Style the American South on a River Cruise From New Orleans

“You gotta attempt the po’boy, y’all,” broadcasts our information Craig Shilow, gesturing towards Poor Boy Lloyd’s, an establishment in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the reason that Sixties, positioned only a block off the Mississippi River on historic Lafayette Avenue. The enduring sandwich is slathered with mayo and stuffed to bursting with crispy fried catfish, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles.

Baton Rouge is only one of many flavorful stops alongside a Viking cruise by way of the American South. On board, the ship’s pale wooden paneling, minimalist strains, and tender Scandi tones evoke a serene Nordic sensibility. However each time we dock, the South comes roaring in, boisterous, joyful, and scrumptious.

The area’s culinary traditions function a bridge between cultures. Every cease finds its manner into the ship’s eating room, the place the menu mirrors the ports of name. At one dinner, I dig right into a creamy Creole corn and seafood chowder, adopted by a Cajun jambalaya brimming with spicy sausage and golden fried shrimp. Come lunchtime on the top-deck River Café, I pattern my first gumbo, thick with spice, and pile my plate with fried catfish that is native to the Mississippi basin.

The person behind these regional dishes is Govt Chef Frank De Amicis, a twinkly eyed former Marine who served in Vietnam and now instructions a battalion of workers with practiced ease. 

Sooner or later, alongside our information Michael Miller, we discover the small city of St. Francisville, Louisiana, the place we study extra in regards to the space’s culinary roots. “Cajuns are descended from the Acadians who have been kicked out of Nova Scotia by the English within the 18th century,” Miller says. “Each Cajun dish begins with a roux constructed from butter or pig lard, adopted by celery, garlic, and onion.”

Right here, meals is rarely nearly what’s on the plate. In Natchez, Mississippi, I sit all the way down to a selection of fried hen, breaded okra, black-eyed peas, and candied candy potatoes, all served with reverence. Each dish tells the story of the creativity, talent, and grit of generations of enslaved individuals who blended African cooking strategies with Southern staples.

A Viking cruise down the Mississippi isn’t only a journey by way of riverside cities: It’s a deep dive into the South’s complicated, layered id. And after this crusing, I’m satisfied there’s no higher strategy to get to understand it than by way of your abdomen.