Last night we did something we don’t do nearly as often as we used to. We went to an event. This event is a fairly new institution in Kenner. The 9th annual Kenner Wine and Food Event was held at Chateau Golf and Country Club, a place that has a charming vibe of regular person camaraderie. The place is lovely, and all the people in it know each other like a very large family. We were happy to be there.
The land is parched from a lack of rain for what seems like months, so last night Mother Nature decided to relieve this condition by dumping buckets of rain. The club is plenty large enough to host this enormous event, except that for the first eight years the weather was perfect, and the event is staged around the large pool. It was even set up there last night, even though the very dark clouds loomed for many hours before the heavens broke.
Everything was still set up outside when we arrived, and people were huddled under a gazebo and around the edges of the building, watching the closed chafing dishes that were to feed us get doused with unrelenting torrential rain. Inside, thankfully, was an enormous cheese display. And wines, Lots and lots of wines. There were a few vendors that were lucky enough to be set up inside. Good ones, too! There was Rodney Salvaggio from Mr. John’s, serving beef tips alongside their buddy Desi Vega’s meatballs. Across from them was the most interesting dish of the evening from Messina’s: Deboned Smoked Quail over maybe the best Maque Choux I’ve ever had, topped with a pecan and pepper jelly drizzle. And Austin’s had shrimp remoulade in a side room that we didn’t see until we were leaving. Gambino’s had an enormous and wonderfully diverse display inside, but no one had eaten anything but cheese at this point.
Somehow a few vendors managed to bring their wares in from the rain, getting drenched in the process. The most generous vendor goes to Pascal’s Manale, who appeared to have brought three delicious things. Shrimp Remoulade, their renowned Seafood Eggplant Dressing, which even I like, and a divine mirliton cream soup studded with generous pieces of crab meat and shrimp. This was really great, and I think I saw some jalapeno in it. People kept talking about Porch & Patio’s chicken eggroll. This is the hot new place in Rivertown across from Gendusa’s, whose trays of chocolate and vanilla filled cannolis went unnoticed against the wall. Too bad.
The same is true for Peppermill’s fried calamari, which was cold when it came in from the rain.
We never did see what Zea had, nor Andrea’s. We saw Andrea constantly, but not his food.
And I think some of them just never made it inside.
This seemed to work out well for everyone. We ate less than we might have eaten, and there was an extraordinary amount of people there, so the delay stretched the food as well. Regardless, it was a great evening. And those Desi Vega’s meatballs . . .
