Jazz fest 2005

[Bond Girl]

I will be in New Orleans for a conference that overlapp with Jazz Fest this year, dates are 4/27 to 4/30. Are there any places that I must visit? I had eaten at NoLa a few years ago, but was not very impressed, and am looking for other alternatives.

[saturnbar]

The Petite Grocery has been putting out some very good food since opening last summer, and Herbsaint is always a good bet, but if your are headed out to the Fairgrounds, you might not have room for anything afterwards. The softshell crab poboys are always a treat. Uglesich's for lunch before they close is a must. Reservations are an especially good idea that weekend. Jazz Fest attracts a pretty sophisticated crowd. Take a look at some of the older threads, there are alot of recommendations to be found and if you need something more specific I am sure you will get an answer. Charlie

[joiei]

try Marisol

[Mayhaw Man]

Chez Fairgrounds is my dining spot of choice for seven of the next ten or so days. Casual dress is encouraged. No reservations required. Music and Dancing Daily.

The problem with making a bunch of dining reservations during the Jazz Festival is timing. There is no way to catch the end of the last act (7:15) get to your hotel (let's say 8 just for the sake of argument) take a shower and get to the restaurant (let's say 9) and not just be beat before the end of dinner. I think that it is much better to only eat out big maybe once and just hit places that are more casual in the evening. Of course, my entire opinion is based on the fact that I go see music for much of the night every night for a week, and eating big meals just gets in the way.

But, since you insist, I will make a new list and post it. Some things have changed recently from some of the lists in the forum-although some things haven't so make sure to read over those.

[Luckylies]

hey pockyway!!!!!!! see you guys sooooooooon. I'm flying down first weekend with my boyfriend coming back to nyc, and then flying back second wkend by myself. See you at the fest!!!!!!

who's going to be there?

[bavila]

I'll be there, probably just on April 30. Hoping for a dinner at Upperline Friday, breakfast at Elizabeth's and dinner at Liborio's (or something easy) on Saturday, and Sunday brunch at Cafe Marigny -- based on the entries from Maggie the Cat. We'll also be hitting some serious crawfish and other local specialties while visiting my parents in Lafayette. Gotta fit beignets into the plan somehow...

[Paris M]

I second Marisol's. I also found good, cheap eats at the Royal Cafe in the Quarter.

[KatieLoeb]

Uglesich's for lunch - it's the only thing they serve. They're awesome folks and the food is great. I had the rare pleasure of trying it at my restaurant in Philly for Book & the Cook this year.

Sadly this institution is closing soon, so this might be your last chance.

Say howdy to Gail for me if you go!

[zeman]

Mayhaw Man: My exact sentiments! Food takes a backseat during the Fest! I'm leaving today. See you on line. There are much better places than the overated Ugis

[phlawless]

my vote would be for uglesich's as well...make sure to get a bloody mary!

[docbrite]

I third (or is it fourth?) Marisol. I've seen some complaints on here about their service, but the situation has improved, and they are still serving what I believe to be hands-down the most interesting and innovative food in New Orleans. If you want raw or fried oysters, I recommend Casamento's over Uglesich's.

[SusanGiff]

We're coming down Thursday night. The one time we made a restaurant reservation for a Jazz Fest night (can't even remember where) we had to cancel--too tired, too full, too rushed to make it there on time. Now we just consider the Fairgrounds our restaurant and have lunch and dinner (and dessert, and snacks) there and use it as an opportunity to try more new and different stuff.

"Better places than Uglesich"--I'm sure you're right, but don't tease me! What are they?

Susan

[Mayhaw Man]

I love Uglesich's. Had lunch there last week-and I can tell you that if I had not been with someone who had "the hookup" (kids today, such colorful lingo!) I would have been on the sidewalk for two hours waiting to get in. I love it, and if I was from out of town I might be willing to wait for two hours for the experience and the food, but not as a local with so many other totally worthy options. This week, you can expect the lines to be much worse than last week. If you have never had the chance, just wait in line. You'll be glad you did. And, this being New Orleans, you will probably make some great new friends while you are waiting (and thanks to out civilized drinking rules, you can enjoy a soothing beverage or two while you wait without fear of trouble from the container police )

Don't forget the MoFest this Monday and Tuesday! There is a particularly funky lineup on Tuesday night. Let me know if you are going to be around, I'll buy you a beverage out on the Riverfront.

There are lots of great "in-stores this week in some pretty odd locations, make sure that you check out the Gambit and Offbeat for the listings.

[bavila]

Thanks y'all for keeping my appetite whet for the Fest. We're packing up tomorrow and heading out Wednesday. Can't wait. Just gotta meet a couple of deadlines before then. Grrr...

So what's good to eat at the Fairgrounds this year?

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

be sure to try the takee outee in the quarter

seriously try Johnny's Po-Boy, if you like such:

Johnny's Po-Boy

Edited April 25, 2005 by Bolivar Petit Corona (log)

[Luckylies]

The Petite Grocery has been putting out some very good food since opening last summer, and Herbsaint is always a good bet, but if your are headed out to the Fairgrounds, you might not have room for anything afterwards.  The softshell crab poboys are always a treat.  Uglesich's for lunch before they close is a must.  Reservations are an especially good idea that weekend.  Jazz Fest attracts a pretty sophisticated crowd.  Take a look at some of the older threads, there are alot of recommendations to be found and if you need something more specific I am sure you will get an answer.  Charlie

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went to petit grocery, eh...nothing mindblowing but a nice wine list, pleasant atmosphere

as for the fair grounds.... some favorites of this year

cochon du lait po boy

crawfish pie

boiled crawfish

ribs and meaty beans with coleslaw

cocunut macaroons

soft shelled crab po boy

crawfish monica

cracklins

fried eggpland with crawfish sauce

fried green tomatoes

crawfish bread

vanilla taffy (roman candy)

[Kim WB]

So, just came back from Jazz fest. Enjoyed my standard's: breakfast at Brennan's, brunch at Commander's. A lucky dog, and a muffelatta at Central Grocery, Oysters at Acme, Crawfish at French Market. Went to NOLA ( request of a companion) and Upperline. both were just...terrible. Reviews to follow, if I feel like reliving it. Delmmonico was a pleasure. Also went to Eunice , LA, first to Ruby's for ah2fay and then to Johnson's Grocery for boudain. Best meal of the long weekend, bar none. Had a lovely boysenberry sorbet at the Festival.

Edited April 26, 2005 by Kim WB (log)

[SusanGiff]

I love Uglesich's. Had lunch there last week-and I can tell you that if I had not been with someone who had "the hookup" (kids today, such colorful lingo!) I would have been on the sidewalk for two hours waiting to get in. I love it, and if I was from out of town I might be willing to wait for two hours for the experience and the food, but not as a local with so many other totally worthy options. This week, you can expect the lines to be much worse than last week. If you have never had the chance, just wait in line. You'll be glad you did. And, this being New Orleans, you will probably make some great new friends while you are waiting (and thanks to out civilized drinking rules, you can enjoy a soothing beverage or two while you wait without fear of trouble from the container police )

I'm really happy to hear you say that! I was just saying to my husband this morning that I could understand being from or near NO and being downg about the tourists and the lines, but I really couldn't imagine that food gets too much better than Uglesich's, even down there. Our plan is for Chris to take his morning run, pass by the restaurant, check out the line and call me at the hotel (where I'll be lyin' in with the kids) if it looks remotely doable. This would be Friday morning. I'm not optimistic. As you no doubt know, there was a HUGE story in the New York Times about the restaurant this very morning, which should make a difficult situation completely impossible. But we've both been, and while we'd be sad to miss it, we've got our memories to keep us warm. As well as a mess of food at the festival. We'll be okay. Really.

Thanks for the tips--we'll be gone by mo fest, but it's certainly something to keep in mind for the future.

Susan

[Bond Girl]

So far so great. I blow into town on Wednesday with three colleagues on the pretext of a finance conference but everyone knew that the real draw was the Jazz Fest. Weather couldn't have been better, mild mid 80's with bright sunshine.

My first dinner was at Herbsaint, a neat little restaurant on St. Charles. Herbsaint had modern decor with white panel walls and black and white photographs on the wall. The decor echos the modern twist on the classic cajun food. I had the seafood gumbo which was made with a dark roux that had a smoky flavor from the sausages and an intense but subtle spiciness that seemed to build as you go along. My colleague Evette had the shrimp bisque, which radiate the sweet salty aroma of a good seafood soup base, and the texture was velvety, again with a subtle spiciness. The classic shrimp and grits was also a winner, sweet sweep balanced with the hearty grits brightened by bits of Jalapeno.

The entree special was a nut crusted halibut with corn, fava beans, and bacon. The crunchy crust on the halibut provided an interesting texture against the corn and fava beans. But the fava beans were slightly undercooked, although Jennifer, who ordered that dish didn't seemed to mind. The Salmon seemed to also be a crowd pleaser served with fried polenta and olive vinegrette. The skin on the salmon was seared to a perfect cracker like crunchiness, while the center was lovely and moist. But the polenta was too salty against the olive dressing. I was told that George's hanger steak with french fries was on the salty side, but Mark, who had the rabbit thought it was the best rabbit he ever tasted.

Dessert at Herbsaint was good but not great. The chocolate baignets were unexciting against the food, and the chocolate pecan tart likewise fell in the good but not great category.

Tomorrow: Restaurant August.

[docbrite]

Tomorrow: Restaurant August.

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I'll be interested to hear what you think of this one. I think it is probably the third most overrated restaurant in New Orleans (after Bayona and Jacques-Imo's), but almost everybody in the world seems to disagree with me.

[Kim WB]

I wwent to Bayonna for the last 3 visits to NOLA, and bitterly missed it this past trip..I think its a real gem. An in the know bartender told me (too late ) that August was my best bet, but it was too late to reserve by then.

[TAPrice]

August runs a great deal at lunch: $20.05 for a three-course meal. In fact, I think that's the only option at lunch.

[Bond Girl]

Day 2 of the Jazz Fest: On my colleague, George's insistences we all piled into a taxi and headed for Uglesich's. Never mind that it was 2 pm and we have a reservation at August for 6:30. We are all going and that was that. The line was down the block when we arrived and as New Yorker's used to the typical 45 minutes to an hour wait, we all thought no problem. Standing at the sidewalk, I decided to take in the scenary.

Uglische's stands on a street corner next to parking lot. Across the street, there is a boarded up house with rusted railing and broken stairs, which standing next to a very well kept house with gas lit lamp and chairs on the veranda. The restaurant itself is a shack with cement floors and bars on the window. The sinks were piled high with oysters packed in ice and mud. There was large plastic garbage can at the end of the counter with flies circling around it.

While this is nothing for any New Orleander to raise an eyebrow at, for a high maintenance New York princess, it was disagreeing with my demanding sensibilities.

As we approach the door, I discover that one of the reason there is a line out the door is that Anthony Uglische greets each guest individually and chit chats while taking down the order and signing his cookbook. By the time we sat down, George, who happened to like talkiing to strangers, had gotten the latest updates on the whole Uglische family, and I was having serious doubts on if the food was really worth it.

And it was. Some of it, at least. The crawfish ball was a juicy delight of flavors heightened by the sauce it came with. The potato souffle was light an airy mousse with a homey hint of cinnamon and a full bodied flavor of vanilla. There was also crunchy and tangy cole slaw that cuts the dense flavor of the spices we had. While the three appetizers send us to high heaven, the BBQ shrimp fell flat reeking of garlic. The shrimp uggie was nice and spicy but it was swimming in a puddle of grease. We wanted to order Po Boys but they were out of bread, and we couldn't have oysters because they didn't have any sauces. But, somehow, you forgive all that, because Uglische has charm, history and character. And, when the dishes that were good, they were really great.

As parting word, Gail Uglische said to me: "I know where you are going tonight. I had good meals there, but it is very very expensive."

With those parting word, we all piled back into a cab and bounded for August.

[Mayhaw Man]

While this is nothing for any New Orleander to raise an eyebrow at, for a high maintenance New York princess, it was disagreeing with my demanding sensibilities.

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Eyebrow? That's nothing. We'll stand in a foot of water if there is some good food to be had. We know that it's all about the food and not so much about the atmosphere. As my friend Fred Flames says, "New Orleans is a city with a very low standard of living and a very high quality of life." That's pretty much the truest thing that I have ever read about New Orleans.

Except for my pal Bux, who recently opined,

"Nobody in New Orleans understands clean living and outdoor exercise"

[Bond Girl]

Brook, that photo is priceless! It's the very same table that I had my boiled crawfish at yesterday before heading off to the Better than Ezra performance.