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Start at the International Festival de Lousiana in the heavily French influenced capital of Lafayette.
You can put your bags down at the Blue Moon Saloon and Guesthouse in Lafayette, so long as you intend to party like there’s no tomorrow. By day it’s a guest hostel and by night the expansive back porch is jammed shoulder to shoulder with visitors and locals literally dancing all night and “keeping the devil away,” while grabbing inexpensive beer and wine from the outdoor bar. Speaking of dancing, have you ever danced to live music at 7:30 a.m. while having a world-class breakfast of beignets, crawfish etoufee and the Don’t Mess with My Tass-o Omelette served at Cafe des Amis in charming Breaux Bridge, La.? The experience is an exhilarating mixture of Cajun cooking with a huge helping of unbridled enthusiasm and dynamic entertainment. Patrons show up in droves for a little hair of the dog and a morning eye-opener to buoy them for a day of festivities at the Baton Rouge Blues Festival in Repentance Park (as if). |
The 2010 Baton Rouge Blues festival included R&B sensation Tyree Neal (watch video) who was joined on stage by his mother, aunt and uncle — all blue
s greats in their own right. Janiva Magness, Sonny Landreth, Ruthie Foster, Tony Jo White and Chris Thomas King also headlined.
After you eat again, either at the festival or nearby Boutin’s restaurant for one of the most delectable dishes you can imagine — crawfish wontons, stuffed with delicious crawfish, jalapeno, pepper jack and parmesan cheese, and served with a plum ginger sauce for dipping. Yeh Cher!
If you’ve got the energy it’s time to move on to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival. Even if you don’t have the energy — fake it. You’ll get inspired once you arrive and find that practically every act that you can think of is playing on one venue or another at City Park. Catch Drake on the Congo stage and come back later for Anita Baker, after you’ve made the rounds to the jazz, blues and gospel tents, though. Imagine it; Sly Stone making a guest appearance with local jazz sensation James Andrews, and the enigmatic legend stays on stage and standing throughout the show — priceless.
Of course, since you’ve made it through the early rounds and arrived in the Big Easy, you owe it to yourself to indulge just a little bit more and enjoy one of the most elegant morning dining experiences ever — breakfast at Brennan’s. The exquisite restaurant is world-renowned for its classic and contemporary culinary creations presented in the tradition of southern gentility and unrivaled hospitality.
If you don’t make another trip this summer, get to Who Dat nation and make your summer a memorable one. –roz edward
