Sunday, December 8, 2013

Southern in the South Bay

I had given up. Aside from making my own Southern food, there was no where to go in the South Bay area of Los Angeles for true Southern cooking. That is, until I happened upon the New Orleans Cajun and Creole Kitchen in Hermosa Beach. Cassandra is from New Orleans so she knows what she's doing. It ain't fancy, but it's dead on. With a good Zydeco soundtrack playing and Mardi Gras beads dripping from every surface, you know you've entered a special place when you step in the door. However, it's the food that gets you. From alligator on a stick to Jambalaya to blackened chicken, Cassandra delivers. But I'm from the deep South, so there's one food that takes time and patience and you have to do it right to do it at all: collard greens. Cassandra knows how to slow cook her collards with just a hint of ham hock and she serves them up in a big bowl with melt-in-your-mouth cornbread. I thought I'd have to go home more frequently, but now I'll just stop by to see Cassandra for some Southern hospitality and down home cooking. 140 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA.

St. Andrews from the Cathedral