Capital Cuisine
With Baton Rouge’s sophisticated city fare plus River Road gems, there’s a treat for every taste.
Loyalties run deep in Baton Rouge and beyond. They cheer for the Louisiana State University Tigers and don purple and gold to declare their allegiance. The morning drink of choice is the hometown brand, Community Coffee. And the rich food traditions are a point of local pride.
Travel along the famous River Road and explore the grand antebellum plantations once home to wealthy planters of sugar cane, a crop that thrived in the fertile soil and is still vital to the state’s economy. Several of the homes offer on-site dining, but other great locally owned choices dot the trail. Continue following the serpentine Mississippi River to the growing capital city. Baton Rouge boasts a culinary scene of chic fine dining, like Tsunami, and casual college-town classics, like George’s, where the slogan is “You’ll fit right in!” Perhaps more than any other, this trail pays tribute to both Louisiana’s indelible past and its promising future.
September 27, 2011
Like a Local » Louisiana’s Food Blogs
Louisiana food blogs offer a tasty combo of recipes, restaurant reviews and food history. One favorite is Jay Ducote’s www.BiteandBooze.com. He’s got a new gig as an instructor at the Viking Cooking School Outdoors in Baton Rouge, but he’s been blogging since 2009. He didn’t start out in the culinary world, however. After a circuitous professional route that included teaching math, he looked at his credit card bill and realized how much money he spent on food and drinks. “Rather than cut back,” he ...
September 27, 2011
Hot Item » Viking Cooking School Outdoors Opens in Baton Rouge
If the thought of heading back to school gives you nightmares of textbooks, pop quizzes, and late-night cram sessions, let us introduce a whole new concept. How about a school where the subjects are Barbecue Basics and Steakhouses? Or one where the assignments teach you to create perfect grill marks, make a dry-rub and design a tailgating prep list?
Sound more appealing? Then it’s time to enroll in the brand-new, first-of-its-kind Viking Cooking School Outdoors, opening in Baton Rouge this ...
June 16, 2011
Hot Item » 3-2-1: Taste off! Ideas for your summer escape.
Friday: West Baton Rouge/Baton Rouge
Breakfast: For many Baton Rouge locals, each morning starts with a cup of the local brew: Community Coffee (www.communitycoffee.com). This family-owned brand started out in nearby Dixie, Louisiana, in 1919, and today offers a variety of traditional roasts and gourmet blends. Make your way to one of their CC’s Community Coffee Houses for a hot cup of coffee and a yummy pastry before setting out for the day.
Work up an appetite: Once you’ve perked up with ...
May 12, 2011
Dine In » Mom’s Pralines from Chef Jeremy Langlois
There are many must-dos along our Capital Cuisine Trail, but two at the top of the list are a drive along River Road and a meal at Latil’s Landing Restaurant at Houmas House Plantation. At Latil’s Landing, executive chef Jeremy Langlois incorporates local ingredients into his “Nouvelle Louisiane” menu. Mouthwatering dishes include Abita shrimp; bisque of curried pumpkin, crawfish and corn; and Community Coffee-marinated rack of lamb. Here, he shares his mom’s recipe for pralines, but you can find ...
December 03, 2010
Like a Local » The food truck phenomenon has reached Baton Rouge
Check out these mobile kitchens, and learn where to find them via their social media sites.
GOyaya’s: Owner Kevin Black serves up sweet and savory crepes, with the grilled chicken Caprese (chicken breast, roma tomatoes, mozzarella, pesto aioli) being the biggest seller. Specials change weekly. www.goyayas.com; http://twitter.com/GOyayas
Curbside: On the menu: fresh-cut fries, homemade pickles and sausages, burger specials, seasonal poboys. Curbside creates gourmet street fare using ...
September 10, 2010
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Mascot: Tigers
Big home game: versus Alabama, Nov. 6
Tailgater’s tip: The party starts early in Baton Rouge with fans arriving days in advance of a Saturday game. Check out Zatarain’s Tiger One Village to hear live music and buy concessions prior to kickoff, and be sure to make your way to Victory Hill a few hours before the game. There, watch the team, Mike the Tiger, and the Golden Band from Tiger Land make their way to the stadium.
Where to celebrate a big ...
September 08, 2010
Get help with your game plan from the Commissioner of Tailgating, Joe Cahn.
Joe Cahn just may have the perfect job. The self-proclaimed Commissioner of Tailgating spends his weekends partaking in the pregame scenes at professional and college football games around the country. He mingles with fans; he samples the fare; he studies how to host the perfect tailgate. The Louisiana-born Cahn once owned the New Orleans School of Cooking. Since selling the school in 1995, he’s traveled some 800,000 miles to more than 600 games. He’s been to every stadium in the National Football ...
July 01, 2010
IN THE KITCHEN WITH: Chef John Folse
Chef John Folse is as much a state culinary icon as gumbo. For more than two decades, he’s worked to introduce our cuisine to people around the globe, from Beijing to Bogota. “It’s so exciting to be able to share the foods that make us who we are with others around the world,” says Folse. “They can’t help but be engulfed by our passion.”
His résumé includes restaurateur and host of “A Taste of Louisiana” (a show produced by Louisiana Public Broadcasting). He has his own food manufacturing company ...
