South LA Spring Break food tour (long but hopefully discussion worthy)

The family and I went on a little spring break tour of Southern LA and stopped at many local eateries, not one chain. (except Starbucks)

Day 1

Drove to Natchitoches and watched West Side Story at NSU. Then drove to Lafayette and ate at Prejeans. I had the Bacon Wrapped Shrimp. I know many of you here kind of dis it because it is touristy. I've eaten there twice and love it. Our waiter was great and knowledgeable of all the food. A+ grade from me.

Day 2

Drove to Avery Island and toured that area. Then drove to New Iberia and ate at Bon Creole which was higly rated by Urban Spoon. It was pretty basic fried food. I give it a B-. Bread pudding wasn't good.

Went to Randol's for dinner. Great atmosphere, we were visiting friends so we got out and danced a little. Drank a couple of Abita's and ate 3 lbs of crawfish, which were surprisingly bland and maybe either over or under cooked. Shaver's has them beat for sure. Still a great environment and exactly the type of place I would go if I wanted to experience south LA. I give it an A-.

Day 3

Drove to the capitol building. Tried to drive around campus but all the gates screwed me up. I almost stopped at Frosty's downtown, but we drove to St. Francisville, looked around, they were filming a movie there, and we ate at Magnolia Cafe. Food was good, my son and I split a pizza. Which according to the menu was a 12" pan, it was more like a 10" thin crust. But it still tasted good. The service not so much. One of those where the waitress disappeared for 20 minutes after she gave us our food. Which bugs me because I drink a lot of water during meals. I even had to get another waiter's attention to get the bill. Still give it a solid B. The food was good and it came out quickly.

Later drove through New Roads, which might be one of the prettiest towns in LA, tried to find local ice cream and settled for Big Boys. It was a gross looking Sonic but they clearly made their own whipped cream. Delicious, B+ for the desserts. An A if they offered Hot fudge or dipped cones.

Day 4

Visited Vermillionville in Lafayette. Cool place. Ate lunch at the cafe. The food was good but they made everything absurdly hot. The corn, the hamburger steak, and even the mashed potatoes. I give them some props though because it was clearly made from scratch and the bread pudding was amazing. Had the disappearing waitress trick pulled on us again and had to ask the dude at the hostess desk to get more water. I give it a B.

Drove back to Shreveport and ordered Johnny's.


Anyway, I'm almost ashamed to admit I've never really traveled that much around Cajun country even though I drive to Baton rouge 3 or 4 times a year. I'm glad we did it.

Tres Bon.