Southern Food & Beverage Museum
"Zoom out. What’s this place all about?Sometimes it feels like most, if not all of the festivities in and around New Orleans are simply vehicles for making and consuming local dishes and cocktails. It makes sense, then, that this museum opened in 2014 to celebrate the food and drinks that are so beloved in this region. This large, open-plan warehouse has a bohemian ambience. It’s filled with antique memorabilia and vintage neon signs and it packs in an impressive amount of ingredients, with exhibits representing all of the southern states, not just Louisiana. A museum's permanent collection is its defining feature: How was this one?The food and traditions of the home state are up front and center, with the Leah Chase Gallery (named for a legendary local chef) encompassing everything from beignets and crawfish to the evolution of jambalaya. Further exhibits cover the culture of the Gulf of Mexico, traditional Nashville recipes, and the main event: the Gallery of the South. Here you can learn about the foods, people, brands, dishes, agriculture, and cooking techniques of each state and it’s a good way of seeing how different each state really is, and the breadth of what we mean when we talk about Southern cuisine. The museum also houses The Museum of the American Cocktail, which will be of special interest for mixology fans. Exhibits keep us coming back. What can we expect?The museum is very active socially, and on any given week there’s likely to be a few live events from demonstrations and lectures to nights where you can sample specific foods or cocktails. Local and regional chefs and bartenders are invited to interpret their wares, and there’s a cute outdoor space, the Gumbo Garden. There’s also a demonstration kitchen that hosts regular cookery demos and classes. What did you make of the crowd?The museum enjoys a steady influx of visitors with at least a passing interest in the cuisine and cocktails of the South. It’s a more mature demographic, although interest is growing in the younger crowd as up-and-coming chefs and mixologists take the old traditions and put a modern spin on them. While it’s easy to take a spin around the place and get a general idea of what the South represents in the culinary world, there are also plenty of deep dives into specific niches, so food nerds can learn about the history of local restaurants or go all in on how red beans came to be such an important ingredient. The live events are also a great chance for deeper learning. On the practical tip, how were the facilities?The museum is more or less just one huge room on one level, and so it’s very easy to get around and there shouldn’t be any issues for anyone. It’s a self-guided tour, and so visitors can linger at exhibits they find particularly fascinating or dash through as they choose. Gift shop: obligatory, inspiring—or skip it?Naturally, the gift selection mainly consists of various recipe and cooking books, with all of the states well represented and a special selection of books by New Orleans chefs. There’s also cocktail books and accessories, as well as a good range of museum-branded merchandise (for both the Southern Food & Beverage Museum and The Museum of the American Cocktail). Any advice for the time- or attention-challenged?The Gallery of the South is a perfect primer for anyone pushed for time that wants an overview of southern cuisine, so head there first. Since you’re in the state, the Leah Chase Louisiana Gallery is really a must-see, if only to get an idea of the kinds of food you should go out and eat immediately after leaving the museum." - Paul Oswell
