Boudreau and Thibodeau’s Cajun Seafood

We had finished a day of touring plantations in southern Louisiana and we were spending the night in Houma in Terrebonne Parish.  This Parish, (county to those who aren’t from Louisiana), is right on the Gulf of Mexico and the Intracoastal Waterway runs right through Houma.

It was time for dinner and a local Cajun restaurant seemed to fit the time and place…

As you can see from the sign, this is Boudreau and Thibodeau’s Cajun Cookin’ Restaurant. 

What I didn’t know is that Boudreau and Thibodeau are the Cajun version of Minnesota’s Ole and Lena…a source of local humor.  The restaurant is festooned with jokes about Boudreau and Thibodeau.  Here’s an example:

“PARAMEDICS NEEDED - Thibodeau and Boudreau were hunting when Boudreau grabs his chest and falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, and his eyes are rolled back in his head.  Thibodeau whips out his cell phone, calls 911 and tells the operator, "I think Boudreau is dead! What should I do?"   

The operator, in a calm soothing voice says, "Just take it easy and follow my instructions. First, let's make sure he's dead."   There is a silence -- then a shot is heard. Thibodeau's voice comes back on the line, "Okay, now what?"

This is a popular local restaurant in Houma and it was busy!  We had to wait a few minutes for a table.  In some ways, the décor reminded us of a north woods dinner ‘club’. 

 

Instead of a boring square lighted and vibrating pager, Boudreau and Thibodeaux provide one in the form of a crawfish.  Give them an “A” for imagination!

Can you say “kitsch”?  This restaurant ‘owns’ south Louisiana/Cajun kitsch!  This stuffed alligator with the crab pot and the New Orleans Saints jersey pretty much exemplifies the theme appropriate décor at Boudreau and Thibodeau’s Restaurant.

Just for grins, here’s another Boudreau and Thibodeau joke…

“Marie walked into de kitchen and saw Boudreaux with a fly killer. (Fly Swatter) She axe him, “Any Luck?”  He said, “Yah, tree males and two females.”  Marie axed, “Mais chere, how can ya tell em apart?”  Boudreaux said, “Mais dats easy … tree were on dat beer can and two were on the telephone."

This was our appetizer, the Fried Dill Pickles. ($4.99) They were very good! There is a lot of variety to choose from among the appetizers.  

Unlike the locals and a number of our friends back up in East Tennessee, we’ve never learned to like crawfish.  One of the more popular appetizers at Boudreau and Thibodeau’s is the Crawfish Kickers. ($6.99) For this treat, crawfish tails and spices are ground together to form six spicy breaded and fried balls. 

Laurie’s entrée was the Red Snapper Robichaux. ($14.99) This was a red snapper filet seasoned and grilled, then drizzled with home-made lemon cream sauce an’ topped with’ toasted almonds.  It came with a green salad and the side pictured below.  She enjoyed her dinner...

Laurie’s other side were Boudreau and Thibodeau’s homemade potato chips.  While we’ve had better, these were pretty good.

Time for one more joke…

“Boudreaux Sure Can Paint - Boudreaux, a good old boy from South Louisiana, while not a brilliant scholar, was a gifted portrait artist. His fame grew......and soon people from all over the country were coming to South Louisiana to have portraits done.  Dah boy could Paint! ......and it looked good too!

One day, a stretch limo pulled up to his house. Inside the car was a beautiful woman, and she asked Boudreaux if he would paint her in the nude.  This was the first time anyone had made this request of Boudreaux.  The woman said money was no object; she was willing to pay $50,000.  Not wanting to get into trouble with his wife, Boudreaux asked the woman to wait while he went in the house and conferred with Clotille, his missus.

In a few minutes, he returned.... and said to the lady,  "I can do dat, ain't no big thang.  I'll paint ya in da nude, but I gotta leave my socks on.......... so I have a place to wipe my brushes."

Dawn ordered the Grilled Chicken Alfredo. ($11.99)  For her sides she had a green salad and some macaroni and cheese.  The mac ‘n cheese and our Fried Pickle appetizer ‘saved’ dinner for her.  Her pasta was terrible…flavorless and clumpy! 

FYI… Acadians-Creoles or Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the state of Louisiana.  The estimated population of Cajuns in the USA is 1.2 million.  This group consists of the descendants of Acadian exiles. (French-speakers from what are now known as Canada’s Maritimes Provinces).  The Acadian Creoles make up a significant portion of south Louisiana's population and they’ve exerted an enormous impact on the state's culture.   To learn more about Cajuns, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajun.

I don’t remember who ordered the Fried Onion Rings.  As a side, they cost only $1.99.  I don’t eat onion rings but Dawn Marie thought they were pretty good and Laurie thought that they were excellent!

As usual, I went for a truly ‘healthy’ entrée!  This is the country fried steak dinner with white gravy. ($11.99) There was a lot of it and it was pretty darn good too…

The food at Boudreau and Thibodeau’s is reasonably priced and plentiful.  Except for Dawn’s pasta dish, the food was very good.  Our server was OK and friendly.  This locally owned restaurant has been in business since 1998 and it’s definitely a family-friendly establishment.

 

Boudreau and Thibodeau's Cajun Cookin Seafood Restaurant is located at 5602 West Main Street in Houma Louisiana.  Phone: (985) 872-4711.  Website: http://bntcajuncookin.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by to check out what was for dinner!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

Winter Finally Comes to East Tennessee!

Until yesterday, we had a very mild winter here in East Tennessee.  That ended when we were hit by freezing rain, sleet and a touch of snow…

The grass and trees are coated with ice.  I measured a piece of ice from a flat surface and it was slightly more than a quarter inch thick. 

Our Internet, phone and cable TV service went down last night at about 10:15 PM.  Then, at about 10:45 PM we lost power.  Fortunately our power was restored at 4:45 AM.  The temperature in the house had dropped to 60 degrees and it was down to 21 degrees outside.

Our Loropetalum shrubs took a beating last winter when it stayed cold for an extended period of time.  We lost one then and with this ice storm the two in front of the porch may have met their end as well.  Another one in the front yard has been flattened…

This is one of our Japanese Maples… While it’s totally covered with ice, it seems to be holding up well and I expect that it will be fine.

One of the problems is that we can’t expect any significant melting until this coming Saturday when temperatures will reach back up into the mid-40s. 

Both of our large dwarf magnolias have taken a big hit!  We hope that they pop back when it warms up...

Our rhododendron looks a little forlorn doesn't it!  Despite the ice, I would note that we still haven’t had any measurable snow this winter…

Last night we just layered up and added extra blankets to the bed.  JD, our cat, was a warm and happy camper because we didn't put him in his cold room for the night.  He got to sleep with us instead… 

This is an icy winter view of Tellico Lake from our upstairs balcony…its that glimmer in the distance.  We expect temperatures to go negative for at least one of the next 3 nights so this scene isn't going to change much…

We’re fortunate indeed.  As of this moment, many others in East Tennessee are still without power…and heat!  Of course, compared to what winter has been like back in our former hometown in the Chicago’s suburbs…or one of our other former homes…near Boston…this ‘storm’ is just a minor inconvenience!

 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

A Walk Through New Orleans' Garden District

We devoted most of one day to an exploration…a self-guided trek through the Garden District of New Orleans.  I refer to it as a ‘trek’ because after walking 8 – 10 miles in and around the French Quarter in the previous 24 hours, I learned a lot about the limits of my questionable knees, bad hip and my replacement hip too… I was dragging by day’s end!

Getting there and returning to our hotel was thankfully easy enough…via the St. Charles Avenue trolley line.

New Orleans’ Garden District is a fairly compact area…about 6 or 7 blocks wide by 14 blocks long…but the walking route, even well thought out, zig-zags back and forth.  This is the Garden District's only example of Gothic Revival Architecture.  The Briggs-Staub house has a matching Gothic guest house, (built as servant’s quarters), that repeats the lines of the main cottage.

 

I’ll tell you up front that I can’t identify some of the homes in the following photos.  I generally don’t take notes and work from memory.  It must be said that there are a plethora of beautiful old homes, one after another for the viewing pleasure of the home architectural aficionado. 

Originally laid out in 1832 by Barthelemy Lafron, the Garden District was created after the Louisiana Purchase as a settlement for the new American residents of New Orleans.  They were not eager to mingle with those of European descent, (i.e., the Creoles), who were primarily concentrated in the French Quarter.

It’s very impressive when you consider that an entire neighborhood of old homes and mansions have survived old age, war, fire, and a bevy of devastating hurricanes. (The Garden District is 3 to 4 feet above sea level)  

A combination of both wealth and obvious pride created the Garden District and provides the motivation to maintain the neighborhood.  In addition to local money, a number of celebrities own or have owned homes in the Garden District.  These are Drew Brees, Nicolas Cage (lost it in bankruptcy), John Goodman, Gloria Henry, Archie Manning, Eli Manning and Peyton Manning.   

This is the Pritchard-Pigott house.  It’s an example of a Greek Revival double-galleried town house.

This is one of eight “shotgun” houses known as the Coliseum Street Row.  “Shotgun style” houses get their name from the fact that the rooms are lined up so that you could fire a gun through the house without hitting anything.  This style is one room wide, one story tall and several rooms deep and has its primary entrance in the gable end.

Laurie and I loved these Oak tree root systems gone wild!  Old trees with roots like these are scattered throughout the Garden District. 

This mansion was built in the 1860's by builder-architect Samuel Jamison in the Italianate style.  Landscape architect and author Andrew Jackson Downing, with his 1850 book “The Architecture of Country Houses”, actually made the Italianate style so popular in the U.S.A. that for a while it was known as "The American Style."

More unidentified but handsome old homes along our route…

This is the Claiborne Cottage.  This home was finished in 1857 and it’s one of the oldest in the Garden District.  It was built for Louise Claiborne-Marigny whose father, William Claiborne, had served as Louisiana's 1st Governor in 1812.   He later served in the US Senate and before he’d moved to Louisiana he’d once filled Andrew Jackson's seat in the US Congress from Tennessee.

Louise Claiborne-Marigny's father in-law Bernard Marigny was also famous as he served as President of the Louisiana Senate and he was a hero in the Creole community.  To learn more about Bernard Marigny, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_de_Marigny.

Note: After living down the road at 2301 St Charles Ave for most of her childhood, author Anne Rice and her family moved to this house when she was 14 years old.  Rice was inspired by the home and in 1995 she bought it and moved back in.  While she didn’t live here very long, this home was used as the setting for her well-known ghost novel “Violin” published in 1997.

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 is one of the City’s oldest cemeteries and it's right in the middle of the Garden District.  This historic cemetery was first opened in 1832 in a classic French style with above ground tombs.   Famous figures buried here include Judge Ferguson of the Plessy vs. Ferguson “separate-but-equal” case, Brigadier General Harry T. Hays who led the 1st Louisiana Brigade in the Civil War, and the Brunies family of jazz musicians.

  

However, perhaps the most famous tombs of the cemetery are the fictional ones.  Among the fictional characters to buried here are family of Mayfair Witches from Anne Rice’s Witching Hour book series and the vampire Lestat from the another Rice novel Interview with a Vampire.  In 1994, ‘Interview with a Vampire’ was made into a movie starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise and the cemetery scenes were filmed here.    

If my memory serves me right, this is the home that Jefferson Davis, (eventual President of the Confederate States of America), occupied for a short time toward the end of his life.

This home is unusual in the Garden District in that it’s a multi-family dwelling.  Warwick Manor is an example of Georgian architecture. 

This Italianate style villa hidded behind the tree is one of the homes in the Garden District that is noted for its fancy cast-iron fence, in this case, shaped like cornstalks intertwined with morning glories.

I love this home.  It reminds me of some of the French style homes from the early plantations or from historic Ste. Genevieve Missouri.  It was the only one in this style that I saw during our walk…

This Victorian style homes is typical of those popular in Uptown New Orleans at the end of the 19th century.  They were probably built for people who left town in the summer since this style of home was really designed for cooler northern climates.  Love that skeleton horse with what has to be New Orleans style Christmas decorations! 

One more attractive unidentified home along the way…

Most of the garden/landscaped areas were small but well done.  In the early days, the original properties had broad expansive yards, landscaped to reflect the wealth of the owners.

This is the Montgomery-Hero House.  It was built in 1868 by Archibald Montgomery.  It is one of the few houses that still have a lawn almost completely surrounding the house…

This is part of the small but quaint ‘shopping area’ in the Garden District.  This is “The Rink”, a former skating rink that has been converted into a coffee shop, book store and other small retail shops.  The Rink was originally built in 1884 as the Crescent City roller Skating Rink.  It was intended to lure passing tourists during the World's Cotton Centennial Exposition.  Since then the building has housed a livery stable, mortuary, grocery store, and gas station. 

This is the "Stained Glass" House.  It’s very unique to the Garden District and the Victorian style was used mainly in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans.  What really stands out though is the extensive amount of stained glass that lines the doors and windows of this home.

Speaking of celebrities, this ornate Victorian home belongs to actress Sandra Bullock…

This is the "Benjamin Button" House.  Although it’s a fairly plain home by Garden District standards, this house draws a lot of tourists as it served as the main house in the Brad Pitt movie “Benjamin Button”.  If you've seen the movie you can recall main scenes taking place on both the porch and steps leading up to the home. 

For information about the movie, you can go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421715/.

This is the well-known Commander’s Palace Restaurant.  It’s located right in the heart of the Garden District, across from Lafayette Cemetery #1.  Emile Commander established the only restaurant patronized by the distinguished neighborhood families back in 1880.  In 1854, it was engulfed by the city of New Orleans and by 1900 Commander's Palace was attracting gourmets from all over the world. 

Under different management in the twenties its reputation was somewhat ‘spicier’.  Riverboat captains dined here and ‘sporting gentlemen’ met with beautiful women for a rendezvous in the private dining room upstairs. Downstairs however, the main dining room with its separate entrance, was maintained offering respectability for family meals after church and family gatherings of all sorts.

To see the upscale menus for Commander’s Palace, just go to http://www.commanderspalace.com/menu/index.html. 

One more beautiful old home…which I can’t identify.  The 2010 census revealed that just under 2,000 people reside in the Garden District.

Just a block from St. Charles Avenue we noted this “French Second Empire-style” mansion.  It was built in 1872 at a cost of $100,000 for Bradish Johnson by Beaux Arts-trained architect James Freret. 

Note: Bradish Johnson was an American industrialist who owned plantations and sugar refineries in Louisiana as well as a large distillery in New York City.  In 1858 his distillery was at the heart of a scandal when an exposé in a weekly magazine accused it (and other distilleries) of producing altered and unsafe milk, called "swill milk", for sale to the public.  The swill milk scandal helped to create the demand for consumer protection laws in the United States.

For some really great photos of many of the historic homes in New Orleans’ Garden District, check out the many pictures posted on TripAdvisor at  http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60864-d105733-Reviews-Garden_District-New_Orleans_Louisiana.html.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a lengthy walk!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

St. James Cheese Shop Plus Dessert!

Continuing with our trip to New Orleans… We had planned to take the St. Charles Street trolley line out to the Garden District to walk the neighborhood and check out the beautiful old homes.  Of course, I also had to do a little research to find somewhere that looked promising for lunch…

We decided not to have lunch in the Garden District.  Commander’s Palace is right in the middle of that neighborhood…but I was fascinated with the fact that a short trolley ride to the Uptown neighborhood would bring us to Trip Advisor’s #3 ranked restaurant/food source in New Orleans!

This is the St. James Cheese Company.  Trip Advisor shows it has 79 Excellent or Very Good reviews, 1 Average review and 0 “Zero” negative reviews…

The St. James Cheese Company is a tried and true delicatessen…but it doesn't offer the typical sandwiches that an east coast deli would offer.  This place is first and foremost a gourmet cheese store that also has a nice selection of meat.  The sandwich menu is somewhat limited but there are a number of salads available as well.  

Now this is a selection of cheeses!  There were many that I’d never heard of before… How about Abbay de Belloc, Brillat Savarin Affine, Challerhocker, Fortsonia, Garrotxa, Humboldt Fog, Piave Stravecchio or Thomasville Tomme?  All are new to me…but I’d love to taste them!

Still more cheese!  You can order cheese on-line from the St. James Cheese Company and it’s an extensive selection.  Check it out at http://www.stjamescheese.com/products#.

Let’s add some sausage and other various cured meats to the offerings… I must admit that I was tempted to order a cheese and charcuterie board instead of a sandwich...  

FYI…This is the largest selection of blue, bleu, Roquefort, Stilton and related cheeses that I’ve ever seen in one place.  This big cooler is packed with just these types of cheese!  If we lived near a store like this one, our cheese expense would be through the roof...

It was a late lunch following our walking tour of the Garden District but there was still a line at the St. James Cheese Company.  You could dine inside, street side or in this little courtyard.  The street side tables were full and the only table we could find outdoors was way back in the far corner of the courtyard.

 

It took them quite a long time to make up our sandwiches but we weren’t in a hurry… They may have misplaced our order or it came up out of order.

Dawn Marie ordered the day’s special, the St. James Cheese Company’s version of a Croque-Monsieur. ($10.95) It’s called the Croque Monster and it’s made with ham and alpine cheese on white Pullman bread topped with bruleed crème fraiche cheese sauce.  It was very good…

For her lunch Laurie ordered the “Il Mostro”. ($10.50) This creation includes spicy capicola, rosemary ham, rosa salami, provolone, pickled red onions, herb/pepperoncini mayo, lettuce, tomato on Bellegarde ciabatta.  It was a really good sandwich.  I can attest to that fact as I ‘had to’ help her finish it!

My choice for lunch was the Smokey Blue Sandwich. ($9.95) It was made with house smoked Mycella blue cheese, some very nice thin sliced roast beef, Worcestershire mayo, tomatoes and lettuce, all on toasted Wild Flour multigrain bread.  This sandwich had a lot going for it and it delivered!

Our sandwiches were all very good and if you’re ever out in the Garden or Uptown Districts of New Orleans around lunch time, you should check out the St. James Cheese Company… While it’s not the best deli we’ve ever eaten at, it is in the top 10 and it was very good indeed!  Check out their website at http://www.stjamescheese.com/.

  

When we walked from the St. Charles Trolley line stop near the St. James Cheese Company, we passed another ‘food spot’ that grabbed our attention…and we were on vacation so what the heck!

     

How about a little ice cream for dessert!?  The Creole Creamery is almost next door to the St. James Cheese Company… What a combination!

This 1950s-style ice cream parlor is located in a historic bakery in this foodie enclave of Uptown New Orleans.  This place is worshiped by locals.  The Creole Creamery’s “ice cream chef” concocts creative flavors daily, like Goat Cheese and Fig, Lemon Mascarpone, and avocado.  A local favorite is the Creole Cream Cheese ice cream. 

Since we’d just eaten, we showed a little restraint.  After tasting a couple of flavors, we each ordered a single scoop of ice cream in a waffle cone. ($3.50) The scoops were generous and the quality of the ice cream would be hard to beat!  

We have a top notch ice cream shop in Loudon Tennessee, (Tic Toc), but the Creole Creamery is even better.  In our experience, only Capannari’s Ice Cream in Mount Prospect Illinois can compare with the Creole Creamery.

Of course, both “Tic Toc” and “Campannari’s” are closed for the winter. So sad…but if you’re visiting New Orleans this winter you can still indulge by visiting The Creole Creamery.  Website: http://www.creolecreamery.com/.

It is interesting to note that the Tic Toc Ice Cream Parlor in Loudon Tennessee is owned by former residents of New Orleans! 

This is the neighborhood that both the St. James Cheese Company and The Creole Creamery are located in.  It doesn’t look like New Orleans does it?  I noticed the Thai Restaurant on the corner.  Trip Advisor lists LA Thai as the #1 Thai Restaurant in New Orleans.  This is indeed a ‘foodie’ neighborhood! 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by and helping us indulge in some good food!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave