Simply put, we love food and we love Acadiana's rich culinary traditions and bustling restaurant scene ' and we take our food coverage seriously. Independent Staff Writer Mary Tutwiler is one of the preeminent food writers in Louisiana. Her food writing has also appeared in The Times-Picayune, emerils.com, Chile Pepper magazine, The Miami Herald and the Dallas Morning News, and she's also a contributor to the forthcoming book Cornbread Nation 4. We're fortunate to have her 20-plus years of experience guiding and shaping The Independent Weekly's food coverage.
The goal for our Restaurant Guide was to provide you with a handy, informative and regularly updated reference that might inspire you to visit a restaurant you've never tried before, or remind you of the charms of some Acadiana culinary icons. In our brief write-ups of each restaurants, we've aimed to provide a snapshot of the cuisine and atmosphere of each eatery.
Here's how we constructed our Restaurant Guide. We called every restaurant included and confirmed whether they served breakfast, lunch and dinner, and what days they were open. We consulted their Web sites when available, asked them whether they accepted credit cards, and asked them if they had any recent additions or specials on their menus.
More important, we're intimately familiar with every establishment included in our guide. From humble po-boy joints and barbecue outposts in gas stations to upscale restaurants like The Townhouse or Ruth's Chris, The Independent Weekly editorial staff has eaten at every establishment multiple times, whether we were grabbing a to-go order on a story deadline or celebrating a special family occasion. We're passionate about these restaurants because they're a part of our lives ' and we know they're a part of your lives, too.
This time around, we excluded national chain restaurants with beaucoup locations. That decision's partly on space considerations; including every restaurant in Lafayette would be venturing into phone book-territory. And while outposts like Chili's, Picadilly, Logan's Steakhouse, Hooters and numerous fast-food franchises are part of our regular culinary stops and all have their own unique attributes, we trust that a terrific chain like Outback Steakhouse is such a part of Lafayette's collective consciousness that you don't need us to weigh in on its addictive Bloomin' Onion.
We're already planning another Independent Weekly Restaurant Guide issue in spring 2008, and we'll be spotlighting restaurants by categories like Cajun, Creole, Seafood, Sushi, Italian, Buffet, etc. And we want to hear from you. Do you have a favorite under-the-radar plate lunch place or a similar hidden jewel, down-home or upscale in Acadiana, that we missed? Do you think we should include national chain restaurants? Then please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Call me at 988-4607, ext. 109 or fax me a note to 983-0150. Mary Tutwiler can also be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Special thanks to Olde Tyme Grocery, which made the spectacular shrimp po-boy featured in our cover photo. Bon appetit.
MAY 22 This post was written the day after the second line shooting in NOLA, by Brentin Mock. Mock is a friend of Deb "Big Red" Cotton, a blogger who was shot in the back and was seriously injured. It is a raw, emotional piece of writing, something the writer obviously felt he needed to get off his chest. But it raises questions that can't be easily dismissed, and might give some insight into where the source of these events truly is.
MAY 22 In this Baton Rouge Business Report post, Rolfe McCollister considers the privatization of bus service in Baton Rouge. After decades of under-funding, it is a mess, and although a tax (partially) passed last year, improvement hasn't happened yet. McCollister apparently feels it is time to let private business get in on the transit business.
MAY 22 This post on Bayou Buzz by Jeff Crouere urges the defeat of a bill that would grant modest pay increases over the next several years to the state's judges and clerks of court. The state is in no position to fund pay hikes, Crouere argues, with the pay increases costing a total of $9 million over several years. It sends the wrong message to the (proverbial) hard-working people of Louisiana, he says.
MAY 22 The Advocate reports here that State Treasurer John Kennedy is complaining about a meeting of the corporation that oversees the state's tobacco settlement. The Governor wanted it restructured, and he has some support, but not a lot. The corporation agreed with his plan, but Kennedy didn't, and it appears that the meeting was noticed in a manner completely different than that of all previous meetings. Kennedy's given to hyperbole, but in this case the fish don't smell too fresh.
MAY 22 In this Advocate story, Carencro Police Chief Carlos Stout says the recent federal indictment of a strip club owner is all wrong. The indictment alleges that drugs and prostitution went on with impunity because club staff made arrangements with "local" police. Stout says it never happened, and while his cops do work security in the parking lot, they're not allowed inside.
MAY 22 This amusing post in DIG Baton Rouge recounts an ad that ran on Craig's List recently; the advertiser was seeking tenants for a Beauregard Town house. He knew his market, and wrote an ad that the most ironical hipster couldn't resist. Apparently, he really did know his market, because the ad worked like a charm.
MAY 22 In this post in The Lens, Mark Moseley comments on the rhetoric Gov. Jindal employed in trying to save his tax "reform" package. One interesting point concerns Jindal's use of his brother, Nikesh, in a little story. Nikesh left Louisiana because of his inability to get a decent job, the story goes, but the story won't hold water: Nikesh lives in DC, which has an income tax level comparable to Louisiana, Moseley says. If income taxes caused the dismal situation, it should exist in DC too. Right?
MAY 22 This post by columnist John Maginnis traces the trajectory of the bill that would fund construction at community and technical colleges -- and bypass the Board of Regents and traditional higher ed funding mechanisms. Sure, it will bust the legislature's self-imposed debt limit, but some leges feel that there's more need (because there is more growth) in the community and technical college area than in the university area, he says.
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