French Quarter Fest 2022 – Fri.

Friday, more of the eventual 20 stages of indigenous music and over-50 local food booths opened for French Quarter Fest. My favorite festival of the year, it’s also one of the city’s most profitable – generating an economic impact of $190 million in 2019.

We walked past the dance lessons in full swing at the French Market before starting our day near the Aquarium with Valerie Sassyfras of America’s Got Talent fame. Her memorable original, Girl’s Night Out, may not have gotten her past the second week of competition, but it made her a cult celeb.

Miss Sassyfras put on quite a show.

A Parade, 2 Festivals & Fireworks!

With a parade, 2 festivals, and fireworks – things felt almost back to normal this Independence Day weekend in New Orleans. Our normal is always a bit festive. The Creole Tomato Fest at the French Market featured (limited) food booths, virtual events, and trails of specialty menu items at participating bars and restaurants throughout the French Quarter. I was able to get my annual favorite – the Pontchartrain from George’s Produce ($10) – sliced tomato topped with lump crabmeat and remoulade sauce. 

The first NOLA Zydeco Fest took place next door on the lawn of the U.S. Mint, home to the New Orleans Jazz Museum.

Creole Tomato Fest 2017

The 31st annual Creole Tomato Fest delivered food, music, cocktails, food demos and the perfect backdrop to 2 parades, the Naked Bike Ride and the Gay Pride Parade (my next 2 posts). It was a warm, breezy day in the French Quarter so crowds were steady but lines weren’t too long. We headed straight for George’s Produce Co. for my favorite dish every year, The Pontchartrain – Sliced Creole Tomato topped with lump crab meat remoulade. So simple and so freaking good. We weren’t surprised when they won Best of the Fest’s “Tastiest Dish.”

Creole Tomato Fest, Naked Bike Ride and Festigals Parade (R-rated)

What a busy weekend in the French Quarter! The 29th French Market Creole Tomato Fest fed us music and delicious dishes all weekend while the women of Festigals partied and paraded and the World Naked Bike Ride rolled past bewildered tourists.

We started Saturday at the Creole Tomato Fest with my annual favorite, Sliced Creole tomato with lump crab and Remoulade dressing  ($7) from George’s Produce. Good thing because they sold out early. Paul Sanchez and his all female band played while we tried the  gator sausage and tomatoes ($7) from A Bite Outside, Who Dat Coffee Cafe‘s delicious Remoulade tossed with boiled shrimp with Creole tomato slices and a salad garnish ($7) and yummy Crawfish beignets with roasted corn and Creole tomato sauce ($6) from J’s Seafood Dock.

French Quarter Fest – Friday

We did a lot of roaming our second day of the 32nd annual French Quarter Fest starting at The Mint with a bowl of Pulled Pork over Roasted Corn & Cheese Grits ($7) from Squeal. We got a hug from Winks’ Dwight Henry, star of Beasts of the Southern Wild and 12 Years a Slave before making our way to the French Market where we watched a few minutes of a dance class. Then we walked along the river to Jackson Square for Ponchatoula Strawberry Shortcake ($5) from GW Fins.

Brothels, Bordellos and Ladies of the Night Walking Tour

Other than hitting Bourbon Street, I believe the city’s many walking tours and carriage rides must be the most popular tourist activity in New Orleans. Throughout the French Quarter and Garden District, people gather around stringently-licensed tour guides enlivening historical facts (and stories) about everything from architecture and colorful characters to above-ground cemeteries and Voodoo. At night, the Quarter is cluttered with criss-crossing groups of people wanting to learn more about the “most haunted city in America” from one of the city’s many spirit tours (Scary Mary is regarded as the most fact-based fun). But there are many stories locals tell each other that tourists seldom hear. The stories of the city’s brothels and the women who worked them are the subject covered by Two Chicks Walking Tours‘ unique Brothels, Bordellos and Ladies of the Night walking tour. 

Charleston, South Carolina and Litchfield Beach

This blog is almost always centered on New Orleans, but I left my beloved city for a week and we traveled with my niece to another city full of old manor homes, horse-drawn carriages and Civil War history – Charleston, South Carolina. Like NOLA, there was a large City Market. Our French Market may have more food but theirs went on forever and was often air conditioned. Charleston has its own French Quarter and even serves shrimp & grits at many of their local restaurants.

Creole Tomato Fest 2014

The Creole Tomato Fest continues to evolve in its 28th year. Now that the Cajun-Zydeco  Festival has moved to next weekend, the Tomato Fest has moved almost entirely to the French Market, but this year the layout was a lot easier to manage (thank goodness). With more manageable lines and crowds, we ended up eating far more starting with a beautiful Creole Tomato, Burratta Cheese & Pesto Sauce ($6) from The Three Muses.

French Quarter Fest 2014 – Saturday

With the weekend in full swing, all of the over-20 stages and dozens more food booths opened throughout the Quarter for day 3 of French Quarter Fest. The first day, we parked ourselves in front of the Abita Stage and watched masters of their craft all day. Friday, we enjoyed all that again as well as watching well over 100 children take the stage throughout the day.  Saturday, we hit every corner of the Fest – from the Mint to the Aquarium and from Bourbon Street to the river.

Creole Tomato and Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festivals

This weekend was the  27th annual Creole Tomato Fest and the 7th Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival.  I had been looking forward to the festivals for 2 main reasons – the amazing Heirloom Tomato Salad I get every year from Covey Rise Farms and the Sliced Creole Tomatoes topped w/lump crabmeat and Remoulade Dressing ($7) from George’s Produce. If I had kids, I would love this fest for its many activities for children. The Tomato Fest has miniature golf, circus arts, crafting, storytelling, swing dance lessons, face painting and a “decorate a secondline hanky” booth.