Cajun Cuisine, Lake Martin, Cajun Music

Our Cajun food tour was a lot of fun and also educational. The tour started in Lafayette and included 6 stops. At each we sampled local Louisiana cuisine, learned about various dishes and also history of the area. And because our guide is a retired history teacher, we learned a lot more about the area and its different foods. 
Cajun and Creole, for instance, are words used interchangeably, often with food, but are in fact emotionally charged and relate to different groups who remain fiercely proud of their heritage and origin. According to our guide, there is no such thing as Creole cuisine. There is only original Cajun cuisine which has since been adopted by Creoles and others. But that is one point of view and interpretation. 
And the difference between the groups? Cajuns are Acadians, the original French colonists in eastern Canada who arrived in Louisiana after being forced out by the British in the early 1700's. They settled in the bayou country, remaining isolated, with their distinctive dialect and fierce loyalty to family. The term Creole is used in reference to subsequent generations born in Louisiana which includes those of mixed race. The distinction dates to the early 1800's when Louisiana ceased to be a European colony and became a possession of the United States. And so the Creoles, regardless of original heritage and ethnicity, were French-speaking and native born, distinguishing themselves from American or European immigrants arriving in droves at the port of New Orleans, speaking not French but English or their native tongues.   
This article gives good information on both cuisine and nationality: 
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/Menuism/cajun-vs-creole_b_1447822.html

our tour bus

our friendly tour guide

First stop was at the Cajun Market Donut Company where we were treated to a boudin kolache(pig in a blanket), and sweet red velvet donut. 

At Nunu's Market I enjoyed the chicken sausage and boudin the best. There was also cracklin' and fish cake.

I enjoy going to markets on our travels because you get a good feel for what the locals eat and what is different. At Nunu's Market it was most interesting to see the array of meats offered in the meat section, and the many different types of stuffing choices added to chicken breasts. Folks here obviously enjoy their meat. And their seafood.
I also enjoyed seeing the various spices available in the spice aisle, most of which were seasonings for gumbo or jambalaya. 

Louisiana Boudin sausage (typically pork meat without the blood) is also available for purchase.

Fezzo's, our next stop, is a family owned restaurant. The interesting tidbit about this family is that Phil used to play with his mother's empty wooden thread spools and created his own toys. Fezzo is the French Cajun word for these wooden spools and today the restaurant's namesake. There are numerous displays of Phil's toys throughout the restaurant. 
Anything to do with thread caught my attention! I remember wooden thread spools when I was young. 

And Michael remembers his father creating a toy using a wooden thread spool like the one below. 

Our Cajun treat here was oysters, and breaded alligator....which Michael said tasted like chicken. Apparently the tail is the most tender part and typically used in cooking. I enjoyed the fish instead.

This gator statue is outside the restaurant, a reminder that we are in alligator territory.

At La Cuisine de Maman in Vermillionville we had very tasty gumbo. The restaurant overlooked the Vermillion River, which was a sluggish dark green ribbon. But the soil here is a red color.

T-Coon's Restaurant offered interesting cuisine specials. 

We were treated to their courtbouillon etouffee, which is thicker in consistency than a gumbo and prepared with a roux and one meat, typically fish. 

And for dessert, Poupart Bakery was our final stop where we had King Cake, the cake typically eaten during Mardi Gras Carnival days. This brioche-based cake is ring-shaped, laced with cinnamon, and covered in green, purple and gold icing. And is extremely sweet. Traditionally nowadays there is a plastic baby hidden inside. Willie was the lucky one in our group to get the baby, which means she can look forward to a year of luck and fortune. It also makes her responsible for providing next year's cake at her party!

After the food tour, a few of us continued to Lake Martin, a naturally occurring open body of water within a cypress-tupelo swamp, located in Cypress Island Preserve, a part of the Atchafalaya Heritage Area. The boardwalk meandered through picturesque, mysterious swamps, with their moss-laden trees sprouting out of the water. 

These are the "knees" that keep the tall trees supported in the boggy soil.

The yellow flowers were striking and delicate.

From the boardwalk we continued by car along to the lake. Willie's luck from earlier today helped spot this languid large alligator along the canal.

Lake Martin seemed mysterious and mesmerizing. I wondered how many alligators were looking up at us through the murky water.

Afterwards, we continued on to Breaux Bridge for an ice-cream treat on this warm Louisiana afternoon. Angelle's is a family-operated restaurant known for its old-fashioned burgers and ice-cream. Back in 1964 Bonnie Angelle was the Crawfish Festival Queen, and we saw her leaving the restaurant later at closing time.

This area is known for its Tabasco sauce, and the manufacturing company is in Abbeville. The restaurant had all kinds of different Tabascos. I had no idea there are so many flavors avaialble.

We strolled through a cemetery adjoining the imposing catholic church. Burial sites are typically above ground in this swampy, flood-prone region. There were mostly French surnames.

We stopped at Randall's on our way home, enjoyed a beer and listened to live Cajun music. Its unique, accordion, toe-tapping rhythm soon had us sashaying around the floor with the others.

the Figges and Michael

Here we are, 4 gals astride a carved alligator... the only time we would ever get this close to one! It beats bull riding!

Today's adventures gave me good insight into Louisiana culture. I  spied this sign somewhere along today's travels. Its message is telling of the folks who live in these swamp lands.  

It had a been full, adventurous day. 

Tomorrow we will be in New Orleans.