Let the - Pasadena Star-News

Let the

good foods roll o Eating and toe-tapping through southern Louisiana and the Mississippi Delta

The sign at the Crossroads, where Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul to become a blues master.

Guitar Frenchie performs at the Bluesberry Cafe in the Mississippi Delta blues haven of Clarksdale.

Clarksdale, Mississippi, which spawned such legendary blues names as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Ma Rainey, Howlin’ Wolf and B.B. King, is thick with music venues like Ground Zero. PhotoS by Dorene Cohen

Between Cajun meals in bayou country, visitors might sign up for a tour to see the plant and animal life of Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin, the largest wetland and swamp in the United States.

Chile peppers ripen on a plant on Louisiana’s Avery Island, birthplace of Tabasco brand sauce.

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By David Cohen

Correspondent

It doesn’t get much better than listening to blues, Cajun and zydeco music while feasting on impeccably fresh seafood, an array of sausages and pulled pork sprinkled with “bark” (the crisp pieces from the outside of smoked pork butts), from the Mississippi Delta to the heart of Cajun country.

During a recent trip, we followed the Blues Highway (U.S. 61) from Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the delta, traveling deep into Cajun country, where we made our base in Lafayette, Louisiana — one of the premier eating cities in the South, if not the entire country. Then we spent eight days that were chock-full of fabulous regional fare and music that will get even the most sedentary out on the dance floor.

Mississippi Delta

Clarksdale is ground zero, a town with numerous juke joints (blues music venues) where the delta spawned such legends as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Ma Rainey, Howlin’ Wolf and B.B. King.

There’s even a memorial at the intersection of Highways 61 and 49, called The Crossroads, where Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul to the devil to become the best blues guitarist of his generation. Right next door is Abe’s BBQ, where you can get your fill of pulled pork and other ’cue delights that are spicier than those found in Southern California.

We stayed at the Clark House Inn for three nights; it’s within walking distance of downtown Clarksdale. The antebellum mansion served breakfast daily.

Juke joints and blues clubs abound in Clarksdale — none more famous than the Ground Zero Blues Club, partly owned by actor Morgan Freeman. We caught an afternoon performance by LaLa Craig that was incredibly dynamic; she reminded me of a cross between Big Mama Thornton and Janis Joplin!

Sink your teeth into a fried green tomato, pulled-pork sandwich or impeccably fresh deep-fried catfish at Ground Zero. Music is performed Wednesday through Saturday evenings.

Other music venues worth checking out include The Bluesberry Cafe, where Guitar Frenchie holds sway; The Hambone Art & Music Gallery; and the Delta Blues Alley Cafe. Two restaurants stand out: Yazoo Pass offers such items as chicken and sausage gumbo, shrimp and grits, and a pork rib-eye with horseradish cream; Lil Sistas offers brisket sandwiches, smoked turkey legs, collard greens, yams and slabs of ribs. Both are downtown.

Next to Ground Zero is the Delta Blues Museum, which provides a comprehensive history of the style and the musicians who made it famous.

There are numerous day trips that you can take from Clarksdale. Highly recommended is the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola (bbkingmuseum.org), which offers a complete history with photos, film clips, artifacts and outfits worn by the musician. His two-tone Rolls-Royce also can be viewed in this homage to one of the blues’ greatest impresarios. Expect a special celebration around the 100th anniversary of his birth Sept. 16.

After working up an appetite, you can head to Betty’s Place for an ethereally light fried catfish platter for lunch, or The Crown Restaurant for its legendary smoked catfish plate.

On your way to Louisiana, Mississippi’s Vicksburg and Natchez are worth visiting. Vicksburg’s National Military Park provides a self-guided driving tour of the site where one of the most consequential battles of the Civil War was fought. Don’t miss the reconstructed USS Cairo, an ironclad Union gunboat on display.

While in Natchez, you can enjoy views of the Mississippi River as you stroll around downtown and visit the antebellum mansions built along the river cliffs. Magnolia Grill offers shrimp and grits, or catfish, bass or walleye pike plucked from the Mississippi River.

Cajun country

If anything exemplifies the French joie de vivre, it is southern Louisiana dancing to the sounds of Cajun and zydeco music; feasting on gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish étouffée and all things porcine, including cracklings and andouille sausage; and the world’s greatest bacchanal celebration: Mardi Gras.

Lafayette is the ideal home base for your trip, with its outstanding restaurants and music venues, allowing you to visit such legendary small towns as Breaux Bridge, Eunice, Mamou and New Iberia — each within about a 30-minute drive. Bayou Teche runs right through Breaux Bridge, where you can take guided canoe rides, and the Atchafalaya Basin is less than an hour away.

Lafayette is the beating culinary heart of Cajun country. T’Frere’s House B&B (1905 Verot School Road; 337-984-9347) is a great place to stay during your visit.

On your first day in town, I’d highly recommend taking the Original Cajun Food Tour to get a true sense of the cuisine. It includes five stops at food places, and it’s easy to hop on and off the bus. Starting at $69, it offers a taste of such local products as gumbo, étouffée and boudin sausage. Reservations: 337-230-6169, cajunfoodtours.com

There’s also an all-day Cajun experience that includes a guided tour of the historic Vermilionville Cajun Village, a swamp boat ride on beautiful Lake Martin or through the Atchafalaya Basin, and a Cajun dance session at Gator Cove; you’ll also be fed like a local!

Side trips from Lafayette

Strongly consider heading to Breaux Bridge, the “crawfish capital of the world,” for the Sunday zydeco breakfast at Buck & Johnny’s. There’s live music and a dance floor that’s always crowded with locals.

If you can score a table upstairs, you’ll have a panoramic view of the band and the dance floor. No cover, with live music Thursday through Saturday nights. The brunch menu is an added attraction, with such enticing items as eggs Savoy (two eggs over biscuits topped with crab portobello brie) and “troubled water” (grits topped with crawfish étouffée). The regular menu is a blend of Cajun and Italian with such items as a justly famous zydeco or seafood gumbo; seafood pasta with shrimp, crab and crawfish; and the Ragin’ Cajun pizza with shrimp, tasso, smoked chorizo and two sauces. Reservations well in advance are essential for the zydeco brunch. 100 Berard St., Breaux Bridge; 337-442-6630.

The Bayou Teche is just down Bridge Street. You can paddle a canoe or kayak ride to burn off some calories. Guided and self-guided tours are available for various distances. Bayou Teche Experience, 317 E. Bridge St., Breaux Bridge; 337-366-0337.

Eunice is a small town nearby known for its blend of Cajun, Creole and cowboy influences and is often regarded as the Cajun capital of the world. The Prairie Acadian Cultural Center and the Cajun Music Hall of Fame are here. Also, the jam session from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays at the Savoy Music Center is a truly enjoyable slice of Cajun life. From 6-7:30 p.m. every Saturday evening, a live French radio and TV show, “Rendezvous des Cajuns,” is broadcast from the Center for Louisiana and Folklore at 200 W. Park St.

The town of Mamou offers the Courir de Mardi Gras on the morning of Fat Tuesday. Participants on horseback ride from town to town begging for ingredients to cook up a big batch of communal gumbo in Mamou.

Fred’s Lounge hosts a two-hour Cajun music radio show starting at 9:15 a.m. Saturdays. It’s a tradition that began in the 1960s. The lounge serves alcohol as early as 8 a.m. and offers samples of boudin sausage from T’Boys. Fred’s is only open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., with live music from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It also hosts happy hour on weekdays from 4 to 8 p.m. 420 Sixth St.; 337-654-2026.

No trip to southern Louisiana would be complete without a swamp tour, particularly in the Atchafalaya Basin, the biggest swamp in the United States. For my money, smaller boats with outboards and fewer people have it over the bigger and noisier airboats, which scare wildlife and can’t navigate into smaller bayous, where you can get up close and personal with the fauna and flora, and your chances of spotting gators and other wildlife greatly increases.

McGee Swamp and Airboat Tours out of Henderson, not far from Breaux Bridge, navigates the Atchafalaya Basin or Lake Martin. You’re virtually guaranteed to see gators, waterfowl and birds of prey on your trip. Your captain will dangle chicken parts on a line over the water, and a gator is likely to jump up out of the water and devour that chicken! 1337 Henderson Levee Road, Henderson; 337-228-2384.

Finally, we visited Avery Island, home to the Tabasco factory. Tours take you through the process, from fresh Tabasco chiles growing on plants to the finished bottled products. At the back of the gift shop and available to taste is an extensive array of flavors you won’t see in your local grocery store. Make sure you have some water at the ready! And bring some home to spice up your life. There is a restaurant at the factory site if you get hungry.

Also, there’s a very nice self-guided driving tour of Avery Island, and a walking trail is available allowing you to enjoy the large moss-laden trees, waterways and hundreds of white cranes nesting in a rookery along the marshy shore.