The 8th Annual New Orleans Crawfish Festival kicked off on Monday May 1 at the Broadside. Many pros know that if you come to New Orleans for New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival it is best to come early or stay through the whole week and experience the best music and food that the city has to offer.
The Crawfish Festival features music nightly from New Orleans legends and newcomers alike to entertain fans as they partake in the cajun delicacy boiled up by Shaggy, the Crawfish King.
We stopped by the festival on Tuesday evening to catch the Ultimate Crawfish Cook-off, some local music and of course peel and eat some of the best crawfish and sides around.
The Ultimate Crawfish cook-off featured crawfish experts from around the area boiling up their own recipes to present to a panel of local celebrity judges and compete for the giant trophy proclaiming them the winner of the yearly competition.
Judges included a few members of the band Galactic with singer Anjelika ‘Jelly’ Joseph and saxophonist Ben Ellman. Actor Rob Steinberg and other food influencers were on hand to help make the decision. Crawfish expert James Clesi, owner of Clesi’s Restaurant, amid-city staple that specializes in their own crawfish dishes.
Ultimately after two rounds Kurt Bartholomew from Two Men and a Pot in Ch
Chalmette took home the trophy winning the competition.
If patrons weren’t in the mood for crawfish the Cochon King BBQ truck was on hand to fulfill all their meat cravings.
Drinks were flowing at the Crawfish festival with Dos Hombres, the mezcal founded and ran by Breaking Bad co-stars and business partners Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul.
Luther Dickenson made a guest appearance with the Lost Bayou Ramblers who provided the sunset entertainment on the main stage.
This year’s music lineup also included Anders Osborne, George Porter Jr., Ivan Neville and Stanton Moore, forming the The New Orleans Crawfish Fest Allstars. Sonny Landreth and the power-trio PBS, featuring Porter, Russell Batiste Jr., and Brian Stoltz also took the stage throughout the three-day event.