Dishes to try from French Quarter Fest food vendors in 2026 | Where NOLA Eats

Across an unlimited choice of food vendors at French Quarter Festivalthere are huckle bucks, sizzling tamales and yakamein from New Orleans road food customs. There’s additionally a gumbo-ramen mash-up, hen tiki masala tacos, sushi tacos and po-boys made with lamb or Buffalo-style oysters from the town’s more and more various vary of eating places.

These are a number of of the a whole lot of dishes served by vendors in 2026 French Quarter Festival from April 16-19.

For the four-day span, the streets and parks and riverfront stretches of the town’s historic core are remodeled right into a showcase of New Orleans music and food.

Food vendors are clustered in what seems like particular person food courts for fast road eats. Taken collectively, it is a tour of New Orleans flavors, together with deep-running native traditions and extra that present how New Orleans cooks and eats right now.

“That’s the goal, to make this reflect the flavor of the city,” stated Kenneth Spears, the competition’s food and beverage director.

This is why festgoers can get a basic Creole sizzling sausage po-boy from the 7th Ward legend Vaucresson’sand find out about Haitian Creole taste from the Treme restaurant Fritaiwith its passionfruit wings and a fiery shrimp and cabbage slaw (known as pikliz).

French Quarter eating places are nicely represented on the competition. The Tujague’s sales space can have the identical shrimp remoulade served on the restaurant a number of blocks upriver, and likewise its shrimp-stuffed mirliton, an old-school specialty. The Rib Room is again with its prime rib particles po-boys.

New vendors

The food lineup has additionally been rising in variety for years, each in the flavors introduced and the New Orleans individuals behind it. This 12 months brings a number of new operators to the combination.

New this 12 months is Spicy Mangowith an oxtail soften sandwich, becoming a member of the opposite restaurants from Larry Morrow on the competition (that features Sun Chongwith its gumbo dumplings).

Willie Mae’s NOLA, the next generation reboot of the historic Willie Mae’s Scotch House, can also be making its competition debut this 12 months, with wings and sizzling honey beignet sandwiches.

Chicken’s Kitchenthe West Bank hit for plate lunches, is new on the fest, too. It’s serving successful from the common menu with its soul bowls, which embody its stuffed, fried bell pepper balls, and likewise its soul rolls, crammed with hen, greens and mac and cheese.

Festival favorites

Some vendors make an annual journey to the competition. One is Lasyone’s Meat Pie Restaurantthe Natchitoches basic. Its zydeco shrimp bowl, with spiced potatoes lined with a creamy shrimp and crab sauce, with a bubble-crusted meat pie on the aspect, is constantly among the best dishes across the competition.

Gumbo ramen, in the meantime, comes from Thai NOLAthe New Orleans East restaurant that is mostly Thai, a little Creoleand residential to a scrumptious conventional gumbo. This mash-up dish has turn out to be successful on the common menu, whereas the competition sales space offers individuals an opportunity to try it in the French Quarter.

Some eating places use the competition to showcase signature dishes on their common menus.

That explains the Lambeaux from Smoke & Honeythe deli/taverna in Mid-City. This is a Greek po-boy with lamb leg, whipped feta and crunchy onions and cucumber, stacked on a John Gendusa Bakery po-boy loaf.

Red Fish Grillthe Ralph Brennan household restaurant on Bourbon Street, has made a competition commonplace of its barbecue oyster po-boy, with fried oysters drenched in butter, tangy-spicy sauce with blue cheese dressing.

A unique department of the Brennan household, Dickie Brennan & Co., now runs historic Pascal Manale’s Restaurantbirthplace of BBQ shrimp, has a brand new competition specialty primarily based on it, with a barbecue shrimp po-boy.

The Ethiopian sambusas begin many a meal at Addis NOLA; At the competition, these super-crispy turnovers crammed with beef or greens go by a unique title to lure curious time-timers to try: “world’s best meat pie.”