At the food fair Drew suggests to the cop that some folks dip beignets in gumbo, which amuses Sabine. Given that beignet in gumbo is as bad as cinnamon bun in beef stew, maybe Drew was just messing with the cop.
Dr. Facilier's alias in Hyperion Heights is Baron Samdi. Baron Samedi was also the name of the voodoo master in Live and Let Die (1973)
The blind baker is unconscious in her gas filled kitchen. In the 1800s coal gas became available as a side product of industrial coke production. This provided city folks with gas lights, gas heaters and gas ovens. However, since coal gas was up to 5% carbon monoxide, almost any exposure to unburned gas was ridiculously deadly. Today's natural gas contains no carbon monoxide but can suffocate by displacing air, of course at that concentration one spark would blow up the building.