If you ask a local in Lafayette what we’re most proud of, you’ll likely hear about our food – and the culture and community that come with it. Lafayette, Louisiana sits in the heart of Cajun Country’s culinary capital, a city so renowned for good times and great eats that it’s been dubbed the “Happiest City in America” and even the “Best Food City in the USA”. In fact, Southern Living magazine once crowned Lafayette “the tastiest town in the South” – a high honor in a region famous for flavor. It’s no surprise then that Lafayette Eats, an initiative proudly brought to you by Lafayette Travel, shines a spotlight on the people, places, and plates that make our community’s food scene so special. This is a celebration of how Lafayette Travel and the Lafayette Eats campaign contribute to our community by promoting the local food scene and preserving Cajun culture – all in a casual, joyful way that’ll make you feel like part of the family.

Cajun Country’s Culinary Capital

Lafayette isn’t just another city with good restaurants – it’s a way of life. Here, joie de vivre (joy of living) is served by the plateful. Locals and visitors alike quickly learn that in Lafayette you don’t have to go to a museum to experience culture – “you can be immersed in it. You can eat it, dance with it, and live it,” as Lafayette Travel’s own Jesse Guidry puts it. From the sizzle of a crawfish boil in spring to the irresistible aroma of a dark roux for gumbo in winter, food is how we celebrate our heritage every day. And Lafayette Travel, the area’s official tourism organization, makes sure everyone knows it: the team proudly showcases Lafayette’s rich history, music, and especially its cuisine, giving visitors a guide to authentic Cajun experiences. It’s why everybody who comes here “goes to get happy” and well-fed – Lafayette offers an infectious zest for life that you can literally taste.

Lafayette Travel’s commitment to our culinary culture is perhaps best exemplified by the annual EatLafayette campaign – the inspiration behind Lafayette Eats. Started over 20 years ago with just 18 mom-and-pop restaurants under the guidance of local restaurateur Charlie Goodson of Café Vermilionville, EatLafayette has grown into a powerful initiative celebrating the unique flavors of Acadiana. What began as a summer promotion is now a year-round celebration of dining across Lafayette Parish. EatLafayette highlights dozens of locally owned eateries (no chains allowed!) because supporting these homegrown businesses means preserving Cajun culture itself. “Our mom-and-pop restaurants are cultural ambassadors – keepers of our local tradition,” Ben Berthelot, President and CEO of Lafayette Travel, often explains. By helping sustain these family-run gems, Lafayette Travel ensures that the recipes, accents, and warm welcomes passed down through generations continue to thrive. In Lafayette, a bowl of gumbo or a boudin sausage isn’t just dinner – it’s living history.

From Tradition to Innovation: Lafayette’s Food Scene Shines

Ask anyone around here and they’ll tell you: Acadiana’s food has soul. Generations of cooks have perfected dishes like boudin (spicy rice-stuffed sausage), cracklins (crispy pork bites), étouffée, and jambalaya that’ll make your eyes light up. Some of the most beloved eateries in Lafayette have been serving these classics for decades. For instance, the plate lunches at Laura’s II (think smothered turkey wings over rice and gravy) are so authentic and delicious that chef-owner Madonna Broussard earned a James Beard Award semifinalist honor in 2025 for “Best Chef: South” – a huge deal in the culinary world. Her family’s little café, started by her grandmother in 1968, became the spot for soul food, even drawing the late Anthony Bourdain to stop by for a taste in 2018. Over at Johnson’s Boucanière, you’ll find Lori Walls carrying on her own family’s legacy, smoking sausage and meats the old-fashioned way just like her folks did at the original Johnson’s Grocery in Eunice decades ago. When you bite into their smoky boudin or a bowl of gumbo there, you’re literally enjoying a recipe that’s been tweaked and perfected across generations – Lori still uses her mom’s gumbo recipe, with a few personal touches.

Other local institutions are just as storied. Don’s Seafood, founded by the Landry family in 1934, still fries up seafood platters and ladles out rich crawfish bisque the old-school way. T-Coon’s on Pinhook Road serves plate lunches and gumbos with recipes straight from Cajun grandmères – you can even get rabbit smothered in gravy on Mondays. And no trip to Lafayette is complete without an overstuffed shrimp po’boy from Olde Tyme Grocery, a hub of lunchtime happiness for generations of UL students and locals. These places are the bedrock of Lafayette’s food scene – walk into any of them and you’ll likely be greeted like family, handed a heaping plate of something delicious, and maybe hear a bit of Cajun French being spoken at the next table. It’s all part of that Lafayette charm.

But Lafayette’s food scene isn’t just about tradition – it’s also about innovation and moving Cajun cuisine forward without losing its roots. In the past decade or so, a wave of talented young chefs (many of them born and raised in Acadiana) have come back home and kicked the culinary scene up a notch. These chefs – what one local restaurateur fondly called “Cajun hotshot kids, coming back and doing tradition with a twist” – respect the old flavors but aren’t afraid to experiment. Take Chef Ryan Trahan, for example. A Scott, Louisiana native, Chef Trahan made a name in fine dining and then returned to open Vestal in downtown Lafayette in 2021. Vestal is a chic, modern restaurant built around a 14-foot live-fire hearth where Trahan and his team literally play with fire to put an upscale spin on Cajun and Southern ingredients. His cuisine features fresh, farm-to-table local produce and Gulf seafood with global accents – imagine your grandmother’s smothered pork, but plated like haute cuisine with a wood-fire kiss and maybe a drizzle of cane syrup gastrique. It’s no wonder Trahan has been a multi-time James Beard Award semifinalist for his innovative approach.

He’s not alone. Chef Justin Girouard of The French Press was nominated for Best Chef: South by the James Beard Foundation while still in his twenties – at his restaurant, he elevates down-home dishes (like sweet dough pain perdu and Cajun Eggs Benedict) into brunch legends. Over at the revitalized Acadiana Superette, young Chef Don Green took over a humble neighborhood grocery in 2021 and turned it into a hotspot by infusing classic plate lunches with chef-driven techniques. He still serves hearty rice-and-gravy and cracklin’ by the pound, but also house-smokes his bacon and sausage to use in everything for extra depth of flavor. And let’s not forget the Pamplona Tapas Bar, where a rising star like Chef Anthony Burley merges Spanish tapas style with Louisiana ingredients – you might find chorizo alongside andouille on the menu. These innovators prove that Lafayette’s culinary scene is vibrant and evolving, all while staying true to its Cajun soul.

What’s truly special is how the traditional and the new blend together. On any given day, you can start lunch with a two-piece fried catfish from a old-school spot like Dwyer’s Café, and by dinnertime enjoy a craft cocktail and small plates at a trendy spot like Social Southern or Central Pizza run by young entrepreneurs. Lafayette’s food scene runs the gamut from rustic to refined. And the whole country is noticing: not only have we racked up national accolades, but even internationally-renowned chefs sing Lafayette’s praises. (The late Paul Prudhomme, who sparked a Cajun cooking craze in the 1980s, hailed from right here in Acadiana, after all.) When Southern Living named Lafayette the South’s Tastiest Town, they highlighted how our city’s “tastemakers, chefs, artisans and restaurants” create a distinct local flavor you can’t find anywhere else. Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, and travel bloggers galore have all sung Lafayette’s culinary praises. We’ve truly earned our spot on the foodie map.

And it’s not just within the city limits – the surrounding areas of Acadiana contribute to the feast as well. Lafayette makes the perfect home base for a gastronomic adventure. Many a visitor (and local) has happily burned a tank of gas zigzagging the back roads to find the tastiest treasures. A short drive south, you can slurp raw oysters straight from the source in Abbeville, or head east to Breaux Bridge (the “Crawfish Capital of the World”) for crawfish étouffée that will knock your socks off. Small-town meat markets around Lafayette churn out boudin and smoked andouille that fuel countless road trips. Lafayette Travel recognizes this too – their guides and website encourage exploring the whole region’s food trails, from the famous Boudin Trail to hidden-gem barbecue joints. It’s all part of experiencing the full Cajun culinary tapestry. By promoting not just Lafayette city but all of Acadiana’s food culture, Lafayette Travel helps sustain the wider community of farmers, fishers, and food artisans that make these authentic experiences possible.

Community Spirit Beyond the Table

One of the things that makes Lafayette’s food scene thrive is the strong sense of community behind it. It’s not just about restaurants doing their own thing; it’s about everyone pulling together to celebrate our culture. That’s where Lafayette Travel’s leadership – guided by President/CEO Ben Berthelot – truly shines. Under Ben’s enthusiastic leadership, Lafayette Travel has become more than a tourism office; it’s a champion for all things that make Lafayette special, from food and festivals to sports and music. They know that preserving Cajun culture means supporting it on every front. So while Lafayette Travel certainly promotes gumbo and Zydeco, they also roll up their sleeves to support local events, our university, and even the hometown team.

In Lafayette, food and sports go hand-in-hand as beloved pastimes. Lafayette Travel recognizes that a Ragin’ Cajuns home game at UL is as much a cultural event as a football matchup. Tailgating under the oak trees at Cajun Field isn’t complete without someone stirring a pot of jambalaya or boiling crawfish for all to share. “When a team in any athletic sport has success, it benefits the entirety of the community,” notes Ben Berthelot – and he means it. A winning season for the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns isn’t just about trophies; it brings folks together, fills local hotels and restaurants with visiting fans, and gives us another chance to show outsiders a good time our way. A perfect example was when Lafayette got to host an NCAA  Regional at the “Tigue”. Fans poured in from across the country, and Lafayette Travel treated the weekend like their Super Bowl. The result? An estimated $500,000 boost to the local economy – and countless new Cajun food converts. As Ben proudly explained, many of those visitors from places like Princeton or Ole Miss tried crawfish, étouffée, jambalaya, or gumbo here for the very first time, and they left raving about it: “They’re going to go back home and talk to their friends and family like, ‘wow, you’ve really got to go to Lafayette’”. In short, every big game is an opportunity to share our culture and hospitality, and Lafayette Travel is right there making sure that experience is unforgettable (and delicious!).

Lafayette Travel’s support for local athletics doesn’t stop at the stadium gates. They’ve partnered with the university’s Cajuns Athletics programs and community organizations to keep that Ragin’ Cajun spirit strong. They sponsor events, help bring tournaments to town, and even back fan-driven media like the Ragin’ Review podcast that keeps the community engaged. It’s all part of an understanding that culture isn’t only found in archives or museums – it’s alive in our daily passions, whether that’s a roux bubbling on the stove or the crowd roaring at the cajundome. By investing in both our heritage and our hometown teams, Lafayette Travel knits together the full fabric of Lafayette life. They know that a Friday night might start at a high school football game and end at your favorite late-night eatery for a post-game bowl of gumbo – and they want to be right there cheering and supporting at each step.

In everything Lafayette Travel and Lafayette Eats does, there’s a genuine love for this community. The tone is casual and welcoming – much like you’d experience at a neighbor’s crawfish boil. It’s a celebration with the community, not just about it. They host food festivals and tasting events that feel more like family reunions. They collaborate with chefs on cooking demos, encourage locals to explore new restaurants with fun “food passport” programs, and amplify the voices of our culture bearers – from the old-timer who’s been making boudin since the 1950s to the young brewmaster crafting a new Cajun-spiced beer today. This upbeat, inclusive spirit has created a momentum in Lafayette: everyone is excited to share what we have, and it shows.

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler – Thanks to Community Champions

At the end of the day, Lafayette’s vibrant culinary atmosphere and preserved Cajun culture didn’t happen by accident – it’s the result of a community that truly cares and leaders who devote themselves to the cause. Ben Berthelot’s leadership has been instrumental in keeping that momentum going strong, and under his guidance Lafayette Travel has become a driving force for good in our city. From launching and sustaining EatLafayette, to supporting local festivals and Cajuns athletics, to innovating new ways to share our story, Lafayette Travel proves that tourism can be about so much more than brochures – it’s about bolstering hometown pride.

So we’d like to take a moment to raise a glass (or perhaps a spoonful of gumbo) in gratitude. Thank you to Lafayette Travel – to Ben Berthelot and the whole team – for your unwavering commitment to our Cajun culture, our local restaurants and chefs, our musicians and artists, our Ragin’ Cajuns, and even fan projects like Ragin’ Review. You’ve shown that by working together and celebrating what makes us unique, a community can thrive and have a darn good time doing it. With Lafayette Eats and all your initiatives, you’re ensuring that Lafayette’s traditions stay alive and our future stays bright. In the spirit of Cajun hospitality, we invite everyone to come on down to Lafayette, grab a seat at the table, and laissez les bons temps rouler – let the good times roll! After all, in Lafayette, the good times are always brought to you by a great meal and an even greater community. Bienvenue and bon appétit, y’all!

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