Good food in Lafayette, Louisiana

By Chris Turner -

We took our mid-afternoon meal today at Johnson's Boucaniere in Lafayette. (We have a tendancy to eat two meals a day when we are on the road, one early, and one mid-afternoon or later.) Johnson's is a small walk-in place in an older home, situated in a nice old neighborhood. There are no tables inside, but the porch on the north side of the house has tables that could seat at least 30. That's where we feasted.

They offer mostly cajun and smoked foods. They had several specials  today, including a pulled pork sandwich (Kay) and smoked pork ribs with corn bread (Bil). Everyday they prepare boudin, a cajun sausage (Bil). Boudin is a sausage made from pork, rice, onions and spices. I have had it twice before, and it's growing on me. The skin has always seemed to be like very thin leather, but steaming hot - it is inedible. The filling is ground very fine, and after cooking is like a very thick paste - actually as I write this, I realize it is a pate'. All the main courses were very good, the pork ribs quite spicy, the pulled pork, less so.

I chatted with the owner, a handsome and lively septegenarian named Wallace Johnson. I learned that Boucaniere means "a place where meat is smoked". Mr. Johnson speaks with an absolutely delicious cajun accent. Despite his anglo name, I suspect he speaks excellent French, or what passes for french in south Louisiana.

I have attached photos of the building and Wallace Johnson and his daughter, whose name I did not get.

Comments

Cynthia Turner said…
Glen and I want to know if you had a chance to join in any Mardi Gras festivities along the way. Several years ago, we just happened to be in Lafayette, LA at Mardi Gras and we got to watch a couple of the parades and eat at a fancy restaurant featuring cajun cuisine somewhere downtown (don't remember the name). The next day, after the parade was over, we also had some "street food" - sausage gumbo. yum
Monday, March 14, 2011 10:19:00 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saturday morning (3/28/09)

By Chris Turner -
Image
Tiffani dropped us off at a pancake breakfast fundraiser at the Grand Ledge Masonic Temple, then we had plans to visit the public library and mosey home. The breakfast was good, but very sparsely attended: a mother and son, half a dozen firefighters , and us. (Local political intrigue: the former mayor , and the current mayor , were both present. Bitterness?) We made our way to the library via the new path underneath the bridge, but the kids had to regale me with all the stories of already having performed all these stunts, walked these paths with Bompa and Grandma. Some books and movies chosen, a re-introduction to the library cat statute, a ride on the library porpoise, and a pleasant walk home in the sunshiney, chilly morning.
Read more

The Patriarch's 70th Birthday @ Arcadia

By Chris Turner -
Image
Stacy, a Grand Ledge graduate, explaining the labeling machine that was acquired from Budweiser. Cruising through the  Twitter  this winter , I note that  Aradia  -- a semi-local brewpub, and of which mom and dad are founding members -- is having what they term a 'beer dinner' on April 28, which also happens to be dad's 70th birthday. Thinking that it's a natural occasion and destination to celebrate dad, the Turner boys scheme to get him there. When we arrived (albeit, a little late, due to unforeseen Michigan Avenue construction in Battle Creek), we were provided with a brief tour of Arcadia's production facility, and given a menu agenda for the evening. Chef Sean described the evening's meal as turning food inside out, changing our perception of what we typically perceive, encounter, and eat. Tables were set up separate from the restaurant, again on the production side, where they were white-linen clad, and supplied with plates of Swiss...
Read more

In Memoriam: J. Morgan Sweeney, Ph.D

By Chris Turner -
Image
Our good friend, Dr. J. Morgan Sweeney, passed away while teaching in London on Wednesday, August 8, 2007. Morgan -- an Irishman by clan, an Englishman by education, and a Gotham resident during his youth (his father was employed at the United Nations ) -- returned to the United States after completing his Ph.D at Oxford , and took a job with the History Department of Michigan State in 1976. Morgan wrote and lectured on modern European history, especially British, was active teaching in MSU's Study Abroad program in London , and was especially valued and loved by former students. Click for the obituary. Not having Morgan as an instructor during my time at MSU, I was introduced to him by our mutual friend, Drew Beiter, a former student. With Drew sequestered off working in California or Wyoming or the greater Buffalo area, and me living here in Williamston or Grand Ledge, I was able to more fully develop my own relationship with Morgan. More recently, Morgan was our infreque...
Read more