gumbo

A light touch of herbs, some seasonings and a bright pop of fresh lemon juice, and you have a most brilliant concoction, a concoction that is now as much of a Creole classic as gumbo.

Dan's winning smoked fish dish, another of Manny's mgnificent moles, Savannah's chawanmushi, Danny's carrot-centric chowder, Amanda's "brilliant" vegan gumbo and Laura's tartare all sounded great.

Dan’s winning smoked walleye, Dan’s carrot-centric take on clam chowder, Savannah’s chawanmushi, Manny’s mole and Soo’s rice cakes all garnered high acclaim, but one that stood out particularly for me was Amanda’s vegan gumbo z'herbes with greens, grilled mushrooms and kombu.

Try using it at home, either in a super simple dashi or maybe in a kombu-imbued rice pilaf, a crispy okonomiyaki, or perhaps even take inspiration from Amanda and make a vegan gumbo.

As both a comic and a curator of some of the best up-and-coming talent in the L.A. stand-up scene, Jeremy “Gumbo” Christian knows how to sell tickets and take the stage with equal levels of down-home finesse.