Best of Dining in Acadiana 2025

Famed food personality Julia Child once said, “People who love to eat are always the best people.” In this annual Best of Dining feature, we focus on the people who love to cook for those who love to eat. We are showcasing kitchen creations from Lake Charles to Morgan City. Each of these dishes is prepared using fresh, high-quality ingredients by enthusiastic and talented cooks and bakers who are driven to serve their patrons delicious food. Under each course, three choices are provided. This was done because Louisiana has many wonderful dining establishments and menus. So which ones are best? You choose. To some, a five-course meal is a luxury from a bygone era. Use this feature for inspiration. Slow your roll, gather a few of your favorite people and hit the road. Regard it as a grand culinary adventure. No matter where you go, you will be around the best people. Guaranteed!

APPETIZER

Crabmeat Cheesecake
SoLou

On SoLou’s menu, the crabmeat cheesecake is noted as “Chef Peter’s signature appetizer!” If you ask staff, they will not just sing the praises of Chef Peter Sclafani’s cheesecake, they just about insist (in a nice way of course) that you order the appetizer. “Oh my God. The cheesecake is savory and buttery,” explains Front of House Manager Brigitte Harrison. Anything with crabmeat is the first step in a soul-inspiring culinary adventure. Here is how the restaurant describes the dish: “Lump crabmeat, cream cheese, fontina, romano, parmesan, lemon butter sauce, truffle aioli.” That description will bring you to happy tears the way Clifton Chenier’s “I’m Coming Home (To See My Mother)” will. Back of House Manager Alyssa Batiste said fresh crabmeat is used in the dish. Yes, and we make this everyday. About three or four crabmeat cheesecakes are made every day from scratch,” she said.
eatsoloulafayette.com

Shipwreck Fries
MacFarlane’s Celtic Pub

417 Ann St., Lake Charles  /  337-433-5992  /  macfarlanescelticpub.com

Hearty portions of Cajun-Celtic fusion dishes are what Chef Jimbo Bittner dreams of.

Just because this flavorsome appetizer is called a shipwreck does not mean the flavors have collided the wrong way.

The Shipwreck Fries are described on the menu as: “A hearty portion of golden, crispy fries generously piled high. They’re lavishly smothered in our signature crawfish tasso cream sauce, creating a rich and savory foundation. A melty blend of cheeses crowns this culinary treasure, and it’s all topped with a succulent sautée of shrimp, crawfish and calamari.”

In case you are wondering what inspired Bittner to mess around in the kitchen with all these ingredients, his answer is, “We needed a Lake Charles version of poutin!”

“Everything blends well with the Shipwreck Fries,” he said. “And customers love it!

It’s a lot of food and they will share it at the table.”

The crawfish tasso cream sauce alone is worth a bowl and spoon. It is one of Bittner’s best kitchen innovations.

Crawfish Boulettes
Crawfishtown USA

2815 Grand Point Hwy., Henderson  /  337-667-6148  /  crawfishtownusa.com

General manager Corey Hebert will not disagree with the notion that his family restaurant produces and sells an addictive menu item.

“Heck, I eat them all the time too!” he said of the boulettes.

Crawfish Town USA’s crawfish boulettes are made with onion, bell pepper, celery, lots of butter, crumbled French bread and lots of seasoning.

They are offered on the menu and in the store area.

“People rave about them. Some will sit at the restaurant bar and eat them. Lots are sold as appetizers,” Hebert said. By the way, the boulettes are sold frozen too.

“There is so much you can do with them. We place them on the seafood platter. But you can plop them into a crawfish étouffée or crawfish stew, or air fry them and place in a bisque,” Hebert said.

Restaurant staff make the boulettes everyday, and it makes sense … lots of Crawfish Town USA eaters need to feed their fix.

SALAD

Pearl Harbor Salad
St. Landry Parish Courthouse

If you are in Opelousas and hungering for a salad you will never forget, head downtown — across from the St. Landry Parish Courthouse — walk into Back in Time and ask for the Pearl Harbor salad. “We make it from scratch. Everybody who orders it, loves it!” said longtime café employee Stephanie Roberts. The Pearl Harbor consists of a lettuce spring mix, bacon, sauted chicken, broccoli, Mandarin oranges, strawberries, feta cheese and a nut crunch (ramen noodles, cashews and a few other ingredients that are sautéed in butter — that owner Wanda Juneau and her staff will not share completely). Diners who ate the salad shared these comments on Yelp.com:  “Pearl Harbor salad hit the spot.” “I had the Pearl Harbor salad. It was delicious and the ingredients were very nice and fresh.” One patron even wrote on the site that the dish “will have you swearing love and devotion for Miss Wanda.”
facebook.com/backintimeopelousas

Tropical Fruit Salad
The Original Castalano’s

1023 Sixth St., Morgan City  /  985-384-6188  /  theoriginal-castalanos.com

Ask Mary Grace Gray what her favorite salad is at The Original Castalano’s in Morgan City.

With a smile and a look of peace and serenity, she will utter, “Our tropical fruit salad.”She is not the only one.

This refreshing treat is the type of menu item that has people in the lower Atchafalaya River region flocking to the business seeking salad refuge.

“It is savory and sweet. Filling and satisfying,” said Gray, who happens to the be owner of the eatery that has been open since 1995.

What ingredients are combined to provide this version of kitchen-based bliss?

Vibrant green lettuce, cheddar Jack cheese, strawberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges, pecans and a poppy seed salad dressing.

Some patrons top the salad off with grilled shrimp, tuna, salmon or chicken. “Everyone says it is filling, but the salad does not make you feel too full,” Gray said. “When I sum it up, this salad is light and you feel like you ate something healthy and delicious.”

Sterling Salad
Tony’s Pizza

335 E. Prien Lake Rd., Lake Charles  /  335-477-1611  /  tonyspizzainc.com

In 1975 Sterling Dickson had his mind set on eating a high- protein diet in order to stay energized for basketball.

The salad — keto before keto — not only gave other athletes in his era energy, it fed coaches, a future basketball Hall of Famer and is a top seller at Tony’s Pizza.

The Sterling (having your name on a salad — at a Lake Area pizza institution that your family founded — guarantees immortality) is a fan favorite.

“I was at McNeese State at the time and kind of a little fitness dude. I made this salad because it had lots of protein. Coaches and players we played basketball with back then ate it. Even Joe Dumars when he came to town to play basketball before he went to McNeese State,” Dickson said.

The Sterling is a lettuce mix with Tony’s homemade meatballs, roast beef rolls, sliced ham and turkey, cheese, tomato, eggs, Greek olives and peppers.

SOUP

Spicy Miso Soup
Katsu Ramen Bar

Soups, soups, soups and more soups are offered here at Katsu Ramen Bar, a restaurant neatly tucked away in a strip mall on Ambassador Caffery in the Hub City. Watching a patron ponder what soup to order is exciting for owner Kayla Liu because it guarantees they will come back. Her soups are good! Unsolicited suggestion: order one new one on each visit. The spicy miso ramen soup is the best way for newbies to get ushered into the restaurant’s soup ordering log (not real, but you get the picture). The soup is mild with pork broth, pork belly, marinated boiled egg, corn, bamboo shoots, seaweed, green onions, fish cake, shredded chili pepper, sesame seeds and wavy ramen noodles. “And add some black garlic oil to the spicy miso to enhance the flavor,” Liu said. Repeat customers should then order the tonkotsu ramen, shoyu ramen (pork belly), vegetable ramen, black garlic ramen, seafood ramen, spicy miso beef ramen, and there are more to go. Remember — eat one at a time! Savor the flavor!
katsuramenbarla.com

Crawfish étouffée
Rice Palace

2015 N. Cherokee Dr., Crowley  /  337-783-3001

Point of writer privilege, if I may.

Yes, crawfish étouffée is prepared with a smothering technique.

True, it is viewed as an entree by many.

Question — don’t you order gumbo as a soup or appetizer sometime?

“Une petite portion d’étouffée d’ecrevisses, s’il vous plait.”

And I want it from the Rice Palace prepared by prep cook Kathy Johnson.

For 18 years, she has been making the base, of which plump crawfish tails are gently placed in as the dish cooks.

“I put a lot of time and love into it,” Johnson said.

Yes she does … Lord have mercy, this étouffée is good, velvety and spicy.

If you get a chance to sneak a glance into the kitchen and see the Rice Palace staff working, two 6-inch pans should be on a burner. Johnson uses them two or three times a day to make the base because the étouffée is ordered a lot — as an entree, or appetizer (soup).

Potato Soup
Siro’s Bistro

112 Arnould Blvd., Lafayette  /  337-233-7476  /  sirosbistro.com

A commitment to patience is what owners Mark and Charlene Stroud have made towards their restaurant and one of their signature soups.

Siro’s is a European-style bakery that offers sandwiches, appetizers, salads, wraps and soups of which the loaded potato soup stands supreme.

“We make the soup with potatoes, onions, salt and pepper and heavy cream,” said Mark Stroud. “It is very simple. We do not like to adorn the soup with too many flavors.”

The time needed and utilized by the Strouds and their team to prep the vegetables, boil the potatoes and season at the right time is noticed when the soup is served and eaten.

“We don’t use a lot of water in the boil process. Just enough to cook the potato until it falls apart. Then we mash it. When we serve it, customers will get little parts of potatoes, but it is mostly smooth,” Stroud said. “Customers like it.”

ENTRÉE

Pork Porterhouse
Vestal

Delicious, chargrilled pork. Just contemplating that within the deep synapses of the mind can make the liver quiver with joy. The cooking team at Vestal outdid themselves with their pork porterhouse that is served with strawberry kimchi, frissée, guajillo, and queso fresco. “We wanted to do something different. A pork porterhouse is an uncommon cut. You get the pork chop and pork loin. The best of both worlds,” said Executive Chef Sullivan Zant. “Besides, most things taste better off the bone.” If you have not been to Vestal, understand, these folks are not afraid of beautiful fire. They let their inner chefs Francis Mallmann and Victor Arguinzoniz — modern fathers of the open fire cooking movement —shine while cooking with oak wood. A lot of time goes into prepping and preparing the kimchi and sauce. “The dish is smoky and peppery with an acidic sweetness. The cheese is light and refreshing,” Zant said.
vestalrestaurant.com

Fish Augustine
Augustine

949 Ryan St., Lake Charles  /  337-990-5836  /  theaugustinerestaurant.com

The father of Lake Charles cool cuisine has done it again.

Chef Dave Evans pulled from his artistic mind a wonderful restaurant concept and grouper dish for its menu. Both are getting rave reviews.

Fish Augustine is a pan-seared grouper, with Gulf shrimp and roasted poblano cream sauce served over asparagus.

Evans — who founded Luna Bar and Grill — opened Augustine earlier this year with a specific goal of displaying a new level of culinary magic to his fans.

“Our poblano sauce for the dish is made with green and red bell peppers, onions, garlic, and poblanos. All of that is roasted and cooked down. It leads to an amazing and beautiful sauce with a golden color,” he said.

The dish has been an instant hit in Lake Charles.

“I, along with my team, have gone down the wormhole, tasting, researching, testing and cooking dishes I’ve wanted to prepare for years. Our grouper dish is one of the amazing results of that work,” Evans said.

Teche Wellington
Cafe Sydnie Maye

140 E. Bridge St., Breaux Bridge  /  337-909-2377  /  cafesydniemae.com

From day one, when David Puckett and his wife started operating the downtown Breaux Bridge restaurant, the Teche Wellington has been astounding patrons’ tastebuds.

“It is our number one selling dish. It brings constant joy to those who order it,” Puckett said.

The restaurant’s menu describes the Teche Wellington like this — Louisiana crawfish and shrimp- stuffed pastry topped with brandy cream and sautéed seafood.

“People come from Lake Charles, Alexandria, East Baton Rouge and all other points for this dish,” Puckett said.

Puckett and his team spent time improving the dish — the recipe has evolved 11 times specifically.

“Preparation is laborious. The prep crew prepares the seafood, the pastry and the sauce. It is a lot of work, but a lot of love goes into the Teche Wellington,” Puckett said.

The finished product is a beautiful, perfectly baked pastry with a golden crust, creamy sauce — and delicious Louisiana seafood-inspired flavor.

DESSERT

Fancy Fruit Tart
Poupart’s

The baking team at Poupart’s like to plan their fancy fruit tarts around what is in season. Issac Fort, Poupart’s pastry chef, also indulges his artistic spirit. Fort likes to design the tarts in order to enhance their visual appearance. “There are not a lot of bakeries that do like us and that is to make decorative presentations with nice designs,” Fort said. He has been inspired by Lauren Ko who wrote the New York Times bestselling book “Pieometry: Modern Tart Art and Pie Design for the Eye and the Palate.” Combining design with fresh fruits leads to Poupart’s tart masterpieces. “I especially enjoy when peaches are in season. They have a nice color. We add an apricot glaze that gives the tart a shiny glossy look,” Fort said. By the way, Fort said Poupart’s tarts are top Valentine’s and Mother’s Day gifts. “Want to make momma happy? Bring her one of our tarts,” he said.
poupartsbakery.com

Bourbon Pecan Pie
Cane River Pecan Company Pie Bar

254 W. Main St., New Iberia  /  337-547-2345  /  caneriverpecan.com

One nut on planet earth has the distinct honor of being represented daily by a passionate, creative and eloquent ambassador.

The pecan is that nut, and Jady Regard, the chief nut officer of Cane River Pecan Company and Pie Bar, is the dignitary.

Every day Regard and his staff create pies, and the bourbon pecan pie is his homage to the pecan, which happens to be part of the walnut family.

“We’ve been making it for years. I like to make mine in a black iron skillet. At the pie bar, we make a traditional 9-inch, deep dish pie with a pound of pecan halves. It is beautiful,” he said.

The pies get a few brushes of Maker’s Mark as a finishing touch, and a tablespoon of Steen’s molasses helps cut the sweetness of the pie.

“That ingredient makes this a phenomenal pie.”

Spoken like a true ambassador on behalf of the pecan’s international followers.

Strawberry Champagne Cake
Pronia’s Deli and Bakery

3101 Kirkman St., Lake Charles  /  337-478-0785  /  facebook.com/proniasdeliandbakery

Jileen Heath recalls the day her father — Bryan Bergeron — decided to invent what has become one of Calcasieu Parish’s must-have culinary baking creations.

“He walked across the street (Kirkman) to the convenience store. Bought a bottle of Champagne. Made a cake batter and poured the Champagne in,” Heath, who works in the bakery, said.

The rest was history.

Heath’s family owns Pronia’s Deli and Bakery. The strawberry Champagne cake is the business’ top seller.

“Our filling is made with fresh strawberries. The cake is not overly sweet. Not bitter,” she explained.

Around 2012, Bergeron tasted a similar cake.

He figured he could bake one just as good or better.

“Today, we still use real Champagne in our cake. We use real bottles and pop them open, and pour the liquid into our batter. That is what makes the cake so popular. It is very effervescent, light and refreshing,” Heath said.