Musicians' Favorite Jazz Fest Food, Part 2

Getting through the short week, counting the minutes till it's Jazz Fest Thursday, getting back out there in your hat, comfy shoes and sunscreen. Jazz Fest is all about the music and the food. So we thought here at Eater NOLA that listening to musicians talk about food would be thematically appropriate. Earlier this week, we heard from members of the Soul Rebels brass band, and this week, we've got Kevin Harris from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and chanteuses Marcia Ball and Theresa Andersson, telling us what's what from the Jazz Fest talent point of view.

[Photo: Official Website/Dirty Dozen Brass Band]

Dirty Dozen's Kevin Harris (performing on Thursday, May 1, at 3:05pm on the Acura Stage) warns me, "I cook too well to go out to restaurants," bragging on his butter beans and okra gumbo. The butter beans are a hit with the grandkids, and the gumbo is all okra, no flour. Or onions. But it has a mess of everything else in it, he says. For visitors and tourists, he does recommend Jacque-Imo's - "You can't get no bigger portions than there." Also Mother's for their sample platter, to get a little bit of everything.

When he's at the Fairgrounds listening to music, he says, "I try to pace myself. That food is what gets me out!" He describes himself as a "seafood enthusiast," and digs on the softshell poboy and anything crawfish-related (boiled crawfish, crawfish etouffeé, crawfish poboy, crawfish sack, and so many more,) as well as red beans and rice. He warns, "If you're an eater, you can put on ten pounds easy," at Jazz Fest. "Maybe go hungry a couple days before."

[Photo: Facebook/Marcia Ball Band]

Echoing Harris's recommendation, singer-songwriter Marcia Ball says, "every other musician and most of the people I know love Jacque-Imo's." These days, she's also loving Maurepas Foods, Domenica, Cochon Butcher, and Lola's.

Ball's set is on Thursday, May 1, at 4:00pm on the Samsung Galaxy Stage, and lists her favorite Jazz Fest treats as the spinach salad with fried oysters from Vucinovich's Restaurant, the crawfish remoulade from Papa Ninety Catering (both found in Food Area I) as well as WWOZ's mango freeze.

[Photo: Instagram/Theresa Andersson]

Pescatarian Theresa Andersson (she says that she used to be a vegetarian before moving here) says she likes the "lighter fare" at Jazz Fest like the new spicy grilled tofu and veggies with peanut sauce from Gambian Foods in Congo Square, fried green tomatoes from Cajun Nights Catering, and the Caribbean grilled fish from Palmer's Jamaican Cuisine in Food Area I. She's also looking to beat the heat with the strawberry lemonade and the variety of fruit iced teas all over the Fairgrounds.

Andersson loves the growing options of vegetarian options in the city, citing Lily's Cafe on Magazine Street in the Lower Garden District for Vietnamese food and she loves the combination of olives, capers, chili, and basil on the Bianca pizza at Ancora on Freret Street. In the Bywater, she reports that she just had a great meal at Elizabeth's and is a big fan of Satsuma.

Andersson's set is on Friday, May 2 at 3:50pm on the Acura Stage.

· Theresa Andersson [Official Website]
· Marcia Ball [Official Website]
· Dirty Dozen Brass Band [Official Website]
· Jazz Fest Foods [New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival]
· All Jazz Fest Coverage [-ENOLA-]

— Nora McGunnigle