A Fest for Feasting 

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	Two amazing food courts from the 2004 French Quarter Festival; Top image, food court in Jackson Square; Bottom image, food court in Woldenberg Park

There’s nothing extraordinary about the combination of food and festivals, but people attending the French Quarter Festival 2006 for the first time expecting the conventional fare of hot dogs and popcorn will be in for a surprise. This increasingly popular rite of spring presents an edible parade of New Orleans cuisine, from the casual and classic to some of the most innovative and truly elegant preparations to grace a paper plate.

The event has grown rapidly from its origins in 1984 as a small music festival attended primarily by locals. This year, the festival is expected to attract an estimated 400,000 people to the French Quarter over the span of three days, and most of them come hungry.

The festival features local musical acts performing on 12 stages around the French Quarter, including small stages featuring Dixieland and traditional jazz on Royal and Bourbon streets, a Jackson Square stage and bandstands along the riverfront with more contemporary acts. No matter what stage visitors find themselves near, they are always close to the festival’s other main event: food.

Dozens of vendors from restaurants across New Orleans operate booths clustered near the stages. They sell simple but delicious sausage po-boys, Cajun meat pies, bowls of red beans and rice and crawfish bread, a modern local classic (picture a handheld calzone bursting with crawfish tails and Cajun seasoning). Muriel’s Restaurant (801 Chartres St., 504-568-1885) serves the irresistible Louisiana crawfish and goat cheese crepes, while other luxurious offerings from native New Orleans purveyors include creole eggplant stuffing, stuffed mirliton, crabmeat ravioli and white chocolate banana bread pudding. Even the venerable Tujague’s Restaurant (823 Decatur St., 504-525-8676) sets up shop outdoors for the festival, selling small plates of its renowned beef brisket with horseradish sauce, a staple that begins virtually every meal at the 149-year-old Creole landmark.

Small portions priced between $3 and $5 mean it’s easy to sample food from many different restaurants. In fact, it’s difficult not to do so. All over the festival grounds, families and groups of friends sit in circles on picnic blankets or on a ledge overlooking the Mississippi River to dig into their collected harvest.

The French Quarter Festival will be held April 21-23 this year. For more information, visit www.frenchquarterfestivals.com.

 

Ian McNulty is a freelance food writer and columnist, a frequent commentator on the New Orleans entertainment talk show “Steppin’ Out” and editor of the guidebook “Hungry? Thirsty? New Orleans.”