I just finished a delicious lunch at Liuzza's By The Track. They finally had the shrimp stew which I adore. Much better than their gumbo. You can tell the two dishes are very distant cousins with the tomato base and the shrimp puffed out yet not overly done. The flavors are deep in the shrimp stew but yet still muted. The spice sneaks up on you. It doesn't hit you over the head like the it does with their gumbo.
The base of the shrimp stew isn't as brothy. It's thicker and more rounded. Both dishes come served over a bed of rice but while the gumbo is a busy firebrand of heat and energy, the shrimp stew is a more elegant delicately composed dish that in it's simplicity reflects a more seriousness of purpose than the too cool for school gumbo.