http://magazine.continental.com/200802-go-eat
For a quarter century, Juban’s (3739 Perkins Road, 225.346.8422; jubans.com) has been taking the Creole-influenced flavors of the Big Easy and giving them a Baton Rouge flair. Along the way, it’s developed a large local and regional following, as well as one of the most original dishes you’re bound to stumble across anywhere — the Hallelujah Crab. This flash-fried soft-shell crab is served stuffed with crawfish, shrimp, and crabmeat and topped with a creolaise sauce. The dish gets its name because the crab’s claws are thrown skyward, ready to embrace a soon-to-be-satisfied diner.
Miriam Juban, one of the restaurant’s three co-owners, says the Hallelujah Crab is a symbol of Juban’s fun and embracing atmosphere. But the dish almost ended up with a less appetizing name. “We were going to call it Touchdown Crab at first because it has its arms in the air,” she recalls. “A neighbor came over and tasted it and said the name was wrong. He said, ‘That thing’s saying hallelujah.’”
The restaurant has been a family affair since its founding in 1983. Juban says they started up because they felt there was a hole in the local dining scene. “No one was copying the New Orleans food,” she explains. One of the great validations of what Juban’s has accomplished, she adds, is that it has become a favorite of savvy diners from New Orleans who have moved to Baton Rouge.
Chef Terry McDonner says the key to what makes Juban’s successful and different is taking French cuisine and incorporating foods and techniques particular to Louisiana. “We’ve always done the béarnaise sauces, the bordelaise, the hollandaise. We just keep tuning it and tuning it to be sure we’re ahead of the next restaurant,” McDonner says.
To go with its heralded crab dish, Juban’s offers a number of authentic Louisiana dishes. Miriam Juban is most proud of the smoked chicken, duck, and andouille sausage gumbo, as well as several seafood dishes. McDonner lists the lamb among his favorites, adding that he relishes the idea of taking common foods and giving them an upscale twist.
Juban’s has grown considerably, starting as a 5,000-square-foot bistro and more than doubling its space to 13,000 square feet over the years. The restaurant has also benefited from its location close to Interstate 10 in a town that has seen tremendous growth.
“We have the well-heeled travelers here quite often,” Juban says. “They may have eaten in Tokyo yesterday, Baton Rouge today, and Mobile tomorrow.[Baton Rouge] is part of the Energy Corridor and it brings in some very savvy travelers.”
Juban says the key is to keep all visitors coming back. “We always want to pay attention to our diners and try to make them our friends.”
Getting There: Continental offers daily nonstop service to Baton Rouge from its hub in Houston.
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Beauregard Gallery & Bistro. 715 Europe St., 225.383.1932. Grilled tuna and shrimp remoulade are among the favorites at this great out-of-the-way lunch spot in downtown Baton Rouge.
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Mestizo. 2323 Acadian Thruway, 225.387.2699. Mestizo’s menu is an intriguing collision of Mexican cuisine and Louisiana flavor, with selections like crawfish burritos and crab enchiladas.
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DiGiulio Brothers. 2903 Perkins Road, 225.383.4203. This small, comfortable Italian spot has all the bases covered when it comes to the food Mama would make.
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Hawks Nest Restaurant. 3015 Westfork Drive, 225.291.4422. This is the place in Baton Rouge to get a delicious hamburger and fries.
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Maison Lacour. 11025 N. Harrell’s Ferry Road, 225.275.3755. Nothing says Louisiana like French food, and this cozy little cottage delivers a fine selection of traditional French cuisine.
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Ralph & Kacoo’s. 6110 Bluebonnet Road, Baton Rouge 225.766.2113. This is seafood with a Cajun flair that will let you know you’re in Louisiana.
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The Chimes. 3357 Highland Road, Baton Rouge 225.383.1754. Right off the LSU campus, the Chimes is a Baton Rouge institution that serves up Louisiana comfort food, including dishes like alligator, crabmeat-stuffed mushrooms, and crabmeat-stuffed jalapeños.
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The Little Village. 453 Lafayette St., Baton Rouge 225.218.6685. This quaint Italian bistro offers an intimate experience and traditional Italian cuisine. Everyone raves about the bread too.
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Drusilla Seafood Restaurant. 3482 Drusilla Lane, Suite D, Baton Rouge 225.923.0896. Also known for its great steaks, this upscale seafood spot serves up po’ boys and fried dishes too. Voted one of Baton Rouge’s best business lunch spots.
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Kamado’s. 4612 Bennington Ave., Baton Rouge 225.928.3888. Kamado’s slices and dices sushi and sashimi in a comfortable atmosphere and also does tabletop grilling.
Avoyelles has a history as colorful and mysterious as Louisiana itself. This cavernous upstairs bar in Baton Rouge used to be the tailoring and mending room for Joan Eddy’s Dress Shop back in the early 20th century. You can almost see rows and rows of foot-powered sewing machines and steam pressers, and seamstresses nipping and tucking away, cinching waists and fluffing up flounces.
Today, Avoyelles (333 Third St., 225.381.9385; avoyellescafe.com) is probably the best gathering place in Louisiana’s state capital for a great drink, Creole cooking, a game on the TV, or a view of the parade of commerce floating up and down the Mississippi River. The clothing store’s original red oak floor, restored of course, is still underfoot and also part of the back bar. Wood columns, well-seasoned brick walls, and plaster form the unpretentious backdrop for a whopping 9,200 square feet of airy space under 14-foot ceilings. That’s not counting the outdoor deck facing the river.
“We’re an old–New Orleans atmosphere right on the 50-yard line of the downtown Baton Rouge entertainment district,” beams Jay Dykes, an electrical contractor who bought Avoyelles 10 years ago and has refashioned it into more than just a bar. The first floor, where the frocks and gowns were once sold, is now Avoyelle’s Café, where the prices are so low, you’ll wonder if they’re 20 years out of date. Where else can you get a dish like the Alligator Bayou Teche — a blackened or fried “tender cut of gator” seasoned with Creole honey mustard — for $8?
Let’s go upstairs, where drinks are served on top of a 35-foot-long bar crafted out of sinker cypress from a tree rescued from the Louisiana swamps. All the knots, scars, and grain remain intact beneath a coat of varnish and add to the local lore. Dykes and his main mixologist, Erik Adams (in photo), wisely haven’t gone over the libational edge with “real gatorade” or crawfish cocktails. But there’s no shortage of imagination. The Avoyelles Sunset is a potent blend of Sailor Jay and Malibu rums, triple sec, pineapple juice, and grenadine, $7.50. Enjoy one on the deck late in the afternoon for maximum return on your reasonable investment. Adams also makes what he calls a Creole Cosmo, using the more expensive Stoli Orange and Cointreau along with the de rigueur cranberry juice and splash of lime juice, $7.50. Other inspirations: the calorie-packed Mississippi Martini, which is a beyond-the-pale potion made with Stoli Vanil, Godiva and Baileys liqueurs, and chocolate syrup, also $7.50.
Thanks to Dykes’ deft hand, Avoyelles has somehow managed to avoid becoming a Louisiana State University hangout. That may be why Kip Holden, Baton Rouge’s mayor, drinks a Budweiser here now and then, and locals say you never know whom you’ll run into at Avoyelles. Not long ago actors Beau Bridges and Judd Nelson were here at a cast and crew wrap party for Dirty Politics, a movie partly filmed in Baton Rouge. Says Dykes with a smile, “It’s a comedy about two presidential candidates.”
For anyone who believes in a frugal fiscal policy, Avoyelles is the place to come for bargains in a glass. Weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m., American longneck beers, house wines, and well drinks are $2 apiece. Imports — Heineken, Beck’s, Bass Ale — are $3, and martinis are doubles for the price of a single during those hours. Mike Ederon, a Baton Rouge executive with the Boy Scouts of America and a regular at Avoyelles’ $10 buffet lunch, advises me to try an Abita, brewed down the road in Abita, La., a place said to be hopping with Louisiana flavor and personality. Just like Avoyelles itself.
Getting There: Continental offers daily nonstop service to Baton Rouge from its hub in Houston.
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