Boudin—a sausage of cooked pork, rice, onions, and seasonings—stands out as one of the most culturally significant, versatile, and uncorrupted regional food specialties in the United States. You rarely find it outside of the areas inhabited by people who ethnically identify as Cajun, but right in the heart of Cajun Country people can barely function without it.
Served for breakfast, lunch or dinner, the best way to enjoy this meat and rice treat is to fill up the car with gas, get some napkins and follow your nose along the Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail. More than thirty mom and pop meat markets and grocery stores make up this trail of deliciousness. You’re the guide on this foodie exploration. Download or request your copy of the Boudin Trail brochure, which acts as your guide to boudin off the beaten path where the locals eat. Create your own route along the trail, taking in some of the attractions along the way.
Historically, boudin was introduced by rural farming populations gathering for a boucherie. Today, much like crawfish, boudin has resurged as a delicacy, highly sought out and a cornerstone of South Louisiana culinary culture. Above and below the I-10 corridor that stretches from the Texas-Louisiana border to the Atchafalaya, the Cajun prairies and bayous. The culinary landscape is filled with specialty meat markets, local grocery stores, and gas stations or roadside drive-thru's with lines wrapped around.
Lake Charles falls within the Seafood Sensation Trail, one of the state’s eight Culinary Trails, so the likes of oysters and crawfish bread make for other appetizing adventures. There are libations too, such as Bayou Rum (be it silver, spiced or flavored with satsuma), which is distilled in Lacassine, just outside Lake Charles. Distillery tours are available Tuesday through Saturday every hour on the hour from 10am to 4pm. Tastings are free. Like Bayou Rum Rikenjaks Brewing is relatively new to Lake Charles. With a massive patio that includes a separate bar, a corner stage and outdoor pool hall favorites, the brewery is open seven days a week due to popular demand. On tap are a large selection of Louisiana drafts, including a Bayou Kolsch and local favorite drafts from Crying Eagle, and a menu that plates up Cajun favorites like boudin, a Cajun sausage made with rice and pork, and pistolettes, fried bread stuffed with seafood like crawfish and shrimp étouffée. Opened in 2016, the 15,000-square-foot Crying Eagle Brewing Co. doubles as a community event space, with a thriving taproom, beer garden, and in-house bistro. visitlakecharles.org.
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