Ozark Living

"I used to have a home in Long Beach, Mississippi so I visited a lot there," Woodard continued. "Long Beach is just about an hour outside of New Orleans. I spent a lot of time down there fishing, going out in the gulf, and going to local restaurants and bars. So, I themed Alligator Ray's aer a place you might find in New Orleans." In fact, anybody who is actually from New Orleans will tell you that when you're inside Alligator Ray's you'll think you are in New Orleans. It's got the old brick and décor just like any other place on Bourbon Street. e best thing, of course, is the authentic and outrageously scrumptious Cajun cuisine. For that, Woodard had a secret weapon. He enlisted the help of Chef Steve Daney, who at that time was the personal chef for the mayor of New Orleans. Daney is no average Cajun cook. His 20+ years of accomplishments, qualifications, and experience make him one outstanding chef with must-try dishes. He is best known for his New Orleans style cuisine covering Cajun, creole, and soul food. Daney is a Louisiana native and trained Cajun chef. In the early days of his career, he worked in a neighborhood restaurant, Rendon Inn, that frequently served large political lunches. is experience led him to become the former New Orleans mayor's chef. Mayor Marc Morial not only counted on Daney for food, but oen went to him for advice on tough policy decisions. During Daney's six years as the mayor's chef, he was the host of New Orleans' most prestigious guests and clientele. He was in charge of preparing lunch for the mayor on a daily basis and ensuring meals were prepared for unexpected meetings and large conferences. During his career, Daney has made meals for former presidents, various dignitaries, musicians, and actors. "e best way to describe the difference between Cajun and Creole is that Creole is city and Cajun food is more rustic, more food from the country," Woodard said. "e people in the country use what they have. Cajun food uses what they have access to, things like shrimp and crawfish and oysters. ey have mostly seafood or low-land food. It is a low and slow cooking process to get out all of the flavor." e French Acadians, through the years of living in the swamps, have perfected that slow style of country cooking. "It's not unlike barbeque," Woodard noted. "Barbecue takes the meat and cooks it low and slow until it's really tender and juicy. Cajun is the same thing just taking what they call the Holy Trinity of vegetables, celery, onions and green peppers then adding the spices and cooking it up really nice, really low and slow and just making delicious food out of it." In addition to New Orleans classic dishes like crawfish bisque and seafood gumbo, Alligator Ray's has some unique creations that are a big hit with the customers. "One of the things that has made us popular and famous is we do a Cajun pizza which nobody else does." Woodard pointed out. "Another favorite for sure is the Mardi Gras pasta which is pasta, Cajun style. It includes crawfish, lump crabmeat, shrimp and chicken sauteed in our very own spicy Alligator Ray's Cajun sauce. It's a huge hit!" Beyond the legion of local fans, Alligator Ray's has garnered, literally, an international following. "We got worldwide fame when they filmed the series the 'Simple Life' with Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie," Woodard said. "ey were in town for about eight weeks shooting and they came into the bar pretty much every single day." ey filmed several episodes of the show in the bar and outside the bar. For the next year aer the show went off the air, people came from all over the world to see where the series was filmed. "Tour buses came in and toured the place," Woodard added. "We actually had a guy in Australia write his college paper on Alligator Ray's." e Cajun-inspired menu at Alligator Rays will leave any diner feeling satisfied. ere are plenty of delicious options on the menu, from crawfish étoufée, redfish, oysters and shrimp, to Po boys and pizza. ere are food and drink specials every week, so you'll be able to try something new every time you visit. OZarK LIVInG • January 2023 • 23

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