Took an Andouille sausage-making class Saturday at Spuddy’s cafe in Vacherie, Louisiana. The cafe was empty, it’s closed except for classes in Spuddy’s kitchen, but when we walked into Spuddy’s dining room it was filled with guys drinking beer and hooping and hollering watching the LSU baseball game. Really nice guys not like the LSU football fans I’ve experienced, Spuddy let them drop by to eat the gumbo and jambalaya we made at the cooking class. As nice as they were, though, good thing I didn’t wear my Razorback stuff, I was chancing it enough wearing my Tulane hat.
The day before I did wear my Razorback gear in New Orleans, including a shirt with a Black Lab (I have a 2 year old one) on the back chewing on an LSU tiger, with the inscription “Good Boy!”. Was getting ready to eat Coop’s restaurant’s gumbo and jambalaya when 4 women from Arkansas walked up to me, gave me high fives, and called the Hogs at the top of their lungs.
I started my Little Debbie career on the West Bank of NOLA (1983) I always wore a Razorback hat on my LD route. One day in a Kmart I guy who was doing family portraits in Kmart came rushing up telling me he was an Arkansas grad. Great guy and we had a wonderful visit. Turns out he was the original dancing Hog. Wearing Hog gear pays off.
I’ve worked at industrial sites on both banks of the river between BR and NOLA for decades. Should have written a guide to hole-in-the-wall places with awesome Cajun food. Used to stop in Moonshine (upstream from Vacherie) and buy the best boudin in south LA.
Have many dear friends in that area, but learned years ago to limit sports talk to the Saints. If they mentioned LSU, I could distract them easily by asking if they include okra in their gumbo. Even though LSU is a cult-like religion with those folks, I believe they love talking about food even more.
I’ve had people tell me that LSU baseball fans are obnoxious. That has NOT been my experience. The ones that I have met have been true baseball fans and appreciative of good play.
Oh, my, my, laughing out loud, never seen Cajun culture summed up so beautifully. Gotta love ‘em. And their food and love of it. I had a prime rib sandwich at a stand at a game in Fayetteville years ago, high bar, but the Hogs understandably don’t butcher hogs to make boudin and then sell the cooked sausage right outside the stadium, as they do at LSU, hard to beat that.
Love it too. But the lines got pretty ridiculous. For some reason there was no line all weekend. Much like the original Coop’s vibe before the word got out. Not sure why, but it was great.