The divide between soul food and the rest of New Orleans Creole food is so faint that not much of value comes from trying to detect it. That said, the Praline Connection is unambiguously on the African-American side, cooking many dishes not often found in the mainstream Creole places anymore. And they do indeed make their own excellent pralines.
Curtis Moore and Cecil Kaigler, lifelong friends and co-workers in the oil industry, opened this corner cafe in the Marigny in 1990. It was a phenomenon from the outset, a restaurant we heard about constantly in those days. A second Praline Connection opened in the Warehouse District, but that went with Katrina.
It's a neighborhood cafe, the environment usually defined by the fullness of the dining room. It's usually bustling. The waiters and waitresses wear black fedoras, white shirts and ties, and look as if they'll run out to their music gigs as soon as their shifts end.
Don't come in a hurry. Chicken is cooked to order, and that takes awhile. And don't get too ambitious with your exploration of the menu. The basics are what you want.
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