Festivals Acadiens et Creoles is upon us, and you need fuel for all that dancing you're going to do. The Bayou Food Festival at Festivals Acadiens et Creoles has an overwhelming number of choices that run the gamut from classic to unconventional.
First off, don't neglect to eat at least one Crawfish and Spinach Boat from New Iberia's Bon Creole Seafoods, Inc. It's only available at festivals and probably requires more than one stomach, but it's worth it. The creamy crawfish and spinach is ladled into an enormous boule bowl, which soaks up the crawfish concoction.
But what is South Louisiana food known for: the abundance of meat. Get the quintessential gator on a stick from J's Cajun's Unlimited Concessions, or frog legs from Lagneaux's. Grab a Cochon pulled pork sandwich with cucumber salad - but make sure to add some of the restaurant's signature barbecue sauce on top. For a snack, have a handful of cracklins from Charlie T's Specialty Meats.
For an unconventional meal, Big Wil & The Warden puts an interesting spin on the traditional gyro by roasting gator alongside lamb and beef on the spit; Southern Coast Bar-B-Q is stuffing tacos with brisket.
Seafood is also making an appearance, including in Fezzo's fried catfish topped with seafood etouffée. Just go for it - you won't be disappointed. Snack on seafood boudin balls from A-2-Fay, or a crawfish pistollette from Poupart's.
And for that inevitable sweet tooth, Carpe Diem! will be at the festival serving four different flavors of gelato, or try an ice pop from Geauxsicles or the ever-popular snowball from Taylor's Snowballs. Poupart's will be serving chocolate eclairs and cookies, Pat's Downtown will have peach cobbler and Poopsie's Beignets will have, of course, beignets and coffee.
Saturday and Sunday also hold cooking demonstrations for the Culture Sur la Table series. On Saturday, Chef Jude Tauzin from Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning will start the day at 1 p.m.; at 2 p.m. is Pamplona's Chef Kevin Hawkins; and finishing the day is Cochon's Chef Kyle Waters at 4 p.m.
Sunday's demonstrations start at noon with the Confrerie d'Abbeville's giant omelette presentation, followed by The French Press' Chef Justin Girouard at 1 p.m. At 3 p.m., learn how to make boudin from Johnson's Boucaniere; at 4 p.m., see a demonstration from Chef Manny Augello from Jolie's Louisiana Bistro.
Festivals Acadiens et Creoles takes place this weekend in Girard Park. For the complete food listings, click here. For the music schedule, click here.