I now more than ever understand the saying that the grass is always greener on the other side. It seems we’re always wishing we were there instead of here, thinking how much happier we would be if in fact we could escape our present landscape.  I moved around quite a bit in the beginning of this year, going from place to place, conducting various forms of business.  I do enjoy the excitement of constant changes, but sometimes it’s nice to stop and smell the roses in your yard.

NYC, Here We Come!

After settling back down at home and beginning a season change, lots of local activities kept me busy and full of anticipation.  We had the James Beard fundraiser event, which was a huge success and lots of fun.  The following day, we received our nomination!  It seemed that another moment had arrived and it was time once again to step it up to the next level. I realized that this had become my annual format, as we strive to get much better with no apparent ending in sight. This year seemed to carry much more stress, however, as I felt the strongest pressure to create my evolution.

Stella and Stanley have grown very quickly and we have been blessed with so much business. It has been a challenge to keep up with the pace of that growth. Trying not to overextend our staff and juggling the schedules of our team has become a great test of endurance.  Special events require much planning and lots of employees to spread around when things are rocking and rolling.  Thank God for the team that I have, stepping up to the plate to make it happen as they always seem to do.  Even with all of that support, I felt stressed and about to snap. I needed a break so I took off on a quest for serenity.

We were invited to a dear friend’s home in Breaux Bridge for their annual crawfish boil. I am sure that most people who are not from here think of Louisiana in the context of New Orleans.  Although New Orleans is quite a gem in our boot shape of a state, there’s so much more to us than this famous metropolis. Breaux Bridge and other small towns are just some of the places that have so much to offer throughout our state.

Tanya and I planned our journey to the bayou and anticipation filled my soul.  I figured while in that neck of the woods, I would accept another invitation from a friend, Louisiana legacy, Paul McIlhenny, to come explore his wonderful sanctuary of Avery Island. The plans were all made, calendars were set and a mini-getaway trip was unfolding.

The morning finally came to leave and it was time to get away in the backyard of our great Louisiana.  Tanya packed our overnight bags and we set off into the land of what we call the heart of Acadiana.  It is truly a special place in time that has not been too disrupted by the fast pace of everyday life.  It’s a place that takes its time to enjoy each and every moment for its unique contribution to our world.

Charlie T's - Breaux Bridge, LA

We met our friend, Ann Theriot, and her mother, “Miss Hazel,” at Charlie T’s to pick up some boudin and cracklins.  This little hole-in-the-wall place is actually a temple in the downtown area of a small piece of heaven called Breaux Bridge.  Ann wanted me to try some different types of boudin, so we went from place to place. I was amazed at how many places there were.

We crossed the Breaux Bridge on the way to her house, where her father, Roy Theriot, had begun to boil the water.  He had crawfish that looked like baby lobsters purging in big blue buckets.  “Miss Hazel” joined his side, as I’m sure she’s done for decades, and the two worked in harmony to prepare the feast. First potatoes, then the corn were prepared and seasoned. Then the moment of the first batch had arrived.  Wow, these crawfish were going to be good!  The family started arriving, as we were celebrating Ann and Jimmy’s anniversary, and oh, how lucky for Tanya and me to be joining!  It was a moment I had craved and also needed for my mind, to touch the roots of many memories of my own childhood.

Roy handed out aprons for everybody to wear while eating so we wouldn’t have to worry about the mess that would be made.  Crawfish this good require lots of peeling, crushing and sucking the heads, not to mention the Theriots’ special dipping sauce.  We were drinking beer in crawfish heaven, listening to family stories and living moments of bliss each and every second.  The magic moment came when a young man named Jude asked me if I wanted to take a ride on the Kaboda.  Flying through the wheat field with my nine-year-old chauffeur, I had reached the high point of the day.  We cleaned up, packed everything away and settled in for the night, right after stopping at Winn-Dixie for some wine.

We sat at Roy and Hazel’s table in their lovely country home and looked at pictures from long ago, when Roy was in the army. He told stories of the past in a priceless accent, occasionally speaking to Ann in Cajun French. We had wine and looked at more pictures of Ann and Jimmy’s wedding, which we had attended. We realized that time really goes by quickly and that we should enjoy it.  We retired into the guesthouse in a very comfortable bed for a remarkably restful night of sleep.

We woke up the next morning, packed our bags to head to Avery Island, sure not to miss Miss Hazel’s famous breakfast. I tell you this: I could get used to those breakfasts and for them it is the norm. She commented it couldn’t compare to the fare at Stanley. I’ll have to tell you, Stanley’s good, but if I had to choose, I’d have breakfast from Miss Hazel everyday – homemade biscuits, eggs and sausage, fruit and orange juice – all in a setting that is priceless.  Those are moments in our lives that keep me going, because they are the purest forms of pleasure.  We finished the great beginning of this next glorious day and set off to Part Two of our adventure.

I’ll have to admit that I’m a little embarrassed that I was born in Louisiana and at 48 years of age I was making my first trip to Avery Island, one of our state’s greatest legacies.  It is a true testament of success that it is still family-run in their seventh generation.  Mr. Paul McIlhenny, who runs the show of this generation, greeted us and my dream tour had begun.  He drove us around all of the private parts of the island, sharing places of his history that touched our soul in a way that can’t be explained.  He took us into a greenhouse of seedlings that were almost ready for the ground and personally dug out two plants to transfer to my garden. My mind was about to explode with the excitement of such a special gift from this hero.

We had lunch in the Avery Island deli, where we joined a second guide, Dave, eating more boudin, deer sausage and Tabasco products.  It’s like an island lost in time.  Behind the scenes, though, it’s very modern, as their production is a mind-blowing success.  We tasted mash from Whiskey barrels from a barrel master who had been there 42 years and we got the tour of a lifetime.  We went through production lines, watching modern machinery do its magic of producing, packaging and shipping their product to disperse to the world. The order board was quite an amazing sight, with more than 140 countries and labels in all languages.

We finished up in the “Jungle Gardens,” where the azaleas were in full bloom and egrets were mating.  It was fun, with Tanya yelling, “The sign says not to feed them,” as I fed the hungry alligator some Tostitos.  We finished up and headed back toward New Orleans, where we’d left, only to realize what a beautiful backyard we had.  It was a trip of great relaxation.  We had reclaimed sanity in its purest form, truly two days in paradise.

Our last stop was on the side of Interstate-310 to get some local Louisiana strawberries for our restaurant.  What a great trip it was! What a great backyard we have here in Louisiana!