Southern Airports: Lafayette, Louisiana

Girard Park, Lafayette, LA

There’s a layer of fog kissing the ground at the Lafayette Airport, about two hours west of New Orleans, so unusual for late August. I contemplate that this may signal a delay in my flight to Atlanta, but again, it’s August in one of the hottest spots in the country right now.

Sure enough, the Delta plane reroutes to Houston and I have more than an hour to kill.

Lafayette has long been one of my favorite airports, mainly because its small size means easy access, free parking if you can get in and out in thirty minutes (and like a dollar if not) and a quick trip through security. Most of the time, my flights have been on time, but sometimes small airports pose interesting situations.

Take the time my flight from Atlanta experienced mechanical difficulties. We didn’t leave Georgia until late that night and arrived in Lafayette around 1 a.m. I’m not sure who was manning the booth at that hour but the folks inside the airport couldn’t get the breezeway to fit our flight and the tired folks inside my plane — including the pilot — were about to revolt after more than 30 minutes ticked by. I kept thinking, just open the exit doors and let us slide our tired butts down that blow-up thing.

New airport being built.

Then last year airlines scheduled more flights early in the morning from Lafayette, causing huge lines through security that resulted in many people missing flights. Right now it’s suggested that passengers get there at least 90 minutes before their flight if leaving early in the A.M.

Here’s the good news — a new airport is in the works, thanks to Lafayette residents passing a temporary sales tax to fund the expansion. But we’re looking at 2022 before that happens.

Breakfast at Acadiana Tap Room

Despite my delay on this foggy Tuesday morning, I still love my little airport. I arrive early to no lines at TSA — go figure — grab a coffee at the stand and make myself comfortable. Three TSA agents with little to do since the lines have disintegrated, gather near my seat and animatedly debate where to find the best boudin in Acadiana (for you non-Louisiana people, that’s a sausage filled with pork, rice and spices). Naturally, I listen closely and make notes.

When my plane gets delayed further, I head to the Acadiana Tap House, a bar-slash-café that straddles both sides of the security corridor. Here I’m able to watch the latest baseball games and listen to hot New Orleans jazz. Local beers are on tap here, namely Ragin Cajuns ale, Parish Brewing’s Canebreake and Abita. Since I’m a native of the Big Easy, I find myself nodding my head to “Basin Street Blues."

What: Lafayette Regional Airport

Where: Lafayette, Louisiana. Cajun Country. Two hours west of New Orleans.

What’s Good: Café offers gumbo and other regional favorites, plus local beers. Breakfast is pretty darn good. See photo above.

What’s Bad: Long lines through TSA in the early morning; it’s advised to get there 90 minutes early.

What’s Unique: Likely the only airport in the United States that gives announcements in French.

Wifi: Free, connected to the city's municipal fiber options. Pretty darn fast.

What’s Coming: A new terminal in 2022.

Flying Violins, ladybugs and Cajun culture in hubcaps: the Robert Dafford murals of Lafayette, Louisiana

Flying Violins

Robert Dafford is a legend in Lafayette, Louisiana, a muralist who has traveled the world creating hundreds of pieces of public art in magnificent ways. Walk around downtown Lafayette and you’ll see his paintings everywhere.

Take the “Flying Violins.” I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dafford for a DeSoto magazine feature (on Southern murals, coming up in October) and learned how he came to paint this mural I have walked past for years. In 1988, before the spring’s annual Festival International de Louisiane, in which musicians from all over the Francophone world — including Louisiana — visit Lafayette for several days of fun, Dafford was asked to paint a side of a downtown building. He chose to paint violins emerging from a swamp scene.

Till All That's Left is a Postcard

“I conceived it as a symbol of Cajun music leaving the swamps and flying out into the world,” Dafford said.

The mural represents the universality of music, an art form that pushes past the barriers of politics, language, and business, Dafford explained.

Other “Flying Violins” murals have been painted in sisters cities in France, Canada, Belgium and England, and several more are planned.

Other Dafford murals in Lafayette include:

 

Till All That's Left is a Postcard

“Til All That’s Left is a Postcard” -  Corner of Jefferson Street and Garfield in downtown Lafayette.

Dafford’s vibrant mural includes birds, dragonflies and other creatures escaping the Atchafalaya Basin from the encroachment of development. He painted this mural in the 1980s when people talked of developing Louisiana’s massive river drainage swamp that’s home to numerous wildlife.

Ex-Garage

“Ex-Garage” – Corner of Jefferson Street and E. Vermilion in downtown Lafayette.

This mural on the side of Jefferson Towers reflects what used to be in this spot, a parking garage. Dafford pays homage to those old cars but paints local chefs, musicians and other “Cajun characters” into the bumpers and hubcaps.

“Stereo Prairie” – 201 E. Congress St. 
This mural decorates the side of the Children’s Museum of Acadiana and includes other artists Herb Roe, Sherrie Bennet and Chris Confor.

The most recent Dafford mural to Lafayette graces City Hall (705 W. University), which used to be a Sears Department building. Like most of Dafford’s murals, the series of paintings tells the story of Lafayette’s origins and the people who called Acadiana home, including French, Spanish, African and Native Americans.

“We have international roots,” Dafford explained, adding that today’s city attracts and honors international partners. “Lafayette has always been and will always be international in its intentions, aims and goals.”

Want to know more? Check out “The Public Art of Robert Dafford,” written by and illustrated by Philip Gould, published by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press.

Cheré Coen is a food and travel writer who loves public art that tells a story.

It's not weird to find low-cal food in Cajun Country Well, maybe it is but we found some!

            I live in Cajun Country which means I fight adding pounds to the waistline constantly. Our food is that good. Like, over the top, heaven in your mouth, orgasmic good. So what's a food writer to do when the clothes don't fit and it's hard to get off the couch?
What's weird about this post is living in a culinary town where dieting is almost impossible.
            Well, not quite.          
            I am not one to forgo eating out — cooking is not my idea of a good time, even though I was raised in this culinary mecca — so it's been my year-long quest to find low-fat, low-calorie foods in one of the world's most decadent eating towns, Lafayette. Gumbos with their thick roux, jambalaya consisting of rice and meats and all good things fried — even though in South Louisiana we fry things lightly, well seasoned and to perfection — had to go. But I have not suffered, no siree bub.
            At Bon Temps Grill, for instance, one of my favorite restaurants in Lafayette, I chose the fish tacos with mangos and Creole sauce but you can substitute the tortillas for lettuce and wrap those babies up with less calories and carbs. (Pictured above is the taco dish with tortillas.) At Blu Basil, a Vietnamese and Asian-fusion restaurant, their chicken lettuce wraps are similar, wok stir-fried chicken with mushrooms, sweet onions and lemongrass accented by carrots, daikon, cucumbers, cabbage and crispy rice noodles. I felt so good about eating this dish that I enjoyed the spring rolls with shrimp as an appetizer and didn't hesitate to dip those suckers in peanut sauce.

            We don't like to frequent chains — why would you if you lived in Cajun Country with a plethora of great restaurants? — but Chicken Salad Chick came to town and we feel justified in recommending them because they hail from Alabama. Close enough. This happy place offers 15 different styles of chicken salad, plus salads, soups and cookies and fruit. I ordered the Original Chick with a choice of sandwich or "scoop" (I chose a scoop of cranberry chicken salad to avoid the bread), one side item (I chose the cranberry salad to stay with the theme), pickle spear and cookie of the day, which I handed off to my skinny friend Barb. All filled me up quite nicely and was delicious.
            So there you have it. The first quarter of my diet and I managed to eat out in South Louisiana and enjoy myself in the process. I started at New Year's and expect the entire year to pass by until I meet my goal; food writing has its drawbacks. I'll keep you updated.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is a food and travel writer living in Lafayette, Louisiana, a place where food is way too good. She is also the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” She also writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.