New Orleans FoodFest
The last weekend in March is a great time for a Road Trips Foodie to be in New Orleans, Louisiana — specifically at the French Market on March 28, 29 and 30, 2014.
That’s ’cause it’s FoodFest — a weekend-long celebration of America’s hometown eats: the unforgettable, informal fare found in village cafes and city neighborhoods, shoreline seafood shacks, barbecue parlors, chicken dinner halls, pie palaces and food trucks.
Cooks from all over the country come to make and serve their regional specialties to foodies strolling through the French Market, from Yankee chowder to Tucson tamales and from Memphis barbecue to genuine mint juleps, everything is a great American classic.
A sampling of America’s Hometown Sweets (chocolates, cookies, candies, cakes, pies) will be served up at Café Reconcile, 1631 Oretha C Haley Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana. Tickets for this kickoff event are $50.
From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 29, 2014, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 30, 2014, four blocks in the French Market will be lined with dozens of America’s best hometown eats.
The ultimate French Quarter eating competition takes place at 1 p.m. March 30, 2014, in the French Market. The New Orleans Fire Department will field a team of its top eaters to determine which of them can eat the most beignets in the least amount of time. The contest also will feature an open competition for all who have the appetite and courage to compete in the Beignet Big League.
FoodFest began five years ago as the New Orleans Roadfood Festival, spun out of the website Roadfood.com, which was founded in 2000 by Stephen Rushmore and Jane and Michael Stern.
(Photo courtesy of FoodFest)
