Many Vendors Master The Art Of Cooking

Don’t think of it as mere sustenance.

Food should be considered edible sculptures at this weekend’s ArtFest. Just take a gander at plates heaped with sunny yellow rice topped by black velvety beans and salsa from Leonardo’s Bistro or the tangle of multi-color noodles tossed with a fiery Thai curry dressing from Cannon Street Grill.

This year there are new food vendors at ArtFest with notable additions including Luna and Mary Lou’s Homemade Ice Cream.

The smorgasbord of flavors range from county fair-style favorites like elephant ears, burgers and sno-cones from Gary B’s Express to upscale eats that include a smoked salmon Caesar salad from Cannon Street Grill and Parisian street sandwiches from Luna. Caribbean-style black beans appear on all the offerings from Leonardo’s, including a barbecue beef sandwich.

And Pizza Rita will serve several toppings on its big slices.

One of the original vendors - Lindaman’s - will be back once again with its signature Asian chicken salad and tabouleh, a chewy bulgur-based Mediterranean dish flavored with lemon and mint.

Anyone afflicted with a sweet tooth will find lots of temptations at ArtFest, including Kona coffee pie from Cannon Street Grill, Luna’s lemon pound cake with fresh peaches and marionberries, chocolate and strawberry meringues from Lindaman’s.

Mary Lou’s will have a whole lineup of goodies. They will serve shakes, pie, six flavors of homemade ice cream and Belgian waffles.

Wash it all down with lemonade, iced tea, espresso drinks made with Craven’s coffee and pop from various vendors. Hand-crafted beers will be sold by Bayou Brewing Company.

, DataTimes