Food, Fun, And Festivities Are Waiting For You At California’s Great America #TasteOfOrleans

This weekend we had the good fortune to visit the Taste of Orleans festival at Orleans Place in California’s Great America and it certainly lived up to its’ reputation. The food was mouth watering, there were plenty of entertainment opportunities, lots of fun things for kids and a terrific fireworks show in the evening.

The Taste of Orleans festival continues this weekend, July 22-23 and next weekend July 29-30. Imagine being able to bring the family and stroll to live Cajun music, enjoy classic midway entertainment and eat the regional food that is synonymous with the great flavors of New Orleans. All this adds up to the Taste of Orleans and it’s open to all Great America guests.

Our day opened with a cooking demonstration by Executive Chef Erick Ponce. Chef Ponce demonstrated two of the extraordinary dishes available when you purchase a tasting card for $25. The tasting card entitles you to six amazing recipes at various locations on the midway of Orleans Place. Chef Ponce prepared for us his signature Blackened Catfish Sliders with tangy slaw and my very favorite dish of the day, Praline Bread Pudding. The Chef prepared the delicious dishes incredibly effortlessly and quickly though we knew we were watching the end result of years of study and hard work and endless hours of experimentation.

As we walked down the midway we had the opportunity to try the delicious classic Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo served on the bed of rice. The gumbo was thick and rich with a beautiful brown roux and loaded with chicken and andouille sausage and the holy trinity of vegetables on which so much of cajun cooking is based. It was simply wonderful.

Next was a unique take on a classic hushpuppy, the Hushpuppy Shrimp Skewers with Cajun dipping sauce. This was three good sized and perfectly cooked shrimp on a skewer dipped in hushpuppy batter, fried and drizzled with a delectable dipping sauce. Heavenly!

A wonderful Crawfish Étouffée followed served in a small bread bowl with plenty of crawfish and vegetables in a delicious sauce with plenty left to sup up with the bread bowl.

Crispy Frog Legs with Creole Aioli rounded out the Taste of Orleans menu and no, they don’t taste like chicken but have their own unique flavor.

In addition incredibly talented chalk artists created amazing murals on the midway as we strolled along eating our delicacies and kids 12 and under decorated their own New Orleans themed masks.

All and all we had a great time and left with our tummies pleasantly filled with a bevy of delicious cajun dishes. Come see and eat your way through a Taste of Orleans this weekend July 22-23 and next weekend July 29-30 at California’s Great America in Santa Clara, CA.

Disclosure: I attended a hosted event with California’s Great America however all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.