We’ll need a map for this one!
At the end of the road
Far from the French Quarter, where the road south ends, we found Venice, Louisiana, and one of those unexpected experiences with great food and conversation.
Traveling south along LA -23 the scenery was less than we expected given the narrow strip of land with water on both sides. But as we discovered, a levy on both sides to hold back the inevitable storm surge completely blocked our view. There was farming along the way with lots of citrus and some cattle, along with visible devastation from Katrina which had left this area buried under several feet of water.
We were rewarded for the relatively mundane drive as we approached the end of the highway and the kind of views that we expected when we began.
These scenes were right out of our imagination
In flight
The area seemed fairly deserted and we were not sure where to go from here and then along came a mail truck. We chatted a moment with the driver and asked where to get a bite to eat. He directed us to the CrawGators Bar & Grill down the road a piece at the Venice Marina.
Note to self: the mailman is a good source for excellent restaurants.
While nothing promising could be seen in any direction at this point, we were in store for a treat. We found our way to the restaurant perched about 20 feet above ground and spotted the outdoor seating with great views of the marina, a perfect setting on this warm, sunny day.
While the restaurant was quiet with only a few people watching the LSU v Ole Miss game inside, outside there must have been well over a hundred cars/trucks with empty boat trailers indicating the fish were biting.
We took a table on the deck and as we settled in, the couple two tables down gave us a friendly hello, where are you from greeting. Anxious for some local conversation, we started what became a long one that covered kids, food, fishing, football and politics.
Come to find out the woman, Deanna, was the mother of the restaurant owners. The man, Bob, went to school with her in Bunkie, Louisiana, about 100 miles northwest. An interesting note, according to them, Bunkie is the home of Cajun food and that New Orleans stole the food and the story. It seemed enough for one of them to derisively say, in New Orleans “they put tomatoes in everything.”
In this area of the country, the love of food, flavorful food, cannot be underestimated. Bob told the story of how he visited Amish country with some friends on a business trip and looked forward to the much-touted food. His first bites were a huge disappointment and he wondered if he could finish the bland food. For a man who had grown up on Cajun and liberally spiced food, the idea of salt and pepper being the main seasonings made him wonder how this food had such a following. Deanna rhetorically asked how anyone could cook without red pepper.
Looking at the menu, we asked for suggestions and Bob right away said the seafood stuffed baked potato was good and the onion rings, and… I waved my hand to stop him there. Who could pass on a house specialty like a seafood stuffed potato?
Over lunch, the conversation swung from Katrina, this area had been 35 feet under water, to fishing which is excellent in this, one of the top destinations for yellow-fin tuna in the world, around to unions, FEMA, oil spills, environmentalists and healthcare. Suffice it to say this is a red state and their views on many issues were 180 degrees from mine, so it was a challenge to smile and appreciate the insights of people who had lived in the area their entire lives.
To be honest it also helped me rein in my opposing political opinions in the face of union bashing and the like that Deanna kept plying us with food samples. First it was the chicken and sausage gumbo, her personal recipe, then seeing the look of appreciation for that, she brought out the bread pudding, another personal recipe. I almost told her I was a liberal just to make her stop! I couldn’t eat another bite. Deanna repeated more then once with a wink, “First we feed you, then we talk to you.”
We said our goodbyes to these warm and generous people, along with sentiments of how much we enjoyed the food and conversation and made our way back up the LA-23 to New Orleans with fond memories of Venice, Louisiana.
Mark Blondin, the next road