Louisiana

Bigger Crawfish Are Here: A Roundup of Houston's 10 Best Mudbug Spots

We're at the part of the crawfish season when peeling becomes less laborious, where miniature-lobster-sized crustaceans replace the teensy mudbugs that filled your bucket just weeks ago. This is the perfect time to strap on a bib and stock up on moist towelettes for high-yield shell peeling. Since ... More >>

Crawfish Season Comes Earlier Each Year, Thanks to Massive Houston Demand

The tiny, peckish crawfish I ate over the weekend at The Hideaway on Dunvale -- my preferred spot for crawfish -- would seem to indicate that although crawfish are available in Houston, crawfish season has not yet truly arrived. This is a point of contention every year among crawfish lovers, who cl ... More >>

Zack Kopplin, The 19-Year-Old Face of the Anti-Creationist Movement

Having fought his battles in Louisiana, the Rice University student is now ready for Texas and any move to put faux science in the public schools here.

A&M's Bumpy Start To The SEC Era: La. Tech Game Postponed

So the Aggies have turned tail and decided they can't face the mighty Louisiana Tech (looking it up....looking it up...BULLDOGS!) in the first game of the school's SEC Era. And yeah, we know La Tech is not part of the SEC, but it is in SEC Country and it is the first game A&M was scheduled to play ... More >>

Louisiana Senate Votes to Beg Roger Goodell to Unsuspend Saints Players and Coaches

Let me preface what I am about to say by noting that I love the State of Louisiana. I don't think I've ever had a bad trip to the state. It's one of my favorite places to visit, complete with otherworldly cuisine, ultra-accessible alcohol and gambling, and unintentional comedy galore. In short, I a ... More >>

The Cool Fronts, The Wild Fires and the High Pressure Shuffle

Sad drought makes The Boss sad.​With apologies to Bruce Springsteen for a weak attempt at borrowing his album title, the truth is our weather has been about as crazy and out of control as a three-hour rock show, except instead of booming speakers, girls flashing the stage and a ring of pot smo ... More >>

Crawfish Across the World

Ground crawfish powder, one of the "mother" spices in Nigerian cooking.​Louisianans like to think they've got the world on a string when it comes to crawfish, with small towns like Breaux Bridge laying claim to titles such as "Crawfish Capital of the World." But there are a few people in Niger ... More >>

Britney Spears

Lions And Tigers And Bearfighters, Oh My!

It's a well-known fact that most band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off we're trying hard to find meaning in the oddest monikers. ​If Rocks Off had a nickel for every time we were compared to Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz we would definitely be wondering how we went ... More >>

Lucinda Williams, Spearhead, Kronos Quartet Headed To iFest

​The Houston International Festival, better known as iFest, announced its 2011 lineup late Thursday night. Here are some of the highlights: FRIDAY, APRIL 29 World Stage: Kronos Quartet feat. Homayun Sakhi; Houston Youth Symphony String Quartet; Houston Grand Opera SATURDAY, APRIL 30 World ... More >>

Another Oil Rig Explosion In Gulf

Another oil rig has exploded in the Gulf, injuring one person and raising fears of another massive leak.All the 13 workers on board have been accounted for. Officials are not sure if any oil is leaking from the rig, which is about 80 miles south of Louisiana's Vermilion Bay.The Department of Homelan ... More >>

Froggie Goes a Grilling

Grilled frog legs with cornbread and purple hull peas: a Texas summer dinner.​At least one of the bizarre conclusions drawn by some readers from last week's post about the impending "foodie backlash" was that I hate frog legs. More specifically, that I hate local frog legs and the restaurants ... More >>

A Gulf Coast Juneteenth

Sampler Plate: This Week In Food Blogs

Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Fork and Cork: Greg Morago reports on the rumors swirling around Textile lately ... More >>

Hot Little Crabs

Popcorn crabs at Sushi Raku

Where Are We Eating?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. We love the way this pairing is working out already: a jalapeno cheeseburger with Louisiana hot sauce, and a glass of white wine for good measure. This is the way you eat a hamburger, folks -- with all caution and rules thrown to the wind. Think you know where we're e ... More >>

Tasty Tentacles

Octopus a la Plancha at Ibiza

Catfish at Tony's in Baton Rouge

​ We went to Baton Rouge, Louisiana on a road trip this holiday season to see some family, and our sister told us about a grocery that filets live catfish and fries them to order. I dropped everything and beelined it for Tony's Seafood & Deli. Sure enough, near the entrance there is a huge c ... More >>

Australian Cookie Ignites Debate Over "Creole," To The Bafflement Of Houston Creoles

​It's a never-ending debate around these parts. What is Creole? Is it the same as Cajun? If not, why not? And let's say you were an Australian supermarket chain and were looking for a name for your in-house generic rip-off of the Oreo, and you decided to call it the "Creole Cream." Should you exp ... More >>

Australian Oreo Cookie Ripoff Ignites Debate Over "Creole," To The Bafflement Of Houston Creoles

​It's a never-ending debate around these parts. What is Creole? Is it the same as Cajun? If not, why not? And let's say you were an Australian supermarket chain and were looking for a name for your in-house generic rip-off of the Oreo, and you decided to call it the "Creole Cream." Should you ex ... More >>

Pine Leaf Boys

Bang-Up Job

Pistolettes at Louisiana Creole Cafe

Louisiana Creole Cafe

Gulf Shrimp Season Ending This Week

Gulf shrimp season is over as of this Friday, May 15. It is scheduled to resume in mid-July. "The closure is designed to allow these small shrimp to grow to a larger, more valuable size before they are vulnerable to harvest," said Robin Riechers, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Coastal Fisherie ... More >>

A Sweeter Sweet Potato

That's a fine little yam, ma'am," I told Tara Smith, the LSU AgCenter's sweet potato extension specialist and coordinator of the Sweet Potato Reseach Station in Chase, Louisiana. I had just finished a taste test comparing Evangeline (left), a new variety of sweet potato developed by the LSU sweet p ... More >>

Mesmerizing Mocha at Ibiza Food and Wine Bar

“Breaking Ground”

Multimedia artist Lisa Qualls explores issues of race and ethnicity in her work

Bayou City Cajun Festival

Will it be eat first and dance later, or vice versa, at this zydeco party?

Crawfish Cravings at Swampy's Cajun Shack

Cheap mudbugs and cold beer are the main attractions at this laid-back Katy Cajun restaurant

Little Joe Carols Zydeco Diner

Dirtfoot

concert preview

Then, Lunch at Burger King!

Then, Lunch at Burger King!

Off and Running

Re: In the Line of Fire

Elite Dirty Martini

The Magnolia Hotel

Cajun Cave

At Roadhouse dance hall, the party starts at 2 p.m. every Saturday

The Art of Presentation

Ibiza

Best (Big) Menu

The Cheesecake Factory

Best Cajun Restaurant

Willie G's

War Dance

Alabama-Coushatta Indians are shedding their passive ways in big bets on land claims and casinos. But some fear they could be gambling away their great tribal heritage.

Swamp Thing

Out of the soup of southern Louisiana comes a collection of Cajun all-stars with an indescribably sweet sound

Wake-up Call

Ragin Cajun Daiquiri

Mudbugs: The Dirty Truth

The dirt on crawfish

Swamp Ghosts

Racial tensions still haunt Geno Delafose's Louisiana stomping ground

Cajunese Cuisine?

Super Steak & More takes a stroll through Louisiana, via Vietnam

Zydeco's Birthplace

Hint: It's where you're standing

The Cajun Rages

Press Picks

Swamp Thang