GARDENS AND GUMBO: Celebrating Steve's Retirement Part 2

Connie Pearson
Apr 20
4 min read

Updated: Apr 21

The first thing on our agenda for Saturday in Lafayette, LA was a Cajun Food Tour. We arrived at the designated meeting place, boarded the small bus, met our guide and fellow foodies and headed out around 10:00 a.m. for a "three hour tour." (Isn't that what the Gilligan's Island song says)?

Cajun Food Tours - a Must-Do in Lafayette, LA

Cajun Food Tours is a business owned and operated by Marie Ducote-Comeaux (wonderful Cajun name) and her daughter Whitney. Marie is a former teacher and school administrator, and it's clear that she loves teaching about the Cajun culture and its cuisine. When I was in Lafayette as a travel writer several years ago, Marie was my guide. For this most recent tour, we had her daughter Whitney, who was equally delightful. I was so excited for Steve to have this experience with me. We both loved it!!

On each tour, you are taken to five different locations, with each place serving a different menu item. As it turned out, the five locations on this tour were a completely different five places than I had visited before. ALL have been wonderful. There are actually 30 partners used by Cajun Food Tours, depending on days of the week and hours of the tour. You can check those out by going to CajunFoodTours.com and clicking on "The Food" page. When you go, you might visit totally different ones. Participants are given sample-size portions of the featured dishes, but after visiting five eateries, you will definitely know you've been served a whole meal's worth of food. You will NOT leave hungry.

Stop 1 -- Ton's Drive-In in Broussard -- Gumbo and potato salad (interestingly, around here the potato salad is often eaten WITH the gumbo). Both items were a great start to our day.

Stop 2 -- BJs Sandwich Shop also in Broussard -- Shrimp po'boys. We learned the history of Po'boys. At this sandwich shop, much of the bread is pulled out in order to stuff in more shrimp. A great idea in my opinion. The bread is then used for other things -- such as bread pudding. Win-Win! I could easily understand why BJs has such a great reputation for its po'boys. Frankly, I could make a meal out of the bread. Incredibly delicious.

Stop 3 -- NuNu's Fresh Market in Youngsville -- Boudin, Sausage, and other meat-based treats.

We were given a container of NuNu's own Cajun seasoning and had a few minutes to browse in the store. I bought 2 jars of Roux for future recipes. No doubt if I lived in Lafayette, I'd spend WAY too much money in this store.

Stop 4 -- Fezzo's Seafood, Steakhouse & Oyster Bar in Broussard -- Monterey Jack Oyster and Fried Alligator Bites. The oyster was huge, but I would have gladly eaten at least a half dozen. Don't be afraid of alligator bites -- the ones you eat, not the ones you might receive!! They really do taste a lot like chicken. :) The next time I'm in Lafayette, I'd love to enjoy a whole meal at Fezzo's. The current owners are Phil Faul and Pat Bordes III. On a fun side note, "Fezzo" is a Cajun term for wooden spool (the kind that holds thread). Owner Phil's father loved to play with his mother's spools when he was a child and ended up with Fezzo for a nickname. The family first opened a grocery store with that name, then twenty years later when Phil and Pat opened their first restaurant, they used the same name.

Stop 5 -- Poupart Bakery in Lafayette -- Cinnamon Pecon King Cake.

When it was time to end with a sweet treat, I was betting we'd have either bread pudding or beignets. When Whitney said we'd be sampling Poupart's king cake, I was a little bit disappointed, because practically every king cake I'd ever tried was DRY. Happily, I was pleasantly surprised to taste the most delicious king cake EVER. So moist. Fresh from the oven and very delicious. I even got the piece with the baby inside, making me extra lucky. :)

Poupart Bakery has many awesome pastries from which to choose. If I lived in the area, I would certainly have walked out with a Dobash Cake. It looked amazing.

Avery Island, Home of Tabasco Sauce

After the food tour, we headed to Avery Island, home of the famous Tabasco Pepper Sauce that so many of us have in our pantries or refrigerators, for more food-related fun. Remarkably, this family-owned property and world-famous product have been located on Avery Island since 1868. Today there are 9 varieties, and the sauce is sold in 195 countries and territories throughout the world. On the grounds, you can enjoy a museum and factory tour, a restaurant, a gift shop, and a self-guided tour of the Jungle Gardens. We missed the camellias and azaleas, but I'm sure they are spectacular if you time your visit for their peak seasons.