- Seafood Palace Crabs
Recently I made my way to Southwest Louisiana to experience its culture, history and culinary delights. The Lake Charles area, or rather Calcasieu Parish, makes up the Southwest region and today I’m going to give you four reasons I plan to return to this special part of one of my favorite states – very soon.
1. Cuisine. I heard the area described as a melting pot and even more appropriately, the “real gumbo” of Louisiana. The variety of Acadians, Americans, Creoles and Indians calling this area home have influenced the cuisine in such a way that it’s impossible not to be completely enthralled with the restaurant options. For example, Mazen’s is a wonderful Mediterranean restaurant with an array of mouthwatering menu times (I fell for the fried asparagus and hollandaise) while Seafood Palace and Steamboat Bills (both stops in Louisiana’s Seafood Sensation Culinary Trail) are two local casual restaurants with menus bursting with good ol’ Louisiana cookin’. (I’m officially addicted to the seafood stuffed peppers at Seafood Palace.)
2. Delicious Donuts & Bakery’s King Cake. Having spent 14 years of my life in Louisiana, I have enjoyed my share of King Cake, I even make my own every year, but Delicious Donuts & Bakery has to make the best King Cake I have ever tasted. And they have a new filling – Banana Foster. (They ship King Cakes if you want to order one this Mardi Gras 337-479-2986.)
3. Community Coffee. I remember my parents drinking “CC” when I was a kid, but I have a personal appreciation for it as well, I’m even drinking a cup right now. If you didn’t know, Louisiana has a rich coffee history but Community Coffee is seen everywhere, from the local restaurants to Albertson’s grocery store (you can pick a fresh cup in the bakery or take home a few bags for yourself).
4. Mardi Gras Museum. This six-room museum, located in the retired Central High School in Lake Charles, has the most extensive costume display in the South and a Mardi Gras Float – absolutely stunning and finishing the top reasons to visit Southwest Louisiana.
