Bourque's Supermarket

581 Saizan St., Port Barre, LA - (337) 585-6261

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Posted By Michael Stern on December 12, 2003 7:21 PM

An otherwise ordinary supermarket where the people of Port Barre come to buy Cheerios, potato chips, bacon, and eggs, Bourque's lured us off Highway 190 with a road sign boasting that it was "Home of the Original Jalapeno Sausage Cheese Bread." Having never even sampled any fakes or copies, we were eager to try the original. It is splendid: a round loaf, available in sizes big enough for two or a family, its gnarled dough chockablock with savory bits of sausage and hot pepper and melted cheese. We ate ours cold, off the dashboard of the car; but we can only imagine how extra-good this bread would taste if heated in the oven.

While browsing through Bourque's isles, we were reminded that a grocery store can be a vivid reflection of local taste – especially in this part of Louisiana. Shelves hold store-made roux, countless hot sauces and Cajun spice, tasso ham, giant jars of hog lard, and plenty of chicory coffee. The butcher's case included an awesome array of such ickies as chicken hearts, hog jowls, a variety of tripes, and one especially fearsome looking heap of animal protein labeled "beef bouille." We asked the butcher what it was. "Are you sure you want to know?" he grinned back at us. We gulped and nodded yes. "Oh, it's not really that bad," he said. "It's pieces of liver, kidney, sweetbreads, and hearts. For your sausage."

At the back of the store is a counter where ready-to-eat foods are sold. It's a fascinating selection, ranging from the mundane (a bland corn dog) to the magnificent (crusty boudin balls with creamy/savory insides and a superspicy afterburn). One of the best treats here are the store-made cracklins: bite-size nuggets of fried-crisp pig fat.

Overall Rating

Jalapeno Sausage Cheese Bread

Boudin Ball

Cracklins

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Posted By Tom Lewis on November 8, 2011 9:22 PM

Bourque's Supermarket was one of my stops during a three day eating trip through southern Louisiana along the Cajun Trail. The nondescript store gives no clue as to the wonderful food available inside. Traditional grocery items are available along with all types of specialty Cajun foods. The meat market features unique pork and beef cuts including various organ meats.

Toward the back of the store, there is a hot food steam table where “to go” plate lunches may be requested according to your taste. Just above the steam table is a brightly lit enclosure with fresh hot cracklins: fried crunchy cubes of streak-o-lean seasoned to perfection. Behind the steam table are the ovens where the decadent Bourque's jalapeno sausage cheese bread is baked.

Luckily, when I arrived all of the bread had been sold so I followed the directions on the shelf and asked at the bakery area. Voila, I purchased four loaves that were just coming hot out of the oven. Additionally, I purchased a jar of Bourque's roux (the dark slow-cooked version of flour and oil that is the thickening base for gumbos and etouffees) and some cold Barq’s root beers for the road.

Once inside my vehicle, the yeasty smell of the jalapeno sausage cheese bread became too appealing. I opened one loaf and my wife and I ate small hunks of the cheesey warm spicy bread eagerly and downed them with the cold Barq’s. What an explosion of flavors! Bourques’s staff was wonderful and offered great insights into the local food and its delicious simplicity.

Overall Rating

Jalapeno Sausage Cheese Bread

Cracklins

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