A plethora of festivals and food await season ahead

Join Sara Hebert and Chris Jay as they go on dates and share their local restaurant choices and activities.

Festival season is in full swing, which means foodlovers will have plenty of great opportunities to eat decadent Louisiana fare. Many area festivals are known for their food offerings, from the authentic Mexican street food of Cinco de Mayo Fiesta to the hot boiled crawfish of Mudbug Madness. As far as food and drink are concerned, one of my favorite Shreveport-Bossier City festivals isn’t such an obvious choice.

The Let the Good Times Roll Festival, which will return June 20-22 to downtown Shreveport’s Festival Plaza, is an annual celebration of African-American culture that is known for an eclectic live music lineup offering old-school, funk, rhythm and blues, hip-hop and more. Just as exciting as the music line-up, in my opinion, is the slate of food vendors, many of which don’t appear at other local festivals or events. There are Shreveport-style stuffed shrimp from Sweet Jones, a locally revered take on Rotel dip called Nokey Rotel, smoked turkey legs prepared by the brothers of Rho Omega (the fraternity who organize and present the festival) and a large variety of barbecue vendors who clearly take pride in their work.

If you’re 21 years of age or older and enjoy a stiff but refreshing cocktail, don’t leave this festival without having a cup of Omega Oil. Omega Oil, which is also known as “Q Brew,” is a traditional fraternity row punch that has historically gone by some other colorful names, such as “Purple Jesus.” Whatever you call it, it’s a stout concoction that tastes of ginger ale, grape juice and plenty of spirits. In mid-June, with the sun blazing down on Festival Plaza, it’s the perfect cocktail to cool off between culinary adventures.

As the festival approaches, more and more info on food vendors and live entertainment will be posted online at www.rhoomega.com. To see my review of three food and drink items from the 2013 Let the Good Times Roll Festival, visit www.20x49.com and search for “Good Times Roll.”

–Chris Jay

It's not just festival season in Shreveport-Bossier City, it’s also crawfish season. It’s the time of year where I get out the “fat pants” and impress Chris with feats of eating strength, kicking back pound after pound of delicious boiled crustacean meat. My childhood home was literally in the middle of several crawfish ponds, and my dad even had a brief stint as a crawfish farmer after his late hours working on semi-trucks. You could say the crawfish is the sigil of my family and the ritual of a crawfish boil is something that wakes up my inner Cajun.

Luckily, you don’t have to look far to find a traditional, family-style crawfish boil in Shreveport-Bossier City. Our local chapter of Slow Food USA has a number of events each year, including their recent annual crawfish boil. Each year, I walk away with a full belly, raw fingers and new friends. Slow Food North Louisiana knows how to pass a good time at a crawfish boil.

Crawfish were served alongside the usual suspects: corn, onions, sausage, mushrooms. When the crew pulled out chicken quarters, my jaw dropped. In all my years as a proud Cajun, I’d never seen anything quite so bold, or anything that tasted so tender, juicy and delicious.

Better than the chicken was the company of Shreveport-Bossier City’s best foodie comrades. If you want insight on where to buy the best sausage, what roadside watermelon stand is the best or who has the freshest greens, the Slow Food crew is your new best friend. It’s the best way to get a jump start into the local food scene.

If you’re interested in finding out about other Slow Food events for your next date, become a fan of Slow Food North Louisiana on Facebook: http:/ fb.me/SlowFoodNLA. Organizers host events throughout the year, such as farm-to-table suppers, their annual “Soup’s On” event, film screenings and garden volunteer events.

–Sara Hebert