App fan here and I’m hoping we can seal the deal to come down in a few weeks for a rematch. I wanted to reach out for some restaurant and hotel recommendations.

Louisiana is my #1 away game bucket list destination trip of our future home. I will attend the first away game there, I love Cajun food and I want to spend a couple days eating the true authentic Cajun cuisine in Cajun country.

(11-17-2021 10:03 PM)AtlantaApp Wrote:  App fan here and I’m hoping we can seal the deal to come down in a few weeks for a rematch. I wanted to reach out for some restaurant and hotel recommendations.

I recommend you go to raginpagin.com and hit up the peeps there. You'll be flooded with advice.

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There is a Hilton Garden Inn across the street from Cajun Field (book it early of course). I wouldn’t stay anywhere along the interstate. Cajun Field is kind of in the center of town and Lafayette is growing southward. Anywhere in south Lafayette will be good , near shopping and things like that. “The Carriage House” hotel is a boutique hotel in the River Ranch neighborhood in the center of town and is pretty nice.

FOOD OPTIONS: You will get 1 million opinions on this…..everyone has their favorites and we love for visitors to try them all. Here goes:

Po-boys - Old Tyme Grocery (its on the edge of campus and great), Pops Poboys (Downtown and very good), Juliens (good poboys and gumbo)

Seafood: Personally i think its worth the drive to a neighboring town south of Lafayette called Abbeville. There I like Dupuys, Shucks, and RIverfront. On your way there you can stop in Maurice (which is a speed trap) at Heberts Specialty Meats and get a deboned chicken stuffed with just about any Cajun food you can think of.

Fine Dining: Charlie G’s , Antoni’s, Social Southern Table and Ruffino’s would be the local good ones. There are a couple downtown that are good too.
Boudin - Don’s, The Best Stop, and Billy’s are all great but out of town. In Lafayette, I like Johnson’s Boucaniere

I am sure that I am missing some and my fellow Ragin Cajuns will offer their suggestions. Enjoy Lafayette. It really is a great place!
GEAUX CAJUNS!

(11-17-2021 10:03 PM)AtlantaApp Wrote:  App fan here and I’m hoping we can seal the deal to come down in a few weeks for a rematch. I wanted to reach out for some restaurant and hotel recommendations.

Hotel, maybe someone else can help you out with. I was going to recommend Juliet Hotel (small boutique hotel downtown), but it looks booked up for that weekend.

As far as restaurant, we have tons depending on what you'd like.

Nice/Upscale:
Pamplona (Spanish/Tapas), Vestal (Contemporary), Marcello's Wine Market Cafe (Italian), Charley G's (American with Cajun accents; best gumbo), Social Southern Table & Bar (Contemporary; best bourbon selection in town), Cafe Vermilionville (Cajun upscale), Ruffino's on the River (Italian/Cajun), Mazen Grill (Mediterranean+Cajun fusion)

Casual:
Don's Seafood (Cajun), Bon Temps (Cajun), Central Pizza, Fezzos Broussard (Cajun), Tsunami (Sushi), Deano's Pizza, Pop's Poboys, Agave (Mexican; more for atmosphere and drinks than food), Antoni's (Italian), Wurst Biergarten (beer/drinks only), Hideaway at Lee (my personal favorite burger, always has live music), Uncle T's (Cajun)

Lunch only:
Old Tyme Grocery Poboys, Blanchard's BBQ (best BBQ in town; Texas Style), Chris's Poboys (can do 1/2 poboy and small cup of gumbo)

Breakfast:
Dwyer's Cafe, T-Coons, Hub City Diner, French Press (although service has been absolute crap last few times)

Lagniappe food/drink excursions worth taking off the beaten path:

• Bayou Teche Brewery in Arnaudville, LA (great atmosphere, pizza, beer, and people)
• Dupuy's Seafood in Abbeville, LA (Great seafood and bar)
• Parish Brewery in Broussard, LA (one of the best breweries in the state, atmosphere and location leave a lot to be desired though)
• Nash's in Broussard, LA (nice Italian restaurant down the highway from the airport)
• R&M's Boiling Point in New Iberia LA (Cajun 20 minutes south down the highway from the airport)
• Louisiana Scenic Byway Roadtrips (Go to website and click map view. Good scenic drives if you want to see non-highway/interstate/city Cajun country)
• Noel Acadien au Village (You will be in for the first weekend for the Christmas Lights set up at Acadian Village. Great if you have young kids) example pic
• Lafayette Event Calendar 2021-12-04
  

I'm definitely missing some other obvious recommendations, but I tried to imagine best places in each category to sit with a party of people.

I can help narrow that ridiculous list down if you let me know length of stay and food preference. Happy to have you!

I have 3 places anyone visiting Lafayette should eat at:

Old Tyme Grocery
Creole Lunch House
Alesi's

Those were my go to's when I lived there from 95-06.

(11-17-2021 11:28 PM)Complacent Cajun Wrote:  

(11-17-2021 10:03 PM)AtlantaApp Wrote:  App fan here and I’m hoping we can seal the deal to come down in a few weeks for a rematch. I wanted to reach out for some restaurant and hotel recommendations.

Hotel, maybe someone else can help you out with. I was going to recommend Juliet Hotel (small boutique hotel downtown), but it looks booked up for that weekend.

As far as restaurant, we have tons depending on what you'd like.

Nice/Upscale:
Pamplona (Spanish/Tapas), Vestal (Contemporary), Marcello's Wine Market Cafe (Italian), Charley G's (American with Cajun accents; best gumbo), Social Southern Table & Bar (Contemporary; best bourbon selection in town), Cafe Vermilionville (Cajun upscale), Ruffino's on the River (Italian/Cajun), Mazen Grill (Mediterranean+Cajun fusion)

Casual:
Don's Seafood (Cajun), Bon Temps (Cajun), Central Pizza, Fezzos Broussard (Cajun), Tsunami (Sushi), Deano's Pizza, Pop's Poboys, Agave (Mexican; more for atmosphere and drinks than food), Antoni's (Italian), Wurst Biergarten (beer/drinks only), Hideaway at Lee (my personal favorite burger, always has live music)

Lunch only:
Old Tyme Grocery Poboys, Blanchard's BBQ (best BBQ in town; Texas Style), Chris's Poboys (can do 1/2 poboy and small cup of gumbo)

Breakfast:
Dwyer's Cafe, T-Coons, Hub City Diner, French Press (although service has been absolute crap last few times)

Lagniappe food/drink excursions worth taking off the beaten path:

• Bayou Teche Brewery in Arnaudville, LA (great atmosphere, pizza, beer, and people)
• Dupuy's Seafood in Abbeville, LA (Great seafood and bar)
• Parish Brewery in Broussard, LA (one of the best breweries in the state, atmosphere and location leave a lot to be desired though)
• Nash's in Broussard, LA (nice Italian restaurant down the highway from the airport)
• R&M's Boiling Point in New Iberia LA (Cajun 20 minutes south down the highway from the airport)
• Louisiana Scenic Byway Roadtrips (Go to website and click map view. Good scenic drives if you want to see non-highway/interstate/city Cajun country)
• Noel Acadien au Village (You will be in for the first weekend for the Christmas Lights set up at Acadian Village. Great if you have young kids) example pic
• Lafayette Event Calendar 2021-12-04
  

I'm definitely missing some other obvious recommendations, but I tried to imagine best places in each category to sit with a party of people.

I can help narrow that ridiculous list down if you let me know length of stay and food preference. Happy to have you!

All good stuff. I would add just a few things:

If it’s just a short weekend visit, I’d definitely stay focused on downtown, although a trip to Abbeville (~30-45 mins from Cajun Field) would be worth it, not only for the food but also as a good place to experience an authentic Cajun small-town. Breaux Bridge is another good small town to consider.

Downtown Lafayette is really cool, and has lots of bars where you will be able to drown your sorry following the game.

I think Vestal is awesome. It’s brand new and has great food and a cool upscale vibe. Pamplona is a treasure for foodies, but keep in mind both of those are kind of pricey. And if you don’t go to The French Press for brunch and get the Cajun Benedict you will be truly missing out on something. They also have one of the best burgers in town, the ‘couillion burger,’ lol. It’s a small place though and there’s there’s usually a long wait to get in.

Downtown Lafayette is a having a Christmas event starting at 5 on the 5th, which looks neat, but also looks like it will be more of a family event.

Lighting of the Christmas tree event

Oh, and please take a little time to tour our BEAUTIFUL main campus (which is adjacent to downtown and very close to the athletic complex), especially Cypress Lake, and the Student Union built around it. Very cool!

Cypress Lake


Whatever you choose to do hope you guys have fun and spends lots of money doing it, lol!

P.S. in Cajun French a ‘couillion’ is a not-so-bright person
P.P.S. love Allesi’s!

And if you give us a little more info on what kind of trip you have planned (kids, just guys, food tastes, etc) we could help you narrow down the choices for you.

(11-17-2021 10:03 PM)AtlantaApp Wrote:  App fan here and I’m hoping we can seal the deal to come down in a few weeks for a rematch. I wanted to reach out for some restaurant and hotel recommendations.

All of the posters have given you excellent choices and I would add Mendez's Seafood Bar and Grill on Doucet Road and Uncle T's in Scott, La. Scott is only 5 minutes from Lafayette if you can stay at the Hilton next to Cajun field. Then, you are only 5 minutes from the Boudin Capitol of the World, Scott, La. Billy's pepperjack boudin balls are to die for. But you can't go wrong with any of them. That being Best Stop, Don's and Billy's. Now, that being said, if you can hit any of the tailgaters the day of the game, you definitely will not be disappointed.

Blue dog used to be my favorite place for ettoufee but it changed the last time I was there. Some of y’all down there make it change back.

(11-18-2021 07:09 AM)biggie Wrote:  Blue dog used to be my favorite place for ettoufee but it changed the last time I was there. Some of y’all down there make it change back.

Unfortunately, the blue dog didn't make thru covid. I live around the corner from it and was bummed to find this out. However, one of our favorite cajun restaurants a few miles south, moved there. It's called the Bon Ton, French for good time. They struggled with service early on, but the food is on par with their original location, which we really like.

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(11-17-2021 10:03 PM)AtlantaApp Wrote:  App fan here and I’m hoping we can seal the deal to come down in a few weeks for a rematch. I wanted to reach out for some restaurant and hotel recommendations.

Looks like you won't need to hit up raginpagin.com!

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The Blue Dog was also good as well as Evangeline Steakhouse. Evangeline has been closed though before we moved. They either closed in late 2004 or early 2005. Little River Inn in New Iberia was decent although Ive been told it closed as well in 2020 after being there 32 years.

There is also Riverside Inn in Broussard.

Riverside Inn

Thanks for all the suggestions. Two of us App fans are flying in on Friday from Atlanta and plan to make a weekend of it. Certainly look forward to some Cajun Hospitality.

What are the Cajuns' thought on Prejeans? https://prejeans.com
I really enjoyed it the last time I ate there but no one has mentioned it in this thread.


Also, where can you find a good muffuletta?

(11-18-2021 11:43 AM)Soaring Eagle Wrote:  What are the Cajuns' thought on Prejeans? https://prejeans.com
I really enjoyed it the last time I ate there but no one has mentioned it in this thread.


Also, where can you find a good muffuletta?

I don't know about others that still live there but I always found Prejean's to be like Randol's, more of an event restaurant. Maybe it was just me.

I also don't know if Mel's Diner in Lafayette has ever reopened after fire damage in April of 2020 but I know Mel's Diner Part 2 is still open in Broussard. I ate at the one in Broussard a lot more than the original location on Johnston Street, as I lived in Broussard.

Mel's Diner Part 2

(11-18-2021 07:09 AM)biggie Wrote:  Blue dog used to be my favorite place for ettoufee but it changed the last time I was there. Some of y’all down there make it change back.

A great restaurant, the Bon Temps Grill, has taken the Blue Dog's spot.

Very close by is Abacus, if you are here on a Thursday for lunch, the buffet is incredible.

I just went to Luna's on Jefferson Street. Great eats there too. Very casual, hip, good vibe, unique cocktails.

Blanchard's for BBQ is ok, but Tchop's Mid-City is, in my opinion, much better.

For fine dining, I'd also add Jane's French Cuisine. Authentic French dining.

(11-18-2021 11:43 AM)Soaring Eagle Wrote:  What are the Cajuns' thought on Prejeans? https://prejeans.com
I really enjoyed it the last time I ate there but no one has mentioned it in this thread.


Also, where can you find a good muffuletta?

Prejeans is fine, but I wouldn't suggest it over everything available. If someone wanted a Cajun place in Lafayette I'd probably suggest Fezzos/Uncle T's/Don's/Bon Temps over it.

I think they changed ownership, haven't really heard anything about it since.

My favorite muffuletta is at Cedar Deli & Grocery, but they're only open M-F during lunch. My other suggestion for a muff would be Chris's Poboys. I know Deano's Pizza and Pizza Village have muffs but I've never had them there.

(11-18-2021 11:31 AM)HerdZoned Wrote:  The Blue Dog was also good as well as Evangeline Steakhouse. Evangeline has been closed though before we moved. They either closed in late 2004 or early 2005. Little River Inn in New Iberia was decent although Ive been told it closed as well in 2020 after being there 32 years.

There is also Riverside Inn in Broussard.

Riverside Inn

Glad to see Evangeline Steakhouse remembered, my relative was executive chef over there. I miss that place.

(11-18-2021 11:43 AM)Soaring Eagle Wrote:  What are the Cajuns' thought on Prejeans? https://prejeans.com
I really enjoyed it the last time I ate there but no one has mentioned it in this thread.


Also, where can you find a good muffuletta?

Across the street from Cajun Field there are also two good options for Muffaletta:

Joey's meat market and restaurant - http://joeyslafayette.com/lunch.asp

if you want grab and go, the Rouse's Market (grocery store) always has some muffalettas and mini-muffs in their deli case.