Escapes
DECEMBER 2020
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FOLLOW THE
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Photo courtesy of Louisiana’s River Parishes.
FOOD TOURS
Along the Andouille Trail
AFTER THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF GERMAN CULTURE—AND SAUSAGE—IN THE RIVER PARISHES, A NEW CULINARY BYWAY IS BORN By Beth D’Addono
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ndouille has an identity crisis. First of all, it’s not technically a sausage. You see, sausage by the strict definition requires its pork innards to be finely ground. Andouille’s are, instead, coarsely chopped. And although its name and origins are French, Andouille’s Louisiana roots are decidedly German: brought to Louisiana’s “Côte des Allemands,” or German Coast, by Rhineland immigrants who arrived in the 1700s to start a new colony east of the Mississippi. Add in that andouille was embraced most heartily by the Acadians, or Cajuns, of Southern Louisiana—who used it to spike everything from gumbo to jambalaya— 48
and the roux of history thickens. Enter the Andouille Trail, an outgrowth of Louisiana’s authentic culture and cuisine designed to lure locals and visitors into following the siren call of this most toothsome of delectables. “Next year we are celebrating the three-hundredth anniversary of the Germans coming to Louisiana, so it seemed like the perfect time to put andouille on the map,” said Buddy Boe, Executive Director of the River Parishes Tourist Commission, which markets attractions in St. Charles, St. James, and St. John the Baptist parishes. More than thirty-four small businesses and restaurants are part of the trail, from small mom and pop
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grocery stores to fine dining restaurants; each stop delivering the chance to buy, taste, or even make andouille. Follow the trail and you’ll find producers with wooden smokehouses making recipes that have been handed down for generations, and restaurants serving up andouille in both traditional and inventive new ways. As folks are cautiously starting to travel again, the idea is to jump-start tourism’s stalled engine by reminding visitors and locals alike just how much there is to see and do in regions close to New Orleans. “As a destination, we benefit from being close to the city, a place where people can take plantation and swamp tours as part of a day trip from New
Orleans. But there’s more to discover— and eat—in our region,” said Boe. When you are ready to follow the links to sample all the smoky flavors of the River Parishes Andouille Trail, download the Andouille Brochure, which includes a map of the trail, or see the Andouille Trail page for all the listings along this part of Louisiana’s culinary landscape. There’s even an Andouille Trail Passport—save receipts from five spots along the way, mail or email copies into the tourist commission, and they’ll send you an Andouille Trail wooden spoon perfect for stirring jambalaya or gumbo. Maitland “Spuddy” Faucheux knows a thing or three about andouille. Faucheux, who opened his self-named
