Got Gumbo? 2016

United Way‘s Got Gumbo? is one of my favorite annual events. A tasty gathering of over a dozen competing restaurants, the event is hosted in the Royal Sonesta by General Manager Mr. Alfred Groos,  creator of Got Gumbo? Participants compete for Best Traditional Gumbo, Best Seafood Gumbo, Best Exotic Gumbo and Best Vegetarian Gumbo as well as the People’s Choice for Best Dessert, Best Float (decorated table display) and Best Gumbo. Multiple chefs compete in multiple categories – each offering their very best – it’s like going to “gumbo heaven” complete with fun table displays and charitable gumbo-lovers (United Way  receives the $25 ticket price as well as the bar).  

Got Gumbo? 2015

This was my 5th Got Gumbo? event benefitting the United Way and it’s one of my favorite annual evenings. At the Royal Sonesta, 15 restaurants provided up to 4 dishes each to compete for Best Traditional Gumbo, Best Seafood Gumbo, Best Exotic Gumbo and Best Vegetarian Gumbo as well as the People’s Choice for Best Dessert, Best Float (decorated table display) and Best Gumbo. That’s 15 restaurants, each with multiple chefs, competing in up to half a dozen categories each so you can eat yourself silly surrounded by fun table displays and charitable gumbo-lovers (United Way  receives the $25 ticket price as well as the bar).  And, of course, there’s a band – Rick Trolson’s New Orleans Po’Boys.

Got Gumbo? 2014

Gumbo is the perfect metaphor for our city, our music and our culture – all of the ingredients work together without ever losing their individual flavors. This was my 4th United Way’s Got Gumbo? at the Royal Sonesta but the contest has been running for 14 years. I had a friend visiting from out of town who’d been here a week and hadn’t eaten anywhere outside of his hotel and national chains. He joined us and got to taste over 20 restaurants competing in 4 categories of gumbo: traditional, seafood, exotic and vegan. Way to make up for lost time!

Favorite Things in NOLA 2013

The categories are: Food & Beverage, Music & Entertainment, Culture, Shopping and Giving & More. Anything named previously in my Favorite Things in NOLA 2012 is marked with an Asterix*. Most items have links to their site, but if you’d like to know more, use the search window on the right to find photos, videos, history and stories.

This year, I’ve added a gallery of photos. The first photos are of items listed and the last half are of stuff I love in New Orleans from Creole tomatoes to Ashley the Traffic Tranny.

I’m also revealing Your Favorite Posts of 2013.

3 – Saints Soundtrack Vol. 2

2 – Street Musicians – Tanya and Dorise

1 – Endymion Extravaganza – My First Ball! – which is also your favorite post of all time.

Got Gumbo? 2013

This was my third trip to the Got Gumbo? event benefitting the United Way and it’s fast becoming one of my favorite annual evenings. This year, 17 chefs and restaurants provided up to 4 dishes each to compete in the categories of Best Traditional Gumbo, Best Seafood Gumbo and Best Exotic Gumbo as well as the People’s Choice for Best Dessert, Best Float (decorated table display) and Best Gumbo. Do the math and you see that it’s an evening of eating yourself silly surrounded by whimsical tables and charitable gumbo-lovers (United Way  receives the $25 ticket price as well as the bar). The event is held at the Royal Sonesta. You may recall that my last trip to the Sonesta involved dropping my hoop skirt and greasing a pole to kick off the final weekend of Mardi Gras.

Po-Boy Fest, Saints and Treme

What a day to live in New Orleans. Sunday was the 6th annual Oak Street Po-Boy Festival. About 50,000 people pack into a few blocks lined with po-boy vendors and try as many different po-boys as they can, washing it down with plenty of Abita Beer. I’m not really into sandwiches and yet I really look forward to this fest every year. Like the Got Gumbo? event at the Royal Sonesta, over 30 vendors bring at least one po-boy offering so the level of creativity can be outstanding and you never know what flavor combinations you might find.

Got Gumbo? 2012

Where can you get all-you-can-eat gumbo from over 20 NOLA restaurants and help out the United Way? The annual Got Gumbo? event at the Royal Sonesta in the French Quarter. With competitions for best traditional, seafood and exotic gumbos, the chefs show off their best recipes on tables decorated as parade floats complete with throws. There’s even a dessert competition.

Favorite Things in NOLA 2011

I continue to accumulate favorite things about New Orleans, but here’s my second year favorites in a nutshell. Anything named previously in my Favorite Things in NOLA 2010 is marked with an Asterix*. Though there are too many “ties,” revealing an inability to “just pick one,” I promise you there were so many more things I wanted to include, so many more people and places I felt deserved mentioning.

Got Gumbo?

Tonight, I attended the 11th Annual Got Gumbo? cook-off at the Royal Sonesta in the French Quarter. My taste-buds are still after-glowing. The ballroom was lined with tables from 20 different local restaurants competing in up to 6 categories. Half were judged by a panel and the other half were determined by our votes. There was even a Jazz band. What fun!