Lighten Up Your Day
It isn’t just about reducing sugar in a recipe or using low fat milk instead of cream. It’s about making healthy choices and thinking of making the food as flavorful as possible. How can we make our food surprisingly good…
Recipes
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…
Ember Orchid Mocktail Recipe
As Lent settles in following the indulgent whirl of Carnival season, Lafayette’s Ember Kitchen + Cocktails has unveiled a new entrant in the city’s fast-rising zero-proof movement. Bar manager, Deanna Scott, leans into that trend with her latest creation, the…
Holiday Snacks to Wow Your Guests
The holiday season is ramping up. This is a time for joy, celebration, giving, friends, family – but, mostly, it's time for snacking. Whether it’s bonding with Grandpa over which pre-dinner dish on the table is the best, or using…
5 Acadiana Holiday Drinks from Local Favorites
Your curated Acadiana Holiday Drinks list from local favorite spots is here! Holiday parties are in full swing as 2025 comes to a close. The pressure is on. Will you meet the expectations that last year's host set at the…
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…
531 Liberty Café’s Twist on a Classic Old Fashioned
The seasonally inspired Banana Nut Old Fashioned is the perfect cocktail for crisp autumn days. Created at 531 Liberty Café by mixologist Gina Domangue, it echoes the warm and inviting flavors of fall baking with cinnamon, brown sugar, nuts and…
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…
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…
Fruit and Vegetable Smoothie Recipes
In Acadiana, we have an abundance of fresh ingredients available year-round. If you use fresh fruits or vegetables, consider adding a few ice cubes to keep your smoothie cold. If the produce you desire isn’t in season, you can always…
Salt Revival Oyster Co.'s Cooling Coastal Berry Crush Cocktail
It’s way past happy hour and the blistering sun is melting into twilight. You’re by the pool or on the porch, craving a sweet, ice-cold cocktail and some fresh seafood. Consider the Coastal Berry Crush, a fruity summertime sipper from…
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…
Spoonbill Watering Hole’s Tropical Tequila Tipple Cocktail Recipe
It’s time to raise your glass to spring with a new tequila cocktail from Spoonbill Watering Hole’s bar manager, Tanner Dimmick. A revered mixologist, Dimmick is also known as one of the celebrated Gravy Boys, partnered with Vestal’s chef Sullivan…
Healthy and Seasonal Recipes
Let’s face it, we are hardwired to want to eat more in winter. Although early humans might have needed to put on weight in the winter, when food was harder to come by and to stave off the cold, we…
How the Communal Mardi Gras Gumbo Gets Made
Most of us have heard about masked revelers chasing chickens and gathering ingredients for a gumbo during Cajun country Mardi Gras, but what happens after the masks come off? Communal gumbos are a traditional end to long runs through the…
Cinclare Bar & Table's Hibiscus Spritz Cocktail Recipe
With more consumers gravitating towards healthier beverage options, Acadiana imbibers are…
Chef Sullivan Zant's Vestal Chimichurri Recipe
If Sullivan Zant hadn’t dropped out of college his junior year, he would…
Holiday Drink and Snack Recipes
It appears that the holidays are upon us, and I have done little to nothing in preparation. I checked the pantry and freezer and the stash of liquor in the bar cabinet. Not too bad. While it was rather late…
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.…
Fall Recipes: Roasted Beets, Chicken Pontalba and more
It’s that time of year when we want to cozy up to a fire and invite friends over for a visit and an informal gathering. Here is a menu that can easily be put together. Let whatever is in season…
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…
Cooking Stuffed Mirlitons
My mother was known for “putting up” okra, maque choux, figs, pears and pickled anything, but her favorite was mirlitons (she called them "mellie-tons”). Around this time of year, she headed out in search of these for her final “putting…
Recipes: Savory Shrimp and Lemon Bars
Spring is the season for crawfish, but it is also when locally caught shrimp becomes available. I usually head out to Cypremort Point or Delcambre for shrimp (and other local seafood) that’s brought in from Vermilion Bay. It’s an ideal…