You will not believe this gumbo z'herbes story, cher
Alright, y'all, lemme tell you 'bout somethin' that just warmed my soul like a bowl of my grandma's gumbo. You know Dooky Chase's, right? Of course you do, baby. It's more than a restaurant; it's a piece of our history, a shrine to Leah Chase, God rest her soul. Well, turns out a chef over in Biloxi, Austin Sumrall, he used to work here in New Awlins and found himself at Dooky Chase's one bleary Sunday morning. And now? He's makin' his *own* gumbo z’herbes every Lent, inspired by that sacred ritual over on Orleans Avenue.
See, that's New Orleans, baby — we bury our dead above ground and keep the music below. And we keep our traditions alive, too, even when folks take 'em somewhere else. Gumbo z'herbes, that's not just food, cher. That's a Lenten tradition, full of seven or nine greens, depending on if you want to make friends or enemies. It's about cleansing, about the bounty of the earth, about a community comin' together before Easter. It's a taste of home, a taste of our resilience, a taste of a city that knows how to hold onto its soul. And the fact that someone took that home with them, that love for our food, that respect for our traditions? That just tells you somethin' about the magic of this place, you hear? It gets in your blood, it gets in your kitchen, and it spreads, just like a good roux.
Y'all need to hear more 'bout this kinda stuff every morning, yeah? My people over at Mornings.Live got you covered.