SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA DELICACIES & WHERE TO FIND THEM

Plate Lunches

Plate lunches consist of one meat and three side dishes served on a disposable plate and are usually served at legendary hole-in-the-wall joints. It’s loaded with Southern soul foods like smothered pork chops and fried fish alongside macaroni and cheese, red beans and rice, cornbread, and more.

Where to Find Them: Leonard's Food Quarters

Boudin

Traditional boudin ingredients include pork, liver, rice, onions, parsley and flavorful seasonings in a sausage link form. You can find this popular snack at more than 25 locations along the Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail, where you will discover household flavors at unconventional eateries.

Where to Find Them: Various Location Along the Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail

Often confused with pork rinds and fat back, cracklins are similar to bacon but served in a thicker, nugget form. It's a crunchy piece of fried skin, soft rendered fat, and a bit of chewy meat in each bite. This savory treat is seasoned with Cajun spices and is served by the pound in a Ziploc bag.

Where to Find Them: Guillory’s Famous Foods

Po'boys

Po'boys is a sandwich that typically contains lettuce, tomato, roast beef, or fried seafood such as shrimp, crawfish, fish, oysters, or alligator on fresh, buttered French bread with a condiment of your choice. It's often served with chips or French fries.

Where to Find Them: Darrell's Famous Po'boys

Sauce Piquant

Sauce piquant flies under the radar in restaurants around Lake Charles. It’s a spicy, tomato-based stew with various meats, spices, and vegetables cooked down to a soft texture and served over a bed of rice.

Where to Find Them:

Steamboat Bill’s Seafood

Sweet Dough Pies

Sweet dough pies are unique to most dessert connoisseurs. Sweet dough pies are thicker, softer, and sweeter than traditional pies and often served as a morning treat with coffee.

Where to Find Them:

Mrs. Johnny’s Gingerbread House

Louisiana Blue Crab

If someone goes crabbing in our region, the catch is usually Louisiana blue crab. They’re blue while alive, but their shells are bright red when boiled, steamed or deep-fried and served on a seafood platter.

Where to Find Them: Seafood Palace

Grits & Grillades

Usually served during Mardi Gras, grits and grillades are pieces of beef or veal swimming in a roux-based gravy with red wine, seasonings, and spices and then layered on a bed of Southern-style grits.

Where to Find Them: Pujo Street Cafe