Dessert was a great counterbalance to all the spicy food we ate in the Big Easy. Also, because most of it was cold and refreshing, we didn't feel bad indulging early in the day. And indulge we did! The one thing everyone kept coming back to was the mango freeze. A perfect scoop of creamy mango that tasted 100% like fresh ripe mango and nothing at all like ice. Super refreshing in the hot sun. Our last day at the festival, we lingered when everyone else headed out to savor their final mango freezes of the weekend.
The Louisiana Strawberry Ice was one of my personal favorites. It was a little heftier than the smooth mango, but packed the same fruit-powered punch without any iciness. So fruity and strong I swear it quenched my thirst.
The cannoli from the same Angelo Brocato's was maybe the best I've ever had. I like the frozen, ice creamy interior better than the typical room temp custard. Plus, it was spumoni flavored!
The gelatos we sampled were all rich, creamy and amazing. The standout was the affogato with chocolate azteca gelato. I'm used to affogatos with a single shot of espresso; this came with a heavy latte pour over spicy chocolate. It reminded me of the Mayan chocolate from Brooklyn Label. As my sister would say, "That's a pretty nice treat you have for yourself there, girlfren."
The white chocolate bread pudding was fantastic, if not a little overly sweet for me. The texture was absolutely perfect though. Enough to convince any bread pudding non-believer.
There were only a few desserts that didn't make the cut. The strawberries in the strawberry shortcake were fresh and firm, not soggy, but the "cake" was just a hardened piece of what... a shortbread cookie? Also, they had a bunch of these sitting out ready to go, which would be fine if 1) there was actually a line of people waiting and 2) they added the whipped cream at the last minute. I got food poisoning from whipped cream at a fair 8 years ago and it is not something you easily forget. So I ate around it.
Then the Sno cones. I remember them as being pretty special as a 7-year-old. Pictured is the King Cake flavor, which looks purple for some reason. It ended up being more of an enigma than anything else. "It looks like grape, but tastes like... ?" Someone finally nailed it down as an icy vanilla Coke.
Next year I have to remember to try the Roman chewing candy, cream puffs, pralines and the old fashioned hand made ice cream sandwiches. Ah, sweet regret!
Mango Freeze
WWOZ Community Radio
New Orleans, LA
Louisiana Strawberry Ice, Cannoli
Angelo Brocato’s Ice Cream & Confectionery Co
New Orleans, LA
Locally Made Artisan Gelato and Sorbetto
La Divina Gelateria
New Orleans, LA
White Chocolate Bread Pudding
Coffee Cottage
River Ridge, LA
Strawberry Shortcake
Cecelia Husing
New Orleans, LA
Sno-Balls
AJ’s Sno-Balls
Metairie, LA
