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Borrego Springs, CA

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Please let me sit and play…

_MG_8629Before you make me Etouffee!   Crawfish Etouffee is very popular in this neck of the woods.  I’m not crazy about it, but JB had left me a comment about Suire’s Grocery Store and Restaurant, so I decided to head there today for lunch.

56 On the way to MississippiWhat an interesting place this is!  Half of the building is a small grocery store, and the other half houses the eating place.  The menu items for this Cajun cooking restaurant can be found painted on the outside of the building along with caricatures of alligators and turtles.  The grocery side sells popular local items like Cajun pickled quail eggs.  Each of the tables on the eatery side has a checkers board on it.  I ordered my first shrimp Poboy, and sat at a table to wait for my name to be called.  For a place out in the middle of nowhere, you wouldn’t believe how busy it was.  Many working men, clad in rubber boots and covered with mud, either ate inside or just stopped by to pick up their lunch to go.  Today’s special was shrimp etouffee.  It must be good because it was selling like hot cakes!

 

It may have been unusual for a solo “northern” female to stop in for lunch because the lady taking the orders immediately wanted to know about me.  I told her that my friends, John and Brenda, had recommended this place to me as they had been here while they were traveling.  Her response to me was, “Are you one of those RV people?  I just recently heard about people living in their RVs and traveling around the country.  Do you do this alone?”  I told her I traveled with my dog.  :)  She was a little surprised.  The Poboy was excellent, and I enjoyed my lunch stop.

56 On the way to Mississippi2Before I got to Suire’s for lunch, I stopped in the town of Rayne, the Frog Capitol of the World!  I didn’t see any frogs; must be the wrong season, but I did see all the murals with a frog theme painted on the buildings.  The one pictured here is on the police station.  I also stopped to see St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and Cemetery.  As you may know, people are buried above ground in this area of Louisiana.  You can click to enlarge to read the plaque about the skinless frog.

56 On the way to Mississippi1After lunch, I continued down the scenic byway I was driving down.  I can’t say that this scenic byway can compare with the byways of Idaho, but I have to remember that there aren’t any mountains in Louisiana.  :)  I did find a couple of roseate spoonbills and black-necked stilts feeding along the bayous.

_MG_8628 _MG_8626

This bird used to be called the Louisiana heron; how appropriate!  However, the powers that be in the bird world have decided that it should now be called the tri-colored heron.  Since I’m finally in Louisiana, I’m going to defy convention and call it a Louisiana heron while I’m in this state.  Just call me a wild and crazy gal!  :)

IMG_8636In my travels today, I drove past many flooded fields.  I had a real debate with myself whether these were rice fields or crawfish ponds.  When I got back to the repair place, I asked Helen Thibodaux about them.  She told me they are both.  During the growing season, they are planted with rice.  Then in the winter, they are used to raise crawfish.  Aha!  It made me feel good to have figured out both uses.  I just didn’t know the same fields were used both ways.

_MG_8611                                                                    THE END!!   

 

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy

20 comments:

  1. I see the spoonbill was 'turning his other cheek' to you LOL! Always happens with me, I try to take a photo and they show me their hind end.

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  2. I'm surprised she didn't ask you if your man was sleeping in the RV!

    Glad the lunch was good.

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  3. I love etouffée! And I like the crawdads boiled, like shrimp, but I don't suck those heads!!! And Po Boys, rock! I like oyster po boys best of all, but if the sauce is right, any is good, shrimp, sausage, whatever! Lawdy, it's been years since I've been where there is good Cajun food, and you're making me hongry!

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  4. have you ever read any books by James Lee Burke? he writes of Louisiana and is so descriptive that his sentences run on for many lines... he's a mystery writer btw. he also has a home in Bozeman, MT. since you're going to be there you might check him out, if you like to read that sort of thing. his main books are about a detective named Dave Robicheau (and I've no doubt spelled that wrong!)

    that's it ~ have fun!

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  5. Ok, wild and crazy gal, please tell me you did NOT buy any Cajun pickled quail eggs! Ewwww!
    That PoBoy sounds good though. I have a friend who makes delicious etouffee-and she's also a wild and crazy gal!
    K

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  6. Not so sure about those pickled quail eggs, but your po-boy sandwich sounded pretty good.

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  7. glad you are getting out and about exploring!!..sounds like fun!!...and interestingly delicious!!

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  8. I doubt if I would order the etouffee either. And I still prefer my shrimp on a plate over a bed of spicy fried grits! Guess I should stick to the southeast cuisine.

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  9. Interesting post and pictures, Judy. The rice paddies that we've been seeing in California have a lot of birds, but I don't know about crawfish. Skinless frog, hmmm.

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  10. Nice pictures Judy! I think the Roseate Spoonbills have become my favorite bird to photograph, although I have a difficult time capturing their gorgeous color(s). Also, isn’t it great fun to watch birds like the Louisiana Heron go about their business? They are so very skilled at what they do.

    John
    relaxedrush.blogspot.com

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  11. I love me some shrimp etouffee. Dawn loves crawfish. We always gain a few pounds anytime we visit cajun country!

    We are adding Suire’s to our list

    Travel Safe
    Dawn & Denise

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  12. Not being a sea food person at all I think I would have been looking for a McDonalds....

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  13. Not sure if you are interested, but South around Houma there are some neat plantations..
    How long are we staying in Louisiana?? Can we get a tour of the cemeteries?? When can we go to New Orleans?? Are we there yet? Hey, can I drive this rig??Puuuuulllllease!!!????

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  14. You can tell the difference between a birder and a foodie. When we went to Suire's, I photographed the shrimp PoBoy (still one of the very best I have had, and we have eaten our way across LA twice); you photograph the birds. :)

    I agree with meowmama on the James Lee Burke books - they are a great read when in LA (or anytime).

    Safe travels,
    Laurie

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  15. Also adding Suire's to our "place to eat list". Our favorite Cajan place is Mulatte's in Breaux Bridge, or Floyd's in Beaumont. Bird pictures are great, thanks again for telling us what we're looking at.
    Jan

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  16. We love etouffee too! I had it once in New Orleans and had to buy a cook book to learn how to make it. Of course we don't get fresh crawdads up here in the North, so I substitute with shrimp.

    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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  17. I was thinking of Laurie's posts about Louisiana while reading your blog today... I believe this is the land where Odel became known as the "Pretty Man"?? :-)

    Glad you enjoyed your Po'Boy... my Daddy loved Cajun cooking and adored pickled quail eggs! He was a strange but wonderful man... :-)

    Stay safe!

    Kerri in AL :-)

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  18. When we were in Louisiana, we saw lots and lots of those fields. All the birds there are amazing. Take a swamp tour, you will love it.

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  19. I love those spoonbills. The color changes it seems based on what they are eating, but they are so pretty. We went to the Tobasco plant in Louisiana, maybe you might stop in there. I know about those "scenic" highways. All the way through southern Ohio we were wondering...hmmm...I guess this is scenic...we are spoiled by mountains I guess

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