Chef

Leah Chase

"Wayne makes this gumbo just like all the Creoles have always been making it. Everyone in the Creoles of color community makes it in a particular way, but this one has it all: crab, shrimp, chicken, and sausage."

"To me, if you want a good steak, you have to go to Crescent City Steakhouse. You can get a good old-fashioned steak, nice and greasy. I like it because it is cooked on a grill. It is all à la carte, and I always get a ribeye steak, au gratin potatoes, and white asparagus. They make good au gratin potatoes, and they always have white asparagus (and I love white asparagus)."

"I am a duck person, so I am always looking for a good duck. Chef Spicer does her duck very well. It is a very tender duck breast, and she puts some pepper jelly glaze on it and serves it with wild rice."

"You got to go to Parkway and get a good roast beef po' boy. It is nothing fancy—they serve it to you wrapped in the paper, and you got to get it dressed with tomatoes and mayonnaise. They use a chuck roast that has fat in it. Some people don't use it because it has got the fat in it, but that fat gives it flavor. They just pull the meat apart and don't slice it, and it is so good. You sit down there with your cold root beer, eat it, and talk to people around you."

"High Hat makes a good roast chicken. You can get a breast or leg, and sometimes they will give you half a chicken. It is not too dry, but really well-seasoned, and it is smoked so nice and tender. It comes with a choice of sides like French fries, cornbread, okra, and tomatoes."

"I love their meatballs and spaghetti. I like big, traditional Italian meatballs and spaghetti served with red sauce. I would not do anything any different than they do. I make spaghetti and meatballs too, but they may make theirs a little lighter than mine."