Home cooked meals are great — especially 

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when someone else is doing the cooking

Perhaps it is the heat, or regularly cooking for one, but eating at home every night might be a cost saver, it is also very boring.

Creating extravagant dishes with flavorful alternatives to favorite dishes served at family gatherings can be exciting, but without anyone to share them with, the thrill of accomplishment can be lost.

Eating out is an alternative that in tight economic times must be a decision blending culinary desire with financial stewardship. A budget might allow for the occasional noon meal or evening excursion, but coupled with who will be dining together, might present a number of interesting alternatives.

When deciding where to eat out, do you stay local in the Teche Area, or travel into other cities? Is it for companionship of friends living elsewhere or the newness of chain restaurants coming into the Lafayette area that attracts you?

Have you considered inviting Acadiana friends into the Teche Area for dining? If not, why not?

Tasty Experimenting

Conservatively speaking, the regular Friday night trip to Mexico (Tampicos) that started before a move into New Iberia, has slowed in recent weeks simply to give opportunity to expend eating-out budgets time to try new or seldom frequented anchor restaurants in the Teche Area. The respect for young entrepreneurs risking their reputations and investor’s dollars to open in a slow economy is worthy of mention.

Sunday’s business profile in The Daily Iberian touted the Mediterranean cuisine of Olympus Restaurant on Louisiana 14 at Admiral Doyle. As a fan of Greek and Lebanese dishes, the gyro salad and baba ghanoush, an eggplant dip, delighted the taste buds. Thinking about it alone brings a yearning to return for another sampling.

Pictured above is a simple idea with exceptional taste from Fromage, the gourmet grilled cheese, soup and salad shop on W. Main. The 27 year old restaurateur, Karl Boudreaux, started his career at Janes’s Seafood and Chinese restaurant where his mother worked and introduced him to the hospitality business.

His experimenting has led to a sandwich that could become a regular feature in the fall inspired by the popularity of his French onion soup. He created it with grilled onions on the artisan breads. Boudreaux uses large slices for the grilled sandwiches made with an exotic cheese. Even the soup of the day feature, lasagne, turns a tradition dish into something new.

We know KK’s Cafe and Cakery is now staying open in downtown New Iberia. What fun eye-candy to see the creative cakes in the window. Sharing lunch with friends or coworkers can now continue plus welcome tourists as well. Having the bakery as a stop on the Tabasco Food Tour was an unexpected treat.

After living three years in New Iberia, there are still restaurants with menus untapped including Bojangles Sushi and Oyster Bar and even Little River Inn, though the parent of that one, Riverside Inn in Lafayette, was a family favorite for many years.

Helping Them to Grow

Another new restaurant still in the growing stages with a soft opening this month is DeLea’s on Loreauville Road. Owner Phyllis Tate-Dalbany has more to her mission than serving home cooked meals. The menu will be increasing as the young staff gets trained, but the hospitality is one of her main focuses and helping young adults grow in more ways than earning a paycheck.

Not only does she want to make everyone feel at home, DeLea’s offers the home cooked menu as a drive through for anyone headed home that doesn’t want to cook. The LeJeune’s Bakery bun for hamburgers and the fried catfish sandwich is a winner. Still experimenting with menu items, the fish sandwich is a No. 1 — highly recommended.

Curiosity about another locally owned restaurant inspired a visit after hearing mixed comments. Dishes prepared by its catering arm at a recent event proved to be outstanding. Yet, the dine-in experience was disappointing. Had there been a suggestion box at the eatery, a comment might have been offered to improve the items sampled.

Even with dissatisfaction in a menu selection, the fact that a restaurant is locally owned is reason enough to give them another visit. Perhaps if everyone took a personal interest in local establishments, the Teche Area could become known as the best restaurants in South Louisiana.

We know how good the food is in our Southern homes, and to think the same people opening restaurants — family, friends and neighbors — insures we have a great start to the expanse of culinary delights.

New Iberia is also the beneficiary of one of Lafayette’s losses. Fratellis Italian Grille has satisfied the Italian itch on more than one occasion providing choices for adults as well as children.

LA Pizza Mia Pronto takeout has come through the doors into the break room too many times leaving fellow employees drooling for the gourmet combinations. Fast service or sit-down dinners, local chefs are eager to please.

Don’t Forget Favorites

Just because the new shops have opened, there’s no reason to forget the Duffy’s or Victor’s, Seafood Connection, the Boiling Point, Caribbean Ice or the fast food joints owned locally. Dining experiences at Café Jefferson and 1868 cater to tourist, but still need local patrons.

Fellow community restaurants make dining as a family fun at places like Kim’s Chinese, Golden Wok Chinese Buffet, Hot Wok or Hong Kong Buffet and Grill. The spring rolls at Pho LyLy, or the noodle bowls, are a healthy way of spending the fast food budget with a carry-out request. They’ll all serve “to go” if diners are in a hurry.

The number of restaurants in New Iberia may be growing, but the clientele are responsible for keeping the wide variety of choices available for everyone. With a finite number of people eating out on a daily basis, it is important to support local eateries rather than driving the extra mile to another community — unless you’re eating at the German owned Paris Café in St. Martinville, Forest Restaurant in Franklin or Mr. Lester’s, Cafe Delphine or the other Cypress Bayou Casino • Hotel restaurants. There is no shortage of good foods in the Teche Area — if you don’t want to cook at home.

Pros & Cons of Eating Out

Some people only dine out when a craving says, “Take me to (the restaurant) that serves _____!” Fill in the blank with the thing you crave and don’t prepare at home. Crab cakes, lasagne, Chinese food or simply boiled crawfish. Eating out may be easier than setting up the boiling pot for couples or families with small children who prefer something different from the menu.

Certain dishes are only eaten at favorite restaurants and regardless of the volume of offerings, diners don’t seem to be able to order something new from the menu constantly falling back on the reliable standard fair for that establishment.

To begin, the cost of traveling outside the neighborhood — in both time and energy costs — can play into the decision equation. Many are eating on a budget so why expend the extra dollars on traveling out. Invite Acadiana friends to come into the Teche Area to dine. An international smorgasbord of cuisine alternatives is now readily available in New Iberia.

Living in Jeanerette, Delcambre, St. Martinville, Baldwin, Charenton or Franklin does not limit the diner. A short drive north, south, east or west will bring family and friends together for mealtime experimenting and support the local economy.

Culinary Challenge

Next week is the annual Cajun Creole Cookoff sponsored by Cypress Bayou Casino • Hotel and The Daily Iberian. The winning bidder, Ryan Huval, and his friends and family will get to experience a lot of new dishes over the eight-course meal.

In the spirit of competition, consider the local restaurants in the Teche Area. The international offerings include Greek/Lebanese, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, German (ownership anyway), French, Creole, Cajun, All-American, Southern, Mexican and gourmet. The Teche Area has it all.

Today’s Featured Recipes

A recent article on Kernis Louviere’s authentic cooking methods did not allow all of the recipes he submitted to be printed. Therefore, his original recipes are featured today.