Travelers Beware! New Orleans-Related Menu Deceptions

I've been thinking about all the bad restaurants outside New Orleans that supposedly feature "Cajun" or "New Orleans-style" cuisine. In my experience, 90% of them wouldn't know a Cajun from a redneck from a southern belle. I've had fun in the past, actually, ordering food claiming "New Orleans spices," just to see how very wrong the kitchens got it.

And boy, do they get it wrong.

Here are my top choices for Cajun/Creole food staples so abused by clueless chefs that New Orleanians traveling outside our city should view them as red flags to be avoided, rather than promises of home.