Why This Food Blogger Ditched L.A. for New Orleans

Gina Pace
·Editor
Updated
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Joy Wilson; Courtesy Joy the Baker

Joy Wilson thinks that anyone who has visited New Orleans and tasted the food will understand why she decided to pick up from her hometown of Los Angeles and move to the Big Easy.

“If you’ve been, you’re likely to have felt some of the magic,” explains Wilson, a self-taught baker and cook behind the popular blog Joy the Baker. “New Orleans is unlike any other city in the country. It breathes in different time. It’s one of those cities you can feel in the air, under your feet, in the giant rain drops and daily thunderstorms.”

Ten years after Hurricane Katrina, and about a year and a half after Wilson moved to the city, we checked in with the cookbook author and photographer to find out what lured her there and what makes the food scene there so vibrant.

Once you got to New Orleans, how did it match up to your expectations? What surprised you?

New Orleans moves at its own pace, without explanation or apology. It’s a slower lifestyle. You can’t hurry the lady who is taking her time in line at the grocery store … and for what? So you can get back to work faster? Tsk tsk.   New Orleans will also celebrate any and every occasion. There’s just an appreciation for life here that I really enjoy.

MORE: Joy the Baker’s Breakfast Grilled Cheese Recipe

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Commander’s Palace; Credit: Joy Wilson

What’s the food scene like there? What are some of the ways it differs from L.A.?

Lots of butter, and throw in some cream while you’re at it. New Orleans is proud of its food. The food scene is rooted in traditional Southern Creole cuisine. There’s never a shortage of shrimp étouffée or red beans and rice. The grilled oysters at Cochon should be on everyone’s life bucket list. Brunch at Commander’s Palace is one of life’s great luxuries. And a doughnut from District is delicious… as delicious as the classic beignets. There’s no going wrong with fried dough.

The food scene is New Orleans is a mix of established mainstays serving classic creole food and new blood coming in to honor and shake up tradition.

MORE:  Joy the Baker’s Classic Birthday Cake

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Oysters at Cochon; Photo: Joy Wilson

What restaurants are you excited about right now in NOLA?

I’m really excited to try Nina Compton’s new restaurant Compere Lapin.
I also really enjoy Boucherie, Coquette, and La Boulangerie is my favorite bakery.

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District bakery; Photo: Joy the Baker

What are interesting markets and shops around the city?

St. Roch Market is a new open market featuring local food makers, local produce, and a really lovely oyster bar. 

I’m really obsessed with a fem and crystal store in the French Quarter called French Quarter Gem and Lapidary.

Keife & Co is my favorite wine shop that also sells cheese and spirits and everything good in the world.

And there are two bookshops I love in New Orleans:  Faulkner House Books in a little alley next to St. Louis Cathedral. Garden District Book Shop has a great collection of cookbooks.

What’s the mood in the city with the 10th anniversary of Katrina approaching?

Reverent and resilient.

MORE: How Seeing ‘Despair in People’s Eyes’ Forever Changed New Orleans Chef John Besh