When in Darrow, Louisiana, by all means, have a meal or two at the Carriage House Restaurant on the estate grounds and take advantage of breakfast at Dixie Cafe included in your room rate, but also take time to explore the area within a short drive of Houmas House. By doing so, you can get a better understanding of the importance of the Mississippi River, agriculture, and oil refineries to the local economy. (In case you missed it, here is my post about Houmas House Estate & Gardens).
Grapevine Cafe in Donaldsonville, LA
Grapevine Cafe is a longstanding favorite among the locals of Donaldsonville. It is not on a busy intersection of a major highway. Instead, it is tucked in a cozy spot downtown. The building dates back to the 1920's, and colorful artwork lines the walls that is available for sale. The menu features Cajun and Creole specialties with a heavy emphasis on seafood but offering plenty of options for the non-seafood lovers.
Steve and I shared a bowl of Shrimp, Crab, and Okra Gumbo, interestingly served with both rice and potato salad.
For our entree, we shared Crawfish Cornbread topped with Grilled Southern Fish and smothered with Crawfish Etouffee. Ohhhh yummmm. This came with a crisp garden salad.
For dessert, we couldn't resist what they claim is "Award-Winning White Chocolate Bread Pudding." It was smooth and decadent.
We really enjoyed our meal at Grapevine Cafe. The service was attentive and very friendly.
Don's Seafood in Gonzales, LA
Don's Seafood is extremely popular. So much so that people drive from miles around, and the owners now have six locations. So expect to wait for a table if you arrive at a peak time. It is Crawfish Season in Gonzales, so we went full-on crawfish with our order.
The meal started with a cup of Crawfish Bisque.
Then we were served a plate containing Fried Crawfish, Crawfish Au Gratin, Jacked Up Crawfish, Broiled Crawfish, Crawfish Etouffee, hushpuppies, and a Stuffed Potato. It's a good thing we like crawfish! :)
The menu is extensive, so there are many other items we'll try during a future visit.
I hope I've enticed you to visit this area. It is full of friendly people. We might even go so far as to say the people are friendlier than they are here in North Alabama. Go find out for yourselves.
By the way, this post is definitely NOT an April Fool's Day joke. Have a fun day, everyone.
Hi Sylvia. It was delicious, just unusual for 2 people from North Alabama. 😊 You live in a wonderful part of the country.
It may seem strange to you and others, but here in South Louisiana both rice AND potato salad are traditionally served with gumbo—especially in a home setting! Glad you enjoyed your visit to Louisiana.