Acadiana Profile October-November 2016

5 pros spice up Acadiana's culinary landscape p. 48

Tops of Acadiana

Your favorite people, places and things in the region Manny Augello owner of Bread & Circus Provisions brings fresh, local ingredients to Lafayette.

p. 60

Fall Festivals

4 eclectic festivals throughout the state p. 66

State of Business

Acadiana’s Top 3 Emerging Industries p. 72

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acadiana profile october/november 2016

features Célébrer le mode de vie acadien

48

best chefs A look at the pros spicing Acadiana’s culinary landscape

60

Tops of Acadiana Your favorite people, places and things, and ours, from throughout the region, voted on by the readers and the editors

by Will Kalec & Lisa LeBlanc-Berry

66

Fall Festivals

Glenda Broussard serves up warmth, welcome and satisfying down home meals at Glenda’s Creole Kitchen in Breaux Bridge

Load up the car and hit the road to enjoy one of these four eclectic festivals throughout the state

By Kelly massicot

72

State of Business Acadiana’s top 3 emerging industries

By Kimberly Singletary

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contents october/november 2016 | volume 35, number 5

12 lagniappe

A little Extra 14 note de l’editeur

Editor’s Note 16 nouvelles de villes

food+drink 37 sur le menu

Comfort Foods: You say potato, I say brown butter tomatoes

News Briefs

40

20

Simmering Soups: Comfort and joy in one delectable pot

le visiter

Calendar of Events

de la cuisine

46 recettes de cocktails

Teche Toddy: When the temperatures drop, warm up with a hot toddy

home+style 23 la maison

French Country Charm: With a love for the arts and a passion for Provence, a musically-inclined couple fashions a stunning home in Lafayette

culture

32

79

pour la maison

les artistes

Throw Down: Wrap yourself in luxurious warmth with soft and stylish throws

(Not) For the Birds: Tommy Myers of Eunice builds extravagant birdhouses that teeter between functional and fine art

34 À la mode

Bootie Call: Chic and sassy boots for your fall fashions

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On the Cover

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Manny Augello founded Lafayette’s first underground supper club.

After serving to much acclaim at Jolie’s Bistro, the Palermo, Sicily native opened Bread & Circus Provisions. Fresh, local ingredients are at the heart of Augello’s cuisine, which now includes Neapolitan pizza baked in a clay dome, wood-burning oven that was built and shipped from Naples.

les personnes

An Undaunted Spirit: Little more than a year ago, breast cancer tried (and failed) to turn the world of Carencro resident LaTonya George upside-down

la musique

Musical Gumbo: The 11th annual Blackpot Festival in Lafayette celebrates regional cooking and ‘old timey’ musical traditions with modern flair and camping 96 en français, s’il vous plaît

La Confrérie de la Chaudière Noire

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lagniappe

Learn French allons (v.i.) Form of aller (to go). Let’s go.

What is your favorite thing to cook in the fall?

Editor in Chief

Managing Editor

Associate Editor

Jess DeBold

Copy Editor

Amanda Orr

Art Director

Sarah George

“Each year I get very excited

about satsuma

season. Satsuma cocktails, quick

preserves and sauces will be prevelent in my house.”

Lead Photographer Web Editor Editorial Intern Vice President of Sales

“Cool weather holidays and occasions call for my grandma’s oyster patties. It is a must-have menu item for the Massicot family.

The sauce is also delicious served with rice.”

Errol Laborde Melanie Warner Spencer

Danley Romero Marie Simoneaux Colleen Monaghan (504) 830-7215

Colleen@acadianaprofile.com

Sales Manager

Rebecca Taylor (337) 298-4424

(337) 235-7919 Ext. 230

Rebecca@acadianaprofile.com

Sales Intern

Kaila Jackson

Traffic Coordinator

Distribution Manager

Terra Durio John Holzer

Director of Marketing & Events Cheryl Lemoine

Event Coordinator Margaret Strahan

Administrative Assistant

Subscription Manager

Production/Web Manager Senior Production Designer

Denise Dean Sara Kelemencky

Subscriptions Mallary Matherne

Staci McCarty Ali Sullivan

Production Designer Monique DiPietro Chief Executive Officer

translation: Let’s go to the festival!

Did You Know?

Kelly Massicot

example: Allons au festival!

Todd Matherne

President

Alan Campell

Executive Vice President

Errol Laborde

“Fall to me screams football season and seafood gumbo — ­ two things I love, that happen to go hand in hand. There’s nothing better than cooking up a big pot of shrimp, crab and oyster gumbo — the darker the roux the better — and having friends over to root your team to victory.”

There are 10 deer hunting areas in the state of Louisiana, all with slightly different laws. Deer hunting seasons vary depending on the sex of the deer, firearm being used and if it’s “still” hunting or you are hunting with or without dogs. (If you want to take your dogs out on the hunt, you’ll have to wait until December.) Archery seasons open as early as Oct. 1; primitive firearms on Oct. 22; and firearms on Oct. 29.

The season limit is six deer, with no more than three antlered or four antlerless. Daily, you are permitted one antlered and one antlerless, however hunting antlerless deer is not always legal. For more detailed rules including exact dates, check the Louisiana Hunting Regulations 2016 to 2017, available for free online at wlf.louisiana.gov.

— Marie Simoneaux

Behind The Scenes

Like us on Facebook (facebook.com/acadianaprofile) and follow us on Twitter (@acadianaprofile) for daily updates, happenings in the area and other news!

Please consider our planet and recycle this (and every) magazine.

Renaissance Publishing LLC • 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123 • Metairie, LA 70005 • (504) 828-1380 • (877) 221-3512 128 Demanade, Suite 104 • Lafayette, LA 70503 • (337) 235-7919 ext. 230 Acadiana Profile (ISSN 0001-4397) is published bimonthly by Renaissance Publishing LLC, 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005 (504) 828-1380 and 128 Demanade, Suite 104, Lafayette, LA 70503 (337) 235-7919 ext. 230. Subscription rate: One year $10; Foreign Subscriptions vary. Periodicals postage paid at Lafayette, LA, and additional mailing entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Acadiana Profile, 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005. Copyright 2016 Renaissance Publishing LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. The trademark Acadiana Profile is registered. Acadiana Profile is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos and artwork, even if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. The opinions expressed in Acadiana Profile are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine or owner.

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acadiana profile october/november 2016

Sullivan Zant, sous chef at Dark Roux, putting his finishing touches on the Pan Seared Gulf Catch, pg. 37.

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note de l’editeur

sales team

In August, South Louisiana was hit with one of the worst natural disasters

in recent history. News of the flooding reverberated across the state and we watched in horror as the water continued to rise. Many of our neighbors lost everything. Our hearts and our thoughts go out to them as we continue to look for ways to recover and contribute to the recovery. Throughout this nightmare, one thing came up again and again and that’s the no-holds-barred and no-questions-asked assistance offered immediately by ordinary people from all over Louisiana. Countless stories about everyday heroes from the individual fishermen setting out in their boats, as well as the more organized “Cajun Navy,” mobilizing to save people when the authorities were overwhelmed with sheer number of people in need of rescue, to those who stepped in to lend a hand or give donations. The rest of the country — many of whom also stepped up — seemed surprised by reports of people helping people, but those of us who live here in Louisiana know that’s just what you do. Acadians are nothing if not tough and resilient and will overcome this disaster with grace, that signature joie de vivre and the resolute spirit born of facing, and conquering, adversity.

It’s in that spirit we present this issue of Acadiana Profile. If ever there was a time to celebrate the people in Acadiana doing great things, it’s now. Our Best Chefs feature focuses on five pros from throughout the region that are at the top of their game and bring their distinctive flavor and flair to the people. In the State of Business feature, we look at the top emerging industries and what it means for Acadiana’s economy. Not ones to shy away from controversy, we’re also serving up our reader’s choice and editor’s choice picks for Tops of Acadiana. You voted, we voted and the results are in on our favorite places to eat, drink, go, do and see — we hope you have as much fun reading the list as we had compiling it.

Please enjoy this small distraction and join me in this issue as we revel in the best of and the tops of Acadiana.

Melanie Warner Spencer, Managing Editor (504) 830-7239 | Melanie@AcadianaProfile.com

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acadiana profile october/november 2016

Rebecca Taylor Sales Manager (337) 298-4424 (337) 235-7919 Ext. 230 Rebecca@AcadianaProfile.com

Colleen Monaghan Vice President of Sales (504) 830-7215 Colleen@AcadianaProfile.com

nouvelles de villes

by lisa leblanc-berry

Calcasieu, Vermilion, Iberia and Lafayette

Cajun Nation volunteers continue Surrounded by TV cameras while surveying the damage in Zachary after the Great Flood of 2016, President Barack Obama promised a sustained national effort to rebuild the ravaged region “even after the cameras leave.” By the time he landed in Louisiana on Aug. 23, Obama designated $127 million in federal aid for temporary rental assistance, home repairs and flood insurance. The funding continues with growing demand. While $20 million was distributed to individuals by the Obama administration at the time of his visit, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump visited Baton Rouge on Aug. 19, attracting the media while handing out donated supplies. Beyond the political sound-bites, national media coverage has largely been devoted to crediting prominent relief organizations and celebrities such as Taylor Swift for her $1 million donation and Louisiana native Britney Spears for raffling off her MTV Music Video Awards concert threads, airline and show tickets and autographed albums.

Hardly enough ink has been spilled on the countless unsung heroes who are still helping strangers in other cities with the sole purpose of paying it forward. Preferring anonymity to reflect the “storm with no name,” they’ve emptied their wallets, cooked vats of gumbo and fought muddy waters to rescue panicked victims.

They continue the hard volunteer work of gutting and rebuilding the homes of others. The “Cajun Navy’s” informal flotilla of boats and the “Cajun Army’s” “boots on the ground, folks without boats” saved thousands who fell through the cracks (they went undiscovered by the National Guard, since some obscure rural roads weren’t on the master list). Dozens of unofficial Cajun pop-up groups were also driven by cries for help on social media.

Acadiana Profile followed some of these amazing volunteers for 10 days through the deluge in Abbeville, Lafayette, Youngsville, Breaux Bridge, Broussard and New Iberia. There were carloads of high school students who drove from Lake Charles to Abbeville to remove debris at strangers’ homes along the bayou, college kids from New York University who flew in to gut houses around Lafayette, plus church groups and sports teams offering help around New Iberia. Dozens of film industry volunteers from I.A.T.S.E. local 478, organized by two union sculptors, are repeatedly caravanning from New Orleans to the Baton Rouge area as well as various Acadiana towns with carloads of supplies, tools and construction crews. It may take more time in some cases, but hope floats in the Cajun Nation. (General volunteer info, call 211 or 337-232-4357).

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nouvelles de villes

Savings on Gas: There’s an app for that You can now find additional ways to save at the pump. In partnership with Chevron, Albertson’s follows the trend of some of its competitors by launching a gas rewards program where shoppers can redeem up to 20 cents per gallon at participating Chevron and Texaco stations. Shoppers can enroll by downloading the just for U app. Once registered, you earn a point for every dollar spent on participating items.

Points are redeemable at the pump (albertsons.com).

LAFAYETTE

Hey Sport!

Bell’s Sporting Goods (4313 Johnston St., 337-981-5330) is celebrating its 70th anniversary in October with an array of themed sales. “My dad was an athlete in college,” said owner David Bell. “He opened our first, one-aisle, 600-square-foot store in 1946.” The sprawling store, popular with sports teams and local students, sells sports equipment, commercial and residential fitness equipment and custom-designed team uniforms. There are 2,700 square feet of equipment on display in the fitness store, plus a large selection of sports shoes, clothing and ULL merchandise.

Flood Recovery Health Tips After the waters recede, there may be an increased risk for the Zika virus in south Louisiana, according to tropical medicine physicians (the FDA now recommends testing blood donations for the virus). Louisiana Medicaid announced it will cover EPA-approved mosquito repellents (containing DEET or Picaridin) for pregnant women and for those actively planning to conceive. Also, UnitedHealth and Optum is offering free emotional support and referral services to anyone affected by the recent flood. You do not have to be covered by a UnitedHealthcare plan for the free service. The toll-free number, 866-3426892, will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for as long as necessary.

LAFAYETTE

Honoring through Art Moncus Park at the Horse Farm announced a new monument depicting the late UL professor Griff Blakewood, who was the leader in the Save the Horse Farm movement.

“This is the first grand park in Lafayette that’s managed by a nonprofit entity,” said Elizabeth “E.B.” Brooks, executive director of Lafayette Central Park, Inc., regarding the public-private partnership. “We’re really excited about all the ways the park is going to be used in the future.”

Lafayette Central Park, lafayettecentralpark.org

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calendar

by kelly massicot

around acadiana Gatherings and activities around Acadiana October 2.

Bayou Veg Festival. Houma.

985-227-3983. facebook.com/ Bayou-Veg-Fest-989623641132965

7-9.

Voice of the Wetlands Festival. Houma.

985-226-5762. voiceofthewetlands.org

7-9.

Lake Charles Film & Music Festival.

Lake Charles. lakecharlesfilmfestival.com

8.

Rouge et Blanc Wine Festival. Lake Charles. 337-475-5123. rougeetblanc.us

8.

Vinton Heritage Festival. Vinton.

337-589-7453. cityofvinton.com

8.

Louisiana Cajun Food Fest. Kaplan.

337-652-4101. facebook.com/lacajunfoodfestival

13-16. Festivals Acadiens et CrĂŠoles.

Lafayette. festivalsacadiens.com 13-16. Louisiana Cattle Festival. Abbeville.

337-652-0646. louisianacattlefestival.org 14-16. Louisiana Gumbo Festival of Chackbay.

Thibodaux. 985-633-2828. lagumbofest.com 15-16. Chauvin Culture and Heritage Festival.

Chauvin. 504-615-6065 or

985-594-5000.

22.

Culture Fest. Lake Charles.

337-409-9636. culturefestlouisiana.com

22-23. Rougarou Fest. Houma. 985-580-7289.

rougaroufest.org 24.

Arts Fest. Lake Charles. 337-439-2787. artsandhumanitiesswla.org/events/ whats-coming-up/artsfest

November 2-6. Yellow Rails and Rice Festival. Jennings.

snowyegretenterprises.com 5.

Southdown Marketplace Arts and Crafts Festival. Houma. 985-851-0154.

southdownmuseum.org/marketplace 5.

Louisiana Swamp Stomp Festival.

Raceland. facebook.com/laswampstomp

12.

Bayou Beer Fest. Houma. 985-873-9185. bayoubeerfest.com

12-13. Flea Fest. Flea Market. Lake Charles.

337-502-8584. fleafest.com

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home+Style Inspiration, dĂŠcoration et accessoires chic pour la vie

la maison

french country charm With a love for the arts and a passion for Provence, a musicallyinclined couple fashions a fashionable home in Lafayette

By Lisa LeBlanc-Berry | Photos by chad chenier

When Mitch and Sandy Landry came across a

French country manor with a sprawling great room overlooking a French Quarter-style courtyard in Lafayette’s River Ranch, it reminded them of the grand, historic residences in their beloved home photo by Justin Bacque

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style+home

la maison

town. The house was reminiscent of the Provence region of France, known for its charming Old World architecture, fine antiques and seemingly endless fields of lavender that would later inspire the vibrant seasonal

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blooms surrounding their reimagined outdoor living room.

“While growing up in New Orleans, I loved the high ceilings and crown moldings, and all the natural light in the Uptown homes,” Sandy

says. One of nine children, and the daughter of a New Orleans judge, she grew up near Audubon Boulevard. Mitch moved to New Orleans in eighth grade. They met 33 years ago in Slidell while performing

as actors in a musical at the former Minacapelli Dinner Theatre, which was destroyed in a 2011 fire.

“We both sing and dance,” she says. “Mitch even took classical ballet.”

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With a shared devotion to music and the arts, the couple fell in love. They were married a year and a half later in Kauai, Hawaii, where they decided to live for the next three years.

“Mitch was in banking at the time,” Sandy says. “We ended up opening a gallery in Kauai featuring paintings and objects d’art. Within six months, we opened a second

shop, also in Hawaii. We returned for Mitch to go to law school. The oil industry had bottomed out by then.”

The Landrys eventually planted roots in a substantial house located one block from Lake Pontchartrain in Mandeville. They enjoyed hosting fundraisers for the arts at their Northshore residence while continuing to star in theatre productions, including Tulane’s Summer Lyric Theatre.

Then Hurricane Katrina descended upon Louisiana, flooding their property and taking 100 trees with it.

opening page The gourmet kitchen overlooks a spacious great room and dining area with a distressed walnut French antique table that folds into a hinged game table. left The serene master bedroom spills onto a courtyard and features an early 1800s French armoire with brass hinges from Revival Antiques, a late 1800s English burled walnut high chest and a carved mahogany Mallard-inspired headboard. right A downstairs guest bedroom, situated beside a cascading vessel fountain in the front garden, is adorned with an Italianate iron bed with bronze finials and two French antique marble-top side tables with iron fretwork.

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“We evacuated to Baton Rouge before the storm, and later decided to live in Lafayette, where Mitch set up his law practice,” Sandy says.

“He recently opened a second office in Metairie. So now, we get to spend more time visiting our two grandchildren in New Orleans. We also have nieces, nephews and grandchildren in Lafayette.”

Married at age 19, Sandy had five children prior to marrying Mitch in 1985. Three of her adult children are now doctors residing in south Louisiana and Florida.

“We love to have the family over and we also frequently entertain friends,” Sandy says.

“That’s why this four-bedroom,

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two-story home in River Ranch was a perfect choice. We felt it provided a clean slate, so that we could put our personal touch into the house. It has a feeling of warmth and elegant charm, and it’s ideal for entertaining.”

A fabulous cook who has catered numerous large parties for arts organizations at their left The great room features triple windows overlooking the courtyard. right Architectural details such as tongue and groove cypress beams supporting a ceiling peaking at 30 feet, and wide plank antique pine flooring complement myriad French antiques, including a Louis XIV burled walnut black marble-top table with serpentine drawers that showcases sculptural Burts-Cason lamps designed for Flambeau Lighting.

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homes on the Northshore and in Lafayette, Sandy enjoys their gourmet kitchen that opens onto a spacious great room with cathedral-height ceilings. The kitchen has a custom island with seating, in addition to a dining table for casual family meals. The spacious dining room is formal, in contrast.

Aside from the open floor plan throughout the first floor, the beauty of the house is how three of the rooms are situated 28 |

around the verdant courtyard, each with splendid views through matching triple windows. This includes the formal dining room, the great room and the master bedroom suite, which opens onto the courtyard.

The dramatic and expansive great room extends from the kitchen, with its cozy fireplace and beamed ceilings that rise to 30 feet.

“We wanted to create an extended outdoor living room in

the courtyard,” Sandy says. “So we removed all the grass and put down travertine to expand the area.” A canopy in the courtyard creates an intimate living area flanked by other seating groups and an outdoor kitchen.

“We also wanted a feeling of Provence, which is ablaze with lavender, so we incorporated purple and pink seasonal blooms into the landscape.”

With a natural flair for interior design and an eye for

art, Sandy decorated their River Ranch home with a mix of fine French antiques, modern pieces and art ranging from period paintings to tribal masks.

“We like to mix antiques with new acquisitions,” she says. “I like the French style of furniture, but I also like the primitive.”

The three beautifully appointed bedrooms on the second floor open onto a second great room adorned in a more contemporary fashion.

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left A dining area in the courtyard is embellished with a French stone wall fountain with a baroque crest top and copper spigot, and topiaries atop antique cast iron urns. It is one of five outdoor fountains, including one just outside a kitchen window. “We love the soothing sound of water,” Sandy says. “We enjoy entertaining and having breakfast out here.” A mahogany table with a French iron base was converted into the outdoor dining table by replacing the wood with glass. top Sandy and Mitch are seated beside a cozy fire glass hexagonal pit that’s situated beneath a dome gazebo with a crystal chandelier in their expanded outdoor living room. bottom The Landrys were intrigued by an antique Scottish table from a boys’ school that was riddled with names and date carvings, including one at the top that says “Mitch, law” dated 1875. It’s located in the great room.

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“It’s perfect for teenagers and for our overnight guests, so that they can enjoy their own living and entertainment area,” Sandy says.

The Landrys remain active in various arts organizations and musical productions in Lafayette. They enjoy participating in events surrounding the Acadiana Symphony’s cultural season, and have recently donated their beloved baby grand piano for a fundraiser to benefit the music department at ULL. “I’ve really enjoyed the house, with all the natural light that streams in through large windows from the courtyard, the antique long leaf pine floors, and the tall ceilings in the great room,” says Sandy. “We always want our home to feel warm and relaxing to everyone who visits.”

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left An 1890s French mahogany double pedestal dining table with carved rope edging from Top Drawer Antiques is illuminated by a beaded wood chandelier from Red Door. top The oil on canvas depicting a whimsical heron above the fireplace; the leather-topped coffee table with brass lion heads at each quadrant is from Fischer Gambino. bottom An alcove with an early 1800s French pastry table is guarded by an angel.

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style+home

pour la maison

throw down Wrap yourself in luxurious warmth with soft and stylish throws by claire salinas | photo by romero & Romero

This super soft throw is made of bamboo fabric, which is known for being highly durable and kind to sensitive skin. It’s also the perfect cuddle buddy after a long day at the office.

1. Barefoot Dreams bamboo fabric throw from Renaissance Market, 902 Harding St., Lafayette. 337-234-1116. renaissance-market.com 2. Luxurious gray throw from The Birds Nest, 331 Heymann Blvd., Lafayette. 337-2335000, facebook.com/ TheBirdsNestLafayette

1

3. Woolrich blanket from Genterie Supply Co., 408 Jefferson St., Lafayette. 337-4013833. genterie.com 4. Milan Throw from The Royal Standard, 2015 Johnston St., Lafayette. 337-289-1144. theroyalstandard.com

2

3

4

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style+home

Ă€ la mode

bootie call Chic and sassy boots for your fall fashions by claire salinas | photo by romero & Romero

1. Verla Booties by Kelsie Dagger from Genterie Supply Co. 408 Jefferson St., Lafayette. 337-4013833, genterie.com 2. Stacked Heel Suede Bootie by Dee Keller from Amor.

500 Settlers Trace Blvd., #4, Lafayette.

337-456-1932, facebook.com/ amorlafayette

3. Lookout Fringe Bootie by Very Volatile from Jewelie’s Boutique in the Woodland Village Shopping Center. 407 Rena Dr., Lafayette.

337-984-8009. jeweliesfashionjewelry.com

This sleek suede bootie is made

by Baton Rouge designer, Dee Keller, and is the perfect blend of elegance and utility in the fall.

1 2

3

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food+drink Ça c’est bon

sur le menu

comfort foods I say potatoes, you say Creole rice Jyl Benson | Photos by Romero & Romero

My late father was the

Pan-seared pompano over herbed Carolina Gold rice with summer squash, field peas, pickled fennel and onion, brown butter tomatoes and nasturtium flowers at Dark Roux in Lafayette

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cook when I was growing up, and he did this weird thing: he served the foods most of us in Louisiana eat over rice or grits — courtbouillon, shrimp Creole, grillades — over mashed potatoes. His father was born in Louisiana to Swedish immigrants who would have served everything at home over the customary

9/16/16 10:54 AM

food+drink

sur le menu

Fried catfish filets topped with crawfish étouffée over rice served with garlic bread at Sammy's Grill in Baton Rouge

creamed potatoes of their homeland while probably trying to integrate with the ingredients they found in their swampy new home. My father’s mother, a

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New Orleans girl with a French heritage, would have served the French-Creole dishes she grew up with over mashed potatoes in order to please her husband,

because that’s pretty much what women did in the mid-1920s.

The annual holiday indulgence of butter and cream laden mashed potatoes with

roux-based gravy is something I eagerly anticipate.

My husband, Andrew, grew up in a household with a father of English heritage who was

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from Mid-City, and a mother who moved to New Orleans as an immigrant from Belize.

So Andrew grew up eating red beans and rice on Mondays only they were topped with pickled onions and served with handmade tostones. His mother did not cook with butter, cream or roux so his idea of comfort food is very different from mine.

I find the gumbo at Dark Roux in Lafayette to be enormously comforting. Made with Springer Farm chicken, Rabinbeaux sausage and rice from Crowley, it proudly lives up to its name. Conversely, my roux-averse husband found the pan-seared Gulf fish served with purple hull peas, grilled squash, and herb broth to be more soothing to his palate.

My daughter, Cecilia, attends LSU in Baton Rouge as a pre-veterinary student and works as a vet tech in the large animal ICU at the school. I frequently head that way to stock her refrigerator then take Cecilia and her boyfriend, Matt, out for lunch or dinner. What could be more comforting to poor, starving college students than having someone show up offering to feed them?

Given her druthers Cecilia usually picks a place with a heavy seafood menu, such as Sammy’s Grill. Both the fried and grilled shrimp poor boys are stuffed to overflowing and the portions of Seafood au

Dark Roux 3524 Kaliste Saloon Road, Lafayette, 337-504-2346 Sammy’s Grill 8635 Highland Road., Baton Rouge, 225-2811792, sammysgrill.com The Chimes 3357 Highland Road, Baton Rouge, 225-3831754, thechimes.com

Bonus Bite The Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University in Thibodeaux recently released the dates for the Fall 2016 dinners at Bistro Ruth. The dinners are prepared and served entirely by students from the culinary school and they range from buffet and à la carte style meals to those with Russian service.

Check out the schedule of offerings at nicholls. edu/culinary/bistro-ruth or call 985-493-2700.

Gratin, Catfish Chardonnay and everything else on the menu are large enough to ensure plenty of leftovers to stock the barren collegiate refrigerator.

When Matt picks the place where we will eat he goes for the steak he and Cecilia never eat at home. As a large animal vet tech, Cecilia adores cows and vows to never eat one again. For gargantuan portions that ensure lots of leftovers, enter every LSU family’s go-to comfort food emporium — The Chimes on Highland Road. Ordering crabmeat stuffed mushrooms ensures Cecilia they will go untouched by the mushroomaverse Matt. Conversely, ordering the 12-ounce Black Angus rib eye ensures Matt that Cecilia will not beat him to his box in the refrigerator when the craving hits in the middle of the night. Beyond these choices the menu is wide open for sharing — crawfish macaroni and cheese seafood fettuccine Alfredo, dense crab cakes, boudinstuffed omelets with pepper jack cheese. The menu at The Chimes is extensive and after all, the sky is the limit when Mom is picking up the bill.

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food+drink

de la cuisine

simmering soups Comfort and joy in one delectable pot by marcelle bienvenu | photo & styling by eugenia uhl

With six ingredients, it doesn't get much easier than this cream of leek and tasso soup.

In the fall, when the first

cold front blows in from the west, locals head to supermarkets to shop for gumbo ingredients.

Chickens and sausages become difficult to find south of the I-10 corridor and French bread and bags of rice fly off the supermarket shelves. Though I am usually part of the crush of shoppers, I also load up on the makings for soups to simmer when my kitchen windows frost

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rain beats down on the tin roof of my home. My father’s cast-iron Dutch oven, well oiled and wrapped in old newspapers, is liberated from the deep, dark corner of my pantry. An old, beat up soup pot, inherited from Tante May, is recovered from the shelf in the utility room. Oh, if those pots could talk!

During the early morning breakfasts of my childhood, Mama and Papa often discussed the possibilities of soup suppers served at the big cypress table in the kitchen.

Creamy, thick white bean soup was Papa’s all-time favorite. My sister and I preferred vegetable soup, jam packed with cabbage, potatoes, turnips, tomatoes and chunks of tender beef. My brothers opted for split pea or onion soup topped with layer of melted cheese.

On Sunday nights, we often had oyster soup, a specialty of my paternal grandmother.

Sometimes it was made with lots of oyster liquor, other times it was made richer by the addition of milk or cream. Just before serving, Mama added big chips of butter to the pot to make it even more special. In other parts of the country, chicken soup aids in treating the common cold, Mama’s remedy was corn soup she made with shaved corncobs during the summer and put up in the freezer.

As I grew older, I came to love a great repertoire of more sophisticated potages.

Visits to New Orleans always included a stop at Antoine’s for dark and pungent turtle soup.

Later I became enamored with artichoke and oyster soup at Masson’s near the lakefront.

For lunch on cold days, I love nothing better than a sandwich paired with a cup of soup. A bowl of creamy red bean soup accompanied by a warm ham sandwich slathered with Creole mustard is a winner in my book.

Then again, another favorite is hot beef consommé paired

Cream of Leek and Tasso 1

stick (8 ounces) butter

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon

all-purpose flour 2½ cups coarsely chopped leeks

(white and green parts) 1

cup finely chopped tasso

2

quarts chicken stock

6

ounces heavy cream

Kosher salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste

In a large saucepan over medium heat melt butter and add flour. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. Add leeks and tasso, stirring often for 3 minutes.

Slowly pour in the stock and whisk. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Tabasco.

Serve warm in soup bowls.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

with slices of smoked turkey tucked in between two slices of French bread dressed with roasted peppers, cream cheese and red onions. My friend says there’s nothing better than bacon, lettuce and tomato soup, coupled with pimento cheese on toast.

Soup is usually easy to prepare and needs only a salad, along with crackers, bread, muffins, cornbread or biscuits and maybe a dessert to complete it. Make a large quantity so some can be stored in the freezer, ready to pull out when the cold wind blows.

Make vegetable soup your own by adding your favorite vegetables. When adding beef, check with your butcher for what is sometimes labeled soup or stew meat. Sometimes I use cubes of brisket or round steak.

Beef bones can be cooked in the pot with the vegetables to give it a heartier flavor. Just remember to remove them before serving.

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de la cuisine

Vegetable Beef Soup

Quick and Hearty White Bean Soup

2

pounds beef brisket, cut into 2-inch cubes

3

tablespoons vegetable oil

3

quarts chicken or beef broth

1

cup chopped yellow onions

salt, black pepper, and cayenne, pepper to taste

½ cup chopped celery

½ teaspoon dried basil

½ pound salt meat or ham pieces, chopped

1½ cups chopped onions

½ pound smoked sausage, cut

crosswise into ¼-inch slices

1

4

slices bacon, chopped (optional)

3

cans white beans (I use Blue Runner’s Creole Cream style navy beans)

3 1

cans water or chicken broth can milk Ro-tel tomatoes

kosher salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste

4

bay leaves cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped carrots 2

cups chopped white cabbage

1

cup diced potatoes

½ cup diced turnips 1

cup cut green beans

1

cup whole kernel corn

2

(14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes

6

ounces curly vermicelli (optional)

Put the soup meat in a large, heavy pot with salt, black pepper, cayenne, basil, bay leaves, and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about one hour, or until the meat becomes tender.

Add vegetables and simmer for about 1½ hours, stirring occasionally. If the broth reduces too much, add more broth or water. Add the vermicelli and cook just until tender. Remove bay leaves and skim off any fat that has risen to the surface.

Makes 5 to 6 quarts

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, salt meat or ham, sausage and bacon, if using, and cook, stirring, for about five minutes, or until the onions are soft and golden.

Add beans, water or chicken broth, and tomatoes. Stir to blend. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Season to taste with salt, black pepper and cayenne, pepper but be aware that the salt meat, sausage, bacon and tomatoes are salty and peppery.

Skim off any oil that has risen to the surface then serve hot.

Makes about 10 servings

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de la cuisine

Split Pea Soup

Sunday Oyster Soup

1

pound dried split peas, rinsed and picked over

3

tablespoons vegetable oil

3

tablespoons all-purpose flour

1

ham bone

1¼ cups chopped onions

2

cups diced boiled ham

1

quart hot water

3

quarts chicken or beef broth

4

dozen oysters and their liquor

1

cup chopped celery

1

cup chopped onions

kosher salt and cayenne to taste

1

cup chopped carrots

3

tablespoons butter

½ teaspoon ground thyme

2

tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

2

bay leaves

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

½ cup dry sherry

Bring all the ingredients, except the sherry, to a boil in a large soup pot. Then reduce to medium-low and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the peas are tender and the mixture is thick and creamy, stirring occasionally. Add the sherry and cook for 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Combine the oil and flour in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Stirring constantly, making a light brown roux. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, for about five minutes, or until the onions are soft.

Strain the oysters and reserve the liquor. Set the oysters aside.

Combine the liquor and water, and add this to the roux mixture, whisking to blend well. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add oysters, butter and parsley. Cook for two to three minutes or until the edges of oysters curl. Season with salt and cayenne. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

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food+drink

recettes de cocktails

teche toddy When the temperatures drop, warm up with a hot toddy by nick dietrich photo & styling by eugenia uhl

2

ounces Monkey Shoulder Blended Scotch

1

teaspoon WesMar Farms Honey

4

ounces piping hot Chamomile Tea

WesMar Farms is a goat farm in Moreauville. It's primarily known for goat milk, cheese and soaps, but WesMar also makes honey.

Build in a mug and stir to incorporate the honey. Garnish with a clove studded lemon peel.

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Centuries after Le Grand Derangement

French Acadians were forced from their homes in Nova Scotia at the hands of the British, Louisiana’s Acadians are in possession of an enviable culture that is undeniably rich in music, art, and especially gastronomy.

While most world cuisines are based on the bounty of either the land or the sea, the Acadian kitchen is based on both; wild game, fowl, and domestic meat (mostly pork) pour in from the prairies. Vegetables and spices, along with finfish and shellfish are hauled in by the bushels from the rivers, lakes and bayous.

When it comes to eating and living well in general, the Acadians have it all. With this in mind, we set out to identify the five Acadian chefs and cooks who best reflect the area’s current culinary culture. The result is as diverse as the culture itself — men and women of different ethnicities and life experiences sharing in, and sharing of, the bounty of Louisiana’s swamp floor pantry.

Best Chefs A look at the pros spicing up Acadiana's culinary landscape

by Jyl Benson and Photographs by Denny Culbert

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Lake Charles

Chef Andrew Green Restaurant 1910 With a new prelaw degree

from the University of New Orleans, Andrew Green returned home to Lake Charles, took the LSAT and started applying to law schools.

Things changed on New Year’s Day 2012.

“My dad is conservative,” says Green, 29. “Before he was an attorney he was a detective with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff ’s Office. I mentioned that I didn’t really want to practice law forever, I just wanted to make some money and start a restaurant like the ones in New Orleans. He looked me square in the eye and told me to not go to law school, to pursue my dreams and do what would make me happy. I was stunned to hear him say that.”

Liberated, Green bypassed culinary school and instead applied for a job at 121, a Lake Charles hotspot, as a dishwasher. He quickly advanced to fry cook, then

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restaurant 1910 949 Ryan St. Lake Charles 337-602-6278

on to salad, grill, sauté and protein stations.

“When I was made assistant kitchen manager I felt my learning had decelerated so I began studying wine books, mostly ones recommended by the Court of Master Sommeliers and passed a level one sommelier exam,” Green says.

Green then applied as a back waiter at La Truffe Sauvage, “to learn some of the old, formal rules of service that were much more relevant around the time I was born.”

He honed his front-of-thehouse skills further at Restaurant Calla. It was during that time he started Prytania Private Dining and began to execute the many techniques he learned from studying books by his idols.

“After doing a private dinner in Mr. Rick Richard’s beautiful office upstairs in the Phoenix Building he showed me the small corner space he had not developed directly below his office,” Green says. “I looked

out the window and saw the courthouse lit up under a clear fall night and I knew this little corner was special. I had to make something happen here.

“We call ourselves a neighborhood restaurant with a French backbone and Cajun influences. We have fried gumbo on our menu right next to lamb belly and seared foie gras. We also have wild boar tenderloin for people who may want to try something that they haven’t had before.”

Restaurant 1910 is celebrated for its extensive craft cocktail and wine programs.

Green is also a partner in Botsky’s Premium Hotdogs, a destination for gourmet dogs and sausages, and Prytania Private Dining continues to book private events. His fourth business venture, Camellia Catering Company, is in the late planning stage. His next restaurant, as yet unnamed, is in the early planning stages.

Don't let his decidedly youthful appearance fool you. A partner in four culinary interests with another in the work, this 29-year-old chef knows his business – front of the house, back of the house, sommelier. The man is going places.

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Luling

Chef Christian DiCarlo The Fatty Shack At 23, this young chef and entrepreneur owns his own restaurant and keeps a steady eye on the future he has planned, right down to the location of his flagship restaurant and what he will call it. DiCarlo takes his inspiration from his family and his ancestors.

They have served him well.

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Christian DiCarlo’s family

operates an insurance company based out of LaPlace. When he was a child, his mother had to put the kibosh on her young son’s habit of offering to cook lavish, impromptu meals for near and total strangers who dropped into the family home after hours to sign insurance papers.

As is the case with many chefs, Grandmother was to blame.

“My elementary school was located next door to my Nana and Papa’s home,” says DiCarlo, 23. “Every day after school,

I would go there for a couple of hours and Nana had a step stool next to the counter ready for me. She would save certain dishes for us to prepare together and told me to 'cook with love.’

I knew early on that I wanted to be a chef with my own restaurant.”

DiCarlo operated an informal catering company serving his LaPlace neighbors while attending Brother Martin High School in New Orleans. Upon graduation he decamped for The International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Houston, earning degrees in culinary arts, and baking & pastry. Following stints in area restaurants that include Ruffino’s in Baton Rouge, he took over a spot on River Road that once offered walk-up window service. The young chef adorned the walls with

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The Fatty Shack 13527 River Road Luling (985) 308-0983

The Fatty Shack 13527 River Road Luling 985-308-0983

signed pictures and memorabilia from some of his mentors and heroes — chefs John Folse, Alton Brown, Scott Craig and Masaharu Morimoto — and opened The Fatty Shack in January 2015 to serve a customer base of plant workers, local businesses, families, and travelers visiting the plantations along River Road.

Most days he sticks to a menu of simple, well-executed homestyle dishes; smothered pork chops with dirty rice;, butter beans with shrimp; and “dirty river” roast beef poor boys. For specialty dinners he will turn out, deeply flavorful beef short ribs; one braised, the other sous vide; lobster risotto with spicy lobster tempura; infused pan-seared snapper; and white chocolate panna cotta with fresh cherry sauce and basil.

In addition to operating his full service restaurant, DiCarlo, remarkably, cooks, packages and delivers 1,000 meals each day to nearby Dow Chemical for the employees who work 12-hour shifts.

His plans for the future include the opening of Jiachino’s Italian Steakhouse, preferably in Baton Rouge.

“Jiachino is my middle name and the name of my paternal grandfather,” DiCarlo says. “Jiachino’s will be a steakhouse that serves exceptional cuts of meat as well as my family’s Italian recipes.”

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Lafayette

Chef Manny Augello

Bread & Circus Provisions 258 Bendel Road Lafayette 337-408-3930 bandcprovisions.com

Bread & Circus Provisions Much has been written about

Manny Augello since he cofounded Lafayette’s first underground supper club at age 24. He then defined himself as the executive chef at Jolie’s Bistro in 2011, where some say he was instrumental in resurrecting the Old World art of charcuterie that now seems to be everywhere and he established Jolie’s as a leader in the state’s farm-to-table movement.

Born and raised in Palermo, Sicily, he practices the cucina povera way of cooking — topnotch ingredients prepared in simple ways leaving little waste behind. Undoubtedly Augello, now 30, will remain evergreen and pertinent: the man simply keeps reinventing himself.

He left cushy job security at Jolie’s in 2013 to again jump ahead of the curve when he founded Bread & Circus Provisions out of a borrowed kitchen.

This time he resurrected the dying art of jarring pickles, sauces, relishes and preserves — with the slightly off kilter bent concocted by a man like Augello. Think preserved lemon pesto and cherry ketchup. He spent a year selling his insanely popular condiments and ever-present charcuterie at the Lafayette Farmers & Artisans Market at the Horse Farm before opening his brick and mortar location on Bendel Road in 2014 with a menu that spans Cajun, Italian, and Japanese cuisines.

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Then he reinvented himself again. Now he’s a pizza cook.

In March of this year Augello launched a Kickstarter campaign to have a clay dome, wood-burning oven built and shipped from Naples. He pledged underground dinners and T-shirts in exchange for donations to the cause. Once acquired, he christened the firebreathing beast Big Bad Ben. “What B&CP has evolved to today has come in relative full circle with my own life, childhood, cultural background, and upbringing,” Augello says.

“Three years ago I started B&CP with the simple vision of bringing to the scene — simple, honest, back-to-basics essential pantry staples without all the bullshit ingredients and preservatives you find in them today.

This year we took the leap into

evolving fully the concept of a chef ’s restaurant by embracing the foods and traditions of my background.

“We’re focusing on straightforward southern Italian — Sicilian, wood-fired cooking and Neapolitan pizza.

Not Neapolitan 'style.’ This is the real deal. Ben gives us the versatility of simplicity, and an elemental focus on ingredients.

It’s back-to-basics cooking where we’ve let the fuss and frills fall to the wayside and cut loose the high-end expense of menu items, concentrating on what is in abundance.

“Pizza, and southern Italian soul food in general, is a food demanding the gathering of friends and family in times of celebration and distress. We want to be there for those times, especially the good ones.”

With a devotion to Old World cucina provera, an encyclopedic knowledge of several distinct cuisines, the confidence to take a chance and the skills to pull it off, the only thing we definitely know about Manny Augello is he will never be boring and we will never go hungry.

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Breaux Bridge

Glenda Broussard Glenda’s Creole Kitchen Specializing in fine, honest, potbased comfort food, Glenda Broussard blasts the notion that exceptional meals come with a hefty price tag.

They just take t-i-m-e — and a Magnalite pot.

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Every inch of Glenda Broussard’s

200 square foot kitchen is crammed with the tools of her trade — whisks, wooden spoons, metal spoons, spices and stacks of Magnalite pots.

The magic she pulls from those pots has kept her parking lot jammed for breakfast and lunch seven days a week for 16 years.

A line of cars snakes around the building, waiting to get up to the bustling takeout window.

Divorced and working as a dispatcher at the sheriff ’s office to support her three children, Broussard would bring her lunch to work to save money. Coworkers continually commented on the delicious concoctions she brought in for herself and soon she was cooking plate lunches for them as well. She eventually saved up enough money to assume the note on a building a friend owned and had the building moved to a piece of land her then-boyfriend, now-husband, owned on a stretch of road in Breaux Bridge. He and a friend spent a year of nights and weekends readying the building for her to open Glenda’s Creole Kitchen.

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Glenda’s Creole Kitchen 3232 Main Highway Breaux Bridge 337-332-0294

Inside the small space, five or so communal tables are covered in brightly patterned oilcloths. First place trophies from the KJCB radio station Gumbo Cook-off, the Okra Festival, and the Sweet Dough Pie Festival are displayed behind the counter alongside Christian memorabilia and a mishmash of holiday decorations. The overall vibe is one of simple warmth and welcome.

Guests stand in line for the daily specials, which are set up in steam trays. Broussard is big on stuffing and smothering so the day might bring stuffed turkey wings, smothered pork chops, smothered okra with shrimp and crabmeat, stuffed fried chicken, stuffed brisket, a turkey roll or smothered ribs.

At the end of the short, cafeteria-style line you will be offered a slice of either white or honey-wheat bread, and your choice will be plucked straight from the plastic sleeve from which it was purchased at the grocery store. If you splurge on a slice of cake or a small, sweetdough pie, your meal might set you back $10 and will easily feed three people. If you go for a half portion and skip the dessert you will be given one piece of meat, not two, and two sides, which will cost you $6.

This could be the best money you will ever spend.

This is exceptional down home food, prepared with love and skill.

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Abbeville

Janice Bourgeois "Boo" Macomber Private Cook and High Priestess of the Bayou

She tells dirty jokes,

knows the best fishing spots throughout the marshes, bays, and into the Gulf of Mexico, and if you want to go to her place you will need a boat.

An ageless, insatiably creative woman who never met a stranger, Boo Macomber started cooking in the 1970s while living in the French Quarter. She moved there after graduating from LSU in the 1960s, then backpacking through Europe. As evidenced by the state of her deep freezer — jammed as it is with grillades, gumbo, rouxbased dirty rice, several types of etouffee, shrimp and crab stew and more, more, more — she has not stopped cooking since.

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Boo Macomber via the New Orleans Cooking Experience 504-430-5274 thenoce.com

"That’s my thing, that's what I do here at the camp," Macomber said. "If it’s too damned hot to do anything else, I cook. Too cold, I cook."

A private cook, Cajun cooking instructor for the New Orleans Cooking Experience, and unofficial marsh guide based out of Abbeville, she’s frequently contacted via word of mouth to guide friends of friends in search of fish and adventure through the marshes.

They often end up at her home, Camp Peace on Boston Canal that leads into Vermillion Bay where they are served up the contents of her freezer, often to a soundtrack of Classic Country Saturday Night on 97.3 The Dawg. Her phone also rings when hunters and fishers pull in big hauls and they trust not even themselves to prepare their catch as deftly as she can.

Born in Abbeville, Macomber’s culinary style

was influenced by her Sicilian mother, Cajun father, travels abroad, and years in the French Quarter resulting in an amalgamation of Cajun, Italian and New Orleans Creole, much of which she shared in her 2009 cookbook and memoir, "Tastes, Tails & Tales with The High Priestess if the Bayou."

The book includes lots of Camp Peace stories, as well Macomber's signature recipes.

She is currently at work on her second book, "On the Avenue," a children’s tome detailing the experiences she has shared with her grandson, Donald, in his first two years of life around his home in New Orleans off of St. Charles Avenue.

"It’s about waiting for the streetcar on the neutral ground, looking up at beads in the trees, and eating at the Please-U,” she says. “That’s his favorite place, The Please-U."

Warm, welcoming, complex, and authentic: the essence of Boo Macomber is evident in every Louisiana heritage dish she turns out with skill, grace and good humor. You simply cannot go wrong in her kitchen.

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tops of acadiana Your favorite people, places and things and ours from throughout the region voted on by the readers and the editors

I

n Acadiana, there’s no shortage of delectable food, boogiedown music, talented individuals, stylish shops, tasty brews and places for cultural enlightenment or entertaining adventures.

Which makes it nearly impossible to pick and choose favorites.

Perhaps we are gluttons for punishment, however for the sake of discovery and debate, we once again put ourselves in harms way to poll readers and the Acadiana Profile staff and contributors for our annual Tops of Acadiana feature. Fortunately, none of the readers came to blows (that we know of ) and the newsroom remains a fisticuffs-free zone, but we can’t promise there won’t be continued deliberation as you pore over this year’s list.

We plan to keep this one handy all year round for those moments when we ask the age-old question, “What do you want to do?”

From boudin and bed and breakfasts to beer, bands and everything between, we offer up the 2016 Tops of Acadiana Reader’s Choice and Editor’s Choice picks.

introduction by melanie warner spencer Reader’s Choice Written by Will Kalec Editor’s Choice written by Lisa LeBlanc-Berry Photographs by Travis Gauthier

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TOPS OF ACADIANA

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Place for Live Music

Café Des Amis Doing the zydeco hop with a side of eggs is one of our favorite ways to start the day. Each Saturday morning, the lines start at around 7 a.m. for the rollicking zydeco breakfast at Café des Amis in Breaux Bridge, where folks yell “Wanna dance?” over grilled crawfish biscuits, “got boudin” and “don’t mess with my tasso” omelets served at packed communal tables. Hot zydeco bands unleash foot-stomping frenzies among twostepping regulars circling the crowded dance floor.

140 East Bridge St. Breaux Bridge 337-332-5273 cafedesamis.com

METEOROLOGIST

Rob Perillo of KATC The sun will come out, tomorrow.

Wait, or will it? To find out, tune into KATC because you can bet your bottom dollar weatherman Rob Perillo has the answer. One of Acadiana’s most recognizable faces, Perillo not only dispenses advice on whether we’ll need a jacket tomorrow, but calmly shepherds south Louisiana through major hurricanes and other weather phenomena like the recent late summer floods.

Fueled by enough caffeine to power a lawnmower, Perillo’s longest emergency shift lasted 44 hours. Even more impressive: “I vividly recall every one of those hours,” he says.

NEWS ANCHOR

KATC

Tracy Wirtz of KATC

Considering KATC’s roster already possesses Acadiana’s favorite anchor and favorite meteorologist, it’s of little surprise that it’s also the region’s No. 1 news station. Besides Perillo and Wirtz, KATC also features trusted 2014-2015 Tops of Acadiana winner and everyone’s best friend Marcelle Fontenot, her nightly co-anchor Jim Hummel, sports director Travis Webb along with StormTeam 3 members Dave Baker and Daniel Phillips. KATC.com

Forget that $4 cup of coffee with your name butchered in black Sharpie. Tracy Wirtz — a smiling, seemingly perpetually upbeat, pixie-cut blonde percolator — is just the jolt all of Acadiana needs to start each day. The longtime host of KATC’s “Good Morning Acadiana,” Wirtz is up before the sun, cheerfully giving us the news while we foggily reach for our glasses from the nightstand.

Wirtz keeps those positive vibes flowing after the credits roll, too.

Wirtz heads up KATC’s St. Jude Dream Home endeavor each year and is deeply involved with other projects that benefit the children’s research hospital.

LOCAL NEWS STATION

Since Breaux Bridge is known as the “crawfish capital of the world,” the savory mudbugs anchor the menus at Café des Amis, where spicy crawfish etouffée is spooned atop flaky pastry for a unique take on crawfish pie during dinner. Grilled biscuits with crawfish etouffée attract even larger crowds for breakfast.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Chef

Chef Mohammed Chettouh at La Truffe Sauvage Before opening La Truffe Sauvage in 1998, the affable Frenchspeaking Algerian Chef Mohammed Chettouh honed his culinary skills at such landmarks as the famed La Tour d’Argent in Paris and Houston’s Ritz-Carlton. We love it for dinner classics, including Pot au Feu de Poissons and Blanquette de Veau, trailed by sorbets, French cheeses, intense chocolate soufflés and the utterly sinful white chocolate crème brûlée.

815 W. Bayou Pines Drive Lake Charles 337-439-8364 thewildtruffle.com

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TOPS OF ACADIANA

PIZZA JOINT

Deano’s Pizza When most think of Louisiana cuisine, pizza doesn’t immediately come to mind. The folks at Deano’s, though, are trying darn hard to change that. Deano’s menu features your typical toppings and typical specialty pies like a meat lover’s choice cleverly named the Tee Rex. However, what puts this place a slice above the rest are regional takes such as the Cajun Canaille, topped with shrimp, Louisiana smoked sausage and jalapeños. Or how about the Muffalata Pie, which is basically a thincrust version of the popular sandwich, complete with the signature Italian relish. deanospizza.com

TOP: Deano's calls this slice of heaven the Cajun Canille, one of a handful of specialty pizzas on the menu at Acadiana's premier pie destination.

Bottom: The mouth-watering, 42-ounce prime “Tomahawk” ribeye steak is wood-grilled to perfection and ceremoniously carved tableside at the romantic Embers Grille in L’Auberge Casino Resort.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Band/Musician

Lost Bayou Ramblers BOUDIN SPOT

Billy’s Boudin & Cracklins Raise a rice-and-meat-filled link in the air like LeBron holding a trophy, because it’s back-to-back for Billy’s Boudin. Easily our most spirited and delicious category is topped again by the little shop that could in Scott. Because Billy’s knows you need your Boudin fix fast, they offer traditional walk-up service plus a drive-through window for those capable of chewing and steering at the same time. billysboudin.com

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We love the riotous Cajun rock of the Grammy-nominated Lost Bayou Ramblers. They will perform their revved up, sizzling hot Cajun hits Oct. 16, during Festivals Acadiens et Créole in Lafayette.

The wildly popular local touring group blends traditional Cajun with a medley of punk and rock.

Fiddler and frontman Louis Michot keeps the language going by singing lyrics in his family’s beloved Cajun French.

Visit lostbayouramblers/ bandcamp.com for album and flood fundraiser info.

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GOLF COURSE

Le Triomphe Golf & Country Club For one Spring weekend, bright and budding golfers congregate at Le Triomphe Golf and Country Club for the Chitimacha Louisiana Open — one of two PGA sponsored events held in Louisiana.

The other 51 weeks see much shorter drives and higher scores from the rest of us. Still, it’s a gorgeous 18 holes. For more than 20 years, the Robert Trent Jones, Jr., signature course has been rated as a top five play in the state by both Golf Digest and Golf Week magazines. The beautiful grounds are also home to the Le Triomphe Teaching Academy, a world-class indoor training facility. letriomphe.com

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Spa

Spa Du Lac at L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles After an afternoon swim in the heated pool and tall cocktails in private cabanas, we can’t think of a better activity than getting pampered at the luxurious Spa du Lac with detoxifying seaweed wraps and exfoliating micro-derm facials. Next, cozy up near the roaring fire in Ember’s piano bar, then hit the dance floor at Jack’s, where the party often spills outside near the lazy river.

777 Avenue L’Auberge Lake Charles 337-395-7777 llakecharles.com

BOUTIQUE

Sisters of New Iberia Whether it’s for work, play or some hodgepodge of both, Sisters of New Iberia can dress any woman up for any occasion. The clothing boutique features tops, skirts, pants, shorts and shoes made by national brands and smaller independent designers. Be sure to check Sisters' various social media platforms for regular sales and specials. facebook.com/sistersofnewiberia

CASINO

MUSEUM

(TIE) Cypress Bayou Casino & L’Auberge du Lac

Children’s Museum of Acadiana

They say a tie is like kissing your sister, which when you think about it is gross, so let’s focus on great gambling spots instead, OK? Cool. Located in Charenton, Cypress Bayou Casino has 1,300 slot machines, 35 different table games, plus high stakes Indian bingo once a month. To sustain patrons who burn a bunch of calories from carrying a thick wallet or purse around, Cypress Bayou features six places to nourish up: Mr. Lester’s Steakhouse; Tsunami; Loco Mexican Grill; Mabel’s Kitchen; Fresh Panini Sandwich & Coffee Bar; and Café Delphine. Since you’re on a hot streak, might as well press your luck at L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles. It too features world-class gaming, world-class dining and worldclass entertainment, along with a luxurious hotel with beds big enough to accommodate sleeping next to your piles of cash. cypressbayou.com, llakecharles.com

BED AND BREAKFAST

(TIE) Bayou Chateau & T’Frere’s Another tie! Guess that means tourists and locals alike will have to sleep in two beds and eat two breakfasts to say they’ve experienced the best Acadiana offers. Bayou Chateau is nestled right in the heart of downtown New Iberia, offering spectacular views of Bayou Teche. The facility is also pet friendly. T-Frere’s, a historic bed and breakfast dating back more than a century, can accommodate up to 20 guests nightly, and is a popular destination for paranormal fans as the place is rumored to be haunted. iberiatravel.com/where-stay/bed-breakfast/388, tfrereshouse.com

Hey kid, step over that velvet rope, break that glass case, and get your gooey fingers ready to touch everything! Wait, don’t actually break that glass case.

Do it figuratively. The rest, though, should be taken literally since practically all exhibits are hands-on at the Children’s Museum of Acadiana. There’s a full-sized ambulance with enough sirens and lights to annoy even the most tolerant of parents, a ton of cool building block areas, and a replica TV newsroom so you can hone your skills and bump Perillo and Wirtz from this list in 20 years. childrensmuseumofacadiana.com

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Party Venue

The Alligator Bar The handsomely restored 10,0000-square-foot historic building overlooking a 250-year-old church in downtown St. Martinville was the home of Ma Maison restaurant and the unique 35-seat circa-1890s, allcypress, alligator skin-topped Alligator Bar that featured live music. We are suckers for a great reinvention story and the Alligator Bar has it in spades. Most recently, it was transformed into a special events venue that is now popular for parties, rehearsal dinners, weddings, business meetings and family reunions. Put on your party hat for stiff cocktails and fun in downtown’s finest setting.

100 N. Main St. St. Martinville 337-342-2593

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TOPS OF ACADIANA

SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

Don’s Seafood Hut For more than 80 years, the good folks at Don’s Seafood Hut on Johnston Street in Lafayette have been filling our stomachs with the bounty of good eats found in the waters of south Louisiana. The menu is a hybrid of traditional Landry family recipes coupled with modern takes such as Zydeco Shrimp. The place swells with patrons during crawfish and oyster seasons. Weeknight dine-in specials along with a 2-for-1 happy hour also seems to regularly draw a crowd. donsseafoodonline.com

ITALIAN RESTAURANT

Marcello’s Wine Market Café Instead of peeling back the plastic film on zapped lasagna and dining in with your DVR, why not swing down to Marcello’s in South Lafayette?

The dinner menu is loaded with choices unavailable in the frozen-food aisle, like mozzarella impanata, fresh mussels, linguini tritone and lamb ragu. The dessert menu consists of five items — tiramisu, cannoli, Anna tutta panna, limoncello mascarpone cake and cioccolatissimo. We suggest ordering all of them. marcelloscafe.com

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EDITOR’S CHOICE

EDITOR’S CHOICE

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Local Brew

Sandwich

Bayou Teche Brewing

Poor Boy at LeBleu’s Landing

Spot for Coffee

Rêve Coffee Roasters

Adjoined to the family-style LeBleu’s Landing, known for its first-rate seafood, steaks and generous buffet, is a terrific specialty meat department featuring alligator tail meat, turduckens, stuffed chickens, boudin and a variety of excellent sausages (ask for the earthy grilled deer sausage poor boy, not on the menu). It may not be the first place you think of when craving a sandwich, but it’s one of our go-to haunts. Try the mini crawfish pistolettes and the ample fried oysters.

An oasis for java lovers and muchneeded fuel for our editors and writers, Rêve takes its single origin and blended coffees seriously.

The locally owned micro-coffee roaster offers specialty grade beans that are shipped to retailers on the day they’re freshly roasted. Enjoy latte art competitions, live music, poetry readings, breakfast burritos and a mouth-watering pork belly BLT in this spacious, hip haven.

Say hi if you see us hovering over a story and a pour over.

Son-of-a-gun, we gonna have some beer and fun on the bayou, especially if it’s happening at our pick for Best Local Brew. The best time to visit Bayou Teche Brewing and sample the popular 24 beers on tap (including top seller LA 31 Biere Pale) is on weekends with free live music on the front porch. Knott family members lead the colorful Saturday morning tours that often include tales of their bootlegging great-greatgrandfather and his beer-drinking monkey.

1106 Bushville Highway Arnaudville 337-303-8000 bayoutechbrewery.com

202 Henning Drive Sulphur 337-528-6900 lebleauslanding.com

200 Jefferson St. Lafayette 337-534-8336 revecoffeeroasters.com

STEAK HOUSE

Ruth’s Chris What’s better than a steak? A steak served on a 500-degree platter that sizzles upon arrival like a band of trumpeters announcing forthcoming red-meat royalty. That grand entrance is reserved for every cut of butter-topped beef presented at the high-end Lafayette restaurant on West Pinhook Road. Don’t get too distracted, though, because there are plenty of mouth-watering sides that deserve attention, too, like the creamed spinach and mashed potatoes. ruthschris.com

Top: The alluring aroma of freshly made coffee at Rêve Coffee Roasters puts visitors in a trance at downtown’s latest java spot. Bottom left: Bayou Teche’s LA-31 Bière Pâle is utterly refreshing with a mildly bitter afterglow. Bottom right: Enjoy perfectly fried Gulf shrimp on the overstuffed poor boys at LeBleu’s Landing.

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i t s

s l a v se

e on

e f th

o

y o j en ate o d t he st a ro ut t e h it t ugho h nd thro a ar ivals c Life is a celebration and Louisiana he fest t is constantly hosting the party. The p c i u t people of this state find any and all c d le a reason to hold a festival representing Lo r ec the community and its people. In the u north, the people of Zwolle celebrate o f Hispanic and Indian heritage with

By Kelly Massicot

tamales galore. And the south rocks the music scene at Voodoo Festival during Halloween weekend in New Orleans. It’s not just the larger cities, like New Orleans and Lafayette, that know how to fest. The Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival offers fun for everyone. From the top to the bottom of the Louisiana boot, there are more festivals than calendar days in the year. A vacation to any one of these festivals in the Pelican State will leave you with memories to last a lifetime.

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Each Halloween weekend in New Orleans’ City Park, music lovers, artists and all those in between gather to “worship the music” and experience three days of the Voodoo Music & Art Experience. The festival is Oct. 28 to 30. Though New Orleans is currently home to more than 130 festivals, what sets Voodoo apart is the overall atmosphere and feel of the weekend. Attendees of all stripes don costumes and concert T-shirts connecting with other fest goers to the tune of artists such as Snoop Dogg, Black Sabbath and the Red Hot Chili Peppers — to name a few.

Food, music and art greet all visitors to Voodoo Fest.

You’re even met with an art display immediately as you walk through the festival gates.

Because the main goal of the organizers is to create a

complete interactive experience, they put extra detail into making sure the music is not the only interesting part of the fest.

Each year, the art has a different theme and is interpreted in each immersive large-scale installation. There are also mixed media art vendors selling their creations around the festival. In addition to the art, the food is meant to complete the three main aspects of Voodoo. Loads of local restaurants gather to bring festivalgoers delectable New Orleans dishes, such as shrimp poor boys.

The main event includes four stages and more than 65 artists performing over the three day festival. This year, Tool, Arcade Fire and The Weekend top the musical lineup that also includes Cage the Elephant,

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G-Eazy and Kevin Gates. The stages are always packed to the brim with fans. A local Voodoo veteran suggests breaking out that costume and matching or creating a group flag, allowing you to spot your friends among the crowd.

This eclectic group of musical acts and festival fans meshes perfectly with the funky host city. New Orleans gives visitors a chance to experience food, people and festivities unlike anywhere else. If you attend all three days or just one day, there’s a way to make this festival the perfect vacation weekend. The festival grounds are a streetcar ride away from downtown and the French Quarter where award winning

hotels and restaurants are waiting. Make your way to Bourbon Street for a full tourist experience and spend a night at the AAA Four-Diamond rated Royal Sonesta New Orleans, with a dinner at Restaurant R’evolution and a little jazz and nightcap at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse — all under the same roof. Or take the party to the historic St. Charles Avenue with the newly renovated Pontchartrain Hotel.

The Bayou Bar is where the New Orleans Saints football franchise was christened and the hotel's restaurants were brought back to life by famed chef John Besh. The festival has secured rates from multiple hotels

28 – 30

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around city including the Ace Hotel in the Central Business District and the Moxy Hotel New Orleans.

No matter what you choose, you’ll discover that Voodoo truly is a distinctive festival experience.

photo by ron berard

Things to remember: The festival gates open each day at noon.

School sized backpacks are allowed and could come in handy when needing a blanket, towel, place to stash your phone or wallet and other small personal items.

Festival coordinators suggest using New Orleans public transportation including streetcars and the RTA bus line. Parking on the street is extremely limited, sleeping or camping on festival grounds is prohibited, as well as parking on the neutral ground.

Festival Acadiens et Créoles LAFAYETTE • OCTOBER 13 – 16

photo courtesy voodoo festival

Like all things in Acadiana, the Festival bouillon and wild game jambalaya. The Acadiens et Créoles is a blend of feast starts off Friday night with the official multiple events rolled into one jam-packed cutting of the boudin alongside musical weekend. Based on the idea of celebrating entertainment from Fais Do Do featuring a a culture and people, this festival brings tribute to Acadien/Acadian music. food, fun and the music of the Cajun Once you have your nosh, peruse the culture to the city of Lafayette. The first Louisiana Craft Fair presented by the LouiFestival Acadiens was held siana Crafts Guild. The fair Things to know: There is in 1977 after a long awaited features handmade jewelry, a Capital One ATM area need to celebrate and revel in mixed media art, paintings on the festival grounds the Cajun culture. Essentially, and more from Louisiana for those needing a three festivals combined into artists all over the state. little extra to spending one to create the Festival If you’re in it for the music, on those tasty bites or Acadiens that we know today. you’re in luck. Five stages festival merchandise. Not It began with a craft festival around the festival grounds only is there a parking held in 1972 at the Lafayette feature music from all over garage, as well as a few History Museum. Two years parking lots on-site, but the state of Louisiana. For also a bike corral for later, in 1974 at the Blackham the little ones, La Place those wanting an easier Coliseum, the Council for the des Petits is where you commute into the festival.

Development of French in want to be. Presented by Louisiana decided a tribute to the Children’s Museum of Cajun music and the continued Acadiana, this area has education of the culture were in order crafts, games and more. and long overdue. It was in 1977 that both Because the festival area is so close to festival coordinators decided to combine the downtown center of Lafayette, the the two, add in a little food with the Bayou hotel and eatery options are plentiful — Food Festival and the Festival Acadiens et though festival organizer Pat Mould suggests Créoles was born. after you get through what the chefs are The three main focuses of the event cooking up for the festival, chances are you reflect the missions of its three founding won’t have any more room for food. The festivals. The Bayou Food Fest aspect of the Wyndham Hotel in Lafayette is the official weekend provides visitors with an authentic hotel of Festival Acadiens et Créoles.

Cajun food experience. Snack on Cajun favorites like barbecue boudin, catfish court

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a t s e i F e l a m Zwolle Ta BER 6 – 8

ZWOLLE • OCTO

In a little rural area in the westernmost section of Louisiana sits Zwolle, Louisiana. Established in the late 1800s, Zwolle, originally an Indian village, is known for its outdoor activities and rich Spanish and Indian heritage.

The community’s pride and joy is their ability to make arguably the best tamales in the state. They are so sure they have the best hot tamales, each year they hold the Zwolle Tamale Fiesta to celebrate their heritage and the food that brings them all together.

Since 1975, the Zwolle Tamale Fiesta has been celebrating and focusing largely on the

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social and political influences of the Spanish culture onto their Louisiana history.

The three-day festival Oct. 6 to 8, is full of fun and exciting events. At 4 p.m. Thursday evening, the gates open to crafts, treasure hunts and tamales. That evening, the king and queen of the festival are presented. The presentation is followed by traditional singing and dancing. On Friday, visitors can enjoy a variety of rides and attractions, as well as carnival-like concessions.

From 7 p.m. till 11 p.m. enjoy music from the Justin Merritt Band, After Hours Band and

Pine Knotz & Friends on two different stages. Saturday amps up the fun with a one mile and 5K run on the festival grounds followed by the festival parade.

A plethora of events pack the morning following the parade and starts off with the Toledo Cruisers Car Club Car Show.

Participants get to show their flair for the Spanish culture with a Spanish Costume Contest.

The tamale theme continues with a tamale eating contest, as well as a tamale judging.

The Zwolle area, around Toledo Bend Lake Country, is full of accommodations of all kinds. Green Acres Bed &

Breakfast can give you the feeling of being at home, while the 28 different parks and camp sites gives visitors the option to bring their homes with them to celebrate. Park your RV at one of the camps close to the city and you're all set. While in the area, take a drive to the Adai Indian Nation Cultural Center and complete the Spanish and indian heritage experience. Chances are you’ll be stuffed full of tamales and other fantastic foods while you’re at the festival, but if you’re thinking about staying in the area consider a sampling of local eats like Frazier’s BBQ.

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photo courtesy wooden boat festival

Wooden Boat Festival MADISONVILLE • OCTOBER 8 – 9

photo by ron berard

This small city packs a powerful punch. From culture to tamales you can't go wrong attending the Zwolle Tamale Fiesta this October.

Things to remember: For those wanting to bring home the tamale experience, the festival offers a Tamale Fiesta Cookbook available at the event, along with hot sauces and seasonings to kick up your tamale game. Forms for the 5K race, mud bog and trail ride are available for attendees on the Tamale Fiesta website zwolletamalefiesta.com

the privately owned boats on the dock and Nestled between the cities of Covington and Mandeville is a quaint, river town on the at the end of the festival awards are given in several categories. banks of the Tchefuncte. Each fall, MadiThis year’s Rouses’ Beer Garden features sonville families, friends, visitors and boat six draft and three aluminum-bottled importenthusiasts alike gather to celebrate their ed and domestic beers available to of-age nautical pastime and the city they love. attendees. Those enjoying the festival will “This festival is very much a celebrabe able to take a seat in the shade, sip a tion of the city of Madisonville and their cold one and enjoy the football games people,” Louise Saenz, festival coordinator, being shown on one of the big screen TVs says about the Madisonville Wooden Boat around the area.

Festival. The fall festival, on Oct. 8 and 9, Are you bringing the kids lasts each day from 10 a.m.

Things to remember: and looking for ageto 6 p.m. Throughout the Though an outside event, appropriate activities? The day, festival goers can enjoy no pets or outside food Wooden Boat Festival has the work of local artists, food or drinks are allowed at that, too. Families can enjoy vendors and boat building the festival. The festival the children’s village, which competitions. website features an has music, crafts, science The festival coordinators interactive mobile feature experiments and other have made it a point to allowing guests to access kid-centric activities and provide something everyone festival maps, schedule entertainment. Once you’ve and real-time information can enjoy throughout the and announcements. taken a jaunt through the two-day event. Because the woodenboatfest.org/ children’s village, bring the focus is the wooden boats, interactive entire family to the carnival. the main event of the whole Located in a separate area weekend is the “Quick ’n’ from the festival, the Cap’n Dirty” boat building competiJack’s Carnival Cove is available to any tion. This event is an up-close-and-personal and everyone wanting a traditional carnival view of the start to finish construction of a experience. working boat. Each team is provided mateOnce the festival day’s activities are over, rials and 14 hours to create a working boat, the party continues at the stage near the able to carry up to two crew members, main festival area. Take in the sounds of approximately 100 yards. local bands each night until 9 p.m.

While the builders are hard at work, When it comes to fun for the whole onlookers can view and tour boats docked family, the Madisonville Wooden Boat Festialong the river or take in a football game and pint of ale at the Rouse’s Beer Garden. val will not steer you wrong. Sit the sports lovers down at the beer garden, bring the The Hornbeck Offshore Boat Exhibit kids to the children’s village and gather as a includes over 100 classic and wooden group to watch the boat race. The options boats from around the area on display at are endless in Madisonville. the festival. Participants can tour some of

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acadiana’s top 3 Emerging Industries

THE STATE OF 4. Features.indd 72

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THE acadiana region

has long been known for one major industry: oil. With prices down, however, the area has been doing some serious diversification. Showing those fiercely independent, innovative, do-what-it-takes Cajun and-Creole roots, the communities of Acadiana are not only surviving in the downturn, they’re thriving — especially thanks to three emerging industries: technology, healthcare and advanced manufacturing.

By Kimberly Singletary

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“We’ve had a long history of innovation in IT and software,” says Jason El Koubi, CEO of One Acadiana. “But it's still very much an emerging field.”

Due to what El Koubi describes as “almost a grassroots movement in cultivating IT over the years,” the Acadiana region enjoys a robust offering of internet services resulting in a competitive, cheap and extremely fast LUS Fiber network.

“UL Lafayette was actually an early adopter, establishing the first-ever master of science in computer science program in the country back in 1962,” El Koubi says. The program remains one of the top-ranked in the United States.

El Koubi credits strong leadership on both the state and local level with the fact that three significant software development companies have also expanded into Lafayette in the past few years — CGI, Perficient and Enquero — bringing with them the promise of more than 1,000 jobs.

Another company, Waitr, which essentially is an Uber of food delivery, recently announced the addition of a 100-job operations center to the mix.

“Technology is the primary diversifying factor in our economy today,” notes Gregg Gothreaux, president and CEO of Lafayette Economic Development Authority (LEDA).

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While Acadiana has a history of fabrication and manufacturing, the focus has always been primarily on serving the oil and gas industry.

“Now we’re seeing a real diversification into aviation and other advanced manufacturing,” says El Koubi, who notes the emergence of a few specific companies, starting with Bell Helicopter, a Fort Worth, Texas-based company that was the first to obtain commercial certification for a helicopter. Bell celebrated the opening of its $23.6 million assembly plant — paid for in state funds — at the Lafayette

Regional Airport on August 27, 2015. The company has promised an $11.5 capital investment in tooling and equipment.

AvEx is another aviation company in the area of note.

Specializing in exterior aviation painting, in 2000 the company opened a state-of-the-art 747 paint hangar in New Iberia’s Acadiana Regional Airport.

In just its first seven years, the company painted over 2,000 aircraft.

On the non-aviation manufacturing side, El Koubi notes the success of local familyowned Noble Plastics, started

in Lafayette by Missy and Scott Rogers in 2000. The company now operates in Grand Coteau with 20 employees and 110,000 square feet that includes 12 manufacturing cells and 14 robots and growing.

“We do everything from standard contract manufacturing, to molding services, to product design,” says company President, Missy Rogers. “It’s exciting because at any given time we’ll be working on anything from the teething feature for a baby toy to a duck call or a kitchen gadget.”

Rogers says that manufacturing in the region has “grown

in leaps and bounds” and that the forecast is for more growth.

“This is just the beginning,” she says, noting that finding qualified workers has never been a problem for Noble thanks to local universities and community colleges who she says do a stellar job of working closely with businesses.

“Acadiana has a strong entrepreneurial spirit,” Gothreaux says, “a spirit that gave rise to a robust oil and gas industry and is now serving to diversify our economy in a way that will provide a platform for greater stability and economic growth in the region in the years ahead.”

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Still Pumping: The Oil Industry is Down, But Far From Out

Healthcare

Another dominant force in the diversification has been healthcare. Also not exactly new to the area — the industry has been steadily growing since the 1990s — healthcare too is flourishing.

“We are home to the headquarters of several healthcare related companies,” says El

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Koubi, “and I’m excited to say that some of those are homegrown businesses that are now national.

Among that group is home health provider LHC Group.

Started by Keith and Ginger Myers in 1994, the company now boasts over 10,000 employees in 25 states.

There are also the ubiquitous Acadian Companies.

“They started with an ambulance and a few medics back in the ’70s and now they're nationwide, employing over 4,000 people including more than 1,000 in the Lafayette area alone,” El Koubi says.

“Before the 1980s oil bust, 72 percent of the local GDP was tied to the energy sector,” says Gregg Gothreaux, president and CEO of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority (LEDA). “That number is 45 percent today.”

While tough times in oil have had a gigantic impact on the region — with an estimated 12,000 jobs lost just in the first three months of this year, according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission — Gothreaux says hope is not lost.

“In 2017 I think things will really begin picking up,” he says. “It’s never going to be the way it was, I mean I don’t think anyone is predicting $100 a barrel prices anytime in the foreseeable future, but we are going to start to see growth.”

A recent report by Goldman Sachs echoes Gothreaux’s positivity, predicting an addition of 80,000 to 100,000 jobs nationwide between now and 2018.

In the meantime, however, Gothreaux says that the downturn has brought out the independent, can-do attitude for which Cajuns are known.

“Even as oil does come back, it’s still a very technologically advanced industry known for doing more with less labor, so we as a community have definitely been diversifying our economy into other areas,” he says. “On an individual basis, many former oil workers have moved into other fields, like construction.”

According to LEDA’s website, the construction industry in Lafayette reached over $493 million during the last fiscal year.

“The oil industry is so diverse, with so many sectors that range from manual labor to deeply technical jobs, and everything in between,” Gothreaux says. “So those skills can fortunately translate into other industries. These workers are very employable.”

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Coming in the December/January issue

Fall Fashion Contact Rebecca Taylor for more information 337-298-4424 | Rebecca@acadianaprofile.com

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culture Joie de vivre

les artistes

(not) for the birds

“I don’t necessarily make bird houses for birds to live in,” says Tommy Myers.

Tommy Myers of Eunice builds extravagant birdhouses that teeter between functional and fine art

By William Kalec Photos by romero & romero

The fruits of Tommy Myer’s

labor are spread around the country — from his son’s place in Dallas to backyards across Acadiana — but a remembrance of each remains in his Eunice woodshop.

For 15 years, ever since Hurricane Lily wiped out his men’s clothing store business in Eunice, pushing him into early retirement, Myers has cataloged every birdhouse he has created. Each entry contains a photo accompanied by a paragraph-long write up.

As he flips through the pages — 1,898 of them at last count — Myers rattles off theme after theme: church birdhouses, a golf one, a wine-themed house, a Wizard of Oz-motif, a military inspired house and even a cool jazz one with a brass horn stuck to the roof.

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culture

les artistes

To learn more about Tommy Myers and his work, visit louisianacrafts.org/ artistdirectory/tommy-myers

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There’s really something for everyone, he says.

As long as you’re not a bird.

“Many people will ask me, ‘How do you clean out the inside of it? And I say, ‘Well, birds live out in the wild and don’t have anybody to clean out their nests.’ I don’t necessarily make bird houses for birds to live in,” Myers says. “I make bird houses for people to appreciate. Now, sure, some of them can be attractive for birds, but that’s not the goal. These are artistic pieces.”

Myers’ endeavor (originally titled, “Birds of Pray” because the first phase of houses resembled churches) has morphed from a hobby inspired by the hefty price tag attached to many of the birdhouses his wife, Lou Ella, collected into one of the most unique and talked-about kiosks on the south Louisiana art show and festival scene. The eye-catching elements of Myers’ birdhouses — a hodgepodge of stuff scattered around most garages — attract passersby, piquing their curiosity.

“In fact, I love it when people ask, ‘Well, if I hang this outside, how do I keep birds out of them?’” Myers says. “Gosh, I love those people. They get it.”

Still, Myers understands the disconnect of many potential buyers, and even one seller. A couple years ago, Myers set up shop at an art show next to another vendor selling no frills, traditional birdhouses.

The neighbor asked Myers the price on his custom houses and Myers answered $75. The plain ones next door were going for $25 and selling at a much faster clip. Then, the vendor asked Myers how long it took to make these fancy pieces? About a day, on average, he replied.

The vendor laughed.

“He said he could crank out 100 a day,” Myers says, “and he wondered why I didn’t do it simpler. I could make more and sell more. I just told him, ‘I don’t do simple things.”

This is art, not economics.

The task is to make memories, not money.

Though he’ll occasionally accept commissioned orders, Myers much prefers the buyer to separate themselves from the artistic process. The less information or input the better. He believes the vision the buyer creates with a description probably won’t match the product he or she sees and touches in the end. In fact, Myers’ policy on commissioned work is if the customer doesn’t like the finished product, they don’t have to purchase it — the artist confident enough to believe someone else eventually will.

“I had a lady ask, ‘Can you make a carpenter (themed) one?’ and I said, ‘Yes, if you stop right there.’ I don’t want

Golf clubs, fishing reels, wine carts, street signs and metal are a few of the items Meyers uses in his work.

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the creativity to be mapped out beforehand,” Myers says. “My wife and I have a good understanding, she stays out of my shop and I stay out of the kitchen. If I throw in my two cents, the meal might not taste as good, and if she throws in her opinion, well, I just can’t think the way she thinks. The creativity just has to come.

“I never have a blueprint,” he continues. “I’ll see the collectable items, and I’ll walk around and find the wood and metal I have in my shop and just place everything out and start to visualize.”

Really, finding the rusted nuggets and discarded gems that will eventfully turn a standard birdhouse into a bird home, is without a doubt the most

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enjoyable part of the building process. It’s arguably the most creative element, too. Every item — whether buried in a bin or collecting dust on a shelf — could be the figurative light bulb for another Myers piece.

“I go to flea markets and I’m the guy who is picking stuff sellers probably thought would never sell — old golf clubs, broken fishing reels, wine carts, street signs, metal toys, chicken feeders, an old sewing machine,” Myers says. “And so they’re looking at me and I tell them it’s for a birdhouse, and

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then they just look at me more strangely. Which is fine.”

There is a method to Myers’ perceived junk-pile madness, evident from cornucopia of public reactions toward the finished products.

“My wife comes with me to all the art shows, and loves interacting with the customers, as do I,” he says. “They’re so curious

and complimentary, which we appreciate. My wife tells them if they keep going on and on she’s gonna need to buy me a bigger hat because I’m getting so swell-headed. And, you know, she’s probably right.”

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culture

les personnes

an undaunted spirit Little more than a year ago, breast cancer tried (and failed) to turn the world of Carencro resident LaTonya George upside-down

By William Kalec | Photo by romero & romero

“I had a choice: let it get me, or I’m going to get it,” says LaTonya George.

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For a genuine glimpse into

LaTonya George’s soul — the one breast cancer tried to break — it’s better to use your ears than your eyes.Everything there is to know about the strength of this 30-year-old single mother, dependable employee, nursing school graduate and survivor is neatly surmised in her 20-or-sosecond voicemail greeting.

Like most, it begins with the standard apology for not answering. Nothing unique.

Then, however, George takes a slight detour, extending an invitation to leave a message ONLY if you intend to bring positivity into her already full life. Those looking to dump an audio dark cloud on George’s phone? Don’t even bother.

“I just tell them to hang up,” she further explains. “I can’t take your misery and make it my company.”

George hopes this doesn’t come off as flippant, because, trust her, she’d be the last person to downplay the severity of breast cancer, but when doctors diagnosed her roughly a year ago, she took the same approach to the disease as she does to downer dialers — neither are welcomed. As the attention of the public once again turns to breast cancer this October, and everything from fashion accessories to football cleats are painted pink, George is fresh off her second reconstruction surgery and is quick to tell anyone who asks that she’s cancer free.

In recognition of her attitude — equal doses optimistic and feisty during treatment — the Acadiana affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation named George its 2016 Survivor Mother of The Year for the manner in which she handled cancer and her kids ( Johneisha, Johntasian and Terrinashia) at the same time.

“I didn’t shy away from what I had,” George says. “My daughters knew the situation.

But they also knew Momma was going to overcome this.

And I wanted them to know that. And then from that, I wanted them to know that when someone says, ‘You can’t do this, you can’t do that,’ just know they’re wrong. Think back to what your Momma could have done. She could have quit. But she didn’t. She was strong.”

That’s not to say there weren’t weak moments.

George’s journey began without ceremony. She, along with her kids, lay in bed one June 2015 evening watching TV when George scratched an itch on her chest. She paused, and then touched again.

Underneath her fingertip, George felt a mass. Seconds earlier, George’s concerns centered on her “daily routine” — finishing nursing school at Delta College in Lafayette, figuring out how to occupy her kids now that school was out, and what to cook for dinner the next night.

In an instant, that all changed.

“I started crying,” she says, “because I knew what it was.”

Medical professionals, though, weren’t so sure initially.

On June 18, 2015, George underwent an ultrasound.

During the screening, radiologists saw no indication of cancer, but because of George’s family health history, medical officials fast-forwarded a follow-up exam for three months later instead of the standard six months. Between appointments, George noticed that the nodule seemed to be getting bigger, protruding out when she examined it in the mirror while raising her arm.

After another ultrasound and two biopsies, George was

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diagnosed with stage 2 ductal carcinoma in situ (the presence of abnormal cells inside a milk duct in the breast) in September 2015. During the mastectomy, surgeons discovered another mass growing toward the breast bone behind the detected mass — a sign the cancer was set to spread.

That happened on a Wednesday. She was released from the hospital on Thursday.

That Friday, George went to work.

The first coworker to spot George said, “You’re really here?”

George replied, “Where else do you want me to be?”

Cancer couldn’t make life stand still.

George wouldn’t allow it.

School continued, uninterrupted as well. On Oct. 22, 2015, George graduated from nursing school. A few weeks later, she underwent her initial chemotherapy session — a wicked one-two punch of Adriamycin (appropriately nicknamed “red devil”) and Cytoxan that was administered biweekly for months.

In time, her hair fell out.

“I threw up water — that’s how bad it was,” she says. “I’d leave out the house, grab an apple from the icebox, take a bite, and by the time I made it to my car it was coming up. Chemo is like you’ve been drinking booze for a whole week straight and you got alcohol poisoning.

It’s the worst feeling in the world. It doesn’t back down. But neither did I and neither do a lot of other people like me.”

George worked to avoid dropping massive amounts of weight despite the nauseating side effects of chemo, choosing to eat as many calories as possible during “off weeks,” so she’d be healthy enough for reconstruction surgery down the line. Even in the midst of the harshest portions of treatment, George kept looking forward to a future she was certain to see. Friends have called her an inspiration. George shrugs it off.

“I overpowered it,” she says of cancer.

“I had a choice: let it get me, or I’m going to get it. Even on chemo weeks, I’d still go to work and still be myself. I couldn’t let it get to me, because at the end of the day, I still had three children. There was no one coming to say, ‘Stay home. Don’t work. I’ll pay the bills.’ No, I still had to fight and I still had to live. Cancer makes you battle.

This was my battle.”

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musical gumbo The 11th annual Blackpot Festival in Lafayette celebrates regional cooking and ’old-timey’ musical traditions with modern flair and camping

By Michael Patrick Welch | Photos by david simpson

Nothing can teach one to

be a Cajun, except the experience of growing up in Acadiana.

For an immersive Cajun and Creole lesson however, the Blackpot Festival in Lafayette, should at least be worth a few Cajun college credits.

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The Blackpot Festival is put together by Lafayette’s multifaceted Cajun, zydeco, swamp pop Americana band, The Revelers (formerly Red Stick Ramblers). Along with performing at the festival, each member of the Revelers is deeply involved

organizing the event. Drummer Glen Fields and upright bass player Eric Frey each curate one of the festival’s two music stages, while accordionist Blake Miller runs the cook off, featuring anything that can be made it a traditional black-iron pot.

“Buncha guys come early and cook gumbo all day long,” says Revelers fiddle player Daniel Coolik. “And then more people come, and they eat it.

It’s a real community vibe.”

Last year’s first place gumbo prize was taken by Jay Breaux

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and Ruebin Sandberg. Their gumbo featured smoked turkey neck, chicken gizzards, plus tasso and andouille sausage.

Chas Justus, guitarist and singer for the Revelers these last five years, runs the festival’s weeklong campground.

“Louisiana has so many cook offs, but no real camping festivals,” says Justus, “Before Blackpot there weren’t really any. When our band was traveling a lot, we were at a lot of bluegrass festivals, folk festivals and other old-timey festivals where people would camp and hang out over an entire weekend. It always felt pretty different than any of the famous Louisiana festivals.”

Justus also runs Blackpot Camp at Lakeview in Eunice in the week leading up to Friday and Saturday’s big concerts.

Blurring the line between audience and performer, chef and diner, the Blackpot Festival starts off with a week of kid-friendly but decidedly adult music workshops, plus cooking and dancing lessons.

“Those staying on the campground that week will get some sort of an instruction every day,” promises Justus.

“We host dances every night of Blackpot camp — with instructors — so you can dance and cook and play instruments and sing songs in French. It’s a culture camp, designed to promote our culture.”

Justus, who has performed and recorded with Linda Ronstadt and Ann Savoy among

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other luminaries, will teach a music workshop focusing on blues, country jazz and southwest Louisiana guitar styles. The roster of Blackpot camp teachers Justus has booked draws from the pool of musicians both local and international, in Lafayette to perform on the festival’s stage.

“These guys all come to play and we sort of put them to work

a little bit,” laughs Justus. “But I know a good teacher though.

I know that a good musician isn’t necessarily always a good teacher. A lot of these guys have real teaching experience.”

For instance, Blackpot instructor Corey Poche, who teaches Cajun and Creole dance, derives his reportedly open and intuitive teaching style from his day job as a couple’s counselor.

Other teachers include fiddler Kevin Wimmer (Dewey Balfa, Red Stick Ramblers), Appalachian fiddle and banjo duet the Stuart Brothers, upright bassist June Drucker, and multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Aurora Nealand from New Orleans.

There are even rubboard lessons from elusive barbecue master, Big Bird, plus 13-year-old nature expert and resident life coach

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Jesse Stewart, teaching campers how to possibly break his camp catfish record.

Along with quenching willing pupils thirst for Acadiana’s music and food culture, the Blackpot Festival also aims to expose the locals in and around Lafayette to cultural traditions from elsewhere.

“We tour and meet so many people. So we book the Blackpot Festival full of musicians and people we’ve met along the way and built relationships with over the years,” says Coolik. “We try to get people from outside the area to come in. Not just all Cajun and Creole — old-time Appalachian, Swing Jazz, Irish Scottish — music you won’t find around Acadiana much.

It’s great to have them come down, people like Appalachian duo Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz, and West Virginia’s New Lost City Ramblers, who come down once a year for Blackpot.”

The Blackpot Festival features acts like High Plains Jamboree, Sarah Quintana, April Mae and the June Bugs, Feufollet, Mark Rubin, Cat Head Biscuit Brothers, Lil Buck Senigal and Pine Leaf Boys, on two distinctly different stages: one rowdy, one contemplative.

“There is the main stage, which is the dance stage, at Vermillionville,” says Coolik.

“Then there’s a chapel that we use for smaller more acoustic acts where people sit down and listen instead of partying, and there’s some informal jamming.”

Last year was the first in the festival’s 11 year history to take place at Vermillionville Living History and Folklife Park.

“We had to change locations from Acadiana Village after we kind of outgrew it,” says Coolik. “Over the years the festival has drawn a lot of people from out

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of state, people who come down wanting to learn about Louisiana music, and food. It’s grown every year. We’ve had 4,000 people.”

Last year at its new venue, Blackpot faced a major thunderstorm.

“Vermillionville worked out really well, our first year over there,” Coolik says, “Aside from the deluge, the vibe was still there. Even with the rain, by the time Revelers came on, the last band of Saturday night, I was looking out to a packed, packed dance floor, tons of people all dressed up. The rain didn’t keep them away.”

For anyone concerned about the fate of this year’s festival given August’s historic flooding, the show will go on.

“There was some flood damage to the grounds,” Coolik says. “But in a week or two they can get it up and running. People get really excited about this festival, thankfully.”

(Editor’s Note: Be sure to read David Cheramie’s En Français, S’il Vous Plaît column on page 88 to learn more about the history and cultural significance of the black pot and his take on the festival in “La Confrérie de la Chaudière Noire.”)

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en français, s’il vous plaît

la confrérie de la chaudière noire par david cheramie

Dans la cuisine de tout

sud-louisianais qui se respecte, on peut s’attendre à trouver un certain nombre d’ustensiles parmi sa panoplie : une cuillère en bois exclusivement pour faire le roux, un cuiseur de riz grand format et l’omniprésent rôtissoire Magnalite© ; tous les outils indispensables à la confection d’un rôti de canard, d’une sauce piquante ou d’un jambalaya. Celui qui élicite sans doute la plus grande nostalgie auprès de ceux qui comme moi ont grandi dans une de ces cuisines est aussi lourd symboliquement que physiquement. On a tous probablement des souvenirs d’enfances de poisson, de poulet ou de pâte à pain après frire dans une poêle en fonte et des arômes associées.

Si la métaphore de notre culture est le gombo, la chaudière noire en fonte est le vaisseau par lequel il est engendré.

L’entretien correct de la chaudière noire sollicite des opinions aussi diverses que passionnées. On dit qu’il ne faut jamais utiliser du savon pour la nettoyer, seulement de l’eau chaude. D’autres conseillent de la frotter avec du sable. J’ai interrogé un ami qui a l’habitude de cuisiner des quantités industrielles de gratons ou de jambalaya dans sa pesante chaudière noire sur sa 96 |

façon de la garder propre. En guise de réponse, il m’a montré une bouteille de liquidevaisselle qu’il allait verser dans la chaudière une fois la cuisson terminée pour la nettoyer. J’ai souvent goûté son manger et je ne trouve aucun goût résiduel, mais je comprends que les puristes vont continuer à bannir toute forme de savon.

La vraie astuce, dit-il, c’est de frotter le fer avec de l’huile de cuisine après l’avoir propté et de le chauffer bien avant de recommencer pour brûler les impuretés. C’est une façon de respecter la chaudière noire comme il se doit, sans la laisser rouiller.

Si on aime quelque chose assez en Acadiana, on va lui donner son propre festival.

Selon la tradition en automne, on célèbre une grande variété de nourriture plus ou moins au moment de la récolte. Les villages sont étroitement identifiés avec ces festivals. Celui du riz à Crowley, du gombo à Chackbay ou de la canne à sucre à la Nouvelle-Ibérie témoignent autant de notre

volonté de se récompenser d’un travail bien fait que de s’amuser avec la même ferveur. Cela dit, et corrigez-moi si je me trompe, mais je ne connais pas de festival dédié à un ustensile de cuisine à part le Festival de la Chaudière noire à Lafayette fin octobre. En peu d’années – on compte la onzième édition cette année – ce festival s’est démarqué des autres à plusieurs égards grâce à la vision de ses fondateurs et la joyeuse bande d’amis musiciens, danseurs et cuisiniers qui les entourent. Dire que le Festival de la Chaudière noire n’est pas comme les autres ne commence même pas à décrire son originalité.

La genèse du festival était un mélange d’influences se fusionnant autour des membres du groupe légendaire Red Stick Ramblers avec le musicien folk Jay Ungar comme catalyseur.

Quand les Ramblers lui ont dit combien ils appréciaient son camp culturel, Ashokan où se produisent quantité d’artistes louisianais, le violoniste célèbre leur a lancé le défi de commencer leur propre festival. Comme

par combustion spontanée l’idée de l’appeler la Chaudière noire est venue et le plat a commencé à mijoter. Depuis, une rencontre des musiques traditionnelles américaines, allant du bluegrass au gospel, et les musiques louisianaises avec la danse et la cuisine à la sauce des jeunes louisianais, a créé un festival sans pareil. On a des concours de cuisine qui comportent de la musique et on a des festivals de musique avec la cuisine à côté.

L’originalité de la Chaudière noire, c’est de créer un espace où on peut combiner la musique, la danse et la cuisine mais aussi où on peut camper ou apprendre à jouer avec des maîtres dans leur art. Plusieurs participants restent près de leur tente à faire leur propre musique autour d’un feu, mangeant à la bonne franquette. Le Festival de la Chaudière noire a su trouver une niche originale dans un calendrier rempli de festivals.

Avec toute cette jeunesse créatrice à s’affairer autour, la chaudière noire ne risque pas de se laisser rouiller de sitôt.

For an English translation, visit acadianaprofile.com.

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