Your memory of place is largely tied to, and informed by, the food you eat. Luckily here in South Louisiana, there is better fare to be found within our region’s roadside stops and hole-in-the-wall hidden gems than at even the best-rated white-tablecloth restaurants anywhere else. The culinary capital in our colorful corner of the world carries some serious weight, and it's just another reason why our beloved Bayou State is oh-so-hard to depart, much less forget or, God forbid, ever bid farewell to.
In West Baton Rouge, southern and seafood-centric cuisine reigns supreme prepared with a country Cajun flair. One fine example of this downright delicious amalgamation is the one and only Cou-Yon's Cajun Barbecue. Self-proclaimed as “Louisiana’s best BBQ dive,” the award-winning barbecue powerhouse has made a national name for itself with its robust catering and food truck business. Founded in 2009, Port Allen is home to Cou-Yon's brick-and-mortar location, where apron-clad pitmasters dish out slow-smoked Texas-style platters and mile-high baked potatoes topped with all the fixins' and then some.
As the spring days gradually get longer and inevitably warmer, it’s a sign that we’re on the cusp of summer—also known as peak season for crawfish lovers and prime time to get ‘em before they’re gone for the year (the live catches, that is). West Baton Rouge has no shortage of restaurant spots, markets, and boilhouses from which to seek out our most famous and favorite crop cooked Cajun-style, or to sling a few sacks and host a boil of your own. Aside from Mardi Gras, it's the most wonderful time of the year to call Louisiana home (though home-away-from-home counts, too).
To cool your palette post-boil, it is absolutely necessary to consume the widely addicting, undoubtedly ambrosial, our-sunshine-on-a-cloudy-day gift that is a snowball. Crafting the perfect snowball is an art of the highest order; the ice-to-syrup ratio may seem simple, but it is the basis for the structural integrity of the sweet treat. Depending on the softness of the ice, if there is a syrup surplus, the snowball collapses in on itself; too little, and it's no better than a store bought sno-cone. If a parish can be measured by the standards of its snowball stands, West Baton Rouge has them all beat. Open year-round, L&R Sno-ball Stand and Cool Delights Snowballs in Port Allen, as well as Sno-Balls Plus and S.A.B.'S Snowball Shoppe in Brusly can create the cool concoctions of your wildest dreams or alert you to a new favorite, so inventive are they. Loaded chantilly snowballs, pie-topped, party punch...we could go on, but you'd be scrolling for days; and if the words "loaded chantilly" don't convince you, you must be from a galaxy far, far away. In that case, allow us to introduce you to the sweetest delicacy Earth has to offer.
Get started mapping out your culinary tour across West Baton Rouge at westbatonrouge.net.