Photo by Patton’s Caterers
For the “second weekend of Jazz Festival” we’ve dredged up Tom’s list of 25 Best Festival Dishes, published in the early 2000’s. Things are different this year, but those item in bold can still be found around the city this weekend. Read our follow-up list below to find out how to get them.
25 Best Festival Dishes
At The French Quarter Festival (FQF) And New Orleans Jazz And Heritage Festival (JazzFest). Some of the makers of the dishes are on hand at both festivals. Ranked in descending order of goodness.
1. Pheasant, Quail and Andouille Gumbo. Prejean's, Lafayette. This exotic combination of ingredients from a big restaurant in Cajun country would be a great gumbo even if it were made with more everyday meats. Dark roux, spicy, meaty and generous. JazzFest.
2. Blackened Shrimp Poor Boy with Pickled Pepper Relish. Red Fish Grill. This is a real zinger of a flavor, rivaled only by the barbecue oyster dish that the Red Fish Grill guys serve at the Jazz Festival. That's fried oysters with a hot-sauce butter and blue cheese. FQF, JazzFest.
3. Prime Beef Debris Poor Boy. Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse & Bourbon House. Dickie Brennan served USDA Prime beef, but even so it shreds when it's sliced, and those shreds are what makes the most opulent roast beef poor boy imaginable. As if that weren't enough, they come back with barbecue shrimp in the end of a poor boy loaf. This is the best one-two combo at the French Quarter Festival. FQF.
4. Fried Soft-shell Crab Poor Boy. Galley Seafood Restaurant. It takes Vicki and Dennis Patania months to accumulate the number of soft-shell crabs they need to satisfy the demand at the Jazz Festival. It's both the goodness of the eating and the oddity of having a whole crab on a poor boy that attracts. JazzFest.
5. Cochon De Lait Po-boy. Love at First Bite. Sporting one of the longest lines at the two festivals where it's sold, this great sandwich comes from the same people who operate the excellent Walker's Barbecue in New Orleans East. FQF, JazzFest.
6. Goat Cheese and Crawfish Crepes, Shrimp with Eggplant Stuffing. Muriel's Jackson Square. Neither of these sound anywhere near as good as they actually are--the crepes, especially. They serve them individually, but I'd get the combo. FQF.
7. Cajun Jambalaya. Catering Unlimited. This is the better of the two jambalayas at the Jazz Fest is made in the brown Cajun style, spicy and smoky, with chicken and sausage. JazzFest.
8. Grilled Chicken Livers with Pepper Jelly Sauce, Crowder Peas, Okra. Praline Connection. If there's a better way to prepare chicken livers, I haven't tasted it. Crowder peas are uncommon in restaurants, but may be the best-tasting bean of them all. FQF, JazzFest.
9. Tagine of Lamb (Spicy Stew), Merguez (Grilled Lamb Sausage). Jamila's Café. Moncef and Jamila Sbaa are from Tunisia, and they cook the dishes of their homeland. It's Mediterraean blended with French touches. The merguez is house-made of veal and lamb. It's at least as good as any other sausage at the Jazz Festival. Which is saying something. JazzFest.
10. New Orleans Bread Pudding in Whiskey Sauce. Desire Oyster Bar. Desire has been part of the French Quarter Festival since the first year, always serving a stupendous bread pudding, one of the lightest and best in my experience--and bread pudding is my favorite dessert. FQF.
11. Crawfish and Shrimp with Lobster Sauce. Trey Yuen. Trey Yuen used to have a restaurant across the street from Jackson Square, which is how they became part of the French Quarter Festival. They have served this dish--as well as egg rolls and vegetable lo mein, separate or as a combo--since the FQF's first year. FQF.
12. Creole Hot Sausage Poor Boy. Vaucresson Sausage Co.. It wouldn't be the French Quarter Festival for me without this orange-tinged, spicy, housemade sausage, made by Vance Vaucresson and his family for decades and a standard of soul-food restaurants at least that long. FQF, JazzFest.
13. Boudin. Papa Ninety Catering. Boudin was little known in New Orleans when the Jazz Festival turned it into a phenomenon. Several vendors have come and gone, but this one is the best of them all. JazzFest.
14. Baked Alaska with Chocolate Sauce Antoine's. The first time I heard that Antoine's was serving baked Alaska--a ball of ice cream inside a bigger ball of meringue, accented with chocolate fudge sauce--I wondered how they'd prepare them and keep them from melting. Answer: they run them over from the restaurant, three blocks away. FQF.
15. Curry Chicken Pattie, Jerk Chicken, Rice & Veggies. Bennachin Restaurant. Bennachin is a real African restaurant, its owners coming from Gambia. "Bennachin" is what they call jambalaya over there, where the dish was invented. This dish incorporates some Caribbean flavor, too. FQF, JazzFest.
16. Crawfish Monica. Kajun Kettle Foods. This is the genuine and original version of the much-copied crawfish Monica, made by Monica Hilzim and hubbie Pete. Crawfish, cream, pasta, Creole seasoning. Simple, very good. JazzFest.
17. Crawfish Sack, Oyster Patties, Crawfish Beignets. Patton's Caterers. Patton's in Slidell has been in and out of the restaurant business for years, and at some point in the 1980s they came up with these beggar's purses (made from a crepe) filled them with crawfish etouffee, and filled out the plate with the oyster stew inside a puff pastry. The crawfish beignets are not sweet. JazzFest.
18. Alligator Sauce Piquante, Shrimp and Okra Gumbo. Fireman Mike’s Kitchen. Fireman Mike is indeed a first responder. Before that he worked in a number of restaurants, notably Bozo's. His okra and seafood gumbo is a fine sampling of that dish. JazzFest.
19. Spinach Artichoke Casserole, Seafood Au Gratin, Sweet Potato Pone. Ten Talents Catering. The three items in this combo sound just offbeat enough to catch one's attention, and it lives up this interest. A favorite back to the earliest days of JazzFest. JazzFest.
20. Lemon Ice, Strawberry Ice, Spumone, Cannoli, Fig and Sesame Cookies. Angelo Brocato’s. We hardly have to mention the source of all this gelato, which has been made with zero variability for over 110 years at Angelo Brocato's matchless Sicilian ice cream parlor. JazzFest.
21. Hot Boiled Crawfish. Rouse's. One of the most wonderful coincidences on the food calendar is that the Festival Season and the crawfish season coincide. Mudbugs peak reliably at Jazz Festival, but they're pretty darn good at the French Quarter Festival, too. Rouse's served them hot--another great tough. FQF.
22. Cajun Meat Pies. Ted's Frostop/Mrs. Wheat's Meat Pies. The first big star of local food festivals is this specialty from Natchitoches. A half-moon-shaped turnover filled with spicy ground beef, it's hard to pass up, even when you're full. FQF, Jazz Fest.
23. Crawfish Bread, Shrimp Bread, Sausage-jalapeno Bread. Panaroma Foods, Marksville. All these are made more or less the same way: the topping gets spread with a lot of cheese over half of a semi-baked French bread loaf. Filling and better than it sounds. JazzFest.
24. Turtle Soup. Court Of Two Sisters. One of the best turtle soups around, made with a dark roux, real turtle meat, and a tinge of sherry. Old-style. FQF.
25. Oyster Rockefeller Bisque, Cajun Chicken and Tasso with Creole Rice. Food for Thought. The two items are from completely different culinary backgrounds, but in a two-course meal it's very enjoyable. JazzFest.
Hungry Now? Here’s where to get a fix:
Pythian Market is selling goods from several vendors this weekend, including Prejean’s legendary gumbo and crawfish enchiladas, and several selections from TJ Gourmet like their crawfish bread and Chicken and Tasso with Creole Rice. View the full menu and order pickup or delivery on their website.
Two of the most famous Fest vendors have teamed up to bring you the full experience (minus the crowds, of course). Caluda’s Cottage Catering and Kajun Kettle Foods will be popping up together in the Mahoney’s PoBoys parking lot at 901 Iberville St. from 3PM-7PM this weekend 5/1-5/3. In one drive thru stop, you’ll be able to get Crawfish Strudel, White Chocolate Bread Pudding, and the original Crawfish Monica.
You’ll need to order 24 hours in advance, so get those orders in today. Everything will be served cold, and can be reheated throughout the weekend. Order through the Cottage Catering site.
Caluda’s Cottage Catering is selling their Crawfish Strudel and White Chocolate Bread Pudding for pickup at their bakery in Harahan. Call 504-343-5706 to order.
Patton’s Caterers will be offering their combo plates with their oyster patties, crawfish beignets, and crawfish sacks to-go from their homebase in Slidell this Friday 5/1 and Saturday 5/2. Email jazzfesttogo2020@pattons.com to order.
Fireman Mike’s Kitchen has put together a drive through pop-up selling his Shrimp & Grits and Shrimp and Okra Gumbo. He’ll be serving at the corner of Magazine and Bordeaux Saturday 5/2 from 3PM-7PM and Sunday 2PM-6PM.
Squeal’s Smoke Street Catering will be popping up at Second Line Brewing tomorrow 4/2 from 11AM-7PM, selling their brisket sandwiches, chicken, sandwiches, and smokey bacon greens.
Vaucresson Sausage will be popping up tomorrow, Saturday 5/2 from 11AM-3PM at The Backyard in Lakeview with their hot sausage poboys, as well as sausage for take home.
Taqueria Corona, Jamila’s, Bennachin, Ajun Cajun, Angelo Brocato’s and Galley Seafood are all still operating for takeout, and their goodies can be purchase straight from the source.
Liuzza’s By The Track is also open and offering takeout, including bloody mary’s to-go.
Rosemary and Roux Catering is offering a Festival Favorites menu this “Faux Fest “Friday, with their versions of several Jazz Fest food including Fried Pork Chop Sandwiches, Fish Banquet, Crawfish Monica, and Frozen Cafe au Lait. Call 504-405-3236 to order.
Southern Hospitality Catering is also offering several festival items this week, including a Cochon de Lait Poboy Kit, Crawfish Brioche, Boiled Crawfish, and Natchitoches Meat Pies. Call 504-897-0477 to order.
Joel Catering has added a Cochon de Lait poboy kit to their menu this week, served with Coleslaw, French bread, Potato Salad, and a Kale and Citrus Salad.
