Is This Tiny Southern Town the New Austin?
Lafayette (Photo: Thinkstock)
What is it with the cool places of last year? Brooklyn is now full of dudes with man buns whose beards smell like breakfast and tight pants that would look better on Kate Moss — but only barely. And don’t get me started on the New York City borough’s restaurants, where the bill for an appetizer and a glass of wine can look suspiciously like a rent check (which the hipsters can all afford thanks to their startups) or the overblown yet anemic live music scene.
Or Austin, with its proliferation of gastropubs and boatloads of millennial partiers looking to experience a slice of the Redneck Riviera before heading out on the town to sip gourmet cocktails that take 20 minutes to make, averaging out to a buck a minute. It’s OK — they’re not going to go too crazy, at least not until their spiritual gathering, SXSW, starts in March or whenever.
It is a shame that these places, once actually on the cusp of interesting, are now just … annoying. Full of arrogant stereotypes who are, for the most part, interlopers who have transplanted the locals and the culture they claim to love — but want to change.
For those of us looking for a real, down-to-earth experience of culture, art, and food, the place to go is just northwest of New Orleans in Lafayette, La.
Related: The Hunt for the Louisiana Swamp Monsters
Photo: University of Louisiana at Lafayette/Facebook
Located along the Vermilion River amidst alligator-filled swamps, huge magnolia trees, and shade oaks, Lafayette is the epicenter of Acadiana, Cajun, and Creole culture — which means music, food, and art.
But unlike it’s more well-known sister, New Orleans, Lafayette isn’t clogged with tour buses, you won’t get run down by a mob following their umbrella-holding leader, and you won’t have to wait an hour for a fair-to-middling meal at a restaurant that has gained fame due to a free meal it once gave a writer for a national newspaper.
Named the happiest city in the United States last year in a study by some wonks at Harvard (so you know it must be true), Lafayette wasn’t always that way.
In the 1980s, the city hadn’t diversified from oil, so with the oil bust, the economy bottomed out. The city’s residents coined the phrase, “The last one to leave Lafayette, turn out the lights,” as people left town.
Related: A Psychic Tour of America’s Most Haunted City
But in the late 1980s and early 1990s, unwilling to see their history turn into a ghost town, residents and local government turned their attention to revitalizing the downtown area and focusing on culture and activity.
Today, the downtown area is covered in Robert Dafford murals and is flush with art galleries, music studios, and restaurants that the foodie-wannabes in Brooklyn can only dream about. And the river and surrounding marshes attract not just gator viewings but also professional photographers, adventurists, kayakers, and outdoors people. Even better are the locals: decent, honest, and, as the survey said, happy people who are immersed in their culture and proud to show you around, tell you stories, or invite you over for homemade gumbo.
Go now — when word gets out, it is gonna get crowded.
Where to eat:
The Sweet Baby Breesus will make you rethink breakfast forever.
French Press: I had the best breakfast of my life (and I have had a lot of breakfasts) at the French Press — specifically, the Sweet Baby Breesus, named after New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Comprising boudin balls (a rice-and-sausage ball fried lightly) on top of bacon inside buttermilk biscuits topped with cane syrup and a side of grits, it’s seriously heaven.
Another local favorite is the Olde Tyme Grocery, which has been around for decades and specializes in shrimp and roast beef po’boys. However, locals warn that due to the garlic content, you may not want to try and hit on anyone after eating. If you are a po’boy connoisseur (and there are many), also stop by Pop’s Poboys.
Other local favorites include Deano’s Pizza (try the “Cajun executioner”), Taco Sisters for great shrimp or brisket tacos, and Edie’s for the best biscuits in town.
WARNING: Prejeans
Long ago Prejeans was good, some even say great, but I saw no evidence of this when I stopped by. The boudin balls were over-fried and dry, the gumbo was cornstarched thick, and the fried-crawfish bits were something I could have gotten anywhere. The only saving grace was the live music. I saw the Michot brothers play and am thankful I did — they were lovely.
Related: The 3 Must-Hit Spots on a Booze Tour of New Orleans
Music and art:
Photo: Lafayette, Louisiana/Facebook
Just walking around the art deco downtown is a gallery experience, as there are many murals by acclaimed artist Robert Dafford and several other works of public art. But the real draw is the music. Almost any public space in Lafayette is a magnet for Grammy-award-winning musicians, local and outsiders alike. It is a bit like what New Orleans was like in the 1990s, before Katrina. On any given day in any given place, there are jam sessions where anyone can bring their instrument and play along. But the most famous jam session is every Saturday morning at the Savoy Music Center, hosted by local icons Mark and Ann Savoy.
Lafayette has a Friday afternoon music event that is a gathering of locals and people from out of town.
Other favorite spots are the Blue Moon & Guest House and Warehouse 535, a newish, midsize venue popular with the locals.
To do:
Photo: Facebook/Pack and Paddle
Lafayette is at the intersection of the Atchafalaya Basin — which comprises one of the nation’s largest freshwater hardwood swamps and the brackish marshes proximal to the Gulf of Mexico — and is a mecca for outdoors people, photographers, and bird/wildlife lovers. But fishing is the real draw.
Rent a kayak or sign up for a trip with Pack & Paddle, a great outfitter in town that offers hikes, paddle trips, and kayak fishing trips.
Lake Martin, just outside of Lafayette, has a natural bird rookery that at the height of the season (March-April) hosts thousands of nesting pairs of birds. Roseate spoonbills, great blue herons, snowy egrets, and many more birds can be viewed from the road or from a kayak, and the Nature Conservancy has an interpretive center there.
Related: New Orleans’s House of Dance and Feathers Dances Back to Life
Festivals:
Photo: The International Festival/Facebook
Lafayette is also a hot spot for festivals, both domestic and international.
The International Festival is a free festival in downtown Lafayette that attracts musicians from around the world, while in the fall is the Festivals Acadiens, a more traditional music festival for Cajun music and dance.
Meanwhile, Black Pot, held the last weekend in October, has become one of the young locals’ favorite festivals; many camp out and jam throughout the weekend.
WATCH: Lafitte’s: The Oldest Bar in Louisiana
Let Yahoo Travel inspire you every day. Hang out with us on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Check out our original adventure travel series, “A Broad Abroad.”
For more on Yahoo Travel’s travel policy, click here.
