Accordions and fiddles belt out a lively Zydeco rhythm and the smell of boiled crawfish fills the air.
It's the annual Mudbug Madness Festival in Shreveport, LA and you don't want to miss it!
On May 23-26, this northern Louisiana city takes on a south LA flavor and celebrates the crawfish or "mudbug" with Cajun food and music that define its southern traditions.
Beginning in the eighties as a two-day street festival in downtown Shreveport, Mudbug Madness has become one of Louisiana’s largest and most popular festivals, featuring well-known Cajun, Zydeco, Blues and Jazz artists, fantastic authentic Cajun cuisine, crazy and quirky contests, and fun for all ages. Now a Shreveport institution, Mudbug Madness is nationally recognized as one of the Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Events.
Hundreds of people will line up to buy their box o’ bugs, brimming with boiled crawfish, red potatoes and corn on the cob. The crawfish are cooked with a zesty blend of spices, a little bit hot and a little bit sweet. If you've never eaten a crawfish, friendly “natives” are quick to tell you how: twist, peel and bite! For those who don't desire a mess of mudbugs, the festival features some of the best jambalaya, crawfish étoufee, poboys, alligator, dirty rice and other dishes unique to the region.
After you’ve sampled all the food, the infectious beat of the music will likely draw you over to one of the
three stages of live entertainment to clap, dance and sing along. This year’s event will feature performances by Louisiana favorites such as Grammy-winner Wayne Toups & ZyDeCajun and Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers.
While the crawfish is the star of this festival, the weekend is really about celebrating Louisiana’s rich cultural heritage and the people of Shreveport are proud to bring a little bit of south Louisiana up north.
>> Mudbug Madness Festival website
>> Plan your travel to Shreveport, LA
Fore the best PGA golf tournament this spring, drive on over to the Zurich Golf Classic at the TPC Louisiana course in Avondale, which is also one of the 10 golf courses on the Audubon Golf Trail. 156 of the best golfers in the world will be trying to chip their way to the lead. Here is the big challenge for these pro golfers: with all of the great food in New Orleans and on the course, it’s going to be difficult for them to not partake in Charbroiled Oysters from Drago’s, or the great food from Arnaud’s, Galatoires, The Bourbon House and 
Louisiana, but I hope they are not serving eagle gumbo, and I plan to trap myself in the food tent until I am asked to bogey on home.
I have to talk about the Court of Two Sisters before I tell you about the two Louisiana Gumbos I ate at the Tavern. What is New Orleans known for? Correct. Food and Jazz Music. New Orleans is also known for beautiful courtyards. Well, you have just described the Court of Two Sisters. Every time I walk through their courtyard, hear the Jazz music, see the foliage and see all the people, (mostly out-of-towners) enjoying a bountiful array of Louisiana foods, it puts a smile on my face.
(see below), coffee, tea, juices and all you can eat. Now, I have eaten dinner at the Court of Two Sisters which is first class and the surroundings in the restaurant are elegant, but casual. Even though I am searching for the Best Gumbo in Louisiana, I can tell you The Court of Two Sisters has one of the best Turtle Soups in Louisiana. This is a must.
and over 12,000 people came to experience the event. This year, the event has moved to City Park and it will be even bigger and better than last year. I will be a judge at this year’s BBQ cook-off. Even though I’ve been searching for the Best Gumbo in Louisiana, I have judged other BBQ cook-offs. So, why not join The Louisiana Travelin’ Man for a great cause and great BBQ at Hogs for the Cause.
That's not surprising since the biggest and most well-known celebrations happen there and international media coverage of Carnival events seem to focus on the wild revelry in NOLA. If you are not from Louisiana, you may not even realize that all Louisianians love to celebrate Carnival season and there are some major Mardi Gras parades and parties happening all across the state. The various regions of LA like to put their own unique spin on the festivities. Most are good, clean, family-friendly fun and feature activities for children and even pets. Carnival season generally starts in late January/early February and the celebrations culminate on the day of Fat Tuesday, which falls on Feb. 12 this year. Look for plenty of parades and parties this weekend through Tuesday.
Now back to Charlie’s Restaurant. This is a very family friendly restaurant that serves good local food and plenty of it. Their menu has 300 items to choose from. As you guessed, I ordered their Louisiana Seafood Gumbo. They have three sizes: Cup at $4.95, Bowl at $7.95 and a Quart at $13.95. The Louisiana Seafood Gumbo had plenty of stuff and had a great gumbo aroma. The stuff was mostly smoked sausage and shrimp with a small crab finger and some chunks of okra. There was a taste I couldn’t figure out. I asked the owner and he said “it’s a secret.” It had a sweet acidic taste so if I had to guess, I would say it was a Balsamic Vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce combination. I asked where his sausage came from and he said it was Hillshire. I didn’t question why, but there are so many other local options to use. The Louisiana Seafood Gumbo had a medium roux with a good blend of seasoning and good body. It left a very good after burn as I got to the bottom of the cup. The rice was warm, but didn’t add anything to the gumbo.
Croux says “I’ll give it a 2 Spoon Rating”
When a waiter serves you Louisiana Gumbo, the first thing that hits you is the aroma. It’s usually the roux that hits your nose first. When this Louisiana Gumbo was placed in front of me, there was no aroma. Even when I went in for a closer smell, not much there. More about the Gumbo specifics later. Speckled T’s has two Louisiana Gumbos on their menu. They have a Louisiana Seafood Gumbo and a Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. Both are priced the same: $4.95 for a cup and $6.50 for a bowl. I had the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. It had a dark roux that was very thick. As you can see in the first photo, there was plenty of stuff, what you will see in the second photo is most of it was sausage. We are talking about sausage pieces
that were bigger than my spoon, and the sausage did not taste like a good Louisiana smoked sausage. It tasted more like a Kielbasa that you can buy anywhere in the USA. Now for the worst part of the gumbo: it was so salty that I couldn’t eat it. When I tasted the rice, it was ice cold. This is the first time I was served rice that was taken directly out of the walk-in cooler and served.
and one of the locations of the hit show Swamp People. Right down the road from the Houma Visitors Center is one of the locals' favorite lunch spots, Boudreau & Thibodeau’s. 
The Gumbo had a medium roux with PLENTY of chicken and sausage. One of the first things I noticed was the thickness of the Gumbo. If you have been reading my Louisiana Gumbo reviews you know I’m not a fan of okra in my Gumbo, but the thickness in this Gumbo comes from them stewing the okra to the point that the slime factor is gone, but you still get the taste of okra. The chicken was tender and tasty and the Louisiana sausage had a good spice. There was a great spiciness to the Gumbo but not overpowering. It did leave a very pleasant after burn. A great Gumbo keeps getting better as you get to the bottom of the cup (or bowl) and this one was as good as they come. The rice was warm but, as usual, didn’t add anything to the taste. There was a whole bay leaf in my Gumbo which should have been removed before serving, but no big deal. Many of the Louisiana Gumbos I’ve tasted had a high salt content, but this one was right on the money.
Croux says “I’ll give it a 4 Spoon Rating”
offered great swamp tours, but with the success of the History channel's show "Swamp People", the tourists are coming in droves to see reality TV's newest cool destination, to experience a bit of bayou life and to mingle with these down-to-earth, hard-working Cajun folk. 
Located about an hour southwest of New Orleans, Houma is more than swamps, though. The town is named for the United Houma Nation of Native Americans who have lived in Louisiana's swamplands since the 1700s. Today there are over 17,000 tribal members. Experience Houma's distinct Cajun Indian culture, evident from the residents, the fantastic food and the wonderful music.
to ring in the New Year; a place where you can relax and recuperate from the hectic holidays, then you'll definitely want to steer clear of the French Quarter. Then again, I’m sure you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the inhabitants of this great city know how to party hearty when it comes to celebrating the New Year! In fact, they are expecting that about 50,000 revelers will be on hand for New Orleans 2013 New Year’s Eve Celebration.
overlooking the partiers. This year, he will also have an LSU and a Hornets flag with him, along with some other surprises symbolizing the spirit of this wild city.
on Decatur Street at Jackson Square: 
New Iberia is home to some of the great attractions not only in Louisiana, but in the United States. Does the name Tabasco® mean anything to you? New Iberia is the home of Tabasco®, and Tabasco® is the Legacy sponsor of the 23rd World Champion Gumbo Cook-off which is put on by the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce. The festival is from October 12-14, but the cook-off is Sunday, October 14 and they are expecting over 85 teams. Do you realize how much Gumbo I will be tasting? Not a problem. Bring it on. Oh, by the way, almost anything can go into the gumbo. As a visitor, you can purchase a pass to taste the gumbos, but the early bird gets the gumbo,as there is only so much to go around. Also, the teams have no electricity to cook with. It’s BYOF (bring your own fire), and they have to make their roux from scratch. The Gumbo Police will be patrolling the grounds to make sure nobody breaks the rules. For all the info you need, just click here: 
October 26-27: 
On one of my last trips to Lafayette, I went to Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro which is also affiliated with The Blue Dog Café just up the road. Jolie’s is a casual/elegant restaurant that uses all local ingredients. If they can’t get it within 100 miles from Lafayette, they don’t use it. They only have one Gumbo on the menu and it’s always changing. Currently, they have a Rabbit and Pork Sausage Gumbo. When I was there they had a local Guinea Hen Gumbo. They charge only $8 for a bowl whether it’s for lunch or dinner. They serve it with both potato salad and a Louisiana rice (a tastier rice than regular long grain rice). The smell was outstanding as was the presentation. It was served hot and had plenty of stuff. It’s a dark roux gumbo, on the thicker side but didn't’t have a bold spicy taste as I would have expected. That being said, it was still a great Gumbo.
Croux says “I’ll give it a 3 Spoon Rating”
Service can be a little slow as the wait staff isn't’t the most attentive, but the food is good, reasonably priced and the setting is a must to experience.
be the first resort casino in Baton Rouge. L’auberge Baton Rouge is owned by Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc., the same folks that brought you L’auberge Lake Charles. This adds another piece of the tourism puzzle to the Baton Rouge tourism landscape. Baton Rouge has been riding high over the past several years with great new restaurants, new attractions, festivals and now a major resort.
booked Al Green (9/14) and in October they have Darius Rucker and Better Than Ezra (10/12) AND Louisiana’s own Harry Connick, Jr. (10/26). Go to
The event took place at the St. Bernard Seafood & Farmer's Market under a roof in front of the St. Bernard Parish Visitor Center. If you wanted to taste the Mac & Cheese from the eight participating restaurants, the cost was $10. Believe me, everyone got plenty to eat. They also had a chance to pick the Fan's Favorite Mac & Cheese (details on who won later). The money raised went to the St. Bernard Parish Tourist Commission so they can continue to market their EATS campaign.
cleanse your palate then go to the next plate. The problem for me was they were so good I ate most of everything in front of me. When the judging was over, the volunteers tallied the votes and the WINNERS ARE?
This extravaganza was on Saturday, February 18, 2012 and is one of the favorite events over Mardi Gras weekend. It was a rainy day, but that didn’t stop over 1,000 people from packing the Civic Center to taste just about all the gumbo they could. 
exception. On one of my recent visits, I went to Abby Singer’s Bistro. 
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