In New Orleans, you’re always either eating or planning your next meal.
That was certainly the case today.
We worked up quite an appetite on our 15-minute walk to The Fair Grounds while strategizing about all the new foods we wanted to try on the first day of Jazz Fest 2024.
Treme Haitian restaurant Fritai’s debut at the festival was a highlight, and, in fact, was our unanimous favorite of the day, though it's pretty clear that the food vendors we sampled from are all bringing their A-games.
Shrimp pikliz from Fritai
Chef Charly Pierre’s culinary talents got him a spot competing in “Top Chef: Wisconsin” though he was recently eliminated. But after sampling the dishes in Food Area 2, we're wondering who needs “Top Chef” when you have a booth at Jazz Fest?
The shrimp pikliz at $12 packs a spicy punch, with grilled shrimp, pickled veggies, avocado and a splash of orange. It’s a lighter dish that comes with a serving of plantain chips and is on Ochsner’s “Eat Fit” menu, so naturally we had to balance that out with one of the heavier dishes, the Haitian crab macaroni au gratin, also $12.
Fans of Crawfish Monica might like this dish, which also contains a rich blend of pasta and seafood. It’s served piping hot. (Seriously, there were multiple trays, and we still had to hold it by the edges.) We demolished both it and the pikliz in no time at all.
If you’re more in the mood for a smaller dish, check out the toasted corn ribs, which at $8 come with roasted peppers and coconut cream. You can also get an order of crispy plantain chips for $6.
Carmo y Waska are a joint venture at Jazz Fest this year, serving up food with South American influences at the Cultural Exchange Pavilion.
The $12 shrimp ceviche was characteristically citrusy and refreshing –– and suprisingly creamy. That’s because it’s Colombian style and incorporates a dash of mayonnaise, along with tomato, onion, pepper, parsley and cilantro, all topped with a fried savory plantain. A sign on the booth proudly notes that dishes are exclusively made with Louisiana seafood.
There’s also a $9 vegetarian version made with mushrooms, tomatoes, squash, peppers and onion. Empanadas (fried, stuffed pastries) are also on the menu for a heartier option. You can get them for $7 with either chicken and potato, or potato and cheese as a vegetarian option. They come with a dollop of aji –– a fresh, green hot sauce for dipping.
A chicken and potato empanada from Carmo y Waska at Jazz Fest
Smoke Street’s BBQ jackfruit sandwich is a new option in Food Area 1 for vegans and vegetarians who have FOMO when it comes to barbecue, and it’ll fill you up for only $12. The jackfruit is a versatile ingredient that has become an increasingly popular substitute for meat, especially pulled pork. Its meaty texture easily absorbs lots of flavor, and that’s definitely the case for this version.
Smoke Street also doesn’t skimp on the serving size. The jackfruit concoction (which looks just like the real thing) spills out from between the large bun and is served with coleslaw, which vegans should skip.
For meat lovers, Smoke Street still offers real barbecue brisket sandwiches, along with barbecue chicken sandwiches and smokey bacon greens. They also have fried Brussels sprouts which are topped with feta (ask for no feta if you’re on a plant-based diet.)
Nearby, Patton’s Holy Jazz Fest Trinity — the crawfish sack, oyster patty and crawfish beignets — has been slightly modified this year with substitution of shrimp beignets due to the more expensive crawfish season. They have the same familiar warm, crispy exterior with remoulade sauce, just with a new interior. Get the whole trifecta for $24 or try them by themselves for $9.
Also new to the festival this year is Clesi’s Seafood Restaurant and Catering, which is also in Food Area 1. The Mid-City based restaurant is slinging its signature spicy crawfish for $9 a serving, along with Louisiana crawfish etouffee and its signature Cajun crawfish dirty rice, which both go for $10.
If you’re really hungry, grab an order of the “Messy Clesi,” which combines dirty rice and crawfish etouffee for $13. It comes highly recommended by the restaurant’s manager, who told us, “I ate it for breakfast, and then I ate it for lunch.”
Now, we’re off to take a disco nap. After all, eating is hard work.
Gambit will be out each day of the fest to capture all of the music, food and sights.
