Naturally Nurtured Style
In 2022, Charles Sarver was ready for a change and set his sites on a home with, not only a larger footprint, but also one located in a more desirable neighborhood near Lafayette’s Moncus Park. The one he found had…
Author: Melanie Warner Spencer
Family Ties
Richard and Lori Hurst, the husband-and-wife team behind Poor Boy’s Inn Riverside Inn in Broussard, foster a legacy dating back to 1932. When Richard’s grandfather, Hulo “Poor Boy” Landry, developed an allergy to flour from working at the Evangeline Maid…
Six Acadiana Wedding Locations for Your Big Day
Every couple has their unique style and preferences, so it’s no surprise that not every wedding venue is the perfect fit. We’ve curated a selection of options, however, that are sure to please with spaces from rustic to modern and…
Food is Life For Chef Karlos Knott
Karlos Knott, co-owner, chef and president (though he doesn’t really go by that last title) of Bayou Teche Brewing and Cajun Saucer pizza in Arnaudville, spends his work days and nights thinking about and making beer and pizza. What does…
Rayne Photographer Creates Farmhouse of Her Dreams
Early in their marriage, Marc and Haylei Smith were on the…
Realtor Lulu David’s Youngsville Home is a Sustainably Minded Family Oasis
For three years, Lulu David worked on the design of her new home in Youngsville’s Sugar Mill Pond neighborhood. Owner of Lulu David Real Estate Co., the seasoned Realtor had a clear vision. “From the beginning, we wanted the house…
How Jolie Meaux Weaves Cajun History and Tradition into Her Flavorful Dishes
Whether or not you’ve heard of Jolie Meaux, it’s possible that you’ve eaten her food at a restaurant pop-up or sipped a cocktail she crafted during a bartending shift. Maybe you’ve landed on the Acadiana native’s long-running blog “Porch Wine…
Pools, Patios and Outdoor Spaces Around Acadiana
Summers in Acadiana are brutal, but fun in the sun is a must. This quandary leaves sunseekers in search of resort-like pools and outdoor spaces that ensure time in nature year-round. Enter the pools, patios, pavilions and pro-level outdoor kitchens…
How 531 Liberty’s Owner Traded Spreadsheets for Sauté Pans
One fateful night over a decade ago, after being called out yet again for work, Houma native and then- chemical engineer David Sonnier was feeling overworked and stressed. “My wife, [Tiffany] says, ‘Quit your job, go to culinary school’,” says…
The Acadiana St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway Celebrates 30 Years
The 2025 St. Jude Dream Home, located at 628 Greyford Drive in Lafayette’s Greyford estate subdivision, is valued at over $1 million dollars. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the dream home in Acadiana, the…
‘Star Wars’ Fan’s Home in Acadiana
In a long, gallery-style hallway not so…
The Little Big Cup Arnaudville Crab Cakes Recipe
When Sanjay Maharaj opened The Little Big Cup with his then business partner Kevin Robin in 2012, the duo envisioned a coffee shop where…
Meet the Makers: Trailblazers 2025
Tiffany Lowery The Nature's Clay, Moss Bluff As a freshman working toward a journalism degree at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Tiffany Lowery was talked into taking an elective pottery class. “I was against it,” says Lowery, a Moss…
Crowley Home’s Timeless Transformation
The design team, which included the original builder, Ray Istre Construction, Sara Vincent Designs for the interiors and Chad Cormier as the lead carpenter, enclosed the once-underutilized patio creating a formal dining room. Vincent chose natural…
Cinclare Bar & Table’s Shrimp Boil Butter Recipe
Much like beginning musicians learn by imitating the music and style of musical masters of the craft, chefs learn at the knees of family members and under the tutelage of expert cooks, chefs and culinary school instructors — or sometimes…
Holistic Health 101
The word “wellness” often gets a bad rap. We lump it into the ever-growing pile of unscientific woo-woo with jade eggs (for the unfamiliar, Google this along with actress and lifestyle guru Gwyneth Paltrow’s name) or sleeping with onions on…
Chef Sullivan Zant’s Vestal Chimichurri Recipe
If Sullivan Zant hadn’t dropped out of college his junior year, he would…
6 Stylish Wedding Locales for Celebrating Your Acadiana Nuptials
Weddings are held year-round these days, and while couples can certainly get engaged any time, Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day ‘tis the season for saying “I do” to – well, saying “I do.” Once the question has been popped and answered,…
Editor’s Note
Nobody is more surprised to read the following words than me, but here goes: This is my final issue as editor of Acadiana Profile. My husband and I are moving even farther south to the Fort Myers, Florida area, where…
Editor’s Note
If HGTV shows, home magazines and niche social media channels are any indication, a favorite pastime for many of us is viewing other people’s houses. I’m certainly in that camp and always get a thrill out of our regular featured…
Editor’s Note
An oft-repeated refrain from my dad when my brother and I were kids was “If you can’t find something to do, I’ll find something for you.” That was code for chores and I wanted no part of it. I learned…
Editor’s Note
There are few times of year more magical in South Louisiana than spring. The temperature can of course get fairly high, but for the most part it ranges from cool to just a little hot, as opposed to the barely…
Editor’s Note
In December, I turned 50 years old. As an introverted, bookish and sometimes awkward child, tween, teen, young adult and well into my adulthood, I somehow knew my fifties would be when I finally felt at home with myself —…
Editor’s Note
When I was in my 20s and a financially challenged…
Bluegrass and Bayous
Before setting foot in Acadiana, I knew I loved it. In 2011, I watched the “Cajun Country” episode of “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.” Bourdain takes part in a boucherie with Toby Rodriguez. At the time I was living in Texas…
Editors Note
Café Josephine in Sunset is a place we return to again and again — and we’re not alone. This year, we’re celebrating it as our Best Restaurant. It isn’t the first time, and it likely won’t…
Editor’s Note
After several years of expanding the home section by adding a kitchen feature, last year we decided to create an entire home issue. Between the positive feedback from you and the amount of fun we had putting it together, we…
Editor’s Note
Even as a list-making aficionado, there’s no good reason for it, but I dislike the phrase “bucket list.” Not…
Acadiana Profile Magazine Wins International Awards
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA — On May 16, Acadiana Profile Magazine won 9 awards, at the 42nd annual International Regional Magazine Association (IRMA) awards presentation in Ottawa, Canada. The top prize for Magazine of the Year went to Acadiana Profile.…
Editor’s Note
In 2019 we published our first installment of Acadiana Trailblazers. The concept was simple: Find Acadianians doing impressive things. Thankfully, that part was simple. It comes as no surprise that there are a lot of people in Acadiana who are…
Editor’s Note
Yoga has been in my life in one form or another since childhood. The seed was planted — as so many are — by my mom. When I was in grade school, she taught me a progressive muscle relaxation…
Editor’s Note
Chargrilled. That’s how I like to eat my oysters. I’ll slurp a raw one or six with the customary accoutrements (preferably lemon juice, cocktail sauce, horseradish and hot sauce, as well as mignonette, because I like to mix…
Editor’s Note
On Aug. 29, the second most destructive hurricane in Louisiana history tore through the Gulf Coast region of the state. Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm, took so much from so many in South Louisiana. The devastation is truly overwhelming…
Note De L’editeur
In April, my husband and I — fully vaccinated and ready to (safely) mingle — attended our first gathering (of more than six, socially-distanced people) since “The Before.” (That’s our phrase for anything that happened prior to the pandemic.) To…
Note De L’editeur
There is likely no time in my life when I’ve uttered the words “light at the end of the tunnel” as much as over the past month. With the vaccine rollout moving quickly and — as a result of that…
Note de l’editeur
Each year in the October/November issue of Acadiana Profile, we celebrate the best chefs and restaurants in the region. This issue is no exception, however our focus is much different this time around, given the struggles the restaurant and bar…
Note de l’editeur
Each year, I look forward to pulling together this issue. The past four years, we’ve focused it on recreation for our big feature and one of my personal hobbies is finding new, creative, fun and exciting things to do. Some…
Note de l’editeur
We hope this issue finds you healthy and safe. My, what strange lives we’ve been leading over the past couple of months. You may have noticed a few things are missing from your Acadiana Profile. Like every business and individual,…
Note de l’editeur
If you are a longtime Acadiana Profile reader, you’ve probably noticed that in the February-March issue we offer up the annual “Top Doctors” and healthy recipes features. Lest you start to wonder if we think y’all aren’t taking care of…
Note de l’editeur
A few years ago, I was at a boucherie and not long before the butchering began, a man rolled up in a truck yelling greetings in French, to — from what I can tell — no one in particular. Several…
Note de l’editeur
Our wedding was a small, intimate affair. To be honest, we really wanted to elope, but knew that our family and friends would be upset at missing our Big Day. As a compromise, my now husband and I planned a…
Hoppy Trails
A craft beer lover’s travel guide to Louisiana
Location Spotlight: The Moxy Hotel
When you first enter the doors of the Moxy Hotel you’ll check in not at a traditional counter, but at the bar. Before you are handed the access card to your room, you will receive a complimentary Moxy cocktail. Though…
