READING RAINFOREST Looking for an alternative to the more traditional A is for apple, B is for banana and O is for orange method of teaching the alphabet? Then go for the N for neon tetra, O for ocelot and Y for yapok approach, as found in the latest children’s book written by New Orleans musician and children’s author Johnette Downing. Accompanied by vivid, abstract illustrations, Amazon Alphabet is an A-Z tour of the Amazon rainforest that teaches the alphabet and strengthens reading skills while also introducing little-known facts about the rainforest’s ecosystem. Downing is an award-winning children’s singer, songwriter and author who performs author visits and concerts for children, as well as workshops for educators around the world. Downing’s ninth children’s book can be purchased through Pelican Publishing or online for $13.59 at www.pelicanpub.com. — Heather Miller
GO FISH Executive Chef Holly Goetting of Charley G’s has created several succulent winter fish dishes, sure to please your palate — and your waistline. Wood-grilled mahi mahi, served with roasted cauliflower, green olive and pine nut ragout, baby bay shrimp sauté and feta cheese, gets an A+ for presentation and taste. On the more eclectic side is pan-seared sea bass with corn maque choux, Creole mustard vinaigrette and crispy okra. Other fish selections include wood grilled salmon, smoked almond-crusted red fish and wood-grilled yellow fin tuna. With choices like these, you’ll be sure to find a way to increase your intake of Omega 3s. Bon appétit! — Lisa Hanchey
TWISTED On those oh-so-familiar work days that often call for an after-hours beverage, Corner Bar near the Grand Theatre is offering something slightly zestier than a traditional barroom peanut to accompany your favorite happy hour draft brew or cocktail. Manager Chris Meilleur says the seasoned pretzels served to patrons are one-of-a-kind and, for now, can only be found at Corner Bar, a nonsmoking neighborhood pub near the corner of Johnston Street and Doucet Road. The pretzels come from next door — Took’s Fine Meats — where the owner bags the pretzels after mixing them with his own recipe of oil-based spices. Took’s plans to start selling the pretzels at the meat market soon, but for now the spot to find them is Corner Bar. The pretzels are free during happy hour from 3-7 p.m. daily, and $1 for a full cup of pretzels before or after happy hour. — HM
David Calhoun and Elizabeth “EB” Brooks are the first two employees of Lafayette Central Park Inc., the nonprofit charged with turning Lafayette Consolidated Government’s 100-acre Johnston Street Horse Farm property into a passive public park. Calhoun was named executive director, and Brooks is director of planning and design.
At Thursday's State of the Economy luncheon, LEDA President and CEO Gregg Gothreaux said PXP has already quietly hired 180 people for its Broussard expansion.
There will soon be a whole lot of shakin’ going on at Benny’s Sportshack Supplement Depot, a new concept by Opelousas native Benny Nele. Located at 2002 Johnston St., the supplement shop, smoothie bar and café, featuring hot off the press paninis and wraps, plans to open in late May.
This year’s Cool Town issue is all about people who are not native to South Louisiana but made a conscious decision to be here, to be among us, to participate in our culture and contribute to it.
A shelved ordinance transferring $200,000 from a northside drainage project to a south Lafayette development may not break any laws, but it stinks to high heaven.
An effort to restore a shuttered dancehall and document other vacant or razed honky-tonks could serve as a model for saving an endangered species of entertainment.
Lafayette’s gene pool has been host to a long line of eccentric characters who have blurred the lines between crazy, genius, disturbed and curiously entertaining.
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