Lafayette offers many smoke-free venues

    In Louisiana, it is unlawful to smoke within a restaurant. If the establishment uses more than 50 percent of its business as a bar, smoking is allowed.
    However, there are several smoke-free establishments in Lafayette, regardless of the bar-to-restaurant ratio.
    They are:
    Bisbano’s Pizza Parlor, 1540 Johnston St. by the University of Louisiana-Lafayette campus.
    Bolt, 116 E. Vermilion St. in downtown Lafayette.
    Brewski’s, 2815 Jefferson St.
    Corner Bar, 3103 Johnston St.
    Dix Almost Famous Daiquiris, 101 Liberty Ave.
    Fast Eddies, 2431 W. Congress St.
    Legends Annex, 110 Polk St. in downtown Lafayette.
    Legends, 4559 Johnston St.
    Lounge, 412 Jefferson St. in downtown Lafayette.
    Maximilian’s Lounge, 1521 Pinhook Road.
    Pour wine bar, 605 Silverstone, Suite 107, in River Ranch.
    Scandal’s, 1801 Pinhook Road.
    Taproom, 201 Settlers Trace, River Ranch.
    Tim & Tias, 211 Settlers Trace in River Ranch.
    Tonic, 2013 Pinhook Road.  
    Wild Salmon Bar & Grill, 813 Foreman Drive.
    For more information about Louisiana’s smoke-free venues, visit http://www.letsbetotallyclear.org/.

March is Egg-Citing in Lafayette!

             Spring is a-hopping in Lafayette these days. In addition to the azaleas and other magnificently colorful flowers gracing our streets, there are egg-cellent things happening.

            And before we get too bogged down in spring puns, here’s what’s coming up:

             The Center for Cultural and Ecotourism at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette hosts “Natural Egg Dying” traditions of South Louisiana and a free egg-dyeing workshop with three local artisans beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, at Vermilionville Performance Center, 300 Fisher Road. Connie Boustany will instruct how to wrap eggs and Vermilionville artisans Jocelyn Trahan and Brenda Lalonde will demonstrate how to create various natural dyes from kitchen produce and garden items. Eggs and supplies will be provided. After the dying of eggs there will be a pacqué contest, to see whose egg is the strongest. The Center’s “Backyard Series” is free and open to all ages. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. 

             The Tea Slippers present the classic comedy play for all ages, “Harvey” by Mary Chase, at 7:30 p.m. March 15, 16, 22 and 23 and at 2 p.m. March 17 and 24 at Cité des Arts, 109 Vine St. in downtown Lafayette.

             Festival Eggstrodinaire, a fundraiser for the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at the ASO Conservatory Building, 412 Travis St. in the Oil Center of Lafayette. There will be an egg and spoon race, jelly bean count contest, coloring contest, Easter egg decorating contest, sack races and so much more! The festival grounds will include the ASO Conservatory Building and surrounding areas and streets will be blocked off to accommodate local vendors. The main event will be an Easter Egg hunt so bring your baskets!
        The Bayou Vermilion District’s Vermilionville will be getting in the Easter spirit beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 23, with an Easter celebration for the whole family. The day will include a natural egg dyeing demonstration, sweet dough tart cooking demo, prettiest egg contest, pâquer tournament and Cajun jam. In addition, Alex Caldwell, co-creator and president of Vivian Alexander, will be on hand to discuss eggs and the role they play in our Easter celebrations. The talk is open to all ages and will begin at 2:30 p.m. with audience Q&A to follow. For a schedule of events, visit http://www.facebook.com/events/290971067700015/.

2013 spring concert schedules announced!

    Spring in Lafayette means get thee outside! It’s gorgeous here this time of year with balmy weather, flowers blooming everywhere and well into summer and festivals, festivals, festivals.
    To whet your appetite, here is the lineup for two spring concert series, the lunchtime Bach Lunch and the evening Downtown Alive!, both offering free music on Fridays in downtown Lafayette.
    First, the Lafayette Science Museum Foundation’s biannual Bach Lunch concert series occurs at noon Fridays in Parc Sans Souci. Music is free but box lunches are $6 each ($5 for museum members) and donated by local restaurants as a fundraiser.

    The schedule for the Spring Bach Lunch is:
    March 8: Les Freres Michot with food by Hub City Diner and iMonelli.
  
    March 15: Bonsoir, Catin with food by Bailey’s Seafood & Grill, Roly Poly and Zea’s Rotisserie & Grill.
    March 22: The Viatones with food by Abacus Restaurant & Catering, Poupart’s Bakery and Tsunami Sushi.
    March 29: Horace Trahan & the Ossun Express with food by Ema’s Café, Deano’s and O’Charley’s Restaurant.
    April 5: The Revelers with food by Agave Cantina, Chris’ Po-Boys and Great Harvest Bread Co.
  
    April 12: The Rayo Brothers with food by Creole Lunch House, Jefferson Street Pub and Johnsons Boucaniere.
    April 19: Mike Dean with food by Chick-Fil-A, French Press and Poupart’s Bakery.
    April 26: Rob Curto and Cubato as part of Festival International de Louisiana with food by Antoni’s Restaurant, Burgersmith, Cena-to-Go, Chris’ PoBoys, Hub City Diner, Joey’s Specialty Foods and Roly Poly.

    The biannual Downtown Alive! concert series begins March 8 and offers fabulous live music from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. downtown.
    Here’s the full schedule for Spring Downtown Alive!:
    March 8: The Original Pintettes (The world’s only all-female brass band), Parc International.
    March 15: Corey Ledet & his Zydeco Band, Parc International.
    March 22: Creole String Beans, Parc Sans Souci.
    April 5: Cowboy Mouth, Parc International.
    April 12: Dege Legg and Black Bayou Construckt, Parc Sans Souci.
    April 19: 2013 Grammy winner The Band Courtbouillon featuring Wayne Toups, Steve Riley and Wilson Savoy, Parc International.
    May 3: Rue Boogaloo, Parc Sans Souci.
    May 10: Louisiana Red, Parc Sans Souci.
    May 17: Mercy Brothers, Parc Sans Souci.

Horace Trahan

May 24: Sassafras Jubilee, Parc Sans Souci.
    May 31: Generationals & LillyBrave, Parc Sans Souci.
    In neighboring Carencro, the Mercredi Show happens every Wednesday, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Pelican Park.
    The lineup includes:
    April 3 - Belton Richard
    April 10 - Gregg Martinez & The Delta Kings
    April 17 - The Foret Tradition
    April 24 - Da Classics
    May 1 - Horace Trahan & The Ossun Express
    May 8 - Jo-El Sonnier
    May 15 - The Nik L Beer Band

Round ’em up, dish it out

    Food in Lafayette is world famous, which is why we were chosen as Best Food Town in 2011 by Rand McNally and Southern Living readers voted us “Tastiest Town in the South” in 2012.

Freetown Fries

    In addition to our award-winning restaurants is a new gourmet truck movement, a trend that’s been enormously popular with Lafayette’s fun-loving and festival-going populace. It began about two years ago and has been charging ahead by leaps and bounds, offering everything from chicken and waffles and boudin-enhanced dishes to gourmet hot dogs and French fries. Most trucks have Facebook pages and announce where they’ll be on a daily basis or, in the case of inclement weather, where they won’t be. Fans can also follow their movement on Twitter.
    A few places in town have become gathering spots as well. One is the parking lot on Johnston Street by the intersection of Arnould/Roselawn where several gourmet trucks have been gathering. During special events such as Mardi Gras and festivals, visitors will find gourmet trucks parked along the parade route and festival grounds.

LA stEAT

    For a visit to all or most of the gourmet trucks in one place, E’s Kitchen in Parc Lafayette hosts a gourmet truck “Round Up” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month. This Saturday at lunchtime (Feb. 2), E’s Kitchen will host the Gourmet Truck Round Up with participating trucks Viva La Waffle, Freetown Fries, Lil Chubs Grill, Kona-Ice of Acadiana, A Change of Heart, Munchies Lunchbox Express, Pelon’s Mexican Hot Dogs, LA stEAT, Acadiana Grilled Cheese Co. and Manhattan Food Co. Visiting from out of town for this event are Three Bones Catering and Beignet Roule. In addition, the Sour Sedans will perform.
    Most of the gourmet trucks in Lafayette also offer catering for special events.

King Cakes vital — and diverse — part of Mardi Gras fun

   The season of Carnival begins on Jan. 6, known as the Epiphany or Twelfth Night, the day the Christ Child was visited by the three kings. And with this date comes an old Louisiana tradition — enjoying King Cakes!
    The creation of “King Cakes” began in 12th century France when a cake was baked on the eve of Jan. 6 with a small token hidden inside. Whoever got the token in his or her slice became the royalty of the night.

Keller's traditional king cake

    The king cake tradition made its way to Louisiana, but like all good things we tend to keep it going as long as we can. Cakes are enjoyed on Jan. 6, usually with a small baby inside, and whoever gets the token must buy the next cake and so on it goes. We enjoy our King Cakes, decorated in the Carnival colors of purple, green and gold, until Ash Wednesday, the day following Mardi Gras.

Meche's King Cake

    Louisiana king cakes come plain (with decoration on top), filled with wonderful things like cream cheese, fruit preserves and pecan praline or are created in unique and wonderful ways. Meche’s Donuts of Acadiana, for instance, rolls out its dough the traditional way, then deep fries the oval ring before adding frosting. Little Big Cup coffeeshop in Arnaudville offers mini king cakes, more of a small bite of Carnival heaven. Poupart’s French bakery in Lafayette serves up a more traditional French-style king cake, in addition to the Louisiana variety. Sophi P. Cakes offers the tradition cupcake style. And so it goes.

Little Big Cup Mini King Cakes

    In addition to the famous king cake, there are interesting takes on the tradition within our culinary scene. For instance, Freetown Fries gourmet food truck of Lafayette, which serves up different and delicious entrees with home fries, offers a King Cake Fry consisting of sweet potato fries topped with a cream cheese glaze in Carnival colors. Café Vermilionville is offering Carnival cocktails and appetizers for the festive season, including King Cake martinis made up of champagne, spiced rum, amaretto, fresh squeezed orange, Amaretto icing and cream.

Freetown Fries King Cake Fry

    Ask anyone in town what their favorite king cake proprietor is and you’ll get a dozen answers. Visitors will generally find king cakes in mini marts, grocery stores and coffee shops as well as bakeries. Here are a few to sample (and by all means not a complete list!):
    Gambino’s Bakery, 3802 Johnston, (337) 406-9066, www.gambinos.com
    Great Harvest Bread Co., 854A Kaliste Saloom Road, (337) 236-8966, www.greatharvestofacadiana.com
    Keller’s Bakery, 1012 Jefferson St., (337) 235-1568, www.kellersbakery.net
    Little Big Cup, 149 Fuselier Road, Arnaudville, (337) 754-7147
    Meche’s Donut King, 402 Guilbeau Road, (337) 981-4918, and other locations
    Poupart’s, 1902 W. Pinhook Road, (337) 232-7921, www.poupartsbakery.com
    Sophi P. Cakes, 3209 Johnston St., (337) 456-5582, www.sophipcakes.com
    What’s your favorite king cake? Please visit our Facebook page and let us know. Feel free to post photos as well!

Mardi Gras goes to the dogs!

    We have so much fun in South Louisiana every winter during Carnival, it seems wrong to limit it to just humans.
    That’s why in addition to the many Lafayette krewes hosting Carnival balls and parades during the Carnival season, concluding on the big day of Mardi Gras (Feb. 12 this year), we have special events for our four-legged residents.
    The Krewe des Chiens — in French that means Krewe for Dogs — hosts an annual dog parade through the downtown Lafayette streets. This year’s theme for the Saturday, Feb. 2, Krewe des Chiens Parade is “Paw-rates of the Atchafalaya” and the pirate-costumed canines will parade through downtown beginning at 2 p.m.
    Like all Lafayette Carnival parades, the event is free, open to the public and perfectly suitable for families.
    And if you want to join in the parade, membership is open to all breeds, sizes and origins of dogs for $25 in advance, $35 on parade day. Visit the Krewe des Chiens Web site for details. Parade watchers are encouraged to bring dogs and dress them up as well.
    The Krewe des Chien’s mission to assist area shelters and animal aid organizations in the Acadiana area. The group has distributed nearly $20,000 to 10 Acadiana organizations!
    For a neighborhood experience, the Second Annual Pawdi Gras on the Pond dog parade and costume contest will be held in the Sugar Mill Pond subdivision of Youngsville from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3. This year’s theme is “Laissez Les Bon Chiens Rouler!” with awards given for King and Queen, most creative, best pet/owner look alike, best theme and other categories. 

Carnival Fun in Cajun/Creole Country

    And you thought the holidays were over? In Lafayette and surrounding areas, the fun keeps on going.
    Jan. 6 begins the Carnival season in Cajun and Creole Country, the 12th Night of Christmas, or Epiphany, when the Three Wise Men brought gifts to the baby Jesus. The season of Carnival continues until Mardi Gras, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which this year is Feb. 12.
    In a sense, it’s a religious holiday, created in Europe and continued in Catholic South Louisiana.
    “The Catholic Church licensed Carnival, which means ‘farewell to flesh,’ as a period of feasting before the fasting of Lent,” writes Arthur Hardy in his annual “Mardi Gras Guide.” “The Church also established the set date for the start of the Carnival season — Jan. 6, the Feast of the Epiphany — and the fluctuating date of Mardi Gras.”

    We celebrate the Epiphany by enjoying King Cakes with tiny babies inside — the person who gets the baby in their piece must host the next king cake and so it goes until Mardi Gras day! Carnival organizations called krewes host balls during the Carnival season with royalty and revelry, then parade through the streets throwing beads and trinkets. There’s even a krewe for canines, the Krewe des Chiens Parade for Dogs!
    Unique to Cajun and Creole Country is the ancient Carnival tradition of courirs, where costumed men and women on horseback travel the countryside to beg residents for ingredients to a gumbo, usually with a musical band and onlookers following behind. This tradition dates back to medieval France, including the costumes that mimic the educated and those in power. Once the courir arrives in town, a communal gumbo is cooked and enjoyed and usually there is lots of great music and dancing.
    Carnival and Mardi Gras in Lafayette is more appropriate for families, a safer and more relaxed version of the revelry found in New Orleans. Lafayette also offers Le Festival de Mardi Gras à Lafayette with rides and live music that occurs Feb. 8-12 at Cajun Field. Parking for RVs is available here as well and the parades roll right through the festival!
    For a complete schedule of activities, parade route map and answers to every question you might have about Carnival and Mardi Gras in Cajun and Creole Country, visit LafayetteTravel.com.