kayaking on Loch Leven near Glencoe, Scotland, 2018

kayaking on Loch Leven near Glencoe, Scotland, 2018

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Breaux Bridge, La.

Bob and I hit the road for Breaux Bridge, La. Thursday after he got home from work. We’d heard fun tales of this town, “the crawfish capital of the world.” Before writing this blog post, I got out my thesaurus and looked up synonyms for quaint and charming. I fear I’m beginning to sound redundant. But other words don’t quite give the same impression. Most of these towns I visit are, indeed, quaint and charming. This small town is no exception. Just a bit east of Lafayette and in the heart of Cajun French country, Breaux Bridge is named after its founding father, Firmin Breaux, and the bridge which crosses Bayou Teche upon entering the town. Note the crawfish sign at the top of the bridge.



We stayed at Maison Des Amis Bed and Breakfast.

Two hungry cats live in the back yard. And a fig tree grows with the most delectable figs hanging from its branches like giant teardrops of pure sugar. We plucked them from the tree and popped them whole into our mouths. Sweet! Here’s the view from the back of the house. The fig tree is center left.


And the view of the bridge from the gazebo. The bridge "sings" when vehicles cross it. The faster the speed, the higher the pitch.


This delightful town consists of a few restaurants, most notably Café Des Amis – more on that later – several gift shops, and oodles of antique stores. One can browse through Breaux Bridge an entire day. My favorite antique shop is Le Napolean, where I bought a lovely framed Audubon print of a roseate spoonbill.

For dinner Thursday, we ate at Mulates. Live music and dancing every night. Lee Benoit and the Bayou Stompers entertained that evening. Check them out here.



Folks in Cajun country sure know how to have a good time. In between numbers, dancers would sit down and grab a few bites of catfish, crawfish, or gumbo. Then back to the dance floor as soon as the band struck up the next tune. They danced a Cajun version of the Electric Slide which was great fun to watch. (Bob doesn’t dance.) The Cajuns exclaim “Ay-YEE.” Akin, I suppose, to the Texan Yee-Haw. Unless you know the language, forget about understanding the lyrics, but you can’t help but want to dance.


Upon recommendation from a friend, for dessert we tried the Praline Supreme. Vanilla ice cream topped with pecans and laced with rum that packed a supreme kick.

The “breakfast” part of Maison Des Amis Bed and Breakfast is at Café Des Amis, just around the corner.



In addition to the two breakfasts, we ate dinner there Friday night. Breaux Bridge being the “crawfish capital,” we ordered crawfish etoufee and it was fabulous. But the highlight of our visit to Breaux Bridge surely was Café Des Amis’s famed Zydeco Breakfast. Every Saturday morning, a zydeco band – today Same Ol' Two Step -- plays in the front window and the people come out to dance. Some eat breakfast, too. But mostly dance.

I ate a Cajun breakfast staple called couche couche (coosh coosh). It’s similar in texture to mediterranean cous cous, and essentially is grits cooked down till it’s thick and dry. By itself, it’s bland and tasteless. But I can eat anything if there’s enough milk and sugar on it.



The place is jam packed by 8:00. Standing room only. We were lucky to get a table. Amidst countless cups of coffee, (they ran out of mugs and served our coffee in a high-sided Styrofoam bowl) mimosas, bloody marys, and bottles of Bud Light flowed. Revelers so crowded the dance floor they could hardly move. But they managed.





Where else but in southern Louisiana can you have this much fun at 8:30 in the morning? I love this state!

9 comments:

kim dever thibodeaux said...

You did a great job of relating the uniqueness of my home town. Thank you! And welcome to South Louisiana! My father is from Sulphur and my mother is from Breaux Bridge. We grew up in Breaux Bridge. When I got married in 1989, I moved to Lafayette, but five years ago my husband and I bought a home in Parks, which is between Breaux Bridge and St. Martinville. I wanted my girls to grow up with a small town lifestyle.

Thanks again for such a great post! You inspire me to update my blog! LOL!

Anonymous said...

looks like you both had a wonderful time. everyone should take up your new summertime weekend adventures. might decide to do that also, but not so far away as Louisiana.

Angie Kay Dilmore said...

Hi Kim,

I checked out your website and love your photography. Your cakes are beautiful, too! Thanks for reading my blog.

Unknown said...

Mais, chere, it looks like you passed a real good time, yeah. Good for y'all.

Angie Kay Dilmore said...

Jan, I love that expression, pass a good time. Indeed we did.

GerdieMom said...

What fun!!!!

Common Household Mom said...

Dancing at breakfast! that's unusual.

On the unrelated subject of 100 posts: When I sign in to blogger and go to "Edit Posts" it gives me a list of how many posts I have made (but it counts "draft" posts also). I think the dashboard also will tell you how many posts you have.

Anonymous said...

I was looking for some info on the internet when I stumbled across your site. I moved to the Basin area, more specifically Butte La Rose, from New Orleans after Katrina. I found your stories entertaining and fun, I am originally a Yankee from NE Indiana, but have lived in Louisiana since 1982. Having said that, The Basin is a world apart from life in Baton Rouge and New Orleans! It is a very special place, and I have learned a lot about the people and the culture over the last few years. It is nice to see someone who appreciates life off the beaten path...WAY off the beaten path! Good job!

Angie Kay Dilmore said...

Thank you so much for visiting my site! I have never been to Butte La Rose. I'll add that to my list!