If you enjoy crawfish and or Cajun and Zydeco music, a
visit to the town of Breaux Bridge is mandatory. Restaurants in this
town were among the first in Louisiana to offer it on their printed
menus, the crawfish etouffe, now common in southern Louisiana was
invented here and the annual
Crawfish Festival
is held in the first week of May. You haven't seen a festival like this
one before. There is a crawfish eating contest (current record is almost
56 pounds!), a crawfish queen, crawfish races and much more.
The Breaux Bridge Visitors center is located at 514 East Bridge in
downtown.
Food and crawfish aside - this day starts out with music and doesn't stop!
Breakfast
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Where else can you visit a small cafe completely crowded from wall to
wall with dancing people, folks hitting the washboards with thimbles and
a Zydeco band blasting out the hits...all this and its only 7:45am on a
Saturday morning! This is the Café des Amis in the small town of
Breaux Bridge (140 E Bridge St).
The building has quite the history
dating back to its construction in 1890. It originally was a general
merchandise store, has survived several fires and for a number of years
caskets used to be manufactured up stairs. Artwork changes on a rotating
basis - check the website for schedule of upcoming live performances.
Arrive when they open on the weekends to avoid waiting outside. What are
called Cajun "viellées" or social gatherings around food and music
used to be held in private homes when the communities were |
more agricultural based. Today they are held in
restaurants and cafe's and a visit here on a Saturday morning is a good
example of this. Several locals tend to
frequent this every weekend and are always found on the dance floor.
Once inside move your body like everyone else is doing - warm up on the
dance floor and then hit the menu for a plethora of cajun cooked dishes.
Incidentally Breaux Bridge bills itself as the Crawfish Capital of the
World and this is a good place as any to order several related dishes
including crayfish etouffee, or crawfish au gratin. Two types of bread
pudding offered. visit:
www.cafedesamis.com
The Pont Breaux Jam sessions at the nearby Coffee Break on
Saturdays are awesome...this is local flavor at its best! Musicians walk
in to a side room at their leisure and start playing in a circle with
tambourines, a few guitars, and fiddles.
This is intimate Cajun music at
its finest and rawest;
it is completely mesmerizing, is something you want to surround yourself
with more of and you can easily whittle away a morning here reading
and listing to this live music.
Even more cozy is when its pouring rain
outside. Pick up a coffee, desert or other drink at the counter next
door and meander to this side room for the music. Tables and chairs are setup as needed. They are
located at 109 N Main Street. |
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Next up is Vermilionville which is an authentic village of how
life would have been for Acadian settlers from about 1765 to 1890.
French speaking Acadians originate from Nova Scotia Canada and came to
this part of Louisiana after being put in exile by the British in 1755. This
site is laid out like a historical village presenting life as it would
have been between the years 1765 and 1890. Eighteen structures are on site
including a number of restored original homes. However aside from the
physical uniqueness of the site, the real highlight here are the
costumed interpretive "villagers". You find them in the church, in the
blacksmith yard, cooking, building furniture or playing music. They are
trained in their professions and you can actually see them at work.
Better yet, talk to them and and you will discover a wealth of
historical information.
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We found more music here; Merlin Fontenot
is a well known 80+
year old self taught Cajun fiddler with a penchant for music and gab. He
is entirely self taught and he made his first fiddle at the age of 8 out
of a cigar box, using wire from a screen door for strings and pine tree
sap for the bow's rosin. He has played the Grand Ole Opry several times
and has backed up several famous old time country music singer.
Even
More music? Yes!... after visiting with Merlin we found a bunch of folks
playing a
circular Cajun Jam session - it was refreshing to see all ages
participating from kids to grandparents. Boat tours on the Bayou
on site are offered seasonally. The website is available in English and
French. Be sure to also pick up the bilingual walking tour guide. It
provides insights about the trees and buildings. Visit:
www.vermilionville.org
Take lunch at Olde Tyme Grocery located at 218 W. Saint Mary in
Lafayette. Strategically located near the University of
Louisiana-Lafayette, this grocery specializes in poorboy (po'boy)
sandwiches. These are submarine type sandwiches native to Louisiana
which contain meat or seafood and are usually fried.
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Lodging
The Hilton Lafayette & Conference Center is centrally located at
1521 West Pinhook Road, minutes from both the airport and downtown.
check out the large pool in the back. There is also a lounge/dance club
on site.
Dinner
Randol’s Dance Hall serves up some of the best crayfish we've eaten -
they are cooked in a delicious spicy broth. Ca c'est bon! That is Cajun
and Creole French for "its good!". Choose from 3 or 5 lb
platters - either as an appetizer or as the main meal. Yes, we had the
crayfish platter for the appetizer and then another 3 pounds as our main
meal! Don't only trust our palate on this - they have taken first place
at the world's annual Crawfish Etouffee cook-off. They raise all
crawfish and crab themselves as well as grow their own herbs. Fresh food
is key here (produce and seafood are delivered daily), and as with any
culinary treasures, is a big part of the excellent quality of the food.
Seafood is a large part of the menu. A variety of live bands (Cajun &
Zydeco music) and a large dance floor also make this a popular
destination. What is nice here is that the dance floor and live music
are separated from the main dining area by large glass windows so you
can enjoy your meal in relative peace without having to talk "over" the
music. Visit:
www.randols.com |
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