Gator Fest

When Big Man asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, I had a ready answer, one which surprised him. I think he was expecting that I'd request another visit to one of chef John Besh's temples of fine dining, or maybe a walk down Annunciation to the terrific Creole-Italian at 1179, or maybe someplace in the French Quarter with clubbing afterwards. All of those are good things, very good things, for sure, but I had something different in mind: I wanted to go to the Alligator Festival.

The Gator Fest has been held under I-310 at River Road outside of Boutte on the West Bank for years and years, but it had been a long, long time since I had been to it. During the week, Channel 6 had promoted the festival, by showing one of the food vendors at the fest stirring a gigantic bubbling cast-iron cauldron of alligator sauce piquante with a big wooden paddle, the chunks of meat swirling in a rich, thick brown gravy with onion and bell pepper bits, and I was totally hooked. I wanted nothing else but to put on a sundress, pack a bottle of hand sanitizer, plunk on a sunhat, and head out to Cajun country.

We set out right after Big Man woke up, after playing late on Bourbon Street the night before. (I asked him if he wanted breakfast at home first, but since it was about 12 noon, he said he just as soon have alligator for brunch.) The day was beautiful (see previous post) -- another gorgeous September day, no clouds in the deep blue sky, a light breeze blowing, temperatures in the low 80s -- and the drive was easy and pleasant. We knew it must be a great festival when we arrived and were directed to the gigantic parking area, spread over acres, car after pickup after van after car, sharing space with the St. Charles Parish school buses. The crowd was about as diverse as you could ever want -- white and black families with small children (many of the little boys of all colors wearing Drew Brees jerseys); white bikers; older Cajun couples; teenagers in clumps, eying each other; aging hippies in faded tie-dye; handicapped folks in different kinds of wheelchairs (saw one person in a chair that had BALLS instead of wheels, like a Dyson vacuum -- I'd never seen one of those before). I have to say, it was NOT a crowd that advertised physical fitness -- most folks carried a fair-sized tummy or a bigger belly. South Louisiana festival crowds are not there to show off perfect bodies -- we're there to EAT, cher, and we ain't ashamed of it.

There was a large area set aside for carnival rides, for little kids as well as grown-ups, including a short Ferris wheel. There was also an area set aside for carnie-type games -- shooting galleries and knock-down the milk bottles and all that kind of stuff, with the usual giant stuffed animals of indeterminate species. But we knew what we were there for, so we headed straight to the food ticket booth to load up.

The food choices were amazing. It was very difficult to make choices, but we were up to the challenge. We decided on a gator burger as an appetizer -- ground gator grilled and dressed on a seeded hamburger bun, with special "hurricane" sauce instead of mayo. Yummy! We ate that right up. Next, we shared a sublime combo dish of perfectly fried catfish, sauced with lump crabmeat bisque -- which was so creamy, so well-seasoned, so absolutely good, that we kept making these ooh and aah sounds between bites. Next, we thought we'd share something easy while we walked and did recon, so we got fried alligator chunks on a stick. Yum! These were SO tender and delicious, we knew we'd have to go back there before we left.

We sat for while by the music stage, listening to Allen Fontenot and his Country Cajun Band. (I was actually a little surprised that Allen was still alive, since he seemed pretty old to me 15-20 years ago.) Those old guys can really play! There were couples Cajun waltzing and other people in folding chairs brought from home, and a small crowd on the stands on the side. We sat there, going back and forth with the gator tenders and enjoying the music, the dancers, the crowds, and the day.

OK, enough of that, and time for more eating. We got a bowl of "Cajun stew" which was a dark brown roux-based sauce filled with andouille, shrimp, crawfish, alligator, and crabmeat, served over rice. (There may have been some vegetables in there too, but who noticed?) A real taste treat. Our next course was that famous alligator sauce piquante, which was every bit as good as it had looked on TV. In fact, it was so good that we were kicking ourselves that we had not brought an empty Folger's coffee container to bring some home with us. (Next year, we are so definitely bringing take-home containers!!)

We walked off a few of the calories we'd imbibed by checking out the crafts booths -- wallets and belts and purses made out of alligator skin (naturally); soy candles with wonderful scents (I bought a chocolate chip cookie candle, and seriously, that is exactly what it smelled like); dried flower arrangements; sand art; collectibles of various kinds (including stuff I had no idea anyone was collecting); and a booth for scrapbookers.

After all that, we were hungry again (I know, you can't believe it, and I can't either), so it was back to the food booths and another fried gator stick, as we picked up food to bring home with us. We got 2 gator sausages on a stick (Big Man was sure his would not make it home, and sure enough, it didn't). And I got a slice of chocolate ooey-gooey cake to have later at home with cold milk. (If you've never had ooey-gooey cake, you just haven't lived -- but you can't eat one right after munching your way through the entire Gator Fest.)

So, replete, sun-struck, and deliriously happy, we made our way back home by a different route (we like to do that, and it helps Big Man get more oriented to his new home) and fell on the couch, put our feet up, and napped on and off with the Sunday paper. Pretty much a perfect day.