Eating At The New Orleans Jazz And Heritage Festival
The food at the Jazz Festival is exactly as good as the music. In exactly the same way.
A long-held belief among people who have festivalled every year for decades is that the most memorable music is from the most obscure acts on the smallest, most remote stages. Even with the coming of extremely big names at the JazzFest, this remains valid.
It's also true of the food. Almost none of the food vendors are chefs or restaurateurs. Most of the food is prepared by cooks whose main business is appearing at other festivals. Some of them have no food involvement outside the Jazz Festival.
Nobody misses the chefs. Although it's certainly true that some of the food at the Festival is a little too homestyle, that adds a certain authentic charm to the "heritage" work in the festival's name.
In the past few years of the Jazz Festival, the food offerings seem to have reached a plateau. A few new vendors appear, but they fade into the familiar array. It's been a long time since I've found something alarmingly new and different.
But, again, isn't this what we want from the Festival? It's certainly true of us Baby Boomers, who were just reaching the age of majority at the time of the first JazzFest in 1970. It's a ritual, with our strange kind of hippie nostalgia. Enough other things have changed in our lives without the Jazz Festival's becoming unfamiliar, too.
Two other pieces of advice: Don't stuff yourself, or you'll be too full to try the delicious-looking item you'll inevitable encounter. And bring plenty of money.
Here's our annual list of all the food being served at the Jazz and Heritage Festival at the Fair Grounds. I have annotated it with my recommendations, based on the experience of past years. (Of course, this reflects my own taste, and your mileage may vary.) Here's the key:
Good. Try it if it appeals to you.
Outstanding. Try it even if it doesn't appeal to you.
Essential Jazz Fest Dish. Should not be missed.
Vegetarian items are green.
A printer-friendly map of the Fair Grounds showing where everything is can be had by clicking here. The Jazz Festival's official website is here.
Food Area I
(Infield in front of the grandstands)
Crawfish Bread
Shrimp Bread
Sausage and Jalapeño Bread
Cajun Jambalaya
Fried Chicken
Fresh Squeezed Lemonade
Fruit Salad
Joyce’s Lemonade
Hot Sausage Po-Boy
Crawfish Sausage Po-Boy
Vaucresson Sausage Co.
Pecan Catfish Meunière
Seafood Mirliton Casserole
Fried Crab Cake with Smoked Tomato & Jalapeño Tartar
Alligator Pie
Crabmeat Stuffed Shrimp
Fried Green Tomatoes
Muffuletta
Vegetarian Muffuletta,
Roast Beef Po-Boy
Turkey Giardiniera Po-Boy
DiMartino’s Famous Muffulettas
Crawfish Etouffée
Boiled Crawfish
Shrimp Cocktail
BBQ Chicken
BBQ Chicken Sandwich
Corn on the Cob
Iced Tea
Lemon Pound Cake
Spinach Artichoke Casserole
Seafood Au Gratin
Sweet Potato Pone
Cajun Duck Po-Boy
Fried Popcorn Shrimp & Crawfish Tails
Spicy Potatoes
Red Beans & Rice with Sausage
Vegetarian Red Beans & Rice
Blackberry Cobbler
Crabmeat Po-Boy
Creole Stuffed Crab
Catfish Amandine
Potato Salad
Boudin
Boudin Balls
Crawfish Remoulade
Creole Hot Tamales
Shrimp & Grits
Alligator Sauce Piquante
Shrimp & Okra Gumbo
Fireman Mike’s Kitchen
Cochon de Lait Po-Boy
Fried Eggplant with Crawfish Sauce
Fried Eggplant with Marinara Sauce
Louisiana Crawfish Po-Boy
Fried Gator Po-Boy
Guil’s Gator with Fried Jalapeños & Onions
Crawfish Sack
Oyster Patties
Crawfish Beignets
Patton's Caterers
Fried Shrimp Po-Boy
Fried Oyster Po-Boy
Fried Oyster Spinach Salad
Panéed Chicken Po-Boy
Stuffed Artichoke
Vucinovich's Restaurant
Mango Freeze
WWOZ Community Radio
Ya Ka Mein
Vegetarian Ya Ka Mein
Fried Pork Chop Sandwich
Banana Bread Pudding
Rosemint Iced Tea
Mandarin Orange Iced Tea
Regular Iced Tea
Food Area II
(Infield near the pond on the far end from the entrance)
Rosemint Iced Tea
Mandarin Orange Iced Tea
Regular Iced Tea
Café Au Lait (Hot, Iced, Frozen)
New Orleans Coffee Company
Fried Soft-Shell Crab Po-Boy
Fried Catfish Filet Po-Boy
Galley Seafood Restaurant
Spicy Natchitoches Meat Pie
Crawfish Pie
Broccoli & Cheese Pie
Mrs. Wheat's Foods
Pheasant, Quail & Andouille Gumbo
Crab and Crawfish Stuffed Mushrooms
Crawfish Enchilada
Prejean's Restaurant (Lafayette)
Strawberry Shortcake
Key Lime Tart
Gyro Sandwich
Falafel Sandwich
Hummus with Pita
Tabouli with Pita
Greek Garden Salad
Mona's Café
Spicy Crawfish Sushi Roll
Snow Crab Sushi Roll
Donburi (Chicken Teriyaki with Rice)
Swamp Roll
Seaweed Salad
Ninja Japanese Restaurant
Tagine of Lamb (Lamb Stew with Basmati Rice),
Merguez (Grilled Lamb Sausage)
Crawfish, Spinach and Zucchini Bisque
Tunisian Salad
Jamila's Café
Cuban Sandwich
Canseco’s Markets
Louisiana Strawberry Ice
Lemon Ice
Gelato
Spumoni
Cannoli
Biscotti (Assorted Italian Cookies)
Angelo Brocato’s
Grilled Chicken Livers with Pepper Jelly
Crowder Peas & Okra
Collard Greens
Smothered Chicken Drummettes
Praline Connection
Jambalaya
Wally Taillon, Gonzales
Oyster Rockefeller Bisque
Cajun Chicken & Tasso with Creole Rice
Crawfish Strudel
Mocha Mousse
White Chocolate Bread Pudding
Coffee Cottage
Cracklins
Fried Sweet Potato Chips
Fatty’s Cracklins, St. Francisville
Shrimp Taco
Chicken Taco
Shrimp Flauta
Taqueria Corona
Creole's Stuffed Bread
Sausage, Pepperoni & Mozzarella Stuffed Bread
Creole’s Lunch House, Lafayette
Crawfish Monica
Kajun Kettle
Congo Square Area
Sno-Balls
Sugar-Free Sno-Balls
AJ’s Sno-Balls, Metairie
Jamaican Chicken
Caribbean Fish
Curry Chicken Pattie
Steamed Vegetables
Palmer's Jamaican Cuisine
Dibbi (Grilled Steak on Pita)
Grilled Veggie Pita
Couscous with Yogurt Sauce
Gambian Foods
Jama-Jama (Sautéed Spinach)
Fried Plaintains
Poulet Fricassee (Chicken on a Stick)
Bennachin Restaurant
Sweet Potato Pie
Apple Turnover
Sweet Potato Turnover
Banana Nut Bread
Marie's Sugar Dumplings, Marrero
Strawberry Lemonade
Cafe Reconcile
Heritage Square Area
Rosemint Iced Tea
Mandarin Orange Iced Tea
Regular Iced Tea
Goi Cuon (Spring Roll)
Bun (Vermicelli with Shrimp or Beef)
Cha Gio (Vietnamese Egg Roll)
Ba Mien Vietnamese Cuisine
Beignets
Café Au Lait (Hot, Iced, Frozen)
Milk
Chocolate Milk
Café du Monde
Crawfish Bisque
Creole Filé Gumbo
Trout Baquet
Baquet’s Li’l Dizzy’s Café
Lemon Meringue Pie
Creole Cream Cheese Cake with Strawberries
Minnie Pearl Pies and Pastries
BBQ Pork Ribs
BBQ Turkey Wings
Meaty White Beans
Cole Slaw
Peach Cobbler
Around The Grounds
Sno-Balls
Sugar Free Sno-Balls
Popcorn
Cee Cee's Sno-Balls, Slidell
Pies: Apple, Cherry, Coconut, Pecan, Sweet Potato
Mr. Williams’ Pastries
Coconut Macaroon
Brownie with Pecans
Cream Puffs
Chocolate Éclair
Angelo's Bakery
Old Fashioned Hand Made Ice Cream Sandwiches
Locally Made Artisan Gelato and Sorbetto
Crème Brulée
Chocolate Azteca
La Divina Gelateria
Pralines: Assorted Flavors
Praline Pecans
Sweet Potato Cookies
Praline Shoe Soles
Pecan Crunch
Loretta's Authentic Pralines
Roman Chewing Candy
Sno-Balls
Sugar-Free Sno-Balls
Plum St. Sno-Balls
Fresh Roasted Jumbo Peanuts
Glazed Pecans
Jumbo Peanut Company
Mango Freeze
WWOZ Community Radio
Strawberry Smoothie
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Folk Area
Shrimp Macque Choux
Shrimp & Sausage Macque Choux
Fry Bread
Indian Tacos
United Houma Nation
Kid's Food
Lemonade
Fruit Salad
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich
Crispy Rice Treats
Joyce’s Lemonade
BBQ Chicken Sandwich
Mini Corn on the Cob
Jazzy Cupcakes
Macaroni & Cheese
Huckabuck Frozen Cups