Barbecue shrimp prepared by the late chef Austin Leslie at the now destroyed Pampy's Creole Kitchen in New Orleans , Louisiana . Photo courtesy of Jason Perlow (jason@egullet.org)Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana (centered on the Greater New Orleans area) that blends French, Spanish, French Caribbean, African, and American influences. It also bears hallmarks of Italian cuisine. It is vaguely similar to Cajun cuisine in ingredients (such as the holy trinity), but the

important distinction is that Cajun cuisine arose from the more rustic, provincial French cooking adapted by the Acadians to Louisiana ingredients, whereas the cooking of the Louisiana Creoles tended more toward classical European styles adapted to local foodstuffs.

Popular Creole dishes include Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice, Crawfish Bisque, Shrimp Creole, Turtle Soup, Oysters Rockefeller, Pompano en Papilliote, Oysters en Brochette, Bread Pudding, Begniets, etc.

Famous Creole restaurants in New Orleans include Antoine's, Arnaud's, Commander's Palace, Dooky Chase' and Galatoire's.

Starting in the 1980s, Cajun influence became important, spurred by the popular restaurant of Chef Paul Prudhomme. A national interest in Cajun cooking developed, and many tourists came to New Orleans who expecting to find Cajun food there (being unaware that the city was culturally and geographically separate from Acadiana), so entrepreneurs opened or rebranded restaurants to supply this demand.

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