The Family-Run Restaurant Bob Dylan Recommends In New Orleans

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If you want to experience New Orleans like a true-blue rock star, you'll need to make a stop at Dooky Chase's in Mid City — at least, that's what Bob Dylan does. In 2024, the legend took to X to sing the restaurant's praises, writing, "Last time in New Orleans we ate at Dooky Chase's Restaurant on the corner of North Miro and Orleans. If you're ever there, I highly recommend it."

Established in 1941 by Emily and Edgar Dooky Chase Sr., the eatery has become an institution in New Orleans, beloved for its Creole cuisine. The founders' daughter-in-law, Leah Lange Chase, transformed the po' boy shop and drinking hall into an upscale eatery, serving up classics like Creole-style gumbo, BBQ shrimp, crawfish Étouffée, and pan-seared redfish. In New Orleans, redfish is a signature catch that is suitable for a fine dining dish or a casual yet timeless preparation, like a blackened redfish sandwich. 

As is true with most restaurants in New Orleans, Dooky Chase's isn't just about the food (though the food is very, very important), it's also about the history. Dooky Chase's was a hub during the Civil Rights Movement, where folks gathered in the upstairs dining room to discuss the future of economic and civil rights for Black people across the nation. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had some meals there with the local revolutionaries. 

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Dooky Chase's remains a gastronomic institution in New Orleans, yet it's the restaurant's longtime chef and civil rights activist, Leah Chase, that folks recognize as the true local legend. Deemed the Queen of Creole Cuisine, Chase has inspired expressions of art, storytelling, and food in a way that has reverberated far beyond the Big Easy. After her death in 2019 at the age of 96, a 26-part docuseries titled "The Dooky Chase Kitchen: Leah's Legacy" was made with her grandson Edgar "Dook" Chase IV, who now runs her famous kitchen (when Mashed spoke with him personally, he gave us expert tips for the best cobbler pastry). 

An oil painting of Chase hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., and a magnificent house float was created in her honor in 2021, when the pandemic had locals celebrating Mardi Gras a little differently. It's also said that Chase was the inspiration for the character Tiana in Disney's "The Princess and the Frog." 

While Bob Dylan wasn't directly fed by Chase after tweeting his recommendation, plenty of other famous names had the honor. Beyoncé and Jay Z are on the list, as well as Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Duke Ellington, Thurgood Marshall, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Chase was known to have a good sense of humor and a sharp tongue, and even ribbed Obama for adding hot sauce to her gumbo without tasting it first.