Before attending the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience (May 21 through 24), I recommend a fast. Light, leafy greens. Juices. If you can somehow manage to subsist on air for a few days, give it a shot. Because when you enter a convention hall roughly the size of an airplane hangar for the Grand Tasting, you’re going to need all the appetite you can muster.
New Orleans has always been a food lover’s town. In addition to boasting some of the best chefs in the country, no other city claims a cuisine as unique as Cajun and Creole. Local seafood rules the menus, spouting tiny crawfish tails, meaty Gulf shrimp and endless varieties of fish. Smoky, spicy sausages drip with flavor, infusing whatever they touch with fatty meaty juice. And restaurants serve meals with quintessential Southern hospitality: you’re their closest friend, and you are not leaving hungry.
The multi-day annual event, which I attended last year as a media guest, offers something for any foodie at all price points. NOWFE kicked off with wine dinners showcasing some of the festival’s top wineries by pairing them with some of the city’s top restaurants. For around $100, guests can enjoy a multi-course meal from New Orleans institutions like Commander’s Palace and Arnaud’s, paired with topnotch wines from around the country.
The Royal Street Roll in the heart of the French Quarter (just a block away from Bourbon Street) highlights the city’s love of art, jazz and food. The road is closed off for the evening, and shop owners throw open their doors to welcome attendees. Armed with our complimentary wine glasses (the first of several that weekend), we popped in and out of galleries, sampling wines and ogling everything from antique jewelry and muskets to local artists at work.
Out on the street, restaurants handed out sample after sample of quintessential NOLA cuisine. Crawfish tails and rice bobbed in thick, fragrant roux or swam atop silky grits. Boudin sausages and chicken thighs smoked in the largest black drum grill I’d ever seen. And the shrimp in dozens of dishes was plump and meaty; I can’t look at a bag of frozen prawns the same way again.
And because no New Orleans festival would be complete without a taste of Mardi Gras (even in the middle of May), the Krewe of Cork paraded down Royal Street in all their Mardi Gras finery. Only in this city is it a civic duty to don togas, pink wigs and masks and cavort in the street with wine and beer.
The Grand Tasting takes place Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. The convention hall transforms into a kind of trendy nightclub full of thumping music, colored lights and well-heeled attendees. The hall is divided into 12 to 13 stations, each with a dozen or so restaurants, wineries and other food vendors passing samples. Chefs at NOLA establishments like Brennan’s rub shoulders and trade bites with young chefs making a national splash at places like Root.
Classic Southern fare, like Brennan’s Classic Bananas Foster or Arnaud’s Shrimp and Corn Maque Choux, is readily available, but even those who don’t care for Creole and Cajun food will find plenty to try. One of my top dishes came from Domenica: a piece of grilled, house-made ciabatta topped with a luscious local ricotta cheese and savory date and pecan pesto. The more adventurous can sample molecular gastronomic creations like bourbon foie gras ‘dippin dots’ or flambéed duck hearts. With close to 100 vendors, you won’t be able to sample everything, but that didn’t stop us from trying.
For a truly one-on-one experience with chefs and vintners, sign up for a few seminars during the day on Friday and Saturday. In just two days, I developed a greater understanding and appreciation of how to taste wine and properly pair it with food. The best part of these seminars (aside from the phenomenal food and wine) is the chance to chat with top chefs about the concepts behind their food. Last year included the first outdoor seminar, a celebration of Israeli street food from chefs Alon Shaya of Domenica and Michael Solomonov of Zahav. Outside on a warm day, the chefs grilled up kebabs and handed out generous portions of crispy falafel and creamy hummus with all the traditional fixings (gherkins, eggs and stewed tomatoes, to start). A cold Israeli beer and an engaging conversation about sustainable Louisiana seafood with a man who turns out to be chef at Borgne is a pretty fantastic way to cap the day.
Each event comes with a price tag, and depending on your budget, you may only attend the Royal Street Roll or one night of the Grand Tasting. But whatever you choose, Southern hospitality means you will always leave fully sated—and then some.
>>If you have the budget and the appetite, a few of the big-ticket items at NOWFE may be just up your alley.
[vip grand taster package]
This package gives you VIP access to six of the daytime seminars. Classes last year included Champagne tastings, pairing Asian food with wine, and how to choose proper stemware for your wine. One thing is certain: You will leave knowing how to do far more than pair red meat with red wine. Your VIP pass also earns you a ticket for a premium wine tasting, the Royal Street Roll, and both nights of the Grand Tasting. Keep in mind it does not include a gym membership.
[the gateaux show]
Last year’s late-night entertainment included bubbly, pastries and burlesque. Those who somehow still had room left headed over to the Royal Sonesta Hotel, where local pastry chefs competed for a $5,000 prize. And the suggestively clad dancers? Let’s assume they were there for added inspiration.
[funkin’ it up]
The premier event of the weekend, the Funkin’ It Up dinner, served as both the awards dinner and a gala benefit for the John Besh Foundation. Attendees enjoyed an elaborate meal created by Besh himself, live music, auctions and the chance to chat up some of the nation’s top chefs. The after-party offered more good times, great bands and yes, more food.
[stay]
If you’re looking for a place to sleep off your food coma, New Orleans has dozens of chi-chi boutique hotels, as well as grand international chains. My room at Hotel Monteleone, one of the French Quarter’s oldest boutique hotels, was luxurious and full of intricate, Old World detail. And it was conveniently located no more than 1 mile from any event. Other hotels like the Hyatt Regency and the New Orleans Downtown Marriott host some NOWFE events in their ballrooms and are just a few steps from the Grand Tasting, making it easy to head home safely at the end of a long day.
Photos by Catherine Klene
