Liuzza's "By The Track" please clarify.

[rsugden]

I have read a number of recs for Liuzza's "By The Track". Is that on Bienville St? Or is it something completely different?

[acevans]

Read an oral hsitory interview with Liuzza's by the Track owner/chef Billy Grueber here: http://www.southerngumbotrail.com/gru... It's all about his gumbo, which is incredible, by the way.

[Hungry Celeste]

Eh, his gumbo's all right. Too tomatoey for my taste--it reminds me of the gumbo at Casamento's, another loved by many that leaves me cold. I think that a particular style of gumbo imprints itself on your DNA and all others are then judged by this standard.

[uptownlibrarian]

Are gumbo preferences geographic, like red jambalaya vs. brown?

[cajungirl]

I think that might be true. Here in Cajun Country, generally speaking, we don't like red gumbo! We also don't like much tomato in turtle soup when we visit N.O. I think it's a cultural /gegraphical thing.

[Hungry Celeste]

Every time I've tried to do any mapping of gumbo preferences (don't laugh, this is the sort of thing you do in cultural geography courses), the exceptions outweighed the rules. For every 10 thick-no-tomatoes-dark-roux gumbos you find in Acadiana, you can find 10 thin-light-roux-some-tomatoes gumbos, and every possible combination in between. Don't even get me started on the varying opinions on appropriate combinations of proteins with & without okra! Hell, to some people, you don't even need a roux.

[steveds]

Gumbo without a roux? What a sad, sad thing.

[cajungirl]

In truth, I must say that I prefer shrimp and okra gumbo with no roux...

[malenky]

That is how my mom makes her shrimp and okra gumbo...it is wonderful. If you are using okra you don't need a roux...they are both used for thickening.

[MakingSense]

I'm with cajungirl and malenky's mom. No roux with okra. Sorry, celeste.
No file with okra either. Ever.

[Hungry Celeste]

Okay, we can agree on that point: never use file in an okra gumbo.

[Hungry Celeste]

Liuzza's By the Track: a neighborhood bar/restaurant, smallish, located at 1518 North Lopez Street. Just a few blocks off of Esplanade, and just outside the Fairgrounds' (aka "the Track") Mystery Street entrance (just past the final turn before the home stretch. Interesting specials, solid NOLA favorites...often has twists on "regular" local food, such as the BBQ shrimp poboy, the garlic oyster poboy, etc.

Liuzza's on Bienville: also a neighborhood bar/restaurant, slightly larger than BTT, run by completely different people. Home of the frenchuletta, a muffelatta on french bread, frozen schooners of draft beer...also has fried chicken liver poboys w/brown gravy, french-fried potato poboys (a great sandwich that should be on the endangered species list), and italian specialties.

Both are worth a visit, but Liuzza's on Bienville isn't serving a full menu just yet.

[Blumie]

Don't forget the fried dill pickles at Liuzza's on Bienville!

[Panama Hat]

Completely different. As said, Liuzza's by the track is just off Esplanade by the race track. The other is on Bienville by Jeff Davis Parkway. Both are great, different, and not owned by the same people.