What to Eat at the New Orleans Jazz Fest

By: Sara Levine
Jazz Fest food stalls

At the annual New Orleans Jazz Festival, which kicks off this weekend, food doesn’t play second fiddle. In fact, the Fest could be double-billed as a full-fledged food festival. Regulars — locals and visitors alike — love to hop from stage to stage at the sprawling fairground, dancing to everything from gospel choirs to Billy Joel to Trombone Shorty. But Jazz Fest fans also give serious consideration to their food agendas, making sure to hit favorite stands year after year. We like to zone in on the vendors who serve unique dishes that are hard to come by outside of this two-weekend event.

Crawfish Bread

One such dish is the crawfish bread, a garlicky, cheesy half-loaf of French bread stuffed with crawdads. This pizza-sandwich hybrid-of-sorts easily disproves the “no cheese with seafood” myth.

Crawfish Monica

Crawfish are abundant at the fairground — you could spend an entire day sampling them in different preparations. Another perennial favorite is Crawfish Monica, in which rotini pasta is tossed with a creamy, seafood-rich sauce and lots of meaty crawfish.

Meat Pies

Moving into meatier territory, the Natchitoches meat pies are a must. Think empanadas, spiced Cajun-style. My Louisiana-native husband grew up eating these as a regular snack — even some local gas stations make them from scratch! — but the ones served at the Fest are in a class all their own.

Cochon de Lait Po'boy

Consider the aforementioned dishes “small plates,” if you will. Come lunchtime, you’ll want to head back to the food stalls for a cochon de lait po’boy. Outside the Fest, fried shrimp and roast beef are our po’boys of choice, but nothing beats this slow-roasted suckling pig at the fairground.

Jambalaya

Some classic New Orleans dishes just taste better at the Festival. My Louisiana family agrees that the jambalaya is top-notch. There are a few vendors who serve different versions, so look out for a helping of andouille-studded rice that’s brown, not red. Authentic jambalaya has no tomato.

Mango Freeze

Nothing beats a sunny day at Jazz Fest, but spring temperatures in New Orleans can be summertime-hot. To beat the heat, it’s all about the mango freeze — a sweet-tart sorbet made with nothing but fresh mangoes, water and a little sugar.

Can't make it to Jazz Fest? Browse Cooking Channel's Cajun recipes for a taste of New Orleans at home.

On TV

Carnival Eats

7:30am | 6:30c

Cheap Eats

8am | 7c

Cheap Eats

8:30am | 7:30c

Cheap Eats

9am | 8c

Cheap Eats

9:30am | 8:30c

Good Eats

10am | 9c

Good Eats

10:30am | 9:30c

Good Eats

11am | 10c

Good Eats

11:30am | 10:30c

Man v. Food

6pm | 5c

Man v. Food

6:30pm | 5:30c

Man v. Food

7pm | 6c

Man v. Food

7:30pm | 6:30c
On Tonight
On Tonight

Man v. Food

8pm | 7c

Man v. Food

8:30pm | 7:30c

Man v. Food

9pm | 8c

Man v. Food

9:30pm | 8:30c
10pm | 9c
11pm | 10c

Man v. Food

12am | 11c

Man v. Food

12:30am | 11:30c

Man v. Food

1am | 12c

Man v. Food

1:30am | 12:30c
2am | 1c
3am | 2c
What's Hot

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

Sundays 10|9c

So Much Pretty Food Here