Inside Down South, French Quarter Fest Planning, More

NOLA— Check out Eater National's first look inside Donald Link's new cookbook Down South. Paula Forbes writes: "With Down South, one gets the impression that Link has not only broadened his field of influence to include the whole of the South, but also given himself the freedom to share the food he actually cooks for himself. Tradition be damned." [-EN-]

QUARTER— Here's a how to guide to French Quarter Fest in case you ain't never been dere done dat, dawlin. And by that, Eater means simultaneously downed alligator cheese cake, held a Hurricane in the crook of your elbow, and clapped along fanatically while Chris Owens twerks in her pantyhose. This years free event runs from April 10-13, 2014 with Dr. John headlining. [NOLA.com]

NOLA— Todd A. Price reports that food trucks are competing for spots to park along Mardi Gras parade routes in the city's vendor lottery this week: "On Thursday (Feb. 6), a lottery will be held and vendors who applied for permits will be assigned a number. On Saturday (Feb. 8), the vendors who drew low numbers will gather. As each number is called in order, the vendors will be able to pick one of the predetermined vending locations." [NOLA.com]

Down South [Photo: Eater]