A Journey into Louisiana: Poppy Tooker of Lousiana Eats on the New Orleans Roadfood Festival

This year only 11% of eligible voters participaed in the Louisiana Primary. The weather was beautiful and it was festival time so folks stayed outdoors. One of those festivals was the New Orleans Roadfood Festival. For it four blocks in the French Market were lined with dozens of top Roadfood cooks from New Orleans and all of Louisiana as well as from all across America, each offering a unique specialty. This was NOT typical and expected festival fare: it was a taste of America’s most celebrated dishes, all gathered in one place: a foodie’s dream. Many participants came from Louisiana but others came from as far away as Texas (Louie Mueller Barbecue of Taylor), Arizona (Tucson Tamale Company), and New York (Abbott’s Frozen Custard of Rochester). Portions were right-sized and priced to provide everyone a chance to taste the maximum number of great regional eats as they stroll through the French Market inhaling delicious smells that range from real Texas pit barbecue to Pecan Pie to artisan boudin sausage made by Cajun country’s most beloved butchers. There were book signings, cooking demonstrations and live music. There was even a Beignet Eating Contest. Our guest, acclaimed author and radio personality Poppy Tooker of Lousiana Eats talks about this unique event, about New Orleans and Louisiana as unique places and about the whole idea of Roadfood. http://www.neworleansroadfoodfestival.com/Events/ http://poppytooker.com/Home.html To hear the podcast go to: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=722