It was a wet, foggy night some years ago when I headed to the Tet Festival in New Orleans East. Maybe that’s why I remember it so clearly.
The car drive over was shrouded in misty dark. This only accentuated the revelation of walking into the festival grounds built around the Mary Queen of Vietnam Church. It was like having a curtain rise on a scene that was bright, happy, vibrantly festive and compellingly delicious.
Kids ricocheted around the grounds, many blasting silly string at each other. A tent full of games of chance pulsed with activity and rolling dice; outdoor kitchens gave off the sounds and aromas of Vietnamese cooking, as people tended cauldrons of pho, fished puffy fried bananas from vats of oil and whipped spring rolls together with the speed of piano virtuosos at the keys.
Tet is the Vietnamese celebration of the Lunar New Year; the biggest local celebration is the Tet Festival put on by annually by Mary Queen of Vietnam Church in the Village de L'Est neighborhood. The fest takes place this weekend, Feb. 16-18.
What makes the food here special is the way the church organizes itself around it.
The food booths are run by different church ministries, and parishioners often deploy family recipes. That means you’ll find food here that’s not typically served at restaurants.
A fragrant soup with pork and shrimp and udon-like noodles, goat curry and blood sausage and green pandan waffles are some examples.
For those who already know and love Vietnamese cooking, Tet Festival is a wonderland of abundance. For those just beginning to explore the cuisine, it provides a deep, headfirst dive into its flavors.
It also shows what happens when a tight-knit community comes together to cook, eat and share with others. That’s a familiar starting point for many a celebration in Louisiana, and it sounds like a good start to the year to me.
