Friday, May 4, 2012

Jazz Fest Food: Deep Fried in the South

Besides the crawfish, there were all sorts of great cajun foods -- most of them fried. Not all of them were hits, though.

Starting with the most impressive. The pheasant, quail and andouille gumbo was hot, rich and spicy, with crazy tender pieces of meat in a rich, fatty broth. It was a sacrifice to eat it in the hot sun, but we got this at least twice.


Then the cochon de lait po boy: slow roasted suckling pig. Tender and smoky. Scarfed down way too quick. We also tried the duck po boy, which wasn't as good, but still fairly awesome.


We might have skipped the crab cakes if our cab driver on the first day didn't swoon so hard over them. Fresh and meaty, with a smoked tomato and jalapeno tartar.


So ends the Jazzfest must-haves. The Cuban sandwich was really good, even though I'm not a huge fan of them. For some reason the line for this was consistently longer than everything else.


Cajun chicken and tasso over creole rice. Tasso, it turns out, is a kind of spicy creole pork. I only had a bite of this, but it was pretty good.


A little out of place but seriously delicious nonetheless: the curry chicken pattie:


In that same vein: grilled steak pita. This is what you wish steak, peppers and onions always tasted like together.


The spinach artichoke casserole was strange to eat straight up, without chips to dip in it. 


So we got our own. Sweet potato chips with powdered sugar. 
 

The crab stuffed mushrooms weren't as memorable. Neither was the cous cous with yogurt sauce, which was really more like yogurt soup with cous cous. Sweetened with a few dried fruits. The taste was there, the idea was there, the refreshing aspect was there... it was just a little off target.

  

Finally, the boudin balls. I enjoyed the dirty pork rice at Stanley, but it wasn't as great here. The meat inside was strange tasting.




I'll be back for more reviews of the true Jazzfest refreshments: drinks and desserts.


Pheasant, Quail & Andouille Gumbo, Crab & Crawfish Stuffed Mushrooms
Prejean's Restaurant

Lafayette, LA

Cochon de Lait Po-Boy
Love at First Bite

New Orleans, LA

Fried Crab Cake w/ Smoked Tomato & JalapeƱo Tartar
C.P.G. Catering

Mandeville, LA

Cuban Sandwich
Canseco’s Markets

New Orleans, LA

Cajun Chicken & Tasso w/ Creole Rice
Food for Thought

New Orleans, LA

Curry Chicken Pattie
Palmer's Jamaican Cuisine

New Orleans, LA

Dibbi (Grilled Steak on Pita), Couscous w/ Yogurt Sauce
Gambian Foods

New Orleans, LA

Spinach Artichoke Casserole
Ten Talents Catering

Covington, LA

Fried Sweet Potato Chips
Fatty’s Cracklins

St. Francisville, LA

Boudin Balls
Papa Ninety Catering

Belle Chasse, LA

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