What’s Up

April

Strawberry Strawberry highhigh

Eliza Restaurant’s seasonal strawberry shortcake

COLLIN RICHIE EARLIER THIS YEAR, Louisiana strawberry fans were treated to a particularly abundant and juicy winter crop, the result of a mild fall that helped fledgling plants produce a robust first round, says Fletcher Farms’ William Fletcher, a Ponchatoula grower and Red Stick Farmers Market vendor.

Now, after a late February break, those same plants are back in full swing, producing the sweet, red-ripe fruit we associate with springtime in Louisiana.

“The traditional strawberry harvest in the state spans mid-March to midMay, with Mother’s Day being the fruit’s unofficial finish line,” Fletcher says.

Fletcher plants 90,000 strawberry plants in the fall, which he says will equate to about 13,500 flats (or 162,000 pints) of strawberries if weather conditions cooperate. While the warm fall delivered Louisiana growers more than the usual number of strawberries in January and February, farmers still have to navigate spring conditions to judge how the season fares overall. Flooding from April showers is always a threat, but farmers are hopeful the 2022 season will finish strong, Fletcher says.

This month is the perfect time to enjoy local strawberries, easy to source in both regional farmers markets and independent supermarkets. Spin-off products are also in good supply. Fletcher and his wife, Ginger, for example, recently created a line of items from their berries. It includes single-serving smoothies, pepper jelly, quick bread, salad dressing, pancake syrup and other items.

Keep your eyes peeled for local berries on spring menus, too. Rocca is featuring an appetizer in which creamy burrata and grilled ciabatta are served with poached and pickled strawberries, arugula and mint pesto and balsamic vinegar. And Eliza Restaurant’s seasonal strawberry shortcake has returned. The detailed interpretation of the classic dessert features housemade buttermilk biscuits, Chantilly cream and macerated Ponchatoula strawberries, says co-owner Sally Davis.

“When strawberry production slows down,” she says, “it comes off the menu until next year.”

One of the state’s most beloved strawberry-centric activities is also this month. The Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival returns after back-to-back cancellations in 2020 and 2021—and just in time. The festival turns 50 this year, and is set for April 8-10, 2022. Find Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival on Facebook.

Bunny in the basket? Not so fast.

WITH THEIR SOFT fur, innocent eyes and floppy ears, rabbits are irresistible, so much so that they’re sometimes given as Easter gifts. But families considering tucking a pet Peter Cottontail into this year’s Easter basket should know what they’re getting into, says Magic Happens Rescue founder Wendy Lincoln.

The Baton Rouge pet rescue organization was founded in 2004 and rescues rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters. Run by volunteers, it serves Louisiana, Mississippi and occasionally other states.

Lincoln says many pet rabbits are surrendered because their care and behavior is not what people expect. To date, Magic Happens has facilitated 2,200 bunny adoptions, and Lincoln estimates that the number of rabbit surrenders increases tenfold in the months following Easter.

“Bunnies seem like the perfect gift for children,” Lincoln says. “But then they start growing, and don’t want to be necessarily held.”

Rabbits resemble cats in their need to be private, even standoffish. They also prefer their own space, Lincoln says. Most breeds don’t tolerate Louisiana’s heat and shouldn’t be kept outdoors. Rather, they need enclosures inside the home where they can feel safe. They’re also happier in pairs.

But they can make terrific, loving pets, Lincoln says, as long as owners do their homework. Lincoln herself keeps five pet rabbits, ranging in size from 3 to 13 pounds, and says they get along well with her dogs and cats.

“It’s really important to understand what they need, and to never give a rabbit to someone who is unprepared,” Lincoln says.

Magic Happens is currently fostering about 40 rabbits looking for permanent homes. For more information, visit magichappensrescue.com.

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The blues are back

FOR THE FIRST time since 2019, the Baton Rouge Blues Festival is making its comeback. On April 23-24 a lineup of more than 30 acts will perform on three stages downtown.

The festival was canceled in 2020 and again in 2021 due to COVID-19, even after an attempt to hold a special date in fall 2021. Fans will also recall that rain canceled some Saturday performances during the 2019 Blues Festival, making this year’s return even more meaningful, says Kim Neustrom, executive director of the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation, which organizes the event.

Look for exciting changes this year, Neustrom says. Organizers have tightened the festival footprint, arranging the event’s three stages in closer proximity to improve flow. The main stage will be located on Galvez Plaza with additional stages on Lafayette Street and on North Boulevard near Town Square. batonrougebluesfestival.org

FESTIVAL EXTRAS

A series of blues-themed community events will take place in the days leading up to the event, Neustrom says.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20

Manship Theatre screens the local premiere of The Torch, a documentary about bluesman Buddy Guy.

THURSDAY, APRIL 21

A panel discussion at Capitol Park Museum called “Women in the Blues” will feature female performers discussing their role in the industry. While at the museum that evening, visitors can view an exhibit on New Orleans blues pianist and singer Professor Longhair.

Turn to page 86 for another 225 feature about the making of this year’s Blues Fest.

JORDAN HEFLER / COURTESY BATON ROUGE BLUES FESTIVAL CHRIS PARENT / COURTESY LSU ATHLETICS

DIGITS

56

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The number of baseball games LSU will play during its 2022 season, the first for new head coach Jay Johnson. The regular season kicked off on Feb. 18 and will continue to May 21.

“I do believe this process is tainted.”

FILE PHOTO

—Louisiana State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, about the state’s redistricting special session in February. The Legislature approved one majority Black district out of six congressional districts, despite the state’s population now being one-third Black. Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed the proposed legislation, which will be voted on in the regular session that began in early March.

This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2022. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

Cupcake Junkie

WHAT’S NEW

Buzz feed

Compiled by Poet Wolfe

We make cakes, too! Call Cupcake Junkie to make your celebration sweet! Issue BAKED FRESH DAILY |Date: April Ad1 proof #7 @CupcakeJunkieBR cupcakejunkiebr.com | 12240 Coursey Blvd. 70816 • Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions. | 225.421.1995 • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless revision requests are received within 24 hours. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS

This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2022. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

A collection of art, stylish home goods, & products made from Louisiana artists and makers.

555 Caddo Street, Baton Rouge | Store Hours: Tues-Sat, 10am - 5pm LocalLeafGallery.com

YOU PICK

Local farms for berry picking this spring

Blueberry Ridge Orchard

Forty-five minutes outside of Baton Rouge in the small town of Jackson, Blueberry

Ridge Orchard boasts a 25-acre field with blueberry bushes surrounded by trees and chirping birds. Find Blueberry Ridge Orchard on Facebook

Landry-Poche Farm

Less than an hour from Baton Rouge and home to the 2013 Strawberry King, Mark

Landry, you can walk between rows of crops and pick fresh strawberries at this family-owned farm. landrypochefarm.com

Mrs. Heather’s Strawberry Farm

Forty minutes west of Baton Rouge in the state’s highest strawberry-producing parish of Tangipahoa, Mrs. Heather’s

Strawberry Farm offers strawberry picking and family-fun activities like ziplining and tractor races. thfarms.com

Weekend crawfish

Baton Rouge’s local distillery Three Roll Estate will have boiled crawfish and live music every Saturday this month. Head over to its patio now through April 30, from 1-4 p.m. threeroll.com

ARIANA ALLISON

Get lucky

New Orleans’ staple hot dog stand Lucky Dogs has made its way up the Mississippi River to downtown Baton Rouge. The stand arrived in February in front of Downtown Grocery at the corner of Third and Florida streets, courtesy of grocery owner Mutaz Abusada. It operates from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays; and from 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays.

4th

Where Baton Rouge ranks among the nation’s cities with the worst traffic, according to the online mapping and GPS company TomTom. This is despite the city’s population being just over 222,000, as compared to the high populations of the top three ranked cities: New York, Los Angeles and Miami. In 2021, average travel times were 27% longer during congested traffic than during baseline noncongested conditions. Travel time shot up by four minutes per day last year, and it will only increase with the expansion of Interstate-10. (Read more about the 1-10 project on page 19.)

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Madewell comes to BR

Before now, the only Madewell store in Louisiana was in New Orleans. This spring, Madewell finally arrives in Baton Rouge’s Acadian Village, replacing the former Lululemon location (the athletic brand moved into the former Provisions on Perkins location in the same shopping center). Madewell, owned by J. Crew, has built a following for its denim clothing and trendy apparel. madewell.com

Spring sips

• Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions. • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions are received within 24 hours from receipt of this proof. A shorter timeframe will apply for tight deadlines. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2022. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

NEW STYLES

are in

Lavender latte at City Roots

Celebrate a new season with this coffee bar’s freshly roasted lavender latte: a blend of espresso, steamed milk and lavender sweetener, garnished with lavender stems.

electricdepotbr.com/city-roots

Violet Cream Cold Brew at Coffee Joy

Coffee Joy is adding a floral touch to its menu with the Violet Cream Cold Brew, a cold brew sweetened with violet syrup and topped with a layer of sweet cream and an edible flower.

coffeejoy.com

King Cake Martini at The Vintage

Carnival season might be over, but The Vintage is still celebrating with its Sugarfield’s King Cake Martini, a mixture of Sugarfield Spirits spiced rum, lemon juice and brown sugar cinnamon syrup, poured into a cocktail glass rimmed with Mardi Gras-colored sprinkles and topped with expressed lemon peel and cinnamon.

thevintagebr.com

Corporate Blvd at Jefferson • 225.925.2344 townecenteratcedarlodge.com •

FIRST LOOK

Taste of tiki

Mid City’s first tiki bar is a tropical escape

By Domenic Purdy // Photos by Collin Richie

BATON ROUGE IS home to a menagerie of bars. There are the craft cocktail creators at Olive or Twist and Hayride Scandal, and dozens of beers on tap at places like The Bulldog, Mid City Beer Garden and more.

But there are few options for the more tropicalminded drinker, outside of a daiquiri from a drive-thru.

Until Lotus Lounge.

Acting as the bar-side of Soji: Modern Asian, Lotus Lounge opened last month, putting a Baton Rouge twist on classic tiki cocktails.

Lotus Lounge brings a classy aesthetic to the tropical drinking game, combining modern neon lighting with a more traditional tiki bar with woven bar stools and wood carvings that bring you right to the Polynesian islands, and foliage that makes it feel like you’ve stepped into another world.

When bar-goers come to Lotus Lounge, they have the option to drink at the bar, a table in the lounge or a larger VIP table seating eight to 10 people. Striving for a more intimate experience, owner Chase Lyons explains he doesn’t want to deliver a crowded bar with long wait times.

“We want our guests to enjoy a very relaxing, stress-free atmosphere,” he says.

The thoughtful experience continues into the drinks, all handmade with some involving up to 10 ingredients. Lotus Lounge’s menu brings classic tiki cocktails like the Painkiller, Zombie, Mai Tai, Pisco Sour and Saturn together with signature takes on tropical drinks.

Two of the featured drinks are the Bitter Bee—with honeysuckle vodka, honey syrup, lime, mint, demerara sugar and Angostura bitters—and The Floor is Guava, complete with rhum agricole, green chartreuse, Italicus, cinnamon, vanilla syrup, fresh ginger and lime.

“Beginning with our initial beverage menu at Soji, tropical cocktails have always been a huge inspiration for us,” Lyons says. “Many of our house cocktails have been ‘plays’ on fun and inventive tiki cocktails, and we love the idea of creatively using fresh citrus and juices in fun glassware.”

Lyons says the team also plans to provide a rotating small plate menu inside Lotus inspired by Polynesian cuisine.

When Soji first opened in the summer of 2018, Lotus Lounge was an exterior bar. “It was hot,” Lyons explains.

“Now, we have transformed this exterior space into an interior, tropical paradise with a hidden, speakeasy vibe,” he says. “Tiki has grown in popularity in recent times, and I loved the idea of opening a tiki bar in Baton Rouge.”

Lyons felt that integrating Lotus Lounge into Soji would be a perfect place to test out this proof of concept, feeling that the two brands play off of each other well.

“We are very excited to offer our guests another reprieve from everyday life and a true ‘getaway’ experience with the same attention to detail Soji has delivered,” Lyons says. “We look forward to many more nights inside the Lounge toasting to life.”

Lotus Lounge is attached to Soji: Modern Asian, at 5050 Government St., and will be open Tuesday through Sunday, 5 p.m. to midnight. Find it on Instagram at @drink.lotus

Lotus Lounge’s Painkiller cocktail

Scream for ice cream

Meet Gail’s Fine Ice Cream’s small-batch artisan flavors

JUST IN TIME for warm weather, the Perkins Road Overpass District has a cheery, whimsical new dessert shop.

Gail’s Fine Ice Cream serves 16 flavors of small-batch artisan ice cream; fresh waffle cones; sundaes; shakes; to-go pints; and coffee drinks made with French Truck Coffee.

The diminutive Perkins Road shop opened in March. It’s the brainchild of Nick Hufft and Lon Marchand, who also own Curbside and The Overpass Merchant in Baton Rouge, Junior’s on Harrison and the original Gail’s in New Orleans. Hufft eyed the location for years, centrally positioned in the restaurant-rich district.

The Gail’s New Orleans outpost opened in 2020 as a concept incubated inside Junior’s on Harrison. The new Baton Rouge store, Hufft says, will serve as Hufft Marchand Hospitality’s official prototype for future Gail’s locations.

The concept is both elevated and nostalgic. A friendly color palette in cool hues signals simplicity and childhood innocence. But wrapped in the disarming vibe is carefully made ice cream meant to stand out for its rich, creamy texture and inventive flavors.

Six months ago, Hufft and Marchand brought on board New Orleans pastry chef Rachel Caprera to help them retool their restaurant group’s pastry program and develop Gail’s menu. Caprera’s career has included stints in both savory and pastry at Commander’s Palace, and working in pastry at Restaurant August under well-known pastry chef Kelly Fields. Caprera helped Fields open popular bakery cafe Willa Jean in 2015. Now, she’s reimagining desserts for the restaurant group and creating original ice cream flavors for Gail’s. The secret to Gail’s creamy texture is high butterfat, Caprera says. She adds extra butter to the milk and cream in each batch. Salt is also key. The right amount keeps the sweetness in check. “What I really love,” Caprera says, “is when desserts are balanced.” gailsfineicecream.com

Issue Date: April 2022 Ad proof #1

• Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions. • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions are received within 24 hours from receipt of this proof. A shorter timeframe will apply for tight deadlines. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2022. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

—MAGGIE HEYN RICHARDSON

MENU HIGHLIGHTS

• Little Monsters (pictured): Vanilla bean ice cream dyed azure and studded with bits of Oreos. • Vanilla Bean: A fragrant take on a bedrock classic, with real Madagascar vanilla scraped from pods. • Milk Chocolate: “Extra brute” cocoa powder results in a flavor mimicing a Wendy’s Frosty, says pastry chef Rachel

Caprera. “We want our ice cream to taste like memories,” she says.

• Fresh Strawberry:

Made with fresh

Louisiana strawberries, while they last. • Lemon Berry Icebox

Pie: Homemade lemon curd and berry compote are striped into the ice cream alongside crumbled graham crackers. • Cortado Crunch: Made with single-origin French

Truck Coffee steeped for 24 hours, along with broken bits of Heath Bar.

PHOTOS BY ARIANA ALLISON

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