found most entertaining about the Post article was its unwitting comparison between life “down here” and “up there.” NYC patrons of “The Boil” can layer protection to ensure their going-out digs and pampered fingers stay fresh, but where’s the fun in that? Eating crawfish is an activity that brings people together through communal messiness and plain good food. Just like outrageous humidity, a boil is an equalizer: something that lowers the importance of “looking your best” (among other superficial concerns) and forces you to appreciate the moment itself more than the pictures you take of it. After all, when everyone looks and smells just as disheveled in the 3 A.M. haze of Snake ‘n Jakes, is checking your hair for the hundredth time more important than a fresh Schlitz with eight of your closest friends (three of whom you just met)?Anywho, apologies to all the Zydeco fans out there for this week’s comic. Please send all complaints to my secretary atgrantssecretary@notarealemailaddress.com.