In between walls of limestone rock in the heart of the open-air Greek amphitheater at Brackenridge Park, the smell of sausage, rice and grilled meats filled the air from vendor booths, at which some cooks were already at work, wiping sweat off their foreheads as they hauled loads of food and supplies.
They were at the Sunken Garden Theater a day early, getting ready for the San Antonio Zulu Association’s 36th annual A Taste of New Orleans, a three-day event that begins Friday at 5 p.m. and is expected to attract 50,000 people.
This year, Big Freedia, a popular rapper known for her work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce, will take the stage Friday at 9 p.m.
The Zulu Association connected with New Orleans members and friends to land Big Freedia to perform for Fiesta in San Antonio. The goal is to attract a younger crowd to A Taste of New Orleans, said Tremell Brown, marketing chairman for the San Antonio Zulu Association.
About 15 vendors had set up their tents and organized a workflow ahead of cooking time. With the event less than 24 hours away, Thursday evening was about setting up, letting the turkey legs marinate and prepping to start cooking in the morning, even though some were ahead of the game with plates full of sausage and rice.
The 24-hour marinated turkey legs is a family recipe, said San Antonio native Anthony Bussey, who was accompanied by three relatives Thursday.
Brown said that especially after COVID-19, many vendors decided to swap from brick-and-mortar restaurants to attending vendor events.
The family begins preparations for A Taste of New Orleans months before the event, starting by placing huge orders of shrimp, pepper jack cheese, bacon, turkey legs and sausage.
Even with 15 cases of sausage, each of which holds over 30 pounds of sausage, plus 250 cases of their best-selling turkey legs, Bussey said their booth may still run out.
“My expectation is to go to the store and get more,” he said laughing. “I have a Plan B.”
The Bussey family has worked A Taste of New Orleans every year since it began, they said. Being a family business, almost everyone pitches in. The key to selling out? The sauces and marinades, which are made with secret family recipes, Bussey said.
While Bussey wouldn’t divulge details, he said the seasoning isn’t overpowering with heat. The turkey leg is crunchy on the outside, while the meat inside is tender and “falling off the bone.”
His favorite part of A Taste of New Orleans is seeing everyone come together and dance in the “second line” that always forms. A second line is the New Orleans tradition of regular folks lining up behind the band, or the main line, in a parade.
“Those are the people trying to lift everybody’s spirits. They’re dancing, festive, great mood,” said Brown. “The good times.”
There will be more than 40 vendors serving delicacies from all over at the event, Brown said, including Dallas, New Orleans and East Texas.
“We always tell people, ‘if you’re coming, be sure you bring the stretchy pants,'” Brown said. “The food at this event is memorable, to say the least. … If you’re a foodie, this is where you’ve got to meet, even if just to taste something.”
The entrance fee to A Taste of New Orleans is $25 per person and two-day admission for Saturday and Sunday is $35. The event is only accepting BlastPass credits as payment for food, drinks and other activities, which may be purchased online or at the event.
The money raised goes to a scholarship fund that awards up to 30 scholarships to San Antonio high school seniors headed to college. Scholarships are announced at a May luncheon hosted by the San Antonio Zulu Association.
Students are chosen through the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps “financially limited but worthy” students go to college.
“There are volumes and volumes of food that’s consumed,” Brown said. “We even have people that come and just get food to go. They’ll pay the entrance fee because they know it goes to our community programs and scholarships, and they will just get bags and food and just leave.”
Brown pointed to a banner emblazoned with New Orleans’ unofficial motto: Laissez les bons temps rouler, which translates roughly to “Let the good times roll.” Standing in the middle of the amphitheater, he took in the buzzing activity, the smells and the curve of the rock walls.
“It’s literally just like a big bowl of gumbo,” he said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Tremell Brown’s name.
