Food for Thought at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum

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	Southern food runs a delicious gamut.

It’s hard to keep New Orleans food on the plate, and not just because it is delicious. Eating and drinking are such integral parts of the lifestyle here that they can no longer be confined to the dining table, kitchen and barroom, but rather have emerged as gateways to understanding the city’s culture and as inextricable focal points for local celebrations and events.

For visitors, this means there are more ways than ever to explore and enjoy this delicious culinary heritage. A timely example is the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, a new nonprofit organization which marks its inaugural French Quarter exhibit in March.

Just as a tipple traditionally starts a great meal, the first exhibit of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum pays tribute to the city’s long and storied history with librations. Called, “A Toast of New Orleans,” the exhibit looks at the ways in which popular American beverages of all sorts have been shaped by New Orleans and the South through the centuries.

That’s a long and rich history, explains Matt Konigsmark, one of the museum’s founders, and includes the birth of the cocktail and the evolution of such classic libations as the Sazerac and Ramos gin fizz that are still most strongly identified with New Orleans. The exhibit doesn’t stop at spirits, but also explores the city’s historic role as the nation’s leading coffee port, the Southern heritage of iced tea and even distinctive New Orleans sodas, such as Barq’s root beer and Big Shot cola, which were both created here.

“For visitors, (the exhibit) is a great way to learn more about what they’re tasting and drinking while they’re here,” says Konigsmark. “Everyone has New Orleans food on their minds when they get here, and the museum is a way to explore it between meals.”

The exhibit is on display at the museum’s temporary home in the Old U.S. Mint (400 Esplanade Ave., 504-568-6968), a flagship facility in the Louisiana State Museum system.

The museum’s next planned exhibit, called “Tout de Sweet - All About Sugar,” will focus on the impact this sweetest crop has had on the region, from the kitchen to the halls of political power. It opens in June. For more information about the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, visit them online at www.SouthernFood.org.

 

Ian McNulty is a freelance food writer and columnist, a frequent commentator on the New Orleans entertainment talk show “Steppin’ Out” and editor of the guidebook “Hungry? Thirsty? New Orleans.”