Depending on how close you are to a Cajun or Creole restaurant in Southwest Louisiana, you can literally smell the spices in the air. Also, being near the Gulf, the seafood served in many local restaurants is fresh off the hook and onto your plate. Below are some of the hot spots to get a taste of local Cajun or Creole cuisine!

 

One of the places to get fresh seafood and Cajun cooking is Seafood Palace in Lake Charles. It's a casual restaurant with red and white checkered tablecloths where you can unwind with friends and enjoy nature's bounty including shrimp, boiled crabs, alligator bites, poboys, crawfish and more!

 

A Creole staple is Famous Foods, and if you go there, you have to try the cracklins that come in varying degrees of spiciness, but the same level of scrumptiousness! Plate lunches are made to order, and Famous Foods also serves up melt-in-your-mouth brisket, barbecue, flavorful baked beans, boudin, and all the "fixin's."

 

 

Another local favorite place to get Cajun fare is Steamboat Bill’s. As the story goes, Kathy Vidrine, started selling shrimp on the side of the road, and eventually grew her own following and opened her restaurant which became the number one restaurant as voted by the locals for several years as well as notoriety in the media. Steamboat Bill's is also a popular spot during crawfish season!

 

Plate lunches and live music? BeauxDines’ Seafood & Specialty Meat Market is a winning combination. Conveniently located on the main route of Ryan Street in Lake Charles, you can find burgers, oysters, baked potatoes, seafood dinners, and crawfish when in season. Appetizers hit the spot too with jacked up fries, stuffed pistolettes, boudin and sausage.

Beauxdines Gumbo & Etouffee

 

If you are seeking out Creole deliciousness, look no further than Leonard’ Food Quarters in Lake Charles for a taste of Southwest Louisiana’s Creole soul food! Here, you can dig into a shrimp po-boy, red beans and rice, smothered steak with rice and gravy, or chicken and sausage gumbo to satisfy your appetite.

 

 

LeBleu’s Landing Restaurant & Oyster Bar, just west of Lake Charles in Sulphur, has deep roots in Southwest Louisiana’s history involving founders and tales of pirate folklore! Along with that history comes centuries of recipes and deliciousness that everyone can enjoy from Cajun gumbo and bisque selections to signature boudin, seafood dishes, oysters, and award-winning bacon-wrapped boudin!

 

Hollier's Cajun Kitchen is family-owned tradition in Sulphur that has been household name in Southwest Louisiana since 1995 with 1980 being the origins with the Hollier family inspecting and wholesaling boudin, sausage, jambalaya, and seasonings and more. When you're there, you can take a photo on a giant rocking chair too - preserve those memories!

 

 

Aptly named Insane Sausages, Derek Gaspard's sausage and food creations are super creative - and maybe a wee bit insane! Insane Sausages is located in Vinton, west of Sulphur. It features award-wining boudin, and it's the perfect stop to satisfy your appetite, especially when you’re starving. From pork sausage poboys to chili cheese dog po-boys to boudin sliders, no one is going hungry! 

Insane Sausages

 

At In-Law's Cajun Specialties, you'll find a wide array of Cajun favorites. Choose from freshly made boudin, cracklins, sausage, barbecue, and specialty meats, or indulge in all of the above. Each item is prepared with the authentic flavors of Southwest Louisiana, ensuring a delicious experience every time. Satisfy your cravings at either of In-Law's convenient locations. Visit the original spot in Iowa (pronounced "eye-oh-way") or explore their new location in Moss Bluff!

 

 

Also, in the quaint town of Iowa, you can find Rabideaux's Sausage Kitchen, filled with specialty meat products and, you guessed it – boudin! This cute and rustic Cajun deli features meats, sausage, boudin, cracklins, hamburgers, poboys and more. Pro Tip: Rabideaux’s ships boudin out of town if you need more once you return home. 

 

There are other places to indulge in Cajun and Creole goodness too, so be sure to check out Cajun/Creole restaurants in Southwest Louisiana for more selections!

 

Here's some Lagniappe for you or "a little something extra." 
Check out Cajun & Creole seasonings in the kitchen exhibit at Creole Nature Trail Adventure Point.