'I'll Have That'

​The food and drink menus in New Orleans can contain some intriguing offerings. Check out the following explanations of dishes and libations before heading out for an enjoyable night in the Crescent City.

Bananas Foster: This dessert was created by a chef at Brennan's restaurant and named for the owner's friend, Richard Foster, the then-chairman of the New Orleans Crime Commission, on which Brennan also served. Bananas are flambéed with banana liqueur, rum, cinnamon and brown sugar then served over ice cream and topped with sauce from the pan.

Beignets: Fried square doughnuts covered with powdered sugar and served in orders of three. Café du Monde is famous for its beignets.

Brandy milk punch: This cousin of eggnog is made with milk or cream, vanilla and simple syrup. It is topped with nutmeg.

Cajun cuisine: This rustic food reflects French Canadian and Southern cuisines and incorporates lots of smoked meats and one-pot dishes like jambalaya. Unlike Creole cuisine, it does not contain tomatoes or tomato sauces.

Chicory coffee: Chicory—the root of a blue-flowered perennial plant—is ground and roasted. The coffee has a strong, nutty, toasty taste and often is served au lait.

Crawfish (crayfish): These freshwater crustaceans look like miniature lobsters but are a bit more tender and not as rich as lobster meat. Mulate's restaurant even sells crawfish pies.

Creole cuisine: This type of food has a very strong French influence, although some dishes also reflect Italian, Spanish, German and Caribbean heritages. This cuisine commonly incorporates onion, celery, green bell pepper, cream, butter, peppers, tomato and a roux—a mixture made of flour and fat and used to thicken sauces.

Debris: Shredded roast beef moistened with pan drippings or simmered a long time to absorb gravy and seasoning. Look for a debris po'boy sandwich if you want tender meat with lots of juicy flavor. 

Dirty rice: A savory rice dish that derives its name from the brown color the rice takes on from simmering in spicy meats—traditionally finely diced chicken livers added to pork, ground beef or both. Adding to the flavor are spices, onion, bell pepper and celery.

Étouffée: This is from the French word for "smothered" and is a stew of vegetables—typically onion, celery and pepper—and spices cooked in a rich seafood stock along with tender shrimp or crawfish.

Filé: Pronounced "feel-ay," this is a thickener made from ground sassafras root that is used in gumbo.

Gumbo: A thick stew made with a roux—a mixture of butter and flour—and a wide variety of ingredients such as celery, peppers, okra, onion, chicken, sausage and/or seafood. It's served over rice. Cajun gumbo is more like goulash or stew; Creole gumbo is thinner and uses tomato. Gumbo has more liquid than jambalaya.

Hurricane: This famous drink originated during World War II at Pat O'Brien's bar in the French Quarter. It contains light and dark rum, passion fruit, lime juice, orange juice and grenadine.

Jambalaya: This is a New Orleans staple made of chicken, sausage (andouille is a favorite) or shrimp—sometimes all three—along with peppers, onion, spices and rice. The Cajun version is "brown" jambalaya because it's made without tomatoes. The Creole version is "red" and is more likely to include shrimp.

Muffuletta or muffaletta: An Italian sandwich containing cured meats such as ham and salami along with provolone cheese and an olive dressing. The olive dressing is made of chopped green and black olives with onion, olive oil and spices. It is served in a round sesame seed roll big enough for sharing. 

Po'boy: Considered the city's most famous sandwich, it comes in many varieties, with fried oyster or shrimp being among the most popular. You can also find po'boys with hot roast beef, hot or smoked sausage, and ham and cheese. All are "dressed"—topped with shredded lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and pickles.

Remoulade: This pinkish condiment is traditionally served with seafood. It is similar to tartar sauce and contains mayonnaise, herbs, pickles and capers.

Sazerac: Said to be the nation's first cocktail when it was created in 1838, the drink takes its name from the French brandy Sazerac-de-Forge et fils. American rye-whiskey later was substituted for the brandy. Other ingredients include one cube of sugar, Peychaud's Bitters, Herbsaint (a brand name of anise-flavored liqueur) and lemon peel.

Shrimp Creole: Shrimp simmers in a spicy tomato sauce with bell pepper, onion, celery, bay leaf, parsley and red pepper. It is served over rice.