Crawfish Monica, just one of the must-try foods at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest. This weekend is the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The music ranges from the sublime (the gospel tent) to the ridiculous (Billy Joel on the Acura stage), but there is also food. In their wisdom, rather than providing the standard concessionaire fare, the guiding spirits of Jazz Fest have a competitive, juried process for getting food selling space inside the Fairgrounds. The entire thing takes place inside of a horse race track, which should give some sense of the scale. I had suggested an overview of these offering might be interesting for SE readers, and arrived at the... More

The most amazing thing about Jazz Fest, and what makes it unique from most music festivals these days, is that the food has yet to be co-opted by big business. Every stand is a different restaurant or caterer from Louisiana, and no two places serve the same dish. Each has its unique specialty, and with five food areas and more than 60 vendors, there's a lot to eat. You must have a game plan. Inside, the Five Must-Have Jazz Fest Foods. More