Epicurean Adventure at Bayou City Arts Festival

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By Katharine Shilcutt in Leftovers

Tue., Oct. 13 2009 @ 12:00PM

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt

David Cordua in the demonstration tent.

Perhaps we our hopes were too high for what is essentially a street festival (large and wonderful though it may be). Or perhaps our bodies were still too water-logged and mud-coated from last weekend's three-day exercise in stamina at Austin City Limits. But we just didn't come away impressed with this weekend's Epicurean Adventure area at downtown's Bayou City Arts Festival.

With few tables or chairs on hand, people made their own seating in a rock garden.

Due to the rain the night before and the hazy mist that coated the day on Saturday, the grounds in Sam Houston Park were filled not only with food stands, but with trampled grass and thick, viscous mud. It didn't stop hungry festival-goers from hoofing it up to the food stands, but it certainly stopped us (seriously -- we reached our muddy food stand quota for the next three years last weekend). After all, it's just as easy to obtain Indian or Greek or Cajun food in Houston without paying a festival premium and without getting filthy in the process.

We did, however, enjoy the wine tasting stations ($10 for a wristband that got you many generous pours, with proceeds going to SNAP) and the smartly outfitted cooking demonstration area. Again, we wished for cleaner quarters for someone like David Cordua to be preparing and exhibiting a raw fish dish like ceviche, but everyone who put on a demo did so with a smile on their face. We're very much looking forward to having more of the same next year.

For more photos from the festival, check out our slideshow.