Tag: Lafayette

The creative Cajun has called Lafayette, Louisiana, home since birth and finds inspiration in “the very weird, very diverse” culture of the city; so much so that she opened her brick-and-mortar gift shop, Cocodrie Collective, downtown in 2023. “There’s a big mashup of backgrounds and customs,” she says. “We like to joke that we’re all a bunch of mutts.” Here are her recommendations for exploring Lafayette like a local.

A Cajun colloquialism, “T” in front of a name means petite or small. For the T’Spoon cocktail at Spoonbill Watering Hole & Restaurant in Lafayette, Louisiana, it may be a small, boozy nod to the restaurant’s brashy-sweet vibe—but it sure has big taste.

Born in Acadiana (Louisiana’s historically French region) in the sixties, a plate lunch is a working person’s meal. Portions are large so as to keep hunger at bay until nightfall.

Their primary job is to serve the most central of daily meals: lunch. They are early risers, okra choppers, roux stirrers, crowd herders. They are keepers of their family’s long-held recipes. They bear up under pressure. They are survivors.