Author: Photos by Romero & Romero

Ruffino’s on the River’s The Back Porch Cocktail Recipe

As summer wanes and September ushers in the peak of hurricane season, Ruffino’s Back Porch cocktail provides a perfect counterpoint to the lingering heat. Bright, zesty notes offer a crisp, refreshing first sip. The bracing libation includes a hibiscus ice…

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…

Le Grenadier’s Banana Wars Cocktail Recipe

When considering a memorable cocktail to enliven chilly winter gatherings, the cozy warmth of holiday spices and indulgent desserts often come to mind. Le Grenadier’s Banana Wars cocktail adds a festive, sweet element that will spark conversations during any celebration.…

Fremin’s Apple Cinnamon Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe

Bourbon’s robust, warming flavors of oak and caramel heighten the pies and cocktails of Thanksgiving. A holiday favorite for generations, the potent old fashioned celebrates bourbon in its purest form. Drinks International rated the versatile, timeless tipple as the second…

Vestal Restaurant’s Tropical Cocktail Recipe

In the days leading up to a rapidly intensifying hurricane, we anxiously await the updates, wondering if it’ll be the next Big One. Should we ride it out or hit the road before it’s too late? When there’s no time…

SoLou Lafayette’s Strawberry Hill Recipe

Elevated comfort food, seasonal craft cocktails and daily brunch served until 3 p.m. are central to the allure of Peter Sclafani’s chic new SoLou (short for South Louisiana) near River Ranch. The stylish neighborhood eatery recently joined the growing list…

John Warner Smith

“History is burning in my gut,” John Warner Smith told me. Smith is known in many circles in Louisiana. Whether he’s writing books and being the Poet Laureate of Louisiana from 2019-2021, or working for the Urban League of Louisiana,…

Update Your Mojito Recipe

As spring edges into summer, the mere mention of a tall, cool mojito evokes images of tropical vacations and white-sand beaches. Few cocktails have survived the test of time better than the minty-sweet, fizzy libation laced with lime. One of…

The Energizing Elixir

There’s something about a toothpick that starts the creative bloody mary juices flowing. Over the years, the spicy tomato-vodka-citrus concoction has risen from a curiosity at Harry’s Bar in Paris to a social media phenomena of outlandish garnishes. “You don’t…

Elements of Fire

When brisk winds blow in the land of gumbo, the sweet warming notes of bourbon invigorate guests enjoying Park Bistro’s festive signature libations…

Toasting the Season

During Louisiana’s fall harvest, our anticipation for Thanksgiving accelerates as November’s sweetest satsumas abound at roadside stands, backyards are strewn with…

Kindred Cocktails

The enticing Enzoni cocktail, created by bartender Vincenzo Errico of Milk & Honey in New York in the early 2000s, is…

Summer in a Glass

Watermelon is the ultimate summertime treat. Whether it’s blended into a spritz, margarita, punch or daiquiri, it goes well with just about everything to…

Hurricane at the Crossroads

As the story goes, guitarist Robert Johnson transformed into a blues virtuoso with a shocking mastery of the six-string after a few weeks’…

A Festive Fusion

Poor Boy’s Riverside Inn 240 Tubing Road Broussard 337-837-4011 poorboysriversideinn.com There is something undeniably nostalgic about holiday traditions. Family yuletide feasting at a favorite restaurant, helping mom twine the turducken, chilling the flutes and making classic cocktails with friends can…

A Lucky Libation

When considering party drinks that could benefit from the oomph that vodka brings, Chef Andrew Green’s Get Lucky highball is a perfectly balanced sweet-and-sour sipper that marries small-batch honeysuckle vodka with blackberries, lemon, barrel-aged bitters and orgeat, an increasingly popular…

Layers of Lavender

Lucky’s Fire & Smoke 6774 Johnston St., Lafayette 337-349-0957 luckyslafayette.com   In the ancient hilltop village of Sault, known worldwide as the birthplace of lavender, the salubrious mountain air of Provence is filled with the intoxicating fragrance of lavender fields…

All in a Name

In January, Drinks International released its list of the most-ordered cocktails around the globe after surveying the world’s top 100 establishments. The 81-year-old Moscow mule ascended to the “top 10” rank among “The World’s Best-Selling Classic Cocktails in 2022.” A…

Trailblazers 2022

Conservation Anne Darrah had rarely volunteered in New Iberia until she got the idea of improving her neighborhood by planting trees. She is a retired designer and art director who won numerous awards for her work at The Times of…

Sweet Thang of Spring

The Lafayette music-club scene, like its patrons, rarely sits still. Hideaway on Lee has emerged as a homey new hangout in the fertile downtown landscape. Converted from a circa 1905 residence leased by musicians, Hideaway’s growing popularity as a nostalgic…

Amorous Mocktails Prevail

Por Mi Amante Add 2 ounces of strawberry-infused Verjus Blanc, 1 ounce freshly-squeezed lemon juice, 1-ounce Demerara simple syrup and 2 dashes of Pamplona’s Housemade Hot Sauce into cocktail shaker. Add ice, shake and strain into a chilled Nick and…

Sleigh Rides and Spices

Cinclare Southern Bistro takes guests on a festive cocktail ride with a party-perfect potion for making spirits bright When it comes to throwing a stand-out holiday party or a festive winter-themed soirée, greeting your guests with a memorable signature drink…

Bling in the New Year

Punk Rock Vamp up your look for a grunge-meets-glam aesthetic. 1. Skinny gold bangles, M…

Of Whiskey and Whimsey

The hotly anticipated Mercy Kitchen in Lafayette (mercy-kitchen.com), opened in September, is an “elevated casual” concept that was birthed during the pandemic by owner Stuart Ottinger (founder of Oxford Provisions Group) “to provide an escape from the madness.” He engaged…

A Cosmo Comeback

There may be a debate over who created the cosmopolitan, but the sweet-tart, rosy-hued cocktail that remains inextricably linked to the 1990s “Sex and the City” HBO show has been making a comeback. Call it nostalgia. Its ubiquity has spurred…

Sipping into Summer

    Summertime cocktails have a singular purpose: They must make you feel cool. For wanderlust weekenders awaiting tropical holidays, a well-crafted summer libation can help assuage yearnings for pristine beaches and emerald waters, poolside luaus and moonlight swims. When…

Les Personnes: A Collective Effort

In the spirit of complete transparency, Arnaudville artist and social sculptor George Marks feels it’s prudent to point out that this — a shining example of creative placemaking done right — wasn’t exactly what he had in mind back in…

Dr. Craig Walker

Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Craig Walker became interested in the medical field at just 8 years old. The youngest of nine children, the Bourg, Louisiana native was inspired by his two oldest brothers, who are also physicians. “They would show me…

Dr. Philip Gachassin

As a general and bariatric (weight loss) surgeon, Dr. Philip Gachassin, who works for Lafayette General Medical Center, has performed thousands of difficult and life-saving procedures over the course of his 19-year career. “I was always good at science when…

Dr. David C. Benson

It’s difficult for New Iberia-based urologist, Dr. David C. Benson, to choose which of his cases has been toughest. That’s because the Shreveport native finds each case to be uniquely challenging and personal. Part of being a physician, he believes,…

Dr. Philip Gachassin

As a general and bariatric (weight loss) surgeon, Dr. Philip Gachassin, who works for Lafayette General Medical Center, has performed thousands of difficult and life-saving procedures over the course of his 19-year career. “I was always good at science when…

Dr. Craig Walker

Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Craig Walker became interested in the medical field at just 8 years old. The youngest of nine children, the Bourg, Louisiana native was inspired by his two oldest brothers, who are also physicians. “They would show me…

Dr. David C. Benson

It’s difficult for New Iberia-based urologist, Dr. David C. Benson, to choose which of his cases has been toughest. That’s because the Shreveport native finds each case to be uniquely challenging and personal. Part of being a physician, he believes,…

fitness & food

Fresh recipes; new fitness routines; and cool, casual restaurants abound

Smoothies!

In Acadiana, we have an abundance of fresh ingredients available year-round. Thanks to freezers, we can also save produce to use at a later date. If you use fresh fruits or vegetables, consider adding a few ice cubes to keep…

In This Issue

Fashion, recipes, a bar guide and a boucherie are all highlights.

What’s Cooking

This issue highlights the best chefs and other winners in the region.

Summer Love

Music, fashion, food and fun abound in Acadiana.