It may be a tough time to run a restaurant in Lafayette, with rising ingredient costs, staffing shortages and never-ending new competition, but it’s a great time to dine out.
Especially for someone like me who enjoys a variety of food, Lafayette is now bursting with a wide variety of culinary delights.
When my wife and I first moved to Lafayette over a decade ago, boudin and cracklins were readily available. But it came at a price. We no longer had the wide variety of artisanal and ethnic cuisines that we had easily enjoyed while living in Washington, DC. There was no Ethiopian food, very little Korean food, no good pupusas, and limited options for popular staples like good bread, pizza, and burgers.
But in the past few years, that paradigm has changed dramatically.
Indian food in Lafayette finally gets attention
Take Indian food as a perfect example. For a long time, Masala Indian Kitchen was the only place to go for curry and naan. Then Priya started out selling her delicious samosas at the Moncas Park Farmers Market, before opening a new location to serve up a taste of homemade Indian cuisine. Then, after hearing rave reviews from friends who knew Indian food, Destination India opened, serving a weekend lunch buffet.
And just recently, NJoy Curry Masala opened at Jefferson and Johnston, and while I’ve only just begun to sample its hearty menu, I can already report that the lamb biryani is excellent. Bismiller opened a few years ago, serving delicious Nepalese food, and suddenly Lafayette is awash with Indian and other South Asian cuisine.
NJoy Curry Masala manager Roman Jack and co-owner Navi Kaur sit with some of their most popular dishes on July 10, 2024. Photo by Robin May
Asian cuisine has become more diverse over the years, with traditionally great sushi in Lafayette, Thai and more recently Vietnamese, as well as hidden gems like Szechuan at Magic Wok (don’t miss the pepper shrimp and fish!) and Korean in Osaka (and the best pho in the city).
But that smorgasbord has expanded considerably. I’m still excited to try the delicious, authentic, non-American Chinese food you can find at Spicy House, the freshly made dumplings at Dumpling Hour, or the all-you-can-eat Korean food, sushi, and ramen now offered at Bushido. And that’s before you even consider food trucks like ramen truck Noodlehead and delicious steamed buns Bayo Bao.
Lafayette food trucks are here to stay
Food trucks are a common place to find culinary diversity in big cities, but until recently, their impact on Lafayette’s palate was limited. Some food trucks have evolved into delicious brick-and-mortar restaurants, including Scratch Farm Kitchen, Viva La Waffles, and Blanchard’s BBQ. But for a long time, it felt like the food truck scene was gone.
Lafayette has been experiencing a resurgence recently, so much so that it will soon be home to not just one, but two food truck parks: one at Parc de Oaks on the Northside, and another recently announced as soon as Uncle Bob’s Roundup opens in downtown Lafayette.
About Lafayette Restaurants
The restaurant industry has always been notoriously tough, especially in a place like Lafayette, where many restaurants have set strict standards over the years.
Though the flavors and ingredients vary, savoring a taste of home is a common thread that connects Latin America and South Louisiana.
As large and small grocery stores have withdrawn from Lafayette’s urban core, local organizations are stepping in to fill gaps in the food supply chain and address the central challenge of access at the local level.
Food trucks tend to experiment and explore culinary depths in new ways. They’re also an important vehicle for new restaurants to test the market and get off the ground. This is what’s happening with Sarika’s delicious pizza and pasta, which started as a food truck, then transitioned into a pop-up at Acadiana Beer Garden, and is now working on opening its own restaurant. So the food truck presence is a key driver of delicious diversity.
Delicious bread is everywhere in Lafayette
Bread exploded. For a long time, Poupard and Great Harvest were the only options outside of grocery store bread.
Right now, Lafayette is overflowing with delicious gluten: Straw Cove mills its own flour and produces amazing breads and even more amazing bagels; Boscoyo serves up truly creative artisanal breads and cakes; Wild Child has sourdough focaccia and baguettes that are life-changing (not to mention the best frozen pizza I’ve ever had); and there are plenty of other artisans, like Levain Acadien and Sunny Acres. Lucia Bakehouse has taken viennoiserie to a whole new level in Lafayette.
Local classics are diversifying, too. Pizza is a lot more interesting than it was a decade ago. It’s no longer just Deano’s, Pizza Village, Alesi’s, and national chains. The now-closed Bread & Circus Provisions was the first to bake Neapolitan-style pizza in Lafayette, but it was soon followed by downtown stalwart Central Pizza, and more recently, Sarrica’s joined the upscale pizza ranks, along with Jim Deggy’s. Plus, there are plenty of artisanal pop-up pizza options, like Wild Child’s focaccia pizza and Park Bistro’s Detroit-style pizza.
Honestly, I’m not sure when to stop with this column. I haven’t even mentioned the fantastic Jamaican food at Di Jerk Stop yet; there’s the cottage food joint Presh Cuisine, serving up African dishes like fufu; or Scratch Farm Kitchen, Five Mile Eatery, and Park Bistro, which serve my favorite farm-to-table burgers; or the ever-growing wealth of Latin cuisine at places like Patacon and La Papa Loca, and an ever-growing number of taco trucks.
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When it comes to options, Lafayette is experiencing a golden age and hopefully it will continue to get better in the future so that people no longer have to wait to visit a bigger city for new flavors and can get more options locally.
But this new reality won’t last forever. Dining at Lafayette may be more fun than ever, but surviving in a competitive restaurant world has always been tough. And that’s never been more true than it is today, with the rising cost of everything.
This means that if, like me, you enjoy food beyond the delicious Cajun and Creole cuisine this area is known for, you’ll have to make a conscious effort to get out and support your favorite restaurants, old or new. Don’t take your newfound diversity for granted, and get out and enjoy all that Lafayette’s evolving food scene has to offer.
What’s your go-to restaurant on a Monday night?
Many restaurants are closed on Mondays in Lafayette, leaving people hungry. So where do you grab a bite to eat when most places are closed?
