Clepson Fan Guide

Buddy of mine regrettably went to Clepson and this will be his first weekend in BR. He asked for recs and this is what I gave him. Figured it would be nice to offer up for the other Fake Tiger Lurkers.....


Food:
• The Chimes, on Highland Road at the north gates of Campus. Its an absolute institution and a definite must stop for at least one of your meals. Gameday lunch is when I’ll be there. Be prepared to wait an hour.
• Louie’s Café, diner food, but also an essential stop, especially for breakfast. The Mitchell Omlette is elite.
• Parrain’s Seafood, it’s a little bit off campus, but still in “the bubble.” Would be an excellent stop for dinner on Friday night. True, legit, real-deal Louisiana seafood. I’m either eating there or at a steakhouse a friend of mine owns on Friday night.
• Mike Andersons, very close to you and also legit Louisiana seafood. If Parrain’s is 1A, Mike A’s is 1B.
• The original Walk-On’s is at 3838 Burbank Dr, Baton Rouge, LA 70808. Very close to the stadium and fun sports-bar type vibe. Food is sports-bar food (the gumbo is legit), but otherwise you go there for the atmosphere.
• If you need supplies, Q-Bin Liquor at 3911 Perkins Road is great.
• There’s plenty of other stuff, but the above covers the basics.

Bars:
• The aforementioned Chimes is a good bar, but will be slammed all weekend. They used to have an overflow bar but I think they closed it.
• Fred’s Bar in Tigerland. Pretty close to your place and it is THE quintessential LSU bar, this and the next bar are the two big Greek bars on Campus. Either Friday night or Saturday after the game, this is a MUST stop place for a really good slice of college bar scene.
• Murphy’s on the north side of campus is also good. To be fair, I’ve never been to this iteration of Murphy’s, but the original Murphy’s was a block away when I was in school and I paid the rent there. From what I hear, it hasn’t skipped a beat.

Gameday:
• Visiting Mike the Tiger’s habitat across from the stadium is a great stop and yes, you can get right up to the enclosure. Frolicking Fun for Kids of All ages. But, really, it is a neat stop.
• While you’re at the habitat, walk up the ramp at the PMAC (Pete Maravich Assembly Center) which is the basketball arena. Good perch up there to take photos.
• Gameday will be there, and I’m pretty sure they’ll be set up in the Quad, which make it very tight and compacted and it should be amazing. Two years ago they were in the Quad for the Bama game and it was just awesome. The Quad is literally just up the hill from the Tiger Habitat
• All the fraternities set up tailgates on the Parade Grounds across from the Student Union and Bell Tower. Find your tent, make some pledges do pushups and get a couple of free drinks.
• If you feel like timing it right, the March Down Victory Hill is pretty great. The team walks down the hill, followed by the Golden Girls and then the band playing the fight song. There’s only one hill at LSU ad it goes from the edge of the Quad down to the stadium/Tiger Habitat. They’ll announce the time the March starts later in the week. I haven’t done it in a while, but for years it was a can’t miss for me.
• This also has good info: LINK
• Tailgating – Despite rumors to the contrary, LSU fans are some of the nicest, most accommodating people you can meet. I say this literally, you can walk up to virtually any tailgate that’s cooking something that looks good, introduce yourself, tell them this is your first time in BR and ask if you can hang around in the tailgate. 99.9% of the time you’ll be welcomed like family (yes, even if you’re in Clemson gear). Once I figure out where I’m tailgating I’ll let you know.
• Lastly, do NOT drive to campus for the game. Take an Uber to your first stop and then walk back. Seems like a long walk back, it isn’t. Besides, Freds is half way to your place and if you stay at Fred’s long enough you can probably get an Uber once the game traffic dies down. Baton Rouge is notoriously bad for absolute gridlock after games. You can walk from the stadium to your AirBnB and back faster than you can drive there.

Oh, and GEAUX (REAL) TIGERS!!!!! STTDB!!!!!