Wednesday, August24, 2011
By Anna Purdy
Photos by Robin May
Nope. Chef Donald Link’s Lafayette version of his popular Big Easy restaurant is on schedule for a mid-September opening.
When asked if his New Orleans Cochon is going to be jealous of the new location at 921 Camellia Blvd. just inside the borders of Lafayette’s River Ranch, chef Donald Link laughs, “Yeah. I think I will be jealous, too!” Cochon Lafayette is due to open in mid-September.
The menu fittingly hearkens back to the popular Cochon in the Crescent City’s Warehouse District — with subtle differences that are enough to intrigue, yet not enough to make it seem foreign to those familiar with the New Orleans original.
Not a fan of the sterile, modern look, Link is giving The Independent a first peek inside the new location. Like New Orleans’ Cochon, this one is filled with earth tones — cypress and pine are the primary woods, and the counter tops, like the floor, are a smooth and polished concrete. Every aspect of this place has Link’s signature, and the management staff comprises as many friends as possible. One of the builders is husband to famed New Orleans’ restaurateur — and Link’s friend and mentor — Susan Spicer.
“We brought several people from New Orleans here,” Link explains. “We wanted them to really live here and settle in, to be part of the community, to do charity events and be a part of Lafayette.”
Executive chef Bill Briand was an Army brat who settled in New Orleans, studied culinary arts at De LaSalle and went to work for Link nearly 10 years ago. Briand already owns a home nearby. Lafayette native Todd Suire had been working in New Orleans for three years, most recently at Cochon Butcher, and returns to be the bar manager. General Manager Toby Lagneaux’s brother, Tommy, is the GM of Cochon New Orleans. Most of the remaining staff will be hired locally.
Cochon Lafayette is accessible and spacious. When you drive in, the walkway winds you to an entrance featuring a chandelier made of horns. Lighting is raw, simple and warm. The bar has a dozen beers on tap. Outside, the patio boasts ample seating with citrus trees and herb boxes mingling with benches. There will also be tables outside, so you can dine al fresco while taking in the Vermilion River; and speaking of which: River Ranch’s developers are planning a boardwalk along the Vermilion that will lead to an old-fashioned bandstand near Cochon, so expect live music relatively soon. 
But Cochon Lafayette doesn’t mark the beginning of a chain for the Link Restaurant Group. “I’ve had offers to have a chain of Butcher shops,” says Link, “but how do I know it would be quality?”
The Lake Charles native is happy to keep the operation small, ensuring that he can place a careful eye and a steady hand on the quality being offered. Lafayette should be very satisfied.
MAY 23 Here's a story in the Picayune about some statistics that must come as a blow to folks who believe that any private school can do a better job of educating kids than any public school: Danielle Dreilinger reports that only 30 percent of the voucher kids are passing. That's less than half of the state wide average, she says. It's an interesting statistic because most of the schools (if not all) taking voucher kids have never had their students' standardized test scores released to the public before.
MAY 23 Stephen Sabludowsky blogs on Bayou Buzz about auditor requests here. Recently the state GOP started crowing about a request from the Legislative Auditor, claiming they were being targeted because of their anti-tax stance. (Uh, your what?) Denial and hyperbole aside, the state Democratic party blew holes in that theory with an email announcing they'd received the same request, Sabludowsky writes here.
MAY 23 Jim Brown blogs about the senate race in this post. He says that, given Bobby Jindal's "lack of traction" on the national stage, it might make more sense for the governor to consider running against Mary Landrieu for the senate seat. Since Tim Teeple left the Cassidy team, it makes sense he might land on a Jindal for Senate team, Brown opines.
MAY 23 In this Louisiana Voice post, blogger Tom Aswell writes of rumors that his nemesis, state Superintendent of Education John White, may be soon departing Louisiana for a federal post. It's hard to believe, given his performance, Aswell says, but stranger things have happened. An anti-White BESE member says that, if true, White is quitting before he can be fired.
MAY 23 In this post on American Zombie, blogger Jason Berry writes about the Mother's Day shooting. Mayor Landrieu said that "this is not who we are," but the fact is, this is New Orleans, Berry writes. The violence infused in the city is the result of a culture created by "sins of omission or sins of commission," Berry writes. It's not a problem that can be solved by legislating, policing, praying or publicizing, he says: Someone's got to understand what's happening first.
MAY 23 This post in the Westside Journal tells us what Port Allen Mayor Deedy has been up to lately: vetoing ordinances, apparently. This story is most interesting, however, when it delves into a petition that has been circulating around the city lately. It accuses the former mayor of a lot of nasty things; the former mayor says it is full of lies and "broken syntax" which may be a larger offense in his eyes.
MAY 23 This editorial posted in The Advocate is a bit confusing. The writing is poor - definitely not up to the usual editorial writing standard there - and the point is hard to grasp. Apparently, the writer is saying that privatization of state efforts is OK, as long as there is oversight and transparency, but Jindal's not good at that, and the legislature shouldn't over-react. Okey Dokey. Can't they get one of them Pulitzer-winning people to write an editorial?
MAY 23 This post on The Lens gives you links to a new Google Earth tool that allows you to see any spot on earth transform over the past 30 years. Bob Marshall, who covers the coast for the paper, says that in the case of Louisiana's coastline, it's possibly something you don't want to see, because it's not a pretty picture. There are several clips here, showing critical areas erode away. For Marshall, it was vindication for all those times he was met with eye-rolling when he talked about erosion.
Most Read
in case you missed it
Subscribe to this comment's feed