TX takes LA: Boudin

by Rachel Hamburger, intern

In this installment of TX takes LA, I’m talking about BOUDIN!!! Boudin is something that always intimidated me growing up. I remember hearing a rumor when I was a kid that there were bugs in it… After that I always steered clear.

Beautiful, Bodacious Boudin. Photo Credit: Iverstine Butcher

Once I got to Louisiana, boudin was around me more than ever. It seems like every restaurant here has boudin balls on their menu. Whenever I was with people who ordered them, I never tried them because I was scared of what actually made up “boudin”.

When I let it slip to the rest of the Bite and Booze team that I’d never tried boudin, all their mouths dropped to the floor. It was decided very quickly that I must try boudin. Chuck brought back a box of Tony’s Seafood boudin balls to the office the next week, and I finally got to try boudin.

While boudin balls aren’t boudin in its purest form, it still gave me a chance to try it and the fried version lessened the anxiety of what it was actually made of. I am very finicky about meats, (I even had a brief vegetarian phase for six months last year.) Not finicky about how they taste, but the thought of eating liver and things like that makes me squeamish. As long as I don’t know it’s there, I have no problem; it’s all in my head.

So what is boudin exactly?

It’s typically a mix of pork, rice, onions, green peppers, and seasonings. The Acadians brought boudin to Louisiana from Nova Scotia, although the traditional French “boudin blanc” is much different than the Cajun boudin most know today.

French boudin blanc is made with pork, chicken and/or veal, mixed with milk, cognac and spices; no rice, onions or peppers present. The recipe eventually adapted to the Cajun boudin we know today because the newly migrated Acadians had to be inventive to survive in their new home in Louisiana, and that meant making use of all resources.

They found that you could use many different parts of a hog in sausage, so along came the new form of boudin.

Where did the rice come in?

At the end of the nineteenth century, large-scale rice production began and rice was added to boudin for flavor and filler. There are two types of Cajun boudin: red and white. White is what most are familiar with, the mix of pork, rice, etc., and is pretty much all that is still available today.

Red boudin (blood boudin) is essentially the same as white boudin, but also has a large amount of hogs blood mixed in with it.

All in all, we have the French Acadians to thank for the Cajun boudin many know and love. Their crafty survival skills led to the modern delicacy that is boudin. Personally, now that I’ve tried it, I do think boudin is delicious. Although knowing that some interesting parts of the pig may be used in it does weird me out a lil bit.

10 of Our Favorite Deep Fried Dishes

by Intern Drew Broussard

It should come as no surprise that we have a deep, oily, sizzling passion for fried foods. Heck, Jay is hosting his own show about just that on Travel Channel! With Deep Fried America set to premier tomorrow, we found ourselves reflecting on our favorite fried treats we’ve eaten over the past few years. But then we realized, why reminisce whenever you can make a list of them? Here are some of the best fried memories laid out for your mouth-watering enjoyment.

Fried Pork Chop at Salt New American Table

Now this is a pork chop. Compart Duloc pig with the loin, rib, fat and crispy skin over a huitlacoche tamale and corn relish. @larrydelgadorgv knows what's up at @saltnewamericantable in @visitmcallen! #visitmcallen #happylarrydelgadoday #texas #foodporn #pork

A photo posted by Jay Ducote (@jayducote) on Feb 24, 2016 at 7:54pm PST

Fried Boudin Balls all over Baton Rouge

Deep fried boudin balls from different restaurants in Baton Rouge

Jay's Fried Chicken

Deep Fried Burger at Phil's Grill

This deep fried burger from Phil's Grill in New Orleans is noteworthy

Beignets at Coffee Call

Chicken Fried Ribeye at Horseshoe Bay Resort

Um so this is a chicken fried ribeye with a fried egg and one helluva biscuit. @jayducote is in heaven at @hsbresort! #foodpics #texas #texas because #texas

A photo posted by Bite & Booze (@biteandbooze) on Nov 21, 2015 at 6:37pm PST

Fried Rabbit at Hot Tails

Chefs Sam and Cody Carroll kill it at Hot Tails

Deep Fried LSU Rolls from all over Baton Rouge

Fried Cheese Curds at Barcadia

Whole Fried Fish at La Salvadoreña

Best of Bite and Booze: 10 Posts You've Viewed the Most

by Sydney Blanchard

Every now and then, in my role as Content Sheriff/Warden of the Web at Bite and Booze, I take a look at our blog stats to see what's working and what could use some tweaking. And the more I look, the more I learn about our audience.

Most of you are viewing our blog from the United States, followed closely by Portugal and then Norway. The majority of you (41 percent) are using Chrome to browse our site. And a large portion of you wind up reading our blog by clicking a link you saw on Facebook.

I'm also able to determine which of our posts are getting the most clicks to see what kind of content you, our audience, like to see on the blog.

From what I gather, y'all love boudin balls, fried food, yummy looking desserts, and women (in booze).

Below, you'll find a list of our top 10 blogs posts of the last year, as told by each post's page views.

Let us know what you'd like to see more or (or less of) in the comments!

1. Lucky Palace: You Either Get It or You Don't 3,128 views

Duck at Lucky Palace in Bossier City

"Here's the thing. Lucky Palace is situated in a seedy part of town within an interstate-side hotel. The parking lot looks like the kind of place where people meet up to buy or sell prescription pain medication. It's poorly lit, and getting to the restaurant requires entering through the yellowing, smoke-smelling hotel lobby. Entering Lucky Palace is akin to entering another dimension. Lucky palace exists in another place and time."

2. All Your Favorite Balls 2,612 views

Baton Rouge's best boudin balls

"We rounded up seven of our favorite balls from across the city, and left the deciding up to one man. Mr. Loup (progenitor of Blair Loup, Bite and Booze's Chief Confusion Coordinator) is a mustachioed, Opelous-born, Sulphur-raised Southern gentleman. Having grown up in "Boudin Country" and being accustomed to eating the best boudin the world has to offer, we felt Mr. Loup would be the perfect person to rank Baton Rouge ball scene. As an extra qualifier, he had never once eaten a Baton Rouge boudin ball before, so his opinion ethically lacked any preconceived notions."

3. Hymel's Classic Cajun Fare 2,407 views

Hymel's sign in Convent, Louisiana

"Recently, Team Bite and Booze had the opportunity to eat at the famous Hymel's in Convent, La., where beverages are served in gigantic fishbowls and seafood is served fried and in heaping quantities. Just about everything we ordered was fried."

4. Treat Yoself: A Sugary Sweet Dessert Roundup 2,160 views

Sour Patch Kid sorbet at Fisher's in Gulf Shores, Alabama

"Much to the horror of my dentist, I love to eat sweets. Gummy, stick-to-your-teeth candies rank the highest for me, followed closely by pastries, cookies, chocolate, and anything else that triggers tooth decay."

5. Fresh Takes on King Cake 2,103 views

Traditional King Cake from Calandro's

"The only time it's acceptable to accidentally bite into a baby, be it plastic or not, is when your slice of King Cake is the hiding space for the small trinket traditionally placed inside the cake."

6. Jay's First Thoughts on Crispy Catch 1,707 views

Surf and turf at Crispy Catch

"First things first: I enjoyed the food. No, it didn't stand out as revolutionary, inventive, or inspired. Then again, I don't believe anybody ever said that it would be."

7. Iverstine Family Farms, Uprooted 1,650 views

A curious pig at Iverstine Family Farms in Kentwood

"There’s a larger call to keeping your local economy booming by supporting people who are circulating their dollars into the local economy," Iverstine said. "Just like our animals work together on the pasture, there is defintiely this produce-consumer symbiotic relationship that has to happen."

8. Pam Sandoz: Professor of Pours 1,534 views

Pam Sandoz, owner of Slinky's

"Many things have changed around LSU’s campus over the years, but some things remain sacred. Slinky’s has held its residence on Chimes Street for 17 years. Home to the Lunch Box drop shot and underwear-ridden rafters, bar owner Pam Sandoz says each item on the walls has a story to tell, and she has more than a few."

9. Mary Lewis: Superintendent of Suds 1,490 views

Mary Lewis, Sales Manager at Mockler Beverage

"If there’s one thing Mary knows, it’s the beer business. Much of what we see as consumers is the boom of craft beers, which is a tiny speck in the universe of beverage distribution."

10. Goin' Up on a Tuesday: Best Tuesday Eats in BR 1,489 views

Fried chicken and greens at Chicken Shack

"If you're like me, weekends can be as busy and stress-inducing as any weekday. Washing and folding laundry, grocery shopping for the week and running errands sometimes leaves me and my squad no time to party on the weekend. The only solution, then, is to go up on a Tuesday."

My First Thoughts on Crispy Catch

by Jay D. Ducote

First things first: I enjoyed the food. No, it didn't stand out as revolutionary, inventive, or inspired. Then again, I don't believe anybody ever said that it would be. Crispy Catch is what it is – a place to get fried catfish fingers, fries, hushpuppies (or as they call them, corn bobbers), and boudin balls akin to Tony's Seafood, which are some of the most snackable and magical boudin balls in the world. They finished second in our ranking of Baton Rouge balls. The restaurant itself is a new fast-casual concept seeking to bring the flavors of Louisiana to a hungry audience.

Immediately upon walking up to the restaurant that has been built out of the old, iconic Kean's Dry Cleaning building near the Perkins Road overpass, you get the sense that they are going for something bigger than just one location. The branding screams corporate, like they've already designed their logo and color palate to expand to numerous locations. It may work. There is clear evidence of utilizing a Raising Cane's model, which certainly paid dividends for them.

Catfish Fingers at the new Crispy Catch on Perkins

Like Cane's, which started at the nearby North Gates of LSU, Crispy Catch offers a welcoming environment and a simple menu. There are four main combinations to order with different amounts of fried catfish and extras. They also offer fish tacos, which I definitely want to try but haven't yet. I opted for the Surf & Turf combo – the meal that came with boudin balls in addition to the catfish, fries, cole slaw, and hush puppies. The total for the entire plate and a drink came out to just over $13.

Based on the way the combo came out on a plate with fries and catfish fingers, I couldn't help but to think of Cane's and their chicken fingers with crinkle cut fries. They even had their signature "Reel Sauce," a remoulade style sauce very similar to Cane's Sauce. All in all, the fries weren't all that much to speak of, though they were fries, and certainly not bad. They were plentiful and thin cut, but not to the point of being shoestring.The cole slaw offered very little to my taste buds, though I suppose a little tang to go with all the fried food isn't bad.

Compared to Cane's (not they have to be compared to Cane's, but they brought the compare and contrast on themselves), I noticed the absence of fresh squeezed lemonade and really good sweet tea. The beverage options were pretty much limited to a Coca-Cola lineup of fountain drinks, which I feel can be improved upon. If you want to be a local joint, bring in a cooler with some Swamp Pop and other regional beverages. If the idea is to build something that can be scaled to many locations, and you're copying Cane's anyway, don't underestimate the value of the beverages.

Another thing that makes Crispy Catch fast-casual but not necessarily "fast food" is that there is no drive through. Nothing wrong with that, though the convenience sales to night-owls in the overpass area could be a good business model. That being said, as of now the hours at Crispy Catch don't go into the late night market anyway.

The star of the show definitely proved to be the fried fish, with a nod to the boudin balls as well. At the end of the day, a place is judged on what they truly claim to be good at, and at Crispy Catch that's the USA farm raised catfish fingers. The don't do any whole filets of catfish. They don't fry shrimp or any other Louisiana seafood. The star of their limited menu is the catfish, and it lived up to expectations. The slender strips of catfish are marinated and battered in seasoned flour. It is a departure from the more common cornmeal style fish fry base around here, but I didn't mind. The catfish indeed had plenty of crispiness. The reel sauce and the house tartar sauce were both great dips for the catfish.

I also can't complain about the hush puppies or boudin balls. I'd even go back for the boudin balls. They really are very similar to Tony's, which again, is good in my book. In fairness, the owners of Crispy Catch are tied to the family that owns Tony's, though they no long share any stock in the famous seafood market. Still, I can see why if they wanted to put boudin balls on the menu that they'd go with a replica of the Italian-inspired boudin ball.

I can see myself going back to Crispy Catch, but I don't know how often. The very limited menu will make it hard to go often. And the fact that they aren't as convenient nor do they have all the intangibles as Cane's means they won't really get the quick-meal-on-my-way-home kind of business. And as much as I've compared Crispy Catch to Raising Cane's, it is missing perhaps the most important element: the "One Love" motto and attitude. I didn't feel it. I just had a decent fried catfish platter, but nothing else about the experience would make me identify with the brand. Perhaps in time they'll find their own motto.

All Your Favorite Balls [Ranked by a Boudin Ball Expert]

On a mission to find the best boudin balls in Baton Rouge

by Sydney "Brown Nose" Blanchard, intern

It may not seem obvious, but here at Bite and Booze, we work hard. 

Day in and day out, we shovel mountains of food into our face holes, forcing down bite after agonizing bite, analyzing and articulating flavor, texture and taste. 

Eating and drinking Louisiana's best food and beverages is not for those of weak constitutions. Just ask me. I can't hang.

"In the three weeks I have interned at Bite and Booze, I have overeaten to the point of vomiting twice." 

 We make it look easy, but it's grueling. And someone's gotta do it.

That's why we decided to get to the bottom of one of Baton Rouge's most pressing matters. Not higher education budget cuts, not our quickly-deteriorating ecosystem, not the salt-water intrusion threatening to cause the collapse of the city as we know it.

We decided to investigate Baton Rouge's Best Boudin Balls.

Baton Rouge has a number of delectable balls in an astonishing range of shapes, textures and sizes.
And they're all beautiful, each and every one. And that's says a lot coming from me.

We rounded up seven of our favorite balls from across the city, and left the deciding up to one man.

Mr. Loup (progenitor of Blair Loup, Bite and Booze's Chief Confusion Coordinator) is a mustachioed, Opelous-born, Sulphur-raised Southern gentleman. Having grown up in "Boudin Country" and being accustomed to eating the best boudin the world has to offer, we felt Mr. Loup would be the perfect person to rank Baton Rouge ball scene. As an extra qualifier, he had never once eaten a Baton Rouge boudin ball before, so his opinion ethically lacked any preconceived notions.

Jay, Blair and I spent an afternoon venturing across the city to the restaurants listed below, acquiring an order of boudin balls at each location. At Blair's apartment, we incubated our boudin babies under a heat lamp to keep them warm, and had Mr. Loup do a blind taste test. Perfectly scientific.

Here's what he came up with. Now go out and eat!

7. Dempsey's, 13580 Coursey Blvd.

Dempsey's is one of our favorite eateries, but Mr. Loup wasn't too keen on their boudin balls. He observed that these were some of the smallest balls. They were light in color, tinged maybe yellow or orange, and had a fair amount of rice inside. Overall, according to Mr. Loup, "There's not really much to say."

Ranking: *

6. Beausoleil Restaurant and Bar, 7731 Jefferson Hwy.

Beausoleil is newer to the game, and they bring a certain style to boudin balls. These balls were more cylindrical than round. Mr. Loup noted they were finely ground on the inside, but bland for his taste. In fact, he said in comparison, "There's no taste to them." However, after the taste test, we all tried them with the red bean puree which accompanies the balls at the restaurant, and Mr. Loup agreed that the puree added something unique to these balls.

Ranking: **

5. Ronnie's Boudin & Cracklins, 9830 Florida Blvd.

Ronnie's is a Baton Rouge institution. Mr. Loup first commented on the fullness of these balls. He pointed out they were more brown than gold and were more finely ground. These balls are huge, and Mr. Loup picked up on the heavier pork flavor of these balls. But Mr. Loup didn't like how finely ground they were as they were lacking the internal texture of the whole grain rice.

Ranking: **

4. Bergeron's, 790 Highway 415 in Port Allen

Outside the Baton Rouge city limits, actually, across the Mighty Mississippi, lies Bergeron's. Mr. Loup instantly became a fan of Bergeron's boudin ball crust. He again wasn't in love with how finely ground the boudin was, and he felt it needed more green onion. Overall he felt this one was somewhat bland compared to the others. 

Ranking: ***

3. The Chimes East, 10870 Coursey Blvd.

Chimes is a local staple, and they're known for the boudin balls on their appetizer menu. The liver flavor was predominant in these balls, according to Mr. Loup. He liked that he could see the grains of rice in the ball, just like real boudin. The pepper flavor was there, but not overwhelming. He also felt, aesthetically, this was one of the best looking balls. 

Ranking: ****

2. Tony's Seafood, 5215 Plank Road

Much to Jay and Blair's glee, Mr. Loup ranked Tony's balls second in the lineup. It has been well-documented that Tony's boudin balls are the only thing Blair lives for. Mr. Loup said these smaller boudin balls resembled marshmallows, and said the taste was better than the previous balls. He liked that they were crunchy and peppery, and they were easy to eat for on-the-go consumption. 

Ranking: ****

1. Days Smokehouse & Specialty Meats, 35770 Old La Highway 16 in Denham Springs

Days Smokehouse out in Denham/Watson came out on top. Mr. Loup ranked it No. 1 mainly because of the smoky flavor. They are darker in color than some of the other balls, and again, he noted their fullness and robust size. He thought the flavors were great, and that they were just spicy enough for him.

Ranking: *****

Baton Rouge's Best Boudin Balls

Louisiana Culinary Trails: Capital Cravings

Rolling cameras on Iverstine Family Farms with Galen Iverstine,
Jay Ducote, Fred Mince, and Dan Jones

The Louisiana Culinary Trails crew had more of a home-field advantage for the filming of the fourth video in the series. We took a trip to Kentwood to talk to local, first generation farmer, Galen Iverstine, about the bustling Red Stick Farmer's Market. Chef Jeremy Langlois shed some light on his farm-to-table practices at Houma's House Plantation and local food enthusiast Julie Laperouse and myself give a little commentary on the current Baton Rouge food and beverage scene. The Capital Cravings video would not have been complete without a trip to Tony's Seafood and to talk to Bill Pizzolato about their incredible Gulf seafood selection and those amazing boudin balls!

Fred Mince climbing counter tops while Jordan Lewis and Dan Jones grab some shots of Chef Jeremy Langlois in the kitchen

Day's Smokehouse: Your One Stop Shop on the way to a Boudin Food Coma

A look inside Day's Smokehouse in Denham Springs, Louisiana

Owner Kendall Day and I at Day's Smokehouse in Denham Springs

In July, team Bite and Booze was invited to visit Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Alabama. While we were aboard the Wild Hearts Dolphin Cruise we met a couple of nice folks from Denham Springs! It always amazes me how small this world can be. As it turns out, Kendall and Monica Day own a little place called Day's Smokehouse. We immediately hit it off talking about all things Bite and Booze, barbecue sauce, and smoked meats. After our trip on the water, Kendall gave me a pack of their boudin and invited me to stop by if I ever got the chance. While in the area running some Jay D's Louisiana Barbecue Sauce over to the Oakpoint Fresh Market in Watson, I stopped in to have lunch at Day's. 

Day's has everything you could ask for in a Cajun grocer/smokehouse. Their freezers are stocked with everything from garfish balls, rabbit, and quail to stuffed jalapeños, bell peppers, and boudin balls. They also sell USDA choice cuts of meat and do deer processing for their customers. They start early over at Day's Smokehouse (6am on weekdays) and stay open through the drive home. Here's some of the fresh food that they're serving up:

Barbecue ribs, one of my all-time favorite foods in the world, washed down with a tennis-sized boudin ball and a side of their twice baked mashed potatoes sounds like one heck of a lunch...but wait, there's more!

Ribs, Boudin Ball, and Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes

Barbecue Smoked Chicken Wing

The smoked chicken wings at Day's pack flavor to the bone. I definitely demolished the succulent wings they served up. Some things are done a little differently at Day's, and I like it.

Deer Burrito

Not only do they prepare and pack bacon wrapped jalapeños and other goodies for you, but they also sell and prepare their own deer burritos. It's unique, gamey, and delightful.

Like Blair said that day, "I'm eating so much boudin right now, but I'm not mad about it." This plate was full of Day's smoked boudin, another humongous boudin ball (this one was filled with cream cheese and jalapeños), and a large helping of hog head cheese. I'll definitely be heading back to Day's when I'm in the area. Most people were grabbing lunch to go while we were there but there's a nice little table to sit at inside if you want to stay and feel like part of the family!

Smoked Boudin, Cream Cheese & Jalapeño Stuffed Boudin Ball, and Hog Head Cheese

Fiber Fete: Here's To Our Connected... Stomachs!

Fiber Fete kicked off this afternoon in Lafayette, Louisiana and I am excited to be a part of it.  The event is designed to be a meeting of the minds about our "connected future" where we will have speakers and discussions about the future of high speed broadband access.  Included in these talks will be a conversation about what can be done with the new and innovative fiber-to-the-home network in Lafayette that serves as a beacon of technology on a global level.  While I am attending the three day event to focus on the connection between broadband and health care, for the purposes of this blog I made sure to also examine the bites and boozes, which were plentiful and fantastic!

The "Fiber Fete Quartet" Played Some Cajun Tunes

Fiber Fete is being held at LITE, the Louisiana Immersive Technology Enterprise center, which has been built to help drive digital and technological economic development in Lafayette.  Tuesday's kickoff included comments from Mayor Joey Durel, Louisiana Economic Development Director Stephen Moret, and some other influential people in Lafayette's rise to prominence in fiber networks.  Secretary Moret claimed that Louisiana  will be a leader in digital technology, and after seeing him take the Louisiana film industry from non-existent to third in the nation in just seven years, I don't doubt him.  

Alright, enough about that, how about some food?

Crab Cakes and Crawfish Boudin Balls

The post-speaker reception featured a great collection of finger foods with Cajun flare for the guests from around the country to enjoy. Pictured above are some mini crab cakes and a batch of crawfish boudin balls. Neither impressed me all that much being from Louisiana and eating this cuisine all the time, but they were certainly tasty.  I'd give the slight edge to the crab cakes out of the two.

Crawfish Pies and Fried Alligator

Fiber Fete also had some international guests, though many other European invitees were unable to make it because of flight cancellations due to volcanic ash.  I guess not even home-to-home fiber networks can stop Mother Nature!  Still, that didn't stop those of us who did attend from eating crawfish pies and fried alligator.  Both of these dishes were superior to the first two.  The alligator in particular was some of the best fried gator I've ever had!

Crawfish Enchiladas and Veggie Pastalaya

Two other dishes that I thought had some promise were the crawfish enchiladas and vegetable pastalaya.  The enchiladas featured even more crawfish, which I though ended up being a little bit of an overkill.  I didn't need crawfish boudin balls, crawfish pies, and crawfish enchiladas.  While I do love crawfish, I also love shrimp.  Just sayin'.  Oh, and I didn't try the pastalaya.  If you are confused, pastalaya is a term for a Cajun jambalaya that is cooked with pasta instead of rice.  First, a veggie jambalaya is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.  Just call that rice with vegetables and stir-fry it!  Second, this didn't remind me one bit of jambalaya or even pastalaya.  I was really just a vegetarian pasta dish that they tried to give a Louisiana name.  For shame.

Seared Tuna and Andouille Sausage Stuffed Dates

The highlight of the appetizer selections came from the platters that Prejean's, the restaurant that catered the event, had their staff carry around.  The above spread feature bite-sized morsels that might have been my favorite treats of the evening other than perhaps the fried alligator.  The sesame crusted seared tuna was masterfully prepared and topped with a bit of a wasabi based sauce.  The tuna melted in my mouth while the wasabi added a hint of spice and flare to the dish.  But, as good as the tuna was, the winner of the entire evening came in the form of the andouille sausage stuffed dates that were topped with goat cheese.  These dried plums were sliced down the middle and loaded with a seasoned sausage before being topped with a strip of soft, creamy goat cheese. The flavors blended together in an inspired harmony and proved that you could bring such different things together for the common good.  Okay, maybe I'm stretching too far to make an analogy to Fiber Fete, but still, it was damn good!

Gigabit IPA from the Hopworks Urban Brewery in Portland, Oregon

The City of Portland, Oregon sent an offering of craft-brewed beer to Fiber Fete in order to congratulate the city on the success of its fiber network.  The Gigabit IPA was named as a response to Google's program to select a city in which to implement a similar fiber network as a pilot for future infrastructure initiatives from the website giant.  The organic ale tasted smooth and hoppy.  It left a clean aftertaste compared to many Cascade-hopped IPAs, which I really enjoyed as it tasted like a great pale ale while still being refreshing.  I'll take any shipments of beer from Portland that they'll send, so I was happy to indulge!  Feel free to send me more, Hopworks.  Just message me for a shipping address!

Festive Louisiana Dinner

The opening evening of Fiber Fete concluded with a festive Louisiana dinner, more cocktails, and quite a bit of mingling, connecting, discussing, and imagining.  I was able to have quite a few conversations with industry leaders about health care and broadband, and of course the conversation also shifted to food blogging, barbeque, Cajun food, and southern hospitality.  The dinner feature some eggplant, seasoned corn, real jambalaya, and crawfish etoufee.  Highlighting the plate were some stuffed and bacon wrapped fried shrimp and a heaping serving of bread pudding.  The shrimp were insanely good.  The jumbo Gulf shrimp that I had been craving earlier were stuffed with cheeses and other spicy treats, then wrapped in bacon, battered, and deep fried until the inside melted together while the outside turned crispy.  What a sensational shrimp.  I'll certainly give props to Prejean's for that one!

Here's to great people, visionary leadership, wonderful food, delicious craft beer, and looking forward to day two of Fiber Fete, which you can read about here!

    

Delpit's Chicken Shack

There are several good places in Baton Rouge to find fried chicken other than Popeye's.  Undoubtedly one of the best of these places is Delpit's Chicken Shack on N. Acadian.  The Chicken Shack serves up hot lunches to many satisfied patrons every day as they have quite a few offerings on the menu, but their specialty is the bone-in, finger-licking fried chicken.

Delpit's Chicken Shack, N. Acadian Thruway, Baton Rouge, La

I recently visited the Chicken Shack for my first time after strong recommendations from Eusebio and Eric.  The lovely Caroline met me there for lunch to help me see what all the fuss was about.  We got things started with an order of the "shack balls."  These hand-battered boudin balls were unlike the other deep-fried Cajun treats that you can find around town.  The each ball contained the flavorful rice and meat mixture that remained extremely moist inside.  The shack balls impressed me a lot, so I couldn't wait for the chicken!

Three Shack Balls

The fried chicken dinner came in a styrofoam box with couple of sides and a roll.  I ordered a three piece meal of all dark meat and picked cornbread dressing with brown gravy and yams as my side items, which may have been a decent call, but they weren't anything too special.  Fortunately for me, they were better than the two sides that Caroline got so at least I can brag about that!  Both of my sides were plenty good enough to eat, just not good enough to bring people to Chicken Shack on their own.  The chicken, on the other hand, is a different story!

Fried Chicken, Cornbread Dressing, Yams, and a Roll from Delpit's Chicken Shack

Seasoned well, fried crunchy on the outside, and juicy on the inside, this chicken could soundly be argued to be the best fried bird in town.  It was absolutely delicious from the first bite of crispy skin to the final nibble of tender flesh off the bone.  Each bite made me want to order more to eat until I couldn't stuff any more down my throat, then go back for more the next day!  I resisted the temptation though.  But don't worry, I'll be back soon enough.

A Culinary Adventure on Government Street Part II: Opie's Cajun Cafe

Eusebio and I continued our culinary adventure on Wednesday by moving down Government Street from Bistro Byronz to Opie's Cajun Cafe.  Opie's creates two more food dishes that I was told I needed to try, so we wanted to make sure we ordered those and whatever else looked good.  We walked into Opie's and loved the place at first glance.  The entrance to the restaurant is through the bar area which has a very classic, old school feel to it.  We sat down at the bar and waited for someone to greet us.  It wasn't long before we had three people, including the owner and his son, asking what they could do for us.  I ordered a glass of Maker's Mark bourbon with a splash of Diet Coke and Eusebio had some Jack Daniels whiskey with a splash of Sprite.  They made the drinks right for us (as in very strong) and we began looking over the extensive cajun menu.  Opie's is the kind of place where they leave the remote control for the TV on the bar for the customers to change the channel at will.  We put the main TV on the USA v. Costa Rica World Cup Qualifying match and were able to watch the USA tie the game off of a corner kick in stoppage time to secure first place in the CONCACAF qualifying efforts.  Geaux America!

One of the items that I was told I needed to try were the boudin balls.  I had only previously had boudin balls at Tony's Seafood and The Chimes, so I thought it was a great idea to branch out a little more.  We started with the appetizer sampler which contained boudin balls, blackened shrimp, and crawfish pies with a bit of remoulade sauce for dipping.  The boudin balls were way more similar to the balls at Tony's than The Chimes.  Their cylindrical shape and crispy exterior created a perfect casing for the warm, moist boudin in the middle.  The flavor and texture were great, but I could have gone or a little more spice.  Still, Opie's has a great boudin ball and a good alternative to the other ones in town if you are in the mid-city area.  The crawfish pies were filled with Opie's crawfish etouffee and were scrumptious.  The fluffy pie crust encased the rich and savory etouffee nicely as each bite was filled with flavor.  The blackened shrimp were a good addition to the sampler platter, especially when dipped in the remoulade sauce.  They were simple, well seasoned shrimp that were bite-sized, blackened deliciousness.

Opie's Sampler: Crawfish Pies, Blackened Shrimp, and Boudin Balls

Our next direction was to sample a couple of traditional Louisiana staples, jambalaya and gumbo.  The Opie's Cajun Trio entree came with a small bowl of each along with a couple more crawfish pies and a fresh dinner roll.  The jambalaya had a strong vegetable oil taste immediately when you put it in your mouth.  Once there was some time for the flavors to get around, the rice mixture had some good flavors and was as spicy as I wish the boudin balls were.  It was good, but not like Maw Maw makes it!  The chicken and sausage gumbo was really pleasing for a restaurant version.  All too often I find that restaurant gumbo just does not compare to what you can find at people's houses and tailgate parties but Opie's was an exception.  The gumbo was a little thick and heavy on the roux for my own personal preference but Eusebio mentioned that it was exactly how he likes it.  It is amazing how we always go back to our childhood memories of taste to decide what we like today.  My family's gumbo was typically a bit thinner with a liquid broth that was seasoned with the roux, so now that is how I like my gumbo.  Eusebio had clearly grown up eating a gumbo with that thicker, heavier roux, and so now prefers it that way.  Either way, Opie's gumbo had a great, well seasoned flavor with chunks of chicken and sausage throughout.

Opie's Cajun Trio: Jambalaya, Gumbo, and Crawfish Pies

The final dish that I was told I had to try at Opie's Cajun Cafe was the Crawfish Ravioli.  The pasta itself was stuffed with cheese and then topped with a creamy crawfish sauce.  It was a good dish but probably could have been better if the stuffing had some of the crawfish sauce mixed in with the cheese.  Just a thought.  Still, the ravioli was tasty and I really enjoyed the sauce with crawfish tails, and the dinner roll to sop up the extra sauce was clutch.

Crawfish Ravioli at Opie's Cajun Cafe

Much like Bistro Byronz from earlier in the evening, Opie's had a homemade bread pudding on the menu that we thought we should take home, eat, and then compare.  Their version was a dense, flavorful bread pudding that was topped with a Jack Daniels sauce that was loaded with the tang of the Tennessee whiskey.  While the pudding itself was good and the sauce was fantastic, I couldn't help but notice that the bread pudding was overpowered with the tastes of cinnamon and nutmeg to the point of taking away from the dessert but not so much that it was ruined.  I like cinnamon and nutmeg, but it was difficult to taste any of the other flavors with those two being so strong.

All in all it was a great culinary adventure on Government Street.  I really liked the laid back atmosphere at the bar at Opie's Cajun Cafe.  The food was delicious, and I'm sure I'll be back to see the family-run establishment again.