Louisiana Life May-June 2015

TRAVEL GUIDE: 18 Restaurants Worth the Trip

4 home-state spirits + 8 creative cocktails p. 46 smash #9

see pg. 2 for recipe

Black Bears

Making a Comeback

contents in every issue 5

From the Editor

Cody Carroll’s New Roads

8 Rural Life

Town Cousin, Country Cousin

Regional differences and similarities

10 Reel News

Cross Creek Pictures

Financial backers hail from Houma

12 Biz Bits

20

Jobs on the Rise

Developments around the state

14 Health

Summer Safety

Protecting the skin and preventing accidents

16 Great Louisiana Chef

Robert Larson

TJ Ribs, Baton Rouge

18 Roadside Dining

Dining Along the Ouachita River

The River Grille in Monroe

24 Home

A Classic in Crowley

Homer Ed and Carolyn Barousse’s historic gem

28 art

“Art and Shadows on the Bayou Teche”

Lynda Frese

32 Traveler

Sights and Sites

Exploring Civil War history will bring you to forts, exhibits and landmarks around the state

76 Around Louisiana

Highlights and Events

84 Lifetimes

Statewide Calendar

86 THe great louisiana quiz

Towns that are parish seats 88 A Louisiana Life

Roland Caire

A dentist takes the stage by storm.

20 Kitchen Gourmet

Simple Pleasures

4 adjustable recipes for warmer months

features

28

on the cover

36 the bear is back

What to know about our official state mammal

by Dr. James G. Dickson

40 Louisiana’s historic

music halls

4 legendary places

by Megan Hill

46 louisiana’s clear spirits

4 locally made liquors, plus 8 creative cocktails

by Elizabeth Pearce with recipes by Sal Agnello

special section 57 Travel Guide

46

2 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

18 Remarkable Restaurants Worth the Trip

Smash #9 Muddle lemons, orange, raspberries and mint in a tin. Add 1.5 ounces of Euphrosine gin, 0.5 ounce simple syrup and Peychaud’s bitters. Shake and strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.

Garnish with a mint sprig and fresh berries.

May/June 2015 Volume 35 Number 5 Editor Errol Laborde MANAGING EDITOR Sarah Ravits Art Director Sarah George Associate Editor Melanie Warner Spencer web editor Kelly Massicot Contributing Editor Paul F. Stahls Jr. Food Editor Stanley Dry Home Editor Bonnie Warren sales manager Kathryn Beck Sanderson kathryn@louisianalife.com

traffic coordinator Jess DeBold Production/Web Manager Staci McCarty Production designerS Monique DiPietro, Ali Sullivan, Claire Geary Chief Executive Officer Todd Matherne President Alan Campell Executive Vice President/ Editor-in-chief Errol Laborde VIce President of sales Colleen Monaghan Director of marketing & Events Cheryl Lemoine administrative assistant Denise Dean distribution manager John Holzer subscriptions/receptionist Sara Kelemencky (504) 828-1380

Gold Award Winner for Companion Website 2012 Tiffani Reding Amedeo, Silver Award Winner for Overall Art Direction 2011

Renaissance Publishing 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005 (504) 828-1380 Louisiana Life (ISSN 1042-9980) is published bimonthly by Renaissance Publishing, LLC, 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005; (504) 828-1380. Subscription rate: One year $10; Mexico and Canada $48. Periodicals postage paid at Metairie, LA, and additional mailing entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Louisiana Life, 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005. Copyright 2015 Louisiana Life. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. The trademark Louisiana Life is registered. Louisiana Life is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos and artwork, even if accompanied by a selfaddressed stamped envelope. The opinions expressed in Louisiana Life are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine or owner.

LouisianaLife.com | 3

4 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

from the editor

Cody Carroll’s New Roads

By Errol Laborde

There has never been a chef whom I thought was a winner just from taking one bite of his food. That happened, though, in 2013 when Cody Carroll was a contestant in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off competition, sponsored by the Louisiana Seafood Board. I was a judge who had to decide among 10 contestants – each of whom had prepared a seafood dish during the competition at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Some of the chefs were big names from well-known restaurants; Carroll was a no-name from a little-known restaurant, a place called Hot Tails, a converted convenience store located on Hospital Road in the Pointe Coupee Parish town of New Roads.

As it happened, Carroll was first in line to present his creation. “First” is a disadvantageous position, subject to be forgotten about by the time No. 10 is reached. However, Carroll’s dish – something called Speckled Trout Perdu – was so damn good I remember thinking that nothing ahead could possibly be better. Here, I proved to be a prophet. From talking to the judges after the contest, all of whom were food professionals and thus better qualified than me, Carroll’s dish was the clear winner. If this were a horse race, he would have led from the gate to the post.

With much fanfare, Carroll was crowned (there literally was a crown) the state’s Seafood King while sharing the honors with his sous-chef wife, Samantha.

Louisiana Life featured Carroll on its July/August 2013 cover as the new Seafood King, and the Seafood Board had someone else to boast about. (A personal note: The following year the contest inexplicably hit a political bump and was transferred to another agency, which did hardly anything to promote it and has not been a factor since.)

For Carroll, the crown brought opportunity. Having already proved that he can compete with big-league cooking, he’s expanded to the big city. Recently he opened Sac-a-lait, a seafood restaurant, named after the game fish, in New Orleans’ Warehouse District. The place is so new that I have not been there by press time, but some snooping food writers have told me that the facility and the menu look very impressive. They expect great things.

Hot Tails is still in business in New Roads; Carroll will handle the cooking at Sac-a-lait. I suspect New Orleans, and the world’s travelers who wander through it, will embrace this place – from the very first bite. n LouisianaLife.com | 5

on the web

LouisianaLife.com Louisiana Life Photo entry Are you an amateur, professional or “just for fun” photographer with some Louisiana photos to share? We want to hear from you! We want to see some great Louisiana photos, whether they’re of people, landscapes, food, culture or even animals. Don’t miss your chance to have your photo featured in the pages of our magazine for all of our readers to see. Send in your photos by going to myneworleans.com/ Louisiana-Life/Louisiana-Life-Photo-Contest.

Please note that the URL is case-sensitive.

Our readers’ photographs

MARCH Snow in the Swamp: Tara Yonce at the Barksdale Air Force Base caught this rare shot of snow fall in the swamp during the snow storm on February 25, 2015.

April Bayou Brunch: “Roll up your sleeves and pull up a chair,” says Margaret Smith of Baton Rouge. She snapped this photo while relaxing in her backyard.

Laissez les bon temps rouler.

6 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

LouisianaLife.com | 7

rural life

Town Cousin, Country Cousin Regional differences and similarities

By Melissa Bienvenu

When our sons were younger, one book they never got tired of hearing at bedtime was Town Mouse and Country Mouse.

It was easy to understand why two farm boys would be so captivated by the misadventures of a downto-earth country mouse and his sophisticated city cousin.

When Town Mouse pays a visit to Country Mouse’s rustic abode under an oak 8 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

tree, he dislikes the plain meals of acorns and berries.

Town Mouse thinks Country Mouse’s friends are boring and the straw bed is rough and scratchy. He urges Country Mouse to come to the city to see what he’s been missing. But Country Mouse doesn’t like what he finds.

The traffic frightens him, and the smog makes him cough. Rich foods from the fancy human house where

City Mouse lives give him a stomachache. He is chased by a cat and a woman with a broom. He is too scared and unhappy to sleep in City Mouse’s hard little bed.

As one book review sums it up, “A town mouse and a country mouse exchange visits and discover each is suited to his own home.”

I have to admit, this classic Aesop’s fable sounded a deep, resounding note with me, too.

Once upon a time in a childhood long, long ago, I was the town cousin trading places with my country cousin. I lived in a new house in a new suburb in a north Alabama aerospace boomtown. Cindy lived four hours away on a south Alabama cotton farm. I played Barbies with my little sister and a street full of little girls. Cindy roughhoused with her three brothers. Our reciprocal visits each summer were arranged by our mothers, who were cousins. This lasted for a few years until I was almost 8 and my family moved out-of-state.

I don’t remember a lot about visiting my country cousin, but much of what I do are the parts that scared me. Don’t get me wrong – my vacations at Cindy’s house were an annual highlight of my young life. Once, I was supposed to ride to Cindy’s with my grandparents who were going to visit her family and other relatives. They completely forgot about picking me up until they had nearly reached their destination some 200 miles away. According to family legend, I was so inconsol-

able about getting left behind that my mother had to give me a tranquilizer to calm me down. (Hey, don’t judge. It was the ‘60s.)

Still, much of what I recall about my country cousin’s world was that which was stressful or frightening.

In flashbacks, I remember watching for snakes as we walked barefoot in the soft, tilled dirt of the vegetable garden and – the weirdly random moments we remember! – cowering from a wasp in her bedroom.

(Apparently I didn’t have to deal with many wasps in my climate-controlled suburban home.) Cindy’s mother worked off the farm, so in the daytime we were supervised by a black maid and housekeeper. I mention race only because Roxie and Bennie Lou were among the first AfricanAmericans with whom I had ever had any significant personal interaction. They fascinated me and scared me a little at the same time.

I also recall, strangely, doing a lot of complaining about my feet. Whenever my athletic country cousins wanted me to join in a game of kickball or hide-andseek or some activity that required running, I was always begging off because my feet hurt. Looking back, I suspect my tender city tootsies had developed stone bruises from so much going barefoot in the country. My cousins and I are in our 50s now, and they still tease me at every reunion by saying: “My heels hurt!” Now that I’ve been a farmer’s wife for 23 years and raising farm boys for 14 years, I realize jane sanders illustration

I must have seemed like a big wussy to my country cousins. And that I was.

I can’t speak for Cindy’s memories of her trip to the city, but I do know that in my only real recollection of her visits to my house, she is also freaking out. One day, we were playing outside when we noticed a large, round, yellow spot on the nextdoor-neighbor’s lawn. As we stood puzzling over it, the neighbor’s teenaged daughter came out and informed us that the strange circle was made when a flying saucer landed there. She proceeded to tell us how she watched from her bedroom window one night as little green men got out of the spacecraft and started eating crawfish from the drainage ditch behind

our houses. If there was ever any hope that my 8-year-old cousin, who was four hours from everything that was comforting and familiar was not going to get homesick, the idea of little green men in spaceships completely destroyed it. Cindy was so upset at bedtime that night, I wondered if my parents were going to have to drive her back to south Alabama right then and there.

Now, I get to re-live my days of town cousins and country cousins each summer when my 15-year-old nephew, Jack, comes to visit our sons, ages 14 and 11. Jack lives in a nice suburban house in the north Alabama aerospace town of Huntsville. Our sons live in an old farmhouse

on a hay farm in South Louisiana. The comparisons to Cindy and I are unavoidable. So is the irony.

Although it seems like I should know better, I always imagine that Jack’s visits will leave him with magical, lifelong memories of fishing, camping, swimming in the river and playing in the hay barn.

But I’m not so sure.

The year before last, Jack’s trip inadvertently coincided with our older son’s All-Star baseball season, which had lasted longer than anticipated.

We spent the entire week driving back and forth every day to a tournament two hours away in Gonzales. Last year, it rained almost the entire time, so my boys and

Jack built a massive blanket fort. They furnished it with pillows, blankets, a fan, an Xbox and a flat-screen TV and camped out in the living room for days. We spent the only sunny day at a waterpark in Baton Rouge. Not exactly the stuff of magical farm memories.

Then again, aching heels and extraterrestrials were not what our mothers hoped Cindy and I would remember from our little cultural exchanges, either. Maybe, like Town Mouse and Country Mouse, the most valuable lesson any of us have learned is that “each is suited to his own home.” And that, despite our differences, we love our cousins, anyway. n

LouisianaLife.com | 9

reel news

Cross Creek Pictures Successful financial backers hail from Houma.

By Lisa LeBlanc-Berry

If there is one thing film buffs love more than watching movies, it’s testing those trivia smarts. So here’s one for Louisiana fans: What do box office sensations Tom Cruise, George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Daniel Radcliffe and Liam Neeson have in common with Terrebonne 10 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

Parish? Tip: It doesn’t involve filming locations.

Each superstar has appeared, or will be appearing in a movie that has been financed and/or co-produced by folks from Houma.

Timmy Thompson began turning his oil field fortune made from Louisiana black

gold into Hollywood Oscar gold when he formed Cross Creek Pictures with his son, Tyler, several other family members and producer Brian Oliver in 2009.

In just two years, with the debut of their first major film, the psychological thriller Black Swan (which picked up

five Academy Award nominations in 2011), the Cross Creek boys experienced a sea change. Their meteoric rise from the ranks of “outsider” startup investors skyrocketed into a new glitterati orbit of Hollywood insiders. They are now heralded as among an elite group of moneyed startup producers changing independent films while diversifying Hollywood’s cinematic spectrum.

What’s more, when Natalie Portman won an Oscar for her portrayal of the film’s ballerina protagonist, Hollywood’s A-list actors began paying attention to the new guys from Cajun Country, where gutsy wildcatters have been taking risks in unproven areas to yield big money returns without even breaking a sweat since the first successful oil well was drilled in 1901.

Made for around $16 million, Black Swan received blockbuster status with ticket revenues of more than $325 million, which far exceeded Cross Creek’s box office expectations of $40 million.

Cross Creek Pictures currently has a threeyear deal with Universal to produce up to four films a year.

The Thompsons’ rapid ascent as financial backers and power-brokers in the film industry took root during young Tyler’s stay in Los Angeles several years ago, when he became interested in financing movies.

The 28-year-old, fourthgeneration former oil-and-gas exec currently resides in New Orleans with his infant son and veterinarian fiancé, Kaitlynn Candies (a native of Thibodaux). photo courtesy tyler thompson

In 2012, the jetsetting Houma whiz kid was named

by Forbes as among the most important people in Hollywood under the age of 30.

“I was always fascinated about the entertainment business,” Tyler explains.

“I was curious about how one person gets a director, actors and all of the people involved in a movie to do just two months of shooting, and watch magic come from that.”

Among Tyler’s most anticipated movies that are currently in pre-production via Cross Creek Pictures is the 1980s-set crime biopicthriller Mena with Tom Cruise.

He stars as a pilot for the first time since Top Gun. Cruise portrays Baton Rouge native Barry Seal, a major drug smuggler for the Medellin Cartel who was recruited

by the DEA and CIA as an informant, with ties to the Iran Contra affair. The superstar (aiming for Oscar gold) stated that he plans to gain around 50 pounds to depict the real-life Seal in Mena, which is directed by Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, Bourne Identity) and fully financed by Cross Creek.

Some have speculated that the highly anticipated thriller could possibly have a controversial effect on the 2016 presidential elections on both sides of the fence. Such is the power of deep pockets.

Also currently in the works is Hacksaw Ridge, a wartime tale that marks Academy Award-winning (Braveheart) Mel Gibson’s return to directing. Scheduled to shoot in Australia, it was among the select pre-sales titles

during February’s European Film Market in Berlin.

Three-time-Oscar nominated Johnny Depp will portray a Boston gangster in the upcoming action crime-drama, Black Mass.

Slated for a Sept. 18, 2015 debut, it is due out on the very same weekend as Cross Creek and Universal’s actionadventure-thriller Everest starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke and Robin Wright.

The indefatigable Houma boys prefer to multi-task while going for the gold.

“We go for compelling stories, not the superhero films or sequels,” Tyler says.

“In the spirit of independent filmmaking, we decide on the directors, we try to arrange the talent, raise the money, and we’re also at the forefront of marketing and

distribution,” he notes. “When we begin our financing, we go out to Texas, Louisiana and people in my family.”

Creed of Violence, written and directed by three-time Academy Award-nominee Todd Field (currently in development) would be Cross Creek’s first movie shot in Louisiana, if Baton Rouge is selected as a prime location.

“I’m pushing for it,” Tyler says enthusiastically. “We hear that the film crews are absolutely amazing to work with, the facilities are like no other, and the infrastructure is phenomenal. But if they roll back the tax credits, they’re going to have some serious issues.”

When Louisiana’s film tax credits return to the chopping block, legislators would do well to listen to the insightful money men of Cross Creek. n

LouisianaLife.com | 11

biz bits Viking Freya sailing the Rhine. Vessels similar to this will be sailing down the Mississippi.

Jobs on the Rise Developments around the state

By Kathy Finn

New industrial plants and other major projects are generating jobs by the thousands. While most of these jobs will last only until the projects are complete, the ongoing business they enable will create many permanent positions. Here are snapshots of a few developments around the state.

Gassed-up economy LAKE CHARLES – Job generation continues in the state’s hottest economic hot spot as a Houston-based company lays plans for a $2 billion natural gas liquefaction and exporting terminal in Calcasieu Parish.

State officials say the project will generate 100 new jobs at the plant, to be built on the Calcasieu Ship Channel near Lake Charles. This latest LNG terminal is a project of Parallax Energy, which expects to produce up to 5 million metric tons of liquids 12 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

per year. The company has begun the federal permitting process and, assuming it is successful, will begin construction in late 2016.

Paper yields to aluminum PINEVILLE – The oncebustling site of large paper mill soon will return to life as an aluminum manufacturing plant that will employ scores of workers in central Louisiana. American Specialty Alloys Inc. will develop a $2.4 billion aluminum mill and campus at Pineville to serve the automotive and aerospace industries. Construction will begin on what will eventually become a 3,000-acre campus with an annual payroll of more than $100 million, according to state officials, who say some 850 people will find jobs at the site formerly occupied by International Paper.

Business cruises toward New Orleans NEW ORLEANS – The world’s largest operator of luxury river cruises will set up shop in New Orleans when it launches its first North American service.

Switzerland-based Viking River Cruises, which operates some 60 vessels on rivers around the globe, will make New Orleans the home port for itineraries that will ply the Mississippi River. Beginning in 2017, the cruises will operate from docks near the French Quarter and make stops in St. James, East Baton Rouge and West Feliciana parishes before continuing upriver to Memphis, St. Louis or St. Paul, Minn. The cruises are expected to create more than 400 local jobs. State officials predict that most passengers on the 300-person vessels will come from outside the state, producing spinoff benefits for local businesses.

Holding onto its tech edge MONROE – A year after breaking ground on a new technology center at its Monroe headquarters, telecommunications giant CenturyLink is opening the 250,000-square-foot facility where it will develop new tools for providing Internet and information technology services, cloud computing and similar technologies. Some 800 people eventually could work in the center, where the company has said it intends to attract top talent from around the world. The nation’s thirdlargest telecommunications company, CenturyLink developed the center with an aim toward keeping the company ahead of the rapidly evolving technology curve.

Feeding appetite for chemicals ST. JAMES PARISH – A petrochemical project announced last year by Yuhuang Chemical Inc. is already generating local business. The Chinese company has chosen Paris-based Air Liquide, which operates a pipeline system in Louisiana, to provide oxygen for Yuhuang’s new methanol plant. Air Liquide will build a $170 million plant in St. James Parish to house an air separation unit that produces oxygen, nitrogen and argon to be transported via the company’s pipeline infrastructure. The plant should be operating by the second half of 2017.

Rust-buster brings jobs JENNINGS – About 100 new jobs are on tap, thanks to a $10 million investment planned

by Metalplate Galvanizing.

The Birmingham, Alabama, company operates six southern U.S. plants, which dip metal in a zinc coating to prevent corrosion. The company says the Jennings plant will support expansion in the steel, petrochemical and other industries.

More cargo rides rails PORT ALLEN – Rising demand for local rail service has sparked plans for an $11 million rail terminal and industrial park on a 200-acre site near Port Allen. Texas-based USA Rail Terminals expects to employ more than 40 locals when it opens in late 2016.

The terminal will handle whole trains as well as single-car shipments and will accommodate some 1,200 rail cars on the property at one time.

Commissioners for the Port of Greater Baton Rouge recently approved a $20 million rail expansion project that will support the USA Rail Terminals project and others. n

photograph courtesy vikingcruises.com

health

The Drowning Response

Summer Safety Protecting the skin and preventing accidents

By Fritz Esker

Summer vacations are fast approaching, and beach trips are popular vacations for many Louisiana residents.

While they can be great fun, there are health risks to consider. Fortunately, there are precautions everyone can take to make their summers safer.

Too Much Sun The Skin Cancer Foundation states that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime. Nearly 50 percent of Americans who live to age 14 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

65 will have skin cancer at least once in their lives. But there are steps you can take to protect yourself while having fun in the sun.

It’s important to realize that one coat of sunscreen isn’t enough for a full day outdoors. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends you reapply sunscreen every two hours or immediately after swimming or excessive sweating. The first coat of sunblock should be applied 30 minutes before venturing outside. When choosing a sunscreen, the American

Academy of Dermatology advises picking one that protects against ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, is water-resistant and has a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher.

The Mayo Clinic recommends wearing broad-brimmed hats and UV-protective clothing.

Several brands, including Coolibar and REI, provide outdoor wear with a high UV-protection factor.

Lastly, the sun’s rays are strongest between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you’re on a weekend beach trip, consider hitting the sand earlier in the morning and for sunset in the evening, using the midday hours for indoor lunch and a siesta. n

Every summer, a trip to the beach ends in tragedy when an unlucky person drowns. There are warning signs people can look out for in their fellow swimmers, but they don’t match the stereotypical images promoted by TV and film of a struggling person waving and calling out for help.

An article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene Magazine

by Mario Vittone and Dr. Francesco Pia describes the actual characteristics of the instinctive drowning response. In most cases, drowning people are unable to call for help because they can’t breathe. A drowner’s mouth will alternately sink below and rise above the water’s surface. Their mouths will not remain above water long enough to breathe or speak.

On a similar note, drowning people can’t wave for help. In order to leverage their bodies in a way where they can breathe, they will press down on the water’s surface. Voluntary movements like waving, moving towards a lifeguard, or reaching for rescue equipment are impossible.

During the struggle, a drowning person will remain upright in the water without the evidence of a supporting kick. Without rescue, the swimmer will remain on the water’s surface for 20-60 seconds until submersion. A person waving or calling or help may still be in severe distress and need assistance. It just means he/she hasn’t started drowning yet.

LouisianaLife.com | 15

gr eat louisiana chef

Baby back ribs Robert Larson is pictured holding TJ Ribs’ signature baby back ribs. They are marinated with secret seasoning for 24 hours and slow-cooked in custom ovens. They have been a staple at the joint for 27 years.

Robert Larson TJ Ribs, Baton Rouge

By Sarah Ravits

Sports fans know TJ Ribs as more than just a legendary barbecue joint: It’s also where LSU coaches Les Miles (football), Paul Mainieri (baseball), Johnny 16 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

Jones (men’s basketball) and Nikki Caldwell (women’s basketball) air their radio shows. It’s also home of Billy Cannon’s Heisman Trophy and is filled with LSU memorabilia;

naturally, it’s also a popular spot to watch the games.

The barbecue spot, which has two locations now, was founded by TJ Moran of Baton Rouge, who also

franchised the first Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Adding to the greatness of TJ Ribs is its chef, Robert Larson, who boasts an impressive resume.

Larson spread his culinary wings in New York at the Culinary Institute of American in Hyde Park and then went on to work at two Michelin star restaurants. Before relocating back to Louisiana to be with friends and family, he served as the executive chef for the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He says he is lucky to be back at home working for TJ Ribs, which he says has “set the standard for legendary Louisiana barbecue.”

TJ Ribs’ menu includes red beans and rice, brisket, and ribs, along with grilled sausage and Avery Island shrimp. Information: 2324 S. Acadian Thruway, (225) 383-7427; 6330 Siegen Lane, (225) 291-8100 (Both locations are in Baton Rouge.) n

romero & romero PHOTOGRAPH

LouisianaLife.com | 17

roadside dining

Dining Along the Ouachita River The River Grille in Monroe

By Tara Ambrose

Along the banks of the Ouachita River is the River Grille, a rustic eatery in north Monroe. Owners Adam and Julie Hansen run the place with Chef Vada Perry. Opened in September of 2011, River Grille’s core inspiration came after the Hansen family took over Chauvin Grocery in February of 2001. “Julie and I always wanted a restaurant next door after we bought the (specialty) market,” Adam says.

The humble appearance of the River Grille could be misleading: The Hansens have created a menu with dishes with creatively

18 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

Southern flair. Popular dishes include the Chauvin duck wraps: tender duck breasts stuffed with cream cheese and jalapenos, adorned with a succulent sweet bourbon glaze. River Grille is also praised for its signature hand-shucked chargrilled oysters topped with diner’s choice of garlic butter with grated Parmesan cheese, spinach Madeline or their loaded version topped with pan fried bacon crisps, jalapenos and covered with cheddar cheese.

Insofar as entrée items, River Grille offers patrons with timeless classics such as crawfish and shrimp

etouffee, shrimp and grits, jambalaya, gumbo or their variety of sandwiches, wraps, soups and poor boys.

For all of those steak lovers in the midst, this menu will not leave you lacking.

With selections from their in house hand-cut, certified choice Angus beef, diners can select from a 14 to 16 ounce ribeye or either a 6-8 ounce filet mignon, each served with a side and a trip to River Grille’s salad bar.

River Grille’s diverse menu also includes entrée options for those diners who want lighter fare, specifically approved by registered dietician, Andi Holyfield,

as a “healthy swap option.”

Diners may find enjoyment indulging in such menu items as the Grilled Fish – diner’s choice of grilled tuna, tilapia or mahi mahi served with a lovely rice pilaf or one of the River Grille’s signature salads.

Another popular option is the “signature Angus burger” – a half-pound grilled burger, fully dressed, cooked to your specifications and served with a side of fries or onion rings.

River Grille offers kids selections approved by the Hansen children. Dishes include Sarah’s fried shrimp, A.J.’s grilled or fried chicken bites, Anna Grace’s gumbo, Amelia’s burger and the All-American Sadie’s Grilled Cheese.

Information, The River Grille, 2538 River Landing, Monroe, (318) 807-4410 n

steven myers photograph

LouisianaLife.com | 19

kitchen gourmet

Simple Pleasures 4 adjustable recipes for warmer months

By Stanley Dry

It’s one thing to eat well on special occasions or on the weekend when there’s time to cook big meals.

It’s something else entirely to eat well on a daily basis, which is what we all strive for. But eating well doesn’t mean the food has to be fancy, elaborate, difficult or timeconsuming to make. Some of the most memorable meals I’ve eaten were the simplest. In that respect, we’re fortunate in Louisiana because we have such an abundance of local ingredients that don’t require much preparation. Particularly so this time of year, when the markets are filled with local produce.

Many of us love old traditional standards that we grew up on or came to love later in life. Even the most avant-garde have a special place in their hearts for some of those dishes. But often they’re recipes that take some time to prepare. They’re not the kind of thing you can pull off after a long day at the office.

The key to daily meal preparation is learning to use what we have on hand to fashion tasty and satisfying meals. Often that involves adapting recipes. This is where professional chefs, in addition to their training and skills, have the upper hand because they have such a wide variety of ingredients in their

kitchens. If we have to go shopping for items to prepare our meal we’ve added a significant amount of time to the whole endeavor.

None of this month’s recipes are particularly difficult to make, but more importantly, they can easily be altered and adapted to what you have in your pantry and refrigerator. The Savory Bread And Vegetable Pudding, for example, calls for asparagus and peas, but you can substitute other vegetables if you don’t have those. Or you could leave out the vegetables and make it with diced ham. The recipe specifies tomatoes to make an uncooked sauce, but if you don’t have tomatoes or if you want to save time, you can use something else, maybe some leftover pesto, a pasta sauce or a salsa. Don’t have Parmesan for the recipe? Omit it, or substitute another cheese. There are all kinds of variations that can come into play with just this one recipe.

The point is that recipes are not written in stone. They are, at most, guidelines or a road map. You can go off in all kinds of directions and wind up with a dish very different from what the author had in mind. After all, which is more fun – following a detailed map to a defined destination or taking a road trip that proceeds without plan? n

Gazpacho eugenia uhl photograph

LouisianaLife.com | 21

recipes Gazpacho There are probably more versions of gazpacho than there are cooks who make it. Here is one quick and easy recipe.

4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped ¼ red onion, peeled and chopped 1 ½ cups tomato juice 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Coarse salt to taste Hot sauce to taste

Broiled Eggplant With Mint Sauce The eggplant can either be broiled or cooked on the grill.

1 large eggplant ¼ cup olive oil Coarse salt and freshly-ground black pepper Preheat broiler. Cut eggplant into quarter-inch slices. Brush both sides with olive oil and place on a heavy baking sheet. Broil until lightly browned, turn and broil the other side. Remove eggplant with a spatula, season with salt and pepper, and serve topped with mint sauce.

For garnish:

Makes 4 servings.

¼ cup olive oil 1 clove garlic, peeled 2 cups cubed bread

Mint Sauce

For soup: Combine all ingredients, except salt and hot sauce, in blender and puree. Season with salt and hot sauce. Refrigerate.

For garnish: Heat olive oil and garlic in skillet on medium heat. Add bread cubes and fry, turning as needed, until bread is browned on all sides.

Season with salt.

Serve soup cold and add an ice cube to each bowl, if desired. Garnish with the fried croutons.

Makes 4 servings.

This is an adaptable sauce that can be served with various vegetable or meat dishes.

2 cups loosely packed mint leaves ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil ¼ cup pine nuts, pecans, or walnuts ¼ cup sesame tahini ¼ cup water 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper Combine all ingredients except salt and pepper in blender and puree.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes about 1 cup.

Savory Bread And Vegetable Pudding With Tomato Bread pudding is one of Louisiana’s favorite desserts, but there’s no reason why we can’t take out the sugar, add some vegetables and make it part of the main course.

Brussels Sprouts With Ham & Cream Brussels sprouts lend themselves to various cooking methods. Slicing them cuts down on the cooking time and gives them a more appealing texture.

2 eggs 1 cup milk 2 tablespoons melted butter ¼ teaspoon coarse salt ¹⁄8 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper 2 cups French bread, without crust, torn into small pieces 1 cup chopped asparagus 1 cup green peas ¼ cup freshly-grated Parmesan 3 medium tomatoes 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 pound brussels sprouts 4 tablespoons butter ½ cup cubed ham ²⁄³ cup heavy cream Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a muffin tin that has six large openings. Put two pots of salted water on to boil.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs; add milk, butter, salt, and pepper and mix well. Add bread and stir to combine. Blanch peas and asparagus in one pot of boiling water for one minute. Pour into a colander and rinse under cold water. Drain well. Add vegetables to mixing bowl, along with grated Parmesan. Stir to mix well, then spoon contents into the muffin tin. Bake in preheated oven until puddings are set and pull away from the pan, about 15-20 minutes. Place muffin tin on a rack for a minute or two, then invert tin onto a baking sheet to remove puddings.

While puddings are baking, drop tomatoes into boiling water for a minute, then drain. Peel tomatoes, cut in half, and squeeze out seeds.

Finely chop tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Serve puddings surrounded by a few spoons of the chopped tomato and garnish with chopped parsley.

Makes 6 servings.

22 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

Trim stem ends of brussels sprouts and slice lengthwise into 2-4 sections, depending on their size.

Melt butter in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add brussels sprouts and ham and cook, stirring occasionally, until sprouts are tender and lightly browned but still crunchy, about 8-10 minutes. Add cream and cook, while stirring, until brussels sprouts and ham are coated with thickened cream. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes 4 servings.

LouisianaLife.com | 23

home

A Classic in Crowley A look at Homer Ed and Carolyn Barousse's historic gem

By Bonnie Warren / Photographed by Craig Macaluso

Built in 1892 by Thomas Toler Jr., the classic Queen Anne home of Carolyn and Homer Ed Barousse features 24 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

a sweeping front porch with a large turret, Doric columns, balusters, spindles and turned posts. As one of the

oldest residences in Crowley, it is a stunning example of a bygone era.

Located on an acre lot in the middle of the city, the 5,000-square-foot home is a showplace that has been pristinely maintained by the Barousses since they purchased it in 1975. “I am from Crowley, and I always admired the house, so we couldn’t pass up the chance to purchase it when it went

on the market,” explains Homer Ed, an attorney with his law firm of Barousse and Craton, Attorneys at Law. “We saw it as a wonderful, spacious home in which to raise a family, and it has been a privilege to be the caretakers of such an historic home for 40 years,” adds Carolyn, a speech language pathologist.

The house is located in the historic district, just two

FACING PAGE: The circular porch showcases the Doric columns.

Both the ceiling and floor are painted blue. Comfortable seating is provided for entertaining. TOP: White wicker furniture placed on a sisal rug creates a second entertaining area on the front porch. BOTTOM: Built in 1892, the classic Queen Anne-style home of Carolyn and Homer Ed Barousse is one of the oldest homes in Crowley.

blocks from Court House Square. Carolyn says of the area: “We have beautiful large oak trees, spacious parks and interesting restored historic homes.”

“The architecture of the home is something I have always appreciated,” Homer Ed says. “I love being outdoors and sitting on the side porch, enjoying the pastoral setting.” Carolyn agrees. “The wide galleries,

which surround the house, add to the beauty of the Queen Anne architecture,” she says. “The design of the house, including the large rounded area under the turret on the side porch makes it a wonderful gathering place for our family or to entertain large groups.”

The home has undergone many changes since it was purchased. “We bought the home when our first two children were very young,” Homer Ed says. “It has been a true labor of love and a work in progress during our four decades of residency. When we first purchased the house,

it was structurally sound but extremely outdated. There was no sheetrock on the walls – only wallpaper hung over cheesecloth.”

All of the electrical and plumbing systems had to be updated. “Over the years we enclosed portions of the back porch to provide areas for a laundry room, and we expanded the kitchen by adding a sun room,” says Homer Ed. Carolyn says the renovations took place while they lived in the home. “We would renovate a portion and then wait a few years before undertaking another project,” she says. Homer Ed adds, "and we never had an architect, but we did have

THIS PAGE, TOP: A statue graces a pocket garden where caladiums are featured in the center raised flowerbed. LEFT: Homer and Carolyn Barousse FACING PAGE, TOP: The kitchen offers a homey flavor to the house, although it has all the modern appliances. BOTTOM: The five-arm brass Victorian chandelier was purchased from an antique dealer in Baton Rouge in 1975, the same year the Barousses bought the house. The portraits are of Barousse’s three sons – Charles, Edward and William – all taken when each one was 5 years old.

very talented carpenters and painters, as well as other people who were savvy enough to know how to preserve an older home.”

Carolyn’s niece, Caroline Renfro Flettrich, ASID Allied Member and partner in Richard-Renfro Designs in Baton Rouge, helped with 26 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

the couple’s most recent renovations. “Caroline has a feel for our home because of all of the time she spent here throughout her life,” Carolyn says. The couple credits Michael Washington, their longtime gardener, for keeping their yard beautiful year-round.

“We have wonderful memories of the happy times and many celebratory events that have taken place in our home with our five children, their spouses, our grandchildren and our many friends who have celebrated the joys of our lives with us. Our family has

celebrated countless christenings, birthdays, swimming parties, large teenage events, engagement parties and even wedding ceremonies and receptions,” says Carolyn.

Homer Ed agrees. “Living in one of the oldest home in Crowley has been a joy and a privilege for all of us.”

art

"Art and Shadows" on the Bayou Teche Lynda Frese’s haunting photo collages of the Shadows-on-the-Teche Plantation in New Iberia call to mind William Faulkner’s memorable line in his 1950 book, Requiem for a Nun – “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

By John R. Kemp

28 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

Over the last 12 months, Frese has created an impressive body of images that draw upon the history and people who inhabited the plantation for almost two centuries. Faces of long dead members of the Weeks family who owned the Shadows, their clothing, household objects, personal letters, and the belongings of slaves who worked the land move in and out of her collages like specters in a dream. Each hand-tinted collage is an impression of time, place, and the tragic and complex relationships between the people who once lived and worked in this elegant historical home on Bayou Teche. They are silent stories left to the imagination of viewers.

The project, titled "Art and Shadows," funded in June 2014 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Endowment for the Arts, has enabled Frese to spend an entire year as an artist-in-residence at the Shadows where she has set up a small studio overlooking lovely gardens and massive live oaks. With keys to the entire house, she moves freely from room to room where stern portraits of long ago family members gaze at her intrusion. She often climbs the steep narrow steps into the attic to spend time among centuries-old books, Weeks family archives, clothing, furniture and household objects.

Alone and in complete silence, she thumbs through long, loving and beautifully written letters between husbands, who were away for weeks at a time tending to business, and wives who remained at home to run

the plantation. In these letters and archives, she finds expressions and objects that she later works into her visual stories.

Like so many other artists who come to South Louisiana from other places in the country, Frese has taken to the state’s Acadian culture with the ferocity of a Cajun fiddle player at a Saturday night dance. Born in Florida, raised in Rhode Island and educated in California, she arrived in Louisiana in 1986 to teach fine art photography at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. “I thought I’d be here a short time and then move on,” says Frese, who now holds an endowed chair at the university. “But Louisiana got me, and I stayed. I like the climate here. The weather is so dramatic with the storms and wetness. I also love the music and the Francophone culture and language. There’s a certain kind of worldliness about Louisiana that appeals to me. It certainly has influenced my work. There’s also a kind of pagan lust of living on and off the land here.

The fierce and staunch pride Cajuns have for their culture is appealing, and so is their joie de vivre of having fun.”

Frese, fluent in French, lives in the heart of that culture in Breaux Bridge just a few blocks from Bayou Teche.

At first, Frese was not clear on how to approach the artin-residence project at the Shadows. Initially, she thought she would concentrate on slavery, the darker side of the plantation’s history. But as she read more and more family letters and records from before and after the Civil War, she realized the history of the slave-owning planters and slavery was a difficult story.

“There are so many stories about the family and plantation culture,” she explains. “The story of slavery in Louisiana is so painful. I kept circling back to slavery and the broad picture of how that could have happened. I wanted to make pictures about enslaved families and the white planter families. They lived so closely together. I thought about how families interacted with each other or didn’t. It is a story of bonding and how people took care of each other. It wasn’t all terrible. It was a very complex relationship.”

In the attic Frese also found clothing such as wedding dresses, baptismal gowns and pre-Civil War children’s clothing. With that, Frese decided to tell her stories through the eyes of the chil-

dren, black and white, on the plantation. “I thought that would make the images less intimidating and inviting to people,” she says. But not all of her collages are about children. Some depict slave LouisianaLife.com | 29

cabins and life around the plantation. In the “moonlight and magnolia” imagery of her collage "Night Shadows," for example, Frese thought she was making a statement about the false notion people today have about plantation life. “It’s so funny,” she says. “I thought I was making a propaganda piece, but it turned out to be the one people respond to most. That’s their image of plantation life.

30 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

Many Americans don’t want to think about plantation life being so contentious.”

Creating contemporary stories about lives and a culture drawn from the past is difficult. To do so, Frese prefers the flexibility of the photo-collage process rather than traditional documentarystyled photographs of the plantation. Instead of images of empty rooms or moody reflections of how the planta-

tion looks today, Frese is able to bring life to her compositions. Like painting, a collage is more about the artist’s imagination than what lies before the camera lens. “I’ve always been a mixed-media artist,” she says, describing her days as a graduate student at the University of California, Davis. “The scenes in my head are not available in straight photography. In collages, I can place images that don’t necessarily belong together to create a powerful narrative.”

To create her collages, Frese often uses photographs of the plantation taken in the 1940s and ’50s by the writer and artist William Weeks Hall, the last of the Weeks family to live on the property. “He saved everything,” she says. With elements cut from her own photographs of the plantation, clothing and other objects and Hall’s vintage photographs, she juxtaposes images to create her stories. She then hand-

tints each composition with egg tempera, an ancient form of paint consisting of color pigments mixed with egg yolks.

The eggs are from New Iberia.

Using local eggs is critical to the work, she explains. “It becomes a connection with the local bio-region,” she says, glancing out a window into the garden. “When I work, I think about the land. I think about the sugarcane and the plantation that came out of that crop. I have spent days here in solitude and silence. I appreciate being present in the place where all this has happened.”

As Faulkner wrote – “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” It remains in the Shadows and in Lynda Frese’s images.

"Art and Shadows" will be on view at the Shadows visitor center from May 9 through Labor Day. For additional information about Frese and her work, visit lyndafrese.com. n

LouisianaLife.com | 31

traveler

photo by andy crawford

Sights & Sites Exploring Civil War history will bring you to forts, exhibits and landmarks all over Louisiana.

Paul F. Stahls Jr.

Like the war itself in 1865, the Civil War Sesquicentennial “began ending” this year on April 7, 150 years after Appomattox.

In Louisiana, however, because the Confederacy’s TransMississippi Dept. lasted two months longer, our commemoration is not over. Shreveport – with its shipyard, foundries and munition depots – never fell (despite the Red River Campaign of 1864), and its role as Trans-Mississippi

32 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

headquarters and state capital lasted until Gen. Kirby Smith announced his surrender on May 26 and Gov. Henry Watkins Allen delivered his farewell address on June 2.

Even for readers who’ve taken every “Traveler” tour suggested through these months (listen up, you two), dozens of landmarks remain to be seen, but no worries! The sightseeing needn’t end with the sesquicentennial, so pick some sites from the following

menu and take another drive.

Forts are the favorite landmarks of many buffs, and one strategy, tried-and-true, is to begin at the masonry defenses near New Orleans, then invade the state to see the old earthwork defenses.

In today’s Plaquemines Parish in the 1790s, at a spot on the Mississippi called Point du Mardi Gras (so named on Fat Tuesday of 1699 by the explorer Iberville), Louisiana’s Spanish regime erected Fort San Felipe (renamed Fort St. Philip after 1803), which brought the British river fleet to a standstill during the Battle of New Orleans.

It was manned again for the Mexican-American War, then armed again in 1861 for service to the Confederacy.

Across the river, star-shaped Fort Jackson (1832) joined St.

Philip to impose a formidable crossfire on the Union Navy in April of 1862, swapping shells with the fleet for 12 days before Flag Officer Farragut led a desperation 3 a.m. run past the forts to capture New Orleans. Fort St. Philip has been silted over for years and Fort Jackson was greatly weakened by hurricane waters in 2005, but Jackson is now open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, and the dedication of its new museum is only weeks away. Both forts might soon be restored to become a new National Park.

Of our five other masonry forts, four were seized by the Louisiana Militia in 1861 and retaken by Union forces in ‘62. The other, Fort Proctor in St. Bernard Parish – now knee-deep in water just off the subsiding southern shore of Lake Borgne – was unfinished

in 1861 and never manned.

The ruins of Fort Livingston on Grand Terre island are accessible – a short boat ride from Grand Isle – and Fort Pike on U.S. 90 below Slidell is a State Historic Site. Pike was built in 1826 to guard the Rigolets pass between Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico, while Fort Macomb (1832) – a State Parks property with no restoration yet scheduled – stood guard at nearby Chef Menteur Pass.

Restoration of Jackson Barracks and arsenal at 6400 St. Claude in New Orleans is complete, and, while its columned officer residences are still off limits (since 9-1-1), its Military History and Weapons Museum adjacent to the arsenal is open (presenting till May 22 an exhibit on our state militia at the Battle of New Orleans). Two other arsenals to see are the 1861 powder magazine at Camp Parapet near River Road in Metairie (off Causeway Blvd. on Arlington, accessible two days each November – jeffersonhistoricalsociety. com), and, on the Capitol grounds in Baton Rouge, the Old Arsenal Museum with its Civil War graffiti. Also on the grounds, the Pentagon Barracks, held briefly by the CSA, were used after the war as “cadet” quarters when LSU relocated from Pineville.

Our earthen forts and breastworks are still plentiful, the most extensive being Port Hudson on the Mississippi, a State Historic Site whose trenches and natural ravines were brunt of the longest siege of the war. Others include the bluff dubbed Fort Beauregard on the Ouachita River at Harrisonburg (today a hilltop park with an observation tower), Donaldsonville’s

Cemetery and downtown streets in Baton Rouge to remote points like the naval attacks on Calcasieu Pass and Sabine Pass (with skirmishing around our 1857 lighthouse that still stands there). Some sprang up randomly, others in the zigzag patterns of crosscountry campaigns. Every mile of bayou and cane-

Fort Butler at the “fork” of Bayou Lafourche (crying for excavation), breastworks at the Corps of Engineers Red River welcome center at Grand Ecore near Natchitoches, and Fort DeRussy near Marksville (blasted in the first battle of the Red River Campaign and recently acquired by State Parks).

Artillery embankments long the Sabine River can be seen at Niblett’s Bluff in Vinton and Burr’s Ferry near Leesville, and a State Historic Site in Pineville preserves Forts Buhlow and Randolph, built in 1864 in anticipation of a second Red River invasion.

Shreveport’s four earthen forts are all now destroyed or buried, but the daunting bluff of Fort Turnbull (nicknamed Fort Humbug because some of its cannon were fakes) still provides a dramatic Red River overlook from the grounds of a V.A. Hospital and National Guard armory.

Other battles varied from urban settings like Magnolia

field from Donaldsonville to the Lafourche Crossing rail bridge saw fighting, for instance, as did the banks of Bayou Teche from Fort Brashear on the Atchafalaya to Bisland, Franklin and New Iberia. Then came the invasion of Opelousas, whereupon Gov. Thomas Overton Moore departed his rooms at the Homère Mouton

home (231 N. Liberty, private) to reconvene his legislature in Shreveport.

Towns like Clinton and Jackson were swept up in FACING PAGE: Fort Pike at the Rigolets THIS PAGE, TOP: Port Hudson re-enactment BOTTOM, LEFT: Gen. Johnston and Sgt. Brunet, Metairie Cemetery BOTTOM RIGHT: Gen. Alfred Mouton, Lafayette

LouisianaLife.com | 33

Boardwalk at Fort Randolph earthworks

fighting that radiated from Port Hudson, and battles and home burnings accompanied Gen. Grant’s canal digging projects through northeast Louisiana during the siege of Vicksburg – evidenced by a 1,000-foot length of one canal still visible from U.S. 65 at the Lake Providence Welcome Center.

Battle markers have since sprouted along the route of Gen. Nathaniel Banks’ Red River Campaign, from Simmesport and Marksville to Alexandria and Natchitoches, finally to the encounters now memorialized by Mansfield State Historic Site and the monuments of Pleasant Hill Battlefield Park … then back, following Banks’ retreat and Gen. Dick Taylor’s chase, which turned Cane River into a 20-mile battlefield from Derry to the bluffs of Monnet’s Ferry below Cloutierville.

Besides war-related exhibits at the State Historic Sites and State Museum, 34 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

significant collections can be found at Confederate Memorial Hall (929 Camp, New Orleans), the YoungSanders Center (archive, library and museum at 104 Commercial, Franklin), Camp Moore Museum and Cemetery (old CSA training grounds, U.S. 51 below Kentwood), and Crumps Hill Military Museum, west of Marthaville at 11389 Hwy. 120, by appointment, (318) 472-9033.

Statues can be dramatic storytellers, and, as in many counties North and South, a dozen of our parish courthouses are fronted by statues of lone soldiers, each representing untold numbers of local lads. For more statuary a good starting point is the State Capitol’s Memorial Hall with its likenesses of Civil War Gov. Henry Watkins Allen, post-Reconstruction Gov. Francis T. Nicholls and Reconstruction-era Gov. P.B.S. Pinchback – one of the

Union’s few black commissioned officers, known for raising several companies for the Louisiana Native Guards.

Angela Gregory’s seated figure of Gen. Allen can be found across the river in downtown Port Allen (near his Allendale Plantation), and an obelisk marks the grave of Gen. Nicholls at St. John Episcopal in Thibodaux. A granite marker there bears a likeness of Leonidas Polk, bishop and general, who organized the church in 1843. Buried in Christ Church Cathedral in New Orleans, the soldier/churchman is also honored in stainedglass at Trinity Episcopal in New Orleans, Mount Olivet in Pineville and Trinity in Natchitoches, and Fort Polk near Leesville bears his name.

Others honored individually in bronze or stone include Robert E. Lee at Lee Circle in New Orleans and, around that town, CSA President Jefferson

Davis on Canal Street (who died in 1889 in the home of a friend at 1134 First St., private), P.G.T. Beauregard astride his horse at City Park, and U.S. Chief Justice E.D. White (who enlisted in the Confederate Army as a minor) at the Louisiana Supreme Court on Royal Street. Another bronze of White stands in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall, and his great marble bust overlooks the halls of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Elsewhere around the state, a statue of Gen. Alfred Mouton fronts City Hall in Lafayette and an obelisk marks the place of his death on the Mansfield battlefield. On La. 23 in Belle Chasse, a memorial and bas relief of Judah P. Benjamin honors “the brains of the Confederacy,” who served as attorney general, secretary of war and secretary of state.

Monuments featuring multiple busts can be found at the Caddo Courthouse in Shreveport and in New Orleans’ Greenwood Cemetery on City Park Ave. In adjacent Metairie Cemetery, a stone cannoneer represents Louisiana’s famed Washington Artillery, the soaring column of the Army of Northern Virginia bears the weight of a marble Stonewall Jackson, and an equestrian statue of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston stands atop the Louisiana Division vault of the Army of Tennessee. Near its gated entrance the marble form of Sgt. William Brunet is seen recording final muster.

Not all the Johnnys came marching home. n

what to know about our official state mammal

BY DR. JAMES G. DICKSON PHOTOS BY PAM MCILHENNY 36 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

After the Louisiana Purchase, natural resources

to support the expanding human population were exploited. The once-vast bottomland hardwoods fell to the saw, and adding to the habitat loss was hunting. Hunters shot game, and everyday people shot large carnivores, regarded as predators – and competitors – of livestock. With these adverse conditions, much of the wildlife associated with that bottomland forest suffered. The black hear population declined drastically during this time.

There are several species of bears worldwide, three of which inhabit North America. The polar bear lives in the ice and snow-covered far North and eats seals. The grizzly, or brown bear, dwells mostly in Alaska and western Canada. It ranges south into some of the northwestern United States.

The American black bear was originally found throughout most of North America.

Taxonomically, they are carnivores, but more practically, they are omnivores – like a severalhundred pound raccoon. They consume a variety of food, including grass, insects and fruits during the summer; acorns and agricultural crops in the fall, and they will opportunistically take some animal matter.

The black bear was eliminated from much of its range by exploitation from early settlers. In the South, a remnant population – dubbed the Louisiana black bear – persisted in the swamps and bottomland hardwoods of Louisiana and some adjoining areas.

For the past several decades and continuing today there have been efforts to recover and research information about this population of bears. The earlier conservation and recovery efforts came from public and private agencies and private landowners, members of a group later named the Black Bear Conservation Coalition.

In 1992, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the black bear as an officially threatened species. Of the many subspecies in North America, the Louisiana black bear is the only one listed.

In Louisiana, hunting bears is outlawed. Don’t mistake a cub for a wild hog; don’t shoot a bear.

You will suffer from ridicule from your friends and a federal judge, loss of the opportunity to hunt and a much-thinner wallet.

This low fecundity presents some special challenges and also opportunities for restoration and repatriation. Trapped and relocated individual bears often return to their home range from where they were captured.

Complementing this repatriation has been recent research to determine population status and viability. Information from this substantial research has recently been summarized in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), Louisiana Black Bear (LBB) Management Plan, February 2015, by Maria Davidson and others.

Black bears hibernate during winter in dens, and female bears birth their (very small) young during this time. Capturing a mother and her cubs and moving the whole family to a new area in an artificial den works. The dutiful mother will not abandon her cubs, and this technique is useful for establishing new populations in Louisiana.

According to Jared Laufenberg, research biologist from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, there are three criteria for recovery and ultimately delisting. The objectives are viable populations in core population area, a good chance of suitable habitat continuity, as well as habitat corridors and protection between the areas.

For researchers to learn more about this population, bears are captured and outfitted with radio transmitters to track their movements, assess dispersal and gather other pertinent data. Another research tactic is the use of bait stations with hair snares. Bears are attracted to these stations, which are surrounded by low barbed wire. Individual bears are identified by DNA analysis of hair follicles caught on the barbs.

Data from bear sightings are also being collected and analyzed.

The ultimate goal of the research and repatriation efforts is the recovery and ultimately delisting of the population. According to Deborah Fuller, endangered species biologist with the USFWS and Maria Davidson (LDWF), recent data suggest bear populations are expanding. The LBB Management Plan

DID YOU KNOW? There have been very few serious human/black bear incidents. They are usually shy.

But they are large, strong animals. I will always remember as a kid camping with my parents in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. We had a big metal cooler with burgers and a big block of ice inside sitting on the nearby picnic table which attracted a large bear. As the bear approached my dad got his German Lugar out that he brought home from WW II – just in case.

The bear stood up and swatted the cooler with his paw.

It tumbled several times after hitting the ground. I was impressed.

LouisianaLife.com | 37

DID YOU KNOW? Black bears live up to 10 years, and they have characteristics that make them slow colonizers.

Females provide longtime care for their cubs. Females are usually 3 or 4 years old when they birth their first litter, and typically only have a litter every other year. Litter size is small: Usually 1 to 3 cubs are born, depending on the age and physiological condition of the sow.

IN CASE OF AN ENCOUNTER Bears can be very curious and will occasionally follow a person. Carry pepper spray if you are in bear country. If you encounter one yell, stand, raise your arms or back away slowly. Don’t turn and run. A potential prey fleeing could trigger a predatory response from a bear. Don’t approach a bear who's been hit by a vehicle or otherwise injured.

An injured bear could be dangerous.

Just call authorities.

38 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

details the population status of the four subpopulations. The Tensas River population, mostly in Tensas and Madison parishes, has the most bears and a positive growth rate. The Upper Atchafalaya population is also viable, and there is a newly established repatriated population in east-central Louisiana between these other two populations. Between 2001 and 2009, there were 48 female bears with 104 cubs moved into this area. There is gene flow between this population and the populations north and south. There is a fourth population, which is smaller and more isolated in the lower Atchafalaya, which, among other things, can suffer due to vehicle collisions.

An improved population is one important part of assessing this species’ recovery. The other is whether the bear’s habitat has improved from the historic loss and fragmentation that caused the Louisiana black bear to be listed.

Bear recovery also requires the cooperation of numerous agencies and individuals in support of this effort. We also need to restore the bears' prime habitat, bottomland hardwoods. There have been several programs administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service to reestablish bottomland forests on private land.

But there are also new challenges with more bears in new places: Bear-human interactions are increasing. Bears are attracted to food – and sometimes they can obtain human food a lot easier than their natural foods. Bears sometimes hone in on corn feeders, bee hives, pet food and camp food. In the South, we have dumpsterdiving bears. And I hear stories from deer hunters that bears will show up after a rifle shot. Are bears learning that a rifle shot means a possible downed deer? A deer carcass or at least a gut pile may be their hot lunch program.

Bear diets are quite varied through the year.

Bears do their carbo-loading and fat building in the fall before denning when they don’t eat. And humans have a lot of things that bears like. Bears

show up looking for hand-outs, particularly when natural food, such as acorns in the fall, are in short supply, which is often. According to Myron Means, a bear biologist in Arkansas, where there are more bears, nuisance bear complaints are much more common in years of low acorn production.

Feeders with corn, mostly intended to feed whitetailed deer, are especially attractive to bears. But impatient bears don’t wait for the feeder to sling the corn. They are strong enough to rip off the motor, too. The first smashed feeder I saw in Morehouse Parish: I immediately thought: This was either the work of a bear or some drunk teenagers.

However, you can get your feeder higher than a bear's reach. Suspend the feeder from a tall metal pole cemented into the ground with a

lateral yard arm. Run the cable through a pulley from the feeder along the yard arm down the pole to a boat winch on the pole at about shoulder height (yours, not the bears'). This has worked so far for me – unless a bear learns to operate the boat winch.

You can get help if you have a consistent problem bear. A regional office of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries or the USDA APHIS Wildlife Services deal with problem bears.

For consistent problem bears they have a program called adverse conditioning. The bear is harassed.

It doesn’t seem to be any fun for the bear. But it is usually effective in detering problem bears.

The bear is here to stay. We need to learn how to live with them.

DID YOU KNOW? Don’t leave food attractants, such as fish frying grease, dog, cat, or livestock food, or bird feeders with seed if you have bears visiting these sites.

And if you have honey bees you may need an electric fence.

LouisianaLife.com | 39

' Louisiana’s Historic Music Halls 4 legendary places

By Megan Hill

40 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

social aid,, pleasure and jazz music Nestled among enormous, arching oak trees trimmed with Spanish moss, on an unassuming street in Old Mandeville, sits a weathered wooden building that looks as if it has stories to tell. Most of the time, the Dew Drop Jazz and Social Hall (formerly known as the Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall) looks more like a relic than an active music hall; its gray wood exterior is devoid of paint or stain, left exposed to the elements.

Its shutters and front door are tightly sealed, almost as if they’ve been boarded up for years.

But this 1895 structure just a few blocks north of Lake Pontchartrain is anything but defunct. For musicians like Deacon John, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, A.J. Croce and more, the Dew Drop is an intimate, lively stage that holds within its walls the very essence of Louisiana’s rich music culture.

On nights when musicians play, string

photos courtesy dew drop inn jazz and social hall

lights are plugged in, the front doors are flung open, and so many patrons stream in that the tiny venue’s benches fill to capacity. Other concert-goers must bring lawn chairs and enjoy the show from outside the inn’s doors; but all the better, for they have access to fresh air (the hall isn’t air-conditioned) and food for purchase provided by the ladies of the First Free Mission Baptist Church next door.

The Dew Drop stakes its claim as the oldest unaltered rural jazz hall in the world. The hall is owned by the city of Mandeville and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was originally constructed to serve as the headquarters of the Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Association, which formed “to care for the sick with food and attention; to provide help in funeral arrangements; to provide food for needy and temporary housing – all during a period of time when black residents could not obtain various types of insurance,” according to the hall’s website.

The community proved a receptive audience for early jazz musicians who crossed Lake Pontchartrain by steamboat. Soon, they began playing at the Dew Drop – and the

rest is history. Jazz icons from New Orleans have played within these walls, including Kid Ory, Bunk Johnson and Buddy Petit. That’s just the start of what has become a 120-year-old tradition.

Given the inextricable way that music is weaved into Louisiana’s cultural fabric, it comes as no surprise that there are scores of historic music halls scattered around the state – some as intimate as the Dew Drop, with its important ties to the immediate community around it, and others that are nationally and even internationally known, where musicians and performers like Elvis and Johnny Cash have held court. What each of them have in common is that they’ve been around long enough to bear witness to Louisiana’s – and in some cases, the country’s or the world’s – musical history.

The Dew Drop Jazz and Social Hall, located in Mandeville on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building originally served as the headquarters of a social aid club.

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A place to share ideas One of the most well-known is Preservation Hall in New Orleans. Though not as old as Dew Drop, Preservation Hall was founded in 1961, and it’s provided a key stage for the city’s jazz musicians and an important role in preserving the city’s jazz heritage.

“All of the earliest players at Preservation Hall were legends before the Hall even opened: Punch Miller, Sweet Emma Barrett, the Humphrey Brothers, Billie & De De Pierce, Jim Robinson, Cie Frazier, Papa John Joseph. The list goes on,” says Preservation Hall's managing director, Ron Rona. “As far as the traditional New Orleans jazz style as a whole, we believe the

42 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

development of this style is a living tradition that continues today through the players playing the music now – both here at the Hall, around the city and to the world.

That's what we're here to present and to facilitate.”

Preservation Hall was born during a time when

much of the country was gravitating toward the new wave sounds of rock ‘n‘ roll and bebop, so much so that many jazz musicians found themselves out of work – and without a venue to carry on their traditions.

They found some solace in a small art gallery on

St. Peter Street in the French Quarter, where jam sessions evolved into legitimate concerts.

The art gallery moved out, and Preservation Hall was born. The enterprise now includes the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Preservation Hall

Foundation, with various educational initiatives, archives, and workshops.

Attendees at the Hall’s nightly concerts observe a sort of living history, the act of preservation and perpetuation in real time.

“We like to think of this not only as a place for listeners, but also a place for the players,” says Rona. “A place for them to share their ideas, teach and pass on those ideas and present them to the people. We help provide an opportunity to present those ideas to the world on tour and for schools across the globe.”

In an art-filled building in the 1960s, history was created and resurrected when Allan and Sandra Jaffe purchased a gallery from Larry Borenstein and turned it into what is now Preservation Hall. Borenstein and the Jaffes sought to preserve and foster the growth of traditional New Orleans jazz. Despite the era's Jim Crow laws and racial tensions, the Hall brought people together for the pleasure of live music.

photos courtesy preservation hall (top photo by shannon brinkman; bottom photo by howard lambert)

preserving cajun culture and music

The Liberty Theater has helped put the city of Eunice, in Cajun country, on the proverbial map.

The renovated 1924 vaudeville theater and movie house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and hosts a weekly concert series called “Rendezvous des Cajuns” radio show in French.

The theater is important not only for hosting notable acts like Fatty Arbuckle, Tex Ritter, Jimmy Clanton, the Bowery Boys, and Roy Rogers, but also for its role in preserving Cajun culture – through music. Every Saturday night the theater’s live radio show, “Rendezvous des Cajuns” mixes live Cajun and zydeco music with storytelling in a blend described as a mix of Grand Old Opry and "Prairie Home Companion."

photos courtesy david simpson

The show is emceed mostly in Cajun French, “with enough English spoken so that everyone can enjoy this unique and one-of-a-kind experience,” the show’s website says.

Listeners can attend the show live (and hit the dance floor while they’re at it), or listen to it broadcast on the radio.

The concerts are often preceded by cooking demonstrations and other musical performances and events like the annual crawfish etouffee cook-off, all of which help preserve various aspects of Cajun culture.

top: 2009 Liberty Theater Mardi Gras Show: Reggie Matte and Terry Huval bottom: Patrons dancing to Ivy Dugas and the Cajun Cousins

with Walter Mouton at the Liberty Theater

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Launching Elvis into Stardom One of – if not the most – famous music venues in Louisiana is Shreveport’s Municipal Auditorium, home of the Louisiana Hayride radio (and later television) concert series that ran from 1948 through the 1960s and helped launch some of the biggest acts in American country music. It became known as “The Cradle of the Stars” for its role in introducing so many internationally famous acts to the world.

44 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

It was on this stage on Oct. 16, 1954 that a teenage musician named Elvis Presley made his performance debut. The next year, Presley famously gyrated into living rooms across the country as the show’s television version broadcast his first such appearance.

Presley performed every Saturday night on the show for the next 18 months, on television in the U.S. and internationally via the Armed Forces Radio.

“But prior to that, the Louisiana Hayride had featured Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Sr., Ernest Tubb, Willie Nelson even, as a kid,” says Sam Voisin, the auditorium’s regional general manager. “Back then it was old-style country music, which

above: Louisiana

Hayride steel guitar player Sonny Trammel talks with event emcee "Shotgun" Ken Shepherd during the Louisiana Hayride Bicentennial Bash event on June 20. right: The view from the stage of Shreveport's Municipal Auditorium.

was mainly folk music.

Then when Elvis hit the stage, it kind of turned from folk music to rockabilly and thus turning into rock 'n' roll.

The turning point was on that stage in that

venue because he was broadcast to the world.”

Other notable musicians, including blues musician Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and B.B. King have also taken the stage at this National Historic Landmark.

“At one time or another, most notable musicians that you would hear of today

have played on that stage,” says Voisin. The 1929 building continues to host concerts, though they’re not all of a contemporary nature: ghosts of musicians past are rumored to still wander the aisles. As Voisin says, “Elvis has not left the building, apparently.”

photos courtesy shreveport-bossier convention and tourist bureau

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LouisianaLi fe.com | 45

T

he craft distilling business is booming nationally, with over 500 distilleries across the country.

Louisiana is following the trend with distilleries opening throughout the state, making a variety of spirits. Here, four companies share their toast-worthy success stories.

LOUISIANA'S

by Elizabeth Pearce recipes by SAL AGNELLO photos Eugenia Uhl

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48 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

telier Vie is best known for launching Louisiana’s first legal absinthe in 100 years, but owner Jedd Haas is equally excited about one of their newest products: Euphrosine Gin #9. Haas was not always a gin fan – but his partners were.

“They were eager to create a gin, and since I had a negative opinion about the spirit, the bar was very high for us to come up with something great,” he says. The partners began working on several recipes.

Haas notes there was a lot of tasting and discussion because “sensory evaluation is a very important part of this business.”

Eventually, they chose their ninth iteration as their favorite.

The distillery’s location on Euphrosine Street in New Orleans led to the gin’s name.

A

Add ingredients to a shaker tin, including a ripped kaffir lime leaf.

Shake and strain into a Collins glass, top with soda. Garnish with the kaffir lime leaf and a lime wheel.

1.5 ounces Euphrosine Gin #9 1/2 ounces Cynar 3/4 ounce lime juice 3/4 ounce simple syrup Kaffir lime leaf Small pinch kosher salt Soda water

Railay Fizz

EUPHROSINE GIN # 9

At e l i e r V i e

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for Cinnamon Syrup Steep cracked cinnamon sticks in simple syrup (water and sugar with a ratio of 1:1) on low heat in a covered pot. Let simmer until syrup has a brown hue to it. Strain out cinnamon stick pieces and let cool.

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin, shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cinnamon-dusted lemon wheel.

1 ounce Euphrosine Gin #9 1 ounce Riesling 3/4 ounce cinnamon syrup 3/4 ounce lemon juice

Tailored Fit

NEW ORLEANS

Haas feels this spirit is a very friendly, accessible gin. “A lot of gins hit you over the head with a blast of juniper. Our goal was to create a more balanced flavor profile,” he says. It’s a taste that won Haas over to the spirit, and others agree with his assessment; Euphrosine Gin #9 has won two gold medals and Best of Category at spirits competitions. Atelier Vie has also been working on a barrel-aged version, aging the gin in a whiskey barrel.

He notes, “The barrel gives the gin a little bit of a whiskey and vanilla flavor.” Visitors to the distillery have been able to taste this new product and Haas says “Their reaction has been strong and favorable.” He hopes to have the barrel-aged gin in stores by summer, ready for warm-weather sipping.

Speaking of sipping, he says, “One of my partners says that people don’t sit around drinking warm gin, but our gin is so delicious, people might start. It’s a real sipping gin.”

The distillery is open for tours and tastings every weekend from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Information, ateliervie.com

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D

onner-Peltier Distillery was opened in 2012 by two sets of friends, Henry and Jennifer Peltier, and Tom and Beth Donner. Their original plan was to make rum, since the distillery is in the heart of sugar country, but rum takes aging, so they also wanted to make a product they could get to market faster. Vodka was the obvious spirit to make, since it requires no aging and is the country’s most popular liquor.

But the owners still wanted to keep that Louisiana influence, so they turned to another state crop as their vodka’s base: rice.

Converting Louisiana long grain rice into simpler sugar that could be fermented, however, took trial and error, most of which occurred in the Donners’ kitchen.

They spent time grinding rice into different textures, cooking it and adding enzymes to break larger sugar molecules into smaller

Add lemon juice and pepper jelly to a shaker tin and stir to incorporate the pepper jelly. Add vodka, bitters and St. Germain. Shake and strain into a flute or coupe. Top with champage and stir slightly. Garnish with a lemon pig tail.

1 ounce Oryza Vodka 1/2 ounce lemon juice 1/2 ounce St. Germain Dash Angostura bitters Bbar spoon pepper jelly Champage

Summer Solstice

ORYZA VODKA

Do nn e r P e l t i e r

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for Carrot syrup Gently warm fresh carrot juice and stir in an equal volume of sugar.

Shake egg white and lemon juice, add vodka, bitters, carrot syrup and ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with four drops of Burlesque bitters and a mint leaf.

2 ounces Oryza vodka 3/4 ounce lemon juice 3/4 ounce carrot syrup Dash Burlesque bitters Egg white

Beta House

T HIBOD AUX

ones. But even after they figured out how to create a product that could be distilled, Henry Peltier remembers wondering, “Would it actually taste good?” Indeed, it does. Peltier describes the taste as “creamy, smooth and a tiny bit sweet because of the rice. It’s the rice that makes it stand out from most vodkas.” They named it Oryza, the Latin word for rice.

Not long after Oryza was launched, their rum, Rougaroux, also hit the shelves. The distillery soon began working on new products.

Oryza Gin also has a Louisiana connection featuring the state’s citrus, and LA 1 is the first aged Louisiana whiskey available since Prohibition. Peltier happily reports, “We are having trouble making enough of it.”

The distillery is located 45 minutes from both Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and Peltier encourages visitors to make a day of their distillery tour. He suggests stopping at nearby plantations and taking swamp tours along the way. Donner-Peltier distillery is open every day from 12-6 p.m. for tours and tastings.

Information, dpdspirits.com

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A

t Louisiana Lightning, making whiskey is a family affair, headed by the father-and-son team of Lionel and Matthew Dufour. Launched in November of 2014 in Amite, the distillery offers unaged whiskey and a strawberryflavored whiskey featuring Louisiana berries. Matthew Dufour notes that his father had wanted to make whiskey “for years.” Lionel thought it was odd that a state famous for a street named Bourbon wasn’t making any bourbon. “He decided to fill that void,” says Matthew. They hope to launch that true, aged bourbon soon.

In the meantime, customers can enjoy their unaged whiskey, an easy-sipping product they are proud of. “We’ve put it in seven tasting competitions and won a medal in each,” says Matthew. He describes the taste as smoother than most white whiskeys and even smoother than many aged whiskeys.

WHISKEY

L O U I S I AN A L I GH TNIN G

Build in a mixing glass, stir and serve in a rocks glass on fresh ice with an orange peel garnish.

1 ounce Lightning Whiskey 1 ounce Gran Classico 1 ounce Noilly Prat Ambre Vermouth 1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 6

Fulmine Bianco

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for Chamomile syrup Steep a chamomile tea bag in 8 ounces of water. Discard tea bag and add 8 ounces sugar. Stir until dissolved.

Combine ingredients in a tin and shake with ice. Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass, and garnish with an edible flower.

1 ounce Lightning Whiskey 1 ounce Noilly Prat dry vermouth 3/4 ounce chamomile syrup 3/4 ounce lemon juice Dash Bittermans Boston Bittahs

May flowers

AMIT E

The family ties behind the company started over 81 years ago when Lionel’s father opened a meat-processing business in New Orleans before moving it to Amite in 1982. “My dad worked with his father, and now I work for mine,” Matthew says, adding that it was a surprisingly easy transition for his family’s company to add whiskeymaking to their repertoire. “We like to create products that make people happy. It’s a pleasant sensation to see your product end up in somebody’s grocery basket,” he says. Unlike other distillers who have a menu of spirits, Louisiana Lightning has no plans to offer anything other than whiskey. “We are whiskey guys,” says Matthew.

“We’ll stick with what we know.”

The company hopes to offer regular public tours soon, in addition to creating a picnic area along the lake next to the distillery and even a garden where they can grow strawberries for their whiskey. Dufour calls it “a farm-to-bottle approach.” In the meantime, folks who want to visit Louisiana Lightning can arrange for a private tour. Information, louisianalightning.com

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T

he folks at Louisiana Spirits have only one goal: to make a world-class rum.

Founder Trey Litel comes from a spirits background, having worked for Bacardi in California and Miami. He always wondered why Louisiana, with its rich sugar history, had not created a premium handcrafted rum.

Like any good idea, the plan to make rum was first bandied about “in the duck blind” with his partners, brother Tim Litel and friend Skip Cortese (all Louisiana natives). “We talked about launching a Louisiana rum for years,” he says. The team started researching what they would need back in 2010. That’s when they decided to create a brand from the ground up.

Bayou Rum is made entirely of Louisiana cane, supplied by M.A. Patout & Sons Enterprise in Patoutville, who have been in the sugar business since 1829.

Litel says, “We use molasses which creates a rich, flavorful rum. We also use raw, unrefined sugar, which you can only get from factory. It makes a nice difference in our flavor profile.”

BAYOU RUM

l o u i s i a na spi r i t s

Build in a tin and shake with ice.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Garnish with a lime wheel and a hibiscus flower.

1.5 ounces Bayou Rum Silver 1/2 ounce aged Rhum Agricole 3/4 ounce lime juice 1/2 ounce simple syrup 1/4 ounce Hum hibiscus liqueur

Hummingbird daiquiri

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Add rum, lemon, honey and mint to a shaker tin and shake with ice. Strain into a Collins glass, and top with champagne.Give a quick stir. Garnish with a mint sprig.

1.5 ounces Bayou Rum Silver 3/4 ounce lemon 1/2 ounce honey Mint Champagne

Next Day

Lacassine

Rather than begin with a broad portfolio of spirits, Louisiana Spirits is only making rum. Litel believes there’s tremendous opportunity there. He asserts, “We are focused becoming America’s rum.” This is not an unreasonable goal. Litel points out that American whiskey is an internationally respected and prized product and sees no reason American rum can’t follow in its footsteps. To ensure the quality of their product, Louisiana Spirits brought in international talent and their master distiller and master blender have years of spirits industry experience. Litel is firm in stating, “This isn’t just a hobby of Trey, Tim and Skip.”

Litel invites folks to come to the 35,000 square foot distillery, which is just off I-10. “We have a beautiful visitor’s center with ponds, cypress trees and ducks.”

There you can learn not only how rum is made, but also a bit about the state’s sugar history. There is also the opportunity to have a guest pass to work the bottling line, which can be obtained by signing up on their website.

Information, bayourum.com.

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Truffle-fried oysters with shaved Parmesan cheese from Beausoleil in Baton Rouge

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NORTH

Barbecue, wines & more Shreveport-Bossier's expanding culinary landscape

BY CHRIS JAY

At Wine Country Bistro and Bottle Shop in Shreveport, prodigal chef Anthony Felan has returned from a year-long stint cooking in California, reassuming his previous role at Wine Country and bringing his passion for local sourcing along with him. Simple dishes like a roasted beet and goat cheese salad, made using cheese from Haute Goat Creamery in nearby Longview, Texas, reveal Felan’s penchant for allowing quality ingredients to speak for themselves. Low-country shrimp and grits, incorporating pecan-smoked andouille sausage from nearby Bergeron’s Boudin and Cajun Meats, are a nod to restaurant owner Jason Brady’s days as a chef in Charleston.

Real BBQ & More is a simple roadside barbecue stand in south-

Seared Ahi tuna with a chilled asparagus salad prepared by Chef Anthony Felan of Wine Country Bistro and Bottle Shop in Shreveport

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MORE INFO Wine Country Bistro and Bottle Shop Pierremont Mall Shopping Center 4801 Line Ave # 12 Shreveport (318) 629-9463 cadrehg.com/wine-country Real BBQ and More 7828 Line Ave. Shreveport (318) 670-3730 Lucky Palace 750 Isle of Capri Blvd., Bossier City (318) 752-1888 lucky-palace.com

western Shreveport where pitmaster Harvey Clay is smoking the kind of brisket that would impress the ‘cue connoisseurs in his Central Texas hometown of Midland.

Smoked for 14 hours over a mixture of oak, hickory and pecan woods, Clay’s fatty brisket emerges with a perfect pink smoke ring and a peppery outer bark. The meat itself is so tender that it melts on the tongue. Clay, a pitmaster

for 40 years, stands nearly 7 feet tall and possesses a booming laugh that frequently echoes through the dining room.

“You can’t judge a book by its cover” would be a great piece of advice to give any diner en route to Lucky Palace, a gourmet Chinese restaurant located inside of a hotel lobby in Bossier City. Menu highlights are the duck and scallion pancakes – the savory

roasted duck and Hoisin sauce offset nicely by the clear, mild flavor of the scallion pancakes – as well an old-school treatment of filet mignon called shaking beef.

Explore the eye-popping wine list; this may be the world’s only restaurant that serves a $7 sesame chicken lunch special as well as a $760 bottle of 2002 Harlan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.

photo couresty wine country bistro and bottle shop

CENTRAL

exploring the eclectic Fine dining, local favorites and a classic pie spot.

BY CHERÉ COEN

Downtown Alexandria has witnessed a resurgence of late with new restaurants and shops opening and the renovated Bentley Hotel comes back online at the end of this year. No visit to Alexandria would be complete without enjoying fine dining at Diamond Grill on Third Street, located in the former C. A. Schnack’s Jewelry

Store dating back to the 1800s. Visitors may enjoy elegant Creole cuisine beneath 22-foot ceilings and chandeliers while listening to piano accompaniment or traverse the expansive staircase to the second floor lounge for house-created cocktails.

Head north to the small town of Boyce to experience fine dining

and a premium cocktail and wine bar at the newly opened Janohn’s Restaurant located in a restored cotton gin on Highway 1. The off-thebeaten-track restaurant is helmed by chef Aaron Atchison, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Austin.

It’s a small place, only 12 tables, so be sure to make reservations.

Heading south from Alexandria are two restaurants that locals rave about, each one unique in its own right. At Forest Hill, Mexican native Irma Rodriguez serves up authentic Mexican cuisine, including her award-winning tamales, at Mi Tierra Cocina. The restaurant’s walls are covered in recent press the restaurant has garnered, not to mention Rodriguez’s 1997 participation in the Festival of American Folklife at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and the three trophies she took home from the Delta Hot Tamale Festival in Greenville, Mississippi.

Truffle cheese canapé with fresh thyme, jumbo lump crabmeat and berre blanc from Janohn's balsamic reduction.

photo couresty Janohns

MORE INFO Diamond Grill 924 3rd St. Alexandria (318) 448-8989 thediamondgrill.com Janohn's Restaurant 410 Pacific Ave. Boyce (318) 793-5080 janohns.com Mi Tierra Cocina 11418 US-165 Forest Hill (318) 748-7699 Lea's Lunchroom 1810 US-71 Lecompte (318) 776-5178 leaslunchroom.com

Over to the east of Forest Hill in Lecompte, Lea’s Lunchroom continues to serve up its famous plate lunch specials and delectable pies. The restaurant began in 1928, the brainchild of Lea Johnson who used his family recipes to create the diner once spotlighted on Late Night with Johnny Carson. Visit to sample the ham plate lunches but don’t leave without a slice of pie, so wonderful the Louisiana Legislature proclaimed Lecompte the “Pie Capital of Louisiana.”

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CAJUN

innovative acadiana Fried seafood, craft cocktails and good company

BY CHERÉ COEN

On any given night, Social Southern Table & Bar in Lafayette hums. The “chef-driven bar” serves two purposes – signature cocktails, craft beers and wine along with a menu of innovative dishes.

Social Southern not only serves as a combination of bar and restaurant, but offers special events as well. There’s the Lessons in Libations, where participants create cocktails and nibble on appetizers, and the Chicks Love Beer Dinner, which pairs up a beer flight with a special menu by chef Marc Krampe, among many others.

Social Southern’s one of several restaurants in Acadiana serving up wonderful food, veering from the ordinary and creating a fun culinary environment that’s also inductive to gathering for drinks.

Socialized shrimp brochettes (Rêve coffee-cured pork belly, smoke-fried shrimp, kimchi remoulade and Mary’s onion sprouts) from Social Southern

60 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

Over in Houma, Cristiano Ristorante blends Italian cuisine with Louisiana seafood – found conveniently “down the bayou” – in an elegant setting filled with fine art and antiques, one of the reasons the restaurant includes an art gallery.

The sprawling former house also offers a lounge that’s perfect for drinks and company, complete with comfortable sofas and chairs. And when the weather’s cooperating, the expansive patio makes an ideal spot for both.

You’ll find Café JoJo’s in the oldest section of Morgan City, in a renovated storefront on Front Street by the river. Café JoJo’s serves

traditional Louisiana cuisine featuring seafood brought in fresh from the neighboring wetlands and Gulf of Mexico and other delectable dishes. In addition, the elegant bar serves up signature cocktails.

In the heart of Lake Charles, the 121 Artisan Bistro provides a comfortable gathering place, providing Italian cuisine with a Mediterrean style but also some Southern favorites such as fried catfish with bruleed corn bread and braised collard and mustard greens. The bistro setting also makes an ideal spot for cocktails or wine with friends.

Great food and company – that’s what makes Acadiana so inviting.

MORE INFO Social Southern Table & Bar 3901 Johnston St. Lafayette (337) 456-3274 socialsouthern.com Cristiano Ristorante 724 High St. Houma (985) 223-1130 cristianoristorante.com Café JoJo’s 624 Front St. Morgan City (985) 384-9291 121 Artisan Bistro 121 Dr. Michael Debakey Drive Lake Charles facebook.com/121artisanbistro

photo by denny culbert

PLANTATION

trekking to tigerland 4 Baton Rouge hotspots

BY TERESA DAY

Baton Rouge has experienced a boost in its culinary culture thanks to a growing trend of locally trained chefs staying in town to build their careers and relationships with nearby producers. This trend along with fierce local support of family run restaurants make it easy for visitors to feel right at home dining in the city’s neighborhood establishments.

Open since 1989, Mansurs is a long-time player in local, upscale dining in Baton Rouge.

Dine on their classically Creole and South Louisiana fare while listening to a live jazz pianist. Start with charbroiled oysters, shucked right in front of you at the bar, then relish a cup of luscious cream of brie and crabmeat soup, followed by cedar-roasted redfish, plank-roasted and served with seasoned Creole lemon caper butter.

Set with the good silver, enjoy Cajun- and Creoleinspired dishes with a new twist on the norm at your table. Beausoleil strives to feature locally sourced ingredients from its cocktails to its

Louisiana shrimp and grits with andouille gravy from Beausoleil

photo by Teresa Day

curried chicken salad.

Try a Mississippi Mule and truffled fried oysters with shaved Parmesan cheese to start, followed

by Louisiana shrimp and grits with andouille gravy and rich, velvety chocolate pot de crème to finish.

Nestled in the city’s Perkins Road Overpass hotbed of neighborhood eateries is City Pork Deli and Charcuterie. Try the

Cubano or chef’s daily special, sip some wine with one of their expertly selected charcuterie plates or go whole hog at their monthly Cochon Du Lait.

Sister location, City Pork Brasserie and Bar, also boasts a trendsetting menu made by a locally named “chef to watch.” Drink craft beer at the bar and savor a board of cheek pastrami sandwiches or

the rabbit and dumplings with pork gyoza and crispy cabbage slaw.

Owned by a former LSU lineman and run by a James Beard visiting chef, Ruffino’s ItalianCreole fusion menu spans from the traditional to the unexpected. Try the crabmeat cheesecake to start, then mull over the very important choice of veal Michael (pan-sautéed medallions, crabmeat, capellini and vodka tomato cream) or theprime ribeye cap with one of their tantalizing toppings like crabmeat imperial.

MORE INFO Mansurs 5720 Corporate Blvd., Baton Rouge (225) 923-3366 mansursontheboulevard.com Beausoleil 7731 Jefferson Hwy. Baton Rouge (225) 926-1172 beausoleilrestaurantandbar.com City Pork Deli and Charcuterie 2363 Hollydale Ave. Baton Rouge (225) 300-4550 cityporkdeli.com Ruffino's 18811 Highland Road Baton Rouge (225) 753-3458 ruffinosrestaurant.com

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NEW ORLEANS

International Influences Argentine, Israeli and Chinese restaurants bring fresh flavors to the Crescent City

BY BERNARD FRUGÉ III

When people envision New Orleans dining, they think of the synthesis of French and Creole cuisines that has developed over hundreds of years and with which the city is commonly associated.

But in recent years, New Orleans has become a hotbed of international cuisine, as more enterprising restaurateurs are flooding the Crescent City culinary scene.

Located in the heart of the Warehouse District since opening in 2006, La Boca has been around far longer than the other restaurants featured in this article. La Boca is an Argentine steakhouse that uses the highest quality meat in both domestic and South American preparations. Diners in the mood for a classic can go for a 20-ounce certified angus T-bone, while those seeking a taste of Patagonia should try the hanger steak or skirt steak slow cooked in its skin. It is highly recommended that visitors explore these interesting dishes that might lie outside of the comfort zones of American carnivores.

The La Boca experience is truly an exploration of the world of beef.

Red’s opened in the Bywater neighborhood in 2014 and downtown New Orleans has been going nuts over the innovative,

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MORE INFO La Boca 870 Tchoupitoulas St. New Orleans (504) 525-8205 labocasteaks.com Red's Chinese 3048 St. Claude Ave. New Orleans (504) 304-6030 redschinese.com Shaya 4213 Magazine St. New Orleans (504) 891-4213 shayarestaurant.com

"For the Table" appetizers: baba ganoush, tabouleh, pickled vegetables, heirloom Carrots, roastedbeets, Ikra, labneh, lutenitsa and Israeli salad from Shaya

nontraditional flavors pouring out of the kitchen.

One of the co-founders, Tobias Womack, formerly cooked in the York outpost of San Francisco’s much-vaunted Mission Chinese, and his daring flavor combinations are reflective of his impressive résumé. For instance, the “kung pao pastrami”

is a dish that directly harkens back to the menu of Mission Chinese.But the dish that truly shines, aside from the pastrami and delicious ribs, is “General Lee’s chicken,” a delectable deep-fried chicken smothered in hoisin barbecue sauce and crushed peanuts. In a city with many stellar fried chicken offerings, this is possibly the best.

Shaya, which opened its doors early this year, is the newest restaurant on this list. Shaya boasts

a beautiful modern Israeli menu, the country of origin of the eponymous chef and founder, Alon Shaya.

The newly renovated space on Magazine Street is beautiful, tastefully minimalist and contemporary without feeling cold or impersonal. Much of the menu, with a large emphasis on shared plates, contains offerings that are intended to be enjoyed with pita from the futuristic-looking pita oven constructed solely for that purpose. This includes various items from the center of the menu, from which diners can choose three or five small plates for sharing, and also the selection of four different mind-blowing preparations of hummus. Shaya has instantly become one of the best casual dining options in New Orleans. photo courtesy shaya; photo by Graham Blackall

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The Gaming Industry Mickey Parenton L’Auberge Casino Hotel Baton Rouge 777 L’Auberge Ave, Baton Rouge, LA 70820 www.lbatonrouge.com L’Auberge Casino Hotel Baton Rouge, under the leadership of Mickey Parenton, Senior Vice President and General Manager, continues to offer a truly exceptional gaming, dining and entertainment experience with incomparable guest service. L’Auberge has held the prestigious AAA Four Diamond hotel distinction for two years now, ranking it among the nation’s elite lodging facilities with the highest standards of service and amenities. The property has also received Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence for 18 STEAK and is ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hotels in Louisiana. In addition to managing L’Auberge, Parenton holds civic leadership positions with the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, Payton’s Play it Forward Foundation, Fore!Kids, March of Dimes, Our Lady of the Lake Foundation, and Visit Baton Rouge.

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McDonald’s Valluzzo Companies “What’s good for us is good for us all,” says John Valluzzo, President of Valluzzo Companies, a family-owned McDonald’s franchise operating 43 restaurants from Port Allen, Louisiana, to Poplarville, Mississippi.Valuedriven,Valluzzo Companies strives to be their customers’ favorite place to eat in addition to being their favorite way to eat. They place the everyday customer experience

4864 Bluebonnet Blvd. | Baton Rouge, LA 70809 (225) 300-8960 at the core of what they do, putting people first, operating ethically, and giving back to the communities they serve. From supporting military, to educators, students, schools and community volunteers,Valluzzo Companies focuses on improving as individuals and as a business. “Good food, good people, good neighbors— that’s McDonald’s, that’s Valluzzo Companies,” says John.

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Real Estate and Residential Development Carlos Alvarez

RE/MAX TOTAL | 13909 Lexington Park Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70810 | (225) 296-7811 AlvarezConstruction.com

As a licensed builder with Alvarez Construction Company for over 20 years, Carlos Alvarez has seen his share of twists and turns in the real estate market. As a builder, Alvarez has thousands of homes and many communities under his belt. As the Broker and Owner of RE/MAX TOTAL, Carlos has a keen eye for housing demands and growing trends across the Baton Rouge and Madisonville areas. Continuing his father’s legacy of giving, Carlos and Alvarez Construction Company participate yearly in the St. Jude Dream Home build and have raised over 17M in the last 17 years for the hospital.

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Hospitality Renaissance Baton Rouge Hotel There’s no question Renaissance Baton Rouge Hotel is a beautiful place to stay—it is a work of art exhibiting diverse works from Louisiana artists and offering a commissioned contemporary art experience. And yet, it’s the team of hospitality professionals that truly completes the picture and makes the Renaissance what it is: Baton Rouge’s most spectacular AAA Four Diamond hotel.

7000 Bluebonnet Blvd Baton Rouge, LA 70810 | renhotels.com With a philosophy of “Delivering Hospitality, Every Guest, Every Time,” each ambassador works to create intriguing experiences for every guest, ensuring they enjoy a stay unlike anything else Baton Rouge has to offer. Renaissance Baton Rouge is managed by Davidson Hotels & Resorts and led by General Manager Bob Mercer and Hotel Manager Joy Harringa. LouisianaLife.com |

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The Automobile Industry Gerry Lane Enterprises Gerry Lane’s journey began when he bought his first car dealership in 1966, and the legacy continues today with Gerry Lane Enterprises, one of the top car dealership businesses in Baton Rouge. The company’s founder strove for perfection in all he did, penning each and every goal on his way to reaching them. Today, Gerry Lane Enterprises is known as a local company that supports its community, providing highest quality 68 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

10945 Reiger Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70809 (225) 297-5377 products and services at the best possible prices. Now under the leadership of son Eric Lane, President, Cedric Patton, Partner/Manager, and Saundra Lane, Partner/ Advertising Director, Gerry Lane Enterprises has been recognized as a Time Magazine Quality Dealer and ranks consistently in the nation’s WardsAuto Dealer 500, among other accolades.

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Fertility Dr. John Storment FertilityAnswers 500 Rue de la Vie, Ste. 510 | Baton Rouge, LA 70817 888-467-2229 | www.fertilityanswers.com A Louisiana native, Dr. John Storment has spent the last 15 years building FertilityAnswers into a successful practice with offices in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Alexandria, and Lake Charles, serving over two-thirds of Louisiana. Achieving exceptional success rates for assisted reproduction techniques, Dr. Storment and FertilityAnswers have helped thousands of couples realize their parenting dreams with over 4,000 babies born. A Louisiana Life Top Doctor and a 5-year-plus recipient of Vitals.com Patient’s Choice Award, Dr. Storment honors each patient’s unique needs, offers realistic expectations, and treats every patient with respect and compassion.

A leader in philanthropic healthcare, FertilityAnswers awards one infertile couple the opportunity to overcome the financial barriers to building their family through the annual Gift of Hope program.

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Photography Aaron Hogan

Eye Wander Photo | (225) 366-4567 7341 Jefferson Hwy, Baton Rouge, LA 70806

With thirteen years of photography experience, Aaron Hogan is more than a man with a camera and an eye for framing his subject. In addition to his remarkable ability to “see”, Hogan knows it’s just as important to listen to his subjects and love every moment in order to capture a telling and artful image. His propensity to go beyond the image is what makes Aaron Hogan and Eye Wander

Photo Louisiana’s premier photography company for both commercial and personal portraits and events, such as weddings and family portraits, specifically in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans regions. Eye Wander Photo proudly supports its community by donating photography to numerous fundraisers throughout the year.

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Cities, Towns and Parishes Come to Mansura ( Avoyelles Parish ) for the 41st Annual Cochon de Lait Festival on Mother’s Day Weekend, May 7-10, where it’s all about the pork! Food, live music, vendors, carnival rides and contests will be present for all ages. For more information, call (318) 964-2152.

Native American culture will delight you at the 20th Annual Tunica-Biloxi Pow Wow May 16-17 in the Earl Barbry Convention Center at Paragon Casino Resort. Native Americans from throughout North America meet annually to compete for the coveted awards in music, dance and drumming competitions. Visit tunicapowwow.org.

Hessmer will celebrate its 60th anniversary with the Cajun Crossroads Festival on May 15-16. A jambalaya and cracklin cook-off is planned for May 16.

Live bands and fireworks are also part of the event, along with an adult T-ball tournament. Call (318) 563-4511.

Plan now for the Louisiana Corn Festival in Bunkie on June 12-14 and the Avoyelles Arts & Music Festival in Marksville on July 4.

Visit travelavoyelles.com, LouisianaTravel.com, or call (800) 833-4195.

Louisiana State Capitol Building in Baton Rouge

Louisiana Destinations Summer in Louisiana brings sun-filled, long days; fresh tomatoes and peaches; and plenty of opportunities to check out the arts, history and culture prevalent across the state. From cook-offs and food fests to music and dancing, historical exhibits, arts, crafts and shopping, travel destinations present fun for everyone as far south as the bayou region on up to the northern areas along Interstate 20. Find a day trip, weekend drive or nearby family vacation for your nearest and dearest this summer among the following cities, towns and parishes, as well as arts and entertainment destinations and historical sites. Whether you enjoy summer in the city or more rural accommodations, Louisiana’s diverse offerings mean you can experience it all.

The action is warming up in Baton Rouge — time to dive into one of the South’s brightest hot spots! The city’s history is as cool as its charm is warm. With dynamic cuisine, upscale shopping, great live music and eclectic museums, there’s enough action to keep you coming back again and again.

Plan your trip today and experience upcoming events like the vastly celebrated Bayou Country Superfest, May 23-24, which features some of country music’s biggest stars. View details and lineups at VisitBatonRouge.com/BayouCountrySuperfest.

Additionally, make plans now for this summer’s Fete Rouge, Aug. 27-28, Baton Rouge’s premier wine and food festival. The event features a competition among local chefs, entertainment, silent auction, winetasting and of course local delicacies. Visit FeteRougeBR.com for details.

Set your sights on the Capital City and experience the colorful history, vibrant music and exquisite cuisine for yourself. For more information and insider recommendations, call (800) LA-ROUGE or go online to VisitBatonRouge.com. #GoBR.

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26-27. Downtown Ruston will be rocking Friday and Saturday with live performances from JT Hodges, Ricky Hendricks, the Molly Ringwalds and many more! Music and peaches aren’t the only draw this year: You do not want to miss the WORLD’S LARGEST PEACH COBBLER! Guinness Book of World Records officials will be on-site to document this historic event, and there’ll be enough peach cobbler for everyone! All your festival favorites are back such as the Peach Parade, food vendors with peach specialties, an antique car show, and arts and craft booths. New to the festival are live skateboarders and BMX shows!

For more information about Ruston and Lincoln Parish, visit experienceruston.com. For more Peach Festival highlights, follow the blog at rustonlincolncvb.blogspot.com.

Little Girl and Beagle Puppy at Ruston’s Peach Festival

Visit beautiful Bayou Lafourche for a wide array of unique Louisiana events and destinations. The good times start rolling this spring and summer at the Thibodaux Firemen’s Fair & Parade on April 30-May 2.

Bayou Cajun Fun Fest celebrates the best of the bayou country with food, music, dancing and a carnival midway May 8-10 in Larose.

The Cajun Heritage Festival, also in Larose, takes place June 5-7 and features a decoy show and auction, carving demos, duckcalling, Cajun food, vendors and raff les. The festival promotes and preserves the history and art of Cajun duck decoy-carving.

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unique wetlands on one of the area’s many available swamp tours or learn about the area’s history at the Jean Lafitte National Park Wetlands Acadian Culture Center.

Additionally, don’t forget to take the kids by the new Bayou Country Children’s Museum in Thibodaux for a day full of fun and adventure. Find endless events and attractions at visitlafourche.com and experience all Lafourche has to offer.

It’s peach season in Louisiana, and for Ruston-Lincoln Parish that means it’s festival time! Come experience the fun and excitement of the 65th Annual Louisiana Peach Festival. Mark your calendars for June

The Little Walter Music Festival, celebrating central Louisiana’s only Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, will be held at the downtown amphitheater in Alexandria on May 23. The all-day music festival will include music by Grammy winner Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band and three-time Grammy nominee Billy Branch.

Other acts include the Angola Gospel Group, B.B. King Museum AllStar Choir, Mr. Sipp “The Mississippi Blues Child,” Josh Hyde & the Hitchhikers with John Gros and Rockin’ Jake and of course the Little Walter Tribute Band. Music will kick off at 11 a.m. and continue throughout the day. Food and beverage vendors will be on-site.

Arrive in town early to participate in a harmonica workshop at Tipitina’s Music Co-op Alexandria on May 22 or watch the movie Cadillac Records, the story of Muddy Waters, at the CoughlinSaunders Performing Arts Center, also on Friday evening.

Find a complete schedule of events and festival line-up at AlexandriaPinevilleLa. com/LittleWalter or Facebook.com/ LittleWalterMusicFestival or call (800) 551-9546.

St. Tammany Parish aka “Louisiana’s Northshore” is a great getaway spot known for scenic beauty and charming towns. On the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, St. Tammany Parish is within an hour’s drive of New Orleans, Baton Rouge and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Experience eclectic shopping and art galleries; the primeval beauty of the Honey Island Swamp; and a vibrant, diverse culinary scene. Stay at Fontainebleau or Fairview-Riverside State Park, or relax in luxury at a bed-and-breakfast or the new boutique Southern Hotel.

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Check out the GO VISIT videos at louisiananorthshore.com/videos. Crafted from the Emmy award-winning GoCoast episode on St. Tammany Parish, the playlist invites everyone to “GO WILD, GO JAZZ, GO FISH, GO BAYOU” and more on their trip to the Northshore.

Plan on visiting this June and July to experience the Louisiana Bicycle Festival in Abita Springs, the Slidell Heritage Festival, the St. Tammany Crab Festival and the Mandeville City Seafood Festival.

For more vacation ideas, visit LouisianaNorthshore.com/la_life.

For a serene escape into a place of beauty, visit Iberville Parish, a historical Louisiana gem tucked between the quiet swamps of the Atchafalaya Basin and the bustling capital of Baton Rouge. Step through time and elegance at one of the many magnificent antebellum homes such as Nottoway Plantation, the South’s largest remaining antebellum mansion located in White Castle.

Other historical attractions include the Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site; the Hansen’s Disease Museum in Carville; the Iberville Museum; and the majestic St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, the purest

example of Italian Romanesque architecture in the South.

With so many beautiful diverse waterways, fishing and bird-watching opportunities are endless, making it a premier outdoor getaway in the heart of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area. Enjoy a relaxing golf outing at one of Louisiana’s most popular courses, The Island, located in Plaquemine. End your day by dining along the mighty Mississippi and enjoying fresh seafood with a Louisiana sunset at Roberto’s River Road Restaurant located in Sunshine. For more destinations and events, go to VisitIberville.com.

Just off Interstate 10 and west of Lafayette lies the “Cajun Prairie,” Acadia Parish, an area known for its unique attractions, numerous year-round festivals and rich history and folklore. In Crowley, home of the International Rice Festival, tour the Rice Interpretive Center; the Historic Crowley Ford Motor Co., built in 1920; and the J.D. Miller Recording Studio. Travel the Zydeco Cajun Prairie Byway, and visit Kelly’s Landing Agricultural Museum to take an informative walk through the past while viewing the farming equipment of yesteryear

and learning the importance of crawfish and rice to the region.

See why Rayne, home of the annual Frog Festival, is both “The Frog Capital of the World” and the “Louisiana City of Murals.”

Similarly, check out the Buggy Festival at “The Buggy Capital of the World,” also known as Church Point, and visit the Le Vieux Presbytere Museum with bousillage walls. Roberts Cove is home to the German Heritage Museum and the popular Germanfest. For more information, events, destinations and festival dates, check out AcadiaTourism.org or call (877) 783-2109.

Lafayette is at the heart of Louisiana’s Cajun Country, an area known for letting the good times roll, or as they say it, laissez les bons temps rouler, and people are starting to notice. The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch.com named Lafayette the “Happiest City in America,” and it’s no mystery why. With their distinctive blend of food, music and culture, it’s no wonder people from all over are heading down South with a smile on their face.

One summer-long celebration that taps into the area’s savory cuisine is EatLafayette, which takes place June 22–Sept. 20. Locals

Stuffed Mirlitons and Ingredients in Lafayette’s Acadian Village

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Melrose Plantation in Natchitoches Parish

and visitors alike are invited to manger at more than 70 of the area’s well-known and not-so-well-known locally owned eateries to celebrate Lafayette as one of the tastiest towns of the South. For a list of participating restaurants and specials being offered, visit EatLafayette.com.

For more events, destinations and information, visit the city online at LafayetteTravel.com.

and cook. There will be an opportunity for the public to view these early-20th-century landscapes and scenes of plantation life as Hunter’s newly restored murals will be on exhibit at The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum through April 2016 while African House undergoes renovations.

For more information, visit MelrosePlantation.org or Natchitoches.com or call (800) 259-1714.

which features a memorial service at Houma’s Veterans Park, the Patriots Parade, entertainment and food at the HoumaTerrebonne Civic Center, the Independence Day Dash and a fireworks show beginning at 9 p.m.

Stay the entire weekend, and let Houma be your passport to adventure! For more information, call (985) 868-2732 or visit houmatravel.com.

The Melrose Plantation, a National Historic Landmark, is a well-known antebellum centerpiece in Natchitoches Parish, and one of its buildings was given its own distinction this past March. The National Trust for Historic Preservation designated the African House, a two-story structure featuring handmade bricks and a cypress roof, as a National Treasure. The African House is an architectural gem and historical mystery with no records remaining of its construction or function. According to the National Trust, “African House’s hip-roofed building recalls the architecture of French barns while also resembling houses built by African slaves in their native homeland.”

Notably, the African House is also home to nine murals painted by the acclaimed folk artist Clementine Hunter, who first worked at Melrose Plantation as a farmhand, maid

For a spring or summer festival adventure, let Houma be your passport to Louisiana’s Bayou Country. With thrilling swamp tours; a wildlife park and alligator farm; world-class charter fishing; and a wide assortment of festivals, fairs, fetes, faisdo-dos and more, there’s always something fun to do.

A terrific line-up of family-friendly events includes the TFAE 5K Run for Excellence and Cajun Food Fest presented

by The Courier on May 9 with a 1-mile Fun Run, Walk, 5K race and plenty of food to delight. For great South Louisiana music, food and family fun, make plans to attend the Stomp’n on da Bayou Music Festival on May 29-31 at the Evergreen Cajun Center, 4694 W. Main St. On July 4, salute the f lag with family fun at the Houma/ Terrebonne Independence Day Celebration,

New Roads is a great place to “Live, Play and Prosper.” You will quickly discover the area’s alluring mystique is made up of a unique French Louisiana culture, tradition and history cradled along the beautiful banks of False River, just 30 minutes from Baton Rouge. Here, Southern cottages and a historic Main Street share residence with a robust downtown, award-winning restaurants, specialty boutiques and antique collections.

New Roads is home to a variety of year-round outdoor festivals, including the New Roads Fourth of July Boat Parade and Music Festival on Independence Day. Looking ahead to fall, don’t miss the Fifth Annual Harvest Festival on False River, which was voted Louisiana’s Best New Festival and is located in historic downtown New Roads. The three-day celebration,

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set for Oct. 16-18, features live music, amusements, popular culinary and artisan vendors and cultural displays and exhibits.

Visit newroads.net to learn more and find your way in New Roads.

Arts & Entertainment The French Market District of New Orleans is a festive open-air market open daily with a variety of foods, crafts, souvenirs and activities year-round. The French Market is now home to two weekly farmers markets: The Crescent City Farmers Market (Wednesdays, 2 p.m.-6 p.m.) and the French Market’s Saturday market (10 a.m.-2 p.m.).

Summer is an exciting season at the French Market, which celebrates the start of Creole tomato season — and the impressive bounty of Louisiana summer produce — with its annual French Market Creole Tomato Festival, always held the second weekend in June. Visit the market June 13-14 to experience the most colorful two days of the year and find fresh Creole tomatoes for sale by local growers, three live music stages, numerous food booths, cooking demonstrations, free children’s activities and culinary talks about Creole tomatoes and Creole cuisine.

The French Market District spans six blocks, from the Upper Pontalba to the open air markets. Visit FrenchMarket.org for more information on the market and the Creole Tomato Festival.

If you’re looking for a great gaming getaway, you’ll find it at Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder. Welcome to your “play”ground of 2,800 of the newest, hottest slots with a huge 12,000-square-foot non-smoking area, more than 70 thrilla-minute table games, live poker, bingo and off-track betting, plus live music and dancing, karaoke, a supervised childcare facility, a teen arcade and nine dining options with award-winning cuisine. Extend your visit; there’s plenty of room — 900 luxurious rooms plus an RV resort with 100 cozy chalets. Coushatta’s f lagship Grand Hotel has reopened as an adult-exclusive hotel after its complete renovation.

Come to Coushatta and let your “playtime” work overtime! Play your favorite slots and table games for points and comps in Coushatta’s Advantage Players Club.

Golfers! Koasati Pines championship golf course is rated 4 1/2 stars by Golf Digest’s readers — it’s the top casino course in Louisiana. See for yourself why this is “Louisiana’s Best Bet!” Visit CoushattaCasinoResort.com.

Historical Sites Located in Rapides Parish, beneath the waving French, Spanish and American f lags, is the Kent Plantation House, one of the oldest standing structures in all of Louisiana.

Standing on the original land grant from the King of Spain to Frenchman Pierre Baillio II, Kent Plantation House offers a glimpse of the various cultures that have inf luenced Louisiana. Built by Baillio prior to the Louisiana Purchase, it preserves the homestead of a successful Creole family typical of a Louisiana colonial-era working plantation. Aside from the main home, many outbuildings are located on the grounds: the milk house; the open-hearth kitchen; the sugar mill; the barn; the carriage house; and two examples of the hand-molded, sun-dried, brick-between-post slave cabins.

Open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, Kent House hosts guided tours throughout the day. Group tours are available. Tickets are $10 for adults; $8 for seniors, military and AAA members; and $3 for children ages 6-12. Admission is free for children under 6. For more information or to book a group tour, visit kenthouse.org.

Lodging & Accommodations Four Points by Sheraton French Quarter is located in the heart of the French Quarter on world-famous Bourbon Street. It offers 186 comfortable guest rooms, more than 4,000 square feet of market-leading meeting facilities, a tropical courtyard with an outdoor pool, a 24-hour fitness center and more.

Café Opera, the Four Point’s full-service restaurant, features a classic New Orleans menu of Creole and continental cuisine.

Guests can also enjoy a wide selection of specialty drinks at the Puccini Bar. Four Points by Sheraton French Quarter is located on the site of the French Opera House (1859-1919), a legendary New Orleans cultural venue. Its performance series, “Opera Returns to Bourbon Street,” features local operatic talent from the New Orleans Opera Association and local classical vocalist group Bon Operatit!

Four Points by Sheraton French Quarter is located at 541 Bourbon St. For reservations and more, call (866) 716-8133 or visit FourPoints.com/frenchquarter.

When living the New Orleans experience, it’s important to envelop yourself in the essence of New Orleans — a feeling captured by each upscale property in the New Orleans Hotel Collection, or NOHC. Authentic, independent and quality- driven, each hotel offers its own story. From the chic, modern atmosphere of Hotel Le Marais to the historical and elegant Audubon Cottages, the New Orleans Hotel Collection is set apart by its distinctive style, personalized service and superb location. Locally owned and operated, the collection consists of the Bourbon Orleans, Dauphine Orleans, Crowne Plaza (Airport), The Whitney Hotel, Hotel Mazarin, Hotel Le Marais and Audubon Cottages.

NOHC’s “no nickel and dime” approach provides all guests with a free breakfast, a welcome drink, in-room bottled artesian water and coffee, Wi-Fi, newspapers and access to a business and fitness center.

For a special readers’ discount better than any online travel agency for direct bookings at any NOHC hotel, visit NewOrleansHotelCollection.com/200.

French Market District of New Orleans

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North

Hummus appetizer at Cotton

Cotton IN MONROE Rising star and culinary master Cory Bahr has graced the Monroe area with a restaurant filled with inspired epicurean dishes.

He has managed to marry teeming game and bounty of Louisiana with flavors and textures that enhance and complement each rich offering. It’s almost like downhome meets Impressionist at Cotton Restaurant.

As an appetizer, hummus is creatively taken beyond the garbanzo bean spectrum and is made with field peas. Fried pimento cheese beignets are complemented by smoked paprika, buttermilk dressing and pickled green tomatoes.

Not to be missed as an evening starter is the smoked trout dip accompanied by flavors of rough mustard, dill and lemon.

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rich decadence of duck fat with a hollandaise sauce made of bacon-horseradish and pig salt. Achingly tender and delicious, duck wrapped in smoked bacon comprise the Muscovy Duck Wraps, accompanied by the heat of jalapeno, the cool smoothness of cream cheese and the sweet burn of honey. Collards come to your table after a slow braise in bacon with pepper vinegar (he who does not splash vinegar on his greens is not a true Southerner).

From there the progression to the main entrees only adds to the unique dining experience. Using only local and regional foodstuffs, the dishes have a purity of flavor that’s hard to beat. The Rabbit and Waffle entrée is a slow-cooked and tender rabbit served with a bacon and cheddar waffle, braised greens

and silky hunter’s sauce. The Venison Schnitzel shows a Germanic influence touched

by Louisiana; served with a green slaw made of apple and collard; crushed corn grits, all of which floats in a baconbourbon jus. The Slow-Cooked Duck Confit and Breast is almost like Thanksgiving on a plate, accompanied by a sweet potato pave, cherry chutney and red wine syrup. That humble essential, the cheeseburger, rises to new levels on a handmade bun, with arugula, fontina cheese, bourbonbacon jam and duck fat fries.

POKE SALAD FUN IN BLANCHARD Pokeweed has a colorful history, literally. Poisonous if eaten without pre-boiling the leaves at least three times before its final cooking, it also yields berries with juices once used for ink. Native Americans

painted their horses with its dye. Once purged of all toxins by the trio of parboiling and ready to be eaten, it has the refreshing flavor of asparagus; its root is at once hypnotic, anodyne and anti-inflammatory. Native Americans swore by its medicinal and purgative powers.

For the past 41 years, the town of Blanchard has celebrated this folklore and folk food wonder with the Annual Poke Salad Festival.

Embracing the community in an invitation to celebrate, contests are held among businesses for the best storefront decoration. Live music fills the air along with the carnival fragrances of popcorn and hot dogs. A treasure hunt is held along with a town parade, beauty pageant, carnival and Pokey Pet Parade, wherein masters and their poochies don costumes as the four-pawed and bipeds ramble through the street showing their finery.

Carousels and Ferris wheels glow like jewels in the night, and the music of children’s laughter is carried on the air.

Snow cones, candied apples and popcorn bring smiles to the faces of everyone involved in good family fun. n

Information, Cotton Restaurant, 101 North Grand, Monroe, (318) 325-0818; Poke Salad Festival, May 4-9, Blanchard, (318) 309-2647 or (318) 422-9112

photo courtesy cotton; photo by Brad Arender

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ALL A-MAIZED IN BUNKIE Long before the French settled in Avoyelles Parish via New Orleans, and the immigrant soldiers of Napoleon named the little town they founded Mansura after the Egyptian plains where they fought for the pint sized emperor, first were the Native Americans.

The parish is named for the Avoyel Indians (later absorbed by the Tunica tribe) that the European settlers first encountered. At the beginning (circa 300 B.C.) they were mighty hunters availing themselves of the abundant fish and game surrounding them. Gradually the Native Americans began to perfect a system of agronomy with maize as its essential food to accompany their fleshy diet. They cultivated a trinity of crops grown together that became known as the “Three Sisters,” consisting of maize, beans and squash. The tall cornstalk served as a stake upon which the pole beans could climb, entwine and yield

legumes; the squash planted at its base kept the weeds away.

Driving Bunkie’s country roads in Avoyelles Parish mid-to-late summer is to drive amid green canyons of towering corn rustling in the hot wind. To hear the raindrops from a summer shower patter in the leaves is its own special symphony, while sometimes visions of steaming corn on the cob dripping with butter might fill your head.

Since 1987, the town of Bunkie, rich in history and rife with charm and antique shops, celebrates this golden crop with the annual Louisiana Corn Festival. For three days, the friendly little town brims with fun offering a huge Family Carnival Night, delighting children (and parents who of course just go along for the ride); street dances accompanied by dynamic live music; a corn-cooking contest; lizard races; tennis and softball tournaments; talent contest; the Children’s

Wagon Parade; a citywide parade; Queen’s Pageant and a cheerleaders’ fun run. Like a well-run trading post, food booths accompanied by arts and crafts venues are open for business. One exceptional corn farmer is honored each year.

MAYFEST IN LEESVILLE The month of May, especially May 1, has been celebrated almost atavistically for centuries in various ways by various cultures. It’s that mystical stirring of spring that’s the culprit. While the Catholic Church designates May as the month to honor the Mother of God, and holds a May crowning at parish churches, the celebration of May Day also has roots in the Pagan festival of Beltane (occurring exactly half a year after Nov. 1, another date that has both Christian and Pagan connotations). Never one to pass up a party, Louisiana is no exception to reveling in this softhearted month.

May in Louisiana is the last mild month before the onslaught of heat hits us like a wall of oven bricks, making it a perfect time for outdoor festivities. In Leesville, the organizers of Mayfest extend a hearty invitation for all to “cart your lawn chairs to the Leesville Courthouse lawn” and celebrate the lovely month of May. Home to Fort Polk United States Army base, Leesville basks in the balmy spring celebration in a hospitable haze.

In addition to the food booths and live music, Mayfest holds the Rotary Club’s Chalk-ABlock inviting participants to pick a spot and create a masterpiece with colored chalk.

The Armadillo Stampede is a 5K Fun Run/Walk while the Lion’s Club Pancake Breakfast/Crawfish Boil will whet your appetite for breakfast and lunch, respectively.

The Gospel Stage will musically praise the Lord and Gallery One Ellleven will showcase artists in a group exhibit. The venerable Cain Motor Company on the corner of Lee and 4th Street and Boudreaux’s Chevrolet on North and 3rd will both display classic cars, and the businesses on charming Main Street invite your patronage. n Information, Louisiana Corn Festival, June 11-13, (318) 346-2575; Mayfest, Leesville Courthouse, May1-2, (800) 349-6287 LouisianaLife.com | 77

around louisiana

Cajun Country

Johnson’s Boucaniere’s Pulled Pork Sandwich

SUMMER AND SMOKE IN VILLE PLATTE I suppose it can be imagined that on any given Sunday once warm weather arrives in Louisiana, the simple act of standing outside might expose you to a heavenly whiff of someone barbecuing somewhere in the neighborhood. Imagine a town that sponsors an outdoor festival brimming with booths hard at work smoking and grilling venison; fish; le cochon; beef; tasso; sausage; chicken; duck and ponce bouree (savory seasoned pork stuffed in a pig’s belly and not entrail links, then smoked and sliced on a slab). On the last weekend of June each summer, the town of Ville Platte allows its already prevalent joie de vivre to overflow by holding Le Festival de la Viande Boucanee; simply translated: The Smoked Meat Festival. The sultry June air is pleasantly, but not overpoweringly, intense with the aroma 78 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

of fresh meat slowly cooking over sweet smoking wood.

Is there any item from any food group that does not taste delicious when it’s smoked?

Ville Platte is one of the birthplaces of Zydeco music and shares a French Creole and Cajun culture. The French and Cajun settlers, influenced by the Choctaw-Metis tradition of viande boucanee (smoked meat), grafted this delicious tradition into their own culture and mastered its culinary technique. The Metis in Louisiana were people of French and Indian mixed blood; or in some instances, represented a mixture of African and French races from the pre-American French colonization era.

Contributing to the gourmand repertoire of smoked delights are the fine meat markets, businesses and restaurants in the area. In the midst of all this deliciousness, a fierce competition is waged as participants vie in the World

Championship Smoked Meat Cook-off. Winning this honor is no small feat; smoke masters abound and the judges are stingy when it comes to giving anyone slack for not measuring up to their high standards.

The scent of smoked food fills the air, and as you stroll, Cajun and zydeco music provide fitting anthems for a party in Ville Platte. And when you need to take a momentary lull in eating, arts and crafts booths provide pleasurable distraction.

BEYOND THE GUMBO IN LAFAYETTE While gumbos, jambalaya and etouffees righteously deserve their status as iconic Louisiana dishes found in Cajun Country and South Louisiana, Cajun Country sports another culinarydimension of expertise no less enjoyable. From the deep green marshes to the flat prairies, the area is filled with masters of the art of smoking meat.

At Johnson’s Boucaniere’s in Lafayette, smoked meat is their ideology. Every main offering on their menu is succulently flavored in that almost decadently tasty marriage of slow cooking and slow smoking – pork sausage, garlic sausage, turkey, tasso, chicken, pork, brisket and jerky. Johnson’s Boucaniere prepares its meats by first giving them a good rub down with their homemade seasoning and then a slow smoke for 11-13 hours. They also make their own boudin.

The Parrain Special is grilled cheese stuffed with homemade boudin upon which is poured the house made barbecue sauce fittingly named for boudin aficionado Bob Carriker, aka Dr. Boudin.

The Smoked Meat Salad can be enjoyed with either pulled pork, brisket or chicken, with a side of Zapps chips; lettuce tomatoes, onions, cheddar cheese and barbecue ranch dressing complete the dish.

Tender and succulent pulled pork topped with coleslaw and barbecue sauce comprises the Have It Clay’s Way sandwich. Smoked Meat Po Boys, with a choice of smoked brisket, chicken or pork slathered in signature barbecue sauce soaks a fresh Evangeline Maid bun.

Resembling an oversized shanty boat moored into dry dock, this down-home eatery is filled with Cajun and zydeco music, great food and a laidback atmosphere. Its roots go back to 1937 when Johnson’s Grocery store made its own boudin. The same recipe is used to this day, although this establishment will frankly tell you it took them a little time to find the right sized Dixie Cup used to measure ingredients – due to a lack of previous documentation. n

Information, Le Festival de la Viande Boucanee, June 27-28, Ville Platte; Johnson’s Boucaniere, 1111 St. John St., Lafayette, (337) 269-8878

around louisiana

Baton Rouge Grace Episcopal Church and adjoining graveyard

A Brotherhood of Peace in St. Francisville I suppose if any of the four years of the American Civil War could be considered reaching critical mass for the Confederacy, it would have to be the summer of 1863.

By June of that year, all of the Mississippi River save Port Hudson and Vicksburg were controlled by the Union; both strongholds were in the thick of a brutally wrought siege.

Some of Vicksburg’s denizens were refugees living in river caves alongside vermin and mosquitoes. One Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, who had so easily breezed into New Orleans and taken the city the year before, was presently not having as smooth a time conquering the rest of the Mississippi. Ironically, this Union commander, born in Tennessee, was actually raised in Louisiana where he waged fearsome maritime war. photograph by Jessica Parsons

Church followed by a historic presentation at the Masonic Lodge. The next day, a concert featuring vintage music is conducted; a performance of vintage dancing follows.

Included in the weekend commemoration is a reenactment of Commander Hart’s burial and a performance of Civil War Dancers at Oakley Plantation, culminating on Sunday with a tour of Rosedown Plantation.

When his small flotilla of four warships and three gunboats assailed Port Hudson from the river, only his flagship the USS Hartford and the USS Albatross were able to make it past Confederate fire; the remaining four ships were repelled and turned back. The garrison at Port Hudson held.

Helming the Albatross was Lt. Commander John E. Hart, a practicing Mason. A week prior to his death on June 12, 1863, anchored on Bayou Sara near St. Francisville, he had written a letter to his wife in Schenectady filled with stories of how his boat had escaped the rebel batteries. But his letter was also filled with every day treasures that told of birds singing, a stray puppy and a litter of shipboard kittens.

Suffering the Louisiana heat, he longed to see ice once again and craved cool wine and water. His death is recorded as a suicide brought on by the

possible delirium of yellow fever. Some of his fellow officers onboard were also Masons and were loathe to commit his body to the muddy Mississippi.

Under a flag of truce, a small delegation traveled to St. Francisville inquiring if there were any Masons there who would give a brother a decent burial. W.W. Leake, a Senior Warden and Confederate solider gave his permission for the service. The service was held at the Grace Episcopal Church and Hart was buried in a Masonic plot in the church cemetery.

All fighting ceased as blue and gray joined to pay respect to the dead Union officer.

Each year, the town of St. Francisville pays tribute to this merciful honoring of a fallen enemy by holding “The Day the War Stopped; An Annual Reenactment of a Unique Time in History” for two days. Graveside histories are told at Grace Episcopal

GOOD EATING IN GHEENS Gheens is a tiny unincorporated strip of land lying near Vacherie. Named for the Gheens family from Louisville, Kentucky who settled there to make a killing in the New Orleans Meat Market, they were originally in the taffy making business and relied on Louisiana’s sugarcane crops to sweeten their profits.

Starting a festival back in the seventies, the community christened the event the Gheens Bon Mange festival because so much delicious food was served and the feasting was fine. Proceeds from the festival help finance both the Vacherie-Gheens Community Center and the community itself. n

Information, The Day The War Stopped, June 12-14, St. Francisville, thedaythewarstopped. net; Vachere-Gheens Community Center. 1783 Louisiana 654, Gheens, LA 985-532-5740

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around louisiana

New Orleans Eat Local Challenge party at Good Eggs

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BOUNTY The purist gastronomes of Eat Local New Orleans have thrown down the gauntlet, or perhaps shall we say, oven mitt, to the Big Easy populace by holding their fifth annual Eat Local Challenge. In a city so rich with culinary deliciousness, foodies who sign up to participate must endure eating their way through some of the best restaurants and food venues to be found. The Poor Things.

This pledge involves 30 days of eating only foods caught, prepared, raised or grown within a 200-or-so-mile radius of the Crescent City. But tasty food is not the sole objective of this venture. Lee Stafford, Founder of East Local New Orleans explains it this way: “Our goal is to celebrate the many benefits of eating locally, which include cultural preservation, environmental sustainability and economic 80 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

growth. In New Orleans, we get to showcase the many world-renowned restaurants that are using our rich agricultural and seafood resources in fresh and innovative ways,” says Stafford. Encircled by the teeming bounty existing in the Gulf of Mexico, the game that abounds in forests, the rich farmlands from which spring abundant crops and provide fodder for livestock, we couldn’t be in a better spot to accomplish this goal.

Providing a series of culinary “crawls,” a particular neighborhood venue will be featured each time through a series of restaurant stops replete with food and garden-to-glass cocktails. Routes will wind their way through the restaurants of the French Quarter, Garden District, Bywater with Freret, Oak and Magazine streets thrown into the gumbo for good measure. Partnering

with Destination Kitchen Tours, the people so nobly submitting themselves to partaking of great New Orleans food, will not only enjoy food prepared by excellent chefs, but are also treated to a tutorial about the significance of the food and how it is prepared.

The challenge will also offer 30 fascinating classes on pickling, cheese-making, wine making, butchering, etc. It also offers challenge rules of varying degrees ranging from ultra strict (i.e., like the Native Americans before us, one will eat only foods caught, raised or grown within 200 miles to the Ignatius J. Reilly Level UltraLenient that allows you do perform the challenge for only two days a week. Food diaries and blogs are part of the program.

SEAFOOD BY CHARLES IN HARAHAN I had relatives who lived in Harahan, and driving along the Mississippi Riverwinding Jefferson Highway to reach their home, we were always greeted by the sight of a small, bright turquoise building above which was a red sign that read “Charlie’s Seafood.” This charming little hole-in-the-wall began serving delicious seafood and Italian dishes in 1951. Not long ago, Charlie’s Seafood came into the hands of new owners, Patti and Shawn Kelley, who rechristened it “Charles Seafood,” and the couple did nothing to change the exterior appearance.

Southern Living Magazine recently announced that it serves the finest okra and seafood gumbo to be found on Louisiana’s gumbo trail.

Keeping with the tradition of the original restaurant, you can still feast on gumbo and fried seafood, but it would be a shame to pass on the charbroiled oysters or house specialty, the Jambalaya Grits filled with andouille, shrimp and roasted peppers. n Information, New Orleans Eat Local Challenge, May 30-June 28, (504) 451-3396, eatlocalneworleans.com. Charles Seafood. 8311 Jefferson Highway, Harahan. (504) 405-5263

photograph courtesy new orleans eat local challenge

ADVERTISING SECTION

Texas

REGIONAL TRAVEL The southern states were some of the earliest-settled areas in the country, and from an historical and cultural standpoint, the region is incredibly rich. Wander outside of Louisiana this summer, and relive the history of neighboring states Mississippi, Texas and Arkansas. From the Civil War to civil rights, history is alive in the museums and sites across Mississippi. An eclectic, shop-friendly historic district invites travelers to small-town Texas. If an outdoor adventure is more what you seek, beauty abounds across the diverse landscape of Arkansas and beckons from the clear lakes and rivers and the verdant, lush Ozarks. Whether you enjoy tent camping or luxurious accommodations, Arkansas presents a number of options for enjoying its tremendous sights and sounds.

Mississippi Situated high on the bluffs above the Mississippi River, Vicksburg serves as the “Key to the South” and prides itself on its perfect location as a midway point between Memphis, Tenn., and New Orleans. This strategic location made it a focal point during the struggle to unite the nation during the War Between the States. On July 4, 1863, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. John Pemberton negotiated Vicksburg’s surrender, giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi River and the western part of the United States.

Visitors can relive that history by visiting Vicksburg’s historic homes; churches; museums; and the Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi’s Attraction of the Year. From four world-class casinos to some of the most fascinating historic sites, Vicksburg offers an authentic Southern experience you don’t want to miss. Just be sure to leave some time to check out the live music scene, eat at signature restaurants and browse the numerous boutiques and antique shops.

For more to see and do in Vicksburg, go to VisitVicksburg.com or call (800) 221-3536.

Margaret Walker was the first black female Yale University Younger Poets Award recipient for her seminal poem “For My People” in 1937. While employed in the English department at Jackson State University, she completed her doctoral dissertation, a neo-slave narrative inspired by the memories of her maternal grandmother. Published in 1966, Jubilee has never since been out of print. In 1968, she founded the Institute for the Study of the History, Life, and Culture of Black People.

Eudora Welty was an infant in 1910, just shy of her first birthday, when she was taken on the front porch to see Halley’s Comet in the sky over Jackson, Miss. In 1986, the year Halley’s Comet passed again, Welty received the President’s National Medal of Arts. She had already won the Pulitzer Prize, four O. Henry Awards for her short stories, and international acclaim for her writing.

Travel to Jackson and visit the Eudora Welty House & Garden and the Margaret Walker Center to start your journey as a master storyteller! For a schedule of events, visit JacksonStorytellers.com.

Settled in 1848, McKinney features one of Texas’s largest and most vibrant historic districts. The locals lovingly embrace the history of what was, until a few years ago, still a small town. With a population just over 150,000, the picturesque historic downtown square is the heart of this quaint city. The roughly 100 mom-and-pop businesses located around the square include a mix of boutiques, wineries, organic markets, a boutique hotel and eclectic eateries. The historic district’s centerpiece is the old county courthouse, now home to the McKinney Performing Arts Center.

While in McKinney, visitors can commune with nature on 6 miles of trails at the 289-acre Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary; visit a Croatian-style village (Adriatica) with restaurants, a bell tower and an Old World-style chapel; enjoy live music at multiple venues throughout town; and experience many annual familyfriendly festivals.

Located just 30 miles north of Dallas, McKinney’s eclectic mix of sights and activities makes it the perfect weekend destination. For more information, go to VisitMcKinney.com.

Arkansas Beauty is all around you in Arkansas. It’s easy to see in the mountains and valleys and along lakes and rivers. There are also many treasures tucked away in scenic seclusion, off the beaten path and sometimes even off the map. Find your own piece of nature in the state’s beautiful surroundings.

Float on the shimmery blue-green waters of Buffalo National River, which meanders through the heart of the Ozarks beneath towering limestone bluffs. Plan an easy f loat with a few fun rapids.

Camp beneath starry skies at Beech Point Campground on a peninsula that offers privacy and peace surrounded by woodlands and lake views.

Hike the state’s highest peak or enjoy an ATV tour at Mount Magazine State Park. Book an overnight stay at the Lodge at Mount Magazine, known for its upscale accommodations and fine dining.

Order your free vacation planning kit at Arkansas.com, or call (800) NATURAL.

LouisianaLife.com | 81

PROMOTIONAL SECTION

82 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

PROMOTIONAL SECTION

LouisianaLife.com | 83

lifetimes Enjoying a snowball at the Peach Festival in Ruston.

June 26-27

Statewide Calendar May and June events, festivals and more.

Compiled by Judi Russell

NORTH April 30 – May 3. Louisiana Crawfish Gatorfest. Ike Hamilton Expo Center, West Monroe. (318) 325-9160.

June 19-21. Let The Good Times Roll Festival. Festival Plaza, Shreveport. (318) 470-3890.

June 19. GospelFest 2015. Festival Plaza, Shreveport. (318) 459-8211.

May 2. Spring Shopping Fling.

Scott Hamilton Warehouse, Dubach.

(318) 224-0067.

June 20. Sunflower Trail & Festival. Highway 3049, Gilliam.

(318) 296-4303.

May 2-3. Barksdale Air Force Base Open House & Air Show.

Barksdale AFB, Barksdale. (318) 456-3066.

June 26-27. Louisiana Peach Festival. Ruston. (318) 253-2031.

May 3. Antique Alley Spring Open House. Antique Alley, West Monroe. (318) 387-5691.

May 30. Louisiana Food & Music Festival. RiverMarket, Monroe.

(318) 807-9985.

84 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

CENTRAL LOUISIANA May 1-2. MayFest. 201 S. Third Street, Leesville Historic District.

(337) 238-0783.

May 23. Fleur de Lis Memorial Day Weekend Craft Show.

Natchitoches Event Center. (318) 352-6068.

June 5-6. Cookin’ on the Cane BBQ Competition & Festival.

Natchitoches Downtown Riverbank. natchitochesjaycees.com/bbq/

CAJUN COUNTRY May 1. Dalton Hilliard Celebrity Golf Tournament. Atchafalaya Golf Course at Idlewild, Patterson. (985) 395-4653.

May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29. Rhythms on the River. Front Street, Morgan City. (985) 384-9291.

May 1-2. Relay for Life of Iberia Parish. New Iberia High School, New Iberia. (337) 519-1978.

May 1, 8. Downtown Alive!

Parc International or Parc Sans Souci, Downtown, Lafayette. (337) 291-5566.

May 1-3. Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival. Parc Hardy, Breaux Bridge. (337) 332-6655.

May 2. 19th Annual Herb & Garden Festival. Parc on Marie Street, Sunset. (337) 662-5225.

May 2-8. Ragin’ Cajun Country Road Bicycle Tour. Beaver Park, Lafayette. (800) 755-2453.

May 5-7. Southern Regional Mine Rescue Competition. SugArena @ Acadiana Fairgrounds, New Iberia.

(337) 365-7539.

May 7-9. Rayne Frog Festival.

Gossen Memorial Park, Rayne.

(337) 334-2332.

photo courtesy ruston peach festival

May 9. 2nd Saturday ArtWalk.

Downtown Lafayette. (337) 291-5566.

May 9. Q-ing on the Bayou – Boat Poker Run. Delcambre Boat Docks, Delcambre. (337) 298-4510.

May 9. Atchafalaya Classic Horeseshoe Pitching Tournament.

Kemper Williams Park, Patterson.

(985) 385-3858.

May 24. Bayou Country Superfest. Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge. bayoucountrysuperfest. com May 24. ALR Freedom Fest. Lake Lalourde Judges Stand, Morgan City. (985) 397-1786.

May 25. Memorial Day Ceremony. Bouligny Plaza, New Iberia. (337) 344-9397.

May 2. St. Francisville Spring Garden Stroll. St. Francisville.

(225). 635-3615.

May 8-10. Festival in the Park.

Cassidy Park, Bogalusa. (985) 735-5731.

May 2. 150th Anniversary of the Civil War – The War Ends.

Audubon State Historic Site, St. Francisville. (225) 635-3739.

May 9. 4th Annual Crawfish Mambo Cook-Off & Music Festival. UNO Lakefront Campus, Sandbar and Cove, New Orleans.

(504) 280-2586.

May 7-10. 3rd Annual Louisiana International Film Festival.

Cinemark @ Perkins Rowe, Baton Rouge. lifilmfest.com

May 15-17. Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo Festival. Along Bayou St. John, New Orleans. thebayouboogaloo.com.

May 9. USSSA Travel Team Tournaments. Bayou Vista Community Center and Berwick Civic Complex. (985) 395-6552.

May 25. Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony.

Cypress Park, Morgan City. (985) 384-3830.

May 10. Acadiana Barrel Race Association. SugArena@Acadiana Fairgrounds, New Iberia. (337) 365-7539.

June 5-7. Church Point Buggy Festival. City Park, Church Point.

(337) 684-2739.

May 23-4. Highland Games. LSU Rural Life Center, Baton Rouge.

(225) 765-2437.

May 14-16. Crusin Cajun Country Cruise In. Bouligny Plaza, New Iberia. (337) 367-1631.

June 6. Louisiana State Appaloosa Horse Show.

SugArena@Acadiana Fairgrounds, New Iberia. (337) 365-7539.

May 26. USS KIDD Memorial Day Observance. Louisiana Memorial Plaza, Baton Rouge. (225) 342-1942.

May 16. Armed Forces Day Ceremony. Bouligny Plaza, New Iberia. (337) 344-9397.

June 13. 2nd Saturday ArtWalk.

Downtown Lafayette. (337) 291-5566.

May 30. Memorial Day Program.

Centenary State Historic Site, Jackson. (225) 635-7925.

May 30. Taste At The Lake. West Lakeshore Center, New Orleans. www.TasteAtTheLake.com

May 16. St. Mary Branch NAACP #6091 Golf Tournament & Scholarship Fundraiser.

Atchafalaya Golf Course at Idlewild, Patterson. (985) 395-4653.

June 14. Flag Day. Bouligny Plaza, New Iberia. (337) 344-9397.

June 5-7. Walker Percy Weekend.

Historic Society Museum, St. Francisville. (225) 635-6330.

June 6-7. Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival. Louis Armstrong Park, New Orleans. (504) 558-8100.

June 20. Clifton Chenier Celebration. Clifton Chenier Club, New Iberia. (337) 539-5903.

June 13. Baton Rouge Pride Fest.

Baton Rouge River Center. brpride. org

June 6-7. French Market Tomato Festival. French Market, New Orleans. (504) 522-2621.

June 27-Sept. 7. EatLafayette.

Locally owned restaurants in Acadiana. (800) 346-1958.

GREATER NEW ORLEANS

June 13-14. French Market’s 29th Annual Creole Tomato Festival.

French Market, New Orleans. (504) 522-2621.

May 16. Relay for Life. Municipal Auditorium, Morgan City. (985) 714-1117.

May 16-17. SugaSheaux.

SugArena@Acadiana Fairgrounds, New Iberia. (337) 365-7539.

May 21-24. 4th Annual Krotz Springs Sportsmen’s Heritage Festival. Nall Park. (337) 566-3527.

May 22-23. Creole Zydeco & Okra Festival. 203 New Market St., St. Martinville. (337) 394-2233.

May 22-24. 4th Annual Sportsmen’s Heritage Festival.

Nall Park, Krotz Springs. (337) 566-3527.

May 23. Splash Bash. New Iberia City Park. (337) 369-2337.

June 27-28. USSSA Travel Team Tournaments. Bayou Vista Community Center & Berwick Civic Complex. (985) 395-6552.

June 28. Stars & Stripes – A Musical Celebration. Sugar Cane Festival Building, New Iberia. (337) 364-1603.

June 30-July 4. Annual Erath 4th of July Celebration. Downtown Erath. (337) 937-5585.

BATON ROUGE May 1. Gourmet in the Gardens.

LSU AgCenter Botanic Gartden at Burden. (225) 703-3990.

May 21-24. Gonzales Jambalaya Festival. (225) 675-6550.Gonzales Civic Center. (225) 647-2937.

May 1-3. New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Fair Grounds Race Course. nojazzfest.com May 1-2. Antique Tractor, Engine & Truck State Show. Washington Parish Fairgrounds, Franklinton.

(985) 732-3950.

May 16. Louisiana Veterans Festival. Northshore Center Blvd., Slidell. (985) 639-0656.

May 20. New Orleans Wine & Food Experience. Various locations, New Orleans. (504) 934-1474.

May 30. Ponchatoula Citywide Yard Sale. 157 E. Pine St., Ponchatoula. (985) 542-7520.

June 26. Crabfest Lacombe. John Davis Parkway, Lacombe. crabfestlacome.com

Help Us Promote Your Event!

Go online to provide information for our calendar section and webpage.

Remember, the sooner we get the information, the better able we are to help you. To submit a festival, show or special event go to: MyNewOrleans. com/Louisiana-Life/Submit-an-Event. To submit a parade for carnival season go to: MyNewOrleans.com/Louisiana-Life/Submit-a-Parade-toLouisiana-Life

LouisianaLife.com | 85

Great Louisiana Quiz

Towns that are Parish Seats 1. This town pictured above, the government seat of Lincoln parish, is the home of a university and a famous festival. What is the town?

A. Lafayette B. Monroe C. Ruston D. Bordelonville 2. What are the university and festival in the above question?

A. ULL/ Festival International B. Southeastern/ Strawberry Festival C. McNeese/ Contraband Days D. Louisiana Tech/ Peach Festival 3. Colfax is the parish seat of Grant parish. Who was Schuyler Colfax?

A. The owner of Grant parish’s largest plantation B. The person who built the railroad through the parish C. A confederate general who was killed during the Civil War D. Vice President under U.S. Grant

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4. What famous event happened near Arcadia in Bienville Parish?

A. A UFO landed in a cotton field.

B. The Civil War Battle of Arcadia was fought.

C. Jessie James robbed his first train.

D. Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed.

5. Plaquemines Parish’s set of government is located on the opposite side of the river from where the population lives. What is it?

A. Buras.

B. Chalmette C. Pointe a La Hache D. Violet

6. Your friend says that a psychic told him that he will live five years in Oak Grove (The parish seat of West Carrroll parish). What the psychic really said was that he would spend time in Oakdale. What is located in the Allen Parish town?

A. An Air Force Base B. A working ranch C. A federal prison D. A copper mine

8. In one parish, the name of the parish seat begins with the word “Ville.” What parish is that?

A. Morehouse B. Evangeline C. Iberia D. St. Landry

7. The names of 10 parish seats end with the suffix “ville.” Which of these is not one of them?

9. Your friend cannot decide where he stands politically so he spends a lot of time driving back and forth between the Louisiana towns of Clinton and Bush. The latter is in St. Tammany Parish. Clinton is the seat of government for which parish?

A. Jonesville B. Farmerville C. Abbeville D. Leesville

A. West Feliciana B. East Feliciana C. East Carroll D. West Carroll 10. Which one of these perishes was not named after a president?

A. Jackson B. Lincoln C. Franklin D. Jefferson Davis photo courtesy lincoln parish cvb

Answer this BONUS QUESTION and be eligible to win an overnight stay for two at the luxurious PARAGON CASINO AND RESORT: Which town has been the home of the most post-Civil War governors; Winnfield or New Orleans? Name the governors from each.

Send in your answer on a postcard addressed to: Louisiana Life Bonus Question 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123 Metairie, LA 70005 Two winners will be drawn from among the correct answers. Each will receive an overnight stay for two at the recently expanded and re-modeled Paragon Casino and Resort in Marksville. Winners’ names will be announced in the September/October 2015 issue.

From our January/February issue the question was: Name four big-time country music stars from Louisiana (past or present) and where they were from.

The answer: Faron Young (Shreveport); Webb Pierce (West Monroe); Mickey Gilley (Ferriday); Joe Stampley (Springhill); Tom McGrax (Delho); Trace Atkins (Sarepta); Hunter Hayes (Breaux Bridge); Sammy Kershaw (Breaux Bridge); Jimmy C. Newman (Mamou); Kix Brooks (Shreveport).

Winners are: Stephanie Holt, Morgan City Areleen Orgeron, Broussard

ANSWERS 1.C 2.D 3.D 4.D 5.C 6.C 7.A 8.B 9.B 10.C SCORING Score 10 points for each correct answer: 0-20 Consult your nearest library.

30-60 Begin by buying a good road map.

70-90 You should run for office.

100 You’re a candidate for a Ph.D. in Louisianaology.

LouisianaLife.com | 87

a louisiana life

Roland Caire A dentist takes the stage by storm.

By Megan Hill

A dentist by day, Dr. Roland “Butch” Caire Jr. trades his scrubs for scripts after he locks up his Kenner office. Caire launched his award-winning career almost by accident 13 years ago.

Caire had been singing in the Jefferson Symphony Chorus, a branch of Jefferson Performing Arts Society (JPAS).

He was soon recruited to try out for JPAS’s 2002 rendition of Jesus Christ Superstar, and the rest was history.

Though Caire was a talented musician, it seemed his acting talents were just a latent interest looking for an opportunity to shine.

“I had played in pits and played accompaniment for

88 | Louisiana Life May/June 2015

musicals, so I was always playing an instrument instead of actually getting up on the stage,” he says. “I played in bands, too, but once I got married and started having kids and working as a dentist, I just turned the musical knowledge I had into writing arrangements for the kids’ bands, or writing plays for them at school.”

But with the opportunity to star in Jesus Christ Superstar – and his kids then in high school – Caire saw new doors opening.

“Once the bug bit me, I was hooked,” he says. “I had to do more.” So he took a leap and produced a cabaret show of Frank Sinatra

songs, dinner-theater style.

It was wildly successful.

“I started producing things on my own at different venues while I was also doing shows for other production companies so that I could learn what on earth I was supposed to be doing,” Caire says. “I pretty much watched and learned.”

Since Caire’s big break in 2002, he’s acted in scores of productions around the city.

Among the most memorable, he produced and directed Hair and played the lead role of Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey twice. Caire won a Big Easy Theater Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical 2010 for his role as Andre in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

And Caire directed Light in the Piazza in 2012, winning the Best Director of a Musical Big Easy Theater Award. The play won four other Big Easy awards for best supporting actress and actor, best musical direction and best musical.

“That was a big deal because they usually spread them around,” Caire says.

“It was quite an honor.”

Caire is currently busying himself with a trilogy of plays he is producing, directing, and starring in. The plays are set in a Ninth Ward bar called Blueberry Hill (also the name of the first play), owned by Caire’s character, Tos, and deal with themes of love, betrayal, joy, and sadness. Each of the plays also incorporates classic New Orleans songs from Fats Domino, Irma Thomas, Ernie K-Doe, and more.

The second play, called Ain’t Got No Home, picks up inside the bar a few years later, and the play’s mix of drama and comedy unfold against a backdrop of postKatrina destruction. The third installment, called My Girl Josephine, was still in the writing stage at the time of this interview.

The three plays will run back-to-back this fall through JPAS, with Blueberry Hill kicking off a two-week run in September, followed by two weeks of Ain’t Got No Home and three weeks of My Girl Josephine.

Caire’s talents have landed him roles in some 60 or 70 productions over the years, he estimates. And not once has he remembered feeling nervous.

“I’ve been nervous when I had to play music under certain conditions, and I think that what happens is that in the process of learning your craft, your teachers teach you a lot of times to be nervous. In other words they put a lot of weight on your performance,” Caire says. “But since I never actually had a teacher tell me what to do in the theater, it’s just fun.” n

romero & romero photograph