Spring is Festival Season in Lafayette, LA

by Wendy Lemlin

43745378_10212427411216683_2525452946280284160_o

In Lafayette, Spring parades in like a Mardi Gras and 2-steps out like a Zydeco Queen. In fact, you could call springtime Festival Season, because when it comes to music, dancing, regional cuisine, and colorful traditions, there’s really no such thing as “too much of a good thing”, especially when all the fun is spotlighted at one of the many festivals taking place from March through May. The common denominator in most of this merriment, whether in the city or rural towns throughout the parish, is the joyous appreciation of life expressed through the accordion-driven, made-for-dancing, Cajun and zydeco music of the area, and rare is the event that doesn’t culminate in a dance party. If you really want to thoroughly experience festival time in Lafayette, you’d best bring your dancing boots along! Continue reading

Teaching an Old Blue Dog New Tricks

Food is getting mighty tasty in Lafayette, Louisiana, and at The Blue Dog Cafe,  new executive chef Ryan Trahan is one of the culinary leaders making that happen.

When I first began my semi-annual travels to Lafayette about a dozen years ago to indulge my passion for the area’s Cajun and Zydeco music, there were very few restaurants that I could get excited about. Vegetables boiled to mush and deep fried everything weren’t really the way I liked to eat, plus, as a pescatarian who doesn’t eat meat, most of the Cajun specialties like boudin and dishes made with various pork products were not an option for me.

Chef Ryan Trahan and the Blue Dog

Chef Ryan Trahan and the Blue Dog

All that began to change a few years ago, when a growing number of new restaurants started highlighting local, healthier ingredients and creative cuisine, and bringing the so-called “farm-to-table” concept to my grateful tastebuds. In fact, in recent years, Lafayette has been experiencing a culinary renaissance, earning the titles of “Tastiest Town in the South” in 2014 from AAA Southern Traveler, and in 2012 from Southern Living, and “Best Food City” in 2011 from Rand McNally/USA Today. So, as of my recent trip to Lafayette for Mardi Gras, I have added a new favorite restaurant to my list—one that had, truthfully, underwhelmed me in the past but now has me singing its praises to all who will listen. Thanks to recently-hired Executive Chef Ryan Trahan’s inventive talent and spot-on cuisine, The Blue Dog Cafe has been reborn into a “must go” dining destination. Continue reading