great places in Lafayette, LA

After returning from eating the best burger in town at Judice Inn, I want to share a few great places in Lafayette, LA that are not known for Cajun food.

Judice in, in my opinion, has the best hamburger around. The menu is very limited, but everyone around comes for the burger anyway. A simple burger with a crusty exterior and juicy interior, dressed, with special sauce. The best!

Southside Bakery is known for their burgers too. While it is often voted the best in Lafayette, I rather the meat at Judice Inn. But a it's still a great burger. The bakery has a variety of sweets and breads which are great. Extensive menu with good sandwiches too.

My favorite poboy comes from Chris' Poboys. It's not everyone's cup of tea because of the substitution of cabbage for lettuce, but I think it's great and really compliments the meat. My favorite is the oyster or shrimp, but the roast beef is excellent too as is the ham. Again, a limited menu, but if you go you know what you're there for.

While not know for it's Thai cuisine, one of my favorite spots in Lafayette is Pimon Thai. It's a family owned resturant and a real hole in the wall. But the red and green curry are excellent, as are the spring rolls. Nice menu. Beware of Thai hot! I usually get Cajun hot and sweat throughout the experience.

One last spot to try is Dwyer's. I worked downtown in college and Dwyer's was my primary destination for lunch (I could walk there and get back to work within a half hour). The plate lunches are loaded with carbs and perfect for hungry college student or anyone desiring an afternoon nap. I also love the burgers, which are really simple and homestyle. The menu is extensive and Dwyer's is well known for breakfast.

Hope someone checks out one of these places in lieu of only eating at the great Cajun restaurants around town. You won't be disappointed.

cy

Cy - thanks for the reports, I'm going to Kaplan in a couple of weeks, and hope to to try some of them.

I just heard about a place called Shire's or Shuir's, somewhere near Lafayette. It's basically just a grocery store, with a few tables on the side, and turtle sauce picante is their specialty. Have you or any other roadfooders out there heard of it or been there?

Thanks for the reply.

Hope you get to spend some time in Lafayette. It's a great little city and has more to eat (other than Cajun or Creole) than most people realize.

Never heard of Suire's in Kaplan, but googled it. Here's the info I found. Sounds great.

Suire’s Grocery & Restaurant
3 miles south of Kaplan, LA
on Hwy 35
337-643-8911

I travel to Lafayette, LA pretty often for business. I have to say that all should try T Coons. Very very good and a definate roadfood type of place. I have had breakfast, lunch and dinner there and I have never ever been dissapointed.

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17877&SearchTerms=lafayette,la

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

T-Coon's is great. Some of the best "home-style" cooking around. It does get crowded (even on a weekday), but worth the trip.

Some of the smaller neighborhoods in the Lafayette area (Broussard, Youngsville, Carencro, Scott) have great food (at least I've heard!). Ask anyone you meet. Cajuns are friendly and usually have an opinion on anything, especially food!

cy

I just learned this morning we may be heading to Lafayette, LA for another Class B camper van RV rally in the spring. Being a northerner I will be more interested in Cajun and Creole in the short few days we will be there. Burgers and Thai we can get in Minnesota. In fact I just ate at a Thai restaurant last Saturday. I want CRAWFISH!

Cy and Sundancer - thanks again for listing more restaurants to try, and Cy - for taking the trouble to search Suire's - I hope to try some of them and give a trip report later.

Davydd - remember when eatin' those crawfish - don't eat the dead ones.

I can understand how someone not from South Louisiana could want some good crawfish by now, but I'm actually a little "crawfished out." You can still get boiled crawfish now (mid July), but they are pricy and the shells are really hard. Makes them tough to peel. I'd probably try to find a good etouffee' or bisque somewhere. There are plenty of places in and around Lafayette that can fill your needs!

Speaking of crawfish bisque and changing the subject ever so slightly, I am going to my 88 year old grandma's today to film her making her crawfish bisque. I've spoken of her bisque before. If I had to have a last meal, this would be it. Her health has been poor lately and I've wanted to get this on tape. I will let y'all know how it turned out.

cy