Heaven on Seven is a cajun food place in downtown chicago.

Even those words look like strangers when they’re in a sentence together.

I guess you could ask, why is that strange? Of course there’d be a cajun food restaurant in a city with great food of every description.  And you’d be mostly right…

After my brother went to Thailand he came to visit me in Tucson and we went out for Thai food. I asked him if his dinner was good and he said it was and then I asked him how he could possibly say that Tucson Thai food was good after he’d eaten in Thailand. He said “You can’t compare eating pad thai from a street vendor on the streets of Bangkok to sitting in a restaurant in the states. They’re totally different experiences.”

I subsequently went to Thailand and ate pad thai from street vendors and he was right. The two experiences weren’t comparable. Since then I’ve eaten Thai food in the states that’s every bit as good as the food I ate in Thailand.

However.

I’ve eaten in New Orleans and I’ve eaten cajun food elsewhere and I can say with certainty that every time I’ve eaten cajun food outside of Louisiana, it lacks a certain something. I don’t know why this is and I don’t know if it’s just me but Heaven on Seven is no exception to this rule of mine: Cajun food belongs in Louisiana.

Even though when they have all the requisite condiment options, and more besides (and if there’s one thing I love, it’s an array of condiments…)

And the chicken etouffee was delicious

and the barbq came with an several sides (condiments, sides and dipping sauces comprise the trifecta of my perfect meal scenario).

It was good. But it wasn’t as good as New Orleans.

But that’s ok because I’m going to New Orleans next week. So consider this the opening volley and start preparing yourselves for a week of posts about Mardi Gras beads, cajun food and late night jazz. And maybe I’ll figure out why cajun food can’t be exported.

Excited? Me too.