KEYSMITH BATON ROUGE FREE

Then they went on to compare digital and print photography and discuss tips on ways to compose artistic shots, in a perfectly delightful cajun accent, I might add. “What kind of lens is that?” The one decked out in a plaid button-down asked me. And I totally fell in love with the (brother?) farmers. They’re on almost every menu in Nashville (where I live). I bought grits, which isn’t that big of a deal, I guess. We were lucky with the weather that day (a non-humid, not hot, not rainy day in August is hard to come by here!), but I caught a glimpse of an Italian (or maybe more appropriately -French) market. “This is as close to Europe as you can get,” she whispered. I ran in to a family friend who had a booth inside (there are both indoor and outdoor vendor stalls). Touring that very farmers market for the first time during our culinary tour, we witnessed the local food and farm movement that I had been reading and hearing so much about. He also highlighted how the established, popular Juban’s Restaurant (Chef Jaime Hernandez) made little changes yielding big impacts, such as toasting and grinding their own herbs and buying meat and greens from local farmers.īeausolei’s chef Nathan Gresham decided to hunker down in Baton Rouge, abandoning his original designs on New Orleans, after witnessing the growth of the thriving Red Stick Farmers Market and increasingly sophisticated and curious palates of Baton Rouge patrons. He singled out new kids on the block that were making culinary waves, like Restaurant IPO, Magpie Cafe and Beausoleil, which I made a point of trying (and loved!). Once I got past the slight condescending tone of Fertel’s article, I relished in his pleasant surprise. “ It is the cathedral of college football, and worship happens here.”īefore I digress much further, I want to focus on the subtle yet significant advances BR has achieved in the creative cuisine and farm to table movements. That’s another topic, but if you’ve never been to an SEC college football game, Death Valley is the best place to experience it. The first thing that comes to mind is game day at LSU Tiger Stadium. Baton Rouge has come in to its own, and in many ways, the city has many things on offer that other cities (including NOLA!) lack. But not for one second do I buy that malarkey about us being the ugly step sister. New Orleans is one of my favorite places on Earth. Being a Baton Rouge native, I get a little tired of hearing our New Orleans neighbors snicker under their breath about our inferiority to their great culture, food, and music scenes. I remember reading Rien Fertel’s article in Garden and Gun many months ago with mixed emotions. like a proud daughter witnessing the enlightenment of a newly tech-savvy or environmentally conscious parent. The prospect of drawing in thousands of travel bloggers from all over the world to my Baton Rouge had me reeling! How amazing would that be?Īfter moving away ten years ago, I’ve watched Baton Rouge’s culinary scene slowly change, grow, and mature from afar….

KEYSMITH BATON ROUGE FREE

Their conspicuous displays of said generous sponsorship (everyone’s favorite being the free beignets and community coffee they provided in the morning) set tongues wagging about the possibilities of Baton Rouge hosting the next North American TBEX. In fact, Baton Rouge made some major waves at TBEX in Toronto last May (where I met the lovely Visit BR folks) as the main sponsor of the event. (I say this partly in jest, as a travel blogging trend of late is to discuss the moral/ethical implications of visiting and promoting places like Dubai and North Korea). There was no moral question or ethical debate around my strong desire to promote a city that I’m so proud of and vehemently believe in. It was an opportunity to see my home-town through fresh “outsider” eyes and a food-focused lens. When I received the email from Christy of Visit Baton Rouge (BR) inviting me to join five other bloggers for Fete Rouge FAM, a culinary adventure-whirlwind of a weekend, I was thrilled. Everywhere I go in the world, I shout it out- to anyone who’ll listen- I love Thai food! I love Italian food! But my favorite? My favorite food in the whole wide world? It’s the cuisine from my hometown, Baton Rouge, Louisiana! Grits and grillades, chicken and andouille gumbo, shrimp and corn soup, boudin balls, fried shrimp and oyster poboys, jambalaya, red beans and rice, crawfish etouffee….

Louisiana dishes up some of the tastiest food on the planet.

Keysmith baton rouge