So what’s been happening in your world? Mine has been full speed ahead. With grad school, personal projects, film study, freelance work, and attempting to balance business with pleasure, I barely have time to breathe let alone eat. Not superb for one who loves food and plans to advance a career by writing about it. Don’t even think about cooking it. Oy! However, I cannot shirk my blogging duties. So I’m back to fill you in on the latest in Julesy’s world.
Moving back to Lafayette, Louisiana has opened doors to some interesting finds. It’s a small city but one filled with marvelous characters, swingin’ music, de-lish bites, and more opportunities and possibilities than one can imagine. I tend to believe there is a reason for everything, and I am anxious to see the results of my being back ‘home.’
This weekend looks to be fun-filled. Thursday night kicks off the Deep South Writer’s Conference in Lafayette. One of the first literary conferences ever in the United States. I’ll be making desserts for Friday evening’s dinner. Wiley Cash will be rustlin’ up some gumbo. It’s also the weekend of Black Pot Festival AND La Belle Journée. I will most probably be studying, aside from having lunch with my family Saturday, but you should definitely check it all out. I hear there’s gonna be a lip-smackin’ good cookoff at Black Pot as well. Don’t miss it!
I just returned from a weekend in New Orleans. It’s the first trip I’ve made since before the big storm. I suppose I wasn’t necessarily in the right parts to see the damage, but someone my friend Val and I were staying with mentioned he hated being there stating that it just gets worse and worse everyday. I wondered if I could ever live there. I asked Valerie. We both agreed that from what we’d seen this weekend, we could both live there as long as we didn’t have to drive to get anywhere. Urban planners take note. This city needs a bit of assistance. Aside from that, we attended VooDoo Fest in City Park. A 3-day music-filled weekend featuring such bands as Rage Against the Machine (which we didn’t see due to being stuck in traffic), Smashing Pumpkins, Wilco, Plain White T’s, Ben Harper, Dr. John, Sinead O’Connor, and many more. Sometimes spectacular, sometimes a need for a laze out in the grass watching both main screens, sometimes the perfect moment to grab a beer and a Natchitoches Meat Pie. But Saturday evening brought us to a party at a darling city spot in the Garden District called Delachaise. They’ve been open for about four years though their website is still under construction. What gives? Don’t worry about it; just go. Delachaise hosts an extensive wine and liquor list; nice noshes including a great selection of cheeses, pâté made with boudin noir, and crispy, perfectly julianned pommes frites with both a roasted red pepper aioli and a satay sauce; and a swanky crowd. Saturday night’s private party was dj’d by Louisiana’s own C.C. Adcock.
I can’t say I ventured out to other hot dining spots as the weekend didn’t particularly call for it. But I did enjoy pastries and coffee from the Coffee Cottage Café in Harahan and donuts from Krispy Kreme. Eek. (and the sign was HOT).
A couple of Lafayette holes-in-the-wall lunch spots to pop into are:
Creole Lunch House at 713 12th Street. A must-have: Creole-stuffed bread. OMG!
Taco Torro at 1602 N. University (cheap and very Mexican)
El Ranchito at 3011 Cameron Street (try everything. Even more authentically Mexican. And there’s a small store attached.)
If you’re in the neighborhood in December, don’t forget to stop into the soon to open Pamplona Tapas Restaurant in Downtown Lafayette. An oyster bar. An amazing array of Spanish tapas. 14 wines by the glass. It’s a flight back to Spain… without having to take your shoes off.
Until next time… buen provecho and bon appétit.
Biscuits + Brioche 