The saying "What a small world" has a whole different meaning when you come from South Louisiana.
This past weekend, I was in Destin, FL. Among the hundreds of thousands of people on the beach, I heard a little "Wayne Toups" tune playing in the background one morning. I followed the sound and found a group of people sitting in LSU chairs, under and LSU tent, speaking in a familiar sound only known to those of us from Cajun Country. They turned out to be a mixture of Breaux Bridge and Church Point natives, celebrating the 4th of July in true Cajun fashion--two-steppin' with beers and good food in hand--300 miles from home.
That same weekend, we searched for a place to eat and wound up at a little restaurant on the beach where the chef was from--you guessed it--Acadiana. New Iberia to be exact. I knew we were walking into home-town territory when we saw a sea of Festivale Internationale and Crawfish Festival posters lining the walls. The yummy food was reminiscent of a Saturday night meal that we might have at our camp in Henderson--crawfish etouffee, shrimp creole, and shrimp po-boys. I went back to the hotel that night thinking....
If I can keep it up, I want to blog about all of the little intracacies about South Louisiana.
Good restaurants, great dance spots, festivals, must-see sites and more--for those of you not from our area who desire to visit a place that full of wonderful memories.
And, for those of you who *are* from cajun country, I wish to keep you updated on places outside of our own area that 'feel like home' for when you travel. Starting with...
This past weekend, I was in Destin, FL. Among the hundreds of thousands of people on the beach, I heard a little "Wayne Toups" tune playing in the background one morning. I followed the sound and found a group of people sitting in LSU chairs, under and LSU tent, speaking in a familiar sound only known to those of us from Cajun Country. They turned out to be a mixture of Breaux Bridge and Church Point natives, celebrating the 4th of July in true Cajun fashion--two-steppin' with beers and good food in hand--300 miles from home.
That same weekend, we searched for a place to eat and wound up at a little restaurant on the beach where the chef was from--you guessed it--Acadiana. New Iberia to be exact. I knew we were walking into home-town territory when we saw a sea of Festivale Internationale and Crawfish Festival posters lining the walls. The yummy food was reminiscent of a Saturday night meal that we might have at our camp in Henderson--crawfish etouffee, shrimp creole, and shrimp po-boys. I went back to the hotel that night thinking....
"Wow....what a small world."It made me realize: everytime I travel, whether it's a hundred or a thousand miles away, there is ALWAYS someone from my little part of the world right around the corner. It's such a comforting feeling to find someone that understands you when you say things like "Mais cher!" or "Couyon"....or a shirt that says "Geaux"on it, and they don't ask you why it's spelled that way.
If I can keep it up, I want to blog about all of the little intracacies about South Louisiana.
Good restaurants, great dance spots, festivals, must-see sites and more--for those of you not from our area who desire to visit a place that full of wonderful memories.
And, for those of you who *are* from cajun country, I wish to keep you updated on places outside of our own area that 'feel like home' for when you travel. Starting with...
- "790 North" and "790 on the Gulf"
Florida restaurant with a Louisiana flair. Menu is packed fool of comfort foods hailing from Lafayette to New Orleans and throughout. Menu items included Catfish Acadiana, Shrimp Half-and-Half, several fried seafood platters, muffulata sandwiches, po-boys and more. Prices were quite fair--their signature burger is around $8 while the Catfish Acadiana runs about $15. And...they serve Abita beer!!
2 locations:
"790 North" in Ft. Walton, since 2003....located at 790 Beal Pkwy in Fort Walton.
"790 on the Gulf" in Destin, new in 2009....located inside The Inn at Crystal Beach, 2996
Scenic Hwy 98 Destin
http://www.790northrestaurant.embarqspace.com/
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