music

Big Appetite for Jackson

The Scene

Jackson has a large appetite just waiting to be satisfied.

This past weekend Appetite for Jackson was the buzz around town. It was a free event featuring $5 plates from local restaurants, craft beer and area bands – a trifecta of fun benefiting the Craig Noone scholarship. And Andrew Zimmern was going to be there. Needless to say, I was pumped!

A Travel Channel television host and food personality, Andrew Zimmern has made a name for himself eating the bizarre and unknown, among other ventures. He was in town filming for a future show (Appetite for Life – I believe), getting a full taste of the South. My closest brush with his celebrity was being able to take a photo and observe as he expertly worked the crowd.

Entering the beautiful Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art, the party was in full swing at four in the afternoon.

The event had drawn a remarkably large crowd on a somewhat blustery January day. There were extremely long lines (Disney World worthy) everywhere, for everything. I stood in three lines before giving up due to the wait and discovery they had run out of food. A long night laid ahead because after just over two hours vendors were running out of food left and right, they had at least four hours to go.

My husband wandered off in search of food and returned triumphantly holding two containers of sushi from the Wasabi Sushi and Bar booth. He rescued me from a minor hunger meltdown. I don’t know if it was the desperation or the eight hours since my last meal talking, but the sushi was wonderful.

Trying to hold out for the music but growing colder as the sun crept toward the horizon, we ended up walking to The Elite.

I love everything about this event and hope it returns next year with a vengeance, plus a few improvements. I’m no professional planner but a small flyer of the vendor booth layout, short line dividers, clearer details on the website and more food (and drink) would be extremely beneficial. Being the inaugural year, it has room to evolve. (I’d help!)

I’ve always been surprised at how few events are held downtown, despite the fact that Jackson is the biggest city in the state and the capital. Observing the high turn out and enthusiasm from this event alone, it’s clear the desire exists. Let’s hope Appetite for Jackson returns bigger and better next year, our stomachs are counting on it.

Appetite for Jackson
http://www.appetiteforjackson.com

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

Crawfish Bread, yuummm

I’m not sure what’s harder to believe, that we attended the first Jazz Fest unscathed by rain in 12 years or I only ate two things all day!

Last year we had tickets to Jazz Fest but I was as sick as a dog and feverish, so this year I was determined to go come hell or high water, literally.

We were there for the long haul on Saturday and saw: Voices of the Wetlands All Stars, Mystikal, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Jimmy Buffet and Aaron Neville (on the way out). I plunked my chair down in the Congo Square Stage area to see Lauryn, who is as pretty as ever, and relive my high school days.

The crowd was intense and it was hot (hello, New Orleans in May) but meandering clouds and random breezes provided much needed relief. I’ve never seen so many middle-aged people wearing Hawaiian shirts and parrot hats. Jimmy has loyal fans.

The music at Jazz Fest might be the first priority, but the food comes in at a close second. I’ve heard that getting a vendor food booth is very competitive and open slots are rare.

Throughout the day there were constant lines at least 20 people deep at the food booths, which is why I didn’t get to eat much, except for a small bowl of Crawfish Monica pasta and Crawfish Bread. The Crawfish Bread was a gooey, delicious hot mess (kind of like Snooki, not really.) The best purchase of the day was a large Strawberry Lemonade for $5.

Next year we’ll try to avoid the masses and won’t go on a Saturday, more importantly, I’ll bring Tupperware.