 | By ANNETTE SISCO | Staff writer |
Greetings, New Orleans food fans! This week, we give you a guide to beer at Oktoberfest. Winners were crowned at the National Fried Chicken Festival, and attendance figures released. We go behind the scenes at a local spice powerhouse, the Louisiana Pepper Exchange and restaurants plan their own German feasts. The giant root beer mug is back at the Laplace Frostop, and we went Italian at Vincent's. Finally, you'll love these lighter, healthier versions of chicken spaghetti, shrimp rice casserole and scalloped potatoes with ham. 1. The beer is here. The Deutsches Haus expects to go through 800 kegs of German beer during this month's Oktoberfest, kicking off Friday at the cultural center on Bayou St. John: Here's a guide to beers on tap. 2. Hot plates? The fifth annual Fried Chicken Festival took place on the lakefront, drawing more than 107,000 people over two days. Judges gave out awards and honored a culinary icon. 3. Wait! There's more. When Louisiana Pepper Exchange CEO and founder Chris White looks at grocery shelves filled with hot sauce labels, he knows the majority of them contain his product. Some restaurants have their own Oktoberfests planned. The giant root beer mug is back on its perch in front of the Frostop in Laplace. And we visit Vincent's Italian Cuisine. 4. See the light. It’s entirely possible to make crave-worthy versions of old-school favorite casseroles that are lighter, healthier, lower in fat and higher in fiber. Judy Walker did it with chicken spaghetti, shrimp rice casserole and scalloped potatoes with ham. That's it for the food newsletter, but in New Orleans the food news never stops. For more, visit us at NOLA.com. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend! A.S. P.S.: Want to support local journalism that matters? Click here to subscribe. It's our best deal! | 
