The highly-anticipated food hall, White Star Market, opened its doors May 17. The market includes booths from several local vendors and offers food that everyone can enjoy.
Gov’t Taco is a trendy taco booth run by former Food Network contestant Jay Ducote. Everything is à la carte, so it’s easy to mix and match different tacos.
“The Bovine Bureaucracy is the way to go,” said customer Adlai Gavel. “It’s spicy, but the pickled onions add a sweet touch.”
The tacos make this stop memorable, but the staff itself makes it a pleasant experience all around.
“The staff, especially Jay, is great,” Gavel said. “Even if I didn’t like the tacos, which I do, I’d still come so I could support them.”
Another booth is Jolie @ The Market, the second location of the Jolie Pearl Oyster Bar. Here, you can find a wide variety of oysters, from raw to chargrilled. The booth also offers a sampler plate, which consists of six different grilled oysters, so you can get a taste of everything. Their raw oysters were perfect, which is surprising considering it’s the middle of summer.
Chow Yum Phat serves Asian street food such a Pho and Ramen. Ran by Chef Vu Le, former Tsunam chef, the restaurant also offers delicious sushi.
“I know it’s Asian food, but their wings are my favorite,” Customer Josh Shepard said. “I’ve also had their Pho, and that’s really good.”
The market is also home to vendors such as Southern Plate, which features different kinds of comfort food; Fete au Fete, a Creole restaurant; Rêve Coffee Roasters; Dat’z Italian, which specializes in pizza; Mouton, a bar; and The Big Squeezy.
“When I first heard of this place opening up, I thought it would be a food court like you’d find at a mall,” Gavel said. “This place resembles food you’d find at a food truck. It’s all so good.”
With so much to offer, White Star Market is the perfect place for big groups of friends. It’s also great if you don’t know what you’re in the mood for, since they have a little of everything. This trendy market is definitely going to be a hot spot this summer.
White Star Market is located at 4624 Government St. It’s open Monday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday – Thursday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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Claire Bermudez | @claireebermudez

Jolie Pearl is a vendor at White Star Market on June 26, 2018.