Congratulations to the chefs and restaurateurs of Lafayette for being named Tastiest Town in the South by the readers of Southern Living magazine. It's well-deserved. Look for a feature story on the culinary delights of the town in the April edition of Southern Living—a tribute to the Cajun underpinnings of the cuisine.

Last year, Rand McNally's "Best of the Road" named Lafayette the best small town for food in the U.S.

Take a food tour here, and let us know your favorites.

Susan and I were thrilled when David Gallent agreed to join Kitchen & Culture. We felt that we had really scored. David is an amazing award-winning photographer with food styling skills to boot. We knew David's very unique perspective was exactly what we needed to flush out the vision we share for Louisiana Kitchen.  Everyone adores David.  He's really laid back, smart, and funny. It was hard to imagine him ever really getting riled up.

We were right. We were wrong.

We were right about the photographer and stylist angle: The magazine is going to be visually stunning, thanks to David and Scott Ott, our highly skilled and talented award-winning Creative Director. We were wrong in thinking we were just getting a staff Photographer/Stylist.  He is SO much more. Here's an excerpt from a conversation we had just this morning:

Yesterday was my honey's birthday and the celebration continues tonight with a gathering of the Usual Suspects at our casa. I worked my keister off until 11 last night dragging dirt around as I overhauled our back yard, rocking out  to Led Zeppelin, replanting what winter killed off,  and working arduously to evict Sanford and his Son from the premises. Neither Sanford nor his Son seemed to want to leave and I kept running into them in various places throughout the yard after I thought they had already left, necessitating repeated evictions anew. I am pretty sure it was The Dogs who invited Sanford and Son to roost back there in the first place.

The following is courtesy of the Louisiana Bicentennial Commission (click to visit)

Louisiana Statehood History

On April 30, 1812, the United States admitted Louisiana as the 18th state into the Union. Louisiana was the first state to have a majority Catholic French- and Spanish-speaking population, reflecting its origins as a colonyunder France from 1699-1763 and Spain from 1763-1803. Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Louisiana's road to statehood was not all smooth. Federal law required citizens of a newly admitted territory to apply to congress for statehood, and the admission of the Orleans Territory as the 18th state followed years of lobbying efforts by prominent citizens—both American and Creole (French-speaking Catholics). Men such as French-born congressman Julien Poydras and American attorney Edward Livingston sought the greater political rights that statehood bestowed and convinced Territorial Governor William C.C. Claiborne that the Orleans Territory qualified for statehood. Finally in 1811, Democratic President James Madison signed the bill allowing the people of Louisiana to form a state constitution. Following the state constitutional convention in New Orleans where 43 American and Creole leaders convened, on April 14, 1812, President Madison signed the bill approving statehood. The bill designated April 30, 1812, as the day of formal admission.

Why fake it? Why bother?  They usually figure it out, anyway: Fat free half-and-half, pseudo "butter," tofu or seitan crumbles, soy pasta. And on and on - and other things, too.

But.

Mardi Gras was just that: One big, fat ass Tuesday that lasted a week. I snarfed  down enough varieties of king cake to call it a contest, drowned myself in all manner of gumbos, conducted a study of assorted jambalayas, ate enough fried chicken to start clucking, and drank enough wine to earn the name Bacchus (or whoever his female counterpart is/was). By Mardi Gras Day I was so sick of it all and so grossed out I spent the day happily working. I also turned to the one fake-out I heartily embrace when my jeans fit too tight or I simply feel poisoned: Fake (or faux) Pho.

I have done my share of traveling and plan to do much more, but the thought of living anywhere but here is anathema to me. When I was exiled after Katrina, a friend suggested that none of us knew where we would be living in two years I knew exactly where I would be: In my purple cottage in Uptown New Orleans surrounded by like-minded, relatively impractical people who are food and music obsessed and who, for the most part, drink too much, talk too loud, and always seem to have extra to share.

We (Jyl & Susan) are currently in Shreveport for the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association's (LTPA) annual Summit meeting. Yesterday Susan and I were invited to lunch at The Shreveport Club, a private space established by members of the Shreveport business community in 1945. Elegant and gracious, the club features beautifully  appointed dining rooms and expertly executed regional cuisine.