Every year, I start the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival by sampling new products around the food booths. This has been a very productive year with several new vendors, some returning after being absent a few years ago, and menu changes from others.
Here we take a look at all the new options and how they are introduced.
new vendor
Haitian flavor from Furitai, food area 1
This new vendor, a Haitian restaurant in Tremé, will debut with popular items from its regular menu.
Shrimp Pickliz ($12) is a cold cole slaw surrounding sweet shrimp and served with plantain chips hot with chili pepper fire.
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Haitian crab macaroni au gratin ($12) is a hearty, rich, comforting dish with crab clusters deeply immersed in a rich, buttery, creamy sauce.
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“Toasted Corn Ribs” ($8) are cut to nibble the kernels from curved “bones” sliced from the cob and drizzled with a roasted red pepper sauce for a very Creole flavor. .
Verdict: Shrimp pickliz is a must if you want some spice, corn is fun and macaroni may tempt a food coma at the fest.
Colombian food and drinks at the Cultural Exchange Pavilion
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This year we will celebrate Colombia in the Cultural Exchange Pavilion in the middle of the fairgrounds, where food and cocktails will also be served. This is a collaboration between the restaurant “Carmo” and the pop-up “Waska”.
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The vegetable ceviche ($9) has to be one of the healthiest dishes ever served at Jazz Fest. The shrimp version ($12) is bright, fresh, flavorful and even more interesting.
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The vegetarian empanadas ($7) get a nod over the chicken ($7), with plenty of gooey cheese coming out of the crispy cornmeal dough.
Frozen Coco Loco made with Aguardiente is not too sweet and has a refreshing tartness, perfect for a hot day ($13.50).
Verdict: Good value, Colombian-themed food with vegetarian options and great drinks.
Clesi's Seafood crawfish, food area 1
For many out-of-state visitors, this Jazz Fest booth may be the first time they've eaten boiled crawfish, or the first time they've tasted boiled crawfish in a while. Clesi's Rustaurant has the best dish here ($9), featuring straight-up, well-seasoned, juicy boils with good tail texture (yes, “tail texture” is a thing).
Clesi's offers crawfish étouffée ($10), a buttery, peppery take on the comfort food rarely seen in restaurants these days, and Cajun crawfish dirty rice, a mix of Louisiana fried rice. ($10). Flavors of ground beef and crawfish tails, and a spicy kick from the salty grains. We recommend eating it with boiled crawfish.
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One in-house mashup is Messy Cresi ($13), which is crawfish rice topped with etouffee for even more decadence.
Verdict: The crawfish stand is well managed and even those new to crawfish can enjoy authentic crawfish here.
Cracklin's is back from Chris' Specialty Foods, Food Area 1
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Cracklin' is a festival favorite that hasn't been a part of Jazz Fest for the past two years. We're back with new vendors. This time we have both pork cracklins and chicken cracklins ($8).
Verdict: Pork is much more satisfying. While chicken has a slightly chewy texture, pork lives up to its name with its crispy texture.
Ice pops in the kids area “Firefly Pops”
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These are no ordinary popsicles. The cafe au lait version has a mildly sweet cold coffee taste, and the chocolate-dipped Louisiana strawberries create a delicious contrast to the bright red fruit and chocolate shell. It even includes jazzy sprinkles, as if you were dressed up for a jazz fest. ($6 per piece)
Verdict: A delicious snack that not only kids will love but also enjoys local flavours.
New versions of old favorites
Pork remains and grits, calda, food area 2
This is essentially grilled and grits, but made with pork instead of the more common beef or veal.
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Whatever you call it, it's wonderfully flavorful. When you bite into the pork, it falls apart and absorbs the flavor. The grits are deep yellow and grainy, giving the whole thing a fresh pop.
Verdict: It won't jump off the menu, but this is shaping up to be a sleeper hit.
Crab, shrimp, tomato quiche, Marie's sugar dumplings, Congo Square
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Yolanda Casby missed the past two Jazz Fests, but this time she's back with a new quiche ($10). Each piece is made from palm-sized dough, rich in butter, flaky, and has a pleasant texture with a generous amount of cheese. Crab is folded in.
Verdict: Make this your Jazz Fest breakfast and your first taste to start your day.
Louisiana Crawfish Salad Roll, Papa Ninety Catering, Food Area 1
This is a reboot of similar dishes offered by past vendors. This version includes significant improvements.
The rolls were a bit sweet, but chewy and even more delicious, and the cold crawfish salad inside was plump and bursting with flavor in a creamy, lightly spicy dressing.
Verdict: Welcome back with a much improved dish perfect for hot days.
Hogshead Cheese, Vaucress Sausage Company, Food Area 1
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Jazz Fest's oldest vendor created this recipe by going back through his family's recipe books. Rich, cool, spicy, slightly tart and very flavorful, it is a recreation of the country tradition. Add a little bit of Vaucresson's own homemade mustard to take it to the next level.
Verdict: If you want a deep taste of Louisiana, give it a try. People with weak palates should stick to po-boys.
Banana Foster Cheesecake and Louisiana Strawberry Cupcake, Keyara's Praline, Food Area 1
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This Bananas Foster Cheesecake ($9) is creamy and rich, with a chip-like crunch of dried banana slices on top, a mouth-coating caramel sauce and a cracker-like crunch underneath. Comes with fabric.
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There's also the Strawberry Cupcake ($6), a cute presentation of a straight cupcake with a fluffy whip of strawberry frosting.
Verdict: Definitely try the cheesecake over the cupcakes.
BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich, Smoke Street Catering, Food Area 1
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This vegetarian sandwich ($10) has jackfruit instead of pulled pork. Chunks and bunches of cooked fruit have a vinegar-like sour taste, are stuffed into standard picnic bread and rolled with caramelized onions. If you want a vegan sandwich, skip the mayonnaise-based coleslaw.
Verdict: Good option for vegetarians, but won't tempt omnivores.
Shrimp Beignets, Patton's Catering, Food Area 1
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This is a small change in cuisine, but when it comes to Jazz Fest food, even the smallest changes matter. Typically, Patton's makes crawfish beignets that are served alone or as part of an epic combo plate with a bag of crawfish and an oyster patty. This shrimp version is an alternative version that has long been in Patton's repertoire.
Verdict: Put me on the crawfish team. I prefer the chewy texture of crawfish beignets, but the shrimp version means the combo plate has crawfish, oysters, and shrimp represented, which is pretty cool.
