A culinary adventure down south at Gumbo

Only one thing comes to mind when I hear the word New Orleans: Mardi Gras. For many bon vivants and party watchers, this celebration, held on the day before Ash Wednesday, is the ultimate indulgence, just before the Catholic world goes into the 40 penitent days of Lent. Revelers, adorned with colorful bead necklaces, riot up and down its main street in just one more drunken extravagance.

You’ll get the feel and color of New Orleans, but without the brawls of Mardi Gras, at Gumbo, the latest themed restaurant in the metro. A concept restaurant of Well-Loved Seafood Harvest Inc., which also runs the popular Burgoo American Bar and Restaurant, it brings the unique flavors from this popular spot in the American southwest to this part of Asia.

Gumbo managing director Albert Alavera says, "New Orleans feels like a whole other world."

Why did they decide to bring the rustic down-home flavors of Louisiana to Metro Manila?

"No one’s created a restaurant that focuses solely on this kind of cuisine," says Alavera. "Our mission is to bring New Orleans to Manila."

New Orleans cookery is a fusion of Cajun and Creole cooking, which are influenced by other world cuisines. Cajun refers to the food found in the Louisiana bayous, and consists of rich spicy dishes using the bounties of the land and sea. Creole cooking, on the other hand, comes from New Orleans and the Mississippi River, which has a heavy Caribbean influence. Mix those flavors together, and you’ll have an idea of what Gumbo’s food is like.

There are two dishes that you shouldn’t miss when you drop by here: Umm… Seafood Gumbo, and Ahh… Seafood Jambalaya. They come in four serving sizes: petite, chicken petite, and two sizes of grande. Be warned though: a petite serving is good enough for two or three diners.

The gumbo is a rich spicy broth filled with fresh calamari, Pacific clams, crawfish, shrimps, sausages, and mussels. You have it either as a soup, and what a hearty soup this will be, or with rice, making it a rich viand. Of course, you can have the heat tempered to your liking. But if you must have it the New Orleans way, order it spicy hot.

The jambalaya must be familiar to many, and you can finally have the real thing at Gumbo. Its Ahh… Seafood Jambalaya is the New Orleans version of the Spanish paella. Long grain rice is cooked in Cajun spices and topped with fresh mussels, Pacific clams, shrimps, calamari, and sausages.

Alavera went to New Orleans to study its cookery at the New Orleans School of Cooking, missing the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina by just a couple of days. He amassed recipes that are unlike recipes from other parts of the United States. All these are now on the Gumbo menu.

Apart from the menu, you get a feel of New Orleans from the distinct interiors designed by Grace Milan of GMM Designs. Tables and chairs are crafted from a rich dark wood, and are named after streets in New Orleans. In fact, dining sections are named after the city’s different districts. The bakery section is called the French Market, while dining areas are called the French Quarter, Garden District, and River Walk. Furnishings come upholstered in rich dark leather and are juxtaposed against fabric in deep green and rust. And yes, jazz music and the blues play softly in the background.

An open kitchen gives diners an idea of what’s cooking. In fact, when a gumbo or jambalaya is ordered, the kitchen staff announces it with fanfare.

All meals open with Tuscan-style bread served with a dip of olive oil and roasted garlic. And then, it’s up to you to decide how you would like to proceed.

A must-taste is the New England clam chowder, which is served in a bread bowl. It is a rich, creamy soup filled with seafood and clams. Recommended appetizers include the stuffed eggplant parmigiana (seasoned eggplant with Italian sausage, spinach, and mushrooms, topped with pomodoro sauce and mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses), and caprese insalata (fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and basil with balsamic vinaigrette).

Apart from the gumbo and jambalaya, there are other dishes to enjoy at Gumbo. Its version of fish and chips, the Oops Jumpin’ Fish and Chips, is an enormous dory fillet that is breaded and deep-fried. It comes with a platter of fries.

There’s also the grilled chicken limone, marinated chicken breasts in herbs and spices on a white sauce, served with steamed asparagus and topped with tomato salsa and lemon juice. A serving is good for two, even three, diners.

Other must-try dishes are the Seafood Boil, which is good for a minimum four diners, and barbecued shrimps.

And yes, there are desserts, too. The hot chocolate cake a la mode is your usual molten lava chocolate cake, except that a serving is as big as a platter. Topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, the whole family can dig into this one.

For those with a craving for ice cream, the Mississippi mud pie is a generous serving of chocolate ice cream with the usual toppings. Generous means that it’s good for five to six diners. A party of school kids will have no problems demolishing this one.

Alavera tells that in New Orleans, people don’t cover their heads when it rains; they cover their beer. Surely, that’s proof that the people of New Orleans really love their food.

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Gumbo has branches at the second floor of Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City, with tel. nos. 556-0238 and 556-0239; and at the second floor of The Block, SM North EDSA, Quezon City.