Yes, I agree with you. Touchy, touchy! I lived in N.O. and also noticed the accent sounded similar to the ones in the Northeast. I was told that a lot of fishermen from that area migrated to Louisiana, thus the intermingling of southern, Cajun, and New England.
Sorry, Post #22 was meant for airborne.
Where'd you live? I lived uptown and in Metairie.
Emeril Lagasse sounds like he's from New Orleans, but he's actually from either Fall River or Bedford, MA, both areas heavily populated by fishermen of Portuguese descent.