New Orleans. N’awlins. NOLA. Crescent City. The Big Easy.
I’ve heard the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, referenced in so many ways over the years, but after spending five nights there for the world famous Jazz Fest, only one word comes to mind: Love.
I devoured meal after meal at restaurants and the Jazz Fest Fairgrounds, so I’m going to let the pictures speak for themselves. What struck me the most about eating in this city was how much pride goes in to cooking every dish. There is very little pretension, even in the best restaurants in the city. Restauranteurs are extremely proud of their local ingredients, as they should be.
THE FAIRGROUNDS
- Jazzfest entrance
- Jazzfest Fairgrounds Food Area I — with no lines!
- Jazzfest Fairgrounds Crawfish Monica® Stand, Kajun Kettle Foods, Inc. Six lines for one amazing bowl of goodness.
- Fried Chicken, Catering Unlimited
- Cajun Duck Po Boy, Troncoso and Cochon de Lait Po-Boy, Love at First Bite
- Fried Pork Chop Sandwich, Miss Linda’s Catering
- Spicy Crawfish Sushi Roll, Ninja Japanese Restaurant
- Fried Oyster Spinach Salad, Vucinovich’s Restaurant
- Crawfish Monica®, Kajun Kettle Foods, Inc. Anders Osborne on stage in the background.
THE RESTAURANTS
- Jefferson Waful, Lighting Director for Umphrey’s McGee. He was so excited about food porn in New Orleans, he actually requested for me to take a picture of him with his Oyster Po Boy. Now that’s dedication.
- Breaux Bridge Benedict. Charlie T’s Boudin, Smoked Ham, American Cheese, Poached Eggs and Creole Hollandaise at Stanley
- Croque-Madame with Grilled Chisesi Ham & Emmenthaler Cheese at Luke’s
- Beignets at Cafe Du Monde
- Fried Shrimp & Oyster Po Boy at Domilise’s
- Wood-Roasted Oysters at Cochon
- Louisiana Cochon with Turnips, Cabbage and Cracklins at Cochon
- Trio of Oysters at Bourbon House
- Shrimp Creole with Louisana Popcorn Rice at Bourbon House
- Buckboard Bacon Melt with Collards on White at Cochon Butcher
- Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato on White at Cochon Butcher
- Escargots, Yukon Gold Potato Fondue with Amarelo, Chorizo, Parsley and Country Bread at Emeril’s
- Grilled Niman Ranch Double Cut Pork Chop with Caramelized Sweet Potatoes, Tamarind Glaze and Green Chile Molé Sauce at Emeril’s
New Orleans Jazz Fest was one of the greatest weeks ever. I averaged four to six hours of sleep per night as I danced my tail off to a culturally diverse array of bands, ate incredible food and experienced endless amounts of fun.
I left that city feeling so much love. Love for music, food, my friends and family. It’s a spirit that’s embodied by everyone who attends Jazz Fest, so if you haven’t gone, please go. It’s well worth the time, expense and effort put into the trip — I’m already planning my trip for next year! See you in 2013, NOLA.
2 Responses
Great write up. For my money the Crawfish Sack was the best thing I ate at the fair grounds. The Crawfish Monica was a close second. Enter the year long wait for food that good again.
great write up allie! My money also goes on crawfish monica….but best meal i ate down there was hands down dinner at Augst, with stanton moore at the table next to me.