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Monday, 06 April 2009 08:06
Running with Knives
The Louisiana Roadfood Festival takes place on Royal Street between the 300 and 600 block. The intention is to celebrate the best of not only New Orleans’ restaurants but also the best of what the State of Louisiana has to offer in terms of gritty, down-home, unpretentious cooking. Nothing fancy about the grub found here, this is essentially the guts of what great food is and this is my journey down that road. Now, once on the street, I had no clue where to start.. so when lost, I look for the crowds. The Tabasco Country Store had a healthy following and doled out some mean eats. Gator On a Stick was sizzling on the grill and they also had a delicious Sausage Jambalaya (which included Alligator and Andouille Sausages)...the flavors were very deep and concentrated, one of the best I’ve ever had! 
We made our way to the next booth, Chad’s Bistro, and found some really great festivalgoers who were willing to exchange some of their Fried Artichoke for my Alligator Etouffee over Creamy Grits. Both items were delicious and had a great balance of textures when eaten together! Shortly after we stopped by The Que Crawl where two cool guys, Mike and Mika, were serving two excellent slow cooked poboys. The 12-hour Roast Beef Po Boy with Horseradish Cream and Pickled Red Onions and the Cochon De Lait (Slow Roast Pulled Pork). My favorite of the two was the Roast Beef.. the meat was meltingly tender with a perfect compliment of red onions and horseradish cream. The bread wasn’t the typical run of the mill French bread; their bread is sourced from a local Vietnamese bakery called Dong Phoung. This definitely helped to put their sandwich over the top!
At this point we’ve eaten enough food to fill a 10 Course Tasting Menu made by some of Louisiana’s finest restaurants. But in order to do justice to the festival, I had to stop by just a few more stands and pick up the last few items I’d been eyeing. At Dave’s Cajun Kitchen and Nicholas Catering we were greeted by three very welcoming people.. Tommy (Nicholas Catering), Jerome (Dave’s Cajun Kitchen), and Norma. Nicholas Catering made the Red Beans and Rice, Giant Turkey Legs, and even Almond Flavored Tea Cookies! The Red Beans had a good texture but needed just a touch of hot sauce to make it hit right. And when you think Cajun you normally don’t think of Almond Cookies, but they were surprisingly delightful! Dave’s Seafood Gumbo was enjoyable; it started with a slight sweetness followed by a full, rich finish. It’s exactly what I expect when eating a good gumbo!
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