A much-loved food and culture festival out of Los Angeles is bringing together some of New Orleans’s best restaurants next month for one of the coolest Super Bowl LIX parties happening in the city. Family Style Food Festival’s New Orleans event takes place Saturday, February 8 at Brandan “BMIKE” Odums’ Bywater studio, StudioBe.
“It has always been a dream for us to do something in New Orleans,” says Miles Canares, one of the festival’s co-founders. “And we knew if we were going to come in here, it was going to be a little different than how we normally approach things.”
That approach was informed in large part by Canares’ conversations with Odums, one of New Orleans’s most famous visual artists. Odums wanted to be sure it was about the city first and foremost, Canares tells Eater, and ensuring “the people who keep the city running 365 days a year, outside of these special moments, feel included and appreciated,” he says.
The free, one-day festival at StudioBe has a relatively small but heavy-hitting lineup of 10 local restaurants and eight bars, including Acamaya, Chicken’s Kitchen, Dooky Chase, Jewel of the South, Compère Lapin, and Miss Linda the Yakamein Lady, among others. Canares says the festival aims to mix hotspots and institutions, “places we feel are most likely to spark joy,” he says.
In addition to being free to attend, all the food and drink are complimentary — a rarity in the food festival world. “We felt weird coming into the city for the first time and charging,” Canares says.
Cocktails from the participating bars and small plates from the restaurants will be served to a soundtrack of live performances including hometown hero Mannie Fresh, SANGO, Dj Towfu, and a surprise headliner. True to its LA roots, a streetwear capsule collection made in collaboration with the restaurants participating in the festival will be given away during the event, and after that sold on Complex Shop. And one more thing: The festival is giving away $1 million to one lucky attendee, courtesy of online gaming company Monkey Tilt.
Family Style Fest was founded in 2019 by Canares along with Ben Shenassafar and Bobby Kim of the streetwear company the Hundreds. Complex acquired the festival in 2024 as part of a project that includes a publication and other events. It will be the second time it’s branched outside of Los Angeles (there was a Vegas event in 2024).
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Minibar was opened by José Andrés 10 years ago, and has since earned two Michelin stars through it’s avant-garde dishes. The restaurant’s chefs make all dishes in front of each guest, including monkfish, maize butterflies, wagyu aburi, strawberry milk, and more.
To save your free spot at Family Style Fest New Orleans, which runs from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 2941 Royal Street, RSVP here. A full list of participating bars and restaurants is below.
- Acamaya
- Barrel Proof
- Cane & Table
- Chandelier Bar
- Chicken’s Kitchen
- Commander’s Palace
- Compère Lapin
- Cure
- Dooky Chase’s Restaurant
- Hot Stuff
- Jewel of the South
- Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe
- LOA Bar
- Mister Mao
- Ms. Linda The Yakamein Lady
- NightBloom
- Turkey and the Wolf
- The Will & The Way
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New Orleans to Host One of the Hottest Super Bowl Events, Courtesy of LA’s Food Festival
New Orleans to Host One of the Hottest Super Bowl Events, Courtesy of LA’s Food Festival
New Orleans to Host One of the Hottest Super Bowl Events, Courtesy of LA’s Food Festival