This sandwich is perfection on a bun. Crispy, flash-fried Louisiana oysters nestled in a soft, brioche-type bun, studded with jalapeno peppers and slathered with sauce. It is crave-worthy indeed. Rachael’s Cafe in Lafayette, Louisiana, is home to this sandwich perfection. Just off busy Kaliste Saloom Road and tucked into a nondescript strip shopping center that’s…
Overstuffed Fried Crawfish Po’Boy
It’s the crispy crunch of the first bite into this sandwich that signals all the good things to come. It’s sensory overload when hot, right-out-of-the-fryer crawfish tails meet the perfectly dressed French bread loaf in the po’boy of my dreams—the Overstuffed Fried Crawfish Po’Boy. Whenever I get close to New Iberia, Louisiana, my car has…
A July 4th Tradition: The Bluesiana Burger
The Fourth of July holiday is my favorite family holiday: no last-minute dash for flowers, no arduous trek to the mall for gifts, not even a holiday card. It’s just a leisurely American celebration of family and freedom. And it’s the perfect day to fire up the grill. I’ve always had a hunger for hamburgers,…
Who Has The Best Burger in Acadiana?
It’s burger season, ya’ll! National Hamburger Week and the Memorial Day holiday are all the signals South Louisiana needs to fire up the grill and break out the buns. Put away the propane crawfish boiling rigs; summertime backyard burger bashes are firing up all over Acadiana. “Who has the best burger in Acadiana?” is the…
Chic Steak Sandwich at the Acme Café
Ding…ding…ding! Order up! Chic Steak Sandwich, extra mayo, hold the pickle! My father, George Graham, Sr., was slinging burgers at White Tower in Michigan in the years before WW II and wound up welding aircraft parts in a factory in Detroit until war’s end. Flush with cash and a dream, he and my mom headed…
Wagyu Beef Slider on Brioche with Jalapeño Pimento Cheese
Presented ceremoniously on a brioche bun, my Wagyu Beef Slider on Brioche with Jalapeño Pimento Cheese combines the best of hybrid Japanese beef with the down-home comfort of pimento cheese–a contrast of rich new flavors with more familiar tastes. The first time I tasted Kobe beef was at the flagship Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills, CA,…
Heirloom Tomato Sandwich on Sourdough with Garlic Aioli
With the crisp snap of the first bite of grilled sourdough, I can taste the dual combination of smooth goat cheese, and creamy garlic aioli as the intense juice of the heirloom tomato flows over my tongue. My taste receptors are in overdrive as the flavors meld together into my Heirloom Tomato Sandwich on Sourdough with Garlic…
Heirloom Tomato Soup
You say tomato, I say soup. It goes without saying that a steaming hot bowl of tomato soup is the ultimate comfort food. You know exactly what I mean–it feels warm and cozy just like that old pair of fur-lined slippers you refuse to throw out (c’mon, admit it). Tomato soup is quite good right…
Top 10 Favorite Sandwiches and How To Make Them
A simple sandwich just hits the spot. But one thing that’s not simple is making a choice among all my favorites. If you’ve been a part of my Acadiana Table for some time, you no doubt understand my pursuit of the perfect sandwich—so many sandwiches, so little time. So here’s a list of my Top…
Roast Beef Po’boy
Growing up in South Louisiana, po’boys were just about as common as hamburgers are today. In small towns back then, we didn’t have a burger chain on every corner. It was mostly mom-and-pop sandwich shops and greasy spoon cafés that put out their home-cooked specialties, especially a down-home Louisiana roast beef po’boy. I grew up…