Martine Clark chopped up onions in a kitchen on Beatties Ford Road. She was making jambalaya. A rice dish indicative of New Orleans that includes tomato sauce, fresh vegetables, with chicken and beef sausages added as part of Clark’s recipe.
Clark is the owner of Bite Your Tongue Authentic New Orleans Cuisine. She moved to Charlotte from New Orleans in 2005. After arriving, she connected with the Historic West End, which owns the building where her restaurant is now located. Clark says safety concerns didn’t faze her when deciding to open here last year.
“Some people have said that the area was not safe. I’m from uptown New Orleans, so to me, this is indicative of the neighborhood I grew up in,” Clark said. “So, when you are a part of the neighborhood or part of the community, you don’t feel that threat.”…