Allons `a Lafayette
Part 1 Of Our Touring Acadiana Series.

The Blue Dog Café.

Driving west on Interstate 10 toward Lafayette, LA, I figured the Blue Dog Café had a fifty fifty chance of being good. Who doesn’t love the art of George Rodrigue? I’d heard the walls were covered with originals and prints. Blue dogs everywhere, they said. I wondered how this establishment came to be named after his work. And would the place be about the Blue Dogs or would it be about the food?

I pretty much quit looking at the Blue Dogs after my first plate arrived. My Seafood Won Tons were light and hot, crisp and creamy. The fried won ton enclosed a mixture of crawfish, pepperjack and parmesan cheeses. The plum ginger sauce on the side had just the right amount of sweetness. Awesome. It's a must have appetizer that may keep me from ever exploring the rest of the appetizer menu.

Next up was the Sherwood Forest Brie Bisque. It was as rich and creamy as it sounds but also loaded with nice chunks of mushrooms and crab meat. Very satisfying. My dinner companion had the Corn And Crab Bisque. I had to bargain just to get a bite. It was full of ingredients and very well seasoned.

The basket of warm Pistolettes were accompanied by a soft Garlic-Honey Butter. The garlic with the sweet was a bit of a surprise but quickly grew on me.

I let our expert server, Megan, choose my entrée and she was right on the money with the Crabmeat Florentine. The dish consisted of crabmeat set on a bed of spinach with a sprinkling of jalapenos, laced with spicy béchamel cream sauce and topped with pepper jack cheese. It was garnished with crab fingers. It was indeed, as their own menu touted, baked to a bubbly perfection. The jalapenos added just a touch of warmth, not too much, and the amount of crab was quite generous. The side dishes were roasted potatoes and a vegetable medley. It was very good.

My companion had the Chicken Bayou Teche consisting of a large chicken breast stuffed with seafood and topped with a bacon rotelle cream sauce. It was served with “dirty dog rice”, corn macque choux and a vegetable medley. The chicken was perfectly cooked, still tender and juicy. The rotelle cream sauce added a bit of warmth but it was not overbearing. Though I am not a huge fan of corn macque choux and can generally “take it or leave it”, I went back for several bites on my friend's plate. Next time I will request it.

Again, our server came through with the suggestion of Bread Pudding as a dessert. A local twist was provided in the sauce. The decadent dish was served pleasingly hot and topped with a pecan praline sauce and a dollop of whipped cream. Yum.

Start to finish, I must say the meal was one of the best I’ve had this year. The artwork was wonderful but the place is definitely about the food.

Hats off to Chef Bill Schwarz.
The Blue Dog Café has been open for eight years and if you’re wondering how they got all those Rodrigues, well it was sort of a kinfolk deal. Manager Holly Tracy informed us the owners include Stephen Santillo and Andre Rodrigue, son of George Rodrigue.

Blue Dog Café
1211 Pinhook Road
Lafayette, LA

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