The Southern Food and Beverage Museum on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard is across the street from historic buildings and the New Orleans Jazz Market. It seems to be an anchor for a museum district in Central City. I visited on a quiet afternoon. The guide who helped me at the front desk was very informative.

The exhibit starts with a section on Al Copeland and Popeye’s Chicken, who they credit with spreading the taste of Louisiana around the world. It then spills into the American Museum of the Cocktail and then the Absinthe Museum. The Absinthe Museum was a collection in a separate museum that closed in 2010. I spent most of my time soaking in the extensive collection of paraphernalia and in depth history. The hint about a former absinthe speakeasy in the French Quarter makes me want to run down another rabbit hole.

Then there is an exhibit on coffee and its history in New Orleans. The exhibit included green coffee beans and a video demonstrating cafe brulot along with a history of chicory as a coffee additive. I loved learning New Orleans receives beans from 31 countries, accounting for 530,000 tons or 30% of all of the coffee that enters the United States.

My favorite part of the museum was an exhibit dedicated to the women of the culinary history of New Orleans including contemporary legends like Susan Spicer and Leah Chase, as well as historical greats like Madame Begue and Rose Nicaud.

Woven in between the major exhibits are the stories of the food of Southern states, with many brand names mentioned. The last exhibit is, of course, Louisiana with king cake, snoballs, poboys, and St. Joseph’s altars featured along with famous restaurant signs. But no gumbo, pralines, callas, or jambalaya.

Overall, the museum is a wonderful look at the influential culinary history of the South with a particular focus on cocktails, New Orleans and Popeye’s Chicken. It was an interesting approach to associate the culinary history largely with brands, but I think that brands do define culinary history in a lot of ways.