NOLADrinks Show – 3-1-18 – French Quarter Festival and Two Dummies Food Tour

On this edition of the NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we talk with Rebecca Sell, Marketing and Publicity Manager, and Heather Twichell, Food and Beverage Manager, of French Quarter Festivals, Inc., the organization behind French Quarter Festival and other events in New Orleans. We discuss the festival, all the great music, and the terrific food and drink you can find there, too! We also kick-off our Two Dummies Food Tour. Our first stop is St. Roch Market.

Pictured above from left – Adrienne Miller of the Two Dummies Food Tour co-host and The Mayhaw, David Schloss of Good Bird, and Bryan Dias of NOLADrinks.

NOLADrinks Show – 3-1-18 – French Quarter Festival and Two Dummies Food Tour

We start the show the off running down this broadcast. We also cover some news and notes including the closing of Hollygrove Market and Kenton’s, the latter of which will become a new spot by Alon Shaya, Preservation Hall’s stolen tuba, and this weekend’s 11th Annual Congo Square Rhythms Festival.

Next up, we head over to the offices of French Quarter Festival, Inc. (FQFI). They are celebrating their 35th anniversary of the iconic New Orleans music event, French Quarter Festival. It’s billed as the “largest showcase of Louisiana music in the world.” It’s four days of some of the best regional music on stages, over 20, peppered throughout the French Quarter. And, to boot, it’s free!

Pictured at left from left – Heather Twichell of FQFI, Bryan Dias of NOLADrinks, and Rebecca Sell of FQFI.

Aside from music, there is also a lot of great drink and food to be had, as well, with local restaurants and bars setup in variations locations selling their delicious wares. We chat with Rebecca Sell, Marketing and Publicity Manager, and Heather Twichell, Food and Beverage Manager for FQFI. We talk about the music line-up, special events connected to the festival, info on eating and drinking, and a couple of the other events they put on in New Orleans each year.

In the second part of the show, we feature our inaugural installment of the Two Dummies Food Tour! I am joined by my co-host in this endeavor, Adrienne Miller. We visit the St. Roch Market located on St. Claude Ave. It’s a food hall and market located in a building that was renovated somewhat recently. Originally, the structure served as a neighborhood marketplace for years. Today, it houses numerous food vendors of varying styles and a bar, The Mayhaw.

We sample some drinks from the bar and taste through various dishes from a handful of the food purveyors. We are joined by Yvonne Molina of La Mezcla, a Mexican food vendor, and David Schloss of Good Bird, serving up rotisserie chicken and fresh fare. We chat about all the great food and drink at St. Roch Market and let you know how you can check out this spot.

Below the map that shows the location of St. Roch Market and Congo Square (located in Armstrong Park), you can subscribe to, stream, and download The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias podcast…

Cheers, You All!

~ Bryan