Cajun restaurants in The South
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Johnny’s Po-Boys
We don’t generally like to grab our po’boys in the tourist-y Quarter, but we make an exception for Johnny’s. A local favorite since 1950, it’s the only traditional po’boy joint around, all checkered tablecloths, hustle, bustle and good food served by good folks. Breakfast here is simple and delicious.
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B
K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen
This place has only been around since the 1980s, but in its way, K-Paul’s is just as historic as Antoine’s. This is the home base of chef Paul Prudhomme, who is essentially responsible for putting modern Louisiana cooking on the map. Prudhomme isn’t cooking here anymore, but the kitchen’s still cranking out quality: blackened twin beef tenders, a signature dish, come with an incredibly rich ‘debris’ gravy that’s been slowly cooked over a two-day period. The gumbo comes with hot andouille sausages made on site, while the jambalaya is simmered for hours with jalapeños – also pleasantly hot. Despite its popularity, K-Paul’s retains a no-reservations policy downstairs, but…
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C
Bon Ton Café
Bon Ton looks classy and feels sassy, like a posh dinner party about to break into mass revelry. It’s an old-style Cajun restaurant from New Orleans culinary history BPP (before Paul Prudhomme) that’s been open for half a century. We give Bon Ton a very respectful nod for maintaining an old-school menu of red fish, rice, steak and lots of butter. Don’t pass on the rum-soaked bread pudding at the end of dinner.
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D
Parkway Tavern
No one is going to settle the ‘best po’boy in New Orleans’ argument anytime soon, but tell a local you think the top sandwich comes from Parkway and you will get, at the very least, a nod of respect. The roast beef in particular (a dying art in these parts) is messy as hell and twice as good. Take one down to nearby Bayou St John, feel the wind on the water and munch that sandwich in the shade. Louisiana bliss.
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E
Brigtsen’s Restaurant
Frank Brigtsen terms his cooking ‘modern Louisiana cuisine, ’ and those in search of haute-Cajun will not be disappointed. Look for the roast duck with cornbread dressing and honey-pecan gravy, or beef tournedos in a tasso (highly seasoned and flavored smoked pork) wine sauce, served up with a craftsman’s expertise and an artist’s eye in a lovely double shotgun shack by the river.
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A-Bear’s Café
With wood floors and walls (and red-checked tablecloths), the place looks and feels like an old country store. You’ll see a good number of locals inside, tucking into plates of red beans and rice, po’boys and plate lunch specials – topped off with a slice of icebox pie. Expect a crowd on Friday nights when there’s a live Cajun band and dancing.
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F
Guy’s
Guy’s owner is also the cashier, head shopper, chef and prep staff. Ergo your sandwich is made fresh and to order, with a level of attention you don’t get anywhere else in the city. Even when the line is out the door – and it often is – each po’boy is painstakingly crafted. So yes, that loaf will take a while. But damn is it worth it.
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Franky & Johnny’s
If you took a New Jersey Italian diner, plopped it by the Mississippi River and replaced the pizza with red beans and rice and fine crawfish off the bayou, there, friends would be Franky & Johnny’s. It’s a local favorite for casual Cajun food. Opt for the daily specials.
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Cafe LaFourche
Steaks, seafood and Cajun dishes are all part of the comprehensive menu offerings here. Out the window you can watch the bayou flow by, and hope you spot the restaurant’s two ‘friendly’ alligator neighbors.
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DI Restaurant & Dance Hall
Get your dancing shoes ready, because after you down piles of boiled crawfish at this Cajun eatery, you can twist and twirl it off on the dance floor. Live music six nights a week. Five miles west of Eunice.
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T-Coon's
Head to local favorite T-Coon's for crawfish omelets in the morning and bodacious plates of étouffée (a thick Cajun stew) or smothered rabbit for lunch.
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King's Palace Café
Jazz and blues filter through the tony dining room while contented customers happily devour award-winning gumbo and other Cajun specialties.
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Old Tyme Grocery
Famous po'boys.
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Johnson's Boucanière
This resurrected 70-year-old family prairie smoker business turns out detour-worthy boudin (Cajun-style pork and rice sausage) and an unstoppable smoked pork-brisket sandwich topped with smoked sausage. You can smell it from a block away and can't miss the chic aluminum-sided shack with wraparound porch.
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Randol’s
Dishes like crab cake au gratin are quite tasty, but the nightly live Cajun tunes are the why-go. Regulars are always here scooting around the floor; sit on the bench around the dance floor (separated from the tables by some awkward plexiglass) and you will be asked out onto the floor.
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Prejean’s Cajun Dining
Live music accompanies every dinner and weekend brunches (old-timer Gervais Matte is a regular), but food takes center stage here. Have crawfish omelets for breakfast, fried oyster salad for lunch, and lump crab and eggplant Abbeville (in a Worcestershire cream sauce) for dinner. Don’t forget to say hi to Big Al, the 14ft stuffed alligator, on your way in.
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Blue Dog Cafe
Make reservations if you hope to enjoy the live jazz and Cajun music brunch; any given Sunday, the line stretches out the door by 10:30am. Shrimp Rockefeller soup, pork grillades (thin, browned strips with gravy) and cornbread dressing are just some of the reasons why. Louisiana native artist (and restaurant co-owner) George Rodrigue displays more than 150 of his works here, including many incarnations of his Blue Dog. Live music Thursday through Saturday evenings.
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