Brian Blanco is a man who loves what he does.

He has his hands in many things, mainly crawfish pots. But his latest business is opening up the Neon Pig food truck in New Iberia, bridging simple, high quality burgers to the Teche. The owner of the Crawfish Boss in Broussard grew up in a kitchen.

The Morgan City native and Youngsville resident rarely takes a break. From December to the end of crawfish season, he is hard at work. But he wouldn’t have it any other way. Blanco just opened up the Neon Pig at the start of October and it’s been a “smash” hit ever since.

He sat down with the Daily Iberian to talk about his latest adventure, working and owning a restaurant, free time, and so much more. This is Behind the Grill: Brian Blanco.

What was it like growing up in Morgan City?

Morgan City was a fantastic experience. For the years I was there, the oilfield was booming. Morgan City was a boom town and it was very exciting because we had a lot of people in and out. There were a lot of people from lots of walks of life.

How long would you say you have been cooking? Was it something you always did? And did you always want to do that line of work or did you do something else?

I grew up in the restaurant business with my parents. They owned seafood restaurants and sit-down restaurants. I’ve owned a few businesses in Lafayette. I’m concentrating more on the restaurant business.

What do you enjoy about working in the restaurant industry?

I like the part of serving people and them enjoying this. We have people coming to the Crawfish Boss from Jackson, MS, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Shreveport, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, they come all over.

What do you think the future for the restaurant industry holds for this area?

I think the future is trending towards to-go. I think people want to get good, quality food to-go. It’s no longer just fast food. And that is one of the reasons I wanted to test out the Neon Pig. Because I thought the way people are turning to and not cooking as much and getting things to go.I asked where can you get a gourmet hamburger for a fast-food style, so that is what hit me when I got the food truck and opened the Neon Pig.

You told me this is your first time owning a food truck. What is something you learned about running one?

It’s not really any different than any other restaurant. They have a window just like a drive-thru. The biggest thing is controlling your food cost. Our food truck doesn’t move. It stays here.

What does your cooking season look like? Do you have any off time?

We will start sometime in December and I won’t have a time off until July 4th. This past year, I worked from January to July 4th. I went to the beach with my family. But I love it. That is what I do.

What do you enjoy most about serving New Iberia?

It feels like home. It’s not different from Morgan City. It’s a wide net of people. And they enjoy their food so When you are serving good food, everyone is your friend.