Omnivore - Red Beans Road Show Returns Jan. 25

Pableaux Johnson is back in town, serving up Louisiana hospitality for one night at H. Harper Station

Pableaux Johnson is bringing his red beans and rice back to town. That may mean nothing to you, but let me tell you... if you like read beans and rice, or have an affinity for the ways of New Orleans, or even just like to share a good meal with fine folk, you ought to be there. I tell you this because I was there the last time Pableaux (food writer, photographer, red bean wizard) came to town and set up shop at H. Harper Station.

He calls it the Red Beans Road Show - and the whole idea is that Pableaux packs up his trunk with some Camellia brand red beans, some good killer Louisiana andouille sausage, some rice, and, well, not much else... then heads to cities far and wide to set up shop with friends and serve supper. Do you need bona fides to convince you this is a good idea? Mssr. Johnson has had his red beans and rice recipe published by the New York Times, and the even more well-esteemed Southern Foodways Alliance, as well as the wonderfully-named New Orleans Times-Picayune. Chef Hugh Acheson has even drawn a map to Pableaux’s house, but you won’t be needing that. You just need to buy some tickets ($40, including drinks) and head on down to H. Harper Station on the night of Monday, January 25.

I chatted with Pableaux back in December, as he was packing up for his drive to Atlanta for the most recent Red Beans Road Show. Here is an abridged version of that conversation, on the roots of the Red Beans Road Show.

How long have you been at this whole red beans and rice business?

Well, the home tradition (of me serving red beans and rice every Monday night) is about fourteen years old. It was originally adapting a New Orleans tradition of red beans on Monday to something I had in my house - my grandmother’s table. I come from a big family, one of nine kids, with thirty-something first cousins, and we grew up around this table, going back a couple generations. Through luck of the draw, the table came to me, and I realized that I wanted to fill that table at least once a week. When I came to New Orleans, it was just something that made sense - it’s Monday night, (making a big batch of red beans and rice) is something you don’t really have to think that much about, it’s casual, you bring what you want to drink. There’s something about that - it’s not a dinner party, it’s supper. And it’s never the same group of people twice.

And the Road Show?

The Road Show pop-up thing is relatively new. I’ve been lucky enough to meet people over the years from so many cities, and I was like, as soon as I learn how to do this outside New Orleans, I’ll be there. (Since 1991) I’ve been throwing my kitchen in the trunk - a pressure cooker, a rice cooker, two skillets, ingredients - and since my family is so big, serving a big group of people is no big deal. In 2009, the initial Road Show was just going to cook for different people in different places - 2900 miles in five weeks. The newest incarnation, it developed because I could pop-up with friends and have a great time. I wanted to do that without going broke - so working with people who could do the things I’m not good at (I’m really good at beans and cornbread), like dessert, and punch... I’d hook up with people who can do that and we’d team up - like Jerry (Slater, at H. Harper Station). The beans are really the easiest thing about it, but I bring stuff that you can only get in Louisiana - like this killer andouille from a place called Jacob’s in LaPlace

Going back, you grew up in New Iberia... when did you first feel OF New Orleans?

I came to New Orleans in 2001, but I grew up in Cajun country  - very different, very rural -  but we grew up coming to New Orleans every once in a while, Then I lived other places - San Antonio, Austin - but, when I moved to New Orleans, I felt at home right away. Growing up in Louisiana, you share a common language - which is food - though in different dialects. We didn’t grow up eating red beans on Mondays, but what unites us are the celebratory seasons (like Mardi Gras), and what we call the four seasons - crab season, crawfish, shrimp, and oyster. Food is the language we speak.