Cordrescu’s article is a narrative about food because he tells a story about places he liked to go while he was in New Orleans, comparing each place or a characteristic about the place to a food item. When he talked about the above ground graves in Lafayette Cemetery, he compared them to brick ovens used to bake bread because they were rounded and they were in such a quiet place. He compared the bodies inside them to loaves of bread, “quietly mummifying there under the blistering New Orleans sun.” He mentions coffee a lot in the beginning of the story. Every character he mentioned was drinking coffee. Everywhere he went there was food involved. When he and the Polish artist Wodycko visited the cemetery they drank coffee on one of the graves. They then went to a restaurant where they had turtle soup and he described, in great detail, what he is thinking about when he sees this one hundred year old turtle before him. He then takes the artist to his house to see another food item, figs fresh off of the tree in his yard. When he talks about famous voodoo priestess, Marie Leveau’s grave he talks about the items people leave on it as offerings, mostly food products like chickens and half-drunken hurricanes. He also talked about the beer she brewed herself known as Voodoo Beer. He went to a tomato festival and talked about how eager people were to share their story with him and anyone else who would listen. No matter where he went or wrote about he always reverted his story back to food. Personally I have not eaten much food in New Orleans that is a culture staple to New Orleans so I do not have a personal connection to New Orleans food as of yet.
Codrescu’s article is a narrative about food because it brings up the memories attached to those foods. In other words, if you had a friend to was new to the city, one of the things you would do to introduce them to the city is taking them out to eat. Here, memories and stories are shared; thus, tying two people with different cultures closer together. These memories and stories can be triggered by food. For example, chicken noodle soup can be associated with periods of ill health. However, for someone else, chicken noodle soup can conjure up a memory of that person eating a big bowl of hot chicken noodle soup on a very cold winter’s day. The article is interesting because it revolves around food. It gives a sense of history along with a story about food. For example, Codrescu talks about Marie Laveau, the Queen of Voodoo, and how people leave small sacrifices for her at her grave such as “chicken feet, rooster’s combs, and half-drank hurricanes”. Also, he mentions the rounded mausoleums and how it reminds him of bread ovens. The same way that bread is baked in the bread oven, bodies of the dead are decomposing in the heat of the New Orleans sun. I found that part of the article pretty interesting since I have never heard of it that way before. For myself, I have tried the alligator sausage and turtle soup. I am pretty sure that is part of the New Orleans food culture. Anyways, the alligator sausage was ordered when I went out to eat with my cousin and friends. It was a new experience and I remember it so vividly because I was so hesitant to eat it. (It tastes like regular sausage, by the way.) That time, I did not order the turtle soup. I tried a small spoonful of my friend’s soup. It was a weird experience for me. It tastes similar to chili, and this cooking liquor was added to it to mask the stench of the turtle.
Cordescu’s article is a narrative about food because although it is about his life in New Orleans, everything is associated with food. It is very interesting that this is pointed out because unknowingly we match a good time with the quality of food. When I was little and made visits to New Orleans, the first thing we did was order some food from our favorite seafood business, Castnets, in New Orleans East and catch up with family while eating po-boys, crab, and crawfish. Most people eat three times a day. If someone doesn’t eat anything good that day then they are not satisfied with that day. Codrescu talks about the rounded shape of the mausoleums and how that shape relates to bread ovens and the bread in the oven relate to the dead bodies in the mausoleum heating by the hot sun. He mentions the famous voodoo queen and how certain sacrifices such as chicken feet are left at her grave. Cordescu also talked about coffee a lot in his narrative with all the people mentioned drinking coffee. Along with all the stories mentioned it always related to the food present or what was eaten. I think the narrative is really creative and starts to make think about all the good memories I have associated with my family and friend. My grandfather passed a year ago and he was a phenomenal cook. He would always let my sisters and I cook with him, so when I think of him most certainly those memories are brought up. Whenever I think of a hot summer day, I always think of a good snowball that will cool me down and also taste good. It is really interesting how people can associate almost anything with food.
Cordrescu article is a narrative about food because he references his relationship with people to food and how he feels about New Orleans. I understand why Cordescu does this because New Orleans is really its only little world from the food to the people. He compares the cemetery to brick stove and the bodies inside as loaves of bread, which is interesting and relate specifically to New Orleans because people aren’t buried underground here. Codrescu goes no to talk about the people in New Orleans stating simple task like going to a corner store can be turned into a social event if the cashier feels like telling a story. Its common for people to gather around food, the first thing we do to get to know each other or explore a city is going out to eat. I relate my first trip to New Orleans with crawfish. I experienced my first Mardi Gras in 2004 I did not go out to eat, but I did eat crawfish. I had never eaten crawfish before Mardi Gras. I thought it was crazy how everyone was popping the heads of the small roach looking creatures and sucking the head, we definitely don’t do anything like that in Texas. I finally tried some for myself and loved them. I only eat crawfish from New Orleans or cooked by native of New Orleans I swear it’s not the same by anyone else. Now whenever I see crawfish or want crawfish I think of being in New Orleans or with people from New Orleans
Chinedu Echebelem Codrescu’s article is a narrative about food because every story and conversation that he has with Wodycko is related to food. Every reference or setting throughout the story has a food background. The narrative even begins about how Codrescu is in the setting of a cemetery drinking coffee. While in the cemetery, Codrescu makes an effort in using an analogy to compare the gravestones to bread loafs. He states that the rounded mausoleums act as bread ovens and the gravestones are loafs of bread baking under the hot sun. Afterwards, Codrescu takes his friend to a famous exclusive restaurant, Commander’s Palace, known for its old existence in the city and ancient recipes. Then, Codrescu takes Wodycko to his home to view his fig tree, and there he gives him a fresh ripe bag of figs to take along with him. Codrescu then begins to talk about the Queen of Voodoo, Marie Laveau, who is buried in the St. Louis Cemetery. He talks about how food items are sacrificed at her grave, such as chicken feet, rooster’s combs, and hurricanes. Whether Codrescu was at a cemetery or his very own home, there was something that he could reference back to food. After living in New Orleans for a couple of months now, every time I go to a seafood place I think of New Orleans. Whether I’m eating shrimp, crawfish, or red beans and rice it all reminds me of this city. Another experience that I had encountered was when I went back home for Winter break. One day we just had bread and no sandwich meat, so I decided to cook a sausage patty and eat it with the bread. I just added mayo and I had myself my very own Po-Boy. Without living in New Orleans, I would have never thought of such a combination of food to eat.
Codrescu’s article is a narrative about food because every reference he makes in the article always has something to do with food. Every conversation that he has with Wodycko has something to do with food. He goes on to compare things in New Orleans to different foods and different things that have to do with foods. He compares the cemetery in New Orleans to a bakery it seems like. He goes on to compare the headstones to loaves of bread. He then compares the family tombs to a bread oven to bake the bread. He then goes on to say that the bread, headstones, are baking under the sun. I can see how he is able to compare these things in the cemetery to the bread and bread oven and how the cemetery is like a bakery. Well since I was born in New Orleans and I have lived here my entire life, I can associate New Orleans to different restaurants when I go to different states. Whenever I am in a different state and I see a seafood restaurant, I think of home. Every time I see a loaf of French bread or red beans and rice, I think of how much I miss New Orleans and how much I love the food and the culture. I love the fact that I grew up in New Orleans. No other place in the world can compare their food to the food in New Orleans because it is not just the food, it is the history behind it and the tradition that makes it all the more enjoyable to eat. Knowing that our food style has reached other states makes me proud to call myself a New Orleans native.
Codrescu’s article is a narrative about food because he talks about his life in New Orleans and how he can relate everything to food. One example from the reading is how he compared the cemetery to a bread oven and compared the dead people to loaves of bread. The dead were buried in tombs while bread is being cooked inside an oven. He compares that the bread is being cooked in heat like the mummies are being under the heat of the New Orleans sun. Another example is how he talks about how he had turtle soup at a place called Commander’s Palace. Commander’s Palace is an old famous restaurant that has been opened since 1888. Codrescu says that it’s possible that we are sitting where our ancestors used to sit and how we are eating from the same pot they cooked turtle soup in and he mention why that’s important. He said “we need the dead to make us feel alive.” The things that happened in the past give meaning to a lot of the places that still exists today. That’s what makes the place so popular. I can kind of relate my personal experiences with Codrescu. He says that he would take his friends from out of town to go grab some coffee and chat. I remember when I was young my family did something similar. Whenever our family from out of state would come to visit, we would always take them out downtown to eat beignets at Café Du Monde.
In Codrescu’s article about food he informs his readers about the connections that food can have in people lives. This article gives several examples of how different New Orleans dishes connects to people on a personal level. Codrescu also talks about how he realized that the history of his people when he was sitting at the same table and eating from the same pot as his ancestors. Codrescu has realized something that I didn’t understand until after reading this article, which is that people can have a personal connection with dishes or food in general. There are several connections that are made between a personal experience and food culture. In America people usually associate turkey with Thanksgiving. Since I’m not a New Orleans native I really do not have a personal experience with New Orleans food culture. However, being at Xavier University I have realized that there are connections between New Orleans food culture and a personal experience. Food culture of New Orleans has a strong connection with its people. There are several dishes that have some meaning such as po boys and red beans and rice. Red beans and rice on Mondays is a food culture that connects to the people on a personal level. The reason for having red beans and rice on Mondays is because people need a dish for them on wash day that was quick and easy to make. This is a tradition that was passed down for generations. Many families and places in New Orleans have red beans and rice on Monday because of their ancestors and the personal experiences and connections that they have to the dish of red beans and rice. The food culture in the city of New Orleans connects to a personal experience if not with our generation then the generations that came before us.
The article written by Cordrescu is a narrative pertaining to food because he is writing about the different places he liked to go while in New Orleans. He would contrast one place from the other according to food. For example, he wrote that the Lafayette Cemetery reminded him of brick ovens because of the shape of the graves. He went on to say that the bodies inside of the graves were like baking loaves of bread. W as people can find us doing this kind of thing in the simplest moments. For example, one could be playing basketball and be winning all of their games after drinking a yellow PowerAde. This now becomes their favorite color of PowerAde. This can also be viewed from a traumatic angle as well. For example, one time I drunk some grape soda when I was little. About ten minutes afterward, I threw up. Somehow, grape soda had formed a bad image in my mind. Even though I knew I wasn’t allergic to grape soda, I still refrained from drinking it because of the event it had been tied with. Personally, anytime I think of red beans, rice, and sweet cornbread, I’ll always be reminded of Mondays here at Xavier. I also remember my first time eating crawfish in New Orleans. It was the first time since I was about nine years old. I was in my dorm room with some guys, and after I ate one I had to have a few more. Now, I can’t wait until crawfish season comes back around.
Taylor Reuther Codrescu‘s article is a food narrative because he associates different memories with the types of food he had while making those memories. He compares the mausoleums to bread ovens and the dead are just bread baking in the hot New Orleans sun. He continues to tell different stories associated with different places and the foods that go along with the stories. He also talks about the history of the food or the place or the city along with his memories. I remember when I was about ten or so and my dad made me try an oyster for the first time. It was raw and it looked so slimy and disgusting. I dipped it in some cocktail sauce and chucked it into my mouth. To say the least, it ended up in a napkin real quick and I swore oysters off for the rest of my life. It was not disgusting per say, but the texture got to me real quick. The story is funny in my family because now I love oysters and all seafood really, but I mean what New Orleans girl doesn’t? I always went down to my dad’s seafood business and I would chop up the fish into filets to be sold around the city and the country. I can always remember when I was little the smell of my dad walking through the door. Fishy. Not very pleasant, but it meant dad was home and I loved that smell more than anything in the world. Ill always think of him when I smell really fishy things.
Codrescu’s article is a narrative about food because food is what connects his story together piece by piece. He takes parts of his life and experience and conveys the images, moods, and feelings to us by finding a way to relate himself to us. He is able to achieve this effect through the description of food along the way. It is a subtle way to add a dash of literary intimacy and closeness between writer and reader. We are able to completely immerse ourselves into his story by being reminded of the familiar scenery and flavours of the city. For those who are not from New Orleans, the food is a great way to introduce readers to the city by using something new and unique that allows them to share Codrescu’s experience. Examples of describing various features of the city with food can be found throughout the narrative. One example includes describing the above ground graves in cemeteries and brick ovens and the bodies occupying them as loaves of bread. Here he uses the food to paint death in a less gruesome light. This allows a great segway into New Orleanian treatment of death and funerals. Readers then get a sense of the laissez faire attitude with second lines at funerals and home-goings. Personally the food of the city has allowed me to connect with family in the past. When my family comes from various parts of the country including Atlanta, Detroit, San Diego, and Richmond, we can always bring them in the French Quarter for a meal they can’t get where they live. This time eating together lets us catch up and get closer during the short amount of time we have together. I think food’s importance in my family is evident whenever the family gets together and we reflect on the past. Many stories begin with a time we were at a restaurant or a time when a family member was cooking a signature dish.
One could relate Codrescu’s article to food by his way of relating some of his past to food. When writing about his life here in New Orleans, he manages to bring food into the context in some kind of way. He found a way to related almost anything to food. The most bizarre yet understandable comparison would be how he related the unique, above ground tombs in New Orleans to an oven where one can bake bread. He said that the body within the tomb is baking or mummifying in the heat such as bread would inside of an oven. Just like Codrescu, I too can relate something in New Orleans to food. The most popular event to me in New Orleans food culture would be the French Quarter Festival. I experienced it last year with some friends and I took note of all the many different types of food that was offered. The first ever meal that I tasted at the French Quarter Festival was the crawfish pie. I was in love! It was my first time trying it and I was a little hesitant at first because I wanted to save money. When I first bit into I was overwhelmed with the delicious taste that was coming out of it. I automatically wanted another one, so I bought another one. I was happy yet disappointed that I spent $14 on two tiny pieces of food. Now, whenever French Quarter Festival is to come up, I automatically think about the crawfish pies offered. I cannot wait until the next festival; however, I want to broaden my horizons and try something else. Due to the variety of food, I’m sure I cannot go wrong.
Codrescu' article is a narrative about food because he tells a story about his life in New Orleans. And the memories that certain foods brought him. Food can easily be linked to memories here in New Orleans because anything that you do or have done can be link to food in some sort of way. Food is a reason why millions of people come to visit and live here. He food that brings many memories to me is the delicious powdered donut called a beignet. I have many memories of the wonderful, tasty French delicacy. I remember once when I was younger after leaving a parade and mom took me and my brother to the mall to get beignets. We bother had white powder all over our face and clothes. Every time I visit an area of New Orleans that sells them I have to have one. I always introduce them to first time visitors also. A more recent memory of them was when me and my two favorite cousins went the the cafe du monde in the river walk mall. While we were eating our beignets they started to pop fireworks of the river. It was such an amazing moment. We had a beautiful sight to go along with or amazing treat. It was a night to remember. Food is one reason I love New Orleans!!!
Codrescu’s article is a narrative about food because he talks about the various places he likes to visit in New Orleans. He likes to compare the places he visited to a food item. He states, “The rounded mausoleums at the Lafayette remind me of bread ovens: I think of the dead of loaves of bread.” This statement he clarifies that his article is a narrative about food. I can really relate to this article because sometimes I relate different things to food. I don’t see how Codresu can think of the dead as bread but I can picture food as different things. Every time I watch the animal planet and I see a black bear I will picture teddy grams. When I was little, my mom would buy me a treat for doing well on a test or quiz. One day she bought me the teddy grams and instantly I would picture an actual bear, so I can see how Codrescu can make take narrative about food. A connection between New Orleans food culture and a personal experience I would probably make is the alligator sausage and the other seafood items they eat. I remember when I was little we would go to the store and go to the back where the underwater pets were. I would see the frogs swimming and ask my uncle for one. On a trip to New Orleans to visit a family member, we stopped at a seafood restaurant. He ordered frog legs and told me how New Orleans is known for them. Now every time I go to an aquarium, I picture the restaurant in New Orleans and those frog legs. All in all, New Orleans food culture will have a strong connection with me. I will always relate different foods to places I have been.
Codrescu's article is a narrative about food because he writes about his past and thoughts in relation to food. An example that Codrescu writes about is the dead being buried above ground because there is water less than five inches under the ground and anything being put begins to float and rot. Codrescu writes that the rounded mausoleums remind him of bread ovens. He thinks of the dead as loaves of bread being left in the beaming sun quietly beginning to rot or mummify. As the dead are rotting in the sun, so are loaves of breads in bread ovens. Another example that he writes about is turtle soup. There once was a fire and the first thing that the cooks did was to put the turtle soup outside, but the building burned down. Even hundreds of years later you are eating from the same pot with your dead ancestors. The point of the story is that life goes on and we need the dead to make us feel alive. New Orleans, mainly the French Quarter is a big attraction for tourists. I remember when my family members from California visited, the main place they wanted to visit was the French Quarter to try out New Orleans' famous beignets at Cafe du Monde. Beignets really lightened up everyone's mood because it was the first time they have ever had a chance to try it so they were really excited. It was funny to look at my cousins' face and clothes full of powder. They didn't know it was so messy to eat! It's crazy how a simple food, or foods, can bring so many people close together.
Codrescu’s article is a narrative about food because the article connects almost every part of his life with the people around him and his memories of food in New Orleans. The story starts off with Codrescu talking about drinking coffee in the Lafayette Cemetery near his house. He also relates those buried in the cemetery as loafs of bread sitting in an oven (a tomb) roasting in the hot New Orleans sun. He also relates his conversations with his friend Wodycko to food and there experiences at different restaurants throughout the city of New Orleans. I have a great connection towards New Orleans food culture because New Orleans is my home. Though I moved to Georgia at a very young age, New Orleans food has always been apart of my lifestyle. All of my family and their family are descendants of New Orleans and food the food of New Orleans is cooked everywhere I go. I have enjoyed Gumbo, Crawfish, Étouffée and many other traditional dishes cooked throughout New Orleans and each of these dishes is special to me. I love to know that wherever I go these dishes will always be apart of my culture .
Cordrescu's artice is a narrative because with everything he talks about he connects it with a food in New Orleans. He could compare the most bizzare things to being foor related. Such as the the grave yard. He said the ground graves in the cemetery where like brick ovens and the people in them where like loaves of bread. As a native growing up in New Orleans food is really a big role in the community. Food brings a good time with good people. My family is very known to bring the fun with some good people and great music. Without the great food I dont think it would be as fun and sadly I dont think alot of people would come around. A connection of food to New Orleans that I know so very well is crawfish. Ive been chowing down on crawfish for as long as I can remember. The food itself is not for fullement but just for pure enjoyment. I had to say that statement plenty of times lately to people who have come here from other states for school. If you try to get full off of crawsfish you will most likely go broke. When my family get together for easter we have tons of crawfish and a very amazing time together as a family. I look foward to that every year. Traditions that you share with your family makes the food experience better and special. Atleast for me it does. I wouldnt trade my hometown for anything.
Cordrescu’s article is a narrative about food because with each story he tells, he makes a connection to food. The first reference to food he makes was in the cemetery. In New Orleans bodies are buried above ground in mausoleums. Cordrescu compares them to bread ovens; he says, “the dead are loaves of bread quietly mummifying there under the blistering New Orleans sun.” We see his next food reference with his story about the Polish artist. When he talks about his visit to the cemetery with the artist, he discusses a food experience that he had with him as well. They went to the Commander’s Palace restaurant after their visit to the cemetery. Cordrescu goes into detail about the history of the restaurants well known turtle soup that has never run out since 1888. He also mentions when the restaurant caught fire, the soup was the first thing they saved. Cordrescu also mentioned coffee a lot in his narrative. The story makes me think a lot about how different foods are associated with our memories. Boudin is a food I had never heard of tried until I came to New Orleans. Most of my friends here at school are from Louisiana and they would talk about how good it was. So I decided I would try it and I absolutely loved it. Whenever I eat boudin now I will always think of New Orleans and my friends who introduced me to it.
Although Codrescu’s article isn't directly about food, he connects many of his encounters with food. For example, he would connect places and objects he saw such as the Lafayette Cemetery to brick ovens because of the shape of the cemetery. Although somewhat disturbing, thinking of the cemetery as a food helps him remember it better. Personally, gumbo plays a big role in my life. Living in New Orleans, I eat gumbo and it is one of my favorite foods. When I go to places that are of a lot of different people and culture, such as Xavier University, it reminds me of gumbo because of all the ingredients that are put together and they complement each other well. Even though every ingredient is different, they all get along just fine. This also applies to other places where diversity does not affect how one treats another because of the color of his or her skin. For example, I once went to a Gretna Festival and there were a lot of white people there. Even though my friend and I were like the only Asians there, they treated us like a regular human beings and showed no disrespect. Situations such as this can get some people uneasy, but the people at the festival were very nice which made it fun.
Mahalia Dees
ReplyDeleteCordrescu’s article is a narrative about food because he tells a story about places he liked to go while he was in New Orleans, comparing each place or a characteristic about the place to a food item. When he talked about the above ground graves in Lafayette Cemetery, he compared them to brick ovens used to bake bread because they were rounded and they were in such a quiet place. He compared the bodies inside them to loaves of bread, “quietly mummifying there under the blistering New Orleans sun.” He mentions coffee a lot in the beginning of the story. Every character he mentioned was drinking coffee. Everywhere he went there was food involved. When he and the Polish artist Wodycko visited the cemetery they drank coffee on one of the graves. They then went to a restaurant where they had turtle soup and he described, in great detail, what he is thinking about when he sees this one hundred year old turtle before him. He then takes the artist to his house to see another food item, figs fresh off of the tree in his yard. When he talks about famous voodoo priestess, Marie Leveau’s grave he talks about the items people leave on it as offerings, mostly food products like chickens and half-drunken hurricanes. He also talked about the beer she brewed herself known as Voodoo Beer. He went to a tomato festival and talked about how eager people were to share their story with him and anyone else who would listen. No matter where he went or wrote about he always reverted his story back to food. Personally I have not eaten much food in New Orleans that is a culture staple to New Orleans so I do not have a personal connection to New Orleans food as of yet.
Nancy Pham
ReplyDeleteCodrescu’s article is a narrative about food because it brings up the memories attached to those foods. In other words, if you had a friend to was new to the city, one of the things you would do to introduce them to the city is taking them out to eat. Here, memories and stories are shared; thus, tying two people with different cultures closer together. These memories and stories can be triggered by food. For example, chicken noodle soup can be associated with periods of ill health. However, for someone else, chicken noodle soup can conjure up a memory of that person eating a big bowl of hot chicken noodle soup on a very cold winter’s day. The article is interesting because it revolves around food. It gives a sense of history along with a story about food. For example, Codrescu talks about Marie Laveau, the Queen of Voodoo, and how people leave small sacrifices for her at her grave such as “chicken feet, rooster’s combs, and half-drank hurricanes”. Also, he mentions the rounded mausoleums and how it reminds him of bread ovens. The same way that bread is baked in the bread oven, bodies of the dead are decomposing in the heat of the New Orleans sun. I found that part of the article pretty interesting since I have never heard of it that way before.
For myself, I have tried the alligator sausage and turtle soup. I am pretty sure that is part of the New Orleans food culture. Anyways, the alligator sausage was ordered when I went out to eat with my cousin and friends. It was a new experience and I remember it so vividly because I was so hesitant to eat it. (It tastes like regular sausage, by the way.) That time, I did not order the turtle soup. I tried a small spoonful of my friend’s soup. It was a weird experience for me. It tastes similar to chili, and this cooking liquor was added to it to mask the stench of the turtle.
Cordescu’s article is a narrative about food because although it is about his life in New Orleans, everything is associated with food. It is very interesting that this is pointed out because unknowingly we match a good time with the quality of food. When I was little and made visits to New Orleans, the first thing we did was order some food from our favorite seafood business, Castnets, in New Orleans East and catch up with family while eating po-boys, crab, and crawfish. Most people eat three times a day. If someone doesn’t eat anything good that day then they are not satisfied with that day. Codrescu talks about the rounded shape of the mausoleums and how that shape relates to bread ovens and the bread in the oven relate to the dead bodies in the mausoleum heating by the hot sun. He mentions the famous voodoo queen and how certain sacrifices such as chicken feet are left at her grave. Cordescu also talked about coffee a lot in his narrative with all the people mentioned drinking coffee. Along with all the stories mentioned it always related to the food present or what was eaten. I think the narrative is really creative and starts to make think about all the good memories I have associated with my family and friend. My grandfather passed a year ago and he was a phenomenal cook. He would always let my sisters and I cook with him, so when I think of him most certainly those memories are brought up. Whenever I think of a hot summer day, I always think of a good snowball that will cool me down and also taste good. It is really interesting how people can associate almost anything with food.
ReplyDeleteCordrescu article is a narrative about food because he references his relationship with people to food and how he feels about New Orleans. I understand why Cordescu does this because New Orleans is really its only little world from the food to the people. He compares the cemetery to brick stove and the bodies inside as loaves of bread, which is interesting and relate specifically to New Orleans because people aren’t buried underground here. Codrescu goes no to talk about the people in New Orleans stating simple task like going to a corner store can be turned into a social event if the cashier feels like telling a story. Its common for people to gather around food, the first thing we do to get to know each other or explore a city is going out to eat. I relate my first trip to New Orleans with crawfish. I experienced my first Mardi Gras in 2004 I did not go out to eat, but I did eat crawfish. I had never eaten crawfish before Mardi Gras. I thought it was crazy how everyone was popping the heads of the small roach looking creatures and sucking the head, we definitely don’t do anything like that in Texas. I finally tried some for myself and loved them. I only eat crawfish from New Orleans or cooked by native of New Orleans I swear it’s not the same by anyone else. Now whenever I see crawfish or want crawfish I think of being in New Orleans or with people from New Orleans
ReplyDeleteChinedu Echebelem
ReplyDeleteCodrescu’s article is a narrative about food because every story and conversation that he has with Wodycko is related to food. Every reference or setting throughout the story has a food background. The narrative even begins about how Codrescu is in the setting of a cemetery drinking coffee. While in the cemetery, Codrescu makes an effort in using an analogy to compare the gravestones to bread loafs. He states that the rounded mausoleums act as bread ovens and the gravestones are loafs of bread baking under the hot sun. Afterwards, Codrescu takes his friend to a famous exclusive restaurant, Commander’s Palace, known for its old existence in the city and ancient recipes. Then, Codrescu takes Wodycko to his home to view his fig tree, and there he gives him a fresh ripe bag of figs to take along with him. Codrescu then begins to talk about the Queen of Voodoo, Marie Laveau, who is buried in the St. Louis Cemetery. He talks about how food items are sacrificed at her grave, such as chicken feet, rooster’s combs, and hurricanes. Whether Codrescu was at a cemetery or his very own home, there was something that he could reference back to food.
After living in New Orleans for a couple of months now, every time I go to a seafood place I think of New Orleans. Whether I’m eating shrimp, crawfish, or red beans and rice it all reminds me of this city. Another experience that I had encountered was when I went back home for Winter break. One day we just had bread and no sandwich meat, so I decided to cook a sausage patty and eat it with the bread. I just added mayo and I had myself my very own Po-Boy. Without living in New Orleans, I would have never thought of such a combination of food to eat.
Codrescu’s article is a narrative about food because every reference he makes in the article always has something to do with food. Every conversation that he has with Wodycko has something to do with food. He goes on to compare things in New Orleans to different foods and different things that have to do with foods. He compares the cemetery in New Orleans to a bakery it seems like. He goes on to compare the headstones to loaves of bread. He then compares the family tombs to a bread oven to bake the bread. He then goes on to say that the bread, headstones, are baking under the sun. I can see how he is able to compare these things in the cemetery to the bread and bread oven and how the cemetery is like a bakery. Well since I was born in New Orleans and I have lived here my entire life, I can associate New Orleans to different restaurants when I go to different states. Whenever I am in a different state and I see a seafood restaurant, I think of home. Every time I see a loaf of French bread or red beans and rice, I think of how much I miss New Orleans and how much I love the food and the culture. I love the fact that I grew up in New Orleans. No other place in the world can compare their food to the food in New Orleans because it is not just the food, it is the history behind it and the tradition that makes it all the more enjoyable to eat. Knowing that our food style has reached other states makes me proud to call myself a New Orleans native.
ReplyDeletePeter Huynh
ReplyDeleteCodrescu’s article is a narrative about food because he talks about his life in New Orleans and how he can relate everything to food. One example from the reading is how he compared the cemetery to a bread oven and compared the dead people to loaves of bread. The dead were buried in tombs while bread is being cooked inside an oven. He compares that the bread is being cooked in heat like the mummies are being under the heat of the New Orleans sun. Another example is how he talks about how he had turtle soup at a place called Commander’s Palace. Commander’s Palace is an old famous restaurant that has been opened since 1888. Codrescu says that it’s possible that we are sitting where our ancestors used to sit and how we are eating from the same pot they cooked turtle soup in and he mention why that’s important. He said “we need the dead to make us feel alive.” The things that happened in the past give meaning to a lot of the places that still exists today. That’s what makes the place so popular. I can kind of relate my personal experiences with Codrescu. He says that he would take his friends from out of town to go grab some coffee and chat. I remember when I was young my family did something similar. Whenever our family from out of state would come to visit, we would always take them out downtown to eat beignets at Café Du Monde.
In Codrescu’s article about food he informs his readers about the connections that food can have in people lives. This article gives several examples of how different New Orleans dishes connects to people on a personal level. Codrescu also talks about how he realized that the history of his people when he was sitting at the same table and eating from the same pot as his ancestors. Codrescu has realized something that I didn’t understand until after reading this article, which is that people can have a personal connection with dishes or food in general.
ReplyDeleteThere are several connections that are made between a personal experience and food culture. In America people usually associate turkey with Thanksgiving. Since I’m not a New Orleans native I really do not have a personal experience with New Orleans food culture. However, being at Xavier University I have realized that there are connections between New Orleans food culture and a personal experience. Food culture of New Orleans has a strong connection with its people. There are several dishes that have some meaning such as po boys and red beans and rice. Red beans and rice on Mondays is a food culture that connects to the people on a personal level. The reason for having red beans and rice on Mondays is because people need a dish for them on wash day that was quick and easy to make. This is a tradition that was passed down for generations. Many families and places in New Orleans have red beans and rice on Monday because of their ancestors and the personal experiences and connections that they have to the dish of red beans and rice. The food culture in the city of New Orleans connects to a personal experience if not with our generation then the generations that came before us.
TaiRhe Turner
ReplyDeleteThe article written by Cordrescu is a narrative pertaining to food because he is writing about the different places he liked to go while in New Orleans. He would contrast one place from the other according to food. For example, he wrote that the Lafayette Cemetery reminded him of brick ovens because of the shape of the graves. He went on to say that the bodies inside of the graves were like baking loaves of bread. W as people can find us doing this kind of thing in the simplest moments. For example, one could be playing basketball and be winning all of their games after drinking a yellow PowerAde. This now becomes their favorite color of PowerAde. This can also be viewed from a traumatic angle as well. For example, one time I drunk some grape soda when I was little. About ten minutes afterward, I threw up. Somehow, grape soda had formed a bad image in my mind. Even though I knew I wasn’t allergic to grape soda, I still refrained from drinking it because of the event it had been tied with. Personally, anytime I think of red beans, rice, and sweet cornbread, I’ll always be reminded of Mondays here at Xavier. I also remember my first time eating crawfish in New Orleans. It was the first time since I was about nine years old. I was in my dorm room with some guys, and after I ate one I had to have a few more. Now, I can’t wait until crawfish season comes back around.
Taylor Reuther
ReplyDeleteCodrescu‘s article is a food narrative because he associates different memories with the types of food he had while making those memories. He compares the mausoleums to bread ovens and the dead are just bread baking in the hot New Orleans sun. He continues to tell different stories associated with different places and the foods that go along with the stories. He also talks about the history of the food or the place or the city along with his memories.
I remember when I was about ten or so and my dad made me try an oyster for the first time. It was raw and it looked so slimy and disgusting. I dipped it in some cocktail sauce and chucked it into my mouth. To say the least, it ended up in a napkin real quick and I swore oysters off for the rest of my life. It was not disgusting per say, but the texture got to me real quick. The story is funny in my family because now I love oysters and all seafood really, but I mean what New Orleans girl doesn’t? I always went down to my dad’s seafood business and I would chop up the fish into filets to be sold around the city and the country. I can always remember when I was little the smell of my dad walking through the door. Fishy. Not very pleasant, but it meant dad was home and I loved that smell more than anything in the world. Ill always think of him when I smell really fishy things.
Anthony Poche
ReplyDeleteCodrescu’s article is a narrative about food because food is what connects his story together piece by piece. He takes parts of his life and experience and conveys the images, moods, and feelings to us by finding a way to relate himself to us. He is able to achieve this effect through the description of food along the way. It is a subtle way to add a dash of literary intimacy and closeness between writer and reader. We are able to completely immerse ourselves into his story by being reminded of the familiar scenery and flavours of the city. For those who are not from New Orleans, the food is a great way to introduce readers to the city by using something new and unique that allows them to share Codrescu’s experience. Examples of describing various features of the city with food can be found throughout the narrative. One example includes describing the above ground graves in cemeteries and brick ovens and the bodies occupying them as loaves of bread. Here he uses the food to paint death in a less gruesome light. This allows a great segway into New Orleanian treatment of death and funerals. Readers then get a sense of the laissez faire attitude with second lines at funerals and home-goings. Personally the food of the city has allowed me to connect with family in the past. When my family comes from various parts of the country including Atlanta, Detroit, San Diego, and Richmond, we can always bring them in the French Quarter for a meal they can’t get where they live. This time eating together lets us catch up and get closer during the short amount of time we have together. I think food’s importance in my family is evident whenever the family gets together and we reflect on the past. Many stories begin with a time we were at a restaurant or a time when a family member was cooking a signature dish.
Charity Crain
ReplyDeleteOne could relate Codrescu’s article to food by his way of relating some of his past to food. When writing about his life here in New Orleans, he manages to bring food into the context in some kind of way. He found a way to related almost anything to food. The most bizarre yet understandable comparison would be how he related the unique, above ground tombs in New Orleans to an oven where one can bake bread. He said that the body within the tomb is baking or mummifying in the heat such as bread would inside of an oven. Just like Codrescu, I too can relate something in New Orleans to food. The most popular event to me in New Orleans food culture would be the French Quarter Festival. I experienced it last year with some friends and I took note of all the many different types of food that was offered. The first ever meal that I tasted at the French Quarter Festival was the crawfish pie. I was in love! It was my first time trying it and I was a little hesitant at first because I wanted to save money. When I first bit into I was overwhelmed with the delicious taste that was coming out of it. I automatically wanted another one, so I bought another one. I was happy yet disappointed that I spent $14 on two tiny pieces of food. Now, whenever French Quarter Festival is to come up, I automatically think about the crawfish pies offered. I cannot wait until the next festival; however, I want to broaden my horizons and try something else. Due to the variety of food, I’m sure I cannot go wrong.
Codrescu' article is a narrative about food because he tells a story about his life in New Orleans. And the memories that certain foods brought him. Food can easily be linked to memories here in New Orleans because anything that you do or have done can be link to food in some sort of way. Food is a reason why millions of people come to visit and live here. He food that brings many memories to me is the delicious powdered donut called a beignet. I have many memories of the wonderful, tasty French delicacy. I remember once when I was younger after leaving a parade and mom took me and my brother to the mall to get beignets. We bother had white powder all over our face and clothes. Every time I visit an area of New Orleans that sells them I have to have one. I always introduce them to first time visitors also. A more recent memory of them was when me and my two favorite cousins went the the cafe du monde in the river walk mall. While we were eating our beignets they started to pop fireworks of the river. It was such an amazing moment. We had a beautiful sight to go along with or amazing treat. It was a night to remember. Food is one reason I love New Orleans!!!
ReplyDeleteCodrescu’s article is a narrative about food because he talks about the various places he likes to visit in New Orleans. He likes to compare the places he visited to a food item. He states, “The rounded mausoleums at the Lafayette remind me of bread ovens: I think of the dead of loaves of bread.” This statement he clarifies that his article is a narrative about food. I can really relate to this article because sometimes I relate different things to food. I don’t see how Codresu can think of the dead as bread but I can picture food as different things. Every time I watch the animal planet and I see a black bear I will picture teddy grams. When I was little, my mom would buy me a treat for doing well on a test or quiz. One day she bought me the teddy grams and instantly I would picture an actual bear, so I can see how Codrescu can make take narrative about food. A connection between New Orleans food culture and a personal experience I would probably make is the alligator sausage and the other seafood items they eat. I remember when I was little we would go to the store and go to the back where the underwater pets were. I would see the frogs swimming and ask my uncle for one. On a trip to New Orleans to visit a family member, we stopped at a seafood restaurant. He ordered frog legs and told me how New Orleans is known for them. Now every time I go to an aquarium, I picture the restaurant in New Orleans and those frog legs. All in all, New Orleans food culture will have a strong connection with me. I will always relate different foods to places I have been.
ReplyDeleteAnh Phuong Dang
ReplyDeleteCodrescu's article is a narrative about food because he writes about his past and thoughts in relation to food. An example that Codrescu writes about is the dead being buried above ground because there is water less than five inches under the ground and anything being put begins to float and rot. Codrescu writes that the rounded mausoleums remind him of bread ovens. He thinks of the dead as loaves of bread being left in the beaming sun quietly beginning to rot or mummify. As the dead are rotting in the sun, so are loaves of breads in bread ovens. Another example that he writes about is turtle soup. There once was a fire and the first thing that the cooks did was to put the turtle soup outside, but the building burned down. Even hundreds of years later you are eating from the same pot with your dead ancestors. The point of the story is that life goes on and we need the dead to make us feel alive.
New Orleans, mainly the French Quarter is a big attraction for tourists. I remember when my family members from California visited, the main place they wanted to visit was the French Quarter to try out New Orleans' famous beignets at Cafe du Monde. Beignets really lightened up everyone's mood because it was the first time they have ever had a chance to try it so they were really excited. It was funny to look at my cousins' face and clothes full of powder. They didn't know it was so messy to eat! It's crazy how a simple food, or foods, can bring so many people close together.
Kierra Hitchens
ReplyDeleteCodrescu’s article is a narrative about food because the article connects almost every part of his life with the people around him and his memories of food in New Orleans. The story starts off with Codrescu talking about drinking coffee in the Lafayette Cemetery near his house. He also relates those buried in the cemetery as loafs of bread sitting in an oven (a tomb) roasting in the hot New Orleans sun. He also relates his conversations with his friend Wodycko to food and there experiences at different restaurants throughout the city of New Orleans.
I have a great connection towards New Orleans food culture because New Orleans is my home. Though I moved to Georgia at a very young age, New Orleans food has always been apart of my lifestyle. All of my family and their family are descendants of New Orleans and food the food of New Orleans is cooked everywhere I go. I have enjoyed Gumbo, Crawfish, Étouffée and many other traditional dishes cooked throughout New Orleans and each of these dishes is special to me. I love to know that wherever I go these dishes will always be apart of my culture .
Cordrescu's artice is a narrative because with everything he talks about he connects it with a food in New Orleans. He could compare the most bizzare things to being foor related. Such as the the grave yard. He said the ground graves in the cemetery where like brick ovens and the people in them where like loaves of bread.
ReplyDeleteAs a native growing up in New Orleans food is really a big role in the community. Food brings a good time with good people. My family is very known to bring the fun with some good people and great music. Without the great food I dont think it would be as fun and sadly I dont think alot of people would come around.
A connection of food to New Orleans that I know so very well is crawfish. Ive been chowing down on crawfish for as long as I can remember. The food itself is not for fullement but just for pure enjoyment. I had to say that statement plenty of times lately to people who have come here from other states for school. If you try to get full off of crawsfish you will most likely go broke.
When my family get together for easter we have tons of crawfish and a very amazing time together as a family. I look foward to that every year. Traditions that you share with your family makes the food experience better and special. Atleast for me it does. I wouldnt trade my hometown for anything.
Cordrescu’s article is a narrative about food because with each story he tells, he makes a connection to food. The first reference to food he makes was in the cemetery. In New Orleans bodies are buried above ground in mausoleums. Cordrescu compares them to bread ovens; he says, “the dead are loaves of bread quietly mummifying there under the blistering New Orleans sun.” We see his next food reference with his story about the Polish artist. When he talks about his visit to the cemetery with the artist, he discusses a food experience that he had with him as well. They went to the Commander’s Palace restaurant after their visit to the cemetery. Cordrescu goes into detail about the history of the restaurants well known turtle soup that has never run out since 1888. He also mentions when the restaurant caught fire, the soup was the first thing they saved. Cordrescu also mentioned coffee a lot in his narrative.
ReplyDeleteThe story makes me think a lot about how different foods are associated with our memories. Boudin is a food I had never heard of tried until I came to New Orleans. Most of my friends here at school are from Louisiana and they would talk about how good it was. So I decided I would try it and I absolutely loved it. Whenever I eat boudin now I will always think of New Orleans and my friends who introduced me to it.
Although Codrescu’s article isn't directly about food, he connects many of his encounters with food. For example, he would connect places and objects he saw such as the Lafayette Cemetery to brick ovens because of the shape of the cemetery. Although somewhat disturbing, thinking of the cemetery as a food helps him remember it better. Personally, gumbo plays a big role in my life. Living in New Orleans, I eat gumbo and it is one of my favorite foods. When I go to places that are of a lot of different people and culture, such as Xavier University, it reminds me of gumbo because of all the ingredients that are put together and they complement each other well. Even though every ingredient is different, they all get along just fine. This also applies to other places where diversity does not affect how one treats another because of the color of his or her skin. For example, I once went to a Gretna Festival and there were a lot of white people there. Even though my friend and I were like the only Asians there, they treated us like a regular human beings and showed no disrespect. Situations such as this can get some people uneasy, but the people at the festival were very nice which made it fun.
ReplyDelete