Going to the Source - 500 Places for Food and Wine Lovers - page 55

exhibits celebrate (in the case of the potato
exhibit, for instance, you could fill your
plate with tasty tubers prepared in the
manner of several different cultures). Out-
side, you'll find a lovely garden facing Lake
Geneva, landscaped with plants reflecting
the season. It's a great place to sit and
digest all the food lore you've just learned.

Quai Perdonnet, Vevy ( & 021/924-
41-11 ).
( Geneva Airport (trains leave from the

airport to Montreux/Vevyon the hour).
L $$$ Hotel du Lac, 1 rue d' Italie
( & 800/780-7234 in the U.S., or 021/925-
06-06).

Food Museums

59

The Southern Food & Beverage Museum
Deep South Down-Home Lowdown
New Orleans, Louisiana

They say that the way to a man's heart is
through his stomach, but the founders of
the Southern Food and Beverage Museum
take it one step further. They believe that
the way to the heart of a culture is through
its food. What's equally important, they
also are convinced that it can be a dynamic
and entertaining journey.
The Southern Food and Beverage
Museum opened its doors on June 7, 2008,
in a sleek modern space on the second floor
of the Riverwalk Market development, right
by the city's convention center. Although it
is located in New Orleans, its mission is to
showcase the food and drink of the entire
American South—and what a fascinating
patchwork that is. Various parts of the
museum are devoted to celebrating the
melting pot of ethnic groups that have
brought their cuisines to the region; examin-
ing the various trades responsible for gath-
ering food (from fishermen to farmers to
hunters); and deconstructing the wide range
of restaurants and stores that offer the food
for sale. Visitors can tour imaginative exhib-
its that showcase the menus, tableware,
and eating customs of both the humble and
celebrated; there are several short films
to take in, and collections of postcards, pho-
tos, books, and manuscripts are on display.
The history of southern beverages is not
overlooked, either, with a special museum-
within-the-museum titled Museum of the

American Cocktail. While cocktails and
other alcoholic drinks play a large role,
there is more to the South than mint juleps
and Sazeracs—it is a region that wakes up
to strong hickory coffee and then slakes its
thirst throughout the day with pitchers of
Luzianne iced tea or glasses of root beer
and Coca-Cola. The history of southern
breweries get its due as well, with brands
like Dixie, Crescent City, and Abita.
The museum takes its role as cultural
history resource quite seriously. For exam-
ple, its ongoing Menu Project actively
roots out old menus—whether they come
from honky-tonks or from fine dining
establishments—and donates them to the
University of New Orleans for researchers
and historians. It also has a library on the
premises with cookbooks and manuscripts
devoted to Southern cuisine and drink.

Riverwalk, 1 Poydras St. #169 ( & 504/
569-0405; www.southernfood.org).
( Louis Armstrong International Airport
(15 miles/24km).
L $$$ Omni Royal Orleans, 621 St.

Louis St. ( & 800/THE-OMNI or 504/529-
5333; www.omniroyalorleans.com). $$
Hotel Monteleone ( & 800/535-9595 or
504/523-3341; www.hotelmonteleone.
com).