We went to the French Quarter Festival the other weekend and had a fabulous time! The slightly overcast weather and nice breeze kept the temperatures cool and brought out the people as the Quarter was fully alive over the weekend.
This festival is quickly becoming one of my favorites in Louisiana. With great food and music, it is well organized and spread out enough to allow people to move around while still being able to get to all the different areas with ease!
We met up with some friends and family, which is a very good thing, because with all the great food I intended to try, and I needed some help to get around to it all. Here’s where we hit though:
First up was the smoked chaurice sandwich with cabbage slaw from The Joint in the Bywater area of New  Orleans.
Chaurice is simply another name for ponce and I figured that I owed the dish another shot after my last try. I was surprised to see what otherwise looked like an Italian Sausage; while very different from my previous experience, it was tasty and provided a nice kick off to the festival. |
The Wife picked up an order of shrimp and grits from the EAT booth. EAT has been garnishing some  serious attention in New Orleans for their food and style.
Additionally, the chef/owner is another boy from down the bayou, Jarred Zeringue, and we almost ended up there when we went to Elizabeth’s the other night. While at first look, the dish seemed a bit soupier than other shrimp and grits I’ve had in the past (and it was), the Wife and I found ourselves actually preferring it that way. Excellent flavoring throughout both the sauce and the cheese grits and we’re looking forward to a sit down meal at EAT soon. |
 We moved on to Jackson Square, and picked up some of the much renowned crawfish and goat cheese crepes from Muriels. While a bit small, it was VERY good, and fully deserved the praise it gets on the boards. |
 Also bought a crawfish pie from Mrs. Wheat’s, as many people had been chatting about these little pastries. While it was good, Lasyone’s has them beat and I was disappointed to see so much rice used as a filler… |
 The crawfish in lobster sauce from Trey Yuen was outstanding: crawfish in a dark brown thickened sauce from this palace of excellent Oriental food on the North Shore. |
 A friend bought some of Antoine’s Oysters Bonne Femme. While you could tell they used the oyster liquor in making the sauce, the dish itself was a bit gloppy (for lack of a better culinary term) and could have used a serious infusion of SOMETHING. |
 Next up, Delmonico’s Confit Pork Cheeks with Creole Dirty Rice. I must admit, cheek dishes excite me after having my first experience at Dick and Jenny’s with slow braised veal cheeks a while ago.
These did not disappoint. With a hearty pork flavor, the cheeks were quite tasty, even if a bit drier than anticipated (I forgive them…it served at a festival after all). I would love to try this dish sitting in Delmonico’s! The creole dirty rice was also quite flavorful. |
 For dessert, we tried several of Flour Power’s excellent offerings. The Praline Creme Brulee was presented in a pastry shell with a hardened praline crust over something similar to butterscotch pudding. Very different from what I was expecting but excellent overall. |
 The second dish from Flour Power was the Strawberry Creole Cream Cheese Bavarian. Fresh strawberries layered with white cake and smothered with a creole cream cheese Bavarian creme; a perfect Southern dessert! |
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THE WINNER OF FRENCH QUARTER FESTIVAL 2009: Saving the best for last, I had Love at First Bite’s cochon de lait po boy. This is the catering arm of Walker’s in New Orleans East and the same people that serve the cochon de lait pobot at Jazzfest. I’ve developed quite an addiction to these poboys. Mounds of slow cooked pulled pork, crunchy slaw, and a sauce that is sort of a thin vinegary honey mustard sauce. It is unbelievable! Get one at Jazzfest this weekend while you can! A suggestion (we all know how fond I am of those) for LAFB/Walker’s: at the next festival, offer people the choice of having the cochon de lait po boy wrapped in butcher paper. I personally would have taken two more to go and know a few others that would have done the same. |
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#1 by FestFreak on May 6th, 2009
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DO NOT go to French Quarter Fest or Jazz Fest without purchasing a couchon de lait po-boy. Great article, Tommy. I think our taste buds were seperated at birth (with the exception of your ponce affinity).
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