Blue Bayou

We get together with other Americans each month for an opportunity to visit (in English) and discover new restaurants in the city. Last night, before we left, I had no idea that a wonderful surprise awaited us. OK, the name should have tipped me off, but my mind wasn’t operating fully, it stays half-frozen most of the time. We walked into 'Blue Bayou' and I thought I had just entered a place deep in the heart of Cajun country. The smell of Cajun cooking filled the air, the walls were plastered with all-things-Louisiana, and strings of American flags (the plastic kind you see at grand openings of a new gas stations) were strung from the ceiling. More on the décor later...

This can’t be real, I thought... then I got the menu. After I read beyond the chili, (aghhh) I saw Jambalaya, Gumbo, and CRAWFISH ... and there was Tabasco sauce on the table. The picture became clearer still as I realized that this wasn’t just some general Louisiana restaurant... on the menu, there were no Red Beans and Rice, no Shrimp Creole, no New Orleans-style dishes, but real Cajun food!

I ordered etoufee and Paul got a boiled crawfish plate. It was perfectly cooked, precisely spiced, and the crawfish were hot! I went over and talked to the cook/owner/fat guy. He had lived in Lafayette. His beau-frere still lives there and works at Lafayette General, and his sister (I think) teaches French at U-La La. We had a nice long talk, and he even told me his secret for finding okra! He ran to his kitchen and brought back a can of okra to show me what to look for in the Chinese grocery stores!

When the crowd cleared out, we had a chance to get a closer look at all the junk on his restaurant walls. We were a bit surprised that the only thing ‘LSU’ was a picture of the French House (bien sur) on campus. I spotted a bumper sticker from Fred’s Lounge, a picture of Elvis Presley, lots of posters from Lafayette, pictures of cajun musicians, the Lousiana State flag, the Acadiana flag, the Rebel flag, lots of pictures and other memorabilia from all over Southwest Louisiana. Paul mentioned however, that he thought only one thing was missing - an autographed picture of Edwin Edwards!