Cajun French: la tomate (la tō-mat) — Tomato
HOT!
It’s summer, it’s New Orleans, it’s HOT!
Hot describes the last few weeks in south Louisiana. Okay so it is nothing out of the ordinary, it is still HOT! Some people may believe Southerns stay in the air conditioning and sip mint juleps – not so. We go out in the heat, dance, eat and enjoy festivals. The weekend of June 11th was the Vieux To Do Festival in New Orleans. Vieux To Do is three festivals in one – Cajun/Zydeco Music, Creole Tomato, and Seafood.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
First we ate, John’s priority and it was his birthday; Laurie’s would have been dancing, but we ate.
There is nothing more primal for a foodie in south Louisiana than the season’s first taste of fresh locally grown Creole Tomatoes. Top the tomato slices with lump crabmeat and remoulade sauce and this simple culinary combination delivers a complex mingling of flavors that Louisiana does so well. This dish was from George’s, a produce vendor on the west bank of New Orleans. George’s was a favorite of ours from last year and we went in search of his booth and we were not disappointed.
Next stop, charbroiled oysters from Ole New Orleans Cookery. Always a favorite, the oysters were as good or better than last year. Not wanting to be in a rut, we tried new vendors. Woody’s Fish Tacos met our expectation and were worth the purchase.
Although everything we ate this year was fantastic, the winner was Brocato’s Eat Dat Restaurant’s Shrimp Remoulade Wraps. The shrimp were sautéed with just the right seasoning, placed in a soft tortilla with cabbage and Remoulade sauce. It was so good we went home and developed our own version.
After eating our way through the vendor booths, dancing was next. We did a little Zydeco, waltzing, and two stepping and then….
We purchased Creole Tomatoes and went home to enjoy the taste of a Louisiana summer day!
Kudos that you two are able to stand the heat outside! Me-I am just sealed up in the house until it gets dark out. Then I get out and run around. Looks like it was a great time at the festival-the food looks awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the comment. The festival was a great time and the food was awesome. Life must go on even in the summer; we just move a little slower.
WOW – looking at your pictures of food, dancing and music does take me back to New Orleans, south Louisiana, that whole region. I love it! Looks like you had a great time at the festival. Thanks for the pictures!
Thanks for the comment. It was great fun and the food was fantastic. Having lived in Louisiana you know summer means heat — we just move a little slower.
Brings my Cajun blood out! Love this post and love your blog!
Thanks for the comment. Glad we can bring out that Cajun blood. Your blog is great, we will check it out often.